Torn

So Nathan Fillion's in another movie, Slither, coming out this spring. In one sense, he appears to be one of the only Serenity folk getting a lead anywhere outside of television so far (except Sean Maher, who appears to be in an indie with a cute redhead). But on the other hand, it looks like another crappy horror movie. From the pictures & the cast it appears to be pretty tongue-in-cheek, but still...

Elsewhere, I'm gonna do some veggie (fruit, whatever) chopping tonight, methinks. I picked up some pumpkin-carving tools last night, so I'll be taking a whirl at it, with the hope of not screwing it up too badly. Hell, if things go well I might go for two!

Last night I beat Dark Cloud 2. Now comes a big decision (big in my perspective, at least). Do I keep playing the secret level? Start over at the top with a Strategy Guide? Or work on Final Fantasy VII so I'm all caught up in time for Advent Children? Oh, the decisions!

So I did a swap at my office today. I have my empty shelves decorated with some Transformers (because I do, so there). Brought home Rodimus & Downshift, brought in Laserbeak, Hasbro's only lifesized Transformer, & Mudflap, my newest, coolest figure.

I was not expecting much from Mudflap coming in. I just expected him to be a bigger, beefier version of Energon Duststorm. Oh, how wrong I was.


Mudflap's alt mode, a crane truck, is almost identical to Duststorm's alt-mode, hence the initial confusion. But Mudflap is oh so much better. First off, it's long. You're looking at maybe 12 inches minimum. With lots of wheels. The crane mechanism also rotates on its base, and can extend to twice its length. Just a cool truck that I wouldn't mind having on a shelf even as a non-transformable vehicle.

Mudflap also has a rare trait for a Voyageur-class Transformer: two separate Planet Key functions. Plug the key into the front cab and it flips out a missile launcher. Plug it into the crane to pop out a long blade. The first feature works better in vehicle mode, while the second works better in robot mode, but we'll get to that.

Robot mode, Mudflap is, as I said earlier, a beefy dude. The transformation itself is relatively smooth and easy. Proportions are nearly perfect, except for those water skis he has for feet. Overall, he's probably the toughest-looking figure in my Cybertron collection, barring probably Crumplezone. Great color, durable. Just awesome.

The Planet Key features are both in effect in robot mode, but with mixed results. The missile launcher works well in some cases, but loose joints cause it to sag in others. The blade is cool, mostly, but can also come out almost obscenely long. When it's not blade-out, I tend to pose the figure with the crane flipped back, just to keep it out of the way.

Minor quibbles aside, Mudflap rules. Creative design, sharp features. There should only be more Transformers like this.