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mikeszekely

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Everything posted by mikeszekely

  1. mikeszekely
    Yeah, Blot and Cutthroat are swapped and the head is toy colored. And yeah, it's probably the very reason why Ordin uses that configuration and colors instead of being more animation accurate. I'm betting this very image is the inspiration behind Ordin. If Blot and Cutthroat were in the right spots and his head was animation colored, though, we'd all be talking about how great that pic is. In any case, I've conceded several times that switching Blot and Cutthroat is Ordin's biggest flaw. Yeah, the G1 toy could do it, but yeah, it's just wrong. And I accept that, for many, it may be enough of a reason to pass. I've been watching and reading as many reviews as I can for Ordin and Siegfried, though, and while the individual Feralcons still seem to be the gold standard for making a combiner part that's a great toy by itself, I've heard enough variations on "Combined, Ordin is better than Feral Rex" that I'm convinced. I ordered Siegfried, and I'll post a review after I get him. And if, someday down the line someone like MMC makes an Abominus I like better, I could always sell Ordin. My combiner lust is getting out of hand, though. I'm starting to look at 3P combiners that Hasbro's already done (and I already have). I'm going to wait awhile on Devastator because I really do like the CW version (at least in combined mode), and frankly I think Hasbro's Superion beats Uranos, which seems to be the only 3P Superion. Warbotron Bruticus looks pretty good combined, but the individual bots are just off, especially Vortex. I think with some 3P add-ons, like Perfect Effect's, Unite Warriors Bruticus might be the best Bruticus. Quantron is tempting because he's pretty cheap now and I expect the Combiner Wars version to be crappy repaints, but he looks off as Computron and the individual bots look way off. Not sure I like the Warbotron Computron any better. I'm watching TFC's Poseidon, but it's too early to call. On the flip side, I dig M3, but nobody seems to have Downforce. Is Fansproject going to do another run? I also think that Maketoys Protectobots look really good, but was Vulcan ever actually released? No trouble finding the limbs, but I can't even find an out of stock listing for Vulcan. I won't bother with them if I can't get Vulcan, but if I can I'll go for it. Lastly, I think I'll probably end up getting Toyworld's Dinobot combiner. Individually they seem like solid Dinobots that fit with the CHUGs, and as a kid I'd kind of always thought that it'd be cool if the Dinobots could combine. TFC's Liokaiser and that Throttlebot combiner don't really interest me. The only Throttlebot I could even name is Goldbug, and I've never seen Transformers Victory.
  2. mikeszekely
    Yeah, supposedly Dr. Killenger saw a design or a prototype, and then one of the MMC team gave an interview where they said they were going to do Abominus, and eventually all the combiners, but not soon. And that interview was over a year ago. I guess that's one of those things that if/when it eventually happens, and if I actually like it better than Ordin (Dr. K said that MMC's design was bulkier, which I don't actually care for. I mean, despite the fact that it was partsformery, I still think Warlord looks better than Rex; Rex won me over by having a much better take on Razorclaw. On that note, why the assumption that if FansProject or Maketoys comes out with an Abominus that it will automatically be better? I mean, I know that their Predacons weren't that great, especially their Razorclaw, but I love Mania King. I don't own a lot of 3P toys yet, but Mania King is my favorite. They look ok to me, although I admit I've been looking mostly at Siegfried right now. Like Hasbro's combiners? What, exactly, is weak about them? I like them better than anything but the pistols that came with the Feralcons (and don't get me started on the Feralcons melee weapons, which look like crap as anything but the combined sword). Well, like I already said, I agree that the dragon necks look a little thick but I think he's spot on in bot and torso mode, so... You mean the big, G1-accurate shield? I love it! Remember, I actually had G1 Hun-Gurr back in the day. That shield is definitely something I remember. As striking as what, exactly? I think, aside from Blot and Cutthroat switching positions, it's darn near perfect. I mean, he's a dead ringer for this art: Look, as far as doing the research goes, most of what I'm hearing from people who actually own him are that, yeah, the individual bots aren't as good as the Feralcons, but the combined Ordin is as good or better than Rex. And yeah, I get that there's some other great 3P stuff out there, but suggestions like Commotus and Warden when I have zero interest in Turmoil and I'm waiting to see how Titans Return Fortress Maximus shakes out because I don't want a small Fort Max doesn't help when I'm into combiners right now (and Combiner Wars/Unite Warriors has most of those covered). I will say that MMC's Azalea is high on my list, though, as she's relatively inexpensive, I never found a Hasbro Arcee, and I like MMC's take on IDW Craycee.
