Hasbro will bring Car Robots to North America this fall as Robots in Disguise, and the whole February 11, 2001 Radio Free Cybertron weighs in. John DeLuna calls it a near-guaranteed profit for a struggling Hasbro and a good thing for fans. Goldimus Prime calls the line mostly recolors and the show one-dimensional. Tony Fitz debuts Destroy, Erase, Improve and calls the import sound business. Brian Kilby sees a mixed bag, worries about the fandom, and sings “Truck Not Monkey.”
Opening
Brian is still using a borrowed spare microphone, but he has been buying plenty of closeout Transformers. He picked up Big Mos and Big Horn for about $15, a bundle of Beast Wars Basics and Beast Wars II figures, and eToys deals on Cheetor and Primal Prime. He invites listeners to email or record a rebuttal to anything said on RFC, including John’s take on ATTCM and Hooper X’s comments about Dutch fans. He says RFC aims to be an open forum for free speech.
News
Car Robots Is Coming to North America as Robots in Disguise
Hasbro announced that Car Robots will arrive in North America this fall as Robots in Disguise, with a dubbed cartoon on Fox Kids six days a week. Early names include Optimus Prime for Super Fire Convoy, Ultra Magnus for God Magnus, Megatron for Gigatron and Prowl for Mach Alert. Goldimus Prime credits Ben Yee’s website for those names. Brave Maximus is not expected in the US. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
ATT Buzz
John DeLuna calls Robots in Disguise good for fans and good for Hasbro, which needs a profit despite selling Pokemon, Star Wars and Transformers. The anime is cheap to dub and the toys already exist. He says there’s no meat for Fox to butcher, since Car Robots is a simple kids’ show. He is done trying to understand alt.toys.transformers, which wanted Car Robots for a year and then doubted the press release. He calls the past year one where almost every fanboy dream came true. He doesn’t want G1 voice actors, preferring a new continuity with light G1 references. He also tips listeners to check Walmart and Kmart during Toy Fair week for Noble, Tarantulas and Rapticon. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Point to Blame: Somebody Hates Me
Hooper X reads listener mail explaining why people dislike him, from Aurelius Prime, Tony Fitz, Blue Streak, Robo Wang and others. He rebuts each one, insists he doesn’t run away from arguments, and stands by his claim that metal is dead. He says Point to Blame exists to make people think, and asks for more feedback.
Goldy’s Rant: Robots in Disguise
Goldimus Prime skips his toy review, unimpressed by recent buys Primal Prime, T-Rex and Magmatron. He calls the Robots in Disguise news very bad. He counts about eight new molds against 22 recolors, and calls the Spy Changers Matchbox-scale bricks not worth $4.99. He expects the dub to become “the Digimon of Transformers.” His upside is that JRX and Black Convoy should drop from $50 to $60 at a comic shop to $20 to $30 each. He takes comfort that the line is only an interim before Hasbro’s 2002 line.
Destroy, Erase, Improve
Tony Fitz debuts a new segment on Transformers and the fandom, recorded February 6, 2001. He first thought the import was a poor move, since G2 Go-Bots, Transmetal 2 and Machine Wars didn’t sell here. He now calls it sound business: Hasbro is cutting overhead, can tap 1980s nostalgia, and needs to fill the year after Beast Machines. He notes Takara did the same after Neo. Nearly 40 episodes should carry the show to Toy Fair 2002. He hopes fans can relax and enjoy it as fun, and expects Brave Maximus could only come as a HasbroCollectors.com exclusive.
Brian’s Rant
Brian calls Robots in Disguise a mixed bag: an inexpensive, sensible investment for Hasbro, but nothing new to fans who saw Car Robots. He compares the light-hearted show to G1 Season 2. His bigger fear is an influx of fans who think Prime is back to lay the smack down on “beast crap,” like 1995 and 1996 all over again. He closes with an RFC exclusive song, “Truck Not Monkey.”
Trivia
Brian plays a new clip twice: “I need you to lead a mission into Predacon ground.” Listeners email answers to RFC.
Bad Poets Corner
Mop-Boy contributes a poem in which Optimus Primal topples into a pile of shaving cream.
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.