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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    I stand corrected. Thanks sh9000!
  2. M'Kyuun
    I don't think so- just molded slugs.
  3. M'Kyuun
    So, now that we have a variety of clear pics to look at, I've been comparing it to Fans Toy's Phoenix. The similarities are quite striking, and honestly, if you missed out on Phoenix, the official is shaping up to be a rather fine-looking toy in both modes, a compliment I rarely get to hand out to jet-formers. That said, aesthetically, I still prefer Phoenix. I like his chunkier multi-angular sculpted thighs and the overall proportions, even the minimized waist, which, though not animation accurate, looks better to my eye than the animation design. That's a very subjective thing, and I imagine when FT were designing him, they purposely molded that waist to look similar to MP-10's. I could be wrong, but that similarity has always struck me. Too, Phoenix' s more 'heroic' styled chest looks better to me than the longer chest panels from the animation. I also prefer the blockier shaping of Phoenix's forearms over the official's tapered forearms. In jet mode, they are surprisingly similar, although Phoenix's gullet is shallower, and his red thruster pack is neither as long nor as tall as the official, for good reason: difference in transformation. Looking through the pics, I'm reasonably certain that Skyfire's arms tuck away into the backpack in jet mode, whereas Phoenix's forearms form a goodly chunk of his fuselage just behind the cockpit section. Both are good solutions for tucking away those huge arms and odd rounded shoulders, but the engineer-wannabe in me absolutely adores Fans Toys' solution of integrating them into the plane itself. It's one of my favorite things about Phoenix. Props to Takara for the far better-looking and more realistic main landing gear with multi-wheeled bogies even! 😍That's just lovely, and far more comely than FT's oddly backward angled mains with just a single forked wheel each. 🤮 The way Takara fold the feet in jet mode looks a bit odd to me; I prefer Phoenix's slightly recessed feet that fold completely within the legs. Too, Phoenix's are closer to the animation, if this still is any measure of accuracy. I realize I'm gushing all over Phoenix, which just solidifies in my mind that I already have the MP Skyfire for me. Slavish toon accuracy isn't as important to me as detail, and I find the many stylistic touches that FT brought to their version of Skyfire appeal to me greatly. However, I stand by my original statement; whichever of these two toys you end up with, as a fan of Skyfire's design, either toy is going to deliver a big cool looking bot that converts into an equally cool Cybertronian jet with no bot kibble to mar its profile.
  4. M'Kyuun
    I can't see Hasbro sitting this release out; eventually it'll be on Pulse, but it's going to be crazy expensive. You know Hasbro wants a piece of that pie. Like Mike, I'm curious to see how the final turns out, and what sort of goodies they build into him. He's already more toon accurate than FT's Phoenix, big shock to nobody, but I want to see if they're able to improve the articulation, which has kinda been their thing for the last six years or so. Tall order on a fig this size- lots of ratchet-y goodness. FT's transformation is pretty brilliant, and the jet mode is virtually seamless top and bottom; I love how they used the arms to form a goodly chunk of the front section of the plane. I'm very curious to see how TT approaches their toy's transformation. We've seen commander class Jetfire, which is a great toy, but def not to MP standards with the huge gap on the bottom. Then again, if MP-52 is any indication, the bottom of the plane is insignificant to even a MP plane-former.
  5. M'Kyuun
    Given the size, I doubt it as well. Optimus is the real draw, and at that scale, a stand-alone trailer set would likely end up becoming a shelfwarmer for the cost. I'm not even concerned with building a trailer for mine. I'd rather spend the time, effort, and money on improving Prime's articulation and making other tweaks. But yeah, there will no doubt be any number of trailer MOCs, and I've also no doubt several will find their way onto Bricklink.
  6. M'Kyuun
    The LEGO fan community is one of the most helpful out there, esp in these days of more and more toxic fanbases. Right? I'm contemplating it, too. I looked about a bit, as there are a number of reviewers who received early copies, but I've yet to see any mods. My money's on Chubbybots, as he always does a good job modding these official mech/robot sets. I'll likely pursue my own method, but it's always illuminating to see how others solve the same problem. No harm in copying a superior approach, either.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Normally, I'd be thrilled by this, but I've had Fans Toys' Phoenix for years now, and I'm pretty satisfied with that fig. Given his size, this is going to be a very spendy fig, and I'm not sure it'll do enough beyond what Phoenix offers to justify it. I think TT are a day late and a dollar short, as they've been with a number of their recent MP releases where comparable and oft cheaper third-party versions have already been released. For a large part of the fandom, one of those options suffices, esp in light of the TT pricing and uber-toon slavish aesthetic, which doesn't appeal to everyone.
