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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Picked up the new 60440 Yellow Delivery Truck this weekend and it doesn't disappoint. LEGO-branded transport trucks go all the way back to 1967 and perhaps even earlier. There've been several tractor-trailer sets, and this latest offering is the largest and, IMHO, the most realistic of them all. I especially like the new fifth-wheel modified plate element (3779) that allows the truck to back up into the trailer hitch (a small ball joint with axle) as well as a red whip element which is used as an electrical umbilical connecting the cab to the trailer. Although the space is cramped, the cab can turn with the whip connected between cab and trailer. The driver's compartment is 6 studs wide but can accommodate two minifigs thanks to the use of 1x3 jumpers and a couple Technic plates. The cozy sleeper even has a flat screen tv on the wall. The hood can open on a double hinge or be removed by unclipping it to reveal an easily removable engine. The set comes with two toolboxes and set of tools that are stored in the foremost compartment of the trailer. The rest of the trailer accommodates four pallets of LEGO sets, all of which feature printed tiles. Although I didn't show it, each set can be removed independently from its pallet. Other prints include: and x2 The set also includes a hotdog stand, a sign for the hot dog stand, a white construction helmet, and a forklift. It comes with four minifigs and contains 1061 pieces for $100 USD. If you're someone who likes City or just enjoys these big rig sets, I think this one will delight. there's a lot of playability and realism built in and I hope to see more of the same in future sets. this year's City Construction theme is looking impressive as well. I'm definitely down for that exquisite excavator.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Hopefully the backpack is on sliders and can be pushed in flush with the 'shelf', as folks are calling it. If such is the case, then it'll look more like the prototype, which looked much better with the backpack snugged against the shelf. Fingers crossed the final version is just mistransformed.
  3. M'Kyuun
    As a G1 fan, pragmatically speaking, most younger kids, especially in the 8-14 range, unless introduced to G1 by parents or older friends, are likely unaware of it. Sure, G1 Optimus is iconic- even the little kiddies know who he is, but I'm betting more of them associate with Bayformer's Prime or TBM Prime over any of the toon versions. I don't think kids watch toons like we did as kids; they're too involved in social media stuff and the internet in general. Ergo, all this retro G1 stuff Has/Tak are peddling is to the old fans' benefit far more than to the kiddies. Nostalgia drives us and, let's face it, we have far more disposable income than your average kid, and we've demonstrated to toy companies that there is an exuberantly willing market to buy plastic playthings that used to be associated solely (and woefully mistakenly IMHO) with children. I think it made good sense to make Legacy G1 Prime similar to the G1 toy while making a few improvements to the design. It worked: I had little interest in ML Convoy, but this deluxe with its tweaks appeals to me. This man-child will be more than happy to add him to my stockpile of plastic playthings.😁
  4. M'Kyuun
    Preorders up on Pulse Got deluxe G1 Prime and Animated Motormaster.
  5. M'Kyuun
    I understand why they referenced the old E-Hobby Exclusive set, but it's a bit of a copout over making an effort to actually homage the actual Gobot toys a little better. I reiterate my desire for Bandai, Takara, and Hasbro to work out a mutually beneficial collab to allow Has/Tak to produce faithful updates to Gobots. I'd love, love, love toys of Royal-T and Road Ranger as a minimum. I'm pretty happy with my Action Toys figs and only wish they'd had more ability to realize all the "600 Series" toys instead of being limited to Revenge of Cronos. A collab as I mentioned would be the best opportunity to pretty much get all the characters and it'd open up a whole new line of nostalgia-fueled revenue for all three companies. Deluxe class Powerglide is a big yes. I imagine he's an eventuality in Legacy, as the last version we got was a legends class fig back in 2014. IMHO, he wasn't a bad fig, but in keeping with redoing all the Minibots in deluxe scale, he's due an update and I'm here for it. LEGO Transformers Bumblebee New Stock Images - Transformers News - TFW2005 LEGO Bee is catching flack. Looks like he's going to be a partsformer, as the windshield needs to be removed for transformation. I think it's odd, given how closely they skewed towards the G1 Optimus Prime toy, that they didn't follow suit with this model. I don't think it looks too bad, but even before the car mode was revealed, I was wondering why they approached the hood panels the way they did. As a transforming mecha LEGO MOC designer, I can think of better ways to approach it. Anyways, as both a huge LEGO fan and a TF fan, this is a must-buy, as I've been hoping for LEGO to do a transforming robot theme since I was a lad in the 80s, and an actual collab with Hasbro to do no-kidding Transformers characters that actually transform is a dream come true. Execution may leave somewhat to be desired, but as a beginning effort with the potential for future improvement, I'm all onboard.
