John DeLuna delivers a full BotCon 2000 report on this August 4, 2000 Radio Free Cybertron, from the voice actor panels to unaired Transformers PSAs and cut Transformers: The Movie storyboards. The ATT Buzz also covers Beast Machines Mega Megatron in stores, Cybertron City preorders and color pictures of Car Robots God Magnus. Zobovor makes the case for what Hasbro is doing right. Goldimus Prime reviews Transmetal 2 Dinobot, and Beast Machines Season 2 premieres the next day on Fox Kids.
News
Beast Machines McDonald’s Happy Meal Promotion Starts
Brian Kilby notes the Beast Machines Happy Meal promotion starts today. He has no plans to go to McDonald’s and would rather get the toys on eBay or through a friend. [Source: not found]
Beast Machines Season 2 Premieres on Fox Kids
Beast Machines Season 2 starts Saturday, August 5, on Fox Kids in the U.S. Brian promises not to spoil anything. [Source: not found]
RFC Housekeeping
Brian apologizes that John’s second BotCon update didn’t get recorded last week, which he calls his fault. John’s BotCon photos are coming to the site. An interview Brian did for Weezbucket.com is now up, with a link on the homepage.
News from Cybertron
Daniel Sauve supplies this week’s parody news. Perceptor is struck blind in an explosion involving Wheelie, a ball of wax and a malfunctioning Autobot shuttle. RFC confirms that Beast Machines did, in fact, happen, and apologizes. Beast Wars Mutants leader Icebird calls GoBots leader Leader-1 a slaghead, and Punch-Counterpunch is caught playing both sides.
ATT Buzz: BotCon 2000 Report
John DeLuna, at his first BotCon, found the dealer rooms spotty. WYSIWYG had the best prices, with Black Convoy and Baldigas at $50 each, while European dealers asked $1,000 for Action Masters. Japanese dealers made fans play rock, paper, scissors for the right to buy rare Headmaster heads. John Moschitta carried a solo panel well. The art room featured a Rodimus Primal diorama, a Jumpstarter army and fan kitbashes. The world’s largest Transformers collection showed unreleased Beast Machines toys, including Nightscream and Magmatron. John says Nightscream looks nice, even though he can’t stand Beast Machines.
Voice actors Venus Terzo, Ian James Corlett and Alec Willows had great chemistry and signed autographs for four hours straight both days. John calls 10 Things You Don’t Know About Transformers the best panel. It showed four unaired PSAs, starring Powerglide, Seaspray, Bumblebee and Tracks, all using G.I. Joe’s “knowing is half the battle” tagline. Storyboards revealed cut Transformers: The Movie scenes. Ultra Magnus was to be pulled apart by the Sweeps’ laser ropes, and Optimus Prime was to spike a Conehead into the floor. Extended trailers showed Ultra Magnus in Diaclone colors.
John found the Hasbro panel dull and the questions embarrassing. He singles out a fan who berated Hasbro over the Mutants. John dislikes the Mutants too, but says he respects Hasbro for keeping Transformers alive. A Primal Prime went for over $600 in the charity auction, and Glen Hallit looked visibly shocked. On Sunday, organizers said panel questions will be screened from now on. A little over 1,400 people attended. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Beast Machines Mega Megatron Spotted in Stores
Beast Machines Mega Megatron is turning up in stores alongside a second shipment of the Jetstorm and T-Wrecks Ultras. John reads the reorder as a sign the line sells well, which he wants whether or not he likes Beast Machines. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Cybertron City Up for Preorder
Several dealers, including WYSIWYG, list Car Robots Cybertron City, the Fortress Maximus repaint, for preorder. WYSIWYG asks $150, but John notes the fine print lets them change the price. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Color Pictures of God Magnus Surface
Color pictures of Car Robots God Magnus show a nice figure with slightly big legs. John thinks he is too white, with no red to match Fire Convoy. God Magnus looks set to merge with Fire Convoy rather than Super Fire Convoy, which John calls disappointing but expected. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
What Hasbro Is Doing Right
Zobovor answers the Hasbro complaints on ATT with four points. Prices are fair: G1 figures like Starscream cost about $20, while basic Beasts run $5 to $6 and Deluxes $10. Beast Wars and Beast Machines poseability far outstrips G1. Die-cast metal chips, while plastic can be any color. Durability is better too, thanks to ball joints. He wishes for G1 characters in new super-poseable forms, like an F-15 Starscream. Brian says he prefers the Diaclone-era toys and the Scramble City gestalts, out of nostalgia, and calls Lio Convoy crap.
Ask RFC
Mopboy explains that a Primal sound clip came from his profile in the Beast Wars Transmetals game. A listener asks why John DeLuna isn’t the host and why TransTalk sucks. Mopboy notes TransTalk has departed.
Trivia
Rattrap007 reveals last week’s answer: Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are the brothers among the original Autobots. Many listeners got it right. This week’s question: who are the first two Autobots to use the re-energizer chambers in “Attack of the Autobots”?
Toy Review: Transmetal 2 Dinobot
Goldimus Prime reviews Transmetal 2 Dinobot, the Predacon velociraptor clone of the original Dinobot. It was his first Beast Wars purchase and is his favorite smaller Beast Wars toy. The beast mode has good articulation, an opening jaw, a rubber vertebrae tail and a skull-like head. Transformation is straightforward. The robot mode is weaker: long arms, a shared claw swivel, a tail weapon that won’t stay in hand, and high shoulder pads. He gives it 8 out of 10 and his pick as best Transmetal 2 Deluxe.
Bad Poet’s Corner
This week’s poem, “Hero,” honors Brawn and insists he is not dead.
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.