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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Kaneda's Bike, I'm in the same boat regarding Dinobot's bot mode. I never cared for it either, but aesthetics aside, he was certainly one of the best characters in a show full of character and personality. The voice talent and writing behind that show really elevated it from being just another cookie-cutter kid's cartoon. First season of G1, Beast Wars, Animated, and Prime all stand out to me as favorites within the animated side of the franchise for both storytelling and character development. The various aesthetics in each informed the toys, but it's the personalities within each show that draw me in and make me want to watch and be part of that experience.
  2. M'Kyuun
    For those interested in the MP Beast Wars figures, early CG renders have shown up for Dinobot, courtesy of Twitter user Chromless via Seibertron. https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/cg-renders-for-takara-tomy-transformers-masterpiece-dinobot/38359/ Compared to previous releases, it's much, much cleaner than I would have anticipated, although bot parts can be seen filling out his raptor body. He's probably one of the hardest characters to translate into plastic, as his toon incarnation benefited greatly from CG magic. Like Cheetor, it looks like the dino head chest is a facade, and the actual dino head folds into the bot mode. Considering how well they pulled off both modes, I'll accept a few concessions. It'll be interesting to see him in plastic with paint apps, if only to see how well the bot parts are camouflaged, or not. All things being equal, I look forward to adding Chopperface to my growing Maximal team. I'm starting to wonder if Takara are just going to finish the Maximals before moving on to the Predacons, and whether they're just going to do the original characters from first season. That'd be fine, although I'd love a well done Blackarachnia.
  3. M'Kyuun
    I agree. New stuff always sees a mad rush at the onset, and once the fervor fades, availability resumes to normalcy. That said, my wife and I took a trip to TRU this morning hoping they'd have it in stock, but they didn't. Non-plussed, I wanted to see if Barnes and Noble had the Making of the LEGO Batman Movie book, as it gives insight into all aspects of creating the movie, and I dig that sort of thing. What I didn't expect was to see the Saturn V sitting there on the floor in their LEGO section. It was the only copy they had, and it came home with us. So, I rest easy with it in-hand, my wife didn't have to brave getting it online, and , bonus, we actually got it for less than MSRP due to our B&N membership. As it's a b-day gift and that's not until next month, I get to look at it for a month before building it. Fortunately, I have other diversions: While at TRU, I picked up the new MClaren 720S Speed Champions set and a newly released City cargo set. I also wanted to let folks know that, at least for now, TRU online have the Saturn V at MSRP with free shipping. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=125641126
  4. M'Kyuun
    You are full of handy info for my benefit this morning, Technoblue. It's very much appreciated. I wrote them a polite message explaining what happened, and I hope everything gets resolved to mutual satisfaction (i.e., I only pay for one order). Concerning security, this was the first I encountered it on the part of Firefox. Had me a little apprehensive. I appreciate the vote of confidence for AE. For what it's worth, it's done now; hopefully, while I was fumbling through my order, the hackers were out on a smoke break or fetching some Cheetos from the cupboard.
  5. M'Kyuun
    Thanks, Technoblue. Got my PO in for $75, far better than $120. Firefox keeps flagging AE as an unsecure site, though. The site itself claims to be secure. I took a chance and paid my PO via Paypal, but even the 'return to merchant' message on Paypal flagged as unsecure. Not getting a warm fuzzy there. I made an initial payment via Paypal, which didn't reflect on thier site, so I reaccomplished with the same results. So, pragmatic chap that I am, I checked my email, and sure enough, two receipts for Sunstreaker. I've already contacted AE to let them know what happened, and if the monies have transferred (not reflecting in my bank account yet), I'm hoping they'll be agreeable to refund one of those transactions. Don't really need two Sunstreakers.
  6. M'Kyuun
    HLJ still doesn't have a PO for Sunstreaker; I'm guessing it'll go for around $90 USD, since their retail price is usually a little higher than RK. RK gets you on shipping, though. HLJ are usually my go-to for MP figs, and I believe they offer free shipping if your order meets a price threshold. I might have to check out AE. Are their shipping charges reasonable? As far as Lambor goes, I was under the impression he was going to be a straight reissue. If anything, they'll probably put something extra in the box, like his jet pack, and charge an additional $40-50, or it will be a straight reissue without any additional elements and they'll still charge an additional $40-50. Sorry, my cynicism is running off scale high at the moment. I'm still incredulous over the $120 that the Stateside stores are charging for Sunstreaker.