  6. M'Kyuun
    For a moment, I thought that that was Missing Link with cheaper paint and materials, but the legs look better on this than the OG toy. I passed on ML, but I'm def down for this budget version. He'll be a little small compared to other recent main line OPs, but the novelty of having this homage is cool. So, I'm fine with them repackaging TF characters as Gobots, but I do wish they'd try a little harder to match things with the OG toys. This is Pathfinder. Blue Cosmos just doesn't quite evoke the same image. No issue with green Warpath as Treds, whose original toy was pretty atrocious. This is definitely an upgrade for him. Gears is a good choice for Small Foot, I just wish they'd retooled her head to better represent the OG toy instead of Gears' big block head. So after doing some research into Gobots, I discovered that these guys were all reimagined as part of a 2004 E-Hobby exclusive Collector's Edition "G1 Gobots", and their colorations coincide with those toys and later comics. I wish Hasbro, Takara, and Bandai would reach an agreement allowing Has/Tak to make modern versions of the OG MR toys as Gobots. That would be a lot better than endlessly recoloring TF characters who often have little in common aesthetically with their Gobot counterparts. Not sure if I want to go in on this BBTS exclusive, but at least they picked good toys for all three.
  7. M'Kyuun
    It was the confounded wing linkages that caused me frustration. Been years since I last tried, and I'm sure I encountered other challenges with it, but those linkages are what stayed with me. Bit disappointed with the lackluster ankle articulation; usually Bandai's pretty good about giving their valks a decent range, but the 262's ankles are really limited. Beautiful valk though with a unique looking battroid.
  8. M'Kyuun
    I copy you on that backpack; Yamato was able to make theirs sit much more compactly to the body. Bandai has had a decade to study that toy and capitalize on its finer points, but obviously, and disappointingly, they went their own way and not necessarily for the best. Honestly, the bigger legs are the main selling point for me, as I detested the skinny legs and wobbly hips on the otherwise perfect Yamato. I think Arcadia is passing up a golden opportunity to tweak that toy, improving the leg proportions, and essentially putting out a better product than their competition. That said, knowing at least superficially some of the DX's flaws already, I'm willing to give the toy the benefit of the doubt. If nothing else, I think the battroid looks alright, and I like all the tampo markings compared to Yamarcadia's dearth of markings. Since battroid is my favorite mode and how I display my valks, I think I'll be ok with it as long as it can stand on its own without falling over at the slightest provocation. I hope it's more fun to transform than the Sv-262.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Well, par for the course with LEGO. They could have easily built in some clicky-hinges that would likely be strong enough to manage the weight, but stability is their primary concern, not articulation. Stability is good, but yeah, I'd prefer this thing had better articulation. The way they made the hood panels fold just confounds me: why not follow the pattern of regular Transformers Bee figs and just have the panel where the legs go move out of the way instead of breaking up the iconic Beetle front end? I'm assuming Joe Kyde, former Transformers designer at Hasbro-cum-LEGO designer designed this (he designed LEGO Optimus), and one would think he'd try to preserve the Beetle front end for Bee's feet. He is a little chunky on top, but I think that's an artifact of this being LEGO. The face is an improvement over Prime's, but I'm guessing the entire thing isa print on the same piece they developed for Prime's mask. I'm hoping the crest, the face, and the Autobot symbol are all prints. The legs are likely stickers, just like Prime's. I'm guessing the windshield is on his back or somehow folds into the body. Looks like the pelvis bends 90 degrees forward for transformation, as I doubt very much they gave him an ab crunch. Most Bee TF toys rely on the knees to help fold the legs, but obviously that wasn't an option here, so I'm curious how they're going to manage the transformation. Prime's was pretty straightforward, following the G1 toy's schema. This guy looks a little more complex. My birthday's in July, so this'll make for a nice b-day present. 😉