  3. mikeszekely
    Well, I do appreciate your insights. Don't think for a moment I don't. But... But, like Leo Dux's tail, they seem to be removable for bot/leg mode. Personally, that doesn't bother me (I leave Dux's tail off to the side or still in the sword when Dux is in bot mode). The cracking thing could be problematic, though. That seems fairly accurate to both the animation and the toys. Well, the flatness and the width, at least. I guess they're a little longer, but not really enough to bother me. Well, yeah. But the color thing, as noted, toy-accurate at least. The limb swap is the single thing that bugs me the most, but even that seems to be based on some official artwork. I concede that Siegfried's dragon necks look chunky. The heads themselves, though, look pretty spot on. I think they look fine as Hun-Gurr's lower legs or Abominus' thighs, though. In fact, I think Ordin's got great all-around proportions. Even Hagen/not-Cutthroat's wings can be removed and tucked away on Ordin's back. And while I'll definitely play with them, at some point if I buy Siegfried I'll get the rest, and he'll be primarily displayed in combined mode. You're pretty-well known for being, let's say, discerning when it comes to your collecting (and when we're talking the kinds of investments 3P combiners end up being, that's more than reasonable!). I guess I can understand why the things that bug you are deal-breakers for you, but I don't necessarily think they're deal-breakers for me. I guess I'll wait a day or two to see if anyone else has anything to add, especially if they already own Siegfried/Ordin, but I think I'm going to wind up pulling the trigger on this one.
  4. mikeszekely
    Out of curiosity, what makes you say that? I thought that Siegfried was pretty spot on. Maybe the dragon necks are a little thick, but that seems like an acceptable sacrifice to get more bulk on Hun-Gurr's lower legs and Abominus' thighs. And the combined Ordin looks pretty great, although I'd prefer Ordin's head were animation purple instead of toy white, and there is the whole swapping Blot and Cutthroat thing.
  5. mikeszekely
    Ugh. I had some extra money, and I was thinking about getting the Unite Warriors version of Defensor just to get the Deluxe-class Groove, but after screwing around on Youtube watching some of peaugh's reviews, I'm seriously considering getting Unique Toy's Siegfriend instead. I mean, I already have the Combiner Wars Defensor, and I've already got most of Feral Rex to fill in the Predaking void on my Combiner shelf. Plus, Hun-Gurr was the only part of any G1 combiner I actually had as a kid. Siegfried looks really good, and the combined Ordin looks equally-impressive (even if Blot and Cutthroat are swapped). Any thoughts?
  6. mikeszekely
    Yep, and ironically it was the fallout from Dark Cybertron that made him switch sides.
  7. mikeszekely
    MTMTE has become my all-time favorite Transformers fiction. Yeah, it's totally bonkers. But it runs with it, and in the process gives genuine character to the various cast members as they deal with ridiculous situation after ridiculous situation beyond the confines of Earth or Cybertron. It's why I was bummed that Generations Whirl wasn't less G1 and more IDW.
