Masterpiece Grimlock is coming to the United States, and the Radio Free Cybertron crew weighs whether it’s worth $150. This October 28, 2009 Halloween show opens with JD Church hosting while Brian Kilby deals with a baking catastrophe. John DeLuna reviews Revenge of the Fallen Human Alliance Skids, and the crew interviews Ironhide1975 of the TFormers.com podcast. GeoCities shuts down, and next week’s guest is cosplayer MetalHawkGuy.
This Day in Transformers History: The Dweller in the Depths
The G1 episode The Dweller in the Depths premiered October 30, 1986. One host calls it a favorite. The Quintessons trick Galvatron into unleashing a tentacled monster from the depths of Cybertron that turns Transformers into zombies. The crew calls it creepy and weird.
Twitter Theater
Rob runs down a week of Halloween-themed episodes, including Dark Awakening, Spark of Darkness, a Masterforce zombie episode and The Dweller in the Depths. Tuesday’s official pick was the Transformers Animated episode Along Came a Spider, set on Halloween night. One host recalls a Transformers Armada Legends story where the Mini-Cons go trick-or-treating.
Toy Review: Human Alliance Skids
John DeLuna is collecting the Revenge of the Fallen Human Alliance figures and picked Skids for Halloween week, joking about the face. Skids turns into a Chevy Beat concept car that John calls mundane. The figure is roughly 1:24 scale, close to Alternators. The small human figures are about two inches tall with basic articulation.
John says fan reviews rank Skids first among the Human Alliance figures, ahead of Bumblebee and Sideswipe, and he agrees. Skids has a great silhouette, balance and articulation. Because he’s smaller, he comes with Arcee for Mikaela to ride, though John calls Arcee a so-so Legends-sized toy. The figure has seats and pegs for the human figure. At about $25 at Target, John calls the Human Alliance figures the best buys in Revenge of the Fallen. He thinks the uneven deluxes and pricey leaders make them look even better.
News
Masterpiece Grimlock Gets a US Release
Masterpiece Grimlock is getting a US release, and probably a Canadian one too. One host notes the mold came and went fast, and the price is still $150. Rob already owns it. The crew doesn’t know what accessories it will include and hopes for the crown. They also discuss slow US releases of Masterpiece repaints, with Skywarp out in Canada. [Source: not found]
G1 Unicron Prototype and Art on eBay
G1 art on eBay prompts talk of the Unicron prototype sold at a past BotCon auction. The crew thinks it went for about $12,000 and invites the buyer to come on the show. One host says the G1 prototype was on display at BotCon this year. Another says he wouldn’t pay much more than twice retail for a prototype. [Source: not found]
Clearance Finds
Brian picked up Transformers Animated Optimus Prime for $20 at Ollie’s. He says the talking figure wasn’t worth $50 but is absolutely worth $20. One host got Primus for about $25 on clearance and sold a second one for a profit. He says Primus is excellent from the waist up.
RFC Blogs
Brian explains the new staff blogs at tfradio.net. His posts cover finds and a look at the RFC studio. Rob’s include pumpkins carved as the Fallen and Jetfire.
Interview: Ironhide1975 of the TFormers.com Podcast
Anthony, known as Ironhide1975, hosts the TFormers.com podcast with Z Piper, started in 2008 with TFormers.com’s backing. Years ago he went by Botimus and drew a South Park-style Transformers parody called the Zapbots. He also helped out with RFC back in the day.
He remembers listening to RFC’s Transformers: The Movie parody in 1998 and quoting it with friends. He talks about how the TFormers podcast found its voice after trying a Daily Show format. The crew compares notes on the growing field of Transformers podcasts, family-friendly shows like Moonbase 2, and how hard podcasts are to explain to non-listeners. Ironhide1975 invites the crew to join his Sunday recordings.
GeoCities Shuts Down
GeoCities finally closed this week. The crew mourns early Transformers sites lost with it, including Zobovor’s Transformers dance, The Transformers Collector and TFG1 Forever’s fanfic archive. One host compares it to the Library of Alexandria. Another argues most of value has already moved elsewhere, and the crew discusses Blogger and WordPress as replacements.
Transformers Halloween Costumes
One host wore a Ben Cooper Snarl costume from Kmart as a kid. Brian spotted an adult Optimus Prime costume for about $80, and the crew mentions kids’ costumes for Animated Optimus Prime and Bumblebee and the movie characters.
Next Week: MetalHawkGuy
Next week’s guest is Joe, the cosplayer known as MetalHawkGuy, of Jag Productions. Brian calls it maybe the biggest fan interview RFC has done, alongside Jim Sorenson.
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.