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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Or...how about leaving the 80s in the past, employ some creativity, and make something new that will continue to be iconic in its own way thirty, forty years from now. I grew up in the 80s and I love that time period for all of its quirkiness and mad creativity, but I can't understand why we don't have that same level of creativity today, especially with all the tools available now that weren't back then. Moreover, where are the Stephen Spielbergs, the James Camerons, of this generation creating the iconic films for the next few generations to milk ad nauseum? At this point, it's a sad state of affairs that these 40+year-old properties continue to be rehashed, generally in a lackluster and forgettable manner, instead of new IPs and franchises being created to bring new life and interest to American media. For the most part, I don't want to see the old shows rehashed; I enjoyed the originals and they made their marks for a reason. Too, as @Big s mentioned, they were products of the era in which they were made, and that's largely key to their charm and longevity. Much of what made them cool just won't translate, at least not well or authentically. I look no further than the recent spate of Ghostbusters films, all of which missed the mark a bit compared to the original films, and that comes down to the original idea, the camaraderie and talents of the original cast and director, and a lot of quotable dialog and memorable scenes throughout both films. They just didn't capture any of that in the new films and they will never be considered as popular or as groundbreaking as the og films. That argument can be made for just about every 80s property that Hollywood continues to mine in lieu of new ideas. So glad I grew up in the 80s- between Saturday morning cartoons and all the evening shows like Knight Rider, to the Indiana Jones films and Star Wars, we were part of a creative landscape in tv and film that I doubt will ever again be equaled, alas.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Gotta agree with the general consensus that MMC is doing a dynamite job with the Protectobots. They've never ranked very high on my list of favorite combiners, which is odd b/c I really like emergency vehicle Transformers. That said, having only watched vids for the Huey and the motorcycle, and given their all-in-one transformation, these figs are a masterclass in toy engineering. Absolutely brilliant in every aspect.
  3. M'Kyuun
    God, yes!
  4. M'Kyuun
    Cool, something to look forward to. I thought they were done with this series, but I'm glad I was wrong.
  5. M'Kyuun
    At this point, all the tension and mystery are gone; it's more of a gratuitous exercise in body counts at this point. I had high hopes when Prometheus was announced, and I do like Fassbender's creepy 'artificial person' David, but that movie was more of a bad mansplanation for how Earthlings and the xenomorph came about. I wish Scott had prolonged the mystery instead of spoon-feeding all the history to us. This show looks to add nothing new or interesting beyond the typical post-Aliens Alien film. I wasn't crazy about Romulus, so I hope this will be better than that at least. I think the tv series format offers the potential for the writers to put more flesh on the bone narrative-wise, and I hope what they've cooked up offers at least one or two surprises beyond the expected monster trope.
  6. M'Kyuun
    I'm just not a big fan of statues. I still prefer my Technic version of K-2SO as he was fairly-well executed and had better articulation than this. Admittedly, this gets his details and proportions far better and he could be modified to introduce the missing articulation. Moreover, it looks like a good parts pack for black elements.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Well, I didn't say it'd be easy! 😄 The OG definitely presents some challenges. Ultimately, they may just opt to fold prime up into a cube and keep him isolated in the top half while trying to work in the cuts and articulation of the armor without having to work around the core bot. However, as you say, that moves away from toy accuracy by a fair amount. In the end, a white Optimus may be all fans get. In cases like this, where the OG toy was nigh impossible to translate to a workable standard, either fans should be prepared for shortcuts, bad takes, or Takara should just leave them be.
  8. M'Kyuun
    I hope not; I hope Takara's more committed than that. While they've pushed some white Optimi toys as UM over the decades, G1 UM is synonymous with his armored look and I would hope that if they indeed choose to do him as a Missing Link entry, they go all-in and figure out a way to make the trailer work as his armor, even if it means a bit of partsforming to achieve the trailer and the armor. I think that'd be more acceptable in most fans' eyes than just a naked white Optimus clone. I believe they're up to the challenge; after 40+ years of making these things, they certainly should be.