  10. M'Kyuun
    Hmm, I hadn't thought about competition between Ferrrari and Lamborghini. Seems a little petty when it comes to toys. Moreover, LEGO only has the one shade of regular red, "bright red", which is what they use for their Ferrari sets as well as pretty much everything else that they want to depict in a normal shade of red. Obviously, they'd use the same hue for the Countach if they chose to or were permitted. However, I'm thinking the color is an issue b/c the Speed Champions Countach was also done in white, which I thought an odd color choice then. But as we've seen from the Transformers world and licensing among various automakers, they can be very picky about what they allow in a toy when it comes to their licensed products. I wish aircraft manufacturers were as stringent or we might have had an accurate F-15 mode for MP Starscream instead of the travesty that they made instead. I'm digressing. Regardless of the color, this model is pretty impressive and I'm sure somebody somewhere, if all the parts are available, will rebuild this in red. I'm with you on yellow, though-🤮. Not a fan. Black would have looked sharp, though.
  11. M'Kyuun
    I think red would have been more suitable (always reminds me of Sideswipe) than white, but it looks amazing. These Icons models harken back to the old Model Team sets which released from 1986-1999, along with an updated release of 1995's Blue Fury (5541) in 2004. Many of those sets were pretty impressive for their time, especially given the limited palette at the time. These were the "Adults welcome" sets well before LEGO started purposely targeting sets towards adults. I had three of them, unfortunately all parted out to build MOCs many years ago. These Icons models have advanced remarkably, but those old sets are due respect for just how good they were.
  12. M'Kyuun
    Good review, Mike. I was messing about with my copy last night in anticipation and was a little bummed that the wrists don't rotate, a should-be must on any fig that wields a sword. Anyway, though he has his flaws, at this scale he's a pretty good take, especially his bot mode. I, too, wish his wings tabbed in somewhere, as the ball joints seem to have different resting points leaving mine a little asymmetrical. Too, the back wheels on mine don't rotate freely; the pins were installed too tightly on them, I think, although the front wheels rotate just fine. As you say, Springer's car mode is generally his weakest (by design) regardless of what version of Springer you have (except MMC's Saltus whose stylistic take was the main reason I got him as my MP Springer); however on Falcon I think it turned out better than his helicopter whose aft fuselage and tail boom aren't properly shaped. Personally, as an aviation fan, I wish the opposite was true, but as you said, eventually New Age and Magic Square will likely get around to doing their own versions which will in all likelihood be superior given their pursuits of toon accuracy, for whatever that's worth.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Oops, I missed the Tomahawk repaint when I was perusing the TFWiki. No worries regarding the lighting; at least you have a photo setup. I usually ad-hoc by propping up a piece of foamboard on my kitchen table or counter and hoping that the overhead lighting/sunlight from the slider door is sufficient. I just got my first cell phone, and its photo capabilities far surpass my old Kodak point & shoot, so hopefully my pics will turn out better from now on.
  14. M'Kyuun
    Ok , I feel better. I didn't even know Botcon Springer existed. Wow, all the way back to 2007! Kinda crappy, though, when they repaint a fig with a single alt mode as a triple changing character. Both Cybertron Hot Shot and Cybertron Evac, each having a single alt, were repainted as Springer.
