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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, I watched that review today, too, as I have Harry PO'd . Normally I wouldn't buy a legends scaled fig of a normally deluxe scaled character, as I'm primarily a CHUG and MP collector. However, I love G1 Prowl's design, and NA just nailed it, so I decided to get it as kind of a one-off purchase. He'll be my pocket TF that I take on trips and such. Anyway, just in general, I've noticed that there's really no legend scale yardstick for third parties, although I think DX9, Iron factory, and Magic Square are pretty close, close enough anyway that figures from all three companies can be placed together in a display without too much scale issue. Iron Factory have their own aesthetic direction, and take some license with the designs, which may or may not appeal to everyone. MS and DX-9 seem like they're going more for a mini-MP look, hitting that G1 nostalgia button pretty hard. I bought MS' Strongman, as I wanted a more G1 accurate Huffer to replace my old IGear figure. He's almost too accurate and just a bit too small to fit in with the current Generations legends figs, but he looks so good I'm willing to fly the F**k-it flag. TBH, with its chunkier proportions, the IGear actually fits better visually. I'm eyeballing NA's Cosmos, as I like the squatter look of it-very faithful to the toon look. MS have a nice looking Cosmos, too, but it's slightly lankier, although the engineering looks better. Alas, the greatest of first world problems, choices.
  2. M'Kyuun
    I have no idea; I didn't realize there were two variations of the same mold. I had no interest in it, so I gave it enough attention to see whether it was the VW version or other. I have no interest in the VW version either, TBH, but for some reason which I don't understand, I care enough to check. Anyway, sorry I couldn't be more specific. BTW, your knowledge of the numbers and variations of the Studio Series is a bit daunting. I have a vague awareness of all the characters made thus far, but of the entirety, I only own Dropkick. I'd own Blackout if it wasn't for those terrible hands; funny how a small detail like that can completely derail your interest, but it did. Concerning Siege Megs, I find myself hoping that he'll receive a whole new mold when it comes time to bring the line to Earth, as I'm thinking they will eventually. It'd be fantastic if they actually gave him a gun mode, but I know that's a forgone conclusion. It's an irony not lost on me. Anyway, if they're dead set on making him a tank, I'd hope they'd make him something akin to an M-1 Abrams instead of the more sci-fi quad tank he possesses as his Cybertronian alt. I also hope this hypothetical new mold has improved articulation. Just not feeling like I'm getting my $30 worth from Siege Megs.
  3. M'Kyuun
    While I was at Wally today, I made the usual sojourn to the normally sparsely populated Transformers section. To my surprise, while they had one SS old Camaro Bee, and one copy of Skytread, they had a couple copies each of Megs and Optimus (they usually have nothing bigger than deluxe, so voyagers are a rare sight indeed). So after some hmming and hawing, I bought Megatron. Not quite as nice as I thought it would be, but ok. Prime is certainly the better figure, judging from vids. I think Mike's pics up there seduced me to the Dark Side. I will say that the joints on mine all feel tight; nothing flops when I pick it up and change its orientation. However, his right ankle becomes floppy loose once ankle tilt is used. For those who don't own the figure, the feet are attached to a pivot that has a molded panel which fills the inside leg. When the ankle tilt is engaged, the panel, which is held in place by a small raised nub, snaps into a hollow cavity behind it, providing a fairly ample amount of ankle tilt. Once engaged, the ankles are a little floppy, one worse than the other on my copy. I like transforming tanks, so I caved on this guy, although, IMHO, there are better tank figures.
  4. M'Kyuun
    Just looked at the artist's Twitter- some of those transforming designs are brilliant. Love the red triple-changer that goes from bot to plane to car. I saw the wheels, so when it went to a plane first, I was totally surprised. Awesome. This guy's pretty much a Chinese version of Kawamori. Hopefully, he'll find a career in animation, and we'll get to see these things in action. And toys- there must be toys....
  5. M'Kyuun
    Perhaps the joint issue was endemic enough that Hasbro received complaints. At any rate, good to hear that they're fixing the issue. Gotta say, not at all crazy about the G2 color scheme. For me, that goes for just about everything G2, though- they went Crayola crazy with some of those schemes, and few, if any, that I've ever seen really appealed to me. Anyway, Megatron's tank mode is great until you get to those obvious feet hanging out. It's the only weak point on an otherwise good tank-alt Megatron. I very much like the G1 color scheme of Seige Megs, but it looks like they went overboard on the battle damage, like he's got mud splatter all over him, but the placement on his shins makes little sense in tank mode (if it was mud, but I know it's not). I'm curious if they're going to do a straight reissue with him if, and when, they start doing Earth alt modes. I could see them changing the cannon to look more realistic, but otherwise, not much really needs to be done. Seige Prime will need a little more work, but the core bot should remain about the same, I'd say. That vid of Skyfire up there (I know they're still calling him Jetfire, but we all know what his name really is) is cool, but much too limited. I'd love to see some more transformation stuff going on. I'm glad they didn't copy FT's arm transformation, which is brilliant for how it becomes part of the fuselage, but found their own method of stashing the arms. It's not as efficient, but far and away better than their usual non-solution of just letting them hang off the sides. I've got this guy PO'd from Hasbro's Pulse site, and I can't wait get him.
