M'Kyuun

A fellow AFOL and good friend of mine who builds very large MOCs mentioned to me a month or so ago that he was contemplating building an M-Tron layout and asked whether I would consider building a mecha for it. Unbeknownst to him, I accepted the challenge. Unbeknownst to me, in the intervening weeks, he changed his mind and began working on a Space Police 3 themed MOC instead. 😄 Anyway, I was already well along with my design which was based on an earlier, simpler MOC I'd built back in 2014-15 and have since thought of improving. My friend's request was the motivation I needed to actually put in the work. I finished it yesterday and overall, I'm fairly pleased with it. The back wheels can castor 180 degrees, allowing it to circumscribe a fairly tight turn. However, although I mounted them on Technic friction pins, the friction imparted is nigh negligible making anything but very short reverse maneuvers impossible due to the wheels going in opposite directions. Not my initial preference, but design considerations drove the choice. Those familiar with the venerable and still awesome 6989 Mega (or Multi) Core Magnetizer (also known as Mobile Recovery Center) released in 1990 will remember the two cargo pods with their distinctively printed angular side panels which could be raised up to access the features within. For my rover, I decided to build my own, giving it a bit of a 21st century upgrade, as it were. As such, I envisioned it as an A.I. imbued drone with an array of handheld power tools, a generator with power cable, a toolbox with several handtools/extensions for power tools, and an extendable, multijointed neck which doubles as a standing platform for our intrepid astrofig to affect repairs at various heights. Too, as can be seen in the pic below, the resting spars can extend independently and are tipped with small wheels to allow the drone some mobility. When collapsed, they are compatible with the MCM's original pods. Of course, as is my wont, this rover, like the majority of my MOCs, is "more than meets the eye'. 😜 I tried to stay true to the original red, light gray, and black color scheme for the most part; however, I did sprinkle some silver bits here and there throughout the build for a little additional flavor, as well as the few odd white bits, which occurred, too, in the original M-Tron sets. The only real deviation is a dark bley Technic liftarm with ball joint which I used for the waist/crotch piece. Oh, and a few blue Technic friction half-pin, half-axle pieces. The resulting mecha is fully articulated, including the thumb and two fingers per gripper. It can also carry the pod on its back (I neglected to take a pic, sorry). Take my word for it (the boosters on his heels are double jointed and can extend about a brick's height allowing for walking poses with the pod attached as well as just providing stabilization in general). Yet another photo op I missed. So, full disclosure, in 1990, I was entering the military, and while I owned one of the smaller M-Tron sets, the theme on the whole didn't really grab me. I thought the MCM was cool, but I never pursued it, even after entering active duty when I had the funds to buy it. Dumb, dumb me. Thirty-some years hence, I finally scored a copy and it's such a magnificent model, definitely a standout when weighed against the whole of the Classic Space and post-CS eras. My friend, the one who originally engaged my interest in building a mecha for his then proposed M-Tron layout, is a huge M-tron fan, and I was intrigued to venture into this theme to which I had never really given much thought. I love the utility, practicality, and playability of this theme, and the magnet gimmick just adds that extra bit of fun to the mix. My mecha build had its challenges along the way, but ultimately, I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out. I hope it appeals to some of you out there, and moreso, I hope it inspires. Cheers and play well! Edit: It's literally a dark and stormy night, so what better way to pass the time than to take a few more pics.

I knew licensing was split between various entities, mostly between Bandai's owning the toys and Hasbro's owning the names, which kinda does them little good. While they've pasted a few Gobots characters' names on regular TF figs with approximate paint schemes, it's just not quite the same as having dedicated molds to represent the old toys/characters. As I said, it'd be cool if they struck a deal with Bandai to use the MR toy likenesses for a line of Gobots, although my skepticism is barely reigned when it comes to the jetformers among them.

