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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Not at all into One Piece, but cool for those who like it. Too, new sets and new themes always bring the potential for new parts, so that aspect interests me. So wish LEGO would get a Macross license, even if it means likely no VF-1 due to HG. All those other valks would be fair game, though. Realistically, however, I think we'd be far more likely to see a Gundam license given its global prevalence. I'd be down for that, too.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Man, it figures that the fanstream is on the 10th; I'm getting laser surgery on my eye at the time of the stream. Fortunately, i should be home by the time POs go up.
  3. M'Kyuun
    I've been looking for Soundwave, but on my most recent visit to Target, they had no Earthspark stuff to speak of. There's another location I may have to try. The only other Earthspark fig I entertained a fancy to was Chaos, but again, I never saw him in the store. I can't remember seeing Jawbreaker, either, for which I had a mild interest. The Earthspark stuff isn't as interesting to me overall as the G1, Prime, or Animated figs, so if I miss out, I don't really feel like I missed out, if that makes sense.😄 That said, Soundwave is more interesting to me than these others, so I would like to track him down. Mayhaps I'll have to resort to using one of the e-tailers. Edit: So I just returned from walking the pooch and decided to cast about on the interwebs for Soundwave. There are five stores within about a 60-mile radius listed on my Target page and not one of them has him. Perhaps we just haven't gotten stock on this side of the country yet. Ebay prices are typically exorbitant, TFSource doesn't carry him or Hashtag (or really much of anything Earthspark), so my guess is this really is pretty much Target exclusive and until my stores start stocking him, assuming they will, I'll just have to remain vigilant on their site.
  4. M'Kyuun
    It stands to reason, since they're tackling all the other combiners, that they'll eventually do Defensor and likely move on to do both Abominus and Predaking. Heck, if they're feeling ambitious, they might even do a CHUG version of Raiden. At the very least though, with Bruticus a sure thing, Defensor is not far behind. Since I passed on the CW version of Defensor, I'm curious to see how they'd turn out under this new approach. I hope there'll be less mold sharing, and more new molds, as it'd be nice to see Blades get his own mold since he was a Huey whereas Vortex's alt was the larger Kaman Seasprite. They're somewhat reminiscent in overall shape, though, so I imagine Hasbro will just go the repaint route. Anyway, with an unknown commander slot, and with all the various continuities' characters that could occupy that slot, it's anybody's guess. A little mystery in life is good, though. Conjecture is fun. When I mentioned Blackout, I was referring to Animated Blackout whose toy was never released here in the States, and whose toy goes for a small fortune now on the secondary market. Derrick Wyatt definitely took heavy inspiration from the Bay character, translating him in his own particular style, and I really like it. Actually, I agree with you that Blackout and Barricade were two of the best Bayformers character designs. I'll throw in Brawl, too. I bought the leader class SS Blackout from a few years back, and it was a really well-done figure. Unfortunately, the hands were molded in an odd position and couldn't be rotated, That shortcoming was fixed in a slightly retooled rerelease, but I didn't feel the need to double dip. Anyway, this is what I want by way of update in the Generations Legacy , etc line. I doubt it would be a much better toy than the original, but at least it would be an opportunity for folks like me who missed out on the original to get a facsimile while flipping the bird at all those greedy SOBs on ebay selling the original toy for exorbitant prices. I would hope he'd at least get the voyager treatment, though I'd happily pay leader price for something really well-done.
  5. M'Kyuun
    As misery loves company, I'm heartened that it wasn't just me, as I have a tendency to have difficulty getting things to work smoothly with some of my transforming toys, and it erodes confidence especially after watching some reviewers do it effortlessly. I always have a feeling of inadequacy despite 40-plus years of messing with these damnably awesome things. To that end, hopefully our conversation here will prove helpful to other recent owners of Fugu's Jetfire, especially if, like me, they're hindered with a touch of self-doubt. As of right now, I entertain no plans to ever remove those Packs again, so I likely won't find a need to employ your fix. However, this being a KO and with even high-end toys being subject to stress breakages and other unfortunate calamities, there may come a time when I need to disarm him and do some repairs at which point I'll gladly heed your advice. Thanks for the encouragement! I appreciate your advice and guidance; there are many reasons why I love this site and these forums, but the humanity behind the screens, the kindness and sense of shared joy and experience and helpfulness among the members makes it a virtual home. Thanks for that.
