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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    I thought I'd try to spruce up my ER Prowl with some stickers only to find to my dismay that Toyhax never made any for him. It seems a bit of an omission; they made stickers for Slitherfang, but not one of the most recognizable and wanting of the G1 Autobots. Anyway, I busted out my paints and tried to give him a minimal makeover to the best of my meager ability. I thought about trying to paint his zig-zag waist detail and his shoulder shields and stripes, but that's a bit too far outside my wheelhouse. I also bought a weapons set for him from Nonnef. The Nonnef gun is more accurate than the gun he came with, but somehow I like the official gun better. I gave it a coat of paint and it doesn't look too bad, IMHO. I also painted the missiles, although all I had in my rather limited and aging paint collection was aluminum, so that's what I used. I may pick up some silver or maybe even chrome paint at some point and give them a shinier coat to better match the OG toy. I still wish there were decals available to pick out the mechanical details in his shins, as well as the waist and shoulder details. I may still pick up some white paint and paint the insides of his legs as well as the little gap filler panels. Anyway, thought I'd share.
  2. M'Kyuun
    Looks great, David. Did you buy the stickers or make them? I like the crew hatch tile, and wonder why LEGO didn't do the same; it's a pretty simple solution that looks much better than official. Anyway, it seems like a lot of the fixes were simple to employ without major mods to the model beggaring the question of why those solutions weren't employed in the first place. The budgeting politics at LEGO must be a bumpy road to navigate. LEGO has unveiled the latest IDEAS model, and it's an old school typewriter. More about it on Brothers Brick. This, like the piano, is a cool model, with moving internals that simulates the actual object in question. The sting, I think, is that, for all their artistic and technical prowess manifest in these beautiful models, neither the piano nor the typewriter actually works. However, the spirit behind these models, that they are objects of a particular nature that LEGO would not otherwise consider doing, has merit. The typewriter would make a great gift for anyone old enough to have used a typewriter, or for someone in the writing profession. Likewise the piano for musicians. For the average LEGO buying Joe, though, I think the appeal is limited, except, perhaps, as a parts pack (all that delicious sand green!). If I'm coming across negative, I'm not; I think stuff like this is why IDEAS is such a good platform; models like this are niche, expensive, specifically targeted at an adult consumer, represent some incredible artistry and engineering on the parts of the designers and submitters, and also represent real world objects that hold personal or nostalgic feelings for many people. I hope the folks at IDEAS continue to receive submissions like this; it adds a whole new range of depth to what a LEGO set can be, and hopefully changes perceptions about it as more than just a toy, but as yet another creative medium like clay or scale modeling.
  3. M'Kyuun
    I agree, pretty good kit, but not without its flaws, and the fix for those door hinge indents is pretty simple and straightforward. It beggars the question of why the designer didn't do it that way, but they're up against constraints that most consumers aren't aware of, so I'm more willing to let things pass. The landing gear system was well executed, but I think the scale of the gear as opposed to the Shuttle itself is a bit too large; however, it's LEGO, so they have to work with what's available, and compromises are a necessity. For how smoothly the gear retraction/extension works, I'm not too plussed about it. Part of me wishes that this had been minifig scale like the Shuttle Adventure set years ago, but this was more of a commemorative model, thus the more realistic crew cabin. Moreover, it's grossly out of scale for the minifigs, but I'm old skool, so astro-figs in anything make me happy.
  4. M'Kyuun
    Humor aside, that's a great graphic! Guess I'm not used to seeing such fluid movement like that, reminiscent of Zero, Frontier, and Delta. Thirty-some years on, and the VF-1 is still a beauty. Kinda makes me wish they'd remaster the original series with modern art. As for suffering wallets, mine's willing to pay the penance for domestic Macross releases. Punish me with merch overload, Big West and Bandai!
  5. M'Kyuun
    I have to agree, and despite not wanting to delve into yet another collection for which I have no room, I'm drawn to these things for how well they're executed. I constantly wish they'd upscale these things to fit in with CHUG, as they'd fill any number of holes left by missing or subpar official toys. TW's Constructor is the only complete set of Constructicons in my collection, and I wouldn't be opposed to another. While I tend to like NA's individual Constructicons more, the Magic Square Devastator is more appealing. The Magic Square bots are seriously channeling Sunbow, down to the tire shaped bumps on the arms of Mixmaster, Hook, and Scrapper. I'm not the biggest fan of that level of toon faithfulness, but I'm not shelling for both companies, and right now I like MS' Devastator more than NA's, so that's likely the direction I'll go if I decide to get a set of wee Constructicons. I sure wish a fourth party would upscale these (either company) to CHUG scale.
