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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun

    Arcadia VF-5000G

    M'Kyuun replied to daBlah!'s topic in Toys

    It's niche primarily because Harmony Gold held the Macross trademark hostage in most of the world for three decades while doing little with it and preventing the rest of the Macross series from proliferating and becoming popular. I was really hoping that would change when Big West struck their agreement with Harmony Gold allowing Big West to market everything Macross except SDFM, but from what I've seen, they've done very little to promote Macross since. Getting Macross onto streamers would have opened it up to a new huge audience and they could have subsequently pushed all sorts of merch, but for whatever reason, they didn't. The only positive for us collectors is that the valks can now be purchased through domestic vendors, a far better situation than the old midnight madness. As to the Bandai vs Arcadia argument, I think both produce pretty good toys, although neither they, nor Yamato who preceded Arcadia, were free of duds. However there's an argument to be made that Arcadia, and Yamato before them, operated from a place of passion, and I think that shows in the toys they've made. But with such a dearth of companies making Macross stuff, I'm glad that a juggernaut like Bandai, with plenty of resources, is making them, although it's not lost on most of us that in some cases, like the upcoming DX YF-21, some design decisions seem poor or not as well-considered as they could have been given their acumen and level of resources. But, we Macross fans live in a nigh constant state of famine for want of merch, so perhaps a little good and a little mediocre is better than none at all. End of the day, you decide with your wallet.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Barrage and Chopshop actually aren't half bad retools/repaints. Better than I thought they'd be.
  3. M'Kyuun
    I understand that Hasbro likes to cater to its retail partners by doing exclusives, and that's fine. Well, actually exclusives suck, but for the sake of argument, it's fine. That's business. However, they're not quite living up to their motto of, "Where fans come first" in pulling these kinds of shenanigans. Hasbro knows fans want all the G1 bots in just regular color schemes, clear windows, etc to complement each other, so it's a bit of a middle finger to put a featured First Season bot who remains popular in an expensive multi-pack full of repaints. It certainly rankles with this fan. If I had an iota of talent and an airbrush, I'd just buy a copy of Detritus and give him a Hound paint job. Alas, I have no skills, so I'm at the mercy of Hasbro's weird and frustrating marketing decisions. 😒
  4. M'Kyuun
    I wouldn't mind having the Earth-alt Hound, but I already have the rest of the included bots in arguably better liveries, and I just don't have the room or the inclination to buy copies of them just to get the one fig I actually want. Hopefully at some future point, Hasbro will finally release just this version of Hound in some form or fashion. Until such time, the excellent Universe Hound remains my G1 Hound placeholder in my CHUG collection.
  5. M'Kyuun
    Heh, heh, I never have that issue. My wife and I maintain separate accounts, although we each have access to the other's and neither of us really ever checks on the other's. Too, we have no credit cards; we pay for everything from our checking accounts, and we're both careful to never overextend. Well, honestly, my wife spends little of what she makes, as she covers the groceries and I cover everything else, not to mention I'm the one with multiple expensive hobbies. My wife's main gripe when I buy something new concerns where I'm going to put the new acquisition, to which I reply, "I'll find someplace", to which I usually get some sort of dubious, "Mmm-hmm". Finding said 'someplace' is becoming increasingly more difficult; I've pretty much filled our house with my toys. I didn't go in on the Missing Link Prime, and I'll likely skip most of the line. If they do Megatron, or Prowl, though, I'm down for either. I'll find someplace to put them. 😉
  6. M'Kyuun
    Funny you mention that; my next door neighbor's girlfriend is a HUGE cat person (I believe they have 6 cats) and she had bought Stray, but couldn't bear to play it b/c she got too emotional every time her cat character died. So, she gave the game to me and I played it through to the end once. Admittedly, I missed a bunch of stuff on my first playthrough and will likely play it again to see if I can beat it more completely. But, the game itself was fun, a little challenging in a few spots, but I enjoyed it. Edit: I forgot to mention, I played it on the PS4; I don't yet own a PS5, but eventually. I want to play Jedi: Survivor and the new Armored Core. I have Horizon: Forbidden West for PS4, but I'd probably get it for the PS5 for the DLC.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Ramen certainly has a passion for M.A.S.K. that's evident in their designs. I'm not sure Hasbro would have this much investment, although I have to say their G.I. Joe Classified line is pretty amazing. If they did a M.A.S.K. line at that level, methinks they'd be some pretty sweet toys. With the potential for a new show, I guess we'll have to wait and see what they serve up in terms of toys. Although I didn't have any M.A.S.K. stuff as a kid, the whole transforming gimmick and premise of the show endeared it more to me than G.I. Joe, whose toys were amazing, but the show, like most in the 80s, was purdy darned cheesy. Alas, I have neither the space nor the funds to add yet another toyline to my collections, but I do certainly love what Ramen is doing. I'd definitely love to see M.A.S.K. make a comeback, especially if the show has some really good writing and high production values.
