JD tests the Fans Project Superion upgrade kit on the Universe Superion set on this September 23, 2009 Radio Free Cybertron. The crew also reacts to new pictures of Voyager Bludgeon and Legends Breakdown, and JD breaks down All Hail Megatron #15. Brian Kilby, JD, John DeLuna, Exvee and Rob Springer share how they first got into Transformers. Then they pick the moments in Transformers history that bother them, from an AllSpark thread, and preview RFC’s 10th anniversary show.
News
Better Pictures of Bludgeon and Breakdown
Clearer toy pictures are up for several upcoming figures, including Bludgeon and a black Soundwave. One host says the Legends Breakdown looks much better than the blurry BotCon shot. Bludgeon beats last week’s mistransformed stolen prototype, but Brian is disappointed he is a Voyager rather than a Deluxe. Another host argues a Deluxe Bludgeon could have ended up like Universe Galvatron, whose arm falls off. The crew praises recent Deluxes Cyclonus with Nightstick and Hound with Ravage, and finds Hot Shot a bit disappointing. [Source: not found]
All Hail Megatron #15 Splits Into Two Stories
JD says All Hail Megatron #15 now runs as a split issue. Half covers Kup’s revival through a Pretender process and his new cigar habit, and half covers Perceptor rebuilding himself as a sharpshooter. JD says eight-page halves make two weak stories instead of one good one. He says the series started strong, with a sidelined Optimus Prime and a larger-than-life Megatron, but spun out of control around issue seven or eight. He adds that it disregards Simon Furman’s IDW setup, including killing off Hunter. JD suggests starting at issue one or trying the newer Tales of the Fallen. [Source: not found]
How We Got Into Transformers
Brian got Mirage after seeing a 1984 commercial and broke his waist right away, then broke a Christmas Slag too. The first toy he still owns is Cosmos, bought while his dad was in the hospital. Rob saw the early animated commercials and turned his Star Wars toys into Transformers in his imagination. JD’s first was a Starscream from a mall in Oklahoma, which he couldn’t fully transform for years. John DeLuna remembers a huge Toys R Us wall of Transformers and picking Soundwave. Exvee came in with Generation 2 in 1993, starting with Gold Chrome Bumblebee, which he still has.
The crew trades stories about being adult fans around kids. One host, an IT manager at a children’s home, won the kids over with photos of his collection and BotCon. Another host once flashed an Autobot shirt at a kid in an Office Depot, to the mother’s alarm.
Fans Project Superion Upgrade Kit
For JD’s third wedding anniversary, his wife gave him the Universe Superion set and the Fans Project upgrade kit. The kit replaces hands and feet and changes the combined form’s transformation. JD says the plastic feels like a model kit. He calls the result a much better Superion, standing easily with proper proportions and real hands. Leftover parts become fuel pods, guns, and an AWACS-style radar dish for one jet. The single ball joint on the arms is loose, but JD finds that reversing the leg joint lets the gun arm point straight out. With the set at $29.99 at Target and the kit about $45 at Big Bad Toy Store, the crew calls it worth about $75. Brian says this kind of kit improves a Hasbro toy and probably sells more Superion sets.
Moments in Transformers History That Bother Us
Inspired by an AllSpark thread, each host names a moment that bugs him. Brian points to Transformers: The Movie’s mass killing of season one and two characters. He also notes the film never clearly says Galvatron is Megatron until Five Faces of Darkness. John DeLuna names the potty humor in Revenge of the Fallen. JD still dislikes the Quintessons building the Transformers, though Brian shares an email argument that the origin is poetic and tragic. Brian’s favorite origin is Bob Budiansky’s, with Transformers evolving from naturally occurring gears and levers.
Exvee is bothered that Blackarachnia forcibly reformatted Jetstorm into Silverbolt in Beast Machines, along with Rhinox choosing to stay Tankor. He also cites Beast Machines’ small budget for the final Cybertron and the error-filled Armada and Energon dubs. Rob loves the Unicron Trilogy, but every positive came with a lingering problem, like misnamed characters and limited articulation. He still calls Armada Megatron one of his all-time favorite Transformers.
Beast Wars Rewatch: The Low Road
This week’s Beast Wars episode, The Low Road, is best known for Rhinox’s fart. One host says it still has strong Rattrap and Dinobot moments, including Megatron shooting Tarantulas out of Dinobot’s hands. Another host calls it one last funny episode before the season’s big finale.
RFC’s 10th Anniversary on October 15
Radio Free Cybertron turns 10 on October 15, 2009. The anniversary show will replace that week’s new Soundwave episode and bring back voices from the past. It will also debut Transformers: The Movie Part 4, and the earlier three parts will be linked in the show notes. The crew believes RFC made the first from-scratch Transformers: The Movie parody. RFC Throwback is also getting a new intro. Brian asks listeners to support the show by linking to tfradio.net.
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.