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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Kawamori designed a number of the Diaclone toys; I wonder if G1 Ironhide/Ratchet was one of them. Honestly, even by 80's standards, who would have really thought this looked good after finishing the design? And yet, I own G1 Ratchet, so it kinda tells you where my standards were in around '84 or '85. Even then, though, I thought the pseudo-head was terrible. Checked my tracking today, and my MP Ironhide just departed San Fran on its way to WA. I should have him in my grubbies by Wednesday.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Good find, David. I wish I could find a sale like that in my area. I've never been much of a comics reader, but there are a few of the TF comics I wouldn't mind reading. The problem I've found is that no particular comic is complete, and missing issues is a bummer. So, I just live in blissful ignorance. Honestly, my only connection with the comics are the toys based off of them. Scyla, it's regrettable that the nitpicks w/ the MP toys seem to ruin your enjoyment of them; I guess I'm more forgiving, as I enjoy all of mine, although I'm certainly aware of their flaws. As for what constitutes a bad toy, the VF-2ss kinda falls in that category for me. As much as I'd like to have a 1/60 scale version of the Valkyrie II, there are too many glaring issues with this toy to justify paying what I'd pay for a far superior Bandai release. I suppose it comes down to what you're willing to overlook, level of expectation, desire to own it, and willingness to pay what they're asking. It falls short, IMO.
  3. M'Kyuun
    Your points are valid. When I consider my Binaltechs compared to the current MP toys, there's a gulf in quality there, despite some of the articulation limits in the BT/Alternators. Some of those limitations are due to tech limitations, and also the fact that steering, opening hoods, trunks, & doors, integrated weapons, and interior cabins were all featured in these toys, which oft hindered the bot modes to some degree. The current MP line doesn't suffer from these limitations, but benefits from strides in technology and experience on the part of the designers. I also agree that the third parties are producing toys that exceed Takara's, much closer to what we should expect from a 'Masterpiece' line.
  4. M'Kyuun
    It would have been nice if the tray had treads, but honestly, that tray will likely stay in the box when I get my copy. It serves no other purpose but to display his accessories, and I'll just take what I want and leave the rest in the box. My display area is very small, and nearly to capacity as it is, so even if the tray did have toy-accurate treads, it'd likely still remain in the box. I need to invest in a proper display cabinet soon. As for the toy itself, I agree with Dizman. None of the MP toys are 100% perfect, and that really goes for most TF toys. Concessions generally have to be made. I don't care for the hip panels either, and wish they'd found a better solution, but looking at the figure as a whole, how well the overall character is captured, plus additional kudos for a rather inventive transformation, I'm pretty happy with what Takara have delivered. I also like that rather than doing a straight repaint of Ironhide, they made changes to the crotch area and thigh detail on Ratchet to match the animation. They didn't have to, and people would still have bought Ratchet. Sorry he doesn't do it for you, Scyla. There are still some third party offerings that you might find more appealing, but in the meantime, I hope you have an opportunity to get the official version in hand to make a definitive judgment. Pics don't always do a toy justice...and sometimes the fun factor mitigates any number of critical observations. Of course, mileage varies.
  5. M'Kyuun
    I agree.. How the rear of the van and the frame of the windshield are similarly shaped to come together to form the chest manifests some clever engineering. By all appearances, he locks together very well in both modes. I like that at least his pistols can store in his vehicle mode, and I wish that were the case with all TF toys in this day and age. I will forever lament that his large cannon isn't permanently mounted and deployable in both modes like in the cartoon ( esp since the upper portion of the rear of the van is hollow, and the toes are the only things creating any kind of interference. With just a little more clever engineering, they probably could have pulled it off, but I digress. My only other gripe would be with the 90 degree limit on the elbow, esp since there's a double joint employed there to effect transformation. But having watched the earlier Chinese pre-release video, and now Charlie's, so far Ironhide is stacking up to be a solid entry in this series, esp since the 80's toy and the animation were very different. I had 80's Ratchet, and there was a lot of WTF? going on with that toy, esp if you watched the show. I'm looking forward to his arrival at my door, I'm keeping my pre-order for Ratchet, and I'm happy that two more gaps are officially filled in the '84 roster. I will add, however, that I hope Shogo Hasui returns to the MP design team, as his previous designs, esp Prowl , are really well done, and the application of his talents and passion can only strengthen the quality of the MP line for future releases.