  8. M'Kyuun
    I'd rather they collabed with Takara to make their 1/48 VF-1 in Jetfire livery. However, given the popularity of the vintage G1 figs and the Missing Link approach to imbuing them with modern articulation, I can understand the desire for a fully articulated Chunky Monkey. If Bandai did agree to it, though, it would only be available through Asian stores; Harmony Gold would be all over it if any attempt was made to sell them in US stores. So wish their Macross license hadn't been renewed.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, the gross scale incompatibilities between bot modes, alt modes, and alt mode-relativity to real world scales are some of the most lamentable occurrences of G1 that continue to carry over to modern day toy interpretations. As you say, it's bad enough that the jets are underscaled, but Blast-Off's shuttle is ludicrously so, not to mention a poor alt choice in a group of military vehicles. Alas, it's all history now with naught to be done but accept it, if grudgingly. Speaking personally, Bruticus is my favorite combiner with Devy coming in second, and I really want a new version to be done well. Given the nature of the Combaticons' alt modes, they really should all be voyagers with a commander class Onslaught to form the body and provide the partsforming bits for Bruticus. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case if Swindle, a leg bot, is only a deluxe. I still keep my CW Bruticus combined on the shelf and I have a feeling he's going to dwarf this new version, if not in height, then in bulk. Deluxe limbs worked for Menasor b/c the limbs are cars, and that fits scale wise. It doesn't fit with military vehicles or aircraft. It's a bit awkward-looking when scales are so poorly matched. I haven't bought any of MMC's combiners, but believe me when I say I was HUGELY tempted to go in on their Bruticus, my favorite combiner team. However, with dwindling space and a spendy tag, I reluctantly passed on them. But I watched reviews and such, and yeah, I think they did a really great job with it. I'd love it if Hasbro was that committed, but I do think that level of engineering is beyond the scope of mass retail, and after taking major losses last year, the level of complexity is only going to decrease as they try to recoup. I'd be happy if they approached each of the combiners as a Haslab; they're guaranteed to get their funding before committing to production, the production values are higher, and the level of engineering complexity greater than what's possible at retail. Making the torso bots commander class for the upcoming combiners makes sense, as it accounts for the larger figure and the necessary partsforming bits required to form the gestalt. They've already established a working pattern of deluxe limb bots and a commander class torso, so I don't understand why people think they'd deviate from it. Scale, of course, is shot to hell, but Hasbro gives no credence to scale. As to Swindle, they've been making the distinction between lines with the characters, so I'm sure he would have been delineated as Animated. Moreover, he was a side character from a couple eps, so I think it'd make more sense to release characters like Lugnut, Blitzwing, Starscream, and Megatron who had a far greater presence in the series. As to Bruticus, I also hope Hasbro, and by Hasbro I mean Takara (who actually do the engineering heavy-lifting for Transformers) figures out how to use the limb bots as actual limbs instead of continuing to rely on the frame w/ tack-on bots approach. You, my friend, are far more informed than I concerning the extent of the franchise. It seemed to me like they were really branching with 2025, but after this litany of potential characters/lines, several I've never heard of, I humbly admit my ignorance. It just shows the extraordinary potential of this franchise to keep Hasbro in business producing toys from across a wide swath of continuities for years to come even after G1 is completely exhausted. However, as long as us 80s kids are still kicking and willing to part with our money for these fiddly bits of ABS, they'll continue to mine the deep well of G1 nostalgia.