M'Kyuun
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Well, both Arcee and Hound were rumored, I believe, with the now commom silhouette pics teased on TFW2005. I take all these rumors with a bowling ball sized chunk of salt at this point. Moreover, before they start making MP toys of lesser characters, I want them to make more of the first season figs that continue to resonate and appear in nearly every incarnation of the franchise. Jazz is certainly on that list, as well as Hound, Mirage, Cliffjumper, Brawn, just to name a few. Why they did Tracks before any of these guys is beyond me. I would welcome a MP of Arcee, though; her CHUG fig is well done, but I'd hope a MP version would incorporate more of her car into the robot mode...she's very kibble-y. -
Or pure black with dark red trim. Yum. Not sure what you see wrong with the knees, Treatment. They're quite beefy, but otherwise look fine to me. I'm curious about the metallic looking apparatus on its back...gun attachment arm for fighter, or a locking mechanism? Wish they'd integrated that a little better; on an otherwise svelte valk, it's a sore thumb. edit: There was something familiar about that head that I couldn't place. Looking at it again just now, it occurred to me- the commando droid from Star Wars.https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrTcXV.xCRXWhkA2FounIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTIzdnF0amltBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAM3YTFhNTYyNTNmMWNmODA4Yzk1ZTMxMWQ5MDJkMzZkOARncG9zAzE2BGl0A2Jpbmc-?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Dcommando%2Bdroid%26n%3D60%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyhs-mozilla-004%26fr2%3Dsb-top-images.search.yahoo.com%26hsimp%3Dyhs-004%26hspart%3Dmozilla%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D16&w=405&h=314&imgurl=img1.wikia.nocookie.net%2F__cb20120117230325%2Ftheclonewiki%2Fimages%2F8%2F8e%2F4.14_Commando_Droids.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fclonewars.wikia.com%2Fwiki%2FBX-Series_Droid_Commando&size=15.1KB&name=The+%3Cb%3ECommando%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3EDroids%3C%2Fb%3E+notice+Ahsoka+and+Lux+escaping.&p=commando+droid&oid=7a1a56253f1cf808c95e311d902d36d8&fr2=sb-top-images.search.yahoo.com&fr=yhs-mozilla-004&tt=The+%3Cb%3ECommando%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3EDroids%3C%2Fb%3E+notice+Ahsoka+and+Lux+escaping.&b=0∋=160&no=16&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11o6jmcrr&sigb=15etkd2ns&sigi=12stm57vu&sigt=1214riosd&sign=1214riosd&.crumb=N0Fvdm/tGah&fr=yhs-mozilla-004&fr2=sb-top-images.search.yahoo.com&hsimp=yhs-004&hspart=mozilla
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Love it. I like both head designs, but the nosecone face has an otherworldly look that I like. On the production model, I hope they put a highly reflective material behind transparent red eye pieces to give them a proper glow effect. It's a sharp look in the anime that will look equally cool on the toy. Thanks to Tochiro for tweeting that pic, and to seti88 for posting the link.
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
With all these G1 toys being redone, I'd like to see redos of the Omnibots, Camshaft, Overdrive, and Downshift (the only one I own). Still want a proper CHUG Reflector, too. For a character who appeared so much throughout the first season, the Reflector figs have gotten little official love. Still have mine from the 80's. I'm surprised there's another Megatron fig coming so close to the CW release, esp since he looks like he also turns into a tank. Given my druthers, I'll stick with the leader class with real rolling treads. His legs look like ass, but otherwise he's a decent fig, and a realistic looking tank. An all-in-one voyager Prime is an interesting fig, though. I can understand it with Powermaster Prime, but on a voyager OP, it's an interesting design choice. Admittedly, the first time I saw a commercial for Transformers, I thought OP was a combo of his cab and trailer; I was a little disappointed to find out he wasn't, but just a little. Gobots Road Ranger, who I sadly never owned, was always interesting to me, too, for including the trailer in his transformation. So, along with MP and CW UM, and TR PM Prime, I'm quite pleased to see so many tractor-trailer all-inclusive TFs suddenly being produced, and being done rather well, to boot. The upcoming -masters toys are hit-and-miss for me. Some appeal, some don't. I wasn't into any of the various masters toys in the 80's, but some of those figs updated have their appeal. I received my MP ratchet yesterday, and like Ironhide, I find him a pretty solid rendering overall. I too, wish they'd found a different placement for the hip panels, and I wish he had onboard storage for some of his smaller weapons/tools. And, stickers. I ended up clipping the little red squares off of his standard crosses to give him his iconic look. Why, I wonder, did Takara, who are so hell-bent on animation accuracy, include those when they have never, to my knowledge, ever been present on any incarnation of the character? Anyway, a few minutes and a good pair of shears made all the difference. -
They're too busy giving alms to their Tommy Yune shrines while hugging their VF-1 plushies to notice new valks. Such is cult life. Now that the cat's out of the proverbial bag, I hope pics of Bandai's DX in battroid start showing up. They must have some serious NDAs at Bandai to have kept this thing from leaking.