  6. M'Kyuun
    For those who preordered MP Ironhide through HLJ, my copy became available today, and I just had him shipped. When I checked around 10:40 PM Pacific, they were showing low stock, in case anyone's still planning on grabbing one. Something cool to look forward to next week.
  7. M'Kyuun
    I much prefer CHUG Scourge's alt mode to his odd G1 space hovercraft mode, which never made sense to me, and was generally unappealing. CHUG Scourge has one of the best realized aircraft alt modes, plus it's loosely based on a NASA concept. To me, it's not only far more visually appealing, but more practical than his G1 alt mode. He's one of my favorite figures. I would hope for a nice new Cyclonus mold, too, but I doubt we'll see that since he was just released as a remold of the terrible CW Silverbolt. The CHUG version is decent, having a far better bot mode than alt. I'm keeping my eye on a couple 3rd party releases that look really good. I'm getting anxious, and a bit impatient, for MP Ironhide to release. I believe he's supposed to release this month, but Jan is almost over and I've seen nothing to indicate that release is imminent, other than a Chinese fellow's in-hand video of a near-production model. Not sure why I'm so antsy about getting him, but I am. I hope Hound is the next MP. I loved his G1 character's personality, and his Army Jeep Willys alt is fitting.
  8. M'Kyuun

    Bandai DX VF-31

    M'Kyuun replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    Personally, I don't need Delta's narrative to make me appreciate and want a few of its associated mecha on my shelf...I like transforming mecha for their own merits apart from the stories in which they're featured. That said, I am a Macross fan, and I don't have a problem with singing and dancing per se; I thought the presentation of Minmay, Sara Nome, Sharon Apple/Myuung, Ranka, and Cheryl made sense within their associated stories. I've not seen M7, so I won't make commentary. The presentation of the singers in Delta, from what I've inferred, goes beyond any sort of practicality, of which there was at least a kernel in SDFM, Zero, M+, and Frontier that made their inclusion somewhat grounded in reality. To suddenly have these singers floating on magic boomerangs and surfing the backs of fighter jets in flight battling with song is too much of a stretch, at least in my mind. I hope to get a chance to see at least a few eps to judge it fairly, but for now, all I have to go on is the commentary here on the forums, and so far, the prognosis is not very appealing.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Yep, $50 preorder price is rather high for such a small figure. That's $15 off asking price. It's cool, but not $50 cool, and certainly not worth $65. If it was closer to $30, I'd bite, and that's still a bit pricey for something this small. I'm thinking, give it time and someone will make a mini-cassette sized KO of this thing for about half the price.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Yep, looks like a full sized cassette. Sucks in part b/c he can't be stored in Soundwave, but, wow, that jaguar mode is exactly what I was hoping a MP Ravage would be. When MP Soundwave was announced, I was hoping he'd be designed around full sized cassettes, since that'd give the designers more area to utilize, and we would get cassette bots of this caliber. It wasn't to be, but this thing looks absolutely amazing. Ravage has always been my favorite of the cassettes, and the MP version was so-so, kinda disappointing after what they accomplished with Laserbeak. I might have to get a copy of this, just b/c it's awesome.
  11. M'Kyuun
    Actually, I am a G1 fan, but I'd completely forgotten that episode. I love the first season for its slightly more serious tone. After that, the writers were given license to pretty much do whatever, and I lost interest, only catching an ep here or there. It became too ridiculous and cheesy. The first season and the Movie are the only G1 TF DVDs I own.
  12. M'Kyuun
    Oops, respectful apologies for the offense. I came into this thread hoping to see some Filipino transforming toys; instead, we're turning into Food Network! I'm waiting for Andrew Zimmern to turn up and start posting.
