Beast Machines toys have finally hit shelves across the United States, and this Y2K Edition of Radio Free Cybertron covers the wave. John DeLuna reviews the Beast Machines Tankor mega and gives it a thumbs in the middle. Goldimus Prime reviews Transmetal 2 Tigerhawk, scoring its robot mode a 9. Brian Kilby also interviews ViceGripX, webmaster of wildrun.com, about fandom and the year on alt.toys.transformers.
News
Beast Machines Toys Hit Stores Across the United States
Beast Machines toys have turned up all over the United States. Rhinox, Cheetor, Buzzsaw, Mirage and Scavenger are common sightings. An associate of Brian’s has also found Optimus Primal, though Brian knows of no other sightings. Reviews of the two Megas and three Basics are posted on alt.toys.transformers. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
RFC Thanks the Axalon Underground
Brian thanks the Axalon Underground and everyone else who promoted RFC this week. He says the show has grown tremendously and welcomes the new listeners.
News from Cybertron
The Maximals stumble onto an armed troop of Vehicons, and a chase follows. Skyjammer supplies a Y2K parody: Cybertron survives the Year One Million rollover, though several Transformers delete their personality components. Skids is released from testing once doctors decide he had no personality to begin with.
ATT Buzz
John DeLuna calls it a slow week, likely because everyone was out hunting Beast Machines toys released after Christmas and after season one ended. Transmetal recolors also stirred some buzz. A greatest-episode-of-all-time thread prompted John’s picks: Agenda Part 2 for story, Call of the Primitives for animation, and More Than Meets the Eye Part 1 for overall greatness.
Toy Review: Transmetal 2 Tigerhawk
Goldimus Prime reviews Tigerhawk, a white tiger and eagle Fuzor sold as a Transmetal 2. The spring-loaded wings drop to fire missiles but often trigger on their own, which risks losing the missiles. He also likes the posable tongue and the detailed 8-inch robot mode. He scores the robot mode a 9 and the beast mode a 5 or 6, and calls the flight mode a joke. Overall, Tigerhawk gets an 8 out of 10.
Interview: ViceGripX of wildrun.com
ViceGripX has been a fan since 1984. He thinks fandom would look very different without the internet, with mailing lists at most. He doubts Hasbro listens closely to fans, since fans are so divided. Wildrun.com began as a Beast Wars site, expanded to Generation 2 and G1, and added an Action Card Archive. He also describes puzzling e-mails the site receives.
Five Questions: The ATT Year in Review
With the Trannies approaching, Brian turns his five questions into an alt.toys.transformers year in review. Both men name Nightheart as the year’s top troll. Victor E. Hill’s departure, and his return as Deathsaurus, takes most dramatic exit. The ATT versus ATTCM moderation fight ranks as the most disturbing thread. ViceGripX doesn’t think Nightscream has passed Wheelie as the most hated character, unless he starts rhyming.
Trivia
Last week’s answer was Other Voices Part 1, and only Sable Phoenix got it. This week’s clip is the line “I am Alpha and Omega, beginning at the end,” which Brian expects hundreds of listeners to identify.
Poll Results
Blackarachnia won the holiday-companion poll with 35 percent. Optimus Prime and Beast Wars Megatron took 25 percent each, and G1 Megatron took 15. Trax got zero. This week’s poll asks for a thumbs up or thumbs down on the new Beast Machines toys.
Toy Review: Beast Machines Tankor
John DeLuna picks Tankor over Cheetor for the first Beast Machines mega review. He mocks Hasbro’s late release and the box, which shows Cheetor’s face on the front. The tank mode has a posable barrel, a light-piped eye sensor and a turret John prefers to the show’s design. He dislikes the missing transmetal paint, the neon orange arm kibble and the robot mode colors. The buzzsaw arms and shoulder cannon earn praise. At 15 dollars it feels like a glorified deluxe, so Tankor gets a thumbs in the middle.
New on the RFC Website
The site has box and instruction scans for Beast Machines Tankor, a fanfic review by Alexj33106 and the RFC Link Exchange. RFC also has a new e-mail address for listener comments.
Radio Free Cybertron is the world's first and oldest toy and action figure podcast — broadcasting from the heart of the Transformers fan community since October 1999. What started as a scrappy fan show has grown into an institution, with nearly 1,000 episodes and over 25 years of coverage. Every week, host Brian Kilby and the RFC crew dig into the latest Transformers news, toy reveals, collecting, and everything hitting shelves from Hasbro, Takara, and beyond. No fluff, no hype — just informed, passionate collectors who have been doing this longer than anyone else on the planet. The original. The longest running. Till all are one.