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Disappointing that the Aerialbot limb bots will be deluxe scaled, as that makes for some very small jets compared to car bots. Like the ER Seekers, they should at least be voyager scaled, which itself is underscaled relative to car bots. Scale aside, I've never had much enthusiasm for Aerialbots as, due to the blocky nature of the OG toys and subsequent animation models, the jets lose any sleekness that they should possess and end up being cubes with wings. Unfortunately, this same tendency has been mirrored not only by Has/Tak, but also most third parties. As an aviation fan, Superion, the combiner that should be most appealing generally lacks any appeal for how egregiously inaccurate and compromised the jet modes turn out. Maybe they'll be better executed this time, but scale is already questionable, and given precedents, I have my doubts. As to how Superion and Bruticus will be realized, I have a feeling they'll attempt the robot-frame-with-bots-tacked-on approach since it worked for Menasor. Admittedly, it made for a more stable combiner than the previous CW gestalts, but lost is the true combining factor where the limb bots actually form the limbs; instead, they're reduced to accoutrement. I wish they'd take an MMC approach, but that level of complexity and involved engineering is well beyond the scope of mass retail toys, and well, beyond Hasbro's care factor. I could see Takara making a more involved combiner, but with Hasbro pushing their version of toys for all markets, the good old days of Takara's improved toys are all but gone, a loss for fans. Pertaining to the 2025 lineup, there's not much there of interest for me. The G1 stuff is winding down, with most of the roster having received toys already and the outliers continue to be realized. I hope the Omnibots get the honor of toys eventually too- I was hoping they'd get them, or start to, in 2025 after Evan's having mentioned them in a stream awhile back, but the wait goes on. The fact that a Hasbro toy designer wants toys of them continues to give me hope. I'm actually a little disappointed that more of the Rescue Bots didn't get the Generations update; I thought Chase turned out well, better than I would have expected, and there are a number of RBs, especially ones with aircraft alts, that I'd like to see realized. It's odd that a line for which I've only ever had the most peripheral of interest suddenly elicits so much interest, but if Chase is the sign of things to come, I welcome it. However, for fans of the comics, UT, and RID, I hope the upcoming toys are well done and welcome additions to their collections. It's such a sprawling franchise with such a rich history in toons, comics, and various toylines, and I firmly hope that fans of all stripes will eventually get the toys for which they've pined; transitioning from Legacy to Prime, it seems Hasbro is committed to digging deep, to borrow a phrase, to bring characters from all corners into fans' hands as toys. From an official toy POV, it continues to be a great time to be a Transformers fan.
  11. M'Kyuun
    Agree with you concerning Long Haul. It would be my druthers if they could do what MMC's doing with their combiners, but I'm a realist, and I just don't see Hasbro/Takara getting that technical, especially at voyager scale. It's going to be a partsformer; the question is, is it just going to have a pelvis and thigh bits and arm/hands like Toyworld's Constructor, or are they going to go the Menasor route with a skeletal gestalt that the Constructicons just snap onto? I'd prefer the former solution. And like Mike, I hope the individual Constructicons are far better realized in their bot modes with all the articulation we've come to expect from the Studio Series and Legacy lines. Man, I want to be excited by an SS86 Megatron, but I just know his alt is going to be anything except the pistol he should be, and that erodes a lot of my enthusiasm. It's a shame, really, that Megs didn't start out as a tank from the beginning; it's an altogether fitting alt for his character and there never would have been an issue so far as legislation is concerned; however, he was based on a real-world pistol and for a die-hard like me, that's what I want him to change into. Of course, there's no way Hasbro could have foreseen how the regulations on toy weapons would change within the span of a decade or they might have chosen a different toy to use as the leader of the Decepticons. Alas, we can fall into fun conjecture on that point all day, but the reality remains that Microchange MC-12 Gun Robo Walther P-38 was chosen, and the rest is ludicrous mass-shifting history. FYI Sec 4 of the Federal Energy Management Improvement Act of 1988 essentially makes it illegal to manufacture or import a realistic looking firearm unless said item has some form of marking indicating approval by the Sec of Commerce 15 U.S.C. I wonder if that approval marking comes with a fee and that constitutes the major detractor for Hasbro?