  6. M'Kyuun
    I don't think so, at least not as extensively. I think MS took a page from Toy World's Constructor, as the method of attaching the limbs looks similar. With NA, the frame handles the heavy lifting, pun intended, for the gestalt's articulation. Looking at MS' Devy, there appear to be only separate waist and arms, much like the G1 toy and Toy World's Constructor. The knees appear to hinge at the conjunction of the leg bots and the thighs, which means the knee hinge attaches directly to the leg bots, the waist attaches directly to Long Haul, who in turn attaches directly to Hook, and either the arm bots or Hook contain the shoulder hinges. NA's solution may potentially impart greater stability, but to my eyes, the MS Devastator looks better to me- closer to source, I guess you could say. Too, the MS figs appear to have more complex transformations. That's not always necessarily a good thing, but I think it shows a level of investment. So I wonder if Dinobots are next after these guys finish their Devastators.?
  7. M'Kyuun
    Magic Square's Long Haul, and Scavenger. Long Haul is always the main make or break Constructicon for me when choosing a team of Constructicon toys to go with. Back when it seemed that every third party had a version of Devastator coming out, I went with Toy World's Constructor because of how well their LH compared to both the G1 toy and the toon incarnation. Now that the two heavy hitters of G1 legends figs are simultaneously revealing their takes on the Constructicons, I find myself in the same position once again- which one skews closest? Gotta say, I think MS' has the bulk down better, although part of me wishes that the angled bit of his bed by the ankles was part of the foot, as it looks weird to me as it is. Too, I love it when realistic functionality is incorporated into an alt mode, and construction machinery just lends itself to that effect. That said, I have yet to see a Long Haul figure with a functional dumping bed, and I hope MS and NA incorporate it into their respective takes. Not holding my breath, mind you, but I hope.
  8. M'Kyuun
    I'm ashamed to say I was unaware of McD's having been absorbed into Boeing. So yeah, it's a low investment paycheck for them, but I wish they cared. Such a beautiful and iconic aircraft- it symbolized America's air dominance for decades, and I wish they guarded its likeness as zealously as many car manufacturers do.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Which is why Maketoys and Magic Square are my choices for Seekers and Prime, respectively, for my MP collection. I don't mind their move towards toon accuracy so much as the compromises they employ to achieve it. I'm not a big fan of using faux parts, but I will concede that it has its place here and there, especially if it doesn't egregiously effect the alt mode, but benefits the bot mode such as SS86 Hot Rod, or WfC Runamuck/Runabout. But the use of a double cockpit seems superfluous and only serves to ruin the look of fighter mode. Being a plane guy more than a car guy, having had some actual hands-on experience with the F-15, and having been spoiled by Macross designs, the new MP Starscream seems a step or two in the wrong direction design-wise. That sort of obvious compromise would be unsightly but acceptable on a mass retail non-collector grade toy, but on a Masterpiece figure, far more care should be taken to ensure that the F-15 mode is close to the source, especially given that it's a licensed likeness. Apparently Micky-D don't care, but David and I do.
  10. M'Kyuun
    It really is impressive what these guys are doing at legends scale.
  11. M'Kyuun
    Hate it when smart phones aren't. Totally onboard with your thinking. And yeah, WfC has been a treasure trove of G1 goodness with some notable figs, like Cyclonus, Skyfire, and ER Prime to name just a few. Some disappointments too, like Astrotrain and the Seekers. In the case of the latter, it'd be wonderful if a fourth party, or the third party companies themselves, would make CHUG appropriate scaled versions of some of their figs corresponding to those official figs that were stinkers. It'd truly be a step closer to a perfect world.
  12. M'Kyuun
    Do you mean legends sized copies of the WfC toys? Honestly, I think the Newage Seekers are far superior to the WfC designs; if anything, I wish they'd upscale their designs to fit with CHUG, as the WfC figs were essentially upscaled copies of the Classics Seeker, albeit with the CW leg mechanism instead of sliders. It's a poor dated design, and I'd eagerly welcome voyager scaled versions of NA's Seekers. That Magic Square Prime looks good. I didn't bite for their V1, but having their Megs, it's almost obligatory to have a comparable OP. I have their Light of Freedom as my MP Prime, so having his little brother in my slowly growing legends collection seems apropos.
  13. M'Kyuun
    Watched the first ep of LEGO Masters S2 last night, and like the first season, it seemed like there were already a few teams that kinda stood out above the rest. The theme was LEGO on Parade, and the teams had to build floats that told a bit about themselves, and incorporated motion. The winner, as in first season, would win the coveted Golden Brick, which can be played at any time to save the holder from being eliminated.
