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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    Odd decisions that generally affect the fandom detrimentally. Personally, I'm not at all familiar with Detritus; I just want my G1 Hound to complete the first season roster. And any other original minibots they want to throw in in deluxe scale, especially Gears, Windcharger, Brawn, and Powerglide.. And all the cassettes. And better triple changers with equally good alt modes as well as good bot modes. And a new far, far improved Devastator where all the Constructicons have full articulation. And for Primus' sake, a better Seeker mold with an actual decent F-15 mode. And Omnibots- C'mon Hasbro- it's been nearly 40 years- give 'em some love please! And..... I think I'm done. Well, the rest of the Dinobots and the Insecticons, but I think we all know they're coming. But between TR, PotP, the WFC series, Legacy, and now Legacy Evolution, they've given me just about every G1 bot, and then some, for my collection. I still think there needs to be a better Mirage- the ER mold sucks (still hanging on to my Classics Mirage- love that fig, too). I honestly wasn't crazy about Siege Hound either, even imagining it with a more earthy alt, but seeing the pic and pulling the Siege toy down for the first time since I bought it, I'm changing my opinion. I think it'll do nicely.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Yep. Long wait- didn't think it was gonna happen, frankly, but Earth-mode Hound looks good. Figures it's going to be an exclusive- way to screw the fans and help the scalpers, Hasbro. Wish they'd put some silver paint on that winch instead of molding it or painting it whitish-grey. Quite the extensive retool, though. Curious to see the Jeep mode to see how close they come to the Mitsubishi J59. The example pic is of a 1986 model, but close enough. Looks like they eschewed the iconic vertical slots in the grill to avoid any possible legal blowback- guess Jeep is pretty sensitive about that. So one strike already. The feet's taking up a huge chunk of the center part of the frame is another hit on OG accuracy, but IIWII- due to transformation, it can't be helped. kinda wish, too, they'd gone with the darker green of the OG toy, but it's actually pretty close in hue with the example pic (not sure how accurate that is, but likely more than coincidence). I've held Classics Hound up for all these years as The Hound toy to beat, at least so far as the main line goes (comparing to other lines seems unfair as both MP and 3P legends would have that old toy beat in nearly every category these days). But as main line deluxes go, Classics Hound is still a pretty amazing fig, one of my all-time faves. However, I think this may be the one that unseats it as 'Best Hound' in my CHUG collection. Worry not though, I'll be keeping the Classics fig on the shelf close at hand- love that fig.
  3. M'Kyuun
    So, a few days have passed since I posted my initial thoughts that only Breakdown appealed to me out of everything shown at PulseCon. I happened to find Breakdown available again on Pulse and POed him. But, having seen someone post about the upcoming Lio Convoy on Twitter, and being a BW fan, my curiosity took me back to Pulse to check out his prod pics, and more and more, I was liking what I was seeing. First, I really dig the more realistic lion face as opposed to the doofy lion face , cartoon accurate though it may be, on the MP toy. I dig the lion alt, and that's just one more nice-looking big cat to add to the menagerie, as it were. Too, Has/Tak loaded a few hidden weapon gimmicks into the fig, which reminds me of the original Kenner BW toys- not a bad thing when implemented right, and I think they did ok here. The lion's articulation looks decent, too- not as good as it should be for a 2022 toy, but decent enough to get some poses. POed him. Next, I took a second look a Tarn, a character with which I have zero familiarity outside of having seen various toy interpretations, mostly 3P, over the years. Honestly, his tank mode just wasn't grabbing me; I've long harbored a general abhorrence of Cybertronian alts, as I generally perceive them as lazy manifestations of a robot in a weird yoga pose, not really concealing the nature of the thing nor appealing as something realistic. Tarn's tank alt isn't nearly as egregious as some Cybertronian alts I've seen. The overlapping redundant treads and odd cowcatcher are a bit much, but overall, the more I looked at it, the more it appealed. But it's the clean, highly articulated bot mode with little in the way of hollow bits that sold me. This is the way, Hasbro. POed. Finally, Hot Shot. I vacillated about this fig the most. Again, I'm not a Unicron Trilogy fan by any stretch of the imagination, although I do remember picking up a few toys from that era, including Hot Shot. Still have that toy in storage. I looked at the pics of this guy for some time, comparing it to the original to see if the big shoulder pads were right (they are), and some other details. Barring the lack of a few painted details, most notably the ring details on his shins, Has/TT got pretty close to the mark. The legs are hollow and look unfinished, but they pretty much nailed the silhouette and salient features of the character. I finally threw up the white flag to Hasbro and POed him. If my wallet had a head, it'd be doing the slow shake at me. I'll throw in an honorable mention for Armada Starscream. I have the OG toy in storage, but it never left much of an impression on me. Fast forward to the Legacy toy, I was initially unimpressed when he was revealed. The design still doesn't really grab me and y'know, it's really, compared to the vast majority of Has/TT's abysmal jet alt modes, not bad at all. Maybe it's the color scheme- IDK. I don't care for the lazy bent arms in full view, either, but admittedly, it's no different than Powerglide, and from the front, they look like additional engines. I watched Prime vs Prime's review and was further impressed by the mechanics and cleanliness of the fig. In the broad scheme, it's a damned good jetformer, and yet something I can't quite put my finger on is keeping me from POing him. I think if they did him in Skywarp's colors, I'd be all over it. Here's hoping that Hasbro, in their usual custom, will release repaints ad nauseum including a certain purple, black and silver variant. That I will have.
