New Beast Machines basics Hammerstrike, Tank Drone, Obsidian and Silverbolt are finally shipping, leading this December 6, 2000 Radio Free Cybertron. Brian Kilby’s computer problems turn the episode into the John DeLuna Show. John reviews Mega Tankor, weighs in on Galvatron’s reputation and complains about wrong transformation instructions. He also picks through early TransTech and 2001 Beast Machines listings at Big Bad Toy Store. Brian closes by defending Galvatron, the toy and the Season 3 character.
News
New Beast Machines Basics Start Shipping
Big Bad Toy Store has the new Beast Machines basics, Hammerstrike and the Tank Drone, shipping with Obsidian and Silverbolt. John DeLuna is glad, since he missed Obsidian on the first run. The only basic he still needs is Longhorn, which he hears is boring. He would rather own a toy he hates than one he forgets he owns. [Source: Big Bad Toy Store]
Early TransTech and 2001 Beast Machines Listings
John studies the Big Bad Toy Store news page for TransTech and Beast Machines, though he calls the information preliminary, if not rumor. The TransTech deluxes list Shockwave and Starscream, and the ultras Optimus and Megatron, due next summer. John is tired of G1 pandering and does not want the G1 characters back, especially on the cartoon. For Beast Machines, he likes the look of an attack bird basic. He also notes a Cerberus and a unicorn among next summer’s deluxes, which feeds the argument that Silverbolt was meant to be a griffin. He doubts that a Supreme Air Attack Optimus and a Mega Optimus Primal would really ship together in spring 2001. [Source: Big Bad Toy Store]
ATT Buzz
John says the newsgroups had good discussion over the past ten days, alongside the usual moronic stuff.
Toy Review: Mega Tankor
John calls Beast Machines Mega Tankor a great toy and is glad he started collecting Beast Machines. Next to newer toys like Ultra Jetstorm, Mega Tankor looks and feels like a G2 toy, much like G2 Megatron. John says Hasbro coasted on G2 ideas when it returned to vehicle transformations, but it clearly knows how to make them now. He finds Ultra Jetstorm a little flimsy and prefers the deluxe Jetstorm.
Galvatron: Deserving of the Hate?
John thinks Galvatron gets fan scorn because he replaced the icon Megatron. He loves the movie Galvatron but can’t stand the Season 3 version’s voice and erratic behavior. He credits Season 3 for trying to be more serious and character-based. He has no love for the G1 Galvatron toy, which he says looks like a shaving cream can. He also calls the G1 Rodimus Prime toy awful, a cab that could easily have been a great robot.
Wrong Instructions
John says about 70% of Beast Wars and Beast Machines package photos show the toys transformed wrong. A friend showed him that Beast Machines Buzzsaw’s waist locks back, a step the instructions skip. It makes the toy taller and much better looking. Skydive’s card art also shows his pteranodon beak hanging between his legs.
Brian Defends Galvatron
Brian Kilby pushes back on John. He says the G1 Galvatron toy is very poseable for G1, has several sounds and three modes, and its electronic gun mode isn’t bad. He loves Season 3 Galvatron too, calling him the crazy-man archetype and one of the coolest characters on the show. He cites Galvatron’s power in Five Faces of Darkness and his destructive turn in Webworld.
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.