  8. M'Kyuun
    TBH, I like the colors of this much better than the original Blaster colors. I've never been a fan of yellow or red. This looks sharp, but I have no association with SG, nor the room really for all these repaints. It does look spiffy, though.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Ah, from that perspective, I get it. I wouldn't be crazy about that either. IF's take on Powerglide retained enough hints of the A-10 to make me happy, but had it been more like any other jet, I would have balked. If you're fond of the G1 hovercraft, then that's what you like- I can't argue it, and it is the original. I don't hold a strong fondness for Seaspray, so the changes that IF made feel to me more like an upgrade to his old hovercraft mode, or a Cybertronian take on it. Either way, I dig it. If I had a soft spot for him, though, I might feel differently. Options are good.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Enjoyed the review, Kuma. I have to agree with you on that alt; I daresay I like it better than his original G1 alt mode, although the OG is a more realistic take on RW hovercraft. I have several G1 Seasprays at this point so I'm good on the G1 front. IF's stylish take sings to me; I adore the look of that bot mode; it's G1 Seaspray+, as if he received an upgrade. And that rakish pontoon boat look looks fast and fierce. I love it. Needless to say, I have this guy sitting in a pile of loot ready to be shipped; I'm just waiting for another more expensive item to be released for free shipping. Looking forward to having him in hand. Too, one can always expect some cool dynamic posing during your reviews, and you didn't disappoint. Hasbro's marketing team could learn a thing or two by watching your vids. Kinda surprised you don't like the alt, Mike. Alas different strokes. As to Bayrazor, this is yet another stylish IF take that really caught my eye, and despite my indifference towards Beachcomber's character, a cool toy is a cool toy, and this interpretation also grabbed my attention for the almost kawaii beach buggy mode and great looking bot mode. Transformation is a bit fiddly, even a little frustrating, but regardless, I dig him. Regarding Hegemon AKA McTron😄, I remember this guy from back in the day- seems like a long time ago now- back before I started buying 3P but kept a loose eye on 3P stuff that was coming out. Although having a CHUG scale Megs w/ a pistol alt was an appealing prospect, since it'll never happen officially, this design just never quite grabbed me. Looking at it now, it betrays its age, IMHO- kinda blocky, stiff, and lifeless looking bot mode. I don't like all that red on the backs of his legs or head (granted, those could be painted). IDK, it should appeal to me, but the kibble and the look of the bot mode kinda put me off of it. I want a Magic Square Doomsday blown up to voyager scale- to me, that's about the best Megs you could ask for.
  11. M'Kyuun
  12. M'Kyuun
    I liked it better than first season, too. Agree, too, that the original GitS film and SAC were dialog heavy, sometimes too much so for my taste.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Yes. The last scene with Val was pretty great, too. So glad Tom talked him into doing the film; having seen him in his prime, it's a bit heartbreaking to know he's struggled with health problems for many years. Even in his limited capacity, the guy still has his old charm. Def shades of Star Wars in there. I get the sense that Macross Plus was likely inspired, in part at least, by the original Top Gun, so drawing a comparison at this point is a bit moot. I hope at least one of the Hornet drivers in this film was inspired by the original TG. They did some great flying in this movie, and though I wish they'd brought in the F-35, at least in a supporting role, it was pretty cool to see the old Tomcat strutting her stuff. Still a beautiful plane, she and the Hornet. The actual in-cockpit filming is amazing. Honestly, having avoided all spoilers except the trailer, I figured Maverick would be flying the Darkstar at the end to save the day. Glad I was wrong. But, watching those Darkstar scenes reminded me of the brave days of experimental flight when guys like Yeager strapped on a new untested machine intended to set some new flight milestone- we owe so much to a small group of extraordinary pilots, then and now, for having the courage, commitment, and savvy to do such a demanding job at the very likely risk of great injury or death. I salute them all. I'd love to see a roundtable discussion as to how they came up with 'the mission'. Curious to see what Mover has to say about it, too. The identity of the enemy country is never mentioned, but of course the use of Russian aircraft narrows the playing field a little. There's a scene featuring a piece of ground equipment, and I was trying to see what sort of characters were on the instruments, but the camera never stayed on it long enough to make out, likely on purpose. The enemy fighters were based on either the Su-57 or the T-50 Pak-Fa, both of which bear striking resemblances to my beloved YF-23. Makes it all the more gulling seeing enemy forces flying a plane that looks like what our Air Force should be flying today. Nice to see a Hind in there too. Well, to be fair, it's a sequel to a movie with a lot of melodrama, and this really captured the feel of the original, with lots and lots of nods. IMHO, it was a proper sequel, and I think Tony Scott (RIP) would have loved it.
