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M'Kyuun

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  1. M'Kyuun
    I hope that desire for a new spaceplane to replace the retired STS comes about within the next decade, as there's certainly a need for such a vehicle. The Shuttle was and is irreplaceable for its ability to haul large cargo into space, and to retrieve and repair satellites in orbit. Falcon Heavy can take largo cargo up, but we still haven't a feasible way of retrieval and repair in situ in orbit. Time for a spaceplane 2.0.
  2. M'Kyuun
    I wish they'd scale up to deluxe and voyager scales to provide alternatives to craptastic Hasbro releases.
  3. M'Kyuun
    Good points from both of you guys that I hadn't considered: that this was intended, ultimately, to be a vehicle used in lunar and Mars' atmospheres, which don't support aerodynamics well, if at all. I was thinking of purely Earth missions. To that end, I think a secondary landing system would be useful for an Erath demonstrator, but, evolving its ability to land vertically and intact for reusability on other worlds is an imperative. The sight of these SpaceX launch vehicles landing vertically is still unbelievably amazing, one that was pure sci-fi until SpaceX accomplished it with Falcon 9. I'm in awe of what they've accomplished and look forward to seeing them continue to trailblaze.
  4. M'Kyuun
    As incredibly impressive as landing a rocket on its tail is, since they're positioning this one on its side in flight and using conventional stabilizers to control its flight aerodynamically, why not just land it that way? Install some retractable gear and let it glide in. Or, put some chutes in the nose in case there's an engine fault, at least as a backup, so the entire rocket isn't a loss. I don't think they should abandon what they're doing, but given the amount of money that's wrapped up in each rocket, not to mention the blood, sweat, and tears involved, have a contingency plan in place just in case. That would be my approach if I ran a space agency.
  5. M'Kyuun
    I was at my Wally yesterday, and they didn't have any of the latest figs, so no Soundwave, Bee, or Elita-1. They've actually been keeping their Transformers section reasonably stocked this year, a first in a very long time, so I've little doubt it's just a matter of time. I must have been dozing when all those ER POs came out, b/c I missed Soundwave, and I don't remember if I got one in for Bee or not. I skipped Elita, although if I had my druthers, I wish she'd come with ER Ratchet instead of Lifeline, as at least she has a different head, and she featured in the old cartoon.
  6. M'Kyuun
    It's unfortunate that the media, and humans in general, tend to crave bad news and failure over anything positive. As for myself, it seems to me that every new accomplishment by SpaceX elevates what once was science fiction into reality. It's exciting. They've more than proven that they have the right stuff for this generation and its goals of furthering human work in space. At this point, NASA sits on the sidelines, launching the occasional satellite with little fanfare or media attention, and with little in the way of notable innovation, at least not on the scale that SpaceX is currently trailblazing. The Mars rovers are still some of the most amazing accomplishments by NASA, as well as Apollo, and the OSIRIS-REx probe. It's a shame that stuff like OSIRIS, which is an incredible accomplishment, essentially gets overlooked b/c, I imagine, there's really no human drama involved. Apollo suffered the same fate pretty much as soon as Neil and Buzz stepped foot on the moon. Norman Mailer, in his book Moonfire, essentially says the media became bored once they landed safely. Apollo didn't interest the media again until Apollo 13, and once that ended, thankfully, well, Apollo never again enjoyed much media attention, despite its increasingly successful contributions to science. It's a sad but true commentary on the obtuse and negative nature of humanity.
  7. M'Kyuun
    Honestly, I think the Furai model is a little more understated than Nicee, who's both curvaceous and anthropomorphically voluptuous. The Furai is more along the lines of how I'd like Big Firebird to do their Windblade; anatomically correct but without the large chest. This is nigh perfect, although on an actual transforming toy, the wings are going to have to be larger, so there will be more kibble on BFB's. The styling of the Furai is downright beautiful; I love the suggestion of all the various bits comprising her body, and the coloration that accentuates it. It's sharp, adds an essential element of her being a mechanical entity, but with the anatomical shaping of a human woman. It checks all the boxes for me for a well done fembot. For my own personal tastes, I'd prefer the suggestion of breasts, much like G1 Arcee or how Windblade is drawn in the comics rather than actual separate breasts, as, from a practical standpoint, a mechanical entity has no need of sexual reproductive organs, and the subtle suggestion of a feminine shape is apropos. Just my 2 cents.