  4. M'Kyuun
    We really, really do. So many great designs coming from these companies, especially designs like Magic Square's Doomsday, as we're likely never again to see a true G1 Megatron with his Walther P-38 alt, or Newage's excellent Seeker design. Moreover, the triple changer designs from Mechfanstoys (MFT) are vastly superior to the official releases, and with some upscaling, could likely improve further on those toys' weak areas resulting in some nigh-definitive figs. I guess legends scale remains a safe zone for them, as there's really no comparison between what companies like MFT, Newage or Magic Square are releasing as opposed to Hasbro's lackluster budget-hindered core class, and they can operate in that size class without spurning much ire from Hasbro. Once you get into the deluxe and larger classes, though, then you're treading on the bread & butter of their main line, and that likely just won't do, and 3P knows it. Still, it's fun, and frustrating, to think of the possibilities. As to these new Velocitron releases, I'm not a big fan of the ER Mirage mold (still love my Classics Mirage), and Astrotrain had far too many concessions in both alt modes for my liking. I was really hoping this Astrotrain toy would be their piece de resistance within the line so far as triple-changers go. I concede that they're not easy to pull off, but sheesh, the G1 toy did it better, bot articulation notwithstanding. My expectation is that a 20xx toy is always going to be superior to a nigh 40-year-old toy. Unfortunately, such is not the case with Hasbro/Takara-Tomy. I wonder if they do it on purpose, just to create an opportunity to make a better toy some 5-10 years down the road, as I don't expect to see another G1 Astrotrain toy in the mainline any time soon. In which case- perfect opening for third party to fill that most-wanting void. Hope there's someone here from one or all of those companies lurking.
  5. M'Kyuun
    Every success in finding what you're looking for. If you find something fit to task, feel free to share it with the rest of us dusty brick clickers. Cheers!
  6. M'Kyuun
    Speaking as a fan with a multitude of sets on display all around his house, the short answer is I don't. It's a nigh impossible chore, and living in dusty eastern Washington state, a task made all the more monumental. I do, however, store some sets and minifigs in tupperware-like storage cases that are roughly about 2' x 1' give or take as a way of achieving more vertical storage as well as preventing dust buildup. But that method is certainly not optimal for display. As to what you're describing, I've yet to encounter any proper display solution that is clear but closed. Walmart has recently been selling some clear drawers and boxes (I forget the brand name and my hotel's internet is abysmally slow) which I've been buying to display my Transformers, but I'm not sure that any one the ones I've seen are large enough for the Galaxy Explorer 2.0. However, have a look at Argos' site- they may have something. Wish I could be of more help, as I could also use some better solutions for displaying my LEGO.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Most likely midnight. It's a lovely set- saw one in person here at BrickCon. Good luck getting a copy, Dobber!