  14. M'Kyuun
    Just finished second season, and I'm still wondering what the heck just happened? Maybe I'm becoming dull in my old age, as it left me a little confused as to what exactly was going on. Nice throwback to original film at the end.
  15. M'Kyuun
    I appreciate the insights; I'll have to give them a try.
  16. M'Kyuun
    Glad to hear it, especially from someone who's been in that world. I'm not looking for cinematic gold, just a good rollick with jets doing their thing. Anytime anything is compared to Macross Plus, one of my all-time favorite anime, I'm intrigued. If you're gonna do a movie about jet fighters, you can't go wrong from taking inspiration from Macross. Looking forward to it. 😁
  17. M'Kyuun
    I do use stickers on many of my sets, but I buy them b/c I like the sets. With over 40 years of collecting, I have a pretty substantial collection. I also buy some sets for parts, so the stickers stay in the box or I put them in a folder I keep for that purpose. I have a love/hate relationship with Studio, leaning further towards the hate side. It lacks the user-friendliness and, IMHO, superior interface of LDD. I also preferred LDD's un-graduated hinge tool, as you could tweak it to make things fit in tight spots; with it's fixed points of rotation, Studio isn't as forgiving. Too, much like LDD, whose hinge alignment tool never really worked for me, Studio has the same issue where if multiple in-line hinges are used, I generally have to remove one to get the assembly to actuate, and even then it often skips or just won't rotate through the proper arc or even in the proper arc direction. It's absolute rubbish and it pisses me off beyond my poor ability to articulate. Since I mostly concentrate on building transformable mecha, that ability to hinge is imperative. I also have the same issue with parts that don't initially connect to just zoom off to wherever. Very frustrating. But it's free, and that's why I put myself through the misery of using the damned thing. Too, I don't have a dedicated workspace to build with actual LEGO (my parts take up half my bedroom, ensconced in a huge Rubbermaid tub with boxes of LEGO and LEGO sets on top. I have to move a bunch of stuff every time I want to build anything, and then put it all back before bedtime. It's a pain, but I'm out of space in my house). I do like that Studio is linked to Bricklink, though- pretty handy.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Cruise has been a pilot since 1994. He's multi-engine qualified and learned how to fly a helicopter for his last Mission Impossible film. I'm planning on seeing this this weekend. Although I'm sure the F-18 scenes are going to be awesome, it's the scenes with a different plane that I'm curious about, even if they're just an embellishment. At the very least, it has to be better than Stealth.
  19. M'Kyuun
    I didn't see it that way, initially, but that's a good observation. He blasted the machine himself, so yeah.
  20. M'Kyuun
    Gotta agree with the consensus that S3 is better than 2. S1 is still the best. But 3 had some great standouts, most of which have already been mentioned. The prod values of the Crustacean ep were amazing- all those shadows, the textures, not to mention the writing; very clever in dialog and execution. That one sticks with me the most. The mini-zombie apoc was glorious. Got some good laughs from it. The rat infestation one was cool, but the ending rendered the whole exercise pointless. Still a fun ep, though. Love the gratuitous gore in some of these eps. And yeah, the dialog in the one with all the soldiers was pure gold- good story, too. What was missing was stuff on the level of Zima Blue, Good Hunting, and Lucky 13. All three set a pretty high benchmark for storytelling that the subsequent seasons never quite achieved, IMHO. They could turn Good Hunting into a regular series- I'd be all over it.
  21. M'Kyuun
    I wouldn't think less of you. LEGO applies paint to any number of their own bits, most notably in the Speed Champions sets where they spray the primary color on the side of a clear tile which is being used for a headlight. I've seen pics of MOCs completely spray painted, so it's nothing new. I haven't painted any parts (yet), but I've certainly plastered them with custom stickers. I've also run into the wrong color on the right part dilemma, and it's frustrating. I came close to ordering a bunch and just painting them, but I relented. I should've done it. As for Bricklink, their search engine is the absolute worst. If there's any area in need of vast improvement, or complete replacement with something that's actually functional, that's it.