  13. M'Kyuun
    CW Devy is in the same scale as CW Bruticus. The difference in their comparative sizes lies in that all six Constructicons are voyager class, whereas Bruticus has a single voyager class fig for his torso/thighs, and the remaining four limbs are all deluxe class. I'm curious: why do you want Bruticus to fight Devastator? They're both Decepticons.
  14. M'Kyuun

    Bandai DX VF-31

    M'Kyuun replied to UN Spacy's topic in Toys

    So wrong. I've never seen M7, b/c everything about it seemed ridiculous (although the external valk designs are cool, just not the instrument cockpits..bleh!), and Delta seems like it's leaning a little too far in that direction. I could handle that in some other anime, maybe, but not in Macross. No matter how wicked the valk design is, the cool desolves the minute they break into song and dance. Or ride magical rainbow boomerangs while singing and dancing. This thread is depressing.
  15. M'Kyuun
    When I was stationed in Okinawa, alot of guys I knew had been to the Philippines, or had Filipino girlfriends/wives. The one thing that always stood out to me was their penchant for burying a number of their foodstuffs, and then digging it up some time later to eat. Balut and kimchi are the two I remember best. Wasn't aware of pig's blood stew...hope that stuff is cooked...salmonella sucks. Egg rolls, now...sooo yummy!
  16. M'Kyuun
    Man, looking at those old 80's store pics, there's so much product on the shelves, and so many different brands of transforming toys. What's ironic is that this is the best time ever to be a Transformers fan, between official products and 3rd parties, and yet there's so little official product to be found in stores. I miss the days when the shelves were teeming, and the old 80's packaging was so striking. Miss that too. Sadly, I was only peripherally aware of Robotech in the 80's, having seen pics of the old Matchbox toys in the Sears and JC Penny catalogues. I had no connection at all to the cartoon, growing up in NW Pennsylvania with lackluster cable. I was aware of the VF-1, since it became ubiquitous in all sorts of toys, one of which I bought at a Dollar Store, and then in Jetfire. I recognized the design, but not the source, back then. Appreciate the jog down memory lane. Cheers! I haven't had skewered chicken intestines, but I did have some sort of grilled tripe in Ecuador, once. Can't say I'm a fan. Acquired taste, I guess.
  17. M'Kyuun
    I'm kinda surprised how many folks here dig the new Blast Off, and I'm glad, even though I don't. For those of us who end up getting him, and I include myself, I hope he'll turn out to be a good figure. He may even grow on me once I have him in hand. I sincerely hope so, since my shelf space is limited currently, and all my combiners spend their time uncombined in robot mode, so I'll get to see those engine toes all the time. Alas, I still need to figure out where I'm going to get him. I'm holding out for HLJ, so I hope they get him in their preorder queue soon. I watched a Sphinx (3P Mirage) review earlier today, and he seems like a really well done fig. In the review I watched, the fig's left sliding shoulder block was a little loose and had play, but the right one was solid. Overall, though, the reviewer, who calls himself 'Diecast', gave a good review of the fig and recommended him. The articulation, deco, transformation, and overall design are all excellent. Articulation is especially excellent, since both knees and elbows are double jointed. I really liked their solution to hollow arm syndrome, since they attached a small panel to the rotating wrist base which covers the hole in the arm, and also slides in a small groove to allow the wrist to flex up and down. Smart design. Take notes, Takara. MP Bumblebee could have benefited from this. I've been taking more note of the vast number of 3P offerings, and wow. It's kinda mind-blowing what's out there now for TF fans- so much stuff, much of which Takara will likely, and sadly, never produce. In the meantime, Takara has some serious competition out there. Sphinx is just one example of a company doing it better, IMHO. Now that MP Primal's been announced, I wonder if they're going to just produce him alone to test the waters, or if they have plans to release a number of them concurrently. I'm not aware of any others being formally announced, although Megatron would be the next likely BW fig made, yes. I'd be happy with just those two as MP figs. I have the CHUG versions of Rhinox, Waspinator, and Ratrap, all of which were really well done...I'm not sure what improvements could be made, honestly. Maybe Dinobot...his CHUG fig left much to be desired, he was one of the best characters on the show, had a wonderfully noble end, and warrants a MP grade fig, IMO. I'd be happy to have him.
