The new Beast Machines Dinobot leader is confirmed as a repainted Ultra Megatron named T-Wrecks, on this February 11, 2000 Radio Free Cybertron. John DeLuna’s ATT Buzz also covers the controversial Beast Wars Mutants, Razorclaw and Poisonbite, and the start of Toy Fair 2000. Brian Kilby reviews the Beast Wars Neo Big Convoy, and Goldimus Prime reviews Beast Machines Scavenger. Turin lands a chaotic interview with Optimus Prime.
News
Beast Machines Dinobot Leader Is a Repainted Ultra Megatron
New photos give definite proof that the Dinobot leader is a repainted Ultra Megatron with the name T-Wrecks. John DeLuna groans at the pun after Air Raptor. He prefers names like Obsidian and notes that Mirage was once called Burnout, which he likes better. He wishes Hasbro had reused the G1 Dinobot names. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Beast Wars Mutants Razorclaw and Poisonbite Stir Controversy
The first Beast Wars Mutants, Razorclaw and Poisonbite, change from one beast to another with no robot mode. Razorclaw goes from a mutant dinosaur to a mutant chinchilla, and Poisonbite from a goldfish to a scorpion creature. John won’t spend $10 apiece and will save for Takara’s Car Robots instead. Brian doesn’t mind the missing robot modes but doesn’t find them attractive. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Toy Fair 2000 Begins
Toy Fair 2000, the largest US toy expo of the year, starts this weekend. John hopes Hasbro finally shows the power suits and probe deployers rumored at the start of Beast Machines, with real photos, prototypes or packaging. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
RFC Notes
Marvel Universe Transformed has new fan fiction, including Brian’s own. Zobovor has posted a new Transformers dance animation. A listener feedback forum is promised for next week, and RFC may move servers for better sound and WebTV support. A surprise is teased.
Turin’s Interview with Optimus Prime
Turin interviews Optimus Prime using clips from the cartoon. The Decepticons are Prime’s first priority, he deflects questions about his mental stability, and Ironhide finally fixes him by plugging him in.
Trivia
Last week’s answer was Money Is Everything, which Brian calls a favorite of everyone at RFC. A new clip is played.
Toy Review: Big Convoy
Brian reviews Big Convoy, commander of the Beast Wars Neo Cybertrons, who transforms into a woolly mammoth. The Japanese box is a good collector-style box, though the inner graphic is weaker than Beast Wars II Galvatron’s. The mammoth is a good likeness but has all the poseability of a football, so Brian calls it abysmal. The third mode, a missile-firing mammoth assault vehicle, is laughable, though Transmetal Cheetor still holds the lamest third mode title.
The robot mode is where the effort went, with incredible articulation, a poseable neck and a removable gold Matrix with a red spark. Brian calls it Lio Convoy done right and nicer than early Fire Convoy pictures. But huge kibble on the legs and back spoils it, and even the big gun has kibble. He scores Big Convoy 7.5 and says he belongs in every collection.
Toy Review: Beast Machines Scavenger
Goldimus Prime says Scavenger is strongest in robot mode. The steam shovel is tea green and neon orange with black treads, molded with lots of detail. It has a green spark, a missile rack and a Gatling gun. The transformation is simple even for a basic.
The robot is short and full of see-through gaps, but has nice opening claws that Goldimus says Jetstorm should have had, plus 13 useful points of articulation. The shovel-opening gimmick works fairly well. He scores the vehicle 6, the robot 8 and the gimmicks 5, for 7 out of 10 overall, and calls him worth $7.
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.