  7. M'Kyuun
    So I'm looking at the various stores with MP-39 Sunstreaker preorders, and man, these things are getting expensive. Usually car-bots go for approx $80, but all the Stateside stores are charging $120, which is what we were paying for a large figure just a few months ago. Robot Kingdom has him for a more reasonable $89, but buy the time you pay shipping, it'll likely be over $120. Not real happy if this is the new pricing trend.
  8. M'Kyuun
    Except, this isn't a UCS set, but an Ideas set, which do have limited runs. However, they have done multiple runs of previous Ideas sets, and given the popularity of this beast, IMHO, LEGO would be wise to keep this project available for a longer production run. Of all the Ideas sets thus far, aside from the Classic Space inspired Exo-Suit from a year or so ago, this set seems to be selling better than its predecessors. From reviews I've read and watched, the model exceeds expectations, and anyone enamored of the early US Space Program would be rewarded by having this on their shelf or coffee table. I've asked my wife to procure a copy for me for my birthday next month; she is not an internet savvy person, and generally distrusts all online retail sites for fear of having her card info stolen, not to mention she procrastinates worse than anyone I've ever met when it comes to buying gifts or sending cards, so given the rabid sales of this thing, I'll have to do some diplomatic prodding to get her to order the thing for me posthaste. Chances are, I'll end up ordering it for myself, as usual. For today, however, I'll be working on the new Ultimate Batmobile set from the LEGO Batman Movie. It's yummy.
  9. M'Kyuun
    According to his Avatar, Lorinder hails from Sweden. But yeah, Europe and China share a continent, so rail freight is probably the most efficient means, aside from air freight. While living in the US certainly has its many perks, there are times when it'd be nice to live a little closer to China and Japan, if only to more easily score some goodies and take in a bit of the culture.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Captured Prey don't install the plug, either.
  11. M'Kyuun
    Somehow, Mike, I knew you'd come to the rescue. I've used RK before, and they generally have good prices, but their shipping prices to the US are high. I don't know how it would compare with European shipping, but I guess, theoretically, it could go ground all the way (hooray for trains). Captured Prey is a US based store that I've used, and they offer discounted shipping out of the US. One caveat, they generally do not allow order cancellations.
  12. M'Kyuun
    I've used TFSource.com, BBTS.com (Big Bad Toy Store), and Chosen Prime, all of which have good selection, customer service, and fair pricing. Of course, they all have mark-ups, but some stores offer free shipping once a price threshold has been met, which softens the blow a little, as 3P tend to be spendy investments. I personally don't have any experience outside of these retailers, so I'm not knowledgeable of any to avoid. Hope this helps.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Downbeat looks to be a really good figure, based on pics and vid reviews I've watched; however, Coolsville just does it for me with his more toy accurate look and cleaner car mode. I've been waiting for previews, but AFAIK, there are none as yet. With Downbeat already out there, I'd have thought TW would be trying to get a proto into reviewer circulation to build hype, but seemingly that's not the case. Hopefully soon.
  14. M'Kyuun
    I was patiently waiting to see the repaints of both these molds when they released as Prime and Megs, as they were obviously designed to be Octane and Blitzwing. I passed on Classics Octane back in '07, as his weapon, which made up a fair chunk of the rear of his truck mode, just looked like crap, and I wasn't really sold on him all the way around. Since I don't own an Octane in my collection, I was hoping for a good mold in the TR line. Sadly, it wasn't so. The same can be said for the new Blitzwing; honestly, I prefer the voyager mold from a few years ago, even with his shoulder issue. The TR line seems to excel in its deluxe class figures, but voyager and leader classes seem to be hit and miss. Blitzwing and Octane are misses IMHO. Octane could have been so much better if Takara had found a way to incorporate the truck cab into the plane's empennage instead of just swinging them under the wings. Alas, I guess I'll wait another few years for their next attempt, and hope it's a better figure. Same with Blitzwing. I'm hoping the wave 4 deluxe and legion class figs will start showing up in my area- lots of wave 3 shelfwarming, but I've not seen a single wave 4 figure yet. More and more, I'm inclined to just eat the markups and shipping costs to get these things online b/c they aren't showing up in stores. I used to enjoy the hunt, where you were apt to find at least one or two figures somewhere, but anymore it's become a waste of gas and time.
  15. M'Kyuun
  16. M'Kyuun
    Agree. Well done all the way around. I wish more movies in this vein were made.
