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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Mike, I respectfully disagree; the F-22 is a rather large and very boxy fighter, which ameliorates the ability to hide robot parts, especially with some well done panel-fu. The F-15 is also a boxy jet, and we've gotten a number of decent seeker designs, mostly from third parties, but still, it's been done. The 22 is larger than the F-15, which is itself a large jet. I think where the issue lies is that, where it concerns Bayformers, from the beginning, the transformations were accomplished not as a matter of practical mechanical design, but by CG artists taking bits of alt mode willy-nilly and assembling them hodge-podge into a 'cool-looking' robot without concern as to how such arrangements make any logical mechanical sense. For an entity trying to make a working three-dimensional translation of such designs is challenging from the onset b/c they inherently, by design, make no sense. Ergo, the need for faux parts, either bot or alt mode; fudging the transformations to try to make some sort of visual sense from one form to the other; using panels in a variety of ways to facilitate the transformation; and making deliberate choices to prioritize one mode over the other. Takara has a pretty good track record for making reasonably convincing ground vehicles of all shapes and sizes, but not so much with aircraft, specifically fighters, and I think that's a deliberate choice on their part. Kawamori's valks prove that a sleek fighter can turn into a nice looking robot. Takara, for whatever reason, just don't seem to be bothered to try. Contrarily, they've done an admirable job with any number of rotorcraft alt modes: RotF Blazemaster, Incinerator, Voyager and SS Blackout, Bumblebee Movie Dropkick, and to a lesser degree, DotM Skyhammer, to name the best ones that come to mind. Why can they fit all that bot into a reasonably realistic and accurate heli mode but not a jet? IMHO, they've been making poor TF jets since the eighties, they seem to sell regardless, so why change or improve? There's no incentive to try so long as people accept the lazy engineering and continue buying these things without meaningful protest or critique.
  2. M'Kyuun
    All I want from them this year is the YF-21. Hopefully Bandai's engineers are teleworking and working all the bugs out of the design to get the best balance possible between battroid and fighter, although if they have to make concessions, I hope they favor the battroid mode. For those that want the ultimate fighter, and piss on the battroid, Yamato already made your dream come true.
  3. M'Kyuun
    I figured I'd give Aquarion a watch, since it was created by Kawamori, with some interesting mecha designs. The metaphysical pseudo-philosophy is piled on extra thick and kinda dilutes my enjoyment of the show. Moreover, the main characters are from different backgrounds with a bit of class prejudice thrown in to artificially create friction between people who need to be mentally bonded in order to make their individual flying machines transform and merge to become one of three different robot configurations depending on who takes the lead. Said friction is maintained despite the fact that the characters in question have put aside their differences and worked together flawlessly in some eps to defeat the enemy of that particualr ep. It just feels like that friction is being dragged out to me. Throw in some pseudo Greek god mythology, heavy reincarnation themes, the uber-wise commander trope, a weird sister fixated on her brother thing, a fair bit of fan service, including the orgasmic bonding experience everytime the robots merge, the telekinetic girl trope, etc, etc, and it's an ok watch. It's pretty, and the CG for the various mecha looks good. All the metaphilosophy mumbo-jumbo gets a little stale , esp when a lesson is taught and then that same situation crops up as the dilemma of the episode thus forcing the intrepid pilots to overcome their personal differences and recognize an application for said lesson to defeat the enemy. That's just about every episode- very formulaic. I'm about 10 eps in, and I think I'll finish it out, but the formulaic nature of it, along with the slathering of pseudo-philosophy, dampens it a bit for me.
  4. M'Kyuun
    Although similar, having done some comparisons to the leader class toy, the MPM appears to be a new mold that's not even as good as the old leader class. Two things that stood out to me were the light grey bar looking structure on the bottom behind the nose gear, which doesn't appear on the leader class fig, and the side transformation structures on the leader class were much more streamlined; that section behind the intake on the MPM looks gappy and the hinged structures are noticeably different. But the end result is no different; it's yet another subpar transforming jet from HasTak. I don't collect MPM, so it's not a big deal to me, but for those who do, it kinda sucks to get another crappy rendition where the F-22 alt mode has heavy concessions.