I feel ya, especially concerning new molds for extremely obscure or made-up characters, and lazy approaches to main or far more established ones. Third parties are taking up some of the slack, but stuff like Breakdown or Astrotrain can only be fixed by a whole new toy purposely designed to get everything as right as possible. It boggles my mind that no third party has stepped up to produce toys in CHUG scale when the official ones are lackluster or just downright terrible, or in the case of G1 Megatron, make a fig to fill a void that Hasbro won't touch. We have two great legends makers, one of which has made two excellent Optimus Primes in MP scale; how much more difficult would it be to upscale some of their figs to CHUG scale as another option? I'm guessing the threat of legal action is very real, so they just avoid it altogether, but man, I wish they'd at least test the waters. At the very least, Magic Square's Doomsday (Megatron) would be a welcome fig in both CHUG and MP scales. I don't think Rock Lords is a line that too many fans are clamoring for. I don't believe they sold well back in the 80s when all things transformable were the rage. It'd be far better if Has/Tak entered into an agreement with Bandai to produce Gobots figs under the Transformers banner. However, Action Toys did their Machine Robo line, and now Megahouse is producing MR figs as well. Both companies are restricted to characters from Revenge of Cronos, which may be the only MR property Bandai holds. Anyway, I doubt Has/Tak could produce figs much better than the Action Toys figs, but if they could secure the license, I'd give them the benefit of the doubt. At any rate, I'd take a Leader-1 or a Cy-kill over Boulder or Magmar from Hasbro any day, although given Has/Tak's history with jetformers, I can only imagine the travesty that would be Leader-1.

Glad they caught him, although I doubt the penalty will be that severe and he'll be free to continue stealing. They need to raid this guy's house, as there's probably enough stolen merch in there to warrant grand theft charges, but they probably won't. Because it's toys he's stealing, it won't be taken as seriously. Alas, crime pays. This guy's worse than scalpers, who generally at least pay for the stuff they resell at exorbitant prices. In instances like this, I think the Middle Eastern culture has the right idea so far as punitive measures.

Honestly, I'm not bothered that they reused Shrapnel's legs, as I was a bit concerned, given how closely they've been modeling these after the G1 toys, that the shins would be hollow. While it may not be the most ideal solution from a fan's perspective, it makes sense for Hasbro to make him a partial retool, and it doesn't look bad to me. The upper body and head are clearly Bombshell, and I'm fine with it. Is it lazy? Yep. Is it unexpected? Nope. Just Hasbro Hasbroing the sh!t out of it.

Well, reading it again, if Company B is indeed Bandai and they have no plan to release their YF-21, then it makes sense that the Yammie is the only 1/60 option. FWIW, I'd take that Bandai toy as-is if only b/c it has better battroid proportions than the Yammie. If this guy's statement is true, then I lament what could have been from Bandai and hope that Arcadia will give consideration to making some much-needed improvements to the Yamato toy's legs and the joints thereof (the hips are quite loose on mine although it has barely been handled) and release it. It'll be crazy expensive, but worth it if the improvement is significant.

So is Company B a subsidiary of Arcadia? This is the first I've heard of it, and to my knowledge, Mr. K. worked for Arcadia. Anyway, I would have loved to see them improve the leg proportions on the Yamato YF-21 design. It was otherwise a nigh perfect YF-21, but the disproportionally skinny legs just threw off the look of it in battroid, which is my favored mode for display. I will happily accept a fighter with a thicker backend as a concession; Kawamori-san applied liberal use of artistic license to the design in his original lineart, such that it was always going to be challenging for a toy company to realize an ideal 3D representation that transforms.

Sure, but there are better ways to go about it, like Animated Bulkhead or G1 Trailbreaker, which give the illusion of chubbiness without looking terrible. Nedrybot just looks like lazy engineering.

Pretty awkward placement of the wheels in bot mode on that JP Jeep fig. The Gallimimus is on par with the majority of BW figs, so not too bad. Not terribly interested, though. OTOH, I dig that Prime but not enough to crowdfund. The effort, however, is laudable.

RIP to a true warrior; she overcame the adversity of an abusive marriage and through her indomitable energy, positivity, and talent, became a superstar. Cheers to the Queen!

Funny, I was just looking at these in the LEGO Shop. I'm so glad to see LEGO putting out a regular set of the '89 Batmobile for folks who couldn't get the GWP set that was released with the UCS '89 Batmobile, or who don't want or can't afford the upcoming $400 Batcave Shadowbox set. This Batmobile model is very similar to the one in the Shadowbox; the big intakes on the sides are accomplished differently, but otherwise, they look remarkably similar, down to the extendable machine gun feature. It's also nice to finally get the '89 Batwing in minifig scale. Very long time coming for both, as these are the Batman sets I've been waiting for since they first obtained the license in 2006. Both of these and the Shadowbox shall be welcome additions to my ever-growing LEGO Batman collection. I hope at some point they do B:TAS sets, as I'd love to have an official Batmobile set. I'd also love to have a Batman: Arkham Knight Batmobile set, either UCS (with all those awesome functions and features) or a simplified version at minifig scale. Sure, I could MOC it, and I've seen some great MOCs, but as a fan who loves building and collecting sets, I want that experience as well as the model(s). Anyway, with every new revelation, 2023 looks to be one of the most exciting, if expensive and space-unfriendly years to date. So, so many great looking sets coming and we're not even halfway through!