  8. mikeszekely
    More color pics of the Unite Warriors Combaticons are leaking. Mostly, I stand by what I said before; I dig the animation-style blue on Onslaught, but prefer the black head and silver chest piece of the CW version. I also don't like how Takara colored the shoulder bits that form Onslaught's cab brown. And while it's animation-accurate, I don't care for the yellow and olive hand/feet/guns for Swindle and Brawl. And it still looks like Brawl has some extra yellow on his forehead and a red mouthplate, which I guess he had in at least one episode of the cartoon. What I can see better is that Swindle has some color differences from the US version after all. In an effort to appear more animation accurate, the waist (purple on the CW version) is yellow, the chest (black with blue bits, yellow on the combiner plug on the CW version ) is yellow with white bits and white or gray on the combiner piece, and his abdomen (purple on the CW version with yellow on the combiner port) is purple the whole way across. Plus, he lost the gunmetal paint on his feet, and the gunmetal on his legs is a smaller bit of lighter gray. Oddly, the UW version appears to have silver or gray hands and thighs, which is neither toy nor animation accurate. The thighs should be black, like the CW version, and the hands should be black if they want to go with the animation or yellow if they want to go with the toy (which is also what the CW version has). Also, in vehicle mode, there's a swath of purple across the hood. That is animation accurate, but I think it's kind of ugly. I kind of like the UW version's torso, with the colors on the combiner plug, but everything else on the CW version. Vortex looks to be a very dark gray, almost black. The way the rotors fold up on his back is a little messy, but not as bad as I thought it'd be. It might be a little odd, after criticizing UW Swindle, Brawl, and Onslaught for going too hard for the animation look, but I'm really digging the UW Vortex a lot better than the CW version. Not a lot to add about Blast Off. As near as I can tell, his bot mode is fairly accurate to the cartoon, with brown arms and thighs, black hands and torso, purple chest, and shins that are mostly black with bits of brown and purple booster feet. Can't really make out his head, but it looks safe to say that it'll be brown with a gray mouthplate. The front of the shuttle forming his chest also means he's a little chunky. But hey, he's a brown, black, and purple robot with a mouthplated head that turns into a space shuttle. He's miles ahead of the Combiner Wars version. But yeah, it still looks like I'm going to wind up sticking the Unite Warriors Blast Off and Vortex onto the Combiner Wars Onslaught, Swindle, and Brawl, with 3P feet and back guns. Can't decide if I should get Perfect Effect's lighter Bruticus head or just paint the Combiner Wars version's silver.
  9. mikeszekely
    Some color pictures of Unite Warriors Bruticus are leaking. Can't put up links right now, but my impressions- -Bruticus' head is lighter than CW, but still too dark. -Looks like they were trying to get more animation accurate colors, maybe. The center of Bruticus' chest plate is purple, like the cartoon, but the sides are a mix of gray and, for some reason, brown. The parts of Onslaught's legs that make Bruticus' thighs are gray. -I guess, again for animation reasons, Swindle's hand/foot is yellow and Brawl's is olive. -Onslaught appears to be a much darker blue, and his head is the same blue with a silver mouthplate instead of black. -Blast Off looks pretty much like you'd expect in color. -It's hard to tell, but Swindle looks pretty much the same as the CW version. -Brawl, like the CW version, looks more brown than green. He also looks like he's got some weird stuff going on with his head, like a yellow crest and a red mouthplate. -Vortex is looking pretty great. The toy-inspired reds, yellows, and purples appear to be gone for a more animation-inspired look with more gray and blue. The blue on him is more vivid and less turquois than the CW version, and it's on his combiner part/chest and missiles. The gray parts look a lot darker than the CW version. His head has the same dark gray, but his mouthplate is silver. I don't know about the rest of you, but it kind of makes me glad that I bought the Hasbro version before I preordered the UW version. When the UW version comes, I'll probably swap the UW Vortex and Blast Off but keep using the Hasbro Onslaught, Swindle, and Brawl. While I do want a shuttle Blast Off and I do like the animation colors better on Vortex, I prefer the silver chest and blue thighs on Hasbro's Bruticus, don't care for what's going on with UW Brawl's head, and don't see enough of a difference in Swindle one way or the other. I also prefer the gray feet/hands on the Hasbro version, but I have 3P feet on order anyway.
  10. mikeszekely
    A prototype Dom that's like 75% Zaku? That's hot.