  8. M'Kyuun
    I saw those other Headmasters today as I was perusing TFW2005. I got all but Brainstorm during TR, and I'm good with them as they are. I do love the retro boxes, though- nice touch. Kinda wish they'd done that for the whole of WFC, or at least the ER /Kingdom for the G1 bots. The toys may have sucked back then, but the packaging was spectacular. I like the Blurr mold for TR, so I doubt I'll mind its reuse for Brainstorm. Heck, it even made for an arguably better Arcee than the ER figure. At least the bot was involved in the transformation. Looking forward to getting my Breakdown and Flying Vehicon on Saturday. I was sooo bummed when I missed out on it back when Prime was still airing, so I'm very appreciative of this second chance to get him and Breakdown, another character we never got here in the US. The 15th anniversary of Animated is drawing nigh, and there was talk on the TFW boards about some Animated-generations hybrid stuff coming. It's all extreme speculation apparently stemming from yet another rumor that there's a Megatron with a helicopter alt possibly coming. Honestly, if either is true, I'm down. Unlike Prime, who is and always shall be a truck in my mind, a handgun is both impractical and impossible to produce here in the US, and the idea of his becoming a tank works. but I'm far more open to Megatron taking on other alt modes. Curious to see what comes of all this erstwhile vaporware.
  9. M'Kyuun
    Yes, most likely. $20 is a bit steep though, especially when you factor in shipping on top of that. I figured they'd pack the head with another product, specifically their Windblade, which I'm planning on getting when and if they go forward with it. Thus far, we haven't even seen test shots, so it may or may not happen. I hope it does, as I like the aesthetic, give or take the prominent chesticles. I'd actually prefer a more understated chest, but it is what it is. If the rest of the fig looks good, and her jet mode looks good, I'm down for a copy.
  10. M'Kyuun
    Sorry to hear about your Postal woes. I'm no stranger to them, either, but fortunately they're seldom. Anyway, I've had my Nicee for a few months, and I think you'll develop an appreciation for her once you have a chance to play around with poses and accessories. IMHO, she's well made, with both modes looking good, and a transformation that's pretty basic but gets the job done. This is how I keep her posed. She's flexible enough that I've actually got her eyeline sighted down the length of her pistol.
  11. M'Kyuun
    I received an unexpected but welcome package from Walmart today in the form of the WFC: ER Soundwave 3-pack. I ordered this guy last Monday when I got an in-stock alert and rushed to get a PO in. The EDD was 22 December, so imagine my surprise when I opened the box and saw this guy in all his G1 glory. as a side note, I hope yours is coming soon, too, @mikeszekely, as I know you've had difficulties with Walmart's delivering on POs in the past. Thus said, I'll leave it to Mike to do an in depth review, as he's got it down to a science, whereas all I can offer are ramblings and poor photography. Quick impressions: Bot mode is very G1, and his chest even pops open by pressing the release button on his shoulder. It never gets old. He comes with three weapons: his two batteries-cum shoulder launcher and pistol with extending barrel, just like the G1 toy minus the chrome, as well as an additional folding rifle the origin or significance of which I know not. He comes with two cassettes (hence 3-pack) Ravage and Laserbeak, which are the same disappointing molds from Siege albeit with G1 accurate heads. Both fit snugly, one at a time mind you, into his chest. In cassette mode, Ravage's one flat side is painted to resemble a cassette, whilst Laserbeak's one flat side is painted to reflect the decals on the wings of the G1 condors. I do like that you can change the look of his chest depending on the mode, but it would have been nicer had the cassettes been better engineered to be flat on both sides like the original toys. This is one of the few cases where the G1 toys were better than their modern updates, and