I must say, it's nice to see Keaton in the Batsuit again, and they've captured the ambiance from the Burton films really well. I've never been crazy about Ezra Miller's Barry Allen portrayal, and that dislike carries over to this film. However, I'm still willing to go see this in the theater when it releases- movies like this are meant for the big screen, and I so do enjoy going to the theater from time to time. At the very least, I hope Batman is given a significant amount of screentime as that will be worth the ticket price, especially with all his wonderful toys on display.

These are adorably awesome, Danth! Love the shape of the legs on the smaller one especially, but both are brilliantly executed. Admirably, neither individual ship, nor their combined mode, which is a neat trick in and of itself, gives away the fact that they transform. That's always a challenge, and you accomplished it well. Too, they're Classic Space, which always earns points right off the bat with me. Good stuff! Thanks for sharing!

Likewise, although I generally like everything about the new Batcave. A new improved minifig scale '89 Batmobile is the proverbial icing, if you will. I think like many Batman fans, or at least fans of the '89 Batmobile, getting a minifig scaled set was a huge want since 2006 when LEGO first started producing Batman sets. It was my number one want from the theme, so that GWP was greatly anticipated. NGL, the UCS '89 Batmobile was also high on the want list, and it did not disappoint- it sits atop our dining room hutch with the GWP sitting next to it. For reference, here's the GWP set. Some notable improvements to the model in the Batcave Shadowbox set are a rounded windscreen with a studless roof, brick-built fins in the back with proper shaping and scalloping, better part usage for the large side intakes, and best of all, extendable machine guns instead of the crummy tacked-on stud shooters on the GWP set. Here's the Batmobile from the Batcave Shadowbox set. Unfortunately, this is the only close-up unobstructed pic of it on LEGO's site. However, there's a video on the page that shows some of the working features of the set. Can't wait to build it!

SS86 Brawn looks great!

I feel ya. Although I managed to get the '89 Batmobile GWP, I missed out on the UCS Batpod, which I would have really liked to have had. You couldn't be more right about the disparity between their projections and actual demand, as all too often we see them fall short of meeting said demand. I'm also with you about just getting rid of exclusives- just make everything available to everyone, even if it means a limited run. At least then everyone has a shot at getting the set on equal footing without dealing with absurdly overpriced offerings on the secondary market.

It's a must for me. Love the overall bookish design and presentation. Thing's huge, so I'm not sure where I'm gonna put it, but I'll find a spot. This Batmobile looks to be an improved version of the '89 Batmobile GWP set that came with the most excellent UCS '89 Batmobile. Definitely looking forward to building this set.

I still prefer the original WfC Bumblebee and I'm passing on the new version- that big chest and inaccurate legs turn me off to the fig. Never cared for the WfC Prime design; I passed on the original and I'm passing on this new version. I do however love the FoC version and the little deluxe toy we got back in 2012, and I hope we eventually get a really well-done voyager figure. Thanks for the review @mikeszekely.

I was unaware of this valk, having not seen the Macross Delta Movie. Brilliant job by the builder; so often, transforming models in LEGO suffer from the necessity of using various joints and connections which cause gaps and are difficult to cover, not to mention sculpting issues. This is very toyetic with exceptional shaping, judicious use of the various joints employed, and just overall engineering to impart the full range of functionality and articulation. In a word: impressive. Regarding Kawamori's catalog of valk designs over the decades, the fighter mode skews more towards spaceship than modern fighter jet in its design. One may be inclined to say he was inspired a little by the X-Wing Fighter of Star Wars fame.

For sure, it's a promising year thus far, and with rumors of other promising sets on the wind, the goodness looks to continue beyond the summer wave. Alas, I'm short on space for all this stuff, so finding somewhere to put it all is my main challenge. Too, it's not getting any cheaper, but then LEGO always has been an expensive hobby. Upping the temptation and excitement, we just got our first mom & pop LEGO store here in Spokane a couple weeks ago, and I want to support them, so I'll gleefully be paying them a visit on June 1st to pick up a bunch of the new sets. 😁👍