  6. M'Kyuun
    You're such a tease, Mike. You know me- I want that titan to be Animated Omega Supreme. I'm still hoping they'll dip further into Animated and give us a Blackout update. Honestly, they need to do all the characters and do them faithfully to Derrick's style without the G1 mixed in. I'm keeping my expectation low, though. Animated still has a following, but beyond Hasbro's latest meager dolings, nobody has really capitalized on it. I think it's an opportunity lost. I'd be curious to see Newage or Magic Square dip their toes into Animated waters at some point in their legends lines, and to see both upscale more of their legends figs to CHUG scale. I'd love to have Magic Square's take on Ironhide/Ratchet at CHUG scale, the best take thus far by any company. And IMHO, their Doomsday is still the best version of G1 Megs ever realized in plastic. I've pretty much stopped collecting MP scale, with minor exceptions, but I'd love to see what MMC would do with Animated- my god would those be amazing figs.
  7. M'Kyuun
    I've been lukewarm on the show and the toys, though I've got Twitch, Thrash, and Nightshade thus far, Nightshade being my favorite of the three. I was intrigued by this take on Soundwave from the initial revelation, and my interest has only piqued further thanks to your review. I'm hoping Pulse will get him soon for preordering. The only thing this guy is missing is some sort of chestborne minion, and given that his chest faces the ground in alt mode, optimal for payload delivery, the omission of said minion, perhaps a drone that turns into a bat, bird, jaguar, or little blue dude who likes to shake things up is notably disappointing and dismaying. I totally agree with your suggestion of exhaust vent details in the backs of the thighs, as that would have looked great for both modes. Perhaps there'll be an add-on kit that does just that. While he's not the most svelte aircraft with all of that obvious bot kibble on his underside, he's still better than most and we don't get many flying wing alt-moded TFs. I wish he'd been larger and more refined with perhaps some retractable gear and the aforementioned chest minion, but as-is, he's a neat take on Soundwave, much like his Prime counterpart, within the annals of Transformers media. As you also mentioned, the placement of the feet, which would have looked better had they rotated 180 to let the tops of the feet form rounded shapes on the underwing, perhaps as conformal fuel tanks, and the inability to recess the hands are minuses against his alt mode, but he does still present a thin profile and I like that his shoulders form part of the plane as well as the unfurling of the legs into wings, a la Mindwipe, as you mentioned (one of my favorite transformation techniques in a flying alt mode in recent history). Overall, he's a pretty solid entry, especially in the Earthspark line, and one of the more unique and fairly well executed aircraft alt-moded bots to come along in a while. IMHO, he's better than all five of the abysmal Aerialbots put together and I happily await my opportunity to get a copy.
  8. M'Kyuun
    So my repair was successful. I ended up buying two packs of different sized wire nails. One was pretty close, but I had to file tit down to make it thin enough to fit. But fit it did. Getting the old one out was a pain; I was using a pin vice to try and tap it out. It's located in such a difficult area, as it moves and there are obstructions aplenty, but obstinate persistence won the day! I only did the one shoulder as the other side's pin seems to have enough grip on both sides of the joint to remain together and functional, so I'm going to leave it for now. I loosened the screws on both shoulders to ease the tension on those joints. I armored him up today and the arms are holding solid thus far, so 👍. I noticed the leg armors don't snug as nicely around the legs as the Yamarcadia ones do, as there's a gap between the leg stabilizers and the indent in the armor that's meant to cozy up against them. The gap seems to be worse on my copy's left leg than the right, but neither snugs up as tightly as it should. I can press them into place, but they just sag back again. I scratched the paint on his backpack a little trying to get the large back thrusters into place. It fought me a bit, but again, persistence paid off and a second attempt got the central frame to slide all the way into place so the large tabs on the Packs could plug into the backpack. I haven't put a set of packs on one of these 1/60 VF-1s in some time. In fact, the last one for me was the VE-1 Elint Seeker about three years ago, and I don't recall its being that difficult. Anyway, it's done and overall, it looks pretty darned good. I received the trans-red covers for the FAST Packs, and while I appreciate the inclusion and their ability to show off the glorious innards of the Packs, I prefer the opaque red ones for optimal Jetfireness. This toy is all about nostalgia, after all- from the original G1 packaging to the attempt to match a goodly bit of the original toy's paint and stickers (wish they'd committed to going all the way with paint and tampo as it would've been worth an additional twenty-thirty bucks to not have to deal with blasted stickers), this thing was directly targeted right at us greying old Transformers fans, and I'm here for it in celebration! A decade ago, I never imagined that so many holes in CHUG, especially pertaining to first season, would be filled, but between Has/Tak's mainline offerings over the last few years and third-party offerings like Newage's Romulus and Fugu's Jetfire, there's not much left wanting for a complete first season collection. We just need HasTak to come through with a Windcharger and, oh how I wish, some Omnibots and that would be a nice cap on the collection, especially if Hasbro is serious about scaling back their toy production. I hope not yet but should that day come when they stop making Transformers toys, I'll be content with my collection. I'm thinking third party would be all over that void anyway, so we'd still be bombarded by new takes on old characters into perpetuity, and for that I say, "Thank the Matrix".