  6. M'Kyuun
    Never heard of 'Armored Gull', but that bike looks cool. Transformation is reminiscent of the Garland, but differs enough in both modes to be its own thing. Hopefully the manga, and potential OVA, will become popular enough to get some toy treatment. I also like transforming bikes, so this would be nice.
  7. M'Kyuun
  8. M'Kyuun
    I've not read the manga, either, so again, I'm making inferences just based on the OVA and the live action. My thinking is that she's a complete construct, artificial from head to toe, but the makeup of her brain, similar to the cyberbrains from GitS, is still somewhat organic, hence her need to eat. However, her brain and other pseudo-organics can survive hundreds of years, even without nourishment. We know that her head is a construct, as one can see bits of her metallic skull peaking through holes in the skin when Ido finds her in the scrapyard. Considering she's likely been there for some time and there seems to be no normal decomposition, that to me indicates that everything is artificial even if it has organic similarities. I assume Shirow-san took inspiration from Gunnm when he created his cyborg society in Ghost in the Shell, such are the similarities.
  9. M'Kyuun
    I bought Twinferno after passing him up many times after I got the Grotusque exclusive. I had the original Grotusque toy, and they did such a nice job on the TR toy that I splurged the $24 for him. No regrets. Anyway, learning that the same basic body was used for Twinferno, I picked him up on impulse shortly thereafter. I thought both were done really well relative to the rest of the TR line, which I enjoyed thoroughly and agree with Mike that it was best of the Prime Wars trilogy line. the only real issue I have with the toy is trying to tab the leg bits into his torso in beast mode. On both Grotusque and Twinferno, they don't line up naturally and I have to use a bit of force to get them to do so and tab in. Beyond that, fun figures.
  10. M'Kyuun
    I liked that part, too. It wasn't maudlin, but just simply stated, and a nice sentiment towards Ido.
  11. M'Kyuun
    Zeta's take on Movie Bee looks better to me than any of the official toys. Purty nice.
  12. M'Kyuun
    I didn't think it felt rushed, either. I think they used the 2.5 hours to good effect. The love story actually felt like it developed rather than just existed, like many action movies where the leads barely say ten words to each other and suck face at the end. Honestly, it didn't even feel that cheesy to me- watch anything on Hallmark for just five minutes; you can spread that sh!t on crackers. I agree the story was fast paced, and there were a lot of story elements taking place, but I think it all flowed logically, told a good story reinforced by some amazing visuals and some good acting by the leads. Rosa killed it; she makes Alita a real person, and I'd assume as part of her MoCap work, her facial expressions informed those of Alita. Anyway, I was sold. Ed Skrein, Francis from Deadpool, does a very entertaining turn as a cyborg character. I thought Christoph Waltz, who generally plays eccentric characters, played Ido very straight and true to the character(as I know it from the anime, anyway), and watching that relationship develop, while not as focused as that of her and Hugo, was no less satisfying. Even the gritty world they created was a character, as it's made the people what they are. From start to finish, I enjoyed it, and that ending just leaves you wanting to see more, as they drop breadcrumbs throughout. Hopefully this will make oodles of cash , and demand, in the Asian markets, and in a couple years we'll be watching the further adventures of Alita.
  13. M'Kyuun
    And for those of us who still do. I think one of the most enjoyable things about both films is that they're written and animated in a way that kids can enjoy them, but the message of each can be appreciated by adults, especially AFOLs. The first was clearly a love letter to AFOLs, though, as there were so many in-jokes that we, more than most, would totally relate to. And while the father/son dynamic as it relates to Farrell's LEGO collection was intended to be an exaggeration, I doubt it was too far from home for some of us in the AFOL community. But I like how they shifted the story from father/son to brother/sister, which, for those of us who grew up with siblings may be an all-too-familiar struggle. My sister and I rarely got along as kids. She wasn't into LEGO or any kind of creative outlet as such, and would at times knock stuff I built onto the floor just to break it. Our relationship is much more respectful these days, thank goodness. And "Our-Mom-ageddon" was a threat I faced on any number of occasions when I wasn't doing what I was supposed to be doing. I had to laugh when it became clear what that phrase meant- I'm a survivor! Anyway, I hope the box office gets a little more momentum, as it's a fun film with a positive message, and I'd like to see more LEGO movies down through the years.