  8. M'Kyuun
    @mikeszekely you're so not wrong about my opinion of Needlenose. It's a travesty, but not an atypical example of Hasbro/Takara's nonchalance with just tacking a robot on the bottom of a plane and calling it good. I want to get excited about the two Prime jet characters (Dreadwing, I think and the other guy--I'm terrible w/ names), but if they, too, follow a similar pattern, I'll be passing on them as I did with the original Prime toys. There's just no excuse for that level of laziness in a world where Macross valkyries exist. Overall, not much among the new reveals that excites me, which means a more merciful year on the wallet. I'm currently at a LEGO convention, and while I caught the TF panel yesterday morning, I was otherwise engaged in the afternoon and didn't get any POs in on Pulse, as is my custom. TBH, the only one I really care about is Breakdown, and I honestly don't think I'll have a tough time finding him at retail once he starts gracing the pegs. As an aside, I agree with you, Mike, about their putting funds into a new weaponizer class that nobody asked for in lieu of fixing things on other figs (Sludge's toe udder & Breakdown's all-wrong alt mode, not to mention the weird separating hood sections on both Wildrider and Breakdown b/c why?). I think there were better budget and design decisions that could have been made to optimize the toys, but I'm just a 40-year TF fan w/ a propensity for designing and building transforming mecha with LEGO, so what do I know? However, while UT and much of the comics-based character figs don't interest me personally, updates to these toys have been a long time coming and for fans of those properties, I'm happy that Hasbro is finally producing them. What's more, it warms my heart personally to see guys like Mark Maher, whose enthusiasm is always palpable, working on these toys and giving us glimpses via social media of the BTS process. I appreciate that greatly, even when the toys aren't everything I want them to be. For me anyway, it makes some of the toys' shortcomings more digestible knowing both the constraints the designers are working under, but also the all the stuff they do try to cram into the toy. That said, Breakdown's alt is still a WTF? situation. 😒
  9. M'Kyuun
    In lieu of what option? If you want to complete Menasor, there's not really an alternative unless 3P steps up and makes a proper Breakdown w/ his Countach mode. Given 3P's reluctance over the past near decade to dip their toes in Hasbro's sacrosanct Generations line, Hasbro knows they've got at least that market cornered, which kinda gives them license to do what they did w/ Breakdown despite their knowing it's not accurate to source. Sucks, but that's the reality of the situation. I'm still buying it too.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Got a nice haul of Legacy yesterday from Pulse (Tarantulas, Knock Out, SS86 Arcee, and Wildrider). Considering a lot of folks have already got theirs at local retail, I'm little late to the party. I was stoked when they revealed Tarantulas, and compared to Blackarachnia and worse, Scorponok, the concessions aren't nearly as noticeable or affecting. I love him- his spider mode, purple shade aside, is quite realistic and suitably creepy. I have a love-hate relationship with spiders; I find them endlessly fascinating, but at a comfortable distance, for the most part. But I absolutely love toys, particularly robot toys, of them, and Tarantulas was well-executed in both modes, but especially that tarantula mode. As Mike mentioned in his review, Knock Out is a really nice retool of SS86 Jazz. As G1-ifications go, this one isn't too bad, although die-hard fans of Prime likely won't be impressed as there's a marked difference between the smooth-yet-spiky Prime aesthetic and the chunkier, somewhat blockier G1 aesthetic. I don't mind the G1-ification if it successfully carries over enough of the character to make them recognizable, and I think they've done that here, as well as with Bulkhead and Arcee. FWIW, compared to many of the other well-done figs in the Prime line, Knock Out got the short end of the stick engineering-wise. This toy, aesthetics notwithstanding, is better executed. Until now, T30 was not only the first, but the best G1 Arcee in the mainline. I think the decision to use a hybrid of T30 along with some extensive retooling to update the former toy's articulation shortcomings was a smart way to go. I wish they'd chosen a similar method to MMC's Azalea for minimizing her backpack, but overall, I think they did a pretty good job. Hasbro did well with joint tolerances; unlike ER Arcee, her leg joints are all nice and tight and can handle any pose. Last note: under-car weapon storage! Internal or under vehicle storage should be the standard at this point, not the occasional happy exception. 😒 Wildrider feels very G1 in-hand. His transformation is straightforward, his shoulders remain close to the body with his arms just going straight to form the sides of the car, the entire hood just flips back to become a backpack, and his legs just do the old 180 degree rotation, albeit on a separate transformation joint (that has some nice car detailing to boot). Shoutout to @sh9000 for sharing that the windshield can indeed push down lower than 90 degrees- lets the backpack sit lower, which looks better. The only beef I really have with him is nigh zero ground clearance due to his low hanging feet in car mode. I wish they'd done his feet like Sideswipe's- fold them into the car instead of on the bottom. He could have stood a second hinge at the top of the windshield, too, so that it could lay flat against his back, but ya can't have everything.
  11. M'Kyuun
    With this Prime setting the bar, they need to upscale and add similar articulation improvements to Doomsday, arguably the best transformable G1 Megatron to date.
  12. M'Kyuun
    Ah...a continuation then. That ep title sounded familiar- confirmed it was the one I was thinking of. Typical post-first season dreck that diminished my interest in the show even as a kid. That a purely throwaway character like Devcon would get a fig ahead of Gears or Windcharger is undeniably wrong.