  15. M'Kyuun
    First off, I must confess that when I said , "What's one more?", I meant Virtus, as I didn't realize he was in that lineup of Springers. So, I feel a bit guilty for the insinuation that @mikeszekely needed to get MFT's Springer. However, it made for a neat review and I appreciate the expenditure of money, time, and effort involved. I concede your opinion on this fig- def a step down from their other triple changers. "Another crack at it". Hmmmm😉 Despite my initial reluctance to delve into the legends rabbit hole, the quality of these figs compared to even MP offerings is pretty doggone amazing, and their small size makes display a far easier task, especially when space is at a premium, as it's rapidly becoming for me. One other thing of note is the options in the legends landscape: of course there are New Age and Magic Square leading the charge, and I find that one or the other does this fig or that fig "better" to my preference. Every now and then I'll get both companies' takes, but usually one or the other. Iron Factory has their own style which is cool but doesn't mix with the uber toon stylings of NA and MS. Mecha Fans Toys (MFT) are relegated to fourth party status on TFSafari. Nonetheless, as Mike has shown us in his various reviews, they're no slouches in the TF legends game; one must note that they've tackled most of the triple changers, some of the most challenging and complex figs to design, and they have acquitted themselves quite admirably. Thanks to Mike's and other fans' reviews, I felt compelled to add a number of MFT's triple changers to my ever-expanding collection of legends figs, and I've not been disappointed. To that end, I'm looking forward to the next review.
  16. M'Kyuun
    Likewise; nothing about this set is remotely exciting. It's a purely shameless cash grab. TBH, I thought Mainframe was just a made-up character to justify his appearance in The Ark. Regardless, he's such a low-tier level character that just about any other character would have been more enticing.
  17. M'Kyuun
    This mold raised eyebrows when it was first released, and though I own both Ironhide and Ratchet, I consider them two of the weakest figures in my MP collection. The mold hasn't aged any better and it continues to beckon for an improved toy. I wish Magic Square would upsize their version to MP scale.
  18. M'Kyuun
    I prefer my custom.
  19. M'Kyuun
    I'm an unabashed G1 fan. However, I'm also a fan of Prime and Animated, each having its own specific art direction which I'd like to see purely in updated toys rather than being homogenized into a G1-ish aesthetic. I get that Hasbro wants everything to look related, but I don't think that's what fans want. I don't. It is what it is for now, and I do like the figs they're producing on the whole, but if I had my druthers, I'd rather they left out the G1 aspect when making non-G1 related figs. If you're speaking of MP as their premier line, they have certainly taken various directions in scale, style, and engineering since big chonky beautiful MP-01 released in 2003. I'm not a fan of the toon slavish direction, but I heartily applaud their purposeful effort to really improve articulation in the MP line. To that end, I think they've succeeded marvelously (although I think it hurt Arcee, what with her low hanging chest to accommodate butterfly joints).
  20. M'Kyuun
    Well, there's 2026 and beyond, but going hand in hand with the dearth of UT figs is the accompanying lack of Prime-ish or Animated-ish figs. I was hoping at least for a Lugnut fig, hopefully fairly close to the OG. And though it's a serious reach at this point, I was hoping for an Animated Blackout, as he's one of my grails but way too pricey on secondary. An updated Legacy fig would have been nice, even if it had shades of G1 built in. Amongst all three continuities, however, there ar still many characters in need of updates and hopefully they'll get around to them. Their choices are questionable; why not pick a continuity and finish it within a year or two before moving on. Then again, by delving piecemeal, it keeps the line interesting and offers, presumptuously, something for everyone within a year's worth of offerings. I can understand the G1 fatigue, and though that's my main collecting continuity, from both fans' and Has/Tak's POV, I can understand wanting to shake up the diversity of offerings. I'm down for that approach, even if a majority of the offerings within a year's schedule aren't pertinent to my collection. I couldn't care one wit about the 13 Primes, as I have no knowledge of them beyond the fact that there were 13 Primes in the lore (I assume comics). I would love a good set of Aerialbots, but given Has/Tak's abysmal history with jet alts, my enthusiasm is off scale low. My expectation is that once again we'll get cubes with airplane parts attached with out-of-scale small forward fuselages and too many other