  9. M'Kyuun
    The issue, since the goal is to approximate the OG toy, warts and all, would be to reproduce the added fist without partsforming, meaning they'll have to figure a point to insert elbows and then figure a way to create that oversized fist and make each fold into a wafer the same width as the upper arm to fill in the belly of the jet as unobtrusively as possible since the OG toy didn't have anything in that space. Much like slavish devotion to toon accuracy has affected certain figs, the most recent MP Starscream's ghastly alt mode comes to mind, the Missing Link's slavish devotion to preserving the look of the original toys, many of which suffered poor proportions and other shortcomings, will prove to be the line's Achille's Heel, IMHO. The OG Seeker design hasn't aged well and most toys now emulate a cross between toon and toy or straight toon, which benefitted from some of the toy's proportions being adjusted to look better, especially the arms and legs. Unfortunately, Takara can't incorporate any toon magic to spruce up the look of these figs, so for a number of them those poor proportions and partsforming bits are going challenge the designers while also somewhat hindering the toys themselves. The old adage, "You can't polish a turd' comes to mind, and while that may sound harsh and disrespectful, that's not the spirit in which I mention it; I mean it more from a practical design perspective. Theses shape-shifting toys represented an interesting new play pattern with a lot of thought and craftsmanship put into them (the prototypes were often carved out of wood!); however, ultimately so much more focus was placed on the puzzle aspect and creating realistic believable alt modes while the robot modes remained secondary considerations, which is generally where we see the greatest weaknesses of the Diaclone and Micochange and hence G1 toys. Those weaknesses are going to carry over by dint of preserving the look of the toys in both modes and many are going to fare poorer than others. If indeed they do the Seeker, or Megatron, both are going to suffer from carrying over the minuses of those early toys. That said, I'd still pick up a Missing Link Megatron having never owned the OG toy but still finding it pretty darn cool in its own way. To that end, I favor what Has/Tak did with the Legacy United deluxe class Optimus Prime where they closely approximated the look of the G1 toy, but made little improvements i.e. different shaped, better proportioned forearms with integrated fists and a nicely hinged cover for his back (no gaping hole like the OG). I think a furtherance of this line would be interesting, as, lacking that imperative to mirror the OG toy exactingly, they could introduce more "fixes" to correct the odd proportion or hindrance of the OG toy while still skewing very closely towards how it looked. I like that approach, and it would make for an interesting third option for folks like me who aren't really all-in on the Missing Link line and who aren't interested in collecting the G1 toys, either, due to their shortcomings. My feeling is that LU deluxe Prime is probably a one-and-done sort of figure, but I wouldn't object to more characters getting the treatment, especially at the more affordable price range compared to ML.
  10. M'Kyuun
    The ML Seeker would pose a little challenge, as the arms were a bit short and the hands were separate bits that had to be "partsformed". I love the transformation of the arms, though, and the only other Seeker toy to fold the arms into the F-15's spine was part of the Robot Masters line. albeit done much better. If Takara simply followed that toy's solution with a ML design, I think it'd work well. Honestly, I wish every Seeker toy followed that design, as well as more jetformers in general to reduce the number of jets with robot arms just hanging off their sides.
  11. M'Kyuun
    I appreciate it, but don't worry about it. Just checked my stash and all I have left of Prowl is the upper torso. I thought I'd saved the legs, but if I did, they're not with the rest of Prowl in the box where I keep most of my old G1 toys which means I have no idea where they are or if I binned them at some point. The latter is unlikely b/c I rarely throw stuff like that away, but at this point, my interest in replacing or restoring him had all but waned in light of the various modern toys I own. A Missing Link version is the only version of G1 Prowl that really interests me at this point. I certainly appreciate the offer, though. Way too kind. NGL, I'd be tempted to pick up the other variants of the Fairlady Z bros. I just love that design. That they used it to make three different characters in Transformers in addition to the lovely blue Bluestreak Diaclone just means more of that mold in the collection, generally. ML's kinda expensive, so I think I'd limit myself to Prowl, my favorite deco for that mold. While I love the Dinobots, I'm not sure if I'd go in on a set of ML versions, as they'd be pricey and between my Fans Toys Dinobots, my Newage Dinobots, and my SS86 Dinobots, I've got really well-done figs across three scales in my collection that already represent a lot of money and space dedicated to those loveable brutes. While ML is obviously a novel approach, and while I'd appreciate having the whole team, at some point I have to hit the brakes. Oh, and I also have the CW Dinos and Takara's MP Grimlock, but I don't consider them to be as polished as the aforementioned figs/teams. Yeah, Jazz was somewhat similar but still distinct. I got him as a kid, too, (Christmas surprise) and I still have him. The little clear plastic loop that lets his hood and roof slide broke decades ago, but there's still enough of it intact that it stays on the fig. I'd be a little tempted to get an ML version of him too. Oh Nostalgia, you parter of man and his money!
