A mysterious blue Transmetal 2 Megatron repaint turns up on eBay from a Hong Kong seller, on this May 1, 2001 Radio Free Cybertron. John DeLuna’s ATT Buzz also covers Google’s new Usenet archive and a fan petition to bring back G1. Brian Kilby reviews the Beast Machines Motorcycle Drone, Goldimus Prime reviews Spy Streak, and Matrix Prime’s clear PVC Galvatron review rounds out the toys. Brian also announces the return of the RFC message board and the Pacific Northwest Transformers Fan Conference.
RFC Announcements
Brian picked up two Tripredacus Agents, the Transmetal 2 Cheetor repaint, and is keeping one carded. The RFC message board returns next week with a better setup. The latest poll found more people will miss Battle for the Spark than won’t, and Brian is one of them. Hot Rodimus has a new site on Angelfire, linked on the homepage.
Pacific Northwest Transformers Fan Conference
Greg Galb invites fans near Seattle who aren’t going to BotCon to a gathering at his home in Auburn, Washington, on July 14 and 15. Plans are on the UTFBB message board at flux.snapbag.com/tf. Brian will be at BotCon but encourages fans everywhere to hold gatherings like it.
Fan Petitions
Brian found a petition to bring Transformers: The Movie back to theaters and says it won’t happen, though he asks listeners not to pick on it. RFC has a joke petition on its homepage to end fanboyish fan petitions. It also links one asking Toonami to air the Transformers cartoon.
Trivia
Last week’s clip came from Beast Machines, and the Castellan was the only listener to guess it. Brian plays a new clip twice; answers go to brian at tfradio.com.
News
Google Puts Up the Usenet Archive
Google, which bought Deja.com, has put its Usenet archive back online, reaching back to about 1995. John DeLuna says it’s a chance to explore alt.toys.transformers’ past, including the founding of the moderated classic group. He sums up that group’s “separate but equal” argument with a jab. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Blue Transmetal 2 Megatron Repaint Surfaces on eBay
An Ultra-size blue repaint of Transmetal 2 Megatron appeared on eBay from a Hong Kong seller with zero feedback. Nobody knows what it is: a test shot, an upcoming repaint or a scrapped one. John says it looks too good to be a kitbash or a Photoshop. He guesses it’s a scrapped or delayed repaint that might show up as a store exclusive, most likely at Toys R Us. He reasons that Target got burned on its Magmatron exclusive and Walmart avoids toys over $20. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Petition to Bring Back G1
A petition from another Transformers message board spilled onto alt.toys.transformers, asking to bring back Transformers: The Movie, G1 episodes and the toys. John calls the theater re-release naive and says it would bomb. He argues G1 is already back, with reissued toys, episodes on tape and DVD, the movie DVD and imported PVC figures. His message: stop complaining and enjoy it. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Ask the Computer
The Computer tells one listener that funny Transformers commercials don’t exist. It trades insults with HooperX over whether Point the Blame beats the mailbag. It also points another listener to the RFC links page and says a downloadable G1 comic doesn’t exist. G2 comics are at cybertroncity.com, and Rapido Online has the G2 and UK G2 comics.
Toy Review: Beast Machines Motorcycle Drone
Brian reviews the Battle for the Spark Motorcycle Drone. He loves that it is show accurate, with a deep red, golden-bronze highlights and crisp detail on the bike mode. The robot mode is flawed: it won’t stand on its single wheel, and the split-leg option doesn’t balance either. The spark extractor hands are a highlight, and the missiles double as exhaust in bike mode. He says the left launcher does lock if you hold the flaps while inserting the missile. He gives it an 8 out of 10 and says to forget Spy Streak and buy an army of Cycle Drones.
Bad Dubbed Line of the Week
Brian plays a clip from Headmasters episode 11, “Scorponok, the Shadow Emperor,” featuring a drunken karaoke moment.
Toy Review: Beast Machines Spy Streak
Goldimus Prime reviews the Vehicon bomber Spy Streak, which he likens to an SR-71 Blackbird. The dark green jet has a metallic red paint wash, yellow painted Vehicon symbols and twin spring-loaded missile launchers. The robot-leg engines leave large gaps in jet mode. The robot mode has a Mach Alert-like head, but the left arm, the whole nose cone, is taller than he is. That arm throws him off balance and wastes his 11 points of articulation. Scores: jet mode 8, robot mode 5, gimmicks 5, overall 6 out of 10. Goldimus says skip it if you don’t like jets.
Toy Review: Clear PVC Galvatron
The Computer reads Matrix Prime’s review of the Act 2 PVC Galvatron in its clear variant. The yellow blind box shows Rodimus Prime and Galvatron, and buyers don’t know which figure they’ll get. Galvatron comes in nine pieces with a stand, but the arms and side panels fall off when picked up. Matrix Prime likes the figure but not the clear version and gives it a 6 out of 10. His site has moved to autobotsrollout.com.
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.