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mikeszekely

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  1. mikeszekely
    Hmm. I wonder if it's just the G1 trailer? I'm in on all three sets of Stunticons, and right now I'm leaning toward DX9 for the combined mode and Fans Toys for the robot mode. I'll probably pick up the toy-style "Youth" version of XTB's trailer and make XTB's a toy-style Menasor (despite going with the regular cartoon-style Stunticons). For some weird reason I like my combiner team members to look like their cartoon selves, but I prefer more of a toy/Studio OX look for the combined modes.
  2. mikeszekely
    Aside from saying that Ectotron was a Voyager and Gigawatt's a Deluxe, it's hard to say for sure. Even if I'm right that Gigawatt's based on Siege Sideswipe (I'm 90% sure though) we don't know the extent that the mold has been modified to make Gigawatt (although I don't see anything that would drastically alter the height of the robot mode the front of the car looks significantly longer). But this should give you a rough idea. Not perfect, but if the cart is a little longer and taller not too bad, either. Word is the gull wing doors work (but as you can see in my earlier post there's no interior, just his robot arms) and the tires do bend 90 degrees into hover mode. Anyway, it seems the first run will be limited to 1985 copies, and the preorders were supposed to go up on Walmart.com at 1:00 EST today, so we probably missed it (I tried, but I just get an error page). However, a second version of Gigawatt will see a wider release (including at Hasbro Pulse) on October 1st. It's not clear what's going to be different about the two releases; hopefully they're just losing the hooked pole and tweaking the rear to reflect the differences between the first and second movies and not applying the more drastic changes the time machine saw in the third movie.
  3. mikeszekely
    Yep. For all the prequel trilogy's flaws if there was one thing Lucas did well it was world-building. Lucas did take us to some familiar places, like Tatooine, but he also introduced new worlds and new people with distinct styles and customs. The sequel trilogy took us to planets with new names that looked a lot like places we'd already seen and armed everyone with the same X-Wings, Tie Fighters, Star Destroyers, and Mon Cal cruisers we'd been familiar with for 40 years.
  4. mikeszekely
    I personally just discovered Shovel Knight. I can't believe I didn't play this before; while thematically pretty different the gameplay is like a mix of Mega Man and Castlevania with a Super Mario Bros 3 overworld. The game is brutally hard and at times you'll run into the kinds of cheap deaths that those classic NES franchises are famous for, but it's balanced with checkpoints that rarely set you back too far, and the only penalty for dying is the loss of money (that you can recover if you can get back to the spot where you died without dying again). So while you will die (often), you usually know exactly why you died and you can avoid making the same mistake to push on a little further. The music and graphics are meant to look like an 8-bit game, and had it actually released on a system like the NES back in the day I have no doubt it'd be one of the top five games on the console.
  5. mikeszekely
    I'm cutting it some slack, as long as it isn't too expensive. It does have to transform, after all, and it is only a Deluxe. Nope.
  6. mikeszekely
    Gigawatt (or should I say Jiggawatt?) has been revealed. I admit, I was wrong, it's not Titans Return Chromedome. Can't say for sure, but it looks like Siege Sideswipe to me, which is fine. Sideswipe's a good mold. Now we just need the preorders to start...
  7. mikeszekely
    I didn't see Picard yet, but I thought Discovery was flawed but good. Started off kind of shaky in the first season, but it found its voice and the second season was great. And I don't think the "Discovery is a failure" narrative is particularly true, either. Analytics suggest that it did pretty well, with it being the most in-demand streaming show during the period of April 6th and May 5th in 2019 and the number 2 sci-fi series overall. And it was picked up for a third season. I'm not saying that there aren't legit criticisms to be made about it, especially the first season, but I don't think it's nearly as bad as some crowds are suggesting.
  8. mikeszekely
    Kega Fusion on Windows plays Genesis, 32X, and Sega CD games, and you can get a licensed Retrobit reproduction 6-button USB Genesis controller for around $20. I love having a collection of my favorite Genesis games on the Mini, but my collection of ROMs and ISOs for those three is probably around 140 GB, and the Mini doesn't really have enough room.
  9. mikeszekely
    That's a good figure. Shame Maketoys didn't use better materials in the hips. Or that it doesn't really fit in my collection. Thinking about selling my copy.