compromises to name. I want them to prove me wrong in the absolute worst way, but I've been in this hobby since the beginning, and alas I see little reason for hope. ☹️ I'd like to finally have a Superion in my collection, as I love planes and a combiner made of planes is right up my alley, but I'm dubious that this next take will be an improvement over past executions. Again, I hope I'm wrong. I don't think you're an anomaly; having a unified style and design language should be part of a collectible line. If they're too disparate, it makes the collection look eclectic, as my TF shelves, absolutely crowded with figs from across nearly every continuity, and my Detolf, which contains transforming toys from numerous lines, will attest. MP is a prime case, pun intended, of varying aesthetics from MP-01 to MP-10 to MP-44. My personal preference was the Husui era, to whom I shall ever be grateful, gave me my very long-awaited and much cherished MP Prowl, my Grail amongst grails. The toon-slavish aesthetic is not my cup of java, and I'm glad that as of yet Hasbro hasn't gone in that direction with the mainline retail toys. There's a nice mix of toon and toy still evident, with molded details still happily making their presence in the bot modes. But yeah, MP is all over the place, and quite frankly, they've been hit and miss with their designs and aesthetics. MP Skyfire was the last MP fig I bought (FOMO), and before that MP Skids, and before that MP Megatron. Except for the odd fig here and there, though, I've essentially stopped collecting MP and turned my attention more to mainline and 3P legends, which, IMHO, are doing it better at a small scale than the big expensive MP figs. Too, they're maintaining a unified look (toon, of course), but at least they all look good together, at least when standing with other figs from the same company. MS, NA, and IF all have their own approaches and scales, so they don't mix and match well, but within their own company lines, there's agreement, and that makes for a nice display. As an ardent LEGO fan for nigh 47 years, the minifig is an icon, and I wouldn't change it. Moreover, it's a testament to Jens Nygaard Knudsen's creativity and vision that changed how LEGO could be played with forever. There's no replacement. That being said, as someone who loves articulation and finds the minifig a little limited, I would mind it if LEGO introduced a new midi-figure with improved proportions and articulation aimed at older teen and adult collectors. I design mecha, and the minifig's limitations are evident all the time when trying to design around them. I think there's room for both on shelves. Just my $.02.
  21. M'Kyuun
    I imagine it'll happen; they seem to be leaning into The Unicron Trilogy, and other than combiners, they're winding down on G1 characters in Legacy, so it makes sense that they're going to make figs from other continuities. Too, I think Takara has a vested interest in doing the UT given its purely Japanese roots. Just a matter of time before more of those characters get figs, methinks. They've already done Armada Prime, two variants of Hot Shot, and titan class Tidal Wave, as well as a few characters from Cybertron, most notably Hot Shot on whom Takara took lead. Pretty sure bet more are coming.
  22. M'Kyuun
    I think aspects of this observation applies to pretty much anything collectible, but as toy collectors (I collect LEGO, Transformers, Macross, and other robot toys here and there), and there are factors to consider: Space- there's so much of it in the universe, and yet I have so little to my name which makes displaying all my precious plastic playthings utterly impossible. A lot of what I own is stored in closets and cubbies, or in the case of my LEGO collection, stacked up in boxes in an 8' by 8' area in my rec room, much of which I've not seen in years. The joy of a new toy is another factor- I think that's just a human trait, that anticipation for a shiny new thing which tends to supplant our interest in the stuff we already have for at least a bit of time. I experience it, and when the shiny new thing turns out to be pretty awesome, it retains the interest long past its 'new stage' and takes its place with our other beloved older toys. Other new toys turn out to be mediocre, not what we expected, just plain bad, or lose their interest for us relegating them to forgotten corners of our collections or the selling block on your market of choice. Expectations- this is a big one, and as passionate collectors, it's intrinsic to our fandom. We want certain things from our toys- good quality, in terms of robot toys, above average to excellent articulation, nice details, a satisfyingly complex but not anxiety-inducing or frustrating transformation process, accuracy to various official media, be it animation, line art, or real-world inspirations. This is the one that drives those 70 pages of wonder, critique, questions