  5. M'Kyuun
    If Hasbro saw some of these commercials, I can see why they got excited about the potential of the Diaclone figures that became Transfomers.- stop motion makes these things seem much more dynamic than they actually are without resorting to special effects aside from flying them on wires. The car robot ones are great for selling the disguise element. The Dinobot ones are cool, too. Enjoyed the heck out of these, even if some were very repetitive. That 'Di-a Crone'song gets stuck in your head. I wish Hasbro had done something like this, rather than having kids do the transformations.
  6. M'Kyuun
    Ugh, the mention of Power Rangers dampens my enthusiasm appreciably; I was never a fan of that schlock. I might give it a watch if it plays on a free pay-per-view weekend, but I won't go actively seeking it out. Funny how Japanese live-action sci-fi almost always seems to be presented as kiddie fare compared to a lot of more mature anime. I'm guessing that's a cultural bias, similar to American sci-fi in the 50's-60's.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Kind of a mix of Robot Jox and Pacific Rim. Mutants, cyborgs, big robots, kaiju- all ingredients for a fun watch.
  8. M'Kyuun
    The blue 1/48 Sentinel Riobots Legioss is already starting to sell out on various sites, so I took the plunge and PO'd a copy from TFSource. HLJ, which has an order stop in place, has it for about $20 less than most of the popular US sites, but I figured I'd make up the difference in shipping, which will be free through TFS. Anyway, I hope it's as high quality as the rest of their products appear to be. It looks good, and, at the very least, is sure to be made of sterner stuff than my old Toynami, with its plethora of issues. I've never watched Mospeada, and feel no compunction to do so, but ever since I picked up the "Leader One" model by Monogram back in the 80's, I've had a soft spot for the design, even if it's a bit chunky and somewhat unrefined compared to Kawamori's more realistic valks. I love its battroid mode- it's just a cool looking anime mech that happens to turn into a decent sci-fi jet.
  9. M'Kyuun
    I wish they'd put Super Megs' bicep bits with that outward facing 5mm peg on TR Galvatron. It would have helped the articulation of the right arm greatly. I have to say, Megatron's colors look good on that mold, as everything from the waist down, the shoulders, and the forearms are shared. I like the bot mode, but neither of the alts really grab me. It would have been nice if they'd found a way to hide the tank treads in jet mode- they look weird perched on the back of the jet. Ah, HasTak- you guys and jet modes. Kawamori needs to hold a masterclass for those guys.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, I don't think Sam and Jessica are bad builders, per se, but they lack the polish that both Boone and Marc and Tyler and Amy both bring to the table consistently with nearly every project. My money's still on Tyler and Amy. They've been the most consistent team throughout, with last night's ep being their first time in the bottom, and their build was really good. Anyway, looking forward to the finale. I'll be cheering for Team Clites.
  11. M'Kyuun
    Just watched last night's LEGOMasters. The subject was Star Wars this week, starting off with a droid build for the first half, and a scene build for the second.
  12. M'Kyuun
    Well, having read any number of Kuma's reviews and posts of their other figs, my impression is that they do a great job on non-transforming figures, but since this does transform, I'm a bit leery to plunk down $240ish for this thing without some certainty that it's well made. Already, I can see the main gear doors nearly touch the ground, which isn't ideal. However, it looks really good from every other angle and in all three modes, gear doors notwithstanding. Very tempting.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Honestly, having owned the original Galvatron toy, whose inconsistencies between toy and toon were vast, I thought the TR version was fairly well done. It's not without its flaws: the right arm can barely move due to the enormity of the cannon and its single peg hole on the bicep where it renders the elbow nigh pointless( another peg hole on the side, or an additional rotation joint here, would have ameliorated the pose-ability quite a bit, methinks); the shoulder pauldron also needs to be rotated almost 90 degrees (pointing straight up, which looks odd) in order to rotate the right arm at the shoulder with the cannon attached; unlike the G1 toy whose orange cannon barrel separated from the arm mount, the TR version's cannon and mount are one piece, but the mount is hinged at the center allowing the back half to fold 180 degrees, and it just looks odd hanging out under the orange barrel in space cannon mode; there's an orange canopy on the lower handle, a concession for the additional space jet mode that Takara added in there. Personally, I like the space jet mode, but YMMV. There are dark grey panels which fill out the inner lower legs in bot mode, but they hinge out 180 degrees and stick out past the legs in space cannon mode- it just looks tacky. And finally, as Tekering said above, the flimsy partial flip-up helmet piece, and headmaster gimmicks suck. I would rather they'd just given him a solid flip out head, and eschewed the headmaster gimmick for this fig, but it does make sense for the jet mode. Overall, though, for a retail figure to which they added an additional mode, the concessions aren't too bad; it looks enough like Galvatron in bot and space cannon modes to suit me. When I look at him in his space cannon mode, I can almost hear him say, "Here's a hint!"