  13. M'Kyuun
    I figured Legacy was going to be the long-term branding since it essentially encapsulates all-things Transformers from all previous continuities. Guess I guessed wrong. I never heard of this character, but I do agree that an earth-mode Hound is overdue in the current line. For my money, though, Universe (Classics) Hound remains the toy to beat, and I just don't see that happening. Absolutely love that fig- one of my all-time top favorite TF toys. Same boat. Give the first season minibots their toys and then move on to lesser characters like Beachcomber. At least we're getting Brawn. Inevitable and most welcome. No recollection of this character. Since they're doing obscure characters, I wish they'd do the Omnibots. I've been wanting them for my CHUG collection since Classics kicked off in '07. If Shattered Glass is the big reveal at PulseCon, then I'm not missing anything if I happen to miss the panel while I'm attending another convention in-person. I just don't want to miss anything Legacy or '86 SS related, especially if first season characters, Powerglide, or the Autobot cassettes are being revealed.
  14. M'Kyuun
    As a tradeoff for a better Battroid- I'm sold. I'd take that glorious thing as-is if they decided to just go ahead and market it. If fighter is your thing, Yamato already produced what is likely to remain for some time an unparalleled YF-21 with a focus on fighter mode. It's gorgeous. But the B-mode took the brunt of the concessions with its skinny disproportionate legs, and since I favor Battroid and display my valks as such, I want what Bandai is doing with their take. In the worst way possible. Since I boxed up my Yammie, my display isn't quite complete- need that YF-21 to make the world right again.
  15. M'Kyuun
    It does look good, but you know if this version sells well, there'll be a later toy -based release with the silver stripe around the cab and the double headlights. I don't really need another MP Prime (I have MP-10 and MS-01 which are both good Primes, though I prefer Magic Square's), and honestly, I don't have room for another MP Prime, but if they do a toy-based version and I like it, I may just cave. given my ever-decreasing space and my ever-increasing collection, I wish I could have seen the future where the legends stuff was done so well, as I probably would have skipped a lot of what I bought over the years in lieu of just focusing on a more space-friendly but nigh-MP quality legends collection. Alas, I'm in deep with Hasbro's mainline, as I like the direction they've been taking w/ G1 figs in the last few lines. Cosmos, for example, turned out excellent (Thanks Mike S.!). And now Brawn has finally been announced, so slowly they're filling the roster from both the G1 toon and the '86 film, and I'm all but ready for them, smoking debit card in-hand. All is not high bliss in Hasbrolandia, though, so I'm glad these third parties exist to fix what Hasbro left unfinished, poorly designed, or otherwise unsatisfying with certain figs. For example, Pointblank, who as Prime vs Prime observed likely would have fared better w/ a voyager budget, leaves somewhat to be desired both in the lackluster design of his gun dude and more importantly, the poor articulation of his arms- no bicep swivels and less than 90 degrees of elbow bend w/ the forearms rotated per instructions. I hope third party makes a kit to fix it, if possible- not much room to work with. What I really wish and hope for, though, is a third party return to CHUG scale. So many of the legends figs have been done far better than Generations, and sometimes better than official MP, so to have those superior legends figs upscaled to match other collections, especially mainline, would be ever-welcome.
  16. M'Kyuun
    I'm tempted. I have MS-01 Light of Freedom for my MP OP on display, but having recently picked up their legends Light of Justice 2.0, the upscaled version brings better articulation and a better looking truck mode. I don't really play with my MP toys all that much and rarely transform them, so honestly, I'm not sure it's worth the extra expense. Light of Freedom is still a really good looking Prime, and I like his chunky proportions. That said, Magic Square have once again made a great MP scaled Prime. Now if they'd only upscale Doomsday, their excellent legends Megatron. I'd buy that without hesitation.
  17. M'Kyuun
    Gonna be juggling my time judiciously that weekend as I'm also going to be in Seattle at a LEGO convention. But, if they have anything new releasing from Legacy, especially G1 stuff, then I want to be checking in for POs, as well as general news. Wish they'd had this a week earlier or later, but that's how these things go.
  18. M'Kyuun
    I doubt many monarchs throughout history in any part of the world have been witness to such vast changes in the arenas of technology, societal norms, and politics, all while weathering a number of family scandals which played out in the global media. Through it all, she maintained her poise and dignity, a true monarch to the end. A sad day indeed. My heartfelt condolences to our fellow UK members mourning the loss of their venerable Queen.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Looks cool to me. I'll be watching it.