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The battroid does appear to be narrow, since the chest is only a smidge wider than the crotch. Despite my hopes that this would be a really chunky battroid, from what I can parse from those tiny pics, and the transformation vid, I'm good with it as-is. I think the shoulders give adequate width to the upper torso. As with the human body, a thinner frame is more lithe, giving way for greater poseability. I've often wondered what an Eva Unit would look like if Kawamori redisigned it to transform, while striving to maintain the Eva's thin-ness. I'm happy that Kawamori was true to his word concerning a new method of transformation; even if it does borrow elements from previous designs, the amalgamation of those mechanics into a single valk make it unique. I think the intakes closing to form the chest is the most unique design feature...I didn't anticipate that at all, citing a more YF-21 design. I'm quite pleased to have been wrong.
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Great design all around, IMHO. The Hs head is interesting, although the more conventional space pope head appeals to me. Like everyone else, I can't wait to see the actual DX toys to get a proper look at them in battroid. I love the leg packs...absolutely seamless. The wing drones, not so much. The anime tendency to place large bulky items on the end of something thin and fragile generally looks cool, but on a practical model with gravity's relentless beckoning, it doesn't bode well for the collector.
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I just want them to choose an actress who looks young, petite, and is fairly short in stature to fit the role. Zendaya Coleman, who I never heard of prior to this thread, fits the first two, but at 5'10", seems kinda tall for a cyborg who's supposed to look about 12. Her young appearance and diminutive stature in the anime makes her all the more badass when she squares off against towering bad guys...and promptly kicks their asses. Alas, Zendaya seems to be the leading pick, so I'm kinda resigned at this point. Chloe Moretz would have fit the character profile better, though...and she has martial arts training under her belt already.
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Likewise. (I like all that mecha origami. ) Hopefully, die-cast will be used judiciously, since I suspect a fair bit of swing bar action, including the bar to which the shoulders attach. I noticed that the forearms are drawn to look wider than they are portrayed on the model kit. I hope the DX follows the animation, b/c, on an otherwise sharp battroid, those skinny forearms don't look good.
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Glad to hear you had a positive outcome, V. -
Watched eps 1-4 today, and though the basic story is pretty formulaic, I'm happy to see valk vs valk action again. Cool intro by the -262 squadron. I'm curious to see what all those wing-mounted drones can do; it'd be sweet if they transformed too, controlled by the -262's A.I. for defense. I hope they don't end up having a valk dance-off. Four eps in, and I'm approaching my silliness threshold.
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Ghost in the Shell Live Action - March 31, 2017
M'Kyuun replied to Mechinyun's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I'm glad they're down with Scarlett playing Motoko. Interesting that nearly all their first impressions when shown the pic were comments on her beauty, not her race. -
Well, Plus was my first Macross experience, so seeing the VF-11, 19, and 21 strut their stuff was pretty mind-blowing. Battle of the Planets, and then Transformers, were my first experiences,respectively, with regards to transforming mecha. The transformation and battle sequences in Plus were like nothing I'd seen prior. I regret not having the VF-1 revelation experience as a kid- I can see why it continues to be so popular.