  11. mikeszekely
    Possibly. As for the new not-Menasor, the limbs are as big as MP cars and not-Motormaster's alt-mode is MP-10 sized. So it looks like a cool choice of you want an MP Menasor, but I don't see how it won't be too big for CHUG collectors like me.
  12. mikeszekely
    Some pre-Toyfair leaks are showing a Deluxe Scourge and Mindwipe, along with a Voyager Alpha Trion in the Titans Return line. Scourge will have a more G1 alt mode than last time.
  13. mikeszekely
    Well, I know you guys were on the edge of your seat waiting to see who my 4th Galvatronus limb would be (or more likely, you forgot about it or didn't care in the first place). Well, I managed to get my hands on another Dead End, who I think makes a pretty good stand in for TF Prime/IDW Knock Out. Well, from the neck down, anyway. He's even in mostly the right colors. Looks like I'll be hitting up Shapeways for a new head... I'm just about done painting my Barricade and Blackout, BTW. Just waiting for some stickers.
  14. mikeszekely
    I hope Xerxes sells well enough that PE does another run of Leonidas with the fixes.
  15. mikeszekely
    Now that I've seen hi-res pics, that tail fin is definitely doing some partsforming. On the pic of his back in bot mode, you can see a peg hole just above his ankle. I'm certain there's a second on obscured by the wing on his other leg, and it going from shuttle to bot that tail pops off and pops back onto similar peg holes on his back. Interestingly, it looks like his gun might be the shuttle's front landing gear. Looking at included line art had me going back to look at the cartoon, and I gotta say, while not toy-accurate, those booster feet are animation-accurate. I'm a little disappointed at the grayscale image of Bruticus on the next page, though. Looks like Takara isn't re-molding Onslaught/Bruticus' back cannons, and they still get lost in the shoulders of the "official" transformation (side note, if you transform Onslaught more like Hot Spot so his fists are on Bruticus' back instead of his shoulders, you can peg the guns into those fists, giving them more height). And sadly, it looks like they're keeping the darker "helmet" on Bruticus, which I don't get as it's neither toy nor animation accurate. Worse, it looks like they're not using matching colors for the Combiner hands and feet, but that might be because they're actually using the hands and feet from previous combiners for that test shot. They did add the extra rotors to Vortex, which might cause as many problems as it solves, but they didn't make any other modifications that would have been nice, like replacing the molded missiles on his arms with gatling guns or including a peg/slot to put his gun on the copter's nose. Oh well. Takara Bruticus would have been a better investment with more fixes, especially since I have a complete Hasbro one, but I'm still hoping for some paint differences, like an animation-style gray and dark blue Vortex and/or a greener Brawl.
  16. mikeszekely
    If it's as good as Transformers: Devastation I'm in. I hope it's a little longer, though. For that matter, I hope there will be a Transformers: Devastation 2.
  17. mikeszekely
    Oh, I knew which Bonecrusher you meant. But, even though Michael Bay or the TF Movie '07 staff probably just picked the name because it was cool, to me that Bonecrusher is the Bayverse version of the G1 bot who either turns into a bulldozer or Devastator's left arm, not another guy who happens to be named Bonecrusher. Same as Optimus Prime is Optimus Prime. So I'm gonna say that a second Bonecrusher is out. I do like the idea of using Rook (or another Swindle or Hound), since that's one of the best molds in the line, but I'm thinking either G1 characters that aren't represented in CHUGs, or a prominent character from another TF fiction without a G1 counterpart. And I'll say again, I wish the Aerialbots were more readily available still. Skydive and Air Raid are two molds that haven't been milked to death yet, and there are TONS of Decepticon jets. On the subject of repainting, for Sky Reign I had no intention of buying Trailbreaker, since that's the worst mold in the CW line and Ironhide and Offroad are enough for me, thank you much. Luckily, I have the orphaned Alpha Bravo. But, I could live without Smokescreen, too (I wish they'd done Bluestreak instead). What do you guys think about repainting a second First Aid as Ratchet?