  14. M'Kyuun
    For years, I've been wanting a good version of the Legioss to replace my crappy Toynami, and this version by Sentinel looks beautiful. Looking through their portfolio, I recognize a number of figs from Kuma's photos, so my assumption is that this will be high quality. Opinions?
  15. M'Kyuun
    This AFOL prefers sets built to minifig scale, and though I like minifigs and all the variety of decos and accessories we've gotten with them over the years, I'm not a die-hard minifig fan akin to the folks who become deeply entrenched in customization. I'm not an army builder, either. My preference for LEGO, if a new mold is concerned, is for elements that will expand the utility of System building. In particular, as a mecha builder, I'm always craving new joints that improve upon the capabilities of what's already available. But beyond that, as large as the current palette is, there's always room for more wedge shapes, rounded bricks/plates, etc. Moreover, there are a lot of parts that have yet to be made in common colors, and that's always a point of frustration with LEGO. My friend Luke, also an AFOL, and I agree that every non-color-locked part should be made in red, yellow, blue, black, white, light grey, and dark grey as a bare minimum, and if LEGO doesn't want to put them in sets, then make them available either on Pick-a-Brick or create their own store on Bricklink to provide that option to LEGO fans. It'd make a lot of people happy, methinks. Coming back to the minifig, as a fan of articulation, I find the minifig to be a bit of an anachronism; it's adorable and fun, but also very limited by today's standards in terms of articulation, and I wish LEGO would make a midi-fig that shares the head and basic torso shape, but has fully articulated shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and possibly ankles, and stands about 2-2.5 inches tall, with more natural proportions than the minifig. It's something I've been wanting for years, but I imagine I'm in the minority, as the minifig has become sacrosanct among LEGO fans, and the company itself. But having bought a few of the MegaBloks Collector series sets, the figs they put in those are fantastic, as they're just a hair taller than the minifig, but other than ankles, fully articulated, including waist rotation. Those guys are a blast to pose, and it just makes the ache for something better than the minifig greater.
  16. M'Kyuun
    Looks like a lot of accessory parts-forming, a la Siege Shockwave, to accomplish his alts. His design is not really to my taste, but I am curious what it's from.
  17. M'Kyuun
    I embarrassed to say that I hadn't realized the logo had changed. Too, I've never heard it called "The Worm" before, and I've read a number of books about NASA related topics. In fact, I'm reading Last Man on the Moon by Gene Cernan currently. Anyway, good to see America's return to launching people and resources into space without having to rely on the Russians. I appreciate the bonds that have been forged by that arrangement, but pride in my country and its heritage makes me glad to see that symbol emblazoned loud and proud on the side of that rocket.
