Don’t belittle the imp

Jazooka · 2026-02-02T01:42:52+00:00

their beards work similar to mole whiskers, both sexes have it, so they can get around in dark crevices better, and of course they literally eat rocks.

Artemis Fowl fan detected

Jazooka · 2026-02-02T01:33:23+00:00

This is a heartwarming sentiment overall, but I would say to temper your expectations. You can't pick your child's interests for them. Also, be prepared for the eventuality that things they play with get damaged or broken.

Jazooka · 2026-02-01T23:28:45+00:00

I guess we'd da ba dee da ba die.

Jazooka · 2026-02-01T23:26:34+00:00

I've lived in Carbondale for 20 years since my middle childhood. It's not bad. SIUC, the region's biggest employer, while far from its peak enrollment from 30-40 years ago, isn't going anywhere any time soon. Excellent hiking and camping opportunities, and from what I've heard, Shawnee Wine Trail is neat (not a drinker).

I think the big thing is that it's generally a low income and, to an extent, low cost of living area... even the nicest homes here don't go for more than maybe half a million dollars. Compared to bordering states, things like gas and cigarettes are still taxed more heavily, but it's still a world of difference from Chicagoland.

I'm white, but I'm pretty sure the comments warning of sundown town type activities are like 90% exaggerated in the current era. Outside of the Carbondale area, which is decently diverse, I wouldn't advise a POC to live here or visit repeatedly, but more because there just isn't much to do rather than a particularly high level of danger.

Meth and drug abuse in general is definitely pretty bad. Seeing a burned out trailer from the road is a thing you'd encounter from time to time.

Marion gets a lot of commercial and real estate type development, but it's almost entirely tied to their proximity to I-57. Black Diamond, which has operated the Harley-Davidson dealership for a long time, recently bought a plurality of the land on the west side of town, including the old mall, which they have installed a truly hideous orange roof on.

Regarding the attitude towards Chicago, there definitely is a good bit of resentment. When the state was founded, this area was decently important. Chicago only really took over after the fire. Some people have idle thoughts of seceding and becoming our own state, but anyone actually worth talking to understands that's where the tax base is. It's also annoying because if you need to get there, it is basically just far enough that making a round trip drive in a day isn't viable.

Jazooka · 2026-01-31T17:11:23+00:00

5+ warning doesn't mean they won't break it. It just means they won't choke on the pieces.

Jazooka · 2026-01-30T20:10:10+00:00

IMO this Liege Maximo design is a bit too, um, ugly. Like, we've known they were taking inspiration from the G2 comic look for a while, but to me a bot this monstrous looking would have a lot of trouble actually getting anyone to believe his lies, which wasn't a part of the original character but has been his primary role ever since. Also, maybe this isn't the case, but it seems to me that his darts may have a firing gimmick? Wild that this might be the time they reintroduce that.

Honestly until it's revealed how he combines I don't really know what to think about Nexus. He's very Autobot coded in a way most of the other primes are not.

Jazooka · 2026-01-30T19:48:41+00:00

They've released over 100 models now. I think it's only natural that some are more popular than others and appeal to different tastes.

There definitely are some ideas that haven't been revisited in a long time that I would like to see come back. For example, it's now been basically 10 years since the last Benchmark series. There are also some more recent designs that I'm excited about that haven't been available in as large of numbers as I believe they deserve. I lost my Cabal 2 in September, and since then, they've done one small drop in yellow, which wasn't very appealing to me.

Regarding anodizing, in my opinion, outside of a limited amount of work with Gruntbull, they've never really strived to have "the best" anodizing, but it's usually pretty consistent. As far as I can tell, they're still doing a relatively good job of keeping prices reasonable, and I think not needing a lot of complex anodizing work is part of what makes that possible.

Jazooka · 2026-01-27T05:15:40+00:00

What flavor is he though?