  18. M'Kyuun
    So very true. I also hate it when a figure is either at the military position of attention or extreme A-stance due to the ratchet indents being too large or too far spaced to achieve a natural standing pose. How this passes QC by people who design these things for a living, and who arguably like action figures, is beyond me. This is especially true for the third party folks, for whom these toys are labors of love. He does look good, yes. But, I'm also struck by the similarities to the original Primal toy. For its time, it was an extremely well done figure. Concerning MP Primal, I have to admit a small bit of disappointment that Takara couldn't or wouldn't find a way to give him a furry hide. I suppose it's impractical, esp if they won't even put rubber tires on the MP cars, but part of me hoped they'd do something cool and surprising like that to make the animal modes more realistic. Ah, well, Primal still looks pretty sweet, and I'll be happy to give him a home. It's sad and disheartening when the toys you've dreamed of for 20-30 years are finally made, and so many shortcuts are taken. Those faults are only magnified when a third party comes along and makes a superior product comparatively. On that note, there's a Huge part of me that wants to just go ahead and get Sphinx and Willy, since in many ways, they exceed the quality of the current official MP toys, and I can expect no more from the eventual official Mirage and Hound. But, there's some part of me that really wants that officialdom, and I don't really feel the need to have two each of these guys, nor spend the funds which could go towards something new. First world conundrum. That said, I did break down and buy Apollyon, since a new G1 MP version seems uncertain. I do hope for an official version, and hope it will be a better design than Apollyon, but for now he does the job. Can't get behind you on that new Blast Off...too many things about it don't look right. But...I'm still going to get the UW version, as it'll likely have other improvements over the CW version. I also wouldn't be surprised if Dr. Wu, or some other third party, make their own shuttle fig that has a more realistic shuttle mode, not to mention a better bot mode. Those feet ...barf. (What ever happened to our vomiting emoticon? That thing was useful.) TRU...Price gouging -R-Us. I like that they exist, but man, their pricing shenanigans often deter me. They do get some cool exclusives sometimes, though.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Um, it looked better in the small picture. From a company that's been designing these toys for 30+ years, I was kinda expecting better. While I appreciate the effort, neither mode looks very good to me. Those engine bells for toes...Ugh. No OHMS pods, and the old, lazy 'just-lay-the-arms-along-the side' transformation. Disappointing, but I still intend to get the UW Bruticus set, b/c a sh!tty shuttle is better than no shuttle at all. Incidentally, there was an early test shot somewhere of a retconned Vortex heavily reworked into a shuttle that kinda looked better.
  20. M'Kyuun
    After doing a bit of searching, I finally found GCIToys. Looking at the feet, at first I didn't think they had ankle tilts either, but upon closer inspection, I believe the peg itself is attached to a ball joint recessed into the foot. Hopefully it's sturdy plastic. Bruticus will likely have a little more heft to him given the slightly larger size of his component bots. If he were to become unbalanced and take a tumble, I could see those things sheering right off. Although CGIToys have a better price, I'll likely go with PE's set. As for the back cannons, I'd wait to see if the UW version comes with more cartoon accurate ones. TT are sticklers for keeping things close to the animation, and for generally providing a better product than Hasbro. I'm anticipating pics of the final toy, just to see how many changes they've made. Just had to go back and look at those MP Ratchet pics again. I'm really impressed by how expressive this figure is. On a down note, I wish they'd given him and Ironhide double jointed elbows...a 90 deg bend is too limited. Double joints should be the standard with today's tech, esp in anything bearing the name 'Masterpiece'. My $.02
  21. M'Kyuun
    I was considering Robot Kingdom, at $114.90, but having ordered from them before, they get you on shipping. I'm hoping HLJ will carry it as well...I've done more business with them than any other online Japanese toy retailer, and only ever had one issue with an item. They resolved the issue immediately without question. I wasn't aware of GCI Toys, just PE. I'll have to scope them out and see how their Bruticus upgrade set compares. Edit: Nice new pics of MP Ratchet over on TFW2005: http://news.tfw2005.com/2016/01/20/masterpiece-ratchet-new-image-308081 I hadn't noticed before, but his waist and his thighs are different from Ironhide's, and he comes with a few additional accessories. Nice. Also, is it me, or does it look like his light bar recesses to allow him to fit in Prime's trailer?