  18. M'Kyuun
    PrimevsPrime put up a video review for the upcoming commander class Sky Lynx. Up front, I've never been a big Sky Lynx fan, but this figure really caught my attention from New York Toy Fair coverage back in February. The articulation is really well done throughout, although, at least on the reviewer's copy, lacking in adequate strength in certain areas. Of note are the wing linkages, which have nice ratchets at the base, but friction joints on a knuckle that were very loose on PvP's. Hopefully, HasTak will get some feedback about that before they go into full scale production and that joint gets fixed. Given how much mass is on the end of that linkage, it should have a ratchet, too. The bird mode's legs didn't appear to have the best load strength, either, although more attention was paid to the wings. The Lynx mode is excellent, and my only suggestion to HasTak would be to improve the lateral range of head movement. Shuttle and to a lesser degree, carrier modes, are pretty well done, although the orbiter, with its rich detailing and NASA livery, stands out. The Lynx's carrier mode would be better served if the leg could somehow collapse, placing the faux treads in a more centered position under the legs, but it's more of a nitpick than a deal breaker. The orbiter is by far more important to me, and in that respect, I'm really pleased. It really shines a glaring light on what's wrong with Astrotrain's orbiter mode. Moving on, the the base mode is so-so- I'll likely put it in that mode once, and the rest of the time my copy will be in it's combined Sky Lynx pseudo-robo-apatosaurus mode, which , IMHO, is where this figure really shines. He's big and has just enough menace to be taken seriously, while packing a lot of articulation throughout, so the posing potential looks to offer a lot of range, which is rare, and fantastic on a figure this size. I've had mine Po'd for a few weeks, and what I see in this review only increases my anticipation.
  19. M'Kyuun
    And I keep wondering why some fourth party doesn't glom onto these designs and pump out some voyager scaled versions to go with the rest of my Siege/Earthrise figures. The official Earthrise figure is disappointing, especially after handling the superior Siege figure, insofar as articulation goes. The Earthrise toy only exacerbates some of the less desirable traits of the Classics toy it emulates, especially the ugly chest band, the giant hole between the intakes, and the awkward placement of the horizontal and vertical stabilizers at the feet. It's sad when a legends scaled figure so completely outclasses a voyager scaled toy, but New Age did a great job.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Well stated. We're exceptionally fortunate that this franchise has continued to thrive 30+ years after its inception, with so much merchandising support from many companies, official and non, ongoing cartoons, comics, and statuary, tee shirts, etc ad nauseum. Having been in it from the very beginning, it's really an amazing thing, as out of the majority of other properties from my 80's childhood, and there were many, most are now defunct, but my favorite of them all has survived and continues to bring me joy through the various toy offerings available. I believe the same is true for Kuma, who likes beautiful representations of these characters without the compromises that arise from including the transformation mechanics. I can appreciate that, even if it's not my personal preference. I see it as comparable to a high end statue or a even a professionally drawn bit of 2D artwork depicting these characters. Neither of them can transform, either, but I consider both on their artistic merits. Transformers from Metal Earth, Revoltech, Flame Toys, and Takara, to name a few, offer 3D representations of varying levels of quality and capability for the discerning collector, and I think having that range of product is fantastic, as it provides something for everyone, dependent only on preference and how deep your pockets are. Regardless of what anyone's Transformer preferences are, I just celebrate the fact that Transformers as a brand is still going strong, that there's a fervent dedicated fanbase supporting it, and that Hasbro, Takara, third parties, and other licensed companies are pumping out Transformer stuff the likes of which I could only dream of at thirteen when these characters burst onto my tv screen for the first time and filled me with awe and wonder that still resonates to this day. Whatever Transformers means to you, just be glad that it's still available. I thank Primus everyday.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Except for transformation. And that's kinda the sticking point for me- they're beautiful figures, but a high grade non-transforming Transformer is like a Lamborghini with the wheels removed and the wheel wells paneled over seamlessly. It's pretty, but the intrinsic point of the thing has been removed. Alas, to each his own. I'll keep my eye on Pulse, as I hope, like a lot of the NYTF stuff and some other exclusive stuff, it gets put on there as well. Pulse has turned out to be a pretty good resource, so I'm glad Hasbro created it. I still have to turn to other sources from time to time, but on the whole, I've filled out my Siege, and now Earthrise collection from Pulse. And yeah, I hear ya about the other two Seekers- whoever in marketing at Hasbro thinks limiting the sales of major character figures to a single retailer needs to be fired. I was lucky to finally find Ratchet at one of our Walgreens; I think I'd checked twice before with no luck. Fortunately, we have numerous Walgreens down town, but for those who lived in areas where there isn't one, and you really wanted Ratchet, you were almost certainly a sacrificial lamb for the fleecing online, and that's an artificial situation that could be mitigated by making these things widely available. This exclusivity stuff just encourages scalpers. I've never attended a TF con yet, but I wish the folks who do would bring this up at Hasbro's panels- it's just a crappy practice.