  18. mikeszekely
    No. I only went with Blackout because I'd bought a second Vortex so I could swap his head onto Blast Off. As for Barricade, he was my favorite 2007 movie Decepticon but one without a clear G1 analog. I mean, there's the blue and red G1 Micromaster F1 car, but I don't think a lot of people remember that version. The War for Cybertron had a purple and white Barricade that turned into a sports car, and that version turned up in the IDW series as a Decepticon cop, but I still wanted a primarily black one, and I figured it'd be pretty easy to repaint Prowl. But I still think of my TFs as existing in a G1-ish universe, and I'm just looking for characters to go with a Cyclonus torso and the orphaned Offroad. Bonecrusher and Brawl are out because not only are there G1 versions, but Bonecrusher is in the Devastator and Brawl in the Bruticus that are on the same shelf.
  19. mikeszekely
    I've done most of the paint work for my Combiner Wars Barricade. Now, I don't have a fancy airbrush or anything; I'm basically working with brushes, and I'm not great at this, so I won't say he looks great. I'm happy with him, though. I started with CW Prowl and painted everything white on him black, as well as the combiner plug. I used a lavender paint for his horns and some little details on his body, and silver for those vent-looking ridges on his lower legs. In alt mode I repainted the lightbar with both red and a dark blue. I also added some silver to the lights on the grill and some red and blue flashers under the headlights. I'll still have to put white on the sides, but I want to see what decals I have first. Less enthused with my CW Blackout, though. The base gray I used turned out to be almost identical to the gray on the Vortex I started with. Plus, while Prowl's head works pretty well for a Classics/G1-style Barricade, neither Vortex's nor Blast Off/Slingshot's heads really seem right for Blackout. In any case, Offroad is the third limb. Any ideas for the fourth? I'd need a readily-available limb-bot to start, so no Aerialbots or Stunticons. Protectobots might be iffy. And I'd strongly prefer no more helicopters, and none of the Offroad/Ironhide/Trailbreaker mold.
  20. mikeszekely
    Man, I built that same kit! It was one of four I built during what I think of as my second era of Gunpla (my first era being a few Wing kits that were actually available at places like Walmart and TRU when Wing was popular on Cartoon Network). It was that NG GP01, some HG RX-78 (but I'm not sure which one), an HG Nu Gundam, and an HG Zaku I Black Tri-Stars. Of them, I repainted the RX-78 into the RX-78-1, and I lost some of the extra accessories for all of them, but the Gundam, Nu, and Zaku are still with me and in my Detolfs with all the Gunpla I've built in my current third era of Gunpla. That GP01, though (which turned out WAAAAAAY crappier than yours), I tossed after I built the RG version. As much as I truly loathe SEED, and as much as I might prefer the mobile suits in just about any other series (especially UC!), I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't tempted by the Revive Freedom. Freedom is my favorite MS from SEED, and one of the few I from the series I genuinely like, and while I have the RG it's way too fiddly. The nice thing about the Revive kits is that they're pretty solid and poseable when they're built, like a half model, half action figure. It'd be nice to have a Freedom I can play with. An MG 2.0, though, and I'll pass. The kit looks nice, but it'd be out of scale with all my 1/144 kits. (OT, but as much as I love Freedom I hate Strike Freedom. The gold frame is tacky, the smaller hip rail lack the visual distinctiveness of the larger ones on Freedom, and the DRAGOONs might be more firepower but they're just not as cool as Freedom's Hi-MAT wings and shoulder cannons. Pretty much the only thing on Strike Freedom that I do like is the beam gun in its abdomen.)
  21. mikeszekely
    Personally, I'm not going to bite. Too big to work in cassette mode with MP Soundwave. And while the larger jaguar will probably look nicer with MP bots, the MP cassettes are ironically a good size to fit with the CHUGs I collect. For those of you thinking the other MP cassettes are too small, looks like they're doing a Rumble/Frenzy mold and a Laserbeak/Buzzsaw mold, too.