  12. M'Kyuun
    Oops, I forgot about the upcoming leader class Optimus- that'll also be a definite buy. Curious to see how it turns out: are they going to take major cues from MP-44, or do something different? I'm rather enamored of ER Prime; it's such a good design- the wheels on his back are the only real detractors, but I can overlook them for the all the good. I'm sure it'll be the most accurate G1 OP we've ever had in the mainline; the only negative is that there won't be a corresponding G1 Megatron with a proper pistol alt.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Well, they wouldn't need a Beetras license if they veered so far off design as they did with the aforementioned Roadbuster; they actually got pretty close to the mark with Whirl, although his overall design, IIRC, was based in part on the IDW design (primarily the legs). I remember that Whirl released prior to Roadbuster; the closeness of his design to the OG got me excited for Roadbuster, as I really like the Mugen Calibur from Dorvack and I was stoked for an update. The toy we got wasn't at all what I hoped for, so far did it depart from the Calibur's design. That same extreme difference in design is what I fear if Hasbro decided to actually make Deluxe Insecticons that aren't regular Insecticon repaints. Maybe they'd be cool, but then again... But then again, too, sometimes Takara surprises. It's always a toss-up. Hasbro, and Takara by extension, have indeed been digging deep and wide these days, so not much can be ruled out. I was pretty excited when Evan mentioned Omnibots in one of their streams awhile back. I've long felt that those were some of the most ignored yet update deserving toys in the roster. They're G1, and they should have at least had a cameo appearance in an episode to appease all the kids (like me) who sent in their $5 and 2 Robot Points to get one or more of them by mail order. Had they just that one appearance, we probably would have had any number of Omnibot toys by now, at least by third parties who've tended to dig deep far longer than Hasbro. Thus far, only XTransbots have produced updates to those old toys, and I'm all in for them. But mainline is my primary collection, the one in which I'm most invested, and I'd absolutely love to have some official Generations Omnis to fill out the collection.
  14. M'Kyuun
    Yep- pretty much the only figs in that lineup that I'll be buying. I wish the Deluxe Insecticons were getting their own distinctive molds at least reminiscent of the 80s Beetras figs, but I'm guessing they can't or just aren't interested in pursuing the licenses from Bandai. I wish they were doing a voyager game edition Fall of Cyberton Optimus; I loved that design, and it'd be nice to see the old adorable deluxe toy get an upgrade.
  15. M'Kyuun
    That's nice, but odds are high that his alt will be a tank or some other gun-wielding thing, just not the proper pistol he should be. I still can't believe they won't give Shockwave his G1 space blaster alt mode. Megs I can understand due to his more realistic pistol mode, but you'd have to be a color-blind and myopically challenged cop to mistake Shockwave as a real gun. It seems an oxymoron that toy guns are so regulated in a country where guns are deeply and irrevocably ingrained in the culture, and it's easier for a kid (of legal age) to open carry than to go to the store and buy a toy gun. Back asswards.
  16. M'Kyuun
    I don't want an SS86 Megatron at all if it turns into a tank. G1 Megatron was a gun and any Movie or OG series referencing fig should reflect that. For any other continuity, they can make him turn into a can opener for all I care, but if it's G1 specifically, he needs, without exception, to be a gun. I can't understand why Takara won't make a proper G1 Megs for the Asian market. They aren't hindered by our gun safety laws, so the only obstacle would be on Hasbro's part. And if that's the case, F##k Hasbro for screwing over fans on both sides of the pond.