  10. mikeszekely
    Yeah, I ordered a Nonnef blue kit, too, and that's after getting a silver 3D-printed one. The one that comes with Centurion will be my third Roller. The accessories I'm actually the most interested in are the guns and the mini alt-modes for Reflector, Soundwave, Megatron, and Shockwave. But really I preordered Centurion because Brunt's my favorite of the weaponizers and I could go for another copy of the mold. I have no doubt that HasTak can do better; like yourself, I've seen them do it. And sure, I'm going to rate figures with clever engineering higher than those that take a lazier approach. I guess what I mean by "more forgiving" is that I'll look at something like ER Arcee and say, "Boy, that's pretty lazy. But it's a good-looking Arcee, and it's only $20, so I'll buy it anyway." Compare that to, say, ToyWorld's Leah, where it seemed like they couldn't figure out what to do with the rear of her alt mode so they just left it off. I look at that and say, "Boy, that's pretty lazy. There's no way I'd pay $70 for that, I don't care how good the robot mode looks!" Anyway... the seller accepted my offer for PM Prime. It's a reissue, which I guess matters to some vintage collectors, but I'm happy because (from the photos) it looks almost brand new and it's 100% complete with God Bomber. I've got a little cash left over after selling a few things and I'm going to try to track down Laser Optimus, then maybe I'll do a little write up on Primes throughout the years. I'd try to get Star Convoy, too, but he's a tad expensive. Laser Op is cheaper (but harder to find complete). EDIT: Made an offer on a Laser Op that's missing a gun and the instructions, but has all the missiles and the sword. Seller didn't reply to my offer. Found another one that looks like it's in excellent condition and is listed as complete. I sent a message to the seller to confirm that the gun is included, if it is I'll pull the trigger, but I'll already be over budget so Star Convoy's going to have to go on the back burner.
  11. mikeszekely
    Maybe Hasbro saw how many people were buying Weijiang's KO Arcee with the detachable kibble and thought that's what people wanted? Anyway, I'm not saying that I disagree that Earthrise Arcee's engineering is lazy, but the partsforming didn't bother me much on Cliffjumper, and honestly I'm a lot more forgiving of stuff like that on a $20 Deluxe than on a premium figure. Still plan on picking her up. ...although I might have to cut back on my budget for them if I don't stop buying old Optimus figures on ebay. I got a Machine Wars Optimus that was missing some accessories but mostly in good condition last week, today I got a G2 Hero Optimus (the bellows don't seem to work anymore, but he was otherwise totally complete). I made an offer on a Powermaster Optimus reissue with "Apex Armor," and I'm watching a Star Convoy and a few G2 Laser Optimus Primes.
  12. mikeszekely
    Hasbro put out a little guide to accessories that are coming with the Centurion pack. Most of it is pretty obvious - a cage for Ravage, some Energon cubes, a new blaster, energon ax, and Roller for Prime, and Energon Mace for Megatron, a radar dish for Trailbreaker, an Optimus mini-figure (I guess to display with the Titans or Unicron to make them seem bigger), a mini Reflector in camera mode and Soundwave in tape mode, mini Megatron and Shockwave gun modes with 5mm peg handles, a jetpack for Sideswipe, a "drill blaster" meant for Ironhide, and a glass gas gun for Cliffjumper. The last item, though, is a pretty generic blaster. What's interesting is that it's labeled "Bumblebee Blaster," and it's interesting because Hasbro hasn't officially announced a Bumblebee figure in the War for Cybertron line.
  13. mikeszekely
    Went to Walmart for address labels. Found Netflix Hotlink. I bought it, but I'm kind of mad that I pre-ordered him and Mirage back in February and the status was still "Delayed" when I went to cancel. Maybe fill your preorders before filling endcaps, eh? Would still like to find Scrapface, but my local Walmart had a pile of every figure expect him and Magnus. edit: Speaking of Hotlink, I'm always happy to troop build with more Seekers, but I'm not a fan of the deco. He's a pretty obvious purple in the G1 cartoon with mostly black accents, almost as if you took Skywarp and inverted his colors then added a little white for good measure.. The Netflix version uses a very muted purple, then goes overboard with the scorch marks (which seems to be the Netflix version of Siege's dirt) and loses the white entirely. The result is a technically a purple Seeker with black accents that could easily be mistaken for a black Seeker with purple accents. Or, y'know, Skywarp. Still need a Sunstorm, Hasbro. Although, with the Earthrise Seekers all in hand I wonder how difficult it'd be to repaint the Siege versions of Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp into Sunstorm, Nacelle or Bitstream, and G2 Blackout...
  14. mikeszekely
    I use Toyhax, formerly Reprolabels.