  9. M'Kyuun
    Excellent, you've given me hope. I was holding off taking a walk to the store (conveniently, there's a new home improvement place about a mile from my house, similar to Home Depot but smaller and owned by the local Native American tribe) waiting to see if anyone had a suggestion, so huge thanks! Guess I'll sojourn over there to see what sort of wares they might carry, be it paper clips or small thin nails. Paper clips are ubiquitous, though, and far easier to procure and manipulate, so it's heartening to know it's viable. Hopefully I won't destroy the joint in the process of removing the old pin, but again, I appreciate the heads up!
  10. M'Kyuun
    My Fugu Jetfire finally arrived today and while in the midst of trimming some of the excess flash I discovered to my dismay that the pins holding the shoulder ball joint flaps on are too short so that, at least on the left side, it only penetrates one side of the hinge allowing the other side to sag precariously when manipulating the arm. The right side seems like it has a stronger hold (for now), but its pin, too, seems to have been clipped too short and it's only a matter of time before it too sags under the weight or stress. Suggestions welcome for what may work as a replacement. I was thinking about trying to find a heavy-duty paper clip. Anyway, other than the issues already pointed out, I'm pretty pleased with this fig. The coopting of Yamato's V2 VF-1 was a good choice, and at 1/60, he's still at a workable scale relative to CHUG. More than the unlicensed use of the Yammie(Arcadia) VF-1, I'm gobsmacked by Fugu's audacious and unapologetic unlicensed use of the original G1 artwork both front and back of the box, minus a few Engrish misspellings in the bio. That's pretty bold. In hand, though, it definitely invokes some serious nostalgia. I'm hoping Toyhax will eventually get around to making a small set for this guy- at least something to address the lower legs, which still bear their original Macross livery.
  11. M'Kyuun
    That's a rather jarring size difference! That said, I'll take Romulus all day long over the SS86 fig, as he presents accurately, has excellent articulation, and can turn into a proper Walther P38ish pistol, which is what separates a proper G1 Megatron from every wannabe G1 Megatron that doesn't. Don't get me wrong, as I like what Takara has done with exception of the tank's carelessly realized turret which, IMHO, spoils all the effort put into the tank's well-done base. Moreover, at nigh $60, one is not wrong to expect a little more from a leader class toy and that more couldn't have been done to make that turret more believable within that budget. Anyway, I intend to get him, but I do certainly hope the third-party upgrade kit makers come up with some nifty fixes to address that particular glaring wart.
  12. M'Kyuun
    Wow is right as in "Wow, could Takara & Hasbro top themselves and create some of the most egregiously terrible aircraft modes ever??!! You bet they can!" Wish these guys were better, but they're all equally awful. For those who pine for obnoxiously bad aircraft modes and blocky bots, Hasbro has you covered. I've always liked Transformers and Zoids, and this should appeal to me, but it doesn't. Neither the shoehorning of Optimus, once again, into an odd crossover nor the execution really speaks to me. Great for those to whom it does and have wished for this.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Yeah. While it's nice to see it, I'm patient enough to wait for official revelation at Hasbro's discretion, as I enjoy the anticipation and excitement of the designers and marketers who present these things after pouring a lot of work into them. This, we all know, was a big deal, and I kinda wish the leakers had just let it be. Alas, it's all about viewer numbers these days and less about integrity or respect for the company.
  14. M'Kyuun
    I'm having a tough time determining if they're black or a gunmetal color, but it looks gunmetal along with the scope/fusion cannon, both of which should be unquestionably black. I hope there's a 3P add-on kit featuring a transforming scope that folds so as to present a corresponding grey upper turret surface, perhaps with hatch cover detail, and the back halves of the scope rotate and swing around to fill out and give a better shape to the back of the turret. As is, it just doesn't look very good, certainly not up to the standard we've come to expect.