  22. M'Kyuun
    God damn you Hasbro for exclusive shenanigans like this! I want those clones, but making them exclusive always opens the door to f#cking scalpers buying up the lot and then selling them at exorbitant prices, which I refuse to indulge on principle. A pox on scalpers, bunch of F-ing low-life greedy sons of bitches. Taking a breath-- I wonder if Hasbro is going to make these simultaneously available on Pulse? If we're at the mercy of Target-only sales, it's gonna be a messy crapshoot to try and get a copy of these guys at MSRP. I so vehemently despise exclusives. I appreciate the news, Mike, but it's bittersweet, as I'll likely never see them in stores, and who knows how availability will be online. It may as well be vapor.
  23. M'Kyuun
    OK, I see what you're saying. What I see in my head, as opposed to what's physically possible in order to arrive at the same shot, are mutually exclusive things, and I'm probably thinking more in line with compositing a shot. I dunno; I've very little experience with photo-editing myself. I know, to make it look good, takes time and knowledge of editing programs beyond my rudimentary skills. Carry on as if I'd said nothing at all, sir. That Drift is lovely.
  24. M'Kyuun
    Rock Lords were the American Gobot branding for Machine Robo characters. I'm not sure how they fit into the MR storyline, but here in the States Tonka marketed them as a spinoff line following the movie Gobots: battle of the Rock Lords in 1986. Thanks Wiki. I don't think there were any transforming rocks in the Convertors line, but I could be wrong. It's happened before. I had several Convertors, but very few Gobots, and no Rock Lords that I can recall. Like many, I was more interested in the Transformers, both toy and cartoon. There was definitely a more mature style to the TF toon, at least initially, than Gobots, and that appealed to me, and I loved the detail and sticker work of the TF toys over their smaller Gobot counterparts. But I liked just about anything that transformed (little has changed over the last few decades), so stuff like Convertors, or Bandai's Egg Planes, commanded my attention. My funds were abysmally low as a kid, so I picked and chose carefully, as I was also into LEGO and Brik Blox , so I learned early to budget and balance my spending. It's a lesson that has served me well.
  25. M'Kyuun
    I enjoy going to the theater, although, I find there are less and less movies that interest me enough to go anymore. It saddens me, b/c I want to support my local theater. When I do go, I often buy a drink and some nachos, both b/c yum, and b/c it helps pay the wages for the staff, hence the jacked up prices on theater food/drink. But I do agree that Hollywood seems to have run out of ideas, at least original ones, and tv , especially the pay per views and streaming networks, have really upped the ante so far as telling good stories and producing shows worthy of merit. TV certainly has the advantage of time to develop both story and characters over a greater arc, and for many a director and actors, that has to be very alluring over making a 1.5 - 3 hour film, where everything has to be condensed. But films like the Marvel films, or Godzilla, are made to be seen on the big screen, and I definitely love that format- I just don't get that same sense of spectacle watching it on my 55" flat screen with no sound system in my little living room. Even with a sound system, it still wouldn't be the same. So, the toll this pandemic is having on the film industry, and by extension, theaters, is a little worrisome, as a lot of theaters are just breaking even, and I don't want to lose ours. I'm a sci-fi nerd who grew up in the 80's with very unimaginative and country-minded parents who had no interest in going to the movies, and so the few movies I actually saw in the theater as a kid were usually with friends. Out on my own, catching a movie at the theater was something I looked forward to, and still do, if less frequently. Looking back at the 70's into the 90's at the amazing library of films, and all that creativity that informed them, it was such a great era to be a movie buff. Into the millennium, that gusher of creativity and imagination turned into a dripping faucet, and I have to wonder why. People are still creative, but it seems like Hollywood isn't interested in originality, so recycling seems to permeate the business. I get that films are an investment, and retreading old ground is, in their eyes, a safe bet, but one need only look at how many gambles paid off throughout the 80's, as they're still recycling many of those properties today. I wish some of that 80's spirit would return, so far as attitudes towards forging new film properties and franchises.
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