  15. mikeszekely
    So my wife wanted a few things at Target today. I hit up the Transformers section while she and my kid went to pick up a prescription; nothing particularly interesting. But after we link back up my kid starts begging me to take her to look at the toys. Now on my first trip I followed the main aisle from the doors around to the toy department, looked in, and didn't see anything. But going back with my kid I kind of went through the middle, through the bed and bath section and between the gaps so I entered the toys facing the back endcaps... where I found a whole endcap for Transformers. It was mostly Earthrise, a little Studio Series. I could have picked up Studio Series Topspin, but I'm not sure how much I really want that one. Otherwise nothing I didn't already have... oh, except a certain two-pack... Interestingly enough I'd actually signed up for the "notify me when it's in stock" thing on Target's website, and three or four times I'd get an email early in the morning with an in-stock notice but they'd be sold out by the time I actually got up and checked. That happened most recently today, but the website showed them in stock in a store around 9 or 10 miles away. Not at my local store, but close enough that I was tempted (I ultimately passed because that neighborhood is a pain to get around in). So yeah, I was pretty thrilled when I found them at my local store that wasn't even supposed to have any in stock. I mean, the Siege versions are good, and I'm totally content with the Tetrajet design for Novastorm, Ion Storm, Acid Storm, Red Wing, and Hotlink (if Walmart ever sends the one I preordered way back in February). But once I got an Earth mode Starscream the need for a Thundercracker and Skywarp that turn into F-15s became very real. I'm not going to do another detailed review. I already reviewed Starscream here, and everything I said there still stands. While they have a number of improvements in aesthetics, proportions, and articulation they're still extremely similar to the Classics Seeker mold from all the way back in 2006. And so they're good figures, but less impressive than some of the other figures in the Earthrise line. Thundercracker is Starscream in different colors. Colors I expect David will have some thoughts on. The look is definitely leaning hard toward the cartoon and as such is a bit lighter than the Classics version, and it doesn't have that subtle undercurrent of turquoise that the G1 toy had. Skywarp is 99.9% the same figure as the other two, but he actually does have one small difference. Instead of the more neutral, stoic expression the other two have Skywarp's mouth is slightly agape, like he can't believe someone took his lunch out of the break room fridge because it clearly had his name on it. Like his fellow Earthrise Seekers, Skywarp's colors are cartoon-inspired, but I guess that's less of a problem for black and purple. Speaking of purple, the Earthrise version is definitely sporting a more traditional violet color than the borderline magenta on the Classics version, but I'd say that's more accurate regardless of whether you're comparing him to the cartoon or the G1 toy. The jet modes are unsurprisingly cartoon-inspired, with narrow stripes on the wings and solid colors on the noses, horizontal stabilizers, and (excluding Starscream) vertical stabilizers. It's fine for Starscream, who has some color on his vertical stabs, and I don't mind the all-black nose on Skywarp. I do kind of wish Thundercracker had some black on the tip of his nose, though, and if Reprolabels makes a set for these guys I might pick it up to put a little color on their vertical stabs. As I said before, I'm fine with the Siege versions of Acid Storm, Novastorm, Ion Storm, Red Wing, and Hotlink. And I don't need every Seeker; if I never get Nacelle or Bitstream it's not the end of the world. It'd be nice to get a proper creamsicle-colored Sunstorm, though, maybe as a Generations Selects figure (if I'm being honest, though, I'll buy whatever Seekers they put out). But with the Season 1 Seekers done (twice) now in the War for Cybertron Trilogy, what I think most of us really want now are proper Voyager-class updates of these guys. And on that note... I mentioned Thrust being part of a Weibo leak awhile back that included a very promising Cyclonus. Now this image of a possible Dirge turned up late in the week. Dunno if they're real or fake, but they're both looking just fine to me and I'd buy both in a heartbeat. Do Ramjet, too, and I'll be mostly content (still want Sunstorm). I just hope they're regular retail releases or, failing that, more broadly available Generations Selects releases and none of these pain-in-the-rear, sold out in minutes store-exclusives.
  16. mikeszekely
    No problem! While I grew up with G1 I kind of grew out of Transformers in the '90s, and when I got back into the franchise as an adult it was almost overwhelming to learn how much history I'd missed. I'm happy to share what I've learned since then. On that note, I'd love it if someone did a modern take on the Predators. The Turbomasters were ok, but the smaller Predators were an F-15, an F-117, an X-29, and a Y-23, and I think I speak for most Transformers fans on a Macross board when I say we need more transforming jets in our lives.
  17. mikeszekely
    G1, part of a line that came out in Europe, Canada, and parts of Asia but not here in the States, probably because they had firing missile gimmicks that wouldn't pass US safety standards.. The main group of Autobots were Turbomasters, the main group of Decepticons were Predators. Rotorstorm was a Turbomasters. Another, more well-known (now) Turbomaster would be Thunderclash. While the Turbomasters came out in other parts of the world in 1992 (G2 didn't officially start until 1993), we wouldn't get the molds here in the States until 1997, and they were modified both in colors and to pass US safety standards. Here they became part of the Kay Bee-exclusive Machine Wars line, and Rotorstorm would become the much more boring olive and khaki Sandstorm. Thunderclash, BTW, ditches the gold, hot pink, and teal for red, dark blue, and off-white and became MW Optimus Prime, a figure I just picked up (unfortunately with a little bit of green marker on some of the stickers and missing the missiles and rifle, but I was just happy to find one that still had its stickers and the trailer door).