  14. M'Kyuun
    All that kibble between the legs, mostly for covering up his faux robot mode cockpit, is an unsightly, and IMHO unnecessary, mess. The only good viewing angle, as with most of Has/Tak's jet offerings, is a top shot where none of the generally kibbley undercarriage, which all but ruins the illusion that this is anything but a robot with airplane parts attached, can be seen. This sort of egregious compromise would never be tolerated with a car alt mode. Even the New Age Seekers have better presentation in fighter mode, while still delivering a toon accurate and highly poseable robot mode. Takara, with all their experience, should be able to do at least as well, especially in a Masterpiece class figure. They did a far better job with the fighter mode with MP-3 and MP-11. Granted the bot modes weren't as well done, nor as toon accurate, but I would expect a better balance from Takara that delivers a far less compromised fighter mode while still giving the bot mode a toon look. Maketoys did it, and did it better, IMHO. Honestly, I wish this Starscream had turned out better- I have neither a Starscream nor a Thundercracker in my MP Seeker collection (that I want to display- I have Greenscream, and the Walmart versions of MP-3 Starscream and TC, I believe), as well as Maketoys' Skywarp, who I do have displayed. I have Maketoys' Starscream PO'd, but with the way things seem to be going with that company of late, I'm not sure it will ever materialize. Moreover, I want to support Takara. but when they produce a figure like this with so much compromise to the alt mode, and IMHO, unnecessary faux parts to try and capture the Sunbow look, the appeal is lost on me. For those who get it and love it, that's fantastic. As a toy, it did its job, and I hope it continues to bring joy to those who buy him for years to come. Meanwhile, I'm open to alternatives.
  15. M'Kyuun
    Geek Culture appear to be the first reviewers to get their hands on The Ark. TFW2005 has posted a number of stills from the vid as well. I dig it, and I'm glad I've got it PO'd. That said, the big gaping holes along the sides of his ship mode and the poorly articulated hands, which look like he's wearing heavy rubber dishwashing gloves, make me hope that there'll be some third party fixes. I still wish they'd found a way to give him his fifth and center engine- it could have swung up onto his back as a jetpack, if nothing else. Alas, they didn't so that remains a glaring bit of inaccuracy to the original source that'll be nigh impossible to remedy due to the design. I like the robot's design, though, and apparently the head is based on "the Last Autobot" from G1 comics, so a nice nod there to early lore.
  16. M'Kyuun
    I could, but selling stuff has never been my strong suit- I have a pack rat mentality, and it's hard to let stuff go. I'm not quite to the hoarder stage, but the warning signs are probably there. But yeah, you're right- different strokes... I say I'm not gonna get Kingdom Sideswipe, but I'll likely cave- that's what I do. As for Earth mode Hound, I'm sure they've got another double pack exclusive in the works- give it time. That I might bite on if it's well done, as Siege Hound just didn't capture the G1 look or feel, and a more faithful version would be nice to have. I'm still extremely partial to Classics Hound; he's one of my absolute favorite Transformer figs ever, a brilliant fig that was doing what the WfC figs are doing articulation-wise fourteen years ago. Classics Hound, Mirage, and Bumblebee still stand out in my mind (and heart) as some of the best TF figs I own amongst hundreds.
  17. M'Kyuun
    It's irritating that they're releasing an earth mode Sideswipe, but double packing it with a BW fig I don't want. Siege Sideswipe's alt mode is close enough for me, so I'll be passing on this set. And yeah, it's irritating that this Sideswipe doesn't have a spoiler either.
  18. M'Kyuun
    Don't forget his wry commentary, intentionally bad puns, and his songs that poke fun at the movie in question, himself, and the genre in general. It's basically a toned down MSTK3000, with a lot of actual facts and history about the actors and the film itself during breaks. It makes for an entertaining watch, and Svengoolie himself is often more entertaining than the film he's showing.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Since the New York Toy Fair for 2021, was cancelled due to Covid, LEGO has their own plans: LEGO® CON 2021 | Watch LIVE | Official LEGO | Official LEGO® Shop US June 26 at 9AM PST
  20. M'Kyuun
    I thought the proto looked good, but the amount of detail they've added since is impressive. PO'd it some time back, and now my anticipation is building. For some reason, the head gives me a feminine Optimus vibe. Still eagerly waiting for a proto of this:
  21. M'Kyuun
    Hopefully. Looking at Showz's entries right now, they show Scavenger and Bonecrusher for sale as a team with actual product pics, and then listings for the other two teams with only the combined Devy render. Judging by the render, NA's Devastator uses a pretty extensive frame to form and give shape to the upper torso including the shoulders, as well as the waist, thighs, and knees. The combined form is a bit too lanky looking to my eyes. looking at Magic square's take, I like the stockier proportions of their Devastator better. Too, looking at the arms, the vehicle modes hide the bot joints better and just, to my eyes, seem better designed. I also like how Long Haul's truck grill is unobscured by an add-on as the NA's appears to be, and Long Haul also appears to attach to the separate waist piece (which seems to be the common trend following Toy World's example). MS' combiner knee mechanics are much better implemented and complimentary without the additional extension of the NA. About the only thing I don't like is the little toe on Mixmaster, but that's how he was drawn in the toon, so it's canon. If they make it so it can fold away, that'd be fantastic- toon or toy look depending on your preference. One thing I don't like is that MS' Scrapper has faux wheels on his shoulder; the real ones likely fold into his chest. Ah, Cartoon accuracy Sigh. I hope both of these get early show and tell vids; if I get a legends Devy, I only want one, so I want to make the most informed decision I can, but for right now, I'm leaning hard towards MS.
