Takara plans blind-boxed G1 PVC statues, starting with Optimus Prime, Megatron and Arcee. This August 19, 2000 Radio Free Cybertron also covers Mega Megatron’s disappointing debut, God Magnus and Build King, and McDonald’s selling out of Beast Machines Happy Meal toys. Goldimus Prime reviews the first three McDonald’s figures, and Silverbolt Maniac debuts a weekly update on his Transformers Cybertron web comic. Brian Kilby announces that older shows are coming down while the RFC site gets a cleanup.
News
Takara to Release Blind-Boxed G1 PVC Statues
Takara is releasing PVC statues of G1 characters with little or no articulation. Optimus Prime, Megatron and an unpainted Arcee have been shown. John DeLuna likes the Arcee and calls the Megatron probably the most cartoon-accurate yet, but dislikes Prime’s pose. His complaint is the packaging: identical generic boxes mean buyers won’t know which figure they got, at about $6 each. He’d like to see characters whose G1 toys got the shaft, like Ironhide, Ratchet and Springer. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Car Robots Spy Changers Recolors Come in Blind Bags
Takara is also releasing recolors of all six Car Robots Spy Changers in opaque bags. John minds less here, since they appear to be free with store visits or purchases, and a Spy Changer costs only a few dollars anyway. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
McDonald’s Running Out of Beast Machines Happy Meal Toys
McDonald’s restaurants are running out of the nine-toy Beast Machines Happy Meal promotion after about three weeks instead of nine. John calls that good for the toy line but bad for fans hunting for the full set. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Beast Machines Mega Megatron Hits Stores to Poor Reviews
Mega Megatron has turned up at Target, Walmart and comic shops, and ATT’s reviews have not been kind. John says the early pictures told him the toy would be bad, and it is one reason he doesn’t collect Beast Machines. He saw it at BotCon and says it is really a Deluxe, small next to Deluxe Optimus Primal. He suspects Hasbro priced it at $15 instead of $10 because it couldn’t fit a Mega box. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
God Magnus and Build King on the Way
John spotted God Magnus on Yahoo Auctions, scheduled for a September 11 release in Japan, with U.S. availability expected seven to ten days later. Build King is already on eBay and import sites. ATT praises the separate robots but bashes the combined mode. John has one on preorder and is avoiding reviews to stay unspoiled. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
RFC Site Cleanup
Brian is taking most older shows, roughly anything over a month old, off the server for a while to free up space. Listeners can request an old show to have it put back up. Instead of a full redesign, the crew will fix the current site, drop the frames and clear the clutter. He also teases an announcement next week for AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, Yahoo and MSN Messenger users.
News from Cybertron
Daniel Sovey supplies this week’s News from Cybertron. Zobovor is sued by the Dinobots for impersonating them. Starscream disables the air puck in the Seekers versus Aerialbots air hockey game, hoping it falls on Megatron. Blackarachnia sues the Cybertronian Enquirer over fake pictures of her and Silverbolt. Cliffjumper drives off a cliff and hasn’t come down, and a man in red and blue web-patterned pajamas keeps getting shot over Iacon.
ATT Buzz
John DeLuna says back-to-school week slowed the group. He wraps up with the G1 cartoon viewing club forming on ATT and the classic moderated group, which watches set episodes each week and discusses them. John recently rewatched City of Steel for the first time in about 15 years. He calls it corny with plot holes, but entertaining, from Optimus Prime’s head being tossed around to Prime’s handgun downing Devastator in one shot. He signs off to watch Five Faces of Darkness.
Galvatron for President
A campaign ad backs Galvatron for president in 2000: “First the U.S., then the world. Paid for by several people threatened with death.”
Ask RFC
Mopboi returns from hiding after Goldimus Prime got upset at the last show. Listener Bill Johnson asks about the parody’s pace, the rarest Transformers merchandise, UK comics and the crew’s real names. Mopboi explains that the crew works day jobs, then jokes about charging listeners by credit card. His other answers are gags too, from the “Flushmasters” to Brian’s real name being April. For UK comics, he suggests trying ATT and other newsgroups.
Transformers Cybertron Comic Weekly Update
Silverbolt Maniac debuts his segment on the Transformers Cybertron web comic, which mixes G1 characters with his own creations. Early episodes were made with a Quake 2 editor before a switch to 3D Studio Max. Episode 14, Solitaire on Cybertron, introduces First Strike. Episode 13 introduced Motorhead and Metalhead, with Scrapper convincing Motorhead to overthrow Starscream. The Beastbot Trilogy starts next week, though it may run late while he moves back to campus.
Toy Review: McDonald’s Beast Machines Happy Meal Toys
Goldimus Prime reviews the food first, which improves from “not fit to give my dog” in week one to “for McDonald’s, it’s not too bad” by week three. The toys stand three to four inches tall with four to eight points of articulation. Cheetor has an oversized head and stands on spurs in beast mode, making him the worst of the first three. Optimus Primal is the most show-accurate and the best of the bunch. Megatron needed more paint in robot mode and lacks beast mode arms, though Goldimus hears he beats the Mega version. Pictures are at Goldimus.com.
Bad Poets Corner
This week’s poem takes on Beast Machines, from “techno-organic” to the verdict that Season 2 beats the first, “not hard, considering that it was the worst.”
Promo drops this week come from Garry Chalk and Larry DiTillio.
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.