Hmm, I wasn't even aware of this game. I'm a Netflix subscriber, but honestly, I'm not a big fighting game fan. Now if they got War for Cybertron or Fall of Cybertron, I'd be interested. I wish they'd make a G1 game using the same game mechanics as those games, which, IMHO, are the best Transformers games ever made. In other news, apparently there's a "Dying Prowl" version of Earthrise Prowl coming. It's a rather macabre and unnecessary way of reissuing the fig, not to mention there are still characters in need of figs that have yet to receive them. The forsaken Omnibots come to mind, as well as Gears, Seaspray, Powerglide, any number of cassettes (including existing ones that could use some serious improvement-looking at you, Ravage), improved Mirage and Seeker molds, an 'origin' version of Wheeljack in his boxy Cybertronian alt mode (of which brilliant custom model maker Jizai Toys just created an amazing digital model), and perhaps new Deluxe Autobots that skew closer to their original Dorvack models. I really wish, too, that Takara would work out a way to make a proper G1 Megatron that turns into a Walther P-38 to fit in with the WfC/Legacy line. That would sell like water in the desert, and I'd be all in for a copy. Legacy Evolution Titan Nemesis Behind The Scenes - Transformers News - TFW2005 As a nice companion to The Ark, I recently POed a copy of the upcoming Nemesis, which I think turned out pretty well. However, I wish the bot mode had turned out exactly like the concept art, which looks amazing to me, almost more Animated than G1 to my eye, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Regardless, I'm glad we're getting her, and I like the thin, lanky proportions of her bot mode as a nice juxtaposition to the bulky Ark's. Gripes aside, it's still a great time to be a TF fan.

Every success with your mods, Chronocidal. I agree with your suggestion that LEGO should abandon the use of rubber bands in lieu of far stronger and more efficient ratcheting mechanisms. Too, it's high time, given all the other molds they've been making, to make a canopy that's accurate to the source material. I think they did well angling the sides on this model, but the nose, a feature which seems to give them issue with every iteration, looks off to me. Anyway, looking forward to seeing your improvements!

I'm so totally down for that set; brilliant execution! I hope transforming stuff becomes more of a norm across various themes.

With all the summer set reveals coming in, there's a lot to like amidst the various themes. City has undergone a much, much needed makeover with an apartment block and a new City Center that add living and shopping spaces with a nice splash of color and architectural creativity that has been lacking for, well, decades. For the past few years, I've been looking at what's being done in Friends so far as adding color and architecture and usable inner space to buildings and wishing for that to translate over to City, and it looks like that crossover is finally happening. The Arctic City subtheme makes its revolving comeback this year as well, bringing some cool new animal molds and some really nice looking sets. Dreamzzz, a new original fantasy theme is bringing some interesting new stuff to the table as well. Even if it's not your particular cuppa, and not all of it is mine admittedly, I think it showcases the creativity and whimsy that LEGO has been known for throughout various themes over the years. Too, there's a new clicky joint apparent in many of these sets, the first such addition to that system since Exo-Force in 2006. as a mecha builder who uses those joints a great deal, and also laments their limitations, I'm looking forward to what this new joint offers. Ninjago is a favorite theme of mine; I've been watching the show and buying many of the sets since its inception, and as a mecha fan, it caters to that particular fondness more than any other theme except perhaps Monkie Kid. This year's offerings are looking great. First, the largest Ninjago City set is coming June 1st. At over 6000 pieces with 21 minifigs, it's another beautiful multi-level urban sprawl chock full of working features (a cable car, a working wheelchair lift, and a flushing toilet!, just to name a few), varied architecture, interesting color palettes, and a lot of cool building techniques that have become the hallmark of this subtheme. LEGO's mecha sets have been increasing in complexity, sophistication, and features, over the years, likely with the addition of so many AFOLs-cum-designers bringing their own love of the genre to the table and pushing the limits of what's possible in a set geared towards 8-year-olds (and 51 year-olds, too) To get either a combing mecha or a transforming mecha is a tall ask, even from Ninjago, but to get both in the same wave and have them executed so well is a rare pleasure indeed, and one I hope we'll see repeated more in the future. As a fella who designs transforming mecha, I must say I'm quite impressed with that bike; it hides its nature very well, and other than last year's Optimus Prime set, it is IMHO LEGO's best attempt yet at a transformer, lower case intentional. Hoping for more! Not to be left out, this Friends set looks stunning. I don't buy Friends sets all that often, although I often stop and admire the varied architectural approaches and uses of color that make those sets stand apart from the rather bland City offerings over the past decade. This set, however, really stands apart as something particularly well-executed and just downright beautiful. I will have it. Thus far, 2023 is shaping up to be a great year for LEGO fans; there's a lot of creativity and variety on deck, with more to come later in the year including a rather large Batcave set that I'm very eagerly anticipating. Check out LEGO's site for more goodness and keep playing well.

Concur. Why can't the LEGO designers do something like this, especially with that canopy alignment? Anyway, cheers to a great build!