  20. M'Kyuun
    So jazzed for Tarantulas. While he wasn't my favorite character, he had his cool mad-scientist moments in the show that were enjoyable. Moreover, I have a love-hate relationship with spiders; I think they're absolutely fascinating creatures, but I generally like to maintain a respectful distance from them. But in robot toy form, be it Zoids, 52Toys' Megabox series, or Transformers, I can't get enough arthropods. To that end, the I dig the realistic design direction Has/TT took w/ the Kingdom/Legacy Beast Wars figs. Compared to Blackarachnia, whose black widow is so-so, Tarantulas is a far better capture of a real tarantula, and I'm looking forward to getting my copy eventually. The hollow bits, which are by now par for the course, are still a bit dismaying, but whatever. These days, filler kits have become a cottage industry for third parties, so endemic has the practice become across retail TF lines. regardless, I think it's fairly minimal on this fig, and the amount of what was done right completely overshadows any niggles pointed out. Excited for this one.
  21. M'Kyuun
    Disappointing, but as Seto Kaiba says, better that they take it slow and iron out the bugs rather than proceed Challenger-style to an unpleasant end. I'm excited for our return to the moon as well, but I'd rather caution be paramount, as eventually people are going to be riding this thing. NASA's already lost too many of our best and brightest due to oversights, aggressive schedules, and negligence. The moon's not going anywhere (quickly, by our measure of time), so they have time to get it right, make it safe, make it efficient. Better a delay or delays than another exploded vehicle, and worst case, picking up the pieces of more astronauts.
  22. M'Kyuun
    So yesterday I picked up a copy of Override at Wally in the hopes that Pulse hadn't yet sent my copy and I could just cancel it. No such luck, with a caveat: according to Fed Ex's tracking site, a tracking number was assigned and a shipping label was created last Friday, but no other movement has taken place and the delivery date is 'pending'. The box of the copy I bought at Wally is a little smushed on the side, but the fig is fine. I'm tempted to just open it, but if the copy from Pulse has a better box, which I keep, then I'd rather have the undamaged box. These first-world problems are so stressful! (add a bit of whiny petulance to that last sentence for the full effect)
  23. M'Kyuun
    Appreciate the review, Mike. Like you, I'd prefer that more of the G1 minibots who mattered in the toon got their figs before secondary and tertiary characters like Elita-1, but OTOH, I'm glad they gave her her own alt mode and at least some transformation. I dig this fig; I like what they did with her, lack of toon faithfulness notwithstanding. She's unique, and as you say, far better than just getting another Arcee repaint. Mine's POed with Pulse, so I expect to see her on my doorstep towards the end of Sept/early October.
  24. M'Kyuun
    By way of follow-up, awhile back I posted that my Go Better spoiler kit for ER Sunstreaker had come with a mis-assembled right arm bit with a left arm linkage between the spoiler and the arm attachment. I notified TF Safari about it and they sent me a new left and right arm assembly so that the spoilers sit correctly now. I just wanted to recognize them for their excellent customer service in this matter. Too often we focus on the negatives in the hobby, so I thought it pertinent to share a positive experience that hopefully will be shared by others doing business with them. Too, my Sunstreaker looks pretty rad with his shiny new spoilers. 😍
  25. M'Kyuun
    Both of these looks amazing. For train fans who aren't necessarily Harry Potter fans, this presents a perfect opportunity to own a LEGO version of the Jacobite Steam train in Britain. The Fishing Store, while beautifully done, didn't really appeal to me. But this lighthouse does. I have nowhere to put it though, and a piece like this needs to be displayed. I wonder if they've changed the mold for the heavy ratcheting joints; my older joints are stronger than the recent ones. I've had a copy of 4483 AT-AT on display for years with all four legs having a slight bend fore or aft of straight, and most with the knees bent slightly as well. The thing is rock solid. I bought the 2020 AT-AT set (75288) and placed it next to my 4483 AT-AT in a similar posing position with legs only slightly bent at hips and knees. After standing fine for months, it just collapsed one day without provocation. The legs just gave way. I couldn't believe it. In other sets I've got since containing those joints, the detents just seem softer, requiring less force to move from detent to detent. If LEGO purposely redesigned the strongest joint in their inventory to be weaker, I'm at a loss as to why they'd do that. Anyway, that's been my impression. And yeah, the gearing mechanisms allow for some nice dynamic posability, but at the cost of playability in lieu of strength. I've seen pics of your VF-1. Incredible work- I doubt folks here understand the scale you were working in. It's a shame that in all these years, LEGO has yet to really make much in the way of improvement or advancement in their large joint system. The new disc joint that they developed for Optimus is a game changer, but it's still only as good as the old joint half to which it's married. It's a long overdue improvement to a system of limited joint options. Still room for more improvement IMHO.
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