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I like the VF-1/VF-0, but I prefer the valks where the forward fuselage and cockpit are obscured. In M:0, I find the Sv-51 much more appealing than the 0, which is just an enlarged VF-1 with modern stealth aspects added and some other aesthetic flourishes. The -51 isn't exactly pretty, but it is evocative, and looks the part of a combat machine, IMHO. It's still one of my top favorite valk designs. Although we've yet to see it from behind, it appears that, like the VF-14, the -262's cockpit will form the spine, and may be further obscured by the inboard wing mount framework. I'm also going to hazard a guess that the cockpit canopy is itself armor, protecting the pilot. I'm curious to see how all that framework folds, since it's not apparent in the vid. I'm liking it quite a bit so far.
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Interesting. It never occurred to me that the intakes would rotate and meet to form the chest. Lots of moving parts; I hope Bandai will find good solutions for durability, and for effective locking mechanisms. Cool battroid, worth the wait. I completely agree that every new valk should have a nice transformation revelation scene. While animation is nice and very much appreciated (Thanks to all the posters), DX battroid pics are what I'm excited for now. Then we'll get a better sense of transformation mechanics, as well as a little better idea of potential fragile areas. While the -31 is cool, this thing is origami madness the likes of which I live for. I'm not yet familiar with all the variants, but I hope I'll be able to score at least one come preorder time.
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I'm thinking that the legs attach to the lower fuselage aft of the cockpit section, and that it swings via the double hinge under the cockpit to rest against the nose in similar fashion to the YF-21, or the Sv-51, for that matter. However, I hope I'm wrong and that it's a new system of transformation. That's a huge part of the appeal of transforming toys, at least for me. As for the aft intakes, while a real world explanation may be posited based on existing aircraft, my guess is they're there purely for aesthetic flavor. Basically, they look cool.
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Ghost in the Shell Live Action - March 31, 2017
M'Kyuun replied to Mechinyun's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I hope there's some of that in this movie, as it sells the fact that her body is indeed mechanical despite appearances. And, it looks badass. My concern at this point is how the story will be handled, since GiTS is generally replete with politics, philosophy, and all sorts of manipulations and convolutions of both, against a backdrop of cybercrime. Theses are at the essence of the franchise, and I fear that for the sake of a probable PG-13 rating, this will devolve into just another stripped down action movie with little depth or maturity. In the end, I fear that it will be Ghost in the Shell in name only. I'm curious who's doing the special effects: if ILM, I fear all the think tanks and such will end up looking like Bayformers, since that seems to be their preferred aesthetic for nearly everything mechanical. As such, I hope Weta are involved. -
Ghost in the Shell Live Action - March 31, 2017
M'Kyuun replied to Mechinyun's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I agree. Not a flattering shot, and her forelocks don't flow forward. Much ado is made of Scarlett, and while she's a pretty woman, she's not the paragon of beauty that she's made out to be. She benefits from the nose job, though. While I think Scarlett, with the help of stunt doubles, can pull off the physicality, Rinko would have been my first choice for the character. The first time I saw her in Pacific Rim, I thought "Motoko". Now I have a tough time seeing anyone else in the role. But, as others have pointed out, the Major has never been animated as an overtly Asian looking character, at least in the original movie, SAC, or Arise, but rather Caucasian, married to the idea that she is a cyborg and can essentially choose her ethnicity. It's a neat idea, actually, and one that would be interesting to see explored. It wouldn't be the first time Motoko's ghost has occupied a different body. -
I've always been so intent on figuring out the aft section of the plane that, until now, I've never even noticed the completely opaque canopy festooned with sensors. I still can't help but get a YF-21-ish vibe from this thing, at least the forward fuselage / what I believe will be the chest, shoulders, and head. My feeling is that this is an amalgamation of previous valks: YF-21 upper body with VF-9 arms, and VF-17 legs. In response to seti88's query above, it's difficult to figure out what's going on there, aside from our agreement that there's at least one arm there. My thinking is still that the arms lie over and under one another, thus providing attachment points for both upper and lower stabs. However, in the pic, there is a discernible line just forward of the upper stab. That could be a separation line for the arms, or it could just be where two halves of the mold come together. I retain my original hypothesis. Like the VF-17, I think, I certainly hope, that this is going to have a bulky battroid. David H.'s comparison to the Escaflowne is intriguing, at least from the bulky armor view. Having a dragon mode, while apropos to its namesake, would be a bit odd; but, if done right, it'd be a nice new direction for valks beyond the traditional 3-mode. If anyone can figure out such a transformation scheme, though, it's Kawamori. Maybe we're getting our first 4-mode valk.