  12. M'Kyuun
    I appreciate it. My email's in my profile- reach out and we'll discuss compensation. No good deed must go unpunished in kind.
  13. M'Kyuun
    My Wally also did a reset recently and they moved their Transformers section, too. They're still in the same isle, just moved to the middle instead of being on the end conveniently next to a main aisle. I liked just being able to pop around the corner from the LEGO aisle to check the TF situation quickly, but both have been reset now so I have to travel the length of both to look at stuff. Anyway, I haven't seen much of the Primes stuff, although they did have a copy of Armada (AotP) Red Alert, and a few copies of Party Wallop which have been shelf-warming for a while now. Part of me wants to pick up Alchemist Prime if I see him, but I can't help but think he'll be retooled into Bulkhead, and I'd prefer that. They could say he's based on Animated Bulkhead, but I contend still that Legacy Bulkhead has far more in common with the Animated character, and Alchemist has far more in common and would translate well to Prime Bulkhead. I hope it happens, but I guess we'll see.
  14. M'Kyuun
    I do. I kept him. He's just in two pieces like Bayformers Jazz. I hated that he had no articulation below the waist, so a Missing Link version of him would be grand.
  15. M'Kyuun
    No interest in G2, well anything, but at %30 off, I might've considered picking up the Aerialbots all of whom I planned on skipping due to their horrible jet modes. Oh well. At this point I'm waiting to see if Magic Square or Newage will tackle the Aerialbots and hopefully at least one of the teams has decently passable jet modes that look like the planes they're supposed to be.
  16. M'Kyuun
    I've seen retro Bee and Gears at my local Wally, but no G2 Grimlock (yet). I like that they gave Gears his G1 toy face, but it's disappointing that they didn't do the same for Bee- he's just cast in a different shade of yellow. What's odder still is that they used the Netflix Bee mold, with its licensed VW beetle mode instead of the SS86 mold which more closely resembles his G1 Choro Q chibi design. Having the regular releases for both of these guys, I passed on their retro releases, although I appreciate the card packaging with all the G1 art and tech specs. IMHO, they could just card today's figs, too, at least the deluxes. It would save on the amount of cardboard being used/tossed in the rubbish bin. And for those like me who keep the boxes, cards take up much less space than boxes.
  17. M'Kyuun
    Ultra Magnus is going to prove challenging, especially to maintain the look of the G1 toy, which was basically a big red slab with a white robot standing behind it. To integrate articulation into that without changing the look too drastically is going to be tough. So many of the G1 bots do not lend themselves to updating while maintaining their G1 looks. I'm just waiting for ML Prowl. He's probably the only one I'd pick up, as I destroyed my original toy while trying to give it hip articulation. A master toy upgrader I was not in my teens (or even now). Anyway, I'd welcome that into my collection.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Honestly, it's been so long since I've taken any of my TW Constructicons out and handled them (I took out their Long Haul about a year ago when I was designing my own transforming dump truck with LEGO) that I've forgotten what they look like. I just looked them up for a refresher and i have to say, i still very much like the approach and look of them. No regerts. Still a fine set of Constructicons with a great looking combined mode. Oh, you tease! I'm already a fan of MMC's stuff, and I'm very much a fan of their all-in-one approach to combiners, especially when executed so well (so, so would've loved to have had their Combaticons), so it's no stretch to say I'm curious how they'll approach the Constructicons. Like a number of folks here, I think theirs is going to be stiff competition, if not reign superior (if Soundwave has nothing to say about it) over the other third-party entries. I think XTB's are leading the way right now, personally; I would happily choose theirs over Fans Toys'. However, MMC has a proven track record of doing these things well with all-in-one engineering to boot. if I were in the market for a new MP Devy, I think I'd be holding out to see what MMC rolls out before making a final decision. Oh, I'm well aware. While I can't fault them for using a system that works well and adds much needed stability to the gestalt, part of me still wants the bots themselves to form the limbs and body without the need for numerous large partsforming bits that they feel like they need to integrate with the vehicle modes. It worked great for Menasor due to Motormaster's trailer offering a perfect vehicle within which the fame could be condensed and hidden. However, the other combiners don't offer such a convenient means of condensing all that frame into a convincing vehicle