  18. mikeszekely
    This, more or less. I get that content providers are wising up to the fact that cable's on the way out and streaming is the future, and they all want to get their fingers into the pie instead of licensing out their stuff. But really, if I started streaming because I didn't feel like paying $150 a month for cable then I'm not going to sign up for more and more streaming services until I'm paying $150 a month again. I've already got Netflix, Disney+, Hulu (with ads), and Amazon Prime Video (although that last one is more because I buy stuff online constantly and I want it fast, I rarely actually use it). That's enough. I'm not interested in Peacock, CBS All Access, Apple TV+, HBO Max, DC Universe, YouTube Premium, or whatever else.
  19. mikeszekely
    No problem, I put in an order myself. Now I'm hoping they reissue his tapes like they did with Soundwave. I never actually had any of Soundwave's tapes as a kid, but even though I didn't own Blaster I actually had Rewind, Eject, Ramhorn, and Steeljaw back in the day. It'd be cool to not only own them again but to actually have a Blaster to stuff them in.
  20. mikeszekely
    Yeah, looks like they moved it up to July for me, too. You can preorder it. As big as the figure is and as much as Walmart's charged for previous reissues it's surprisingly only $29.99.
  21. mikeszekely
    Yeah, I'm getting ready to take my kid to go swimming at her grandpap's place. It'll be after 1:00 for sure when we get there, but I'm going to try to get an order in after we get there but before we go out to the pool. I think I'm passing on Rotorstorm. I just don't have any real knowledge of or attachment to the character. I'm on the fence regarding Alternate Universe Optimus and Tigertrack. Not sure I really need a Prime corpse (especially when it's a "Leader" that comes with a (dead?) trailer. As for Tigertrack, I don't have any attachment to the character but who couldn't use a yellow Sideswipe? Although, I kind of wish they'd gone with Clampdown instead. Edit: I got a pulse preorder for centurion and tigertrack, and I did preorder Prime at Amazon. Release date's not until January so I can cancel if I change my mind.
  22. mikeszekely
    Hasbro did their Transformers live stream this morning. Some highlights- The Back to the Future X Transformers crossover is real, but the only announcement there was to expect another announcement next week. There will be a Hasbro Pulse exclusive repaint of Siege Brunt as Centurion Drone (from IDW). It's being billed as a "weapon pack," though and will come with a number of other accessories: Is this a response to the surge in 3P add-ons lately? I dunno. But preorders go up at 1:00 pm EDT. "Alternate Universe" Optimus Prime, aka the sleep mode Earthrise Optimus that leaked awhile back, will also being going up for preorders at 1:00. It's an Amazon-exclusive, and they're saying it'll tie into the Netflix series somehow (that somehow being that Optimus will die and pass on the Matrix... Rodimus Prime confirmed for the third part of the War for Cybertron Trilogy?). Two new Generations Selects reveals (and nothing super exciting). Sideswipe's getting repainted (again) as Deluxe-class Tigertrack, and Spinister is getting repainted as Rotostorm. Well, the base figures are pretty good, which is cool, but I don't really need more Autobots. Blaster will be the next Walmart-exclusive G1 reissue. That's all the really interested me, but they also revealed the already-leaked R.E.D. line of Walmart-exclusive, non-Transforming, (far too) cartoon-accurate accurate figures. They showed Optimus, Megatron, and Soundwave on the livestream. The rest isn't news (yet), but in the Q&A they suggested more Takara/Hasbro Asia figures that will be coming to the West, and that the Autobot clones may get a box set like the Target-exclusive Decepticon clones pack.
  23. mikeszekely
    Traditionally no. While the parts are for official figures they're unofficial, unlicensed kits, and this is the same separation that a big Transformers board (that shall remain nameless) uses. I agree with you in principle, though. People who collect unofficial 3P figures aren't really going to be interested in the add-ons unless they collect official figures, too, and people who collect official figures but don't read this thread might miss out.
  24. mikeszekely
    Is that the consensus? Because frankly I feel largely the same way about Frontier as I do Delta; I liked it, it was ok, but it was nothing special. I'd probably have to re-watch both to be sure, but I think I might prefer Delta. I rather feel the same about Frontier. Perhaps more so. Actually, I rather liked that Delta explored (however shallowly) how human colonization and the proliferation of UN/NUNs technology can affect indigenous civilizations. Well, that's the dream, eh?
  25. mikeszekely
    I'm apparently in the minority, but I liked Delta. No, it wasn't the greatest show ever, but it was better than a lot of other animes I've tried watching. To avoid spoilers I didn't follow the news or any discussions on the series, I just downloaded the entire series and took it with me when I went on vacation a few years back, watched it, then checked in when I got back and found that everyone else seemed to hate it.
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