and foaming at the mouth over concessions and inconsistencies, real or supposed. To a point it's fun, until it's not, and I'm sure we've all had our experiences with the dark side of collecting and fandom. Even LEGO has its share of negative detractors. Nothing we do is immune from reaction, both positive and negative. Reaction is a choice, and I try to be positive. Some folks find it difficult or just seem consumed by negativity and I lament that their lives will be colored by that dark outlook rather than just inherently finding joy in things. Collecting should, at its basest level, be enjoyable. It's what we like, and today we're so incredibly fortunate for the richness of availability that certainly never existed when we older folks from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and even into the 00s were younger. Anyway, the cycle you described @Raikkonen will continue to hold true for passionate fans as long as humans exist. I think the desire for new things, even new takes on old things, will always drive us, and that's a good thing. That innate human need drives progress. Otherwise, we'd still be driving horse and buggies on unimproved streets and using outhouses. Perish the thought! maintaining my positivity, I continue to look forward to the DX YF-21. My expectations are tempered given what we've seen, but with the bad I see the good, too, at least from the perspective of a Macross fan who prefers battroid mode for his displays. At this point, I just hope it has tight joints, can stand on its own, and that the transformation is pleasant. For the price, I think those are pragmatic and justified expectations. In short, I hope this is one that won't just be forgotten within days in anticipation of the next thing.
  23. M'Kyuun
    Wow, that's a lot of Springers. Eh, what's one more? 😉
  24. M'Kyuun
    And thus you have the conundrum that Yamato and Bandai have solved by shifting their focus towards fighter or battroid, respectively. I wish Bandai would have handled the backpack differently in a way that would have minimized its depth, but I'm also just grateful to finally have a YF-21 with decently proportional legs in battroid. I hope the backpack won't cause stability or balance issues, as I'm not a fan of using a stand for my robot toys; they should stand on their own as a matter of good engineering, in most cases. I guess we'll see when these things start releasing next month. If I read those dates right, it doesn't appear like we'll be getting ours on this side of the pond until October. Eh, time to save up and to catch some reviews before ours arrive. as always with these niche, expensive, high-end toys, I hope it's enjoyable, well-toleranced, with good durability, materials, articulation, complex-but-fun transformation, and other great features. I hope it's a damned fine toy b/c we've been waiting a long time for something to compare with or replace the Yamato on our shelves and I hope this does the job.
  25. M'Kyuun
    Enjoying the Springer reviews, @mikeszekely. Saltus is my MP Springer of choice as well, primarily b/c of the car mode's non-canonical but IMO better looking wide rear end. That said, his chopper mode leaves somewhat to be desired, but his bot mode looks really good, and since that's how I display (like most TF collectors I assume), I remain happy with the choice. I remember when Allen came on the scene, but I think the chunkier proportions left me cold. Anyway, I passed on him. This review is a nice retrospective, and I'm glad you shone a light on him b/c, for its time and despite the creative liberties taken, it's a pretty good take on the character and the alts are some of the best-executed of any of the 3P Springers, including Saltus. Hats off, too, to Unique Toys for living up to their name with such a creative transformation. Everybody else's takes, including Hasbro's, are fairly boilerplate insofar as the shoulders and arms form the front fenders/wings, legs form the aft hull and tail of the chopper or rear section of the car, and the chest forms the hood and grill. Furthermore, those retractable landing skids are just a wonderful touch that's so lacking in all the others. I love that little feature and wish it was more prevalent on other Springer figs. I'm hoping you'll eventually take a look at XTB's Virtus. Judging from pics, it looks to be another really good representation of the character. The heli form suffers the most concession with the shaping of its aft hull leading into the tail, but in terms of car and bot modes, weapon storage, accessories, and just overall capture, it's a respectable effort that IMHO ranks among the best thus far. I will point out, however, the fallacy of releasing this guy with two small human figs who obviously can't fit in the tiny two-seater cockpit (with steering wheels no less!). Ah that old pickle, mass shifting.
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