  17. M'Kyuun
    Couldn't disagree with you more. If they ever decide to do a proper G1 Megatron as an SS86 fig, I'm hoping it will be at least as good as Magic Square's Doomsday. I want a proper Walther P-38 mode, and a toon accurate bot mode, albeit with more detail than the plain animation models allow for, just as the majority of the SS86 figs have been realized. Even if it means they have to put a big ugly orange tip on the barrel, as long as the rest of the pistol alt mode looks believable, I'll be pretty happy. I wish Takara, who are unhindered by toy gun safety laws, would do an SS86 Megatron for the Asian market; if it means buying from an overseas vendor, well that's pretty much old hat for most us by now. I just want a proper mainline G1 Megatron for my CHUG collection.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Not my cuppa, but for those who dig the Flame Toys design and wish it transformed, here you go. Hopefully it proves to be a more enjoyable process to transform than their Drift- beautiful toy in both modes, but the journey from one to the other will have you biting your nails.
  19. M'Kyuun
    This thread has been silent for some time. Here are a few upcoming items from 52Toys. I'm most excited for the giraffe and the Beastdrive kitty-car. The racing car and weird motorcycle combiners are interesting; the car looks amazing, but the bike is so-so. I wish, like the jet combiners, they'd made them both racing cars, but they didn't. The combined mode looks alright though. Kinda digging the Beastdrive flyers (wyvern, Pteranodon, and bat) although the color palettes aren't really appealing to me, especially the wyvern, which is probably my favorite design of the three. I hope they give the giraffe a somewhat naturalistic look and don't go crazy with the colors.
  20. M'Kyuun
    I don't buy or collect non-transforming Transformers figures, as the ability to convert them into other things, the root of their namesake, is the very thing about Transformers that gives them their appeal to me. That said, I can appreciate the style and artistry applied to some of these non-transformable toys and models. Flame Toys definitely bring a cool anime style to their figs, and in most cases, I like how they look. Of course, I always lament that they don't transform. I wouldn't mind seeing Hasbro/Takara do a subline of transforming figs in a similar style along with an animated series. Like Animated and Prime, I think it's cool when they take a chance and lean into a different aesthetic. Granted, I don't care for the WFC or FoC aesthetics too much nor the Bayformers aesthetic, but many do and that's fine. The franchise requires change to remain interesting and relevant and I hope they continue to push boundaries and have the courage to experiment a bit. Too, I hope they don't continue to feel like everything needs to be G1-ized. G1 is great, but it's its own thing and the other lines should be celebrated for what they are- while they're starting to lean more into the Animated aesthetic in Legacy, I wish they'd just do straight updates to those character designs without compromising them with G1-esque touches. Likewise the Legacy/United Prime figs. Just give us some nice updates to those old toys keeping the style intact; it's what differentiated them and made them unique within the line, and to homogenize them with G1 is a disservice to the artists who created those designs as well as the fans who love them. I hope someone from Hasbro is reading these posts. I doubt I'm the only fan who thinks this way.
  21. M'Kyuun
    A good-looking battroid is my chief concern as well, but as a DX toy, it should still be better than just average. These guys are professional toy makers with a long history; this should reflect a caliber of requisite refinement.
  22. M'Kyuun
    I hadn't thought about the belly plates. Ironically, I like the choice of truncating the bit of plate hanging off the legs; however, if you're right, and I have little doubt you are, then I concur that better solutions should have been employed. Seems like a fair bit of 'good enough' was afforded this design. Dismaying.😒
  23. M'Kyuun
    My wife and I are both short, but she's got an inch on me so I only hinder my own reach by elevating stuff. Fortunately, my wife rarely comes into my cave, so my stuff remains safe from careless jostling most of the time. She's not malicious- she doesn't do it on purpose; she just doesn't really care and if something gets knocked off or over, so be it. She just carries on doing whatever with little concern. She and I are polar opposites when it comes to caring about our possessions; I've always been pretty careful with my stuff since I was a kid. Stuff just doesn't really matter to her. Back OT, I'm really curious what prevents the wings from folding flat into the backpack; seems a bit of depth could have been shaved had they folded flat. It's a questionable design decision.
