Supreme Optimus Primal may finally reach US shelves as a Toys R Us exclusive, according to reports on this July 2, 2001 Radio Free Cybertron. John DeLuna’s ATT Buzz also pans Takara’s PVC Act 4 as a greatest-hits rehash and accuses a big online dealer of scalping. Brian Kilby launches Transformers Sites That Don’t Suck with Rick Baca’s Cybertron Chronicle. BotCon 2001 is two weeks out, and Brian wants to meet listeners there.
BotCon Is Two Weeks Away
Brian will attend BotCon only on Saturday, July 14, carrying a tape recorder. Listeners who want to meet him or be on the show should email what they look like and how to find them. Passing along a tip from Megatron33, he reminds attendees to bathe both days and wear deodorant, since almost 2,000 people will be there.
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ATT Buzz: BotCon Schedule Is Overstacked
John DeLuna says the BotCon schedule is way too stacked, especially Sunday, with two or three events running at once for most of the day. He’d cut events like the trivia contest and some panels next year. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Supreme Optimus Primal May Be a Toys R Us Exclusive
Supreme Optimus Primal might be released after all as a Toys R Us exclusive. Until recently, the only evidence was Toys R Us employees seeing it in store computers, and John notes items like a kangaroo and Transmetal 2 Rampage once showed up in retailer systems too. A few days ago, Ben Yee was reportedly quoted on another site as 90% sure it would come out at about $45. John won’t believe it until it’s on shelves. He thinks it signals the end of Transformers toys over $30 for the foreseeable future. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Takara’s PVC Act 4 Is a Greatest-Hits Rehash
Takara’s PVC Act 4 repeats popular molds from the first three acts, including Rodimus Prime and Metroplex. Metroplex will be split into parts across random boxes, like Fortress Maximus. Pewter metallic variants replace the clear ones, which John likes better. Megatron and Optimus Prime become movie-themed figures; John likes Megatron with Laserbeak but notes Prime’s wrist communicator never appeared in the movie. At $70 a case, he calls Act 4 a disappointment. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Online Dealer Accused of Scalping Japanese Imports
John accuses an unnamed big online Transformers dealer of scalping upcoming Japanese releases. The super-deformed Optimus Prime figures will retail in Japan for about $15 to $17 but list there for over $20 each. The black Starscream and ghost Starscream repaints are about $70 a pair in Japan but roughly $75 each at the dealer. He says buyers can find them cheaper on eBay. [Source: alt.toys.transformers]
Transformers Sites That Don’t Suck: The Cybertron Chronicle
Brian debuts a weekly segment spotlighting the best Transformers sites. He warns that a .com doesn’t make a site reliable, pointing to BWTF.com and Ben Yee as a reliable news source. This week’s pick is Rick Baca’s Cybertron Chronicle, with about 600 MB of content. It has an episode guide for every episode, with full transcripts for many, plus a robust audio section of voice samples, episodes, effects and music. There are also image archives of 1980s sticker books, interviews, a transfan birthday calendar, fan fiction, desktop themes, art and a Norwegian comics guide. His only complaints are confusing navigation and that NBCi is ending its hosting, so the site may go down within weeks.
Brian closes by asking for submissions for the Bad Dubbed Line of the Week, since good clips are getting harder to find.
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.