that integrates believably, practically, and realistically. In those cases, I wish better engineering won the day, but unfortunately not this time. Still, I look forward to completing both AotP Constructicons and Combaticons, warts and all. Agree. Too far and some of their other design decisions make their figs underwhelming, unappealing, or both, especially in light of what other parties are bringing to the table. Likewise. For me, advancement in design means more detail, not less or the absence thereof. Recognizing that the toon looked like it did as a means for simplifying the tedious animation process seems to hold little sway for most fans, and I find that odd among adults, especially when most other toys are extremely detailed today, as they should be. As for translucent plastic over mechanical details, that is one of my absolute favorite detail techniques that came out of the G1 era. The Dinobots employed it beautifully, and I wish that had carried over to the Studio Series Dinobots. They were going to do it with Grimlock, as his neck actually has the mechanical detail under the opaque gold plastic. I got an upgrade kit with trans-yellow plastic that allows the mechanical detail to show through. Love it. Likewise the Fairlady Z bros, especially Prowl, whose shins allow mechanical detail to be seen. I love that the OG release of MP Prowl recreated the interior detail as seen on the box art, which can be seen through his shindows. Yep, I made a portmanteau. As I mentioned above, MMC have proven themselves capable of delivering well-done combiners , even with the additional challenge of incorporating all the combiner bits into the constituent bots. I applaud their engineering prowess and the decision to embrace engineering over the usual more simplified methods of realizing combiners. As do I. I remain a fan of the Hasui era of MP, and this looks like it's picking up where that approach gave way to the toon-slavish approach Takara has since adopted. I prefer more surface detail, seeing alt mode bits inform the bot mode, and perhaps a little stylistic liberty taken in the design. I don't need or want my bots to comport with a badly drawn cartoon. I want to see more of the G1 toys' influences on modern toys (except Ironhide and Ratchet whose Diaclone designs didn't quite fit with the rest of the Diaclone bots, hence Floro Dery's much improved toon incarnations). And while the G1 toys were simple by today's standards, there's still detail enough on them to influence today's toys, and i like to see those things carry over. Well, the tariffs don't really affect them so much as it affects us. Moreover, they can still pander to the rest of the world outside of the US where Transformers continue to be popular. Americans are just going to pay more for them now, needlessly but for the whim of one a-hole. I think the trumpets were one of the dumbest things in The Movie. Why would bots in space, presumably without lungs, many of which with facemasks covering their mouths, deign to play a human-made instrument when they are all in the faction that disdains humans? DUMB! Preach! Trans-plastic over mechanical details is one of the absolutely coolest techniques to come out of Diaclone/ G1 Transformers. It's odd that it hasn't been more prevalent in other toy franchises, especially those dealing with mecha/robots. I love to see it when it's employed, though.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Agree; I'm not into the toon-slavish look, plus, as Mike pointed out, FT took some odd liberties that ended up with a messy looking Scrapper in loader mode. Additionally, although it matches the animation, I don't like the slanted add-on links to form the heels, as I prefer the toy's approach using Scrapper's arms. I think ToyWorld's Constructicons have held up fairly well. That said, had I had a crystal ball back when those toys released, I might have skipped them in lieu of XTB's current offerings. thus far, I've liked their approach, and while they're still leaning towards the toon look, it's not as severe as FT's. Moreover, their Long Haul is one of the best toys ever made of that character- his dumper actually dumps in truck mode and the shoulders are far better executed than TW's, which just flop about without any locking mechanism to prevent it. I'm curious to see what MMC does with their takes on the Constructicons. While FT seems to get the lion's share of love from TF fans, I've more MMC stuff in my collection and I tend to like a lot of what they do regardless of whether I buy it or not. I would've loved to have bought their Combaticons, my favorite combiner team, but I don't really have the room for another MP scaled combiner so I passed. But I sure am jelly of those who got it. I just went in on Magic Square's legends scaled Bruticus; I'd have loved to get their MP scaled figs, too, but again, no room for MP stuff anymore. Like the aforementioned floppy shoulders on Long Haul. I still love how the treads are fully functional on