  17. M'Kyuun
    My first thought after looking at the various pics was that it's a shame they couldn't make her chest become the front of the car- it's a fake chest, from what I can tell, hence the ability to swap it between almost-there cleavage and animation accurate flat panel (my preference, actually, but the suggestion of breasts is so understated that it probably wouldn't have made that much of a difference). There's much ado about this and the suggestion of buttocks on her upper legs over on TFW. I've seen the offending buttocks, and, came away unoffended. When I look at the overall design, the conservative suggestion of femininity in a fembot doesn't really bother me. Now, if they'd given her double-d's and a flagrantly large ass, well then that would compromise the look of Arcee as we know her, and then I'd be bummed. But, that's not the case, and this figure looks very good to me thus far, certainly proportionate to the Movie and toon appearance. Playing Devil's Advocate, robots most likely don't copulate to reproduce, and so human physical sexual traits aren't really required; but let's face it, human males respond to those things, no matter how subtle, and that's really who she's been made to appeal to- not her plastic male counterparts. As I've said, I think FT have shown restraint in the design by giving the merest suggestion of feminine human body shaping in a tactful manner that doesn't detract from the overall look of the figure. Some folks get their feathers ruffled quite easily, and some just like to have a reason to get their feathers ruffled. I'm neither, and I have faith that the conversation won't devolve here. TFW is great for news, but boy do they like their drama.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Didn't see it posted earlier, so I thought I'd mention Fans Toy's take on MP scaled Arcee. http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/05/23/new-prototype-images-fans-toys-ft-24-rouge-masterpiece-styled-arcee-339387#images Little drama over on the TFW boards over the sexualization of the figure. In truth, it's pretty conservative, and FT are including a second screen accurate chest piece for her in the event that the slight suggestion of cleavage offends. For what it's worth, the engineering looks rather clever, as they took a novel approach by making the fenders of her car mode collapse into each other, and it's the rear fenders that you actually see on her back. It's much cleaner and more screen accurate than the Generations version, and well, pretty much any toy version I've seen of G1 Arcee. Arcee has to be one of the most challenging bots to do b/c so much of her car mode just magically disappears in animation, leaving a svelte fembot with two little pods on her back. Thus far, I believe only renders have been shown of her alt mode, so it remains to be seen how well all that folding actually works in plastic, but FT have impressed me with their Dinos to maintain a strong interest in this toy. Thought I'd share.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Ironically, he disliked guns, and violence in general. But, yeah, he was perfect for 70's and 80's, and really kinda became the trademark for gentleman spies in all forms of media. Alas, another beloved star gone.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Don't feel bad for liking Spinout, or at least the aesthetics he represents. I'm partial to it, too. It favors the toy, but IMHO, they managed the width of his windshield proportionally well with the rest of the bot mode. I like it. Shame it had QC issues, as it offered something different from BC's and now TT's versions. Since Streaker was never really a favorite character of mine, I never spent much time looking too hard at either third party version, although the Omnigonix version stood out to me over Badcube's. It's personal preference. Anyway, now that the official toy has been revealed, I've been doing more comparisons betwixt the three. I'll concur with those who favor the Badcube face sculpt- I think they got it closest, esp if you're looking at the animation model. Not sure what TT were thinking with that Jay Leno chin. Just the same, I'm not that picky, and had no one said anything, I likely wouldn't have paid it much attention. To that end, the internet can be a double edged sword. Since the most obvious comparisons are going to be with Sunsurge, aside from the big backpack, IMHO the TT has a greater refinement to it. I can't say exactly why- it's just an impression, even though I think proportionally BC's is closer to the cell animation model. All the additional features TT managed to cram in there are icing, but the bot itself and his alt look splendid to me. Thirteen year old me would have probably fainted in amazement to see something like this, like all the MPs for that matter. We TF fans, esp those of us old enough to remember the wonder of watching the show for the first time as a kid (it obviously made an impact on a lot of us) only dreamed of toys like this for 20+ years. I didn't think I'd ever get a Prowl toy that did justice to my memories of the cartoon, the G1 box art, and various other artistic renditions of his G1 likeness over the years. Alternators had me hopeful, esp when the Mazda and the Suburu figures came out- but BT/Alt Prowl was a huge letdown. Classics-letdown. MP-perfection. So, when the criticism starts to build over every new release, I like to take a moment and remember that not that long ago, these toys were still the stuff of dreams, and that we as a fandom are spoiled, not just with official toys, but with fanmade figures, many of which are pretty high quality and cool in their own right. Sure, there are some lemons, but even TT have had their share of those over the years, too. I'm just savoring the goodness of being able to own these figures within my lifetime. They are dreams come true for me, and I'm incredibly happy and thankful for them. You should be, too.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Spinout was always more to my liking visually, although my understanding is that he had a lot of QC issues. Anyway, I skipped 3P offerings for Sunstreaker, so this is a no-thought-required purchase. Moreover, TT's engineering, along with greater attention to bot articulation, make the official product desirable, even when there is a quality 3P toy available (thinking of my Sphinx and Terraegis, and FT Dinobots). Also, unlike a lot folks here and over on the TFW boards, I don't feel the need to have one and only one definitive MP scaled figure of any particular character in my collection. I still like my Apollyon, even though I have Megs 2.0, and I'll hang to my 3P figures even after official versions are released simply b/c they're cool transformable toys. As for all the working features on Sunstreaker, if everything tabs and holds together solidly in both modes and QC is good, this figure is going to be a nice addition. The engineering challenges the design team had to face were pretty steep (to please Lamborghini and also pay homage to the toon without part-swapping), not to mention the pop-up lights and opening doors. They went above and beyond what we've seen done in the line for an alt mode, indeed hearkening back to the Alternators. I hope that's a trend that continues so long as one mode or the other isn't compromised to achieve a feature. Sunstreaker's backpack was the compromise here, but at least the designers were able to keep it all compact in a boxlike shape rather than loose car parts hanging off randomly. Looking forward to initial reviews before having him in hand.