  22. M'Kyuun
    Look forward to seeing it when you're done. 😉 Me too. From announcement, I longed for that set, so it was painful when they suddenly announced its cancelation, especially when reviewers were already putting up vids. But yeah, in normal ops, I think the model worked fine. I believe you're on-point with your description of the conditions necessary for over-torquing. However, I can also see it happening with frequency if people are switching functions on the fly with the motor running. I'm guilty of it myself with the beautiful 42025 Cargo Plane they released in 2014. I never had any issues, though beyond the motors being a little stressed. All they would need to do in these large sets where stresses can be too much for either the motors or structure is include a large warning in the instructions not to engage more than one function at a time or subsequent breakage may result. That absolves them of liability if some chucklehead, like myself, does engage more than one and breaks something. Easy fix, that. Or redesign the problem area(s) to withstand said stresses and release the improved set. Even better option.
  23. M'Kyuun
    The only way I see Seekers being done is if they take a similar tack as the Blue Power Jet Creator set, where it's similar but different enough from a RW jet to slip by LEGO's capricious 'no current war machine or weapon' rule. I'm down with that as long as they don't go too far astray with the jet mode. As for Megatron, I feel they're either going to make him some sort of sci-fi tank, or something else entirely, if they decide to do him at all. I'd so love to have a no-kidding G1 Megs w/ a Walther P-38 pistol mode, but that'll never happen. Soundwave and his cassette minions would be cool- pretty challenging to make cassettes with LEGO that don't look like a chunk of decanned Spam, though- it just doesn't lend itself well to keeping the thin profile of a cassette. Too bad Soundwave wasn't a VCR instead. 😉 They did, and supposedly it was due to overstressing of some small gears that were experiencing breakage under certain load conditions. I watched a vid or two of reviewers who received early copies of the set (lucky, lucky bastards) and some of them experienced the breakage. Some didn't. I think it was one of those situations where just the proper conditions needed met before the stresses became too much. Alas, it got back to LEGO, as well as the small and insignificant protest based on its being a licensed Bell-Boeing product, and the fact that Bell-Boeing make combat machines for various US institutions. I think the protest was a scapegoat as well. I wish they'd just fixed the issue and pressed on with pride. As a huge fan of the Osprey, I was extremely excited for that set, and to be blindsided days away from release like that was jarring and dismaying. I think they could have handled it better, and still put the set out.
  24. M'Kyuun
    Yeah, mine had the FT QC sticker, too. Of course, I noticed the engine from the Revenge, but didn't more thought into it. Seems though, among these third parties, there are any number of freelance designers who do work for various companies, so perhaps the same designer works or has worked for all three companies. I knew of the IF fig, but b/c her alt mode was a very stylistic interpretation, I didn't consider her. Her bot mode is certainly based on the G1 animation model, so from that POV, I guess she has 50% qualification, but I was only considering G1 Arcees with both OG car and bot modes. I have to admit, tho, I like IF's styling for both this fig and their Windblade. They're adorbs. I confess I wasn't aware of DX9's Leah, though, so that's my bad. I have to say, DX9 pulled off a well done G1 Arcee, and like the T30 toy, I like the fact that her thighs form the rear fenders of the car rather than having the shaped pink fenders that have to fold into the backpack. I really wish that had been her design from the beginning so that more of the bot mode was involved in the car. Amie is shaping up to be a great looking legends Arcee. I still don't care for the face, though. Something about it makes her look evil. I love how her car panels compact so cleanly into her shoulder pods. IMHO, it's better executed than the MP fig both proportionally, esp the chest shape, and by how cleanly the backpack folds.
  25. M'Kyuun
    If they adhere to the no-real-world-weapons stance, then neither G1 Megatron nor the Seekers will be a possibility under that philosophy, which leaves a gaping void so far as a complete G1 collection of these goes, should they continue beyond Prime. I think they'd be foolish to just stop at Prime; Transformers is a cash cow license, and the idea that the sets will mirror the salient feature of the official Hasbro products, namely mechanical conversion, is a rarity among not only LEGO mecha sets, but also other licensed TF models and such. Hasbro & Takara like to keep the eponymous feature of Transformers to themselves, so it's pleasantly surprising that in this instance they relented. I'm not complaining; this is what I've longed for since 1984; well, actually, I'd like to see them shrink them down to minifig scale, but the fact that they're making them at all is enough for me. I shan't complain, but just enjoy the ride as long as it lasts.
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