I'll never understand why they didn't maintain the real-world mini-cassette scale to work with both MP and the original toys. Soundwave's cassette recorder mode resembles his G1 self, mostly, from the front, although look at him from any other angle and the illusion is broken. Again, in recorder mode, the original toy did it better. ER SW's chest is nearly as thick as G1 Soundwave's alt mode. Since ER SW's arms also swing behind his back like the original, it creates a large unsightly protrusion on the back of the recorder. Also, unlike G1 SW, whose weapons, neatly disguised as batteries, stored away in a compartment on his back which also featured a handy belt clip, ER SW's head stores in his mini-backpack, and the weapons, still disguised as batteries, have no realistic compartment in which to reside, and so peg onto the backs of the legs awkwardly and unrealistically. Usually, when something has been done right, it's copied, but one must abandon any such expectation of Hasbro. I digress. One other difference is that although HasTak copied the basic shape of G1 SW's lower legs with the angled kneecaps, which filled in space in recorder mode on the G1 toy, they have them fold with the kneecaps out in recorder mode, which is an odd choice. Too, there's a centimeter gap between the lower edge of the cassette tray and the function buttons where the hinges are clearly visible. Again, it was done better on the original toy, whose tray sat snug against the function button area and hid the hinges. The area with the function buttons (there are actually two sets of function buttons- a larger one for alt mode, which becomes a butt flap, and a smaller set on his crotch and front independently hinging hip panels) forms his lower waist, which is able to swivel, so that's likely why they didn't try harder to hide the big gap. there's quite a bit of paint on this fig: the edges of the cassette tray are painted in a light yellow, as well as the little arrow detail in the lower center, the horizontal stripes on his upper chest and lower legs (which intersect in recorder mode), as well as his knee vents are picked out in gold, and his shin and knee details, as well as the insides of his legs which are molded to form the front of his recorder mode, are picked out in silver. They even have the "L" and "R" molded into them. The function buttons, fore and aft, are painted silver, as well as a small detailed section of each shoulder. I wish they'd thrown a touch of red and yellow on the small rectangular details on his knees to reflect the G1 toy's decals, but it's certainly not a deal-breaker, and fairly easy to do myself. the paint apps, overall are pretty crisp on mine. No real complaints there. The eyes are translucent red light-piping, which may offend some. It doesn't really bother me, although I wish they'd used trans-yellow, as it would show up better and be G1 toy accurate. As-is, his eyes are rather dark, especially if there's no direct overhead light source. For all my complaining, I still like this figure, and I feel like I waited an eternity for it. I was really bummed when I missed the original PO for him, and stoked when the toy gods saw fit to grace me with an in-stock notification at a time when I happened to be on the computer (a rarity). I didn't like the Siege toy's alt mode at all, and patiently hoped and prayed that this figure would become a reality. In hand, it has its flaws, especially when I compare him to the OG toy; the tradeoff, of course, is that this fellow has far better articulation, and fits in with the rest of CHUG . The alt mode is acceptable, certainly better than the Siege's questionable alt, and it satisfies with the old push-button opening cassette tray, a must-have feature of any self-respecting G1 Soundwave toy. Do I recommend him? Sure. It does enough right in both modes to fill that need for a G1 Soundwave figure to go with the rest of Generations. I wish more effort had been exerted in the engineering to bring his alt mode closer to the original, especially his backpack battery compartment, but as it is, it gets the job done.
  12. M'Kyuun
    Nope, AFAIK, it is it's own thing.