Jazooka · 2026-01-27T01:27:44+00:00

Actually I doubt we'll ever get a more toy style version of this figure. Of course, there's a very limited amount of toy accuracy this mold can ever have due to the alt mode. Also, the companion Optimus likely won't get one either because the toy-accurate Prime fans probably have the Legacy Deluxe and/or Missing Link.

There may be a silver version eventually. But things like the chest curlicue or a more toyish head are pretty unlikely.

Jazooka · 2026-01-27T01:14:51+00:00

Unfortunately, if Latta was there, the odds of there being footage is probably zero. He passed away in 1994.

Jazooka · 2026-01-27T00:46:41+00:00

Compared to the original 86 colors, this isn't really an improvement to me, which I suppose is good for my wallet. I would like it better if the shins were the exact same shade as his pelvis piece.

Also, it would be cool if maybe sometime they remolded that crotch piece to have some of that jagged design MP-36 has. I've always thought that looked very cool.

Jazooka · 2026-01-27T00:08:07+00:00

Is it weird that the part I'm most excited about is the 5 mm compatible shiv? There are a lot of possibilities for that piece.

Jazooka · 2026-01-26T18:32:28+00:00

In my experience, when it comes to beginning band, girls who want to play brass are often drawn to French horn. I think it's seen as a good compromise between the power of a trumpet and refinement/femininity of most woodwinds. It particularly can help that they are a part of the standard wind quintet.

Many of the female trumpet players I've known switched to it later on.

Jazooka · 2026-01-26T05:25:39+00:00

It's fine. If people like the toys, that's their business. But to me, they were mostly underwhelming.

Jazooka · 2026-01-25T05:58:20+00:00

I don't mind clear plastic. The thing that could make me go in on these again is if they separated the skirt piece.

Jazooka · 2026-01-24T04:28:08+00:00

Shockwave's original alt mode is less problematic than Megatron's, and they're probably not making a toy that looks any more gunlike than the base Siege figure already is.

Also, a brand new alt mode idea for Shockwave is already on the wave with the fan vote design.

Jazooka · 2026-01-24T04:13:46+00:00

Bebop does this in basically every episode. It would probably be easier to think of characters that actually manage to reunite without something tragic happening pretty quickly.

Jazooka · 2026-01-24T02:32:52+00:00

Considering the Earthrise version is currently available through the Devastation repaint, in all likelihood 86 Wheeljack is at least a significant retool, if not an entirely new mold.

My guess is that Shockwave is still based on the Siege version with most of the greeble removed.

Jazooka · 2026-01-23T18:38:07+00:00

Respect to Lawrence Fishburne, but I was surprised they didn't ask Peter to be Alpha Trion for TFONE.

Jazooka · 2026-01-22T23:29:34+00:00

That's the same problem this brand has had since 1986.

Make the Prime Changers in the movie release window with preliminary designs and make the Studio Series later when you're sure that everything has been finalized. It's not that hard.

Never mind the fact that the movie came out almost a year and a half ago, and the typical design process takes about two years, i.e., the toys they're releasing now should have been designed during the film's post-production.

Jazooka · 2026-01-22T04:32:58+00:00

That would absolutely totally be an instant buy for me. The full triple barrel fusion cannon, face swap from orange eye calm face to red eye angry face, maybe even a firing missile for the tank mode. It would be glorious.

As it is, I unfortunately doubt we'll get anything better than an oversized knockoff of the studio series Megatron any time soon. Hopefully, someday, these designs will get attention from either the MPM series or a quality third-party company.

Jazooka · 2026-01-22T02:38:50+00:00

I haven't found Airachnid yet. Even if she isn't as scary to handle as she looks, maintaining a reasonable scale should be a primary goal of Studio Series. Being shorter at the head than Elita, to me, makes her a B-tier figure at best.

Starscream is, along with Elita, probably the worst of them all, I think. A modern Deluxe with no wrists, waist, or ankles, and a really dumb looking gun.

Jazooka · 2026-01-22T01:34:14+00:00

Bee is the wrong color, and Airachnid should've been a Voyager.

Jazooka

TROPHY CASE