Bonecrusher and Scavenger, one of the major selling points for me when I bought them. I also loved how Long Haul's bed formed the legs just like the G1 toy- if they'd only made the rear wheels separate from the bed so it could dump properly, and locked in those shoulder flaps, it would still be one of the best versions of that character. Too bad they fell short. On the whole, though, it's still a pretty solid set of figs. I haven't had mine combined since I bought them; all six are crammed in the lowest level of my Detolf, and I simply have nowhere to display them as Devastator. I'm probably one of the few TF fans who displays his combiners as their constituent bots instead of combined, with two exceptions: CW Bruticus and Legacy Menasor. Both have remained combined since I got all the figs to do so, and I even went in on an upgrade kit for Bruticus. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to this next wave of Has/Tak's Combaticons, too, as well the new Constructicons, which will be my first full mainline team of those characters.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Well put and I agree. Regarding Alisha weir, I'm in awe of most child actors, as they have a poise, a maturity, and often an intelligence beyond their years. I certainly didn't possess such as a kid, and honestly, still don't at 53. But thank goodness some do, as they benefit the rest of us with some excellent performances, notable roles, and standout characters. Who can ever forget young Haley Joel Osment's captivating performance throughout Sixth Sense?
  21. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, this was a good one, a slightly different take on the genre. No sparkles here.
  22. M'Kyuun
    Leslie Nielson just had a way of delivering deadpan lines, and the humor was always at the forefront of his films, be it Naked Gun or Dracula: Dead and Loving It. Other than the little girl gag, all I see is another Liam Neeson film where he's a crack assassin, special operative, spy- what have you, much like every Jason Statham film is yet another Jason Statham film starring Jason Statham as Jason Statham if he, too, were a crack assassin, special operative, spy, what have you. I just get the sense this is going to be more Taken, The Commuter, The Ice Road, etc ad nauseum with a touch of silly humor thrown in. So many of the 80s films are classics b/c it's nigh impossible to recapture what made them memorable, unique, elevated above the scores of other films that didn't quite make such an impact. I'm not really a fan of silly humor like Naked Gun or the Mel Brooks films but my wife is and she owns all of it. I've watched a good bit of it with her and in spite of my feelings towards these kiinds of films, I've had a good laugh or three watching them, such is the absurdity, the enormous talent of the actors and directors to pull off the schtick so well, and the ability to so successfully parody other films, usually in the action genre, although what Star Wars fan hasn't sat through at least one watching of Brooks' Spaceballs without a few chuckles. There's an art and a mad genius behind making these types of films successfully, and I'm extremely dubious that this new incarnation will live up to its inspiration.
  23. M'Kyuun
    Combination, supreme, super supreme- whatever they're calling their fully loaded pizza- yes. Just cheese is too bland and lacking texture and flavors that a combination of toppings bring to the experience. so off topic right now. Finished S2 of Pantheon today and it was both really well done and, thankfully, complete, unlike so many other shows that get axed before reaching a satisfying resolution. Highly recommended. Working our way through some older season eps of Black Mirror that we haven't seen yet before moving on to S7. Such a good series. One of the eps we watched today was called "Mazey Day".
  24. M'Kyuun
    😆 Hawaiian is the worst! Worse than missing dogs!
  25. M'Kyuun
    I thought it was a fun film, but not as good as I'd hoped it would be given the caliber of talent. CG bots were really well done, and I suspect that was ultimately the draw. I like Simon Stalenhag's work, and if you do too but crave something grittier, I'd suggest Tales from the Loop on Prime. I thought it was excellent, and a second season would have been most welcome, or another series done in the same vein. I was hoping Electric State would be closer to Tales, but it was a bit too tropish, rote, and played for humor, likely so it'd appeal to younger audiences. Been watching Pantheon on Netflix, based on three short stories by Ken Liu. Very well written and voiced (Aaron Eckhart and the late William Hurt play major roles). It's good sci-fi (for now) revolving around human minds being uploaded to a Cloud-like virtual space and the ramifications. There's far more to it than that, but that's the core of the story. well worth a watch. I'm just onS2 ep2, but I'm enjoying it immensely.
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