  15. M'Kyuun
    I have to commend Takara, as this their most convincing effort thus far at producing a G1 Megs bot that turns into a relatively believable modern tank. However, the turret is a bit of a letdown, as it does nothing to disguise the fact that it's a giant pistol scope pinched between two arms, and that's a shame given how well the lower half turned out. Honestly, I'd have happily paid the commander price for the additional engineering to make that turret look more believable. Additionally, the pistol barrel sticking out of the scope isn't winning any credibility points either and it just looks tacky. It feels like 90% of their effort was spent on getting the body and legs to form a convincing tank base, and then they just kinda gave up when it came to the turret, recycling the same old technique used before with zero regard for pesky realism. The dark grey color of the legs is a bit of an odd choice, as well as the color of his waist skirts. Seems like Mark or Evan would be all over that to correct them, but I have a feeling what we're seeing is pretty close to final. I like the chunky proportions of Megs; overall, they really nailed the G1 aesthetic and that was likely the priority over all. To that end, I'd say they succeeded. Unless Hasbro let this slip accidentally on purpose, this is quite a coup, as I'm sure internal anticipation was high to reveal this on a fanstream. Genie's outta the bottle now, though.
  16. M'Kyuun
    Preach! They've made cloth bits for far more superfluous or obscure figs when this particular version of Leia has been beggaring a cloth skirt for some time. Agree completely with recreating those old notched wedge plates, albeit with stud cutouts along the edges. They may be uglier, but the added usefulness of that modification would be worth it. For my part, I wish they'd make more Mixel ball and socket joint-related parts, especially more socket parts. I really wish they'd resurrected the old brick-built homemaker hands, 1x1 hollow-studded round plates with ball joints. That seems like such a no-brainer necessity that it boggles my mind that it wasn't part of the original Mixels release, let alone STILL having not been done. To partner with that much needed part would be the analogous socket on a 1x1 round plate with a hollow stud. Too, a 1x1 or 1x2 plate with a vertical socket would be extremely useful. Since I primarily build mecha, the number of omissions around joints is still rather disheartening, especially when I see other LEGO-compatible products come out with parts that LEGO should have already included in their palette as the premiere building system. Ball joints are great, but man would I love it if they added a series of ratcheted Technic pin joints that would allow for more controlled and stiff movement at that small level. Technic pins on their own generally lack the requisite friction to be of much use, especially the new pin design which has less friction than any previous version. Ratchets at that scale would open so many possibilities. When I'm building, I often notice the lack of certain parts, many times the same ones, that would be extremely useful and seem, to my mind, to be no-brainer parts and yet they've not been produced. It's infinitely frustrating so I empathize with your plight.
  17. M'Kyuun
    I suggest keeping an eye on New Elementary.com, as they are, to wit, the only LEGO fan site that keeps astutely abreast of all new and recolored elements on a continual if obsessive basis. I've found them to be an excellent resource, as I'm always interested in what new parts are being introduced for my MOCing needs and they are generally on top of new releases with both set reviews and parts breakdowns. Disclaimer: I have zero affiliation with New Elementary beyond being a fan, but, like Bricklink, they are a huge resource to FOLs and, IMHO, deserve to be recommended at every opportunity. As to those parts you pointed out, I agree. I, too, wish they'd make more types, as well as versions with studs. My parts wishlist is long, but LEGO has really been pumping out interesting and useful parts over the last few years, many of which were only available before by buying other "clone" brands, who in many ways, were way ahead of LEGO for years in their parts innovation. I still wish they'd make plates with studs top and bottom for simplified SNOT building. LEGO's playing catchup, but themes like Speed Champions are driving the addition of long sought highly useful wedges, slopes, tiles, etc and I hope that trend continues unabated.
  18. M'Kyuun
    I haven't really given the Sail Barge a look, but I'll agree that 35480 and its 3-stud counterpart have proven immensely useful. I wish they'd make more parts with hollow studs.
  19. M'Kyuun
    So they're all in a game? Not really a premise I was hoping for.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Congrats on a happy ending to your long journey! They look fantastic! 😄 Regarding restraint, it probably helps that I've very little attachment to characters beyond the first season, as I lost interest in the show once S2 devolved into whim and frivolity, losing the more focused story arc and slightly more mature tone of first season. To this day, the first is the only season of the Sunbow toon that I own or have seen in its entirety. In Bruticus' case, I always liked the alt modes the best of any of the other combiners, with Devy a close second (b/c who doesn't dig construction vehicles?!) Ha, no pun intended! The ep that introduced Devastator was kiddie crack to me: robot dinosaurs❤️ And construction vehicles❤️ AND the construction vehicle dudes can combine into a bigger more badass robot!!!!❤️❤️❤️ We take the pure awesomeness of that moment for granted now, but back then, it was mindblowing. Anyway, I can't honestly remember watching any eps featuring Bruticus (From S2 onward I'd watch an ep of Transformers occasionally just for something to do, so I'd catch S2 or 3 eps here or there. Most S3 eps were so bad I'd get up and change the channel (back before we had remotes). Had Takara done a better job with the Aerialbots' alts, I probably would have favored those guys above the rest (always did like jets), but they sucked big time, as has pretty much every incarnation since due to everybody's trying to capture the blocky-bot-under-a-plane look instead of taking a more Macross approach or just working some engineering magic to create a svelte accurate jet that somehow unfurls into a blocky bot. They manage it with just about any other vehicle alt, but for some inexplicable reason, never planes, the coolest alts of all in my heavily biased opinion. On that note, I'd like to see what MMC would do with a team of Aerialbots given their penchant towards believable alt modes. If done well, I'd maybe have to reconsider.