  22. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, thinking the same way. Wish they'd gone more with a Spinout styled design instead of the fake chest (the edge of his real windshield can be seen peeking out the side). I'll still likely get him b/c I'm a sucker for official stuff, but there will always be a feeling of 'what if'. On the positive side, perhaps I can land a copy of Spinout on the cheap. The other positive I like about the recent MPs is the attempt to make them more like action figures, with a focus on improved articulation. In my mind, they're robots first, vehicles second, and the brick-like nature of G1 and limits in articulation in many TF toys over the years, especially when it favors the alt mode, has always bugged me. I'm glad to see the bot mode getting more attention. Despite initial thoughts and reservations, I'll withhold final judgement until I've seen a few reviews, although I'll likely have it on pre-order while I'm watching those reviews. That's how I roll. Edit: Just had a thought; I wonder if, like the car mode where the rear of the car can be changed to look like the animation or the real car, his chest can also be configured to use the real windshield or the fake one. Best of both worlds, if that's the case. Also, yeah, what's up with the yellow spoiler? Toyhax to the rescue. Courage!
  23. M'Kyuun
    As do Captured Prey. Mine was factory sealed when it arrived.
  24. M'Kyuun
    As a long time LDD user, I agree with the sentiments that it can be a difficult and frustrating program at times. In a straight vertical building situation, it's great. Once you add moving parts to the mix, it becomes much more unforgiving. As for the inventory, right now, it was last updated in 2016, IIRC, so none of the 2017 parts have been added. LEGO were going to retire the program , but there was a lot of outcry, and they have continued to do infrequent updates to the pallette; how long they continue to support it, even in a limited capacity, is anyone's guess. I still enjoy using it for prototyping, though- very convenient, and in fact, I just designed something for my sister's birthday with it.
  25. M'Kyuun
    Thanks, Mike. He's an impressive figure, esp given the scale. Unwieldy is a good word to describe him, indeed. There's a lot of weight there, but I'm impressed by how well the thing balances, and holds a pose. I think Concrete could have used a little more heel to help stabilize him in combined mode, but it's pretty true to the toon and toy, and that's what TW were going for, so I won't fault them. I like what GC did with their construction vehicle alts- the modern look initially had my attention, but the liberties taken on the bot modes just alienated me. Plus, I was pretty much sold on TW the moment I saw those rolling treads on Unearth and Bulldozer. They're a little sticky at times, but so incredibly cool when they work as advertised. I'm a sucker for moving treads- I blame my German heritage. Soundmixer looks good, but he's a bit small for my taste. I'm guessing that he can fit the official mini-cassettes in his chest. The gun cassette is pretty clever, and makes for nice stowage in his alt mode. I like my Takara Legends Blaster (I forget the Japanese name), but how hard would it have been for them to make him and the Soundwave molds hold a cassette in their chests( in the normal upright position), while still maintaining the device storage capability? Kind of a missed opportunty for dual functionality, IMHO. I still wish they'd make updated mini-cassettes. Thanks to Guardians of the Galaxy, the cassettes of old are getting some exposure to the digital storage generation, so at least there'd be some familiarity. Hoping that a MP Blaster and his cassettes are somewhere in Takara's, and thusly my, future.
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