  22. M'Kyuun
    The Choro-Q based G1 alt modes are really the draw for me to want these guys. The price is a bit high for such small figs, and it does suck that they're being released in a two-pack rather than individually. As small as they are, though, like you say, the seamed chest piece doesn't really look bad at all from any kind of distance. Both it and Magic Square's Cliffjumpers look good- very similar and appropriate silhouettes.
  23. M'Kyuun
    Concerning the general civility of discourse here, I agree. Kudos to Shawn, Graham, Mods, and the the membership, who keep it so. We're not immune to bad apples, but most have met the business end of a boot when their bad behavior showed no signs of abating. After the toxic and often vulgar atmosphere which often permeates the TFW boards, this place is a breath of fresh air. Takara's takes on Starscream and Arcee didn't appeal to me, but unlike a lot of fans, I don't take it personally if you like something that I don't. I hope both exceed your expectations, and bring you joy. If they follow suit with the last few releases, the articulation, and thus posing options, promises to be excellent. Feel free to share a photo or two.
  24. M'Kyuun
    That's my Animated holy grail right there, the one that got away. I keep hoping they'll do a rerelease b/ c the aftermarket for this guy is insane. Ok cool, glad I wasn't totally off base, but I appreciate the clarification and will bear it in mind if ever I use this again as an example of a respectful differing of opinions. I'm right there with you on the Bayverse designs, though. I'll add a few reasons of my own for why I don't like them: unlike the G1 toys, which carried over many elements of the alt modes into bot form by mechanical necessity, Bayformers are entirely an artistic product completely untethered from mechanical reality. The alt modes are chipped and chopped into infinitesimal pieces, bent and warped into various shapes incompatible with the alt mode, tires are broken up into pieces, and all these things are then placed at whim without any regard to realistic functionality or actual placement relative to the alt mode upon a skeletal frame without regard as to how said bits and pieces would be mechanically moved or held in place. Moreover, the breaking up of all those car bits would make the car itself look like a rolling puzzle for all the seams, and the integrity of the alt mode would be dubious at best for the question of how all those parts are even being held in place, as it would take millions of small linkages to hold every little bit and piece in position. The argument for their realism is laughable at best, especially if you've ever done any mechanical work on a vehicle. Too, having grown up with G1, Bay's Transformers looked nothing the sort: they were skeletal, shardy, ugly things that oft had the alt mode so shredded and whimsically placed over the bot frame that even telling what they were supposed to turn into was difficult. One of the salient features of G1 Transformers is that one can look at just about any character in bot mode and know what it's going to transform into b/c many of the alt mode features carry over by mechanical necessity. To me, that is and should always be a defining characteristic of the toys and the brand. I'd be down with that, similar to what they did with both Generations Lugnut and RotF Lockdown:
  25. M'Kyuun
    You're not being contrarian at all. My point, poorly worded, was that there certainly are famous and wealthy people who happen to be nerdy and like to buy toys and such of whatever franchise(s) tickle their fancies. Rereading what I wrote, it doesn't come across. And yeah, where ebay was the place to find good deals on various things 20-30 years ago, it has since become a haven for greedy resellers looking to take max advantage of fans' desires to collect things, especially those that saw limited runs, are retired, or just remain very popular over time. Personally, I don't spend enough time on there to discern the good from bad sellers, and though I have used it on a few occasions, I tend to avoid it as the last option. As to your having missed out on Animated, I'm truly sorry to hear that. Animated was, and remains, one of those divisive shows among fans, much like Beast Wars before it. The animation style tended to sour a lot of fans on it, but the storytelling, the writing, and the voice talent made for a great Transformers show packed with a lot of G1 love. The toys, IMHO, were well done considering the extremely toonish and stylized art direction of the animation. Again, the fandom has varying opinions. Keeping it close to home, Animated remains one of my favorite shows and toylines within the Transformers brand, but @mikeszekely doesn't care for the toys, as he doesn't feel there was good translation. Correct me if I'm wrong, Mike. I'm inclined to believe that Hasbro is reluctant to revisit Animated, as well, as they completely ignored its ten year anniversary, and AFAIK, have never done any toy rereleases since the show ended prematurely in 2009, minus its planned fourth season. I don't hold much hope for any official releases any time soon, unless they get a change in management at Hasbro who's a big fan of the show/toys and can do something about it.
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