Takara is reissuing G1 Sideswipe and Red Alert, plus Thundercracker and Skywarp, as limited two-packs at $180 a box. This April 9, 2001 Radio Free Cybertron also has John DeLuna on Spy Streak’s shoulder flaws, Web Diver’s poor quality and whether Transformers counts as anime. HooperX wraps up his haul from the 2000 alt.toys.transformers fan awards, and The Computer answers listener mail. Weegee begins a reading of the fan fiction Ravage Three Bodies Evolution.
News
Takara G1 Reissues Arrive as $180 Two-Packs
Takara’s G1 reissues continue after Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod and Megatron, with Starscream next. Sideswipe and Red Alert, and Thundercracker and Skywarp, come as same-mold two-packs limited to 1,000 pieces each. Big Bad Toy Store lists them at $180 a box. Brian calls the price insane for toys that are not rare. He suspects the small runs mean Takara is losing money on the reissues. [Source: not found]
Cybertron City Reissue Hot Rod Contest
Fan site Cybertron City is running a contest for what Brian believes is a reissue Hot Rod. [Source: not found]
RFC Announcements
Brian invites fan sites to join the RFC On Your Site affiliate program, which puts each new broadcast on their page. He asks sites that link to RFC to email him for a reciprocal link. A listener asks about a new poll, and Brian says he only runs polls when he has a real reason.
Trivia
Last week’s clip came from “A Thief in the Night,” and only Hot Rodimus got it. A new, harder clip airs twice.
Point the Blame
HooperX finishes his follow-up on the 2000 alt.toys.transformers fan awards. He tallies his own votes, including seven for Best Roleplaying of an Original Character as Hardcore. “Hooper X vs. The Dutch” won Silliest Discussion of the Year. He also mocks a fan who begged Car Robots dubbers to keep the Japanese names.
Ask the Computer
The Computer admits he doesn’t know how Cybertron survives between the Headmasters cartoon and Japanese Beast Wars. He also turns down HooperX’s prom invitation and answers Crosscut and Joel Eubanks.
ATT Buzz
Cycle Drone and Spy Streak Show Up at Target
John DeLuna reports that Cycle Drone and Spy Streak are showing up in better numbers at Target. Spy Streak is short-packed at two per case and sells out fast. John calls Spy Streak a great basic with a spring-loaded launcher. He says Beast Machines is ending just as the designers mastered the line. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Spy Streak Shoulder Flaws and Web Diver Quality
Many first-wave Spy Streaks have misassembled shoulders, and some even come with two left shoulders. John says Hasbro shouldn’t be bashed for a rare slip. Takara’s Web Diver, he says, has no quality control, with bad paint and brittle plastic. He thinks Takara knew the line would tank and is just going through the paces. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Is Transformers Anime?
The recurring ATT question returns, and John says G1 is not anime. To him, anime is a style of extreme camera work and cliched emotions, not simply anything made in Japan. G1’s static camera and realistically aged humans don’t fit it. He closes with a joke comparing Transformers fans to My Little Pony fans. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Japanese Dubbed Line of the Week
This week’s clip comes from the Japanese dub of the Blaster and Soundwave battle of the tape decks.
Fan Fiction Reading: Ravage Three Bodies Evolution
Weegee performs part one of Tiger Megatron’s fan fiction, narrated by The Computer. Ravage’s spark is placed in a black Cheetor body and renamed Shadow. Then he is sent to 2005 to sabotage peace talks between Optimus Prime and Megatron. Part two airs next week.
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.