  14. M'Kyuun
    Just got back from seeing it. This is how an anime movie should be done in live action- loved it. Wish there was more blood and gore, like lots more, but I understand their toning it down to keep the PG-13 rating. Hope it does well enough to get a sequel.
  15. M'Kyuun
    The new Hasbro Pulse site has the upcoming wave of Seige up for PO. I got Jetfire, Springer (who's description and pics only show him taking a heli mode, so this may not be a triple changing figure after all), and the cassettes. I was going to get Prowl and Ironhide, but they were already sold out. Anyway, thought I'd let folks know.
  16. M'Kyuun
    I liked it quite a bit, too. Along with the scene, I had a few good laughs. Really good movie overall. Not enough Classic Spaceships, though. Never enough.
  17. M'Kyuun
    A transforming Aliens Dropship at leader scale with a transforming legends scaled APC would be fantastic. Actually, kind of a neat idea for a reimagined Soundwave. Airwolf would be great, too. Maybe even Blue Thunder. The idea of M.A.S.K. vehicles being reimagined as Transformers would be a fantastic marriage of those two brands, especially if they all retained their weaponized transformations in addition to bot transformations. Probably asking a little too much from the designers. Fun to dream, though! Back in the real world, I might have to put in a PO on Amazon for Jetfire as well. MikeSzekely's right- I never see anything bigger than leader at any of the stores here (most of the time, I don't see anything bigger than deluxe), so POing seems the best bet.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Vlenhoff, to have suffered such personal losses over six years would burden all but the most cold hearted among us, and I am sincerely sorry. I can only wish you well, and hope for your sake that time will facilitate some merciful bit of healing. To this end I hope you find solace, peace. and hopefully, over time, reconciliation with your brother. On topic, I'm not sure I care for the look of the reflective tape, even if it does obscure his Matrix. I tried turning his Matrix chamber, a la bumper, 180 degrees, but unfortunately it only fits in the chest one way. Shame, as that would have been a very quick and easy fix. Alas, it is what it is, and, for me at least, the pros so far outweigh the cons on MS-01 that I can overlook the visible Matrix. Watching the vid, I had to chuckle when he mentioned his dread at transforming TE-01- it's a pretty involved process. MS-01, which I think was probably modeled off of MP-10, shares some similarities with its transformation, especially in the torso and waist areas. It very much feels like an MP-10 update that fixes the proportion issues as well as the lower legs. I'm very pleased with him, and for a company who had heretofore focused primarily on legends sized figs, I think Magic Square's first foray into MP scale was an overall success. And mentioning legends, I was feeling the need for an updated Huffer for my CHUG shelf, so I bought MS' Strongman- for it's size it has come nice engineering, die-cast (feet), good range of articulation throughout, and spot-on toon accuracy. I haven't fallen into the legends collector honeytrap just yet, but handling a figure like this, I understand the appeal.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Me too. Totally unexpected, but undeniably cool. I want that Triceratops too.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Vlenhoff, as for family, I'm sorry to hear about your loss, and I hope your relationship was on good grounds before his passing. As for my own relationship, my father and I are very different people, although at the core, we both have a strong moral foundation, and I owe that to him. Moreover, we have a good relationship despite our differences, and we always exchange an 'I love you' when we speak. I cherish the respect that lies between us. I wish we all had at least that. I must confess, though, that I'm envious of folks who have a great deal in common with their parent(s), as I think there's a greater fulfillment there when you share what you enjoy, especially as you get older. That'll never happen in my case, but the love remains, and it's enough. As for replacing your MPP-10, I feel quite comfortable recommending MS-01- it's pretty much everything I wanted in an MP-10 update. The only flaw, if you consider it as such, is that there's no cover for his Matrix, which can be seen through his windshields in bot mode. For everything it does right and well, I can overlook it. As always, in a subjective world, YMMV.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Looking at the original and comparing to Ditka, the transformation follows the original as far as the purple and tan halves of his body, and flipping one way or the other depending on which alt mode is preferred. To that end, the openings of the intakes would face backwards in bot mode as they did on the original toy, so he wouldn't have a Seeker look. They could have given him the intakes, and with some additional folding panels, made them fold out to taper and close up as they do on the production model. In my mind, it's an opportunity wasted. Alas, water under the bridge. And I concur, because of the thick fuselage section that forms the wing area, which also follows the G1 toy, for better or worse, arriving at an accurate MiG-25 is a foregone conclusion. Fanstoys and DX9's versions succeeded far better in that respect, although DX9's tank mode pays a heavy penalty in terms of mottled colors and a really boxy, non-accurate tank. FT did a nice job on all three modes, although they and DX9 apparently couldn't find a way to integrate the arms in fighter, and so they hang under the wings as huge boxes, albeit snugged up against the fuselage. I'm not sure about the DX9, but FT were able to eliminate the tank turret in fighter mode as well. Not sure if it was absorbed into the transformation, which would be the ideal, or just removed as a partsforming compromise, but admittedly it looks pretty nice. Vlenhoff, sad story indeed. Your dad's background is similar to mine, as he comes from a farming family of six, and while my grandfather died well before I was born, my grandmother was a very stoic woman who never bought toys for her grandchildren. She made us little stuffed dolls when we were very little, but that's about the extent of playthings we ever got from her, and I think my dad espoused that sort of thinking. Fortunately, my mom was more nurturing and enjoyed buying us toys, and over time my dad softened in this regard. He even made me wooden toys of a tractor trailer transport with a working bulldozer (he 'borrowed' the rubber treads off another dozer toy I owned to complete the effect- it rolled really well and I loved it). Anyway, it is indeed sad that you've developed such a a bitter association with Grimlock, especially given his prominence in TF history, not to mention the fact that he becomes a T-Rex. I hope it's something you learn to move past over time. I must commend your choice of music to accompany your story- a lovely and fitting marriage of beauty and melancholy.