  13. M'Kyuun
    While I was on active duty years ago, I ran into different folks at different times who'd been stationed at Edwards AFB, where Gen. Yeager ruled the roost, so to speak. The man, deservedly, was larger than life, and apparently he, and his wife by extension, as officers' wives often do, liked to throw their considerable weight around in acts of entitlement that oft rubbed their fellow airmen the wrong way. In truth, I heard more negative stories from fellow airmen than positive about the good general, as he, and his wife, were apparently unpleasant to deal with. That said, one can't ignore the enormity of his accomplishments, or the extremity of his courage in facing the odds, supposed or real, of successfully accomplishing those acts which have brought him much deserved recognition and accolades. It's difficult for us in a post SR-71 and Concorde world to remember that before a young Capt. Yeager strapped on a Bell X-1 and rode it to supersonic history, many scientists had dire predictions concerning what would happen to a human being if he passed beyond the sound barrier. Pilots are brave folks by default, and test pilots are a breed above, with extraordinary intestinal fortitude in the face of potential death or dismemberment every time they strap in; however, I'm sure behind the bravado, Capt Yeager , for a fleeting moment, couldn't help but wonder if those scientists were right. It's only human to consider our mortality from time to time, and despite his godlike status, he was still one of us in the end. I've seen Gen Yeager's Bell X-1 at the Smithsonian, and it's difficult to think that such a small craft accomplished a world-changing paradigm of thought in the field of aeronautics, and that a young captain had the audacity and courage to face those uncertain odds and ride it into history. What's also amazing is that Gen. Yeager started his career as an enlisted aircraft mechanic , became an enlisted pilot, received his commission, and climbed the ladder farther than the vast majority of prior enlisted officers ever do. In so many ways, his story is unique, and we've truly lost an American hero in his passing. Godspeed, General. RIP
  14. M'Kyuun
    Good review, Mike. I'm still waiting for mine to show up- probably this week. As a Macross fan precisely because of Kawamori's realistic jet modes, Maverick strikes a chord with me, as did G1 Jetfire back in the day. It's no secret that the VF-1 was inspired by the F-14, so it's cool that here we have a transforming F-14 inspired by the VF-1. Of course, this is still HasTak, so it lacks the refinement of a Macross design, but in the world of Transformers, where most jet modes are butchered all to hell, this stands apart as a step up, and I'm happy that they made it, even if, as Mike points out, the F-14 is not so iconic and singular a specialized movie vehicle as say Ecto-1 or the DeLorean. As a Top Gun tie-in, though, it was never going to be anything else. Well, I guess they could have made it Cruise's bike, but compared to a fighter jet, that's pretty lame, even for Hasbro. Unlike most TF fans, I've never been a fan of blocky bots turning into misshapen and otherwise concession laden jet modes. I consider it an artifact of simple and practical engineering practices in the 80's when toys were still considered for children, and little consideration was given to imparting realism if there was a gimmick involved, such as transformation, where the gimmick took precedence. Moreover, the designs often became even blockier than the toys to simplify the cartoon artwork, since it was all hand drawn and required hundreds, if not thousands, of separate cells. Thus the blockiness that is so cherished is an anachronism of simplistic design and rendering, and no one, I suspect, ever for a second, thought that people in their thirties and up would still be attached to these things thirty-plus years on, with toy technology of a caliber that we could only dream of as kids. I think, had they ever had an inkling of the longevity of this franchise, they may have tried a little harder, been willing to spend a little more, to improve the aesthetics of both toy and toon. Maybe. I'd love to pose the question to Hasbro, Takara, and Sunbow just to see if , had they some prescient notion, they would have attempted to improve anything. Anyway, having watched and read a few reviews and read some forum chatter, I see far more negative criticism of Maverick than positive, mostly for the reasons Mike himself mentioned: too skinny, too lanky, not blocky enough, doesn't fit with the rest of their collection, and the paint job sucks, among others. Of these, the paint job is the only thing I would have liked to see done better. The other issue I have is with all the hollow spaces in bot mode, but it's become such a regularity with TF toys over the past five or six years now that it's basically par for the course, as the saying goes. But I applaud the design direction in its fairly accurate depiction of an F-14, while still transforming into a pretty well articulated bot. I wish this was the direction for all jet mode bearing bots going forward, but the shadow of nostalgic integrity looms profoundly over this franchise, and I fear that we're likely stuck with atrocious jets that turn into blocky bots so long as my generation remains the lifeblood of the fandom, which equates to about another roughly forty years or so before we 'all are one' pushing daisies. I'm curious, and also apprehensive, of what will become of Transformers after we've all tread our last and a wholly new generation, unburdened by nostalgia, takes the reigns. Will there even be interest at that point? I hope so. It's such a cool and fun concept, it makes for some really neat and oft sophisticated toys, and it offers infinite opportunities for storytelling, as well as mining the vast mine of lore already set down in toons and comics.