  21. M'Kyuun
    I think it'll be good, not great, as I'm not the biggest fan of the frame system. It lends stability, yes, but it's not faithful to the G1 toys where the bots themselves formed the limbs. That's one area for which I respect Combiner Wars, regardless of all the other deserved quibbles we might have with that line. I recently bought Magic Square's Bruticus, and that's a combiner done very well; I wish Takara/Hasbro had taken a similar approach. The all-in-one MMC approach would be even better, i.e. the best possible approach, but in a retail toy I'm more than willing to excuse large kibble-y bits to form the gestalt. Just make them what they are instead of adding additional kibble to them to make them comport into some sort of superfluous, unappealing add-on for the core bot's alt mode. On that note, I wish Newage and Magic Square would follow Newage's lead with Romulus. Both companies have made some amazing renditions of the various characters, and usually I find I prefer one company's take over the other's, and I've slowly built a tidy mixed collection. In most cases, I find these toys to be of surpassing quality next to official toys which makes me wish all the more that they would start producing them in CHUG scale. Perhaps their reluctance is what keeps them out of litigious waters, but on so many occasions I've wished for an upscaled version to fill my CHUG ranks.
  22. M'Kyuun
    So, I've got this guy coming. It shipped on 14 May and it has been sitting in customs for four days now pending delivery sometime between the 27th and the 2nd, a bit longer than usual for Showz products, especially given my geographical proximity to LAX here in WA. I'm guessing, given the trade war and subsequent difficulties placed on ports, with shipments being more sporadic, these sorts of delays are going to become commonplace. Logistics notwithstanding, this is an exciting piece for any G1 fan, as due to HG's stranglehold on the sales of VF-1 toys and likenesses here in the West, it presents a rare ability to get a modernized VF-1 Jetfire toy via a KO of Yamato's 1/60 VF-1 w/ FAST Packs. It's not 100% accurate, as the leg and FAST pack deco reflect the Macross livery rather than Jetfire's custom deco. I figured by now, with this having been announced last year, that Toyhax would have a sticker sheet to remedy those shortcomings ready to go by release, but not yet apparently. I've little doubt, however, that they'll come out with a set to address the issue. Anyway, this is a nice middle finger to HG, of which I'm always a champion, and the scale of the 1/60 works pretty well with CHUG or MP, if one considers the vast scale differences between the G1 carbots and the old 1/55 Chunky Monkey. Actually, realistically, in jet mode it scales pretty well with CHUG carbots and I wish from the very beginning that the toys had all been in RW alt mode scale, for the most part, rather than scaling everything to bot modes. I realize that's a big ask, as the toys would be more expensive and take up more shelf space by din of their larger sizes, and bigger would not necessarily equate to better engineering or adherence to RW jet aesthetics, which is what I would both hope for and expect. The argument is moot, however, and I celebrate Jetfire as a bit of an anomoly amidst the G1 toy releases and this modern equivalent. After a long wait, I'm looking forward to finally having him in hand.
  23. M'Kyuun
    I fear I'm unfamiliar with Mr. David's work. Nevertheless, the loss of a creative person, especially one who had such an impact in their field, is truly lamentable, a loss to culture and society as a whole. With that, I simply offer my thanks, adieu, and condolences to all who loved him and for whom the loss is monumental.
  24. M'Kyuun
    Hmmm. Well, I'm guessing this is only the start of more to come. Fortunately, I already have the majority of the G1 characters, especially first season, that I want so I'm really in no hurry for what's coming out now. I am a little excited to finish off Devy, and I'm anticipating the rest of the Combaticons, but I'm patient. They'll come eventually; we'll just have to wait longer it seems.
  25. M'Kyuun
    While not explicit, the poor animation depicts a sort of framework for the limb bots to attach to. And Soundwave transforms and flies off as a tape recorder next to Starscream in his jet mode. Crazy stuff in this old show.
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