  22. M'Kyuun
    I'm rather impressed with that Springer as well; they're certainly taking pains to make these new Siege figs accurate to their G1 look. I wish his arms covered his tires in heli mode, but then again, I consider the possibility that he may be mis-transformed--it wouldn't be the first time. Anyway, pretty much a must-buy. If I see him, I'll probably grab Red Alert, too. Still hoping for a G1 Astrotrain, too, A new G1 accurate Cyclonus would also be nice, while the focus is still on Cybertronian alts. My wish list keeps growing as they keep revealing more G1 accurate figures--feeling rather spoiled by this line. Has/Tak dominate the deluxe scale right now, too, as there's little in the way of third party competition, which is good. Throughout the last few lines, esp TR and PoTP, deluxe scale seems to get the most love in terms of engineering, although Siege has definitely been a step up across all size classes. It's a great time to be a CHUG collector, especially if G1 appeals to you. Mine cup of nostalgia runneth over.
  23. M'Kyuun
    So NY Toy Fair is once again upon us, and already new developments are afoot concerning our favorite transforming bots from a planet called Cybertron. On the toy front: Ghostbusters Ecto-1 Exclusive- https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/official-press-release-and-more-images-transformersghostbusters-collaborative-ecto1-ectotron/42934/ More Seige figures on the way- https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/more-official-images-of-siege-springer-thundercracker-and-red-alert/42927/ There's also a yet unconfirmed rumor of a Seige Astrotrain. I'm tentatively excited for this as TR Astrotrain was a travesty, and given the extreme G1 bent of the line, we may finally get a G1 accurate update. Fingers crossed. New TF show coming to Netflix- https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/new-transformers-netflix-series-coming-in-2020/42929/ Studio Series- https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/official-images-for-new-studio-series-toys-with-hightower-leader-prime-new-drift-and-ksi-boss/42922/ Hasbro's new online store is officially open- https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/hasbro-pulse-is-the-new-hastrotoyshop-with-preorders-on-new-mps-siege-and-more/42932/
  24. M'Kyuun
    Eek, not a very positive endorsement. Well, enjoy it for what it is. As I said, I'll remain patient and hope a really good version comes along. Given his prominence in the show and '86 Movie, and the use of his name in the recent Bumblebee Movie, I think he'll always remain a popular character so long as there is a fandom base (doesn't seem to be slowing down any, and the desire for G1 accurate toys of these characters continues to be a driving force behind the brand). I'm content to wait and see.
  25. M'Kyuun
    Of all the 3P MP scaled Blitzwing options (I believe there were three on offer), IMO this one takes the prize for coming closest to the source. I wonder why they didn't make the intake ramps accurate to the MiG-25? It's really the major glaring deficiency to its fighter mode, other than having a tank turret hanging off the bottom (but that's canon to the original toy). But yeah, overall KFC did a nice job. As it happens, Blitzwing is my favorite triple-changer, but at the time these were all hitting retailers, none of them seemed definitive to me, so I passed on all of them. Moreover, KFC's track record for QC seems questionable, so I've always been leery to invest in any of their stuff. However, I hope your experience is a positive one, Tekering, and thanks for sharing photos. My hope is that maybe MMC/Ocular Max will try their hand- I'm a fan of their engineering, and of their stuff in general. There was a time when I would have loved an official version, but the design direction Takara have taken of late leaves me more with a sense of dread rather than anticipation. So, I hold out hope that more third parties will approach the figure bringing innovative techniques to the fore. Again, cheers for sharing!
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