  22. mikeszekely
    Ordered up some stickers from Reprolabels. I figure Cyclonus can already go with Offroad, since he got orphaned when Hasbro released Wildrider after all. I picked up an extra Vortex already to repaint his head for use on CW Blast Off, so I'm thinking to find a head (probably Blast Off's original Slingshot head) for that extra Vortex and paint him as a Classics version of Blackout. I also picked up another CW Prowl and figure I'll make him a Classics version of Barricade. That just leaves one limb. Ideas? I honestly wish Air Raid or a remold of Air Raid were readily available.
  23. mikeszekely
    Regarding Blast Off, I think he's about as good as can be expected for another figure based around the CW joint. I actually dig the booster feet, and while he's stuck with the same "stick the arms to the sides" as the jets and helicopter, I like that Takara molded boosters onto his fists too to try to make it a little more reasonable. The head is spot-on, I dig the gun they made for him, and I appreciate that the foot/hand is new. My biggest gripes are how big the shuttle nose looks on his chest, and the fact that moving the shuttle tail to his back looks like it might involve some parts-forming. Is he a perfect, MP-quality Blast Off in a 5" figure? Of course not. But neither are the other four CW/UW Combaticons, and UW Blast Off looks like a good fit with the other CW/UW Combaticons. Sadly, preordering UW Bruticus almost has me wanting to buy UW Guardia, just for Groove. Regarding MP Primal, I guess it's not really fair for me to say I have no interest, since I haven't bought an MP since Soundwave. I was a CHUG collector long before the MP line and still prefer my Transfomers to fit with that size. The fact that I was trying to buy domestically didn't help, what with MPs we've been getting lately being TRU-exclusives with crazy jacked-up prices. But, here's the thing, while I haven't been interested in the MP line I've at least looked. I've been curious. I think if the MP cars had received a wider US release with fair prices I'd have bought some, sure. But I have absolutely zero interest in a Optimus with a mouth hole in his face plate that turns into a realistic gorilla. I'd much rather have something like Perfect Effect's Leonidas. So, regarding 3rd party stuff... I try to buy the real thing when I can. I bought Deluxe Galvatron before I bought Mania King. I bought several Deluxe Megatrons and one Voyager before I bought Hegemon, and after buying Hegemon I still bought Leader Megatron (and might buy Titans Return Galvatron, for that matter). My Combiner shelf is Hasbro CW Devy, Prime, Defensor, Superion, Bruticus, Menasor, and Cyclonus (who's waiting for me to repaint some limbs for him), along side members of MMC's not-Predacons, and I was actually thinking that I might try to get my hands on a few more 3rd party combiners, even replacing the ones I already have. I guess it's a little easier to justify buying 3rd party stuff when it's Deluxe or Voyager-sized, though. For one, it's a lot cheaper to buy the official toy then decide to replace it because it's "not good enough." And I think that a market of mass-produced $20 figures can coexist with a collector's market of premium figures. The problem is that MP's are supposed to be premium figures for collectors, so I feel like 3rd party products are competing more directly there. But since I don't really do MPs, I guess that's an ethical dilemma for someone else to work out.
  24. mikeszekely
    Yeah, BBTS doesn't always seem like the cheapest, but RK is in Hong Kong, right? So like you said, you add in shipping and it's pretty much a wash. AFAIK, GCI Toys is the group Dr. Killenger is affiliated with. I was only aware of them because of Dr Killenger's old Feral Rex upgrades. It seems like David would know more about their quality, and it looks like their stuff is still in the CGI render stage. But I figure it's worth rolling the dice; the PE kits are $30 for hands and feet, GCI is $20 for the early bird pricing for feet, a new head for Blast Off, and new back cannons (things I care about a lot more than hands). From their renders, the feet look sort of flatish and wider. Sort of G1-ish. They might not have ankle tilts, though.
  25. mikeszekely
    I preordered a UW Bruticus and GCIToys Bruticus upgrade. M'Kyuun, I have more of the helicopter mold than I care to, and I can tell you that the rotors aren't in the way in arm mode. They're on a pivoting panel and stay on the same side as the tail on the outside of the arm. You're more likely to find Vortex's arms in the way, since they peg onto the sides of his waist.
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