  15. M'Kyuun
    I got them for completion's sake, but I agree; both are notably weak designs in a line( I'm speaking of the entirety of WFC) that on the whole had a lot of good designs, and some very standout designs. Hopefully, they'll do a better Arcee and Ratchet/Ironhide down the road. For my tastes, the T30 is still the superior Arcee fig. I wish they'd shamelessly borrowed some ideas from Ocular Max's Azalea, as it would have helped ER Arcee immensely. As for the Vanette dudes, they need to start from scratch and make something better. I don't mind the Siege version, except for the terribly lazy feet; however, it didn't translate well, needing a huge partsforming roof and still retaining those awful obvious robot feet, which, had they just made a way for them to rotate 180, or at least the toes, as @mikeszekely mentioned before, with apropos details, they could have helped the shaping of the van mode. What a wasted opportunity to make something better. I'm aware of a couple 3P attempts to make better feet for the van dudes, but honestly, I've already spent more on these lackluster figs than I care to admit, and I just don't feel like wasting any more time, money, or effort on them. I'd rather wait to see if some 3P surprises us with one, which is highly unlikely, or wait for HasTak to take another crack at it, which will probably be a few years to a few decades away. It saddens me that 3Ps no longer dabble in the Generations scale beyond legends, as there are times when the official release is such a letdown that an alternative is a welcome beacon of hope.
  16. M'Kyuun
    Inherently, there's good and bad to the theatre experience, but I still enjoy it when there's a movie that promises some spectacle. Something like Godzilla: King of the Monsters is such a film. I didn't care a whit about the human drama, but some of those Mothra scenes were amazing on that big screen. Same with the Star Wars and Marvel films; whether or not the story grabs you, for the time you're there, it's a treat for the eyes. Sticky floors and rude people within proximity are usually my only gripes, and we usually have more of the latter than the former at my local theatre, which is relatively new, about 10 minutes from my house, and pretty well maintained. Before they built it, I had to go down town to watch a movie in a theatre, so with my theatre having been shut down nearly all year due to Covid, I fear its permanent closure. I hope not; I very seldom got to go to the movies as a kid, so as an adult, it's an enjoyable experience that my wife and I usually enjoy, and I hope we don't lose it.
  17. M'Kyuun
    Yep- toon styled gears, as awkward as he looked, would be fitting for ER. likewise Brawn. I don't foresee any combiner stuff in this line, either, but one can wish. Perhaps in SS down the line. That seems to be a good way for them to stretch out releases over a greater time line, as the SS line seems to be a separate line with its own considerations apart from the main lines. If true, then it affords them a more flexible usage of their budget. If they decided to do the Constructicons in voyager scale, then they could do it much more reasonably over a year or two's span as individual releases, with more attention to detail and articulation applied to each bot, which would be my preferred way for them to redo them. I don't want a repeat of the lackluster CW version. I'd rather they took their time, crafted some nice looking Constructicons with full articulation, and give us a nice looking G1 Devastator without too many concessions. Anyway, I think SS is going to turn out to be good thing down the road for G1 releases, as just about everybody from the OG series was in there at some point, and that opens an opportunity for more updated figs. I hope they use it a s such a platform. ER is a good line, but there are some stinkers in there, too ( Astrotrain, the van bros, and Arcee come to mind), and I wouldn't be opposed in the least if these and other not-so-well-done figures got a more quality redo in Studio Series. I'd forgotten about the upcoming Ark figure, and like you said, there are very likely repaints for the BW figs coming, and some of the ER figs as well (pretty sure we'll get a Pipes from Huffer's mold), so yeah, I'll sit tight and wait to see what else they reveal. Seeing how well done Grimlock is, I can't wait to see Slag, and I hope they do the other three, or at least Sludge and Swoop, who appeared in the Movie. Poor Snarl- missed his 15 seconds of fame for some reason.
  18. M'Kyuun
    "Preciate the heads-up, @mikeszekely. I'm going to PO Inferno, Huffer, and Dinobot. I really hope there's more to Kingdom than this. If nothing else, the rest of the Dinobots and a new improved set of Constructicons would have been a nice way to close out the series. Shame they didn't do Gears; he could have stood an update from the T30 toy. I just received my Ratchet and Lifeline yesterday, and Runabout on Tuesday. Got my shipment notification from Pulse this morning for Maverick. It's a nice slow trickle of incoming figures. I was a little disheartened that the same level of detail and accessories weren't afforded to ER Ratchet as the superior, IMHO, Siege version. Just got all my POs in on Pulse: Huffer, Ultra Magnus, Inferno, Dinobot, and Airrazor. Of the bunch, I can't wait to get Huffer. I have several third party versions of him, but I've long wished for HasTak to make a version that fit with the Generations aesthetic, so I'm happy. The other figs are good, too, with UM being the only questionable one. With his armor on, he looks pretty good, though. I just think it sucks that his cab mode looks like ass. I wish Takara had just made an Asian exclusive based around a white ER Prime- I think it would have been a far better looking toy all around.