  22. M'Kyuun
    Blast Off does look good; the pic is so small, it's hard to tell if he's a recycled mold or new. Either way, I'm glad he's coming in this set. The 4 bladed prop doesn't bother me; regardless of the number of blades, it's in a less than optimal position when bending the elbow. At least now it's more accurate to the original. I don't own a copy of that mold yet, since I was waiting for Bruticus; can it be repositioned in arm mode for better accessibility? Those tiny uni-feet look terrible, esp given how wide both legs are. Really wish they'd found a better solution. Once I get my UW Bruticus, I may have to get a PE set for a more appealing gestalt.
  23. M'Kyuun
    I agree with you, JBO...there's always compromise when using ratchet joints. Like anything else, they need to be customized for their particular application. In Tracks' case, the forearms aren't that heavy, and more indents likely could have been used. There are only three from straight to 90 degree bend. Not much posing to be had there. A double hinge would have been nice, but it is what it is, I guess. Having messed with my copy this evening, Scyla's critique is valid. Tracks is still a decent figure, but still not as well done as Sideswipe, Wheeljack, or Prowl. When I ordered Tracks, I was on the fence concerning getting Road Rage, but in the end I relented. Glad I did now. I'm hoping Ironhide will release next week (26 Jan, IIRC). I'm looking forward to getting him, and hope overall he's a better designed figure, esp since I've already preordered Ratchet. After watching the vid above, the pros are outweighing the cons so far. Toyfair season is coming up soon, as well. I always look forward to new TFs and LEGO stuff. I hope we get a Kickback figure to go with the previous Insecticon releases (the atrocious FOC version doesn't count). I'm not too plussed about headmasters (for sentient robots to take off their heads so they can transform into their little driver bots is beyond the pale of stupidity for reasons that should seem self-evident), but I must confess that Titans Return Galvatron, and possibly Powermaster Prime, have my attention. Hopefully there are a few surprises that haven't leaked...it makes these things fun to follow, and I enjoy the anticipation.
  24. M'Kyuun
    Sonoya and Alicia are both incredibly fine women. Kyoko's character was more overtly sexual, though, since Nathan essentially used her for service and recreational duties. She is what a type-A sociopath would consider an ideal mate: beautiful, mute, completely subservient, and wholly devoted to him. Ava has a more subtle sexuality, esp since her face and hands are the only parts of her that look truly human. Her intelligence, her ability to incite emotional response, and to project emotion are what make her so captivating, esp when Caleb, and the viewer, are acutely aware that she is an anthropomorphic machine throughout most of the film. I found the psychology of the film very interesting. Alicia played a completely different kind of character in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., but no less enjoyable. There was much more levity and playfulness in her role, which had an allure all its own. Very lovely and talented actress. That's the mark of good actors. They completely inhabit their roles, and can play all kinds of characters and personalities. While I love actors like Nicholson and Eastwood, they essentially play themselves in everything, and I can't unsee that its them. Character actors are often more fascinating b/c they play such a broad array of characters that one oft forgets that they were in this picture or that b/c its the character they play, not the actor, that one remembers. Just my personal observation.
  25. M'Kyuun
    Concerning ratchets, I see where you're coming from, and agree 100%. If ratchet joints are going to be implemented, they need to have numerous indents for greater range of motion, otherwise, what's the point? I haven't handled my Tracks that much, and honestly didn't really notice the limitation in the elbow. I put him in a pose I liked, and that's how he remains. I'll have to go mess with him a bit to see how limited it is.
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