  24. M'Kyuun
    I figured the single knee joint would suffice, but a set of hinges capable of a 'z' formation to elevate the lower leg parallel to the ground may prove a more efficient design. Said second hinge could extend and retract out of the lower leg. I've got a LEGO YF-21 in early stages of design, and I may try applying these ideas. Thanks! Toy collecting and an incorrigible sweet tooth are my two main vices (as well as a cultivated predilection for frequent profanity), so I indulge in my hobbies. This represents 40+ years of collecting. Did anyone notice that the middle shelf above my desk is also made entirely of LEGO? There was a lot of wasted vertical space there, so I made a shelf to store more of my Classic Space sets. In retrospect, it probably would have been cheaper and less time consuming than just buying a shelf and brackets, but it was a different sort of project than I usually do, so what the heck. I pretend it doesn't exist or else I would descend into madness. I've been meaning to get a makeup brush- very soft bristles; my buddy uses one to dust his LEGO collection and I've been meaning to get one, too, as it would likely be useful on my figures as well. Just a little more care with them due to protruding and loose bits. If the nacelle was to be employed as a storage method for the legs, they'd likely have to be widened, and due to the arm positions in fighter, they'd naturally have to be widened towards the center, which is ideal for the legs while accounting for the arm divots. I hadn't thought of using David's 'z' type hinge arrangement, but I've long entertained the idea that those nacelles seemed the perfect way to stow the legs while keeping the overall fighter profile fairly shallow, more so than Kawamori's prescribed laterally rotated legs allow, as we've seen. Yamato's only choice in keeping with Kawamori's line art was to thin the legs out disproportionately to favor the fighter mode. It's a gorgeous fighter, but as a battroid fan, it never appealed to me, as I couldn't unsee how awkward and just wrong it looked. If I were designing the toy, I'd only consider using metal with stout plastic ratchet joints securely ensconced within to affect such an important set of joints. They need to be able to withstand a lot of manipulation, torque, and easily bear the weight of the toy in both battroid and GERWALK configurations. It's a lot of demand on one small area of the toy, but essential to its functionality and durability. No skimping. I mentioned earlier a schema where the lower joint would retract into the leg, but what if both joints were connected by a short linkage which, in battroid, sits parallel to the ground: O-O where the right hinge attaches to the upper leg and the left to the lower leg. The right hinge would allow for forward knee bend in GERWALK, the left hinge for normal knee movement in battroid, and, after rotating the leg 180 degrees at the thigh swivel, the two hinges together could be manipulated 180 degrees into David's 'z' arrangement raising the lower leg into the nacelle cavities. It's a lot of manipulation, but I think it would offer an effective result. 😄None on most days. I'm quite mindful of where the really precarious things are and do my best to skirt around them. Not so my wife, who has a singular talent for always finding the one thing that's sticking out just a tad too far and knocking it over. Additionally, she has a care factor of zero, so it's of no concern if she bumps something of mine over. Actually, she's like that with just about everything- knick-knacks, whatever. I've glued a number of knick-knacks back together over the last 21 years.
  25. M'Kyuun
    Thanks! This pic pretty much encapsulates my three major passions: LEGO, Transformers, and Macross. Like you, I'm feeling the burden of lack of space- LEGO occupies a goodly chunk of space throughout my house which is only about 1600 sq feet, and I'm considering building an addition as I'm pretty much priced out of buying a bigger home here due to skyrocketing real estate prices. LEGO is booming, the sets are just getting better, and I've got about another 30 or so years of collecting before I check out, so I need some room for expansion and just to build and store my MOCs, as well as my other assorted toys. I have more than are pictured, but a number of them are in storage as I simply don't have the room to display them all, especially the base/station sets. There are some Blacktron sets up there, but they're hard to see b/c, well, BLACKtron. 😁 More shots of my chaotic mancave:
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