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The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next
M'Kyuun replied to mikeszekely's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
I agree that MP-10 is an excellent Prime figure; the only imp0rovement I would have liked would be for the rear wheels to rotate 180 degrees into the leg so that his outer leg was smooth, or just get rid of the wheel wells and that crappy blue panel that covers them, and just let the wheels hang out. As he is, his lower legs never look right to me b/c of the wheel well bulges. I can understand the desire for a white MP-10, but honestly, I prefer the way MP Magnus was realized as an all-in-one figure. Personal choice. Referring to Davidwangchoi's post above concerning the TF pop-up book, that's some really impressive papercraft. I have no faculty whatsoever in that particular art, so origami and papercraft models have always impressed me for their ingenuity, detail, and in many cases, functionality. Aside from making a standard pop-up, which requires a bit of thought as to placement and folding mechanisms, the book's creator took it much further, to a very impressive result. Very cool; thanks for posting David. This makes me wonder how cool it'd be if someone made a 3D pop-up book TF where a basic frame was the pop-up subject, and the book covers broke up and formed the armor. -
Bandai Gobots/Machine Robo Series Toy Thread
M'Kyuun replied to David Hingtgen's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
The two that I'm most interested in are Leader-1 and Snoop, followed by Spay-C. I'm hoping HLJ will carry these at lower prices. Actually, it'd be cool if Hasbro made a contract with Bandai to make them available for North American retail. I doubt it, but dreaming is fun. -
I agree, Ignacio. I'm thinking there's a curved linkage, one end attached to a pivot point within the leg, and the other to the top of the visible strut. Upon retraction, the strut likely bends forward and retracts aft into the leg, guided and held by the internal linkage. That's the simplest and most logical way I can see its being done. It also makes sense for the bend near the wheel, which corresponds to the shape of the thigh above the knee. If this is indeed the way it's done, I'd assume the internal linkage will have two locking detentes corresponding to the extended and retracted positions, or at least one for the extended position, with the lower strut also locking in place by some mechanical means. I'll be a huge fan of this setup if that's how it's finally realized on the DX toy. Incidentally, what I've described is a very simplified B-1B Lancer main gear design. The struts themselves do not directly attach to the airframe, but to an intermediate set of linkages which fold during the retraction cycle. It's a neat thing to see, and even neater to feel if you're in the cockpit. I always repressed a small fear of bouncing off the jacks. It's about a 12 foot drop if the nose unseats.
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Well, that would be different, but if it doesn't have a head and the jet's nose is there, then what's really differentiating it from GERWALK, besides leg position? Personally, I hope it has a head and some new configuration in battroid, but anthropomorphic enough to differentiate it from G mode. Judging by the GERWALK shots, I still think the intakes are going to form the chest, similar to the YF-21. And the BFG does look cool. It'd be nice if it could swing to rest above either shoulder. Or, like the -31, that's the new method of carrying the gunpod.
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So true. At least in the animation, the main wheels are attached to angled shock struts and the kneepads are just doors, as a real aircraft would be designed. Hopefully, Bandai will follow through on the animation design for the DX. Not holding my breath, but I can still hope. I'm also a little disappointed that the radome doesn't fold into a nice rectangular box on the 31E. As it is, it resembles my kitchen table with the leaves down. Two more hinges would've made a noticeable difference.
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The shoulders are mounted on either side of a beam, which is connected to the body by a central pivot. The arms of the VF-9, in jet mode, compress to shorten their length, the hands retract, and the arms rotate in-line with each other, wrists touching. The beam/arm assembly is situated longitudinally to be in-line with the forward fuselage. In battroid, the beam rotates 90 deg from its position in fighter. Here's a link to the official lineart; look at transformation details 1,2, and 3: http://www.macross2.net/m3/macrossga/vf-9.htm It's one of Kawamori's more complex transformations. Anyway, the comparison we're making is with the beam connection for the arms is similar between the VF-9 and the Sv-262.