  19. M'Kyuun
    Even if there were a way to do tactile virtual bricks, and I'm sure its coming, there's something inherently satisfying to building a set or a MOC and having the final model there for play and display that I don't think you'll get from anything virtual. I work on my designs in Studio and LDD from time to time, but it never gives me the same satisfaction as putting real bricks together. I'll back you on your argument for LEGO's persistent value; even if a set doesn't appreciate, oft times the parts in certain sets, especially those in rare colors, low production numbers, or retired, will appreciate greatly, usually well beyond the value of the set itself. Even new parts, if produced in only one or two sets, will command a fairly hefty price on the secondary market. It can certainly make an already expensive hobby magnitudes more so.
  20. M'Kyuun
    I think, had Takara still been the driving force behind the toys, they would have produced him as an old school UM with a white ER Prime and trailer. Takara tends to design the toy, and consider costs later, which, as we've seen in the past, generally results in a better toy. Even if Hasbro had to do him as a slightly overpriced leader, it would have been worth it to get an Ultra Magnus with all three modes looking good. This is one of those times when they should have solicited feedback from the fan community. I think the vast majority of us would have gone with an ER Prime core, given the option. I still plan on getting this fig, but he'll always be combined with his armor, as that white bot mode looks like yuck. Given my druthers, I prefer CW UM over this; even though it doesn't have a separate core bot, its truck and all-in-one bot modes look good- unmistakably Ultra Magnus, albeit with a touch of IDW styling. Unfortunately, Kingdom UM suffers many an unsightly concession. Who at Hasbro looks at these things in their finalized form and says, "that looks great!" or even, "acceptable"?
  21. M'Kyuun
    Yep- got the email at like 1 in the morning. No big. Airazor and Dinobot look pretty good. UM looks good in bot mode with his armor; the unarmored white bot is so-so (not digging the enormous chunk of truck hanging off his butt), and his cab mode leaves a little to be desired (gappy and misshapen), although it is better than his Siege version. I wish they'd just gone full G1 toy and used ER prime as the base and tailored the trailer to become his armor. Sigh.
  22. M'Kyuun
    I haven't received any delay messages either. The window for Soundwave was apparently brief today; shortly after I put in my order, they were showing out of stock again, so it was pure luck that I happened to be looking at my computer at the right time, a rarity.
  23. M'Kyuun
    It is a shame, as Mr. Prowse was an actor, and fully capable of delivering those final lines as Anakin Skywalker. Having embodied the character over the span of three films, one would think he would have been the no-brainer choice to play the part for the unmasking. Honestly, I never gave it much thought, but your post, @jvmacross, rings true to me.
  24. M'Kyuun
    I have Runabout enroute to me, but none of my other POs so far as I've received emails. I've had Runamuck in hand for over a week now. Cool fig, although I wish they'd given him a second set of lateral shoulder joints within the shoulder for better pose-ability. But, as is, it's a good toy for what were third tier characters, certainly better than the Vanette bros. Just PO'd ER Soundwave from Wally, as it just became available again (yay for notifications). I was going to try and score it straight from the store, but that's always a crapshoot, and I'd rather just PO it to be sure. I got free shipping, so that's nice. Supposedly, it's due to arrive by the 22nd. Guess we'll see.
  25. M'Kyuun
    It's interesting to note that, despite being overdubbed by James Earl Jones' iconic voice, Mr. Prowse spoke Vader's lines during his performance. I don't think his British gentleman's voice, further muffled by the mask, carried quite the impact of Mr. Jones', but I've always thought it neat that he was fully committed to the role. His physical performance informed the character as much as the voice. Mr. Prowse also had a role in Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. However, it's safe to say that Darth Vader will be his legacy. RIP
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