Jim Sorenson joins this February 10, 2010 Radio Free Cybertron to preview AllSpark Almanac Volume 2, due in June. The crew also slams the GameStop pre-order code for Shockwave in Transformers: War for Cybertron and reacts to news that Transformers Prime will be CG animated with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci as executive producers. The topic of the week asks which character should get the Masterpiece treatment. Rob also makes the case for the Beast Wars episode “Low Road.”
News
Power Core Combiners Superion and Scouts Shown at German Toy Fair
Scouts Hubcap and Brimstone and Power Core Combiners Superion turned up at the German Toy Fair. One host is a little relieved the line is small, since he can afford to be a completist on Power Core Combiners. [Source: not found]
War for Cybertron Shockwave Locked Behind GameStop Pre-Order
Pre-ordering Transformers: War for Cybertron from GameStop gets you an unlock code for Shockwave. Ender calls it evil and not forward-thinking. He worries that content on the disc will be lost once the code or the server goes away, and that games slip into history with no one preserving them. On the upside, the crew says this Shockwave doesn’t look that great, with a vacuum cleaner stuck to its arm. [Source: not found]
Transformers Animated Cyber Missions 2 Goes Up
Cyber Missions 2 is up and features Bludgeon. One host calls it a capable Bludgeon but is disappointed he doesn’t sound like Skeletor. The crew compares its production value to G.I. Joe: Resolute and calls it better than crap, but not Beast Wars level. [Source: not found]
Japanese Transformers Animated Packaging at Wonder Festival
Takara showed Japanese Transformers Animated packaging on a diorama at Wonder Festival. Seeing the figures there makes one host want them now. The crew thinks the packaging is more serious than the show, but admits the chrome looks good. One host mentions a rumor that Takara is treating it as a prequel to the movies, and the crew jokes that in Japanese continuity everything is G1. [Source: not found]
AllSpark Almanac Volume 2 Coming in June
AllSpark Almanac Volume 2 is on the way, with an interview later in the show. Ender loves Volume 1 but was let down that it never said Season 3 wasn’t included, given it was touted as the ultimate Animated book. He says all is forgiven now that Volume 2 is coming. [Source: not found]
Transformers Prime to Be CG Animated, Kurtzman and Orci Executive Produce
Transformers Prime will be computer animated, with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci as executive producers. One host calls them the two worst writers working professionally. Others hope the executive producer role keeps them far from the scripts. The crew agrees it can’t judge the show yet, since there are no designs to look at. [Source: not found]
Toy Fair Exclusive RPM Optimus Prime
A Toy Fair exclusive RPM Optimus Prime is coming in a box with a glossy interior so you can see Optimus under the truck. Ender says he will buy it because of his Optimus Prime rule, since the toy is three-dimensional. Brian says his wife Kim once told him to run over his RPMs with his car. One host thinks RPMs scream free convention exclusive. [Source: not found]
Topless Robot’s Top 10 Beast Wars Episodes
Topless Robot ranked its top 10 Beast Wars episodes, with The Agenda and Optimal Situation together at number one. The crew is fine with The Agenda but not with pairing it. Several hosts argue Code of Hero is the best Beast Wars episode, and possibly one of the best animated shows of all time. They also question splitting Nemesis into parts and call Possession fan service. [Source: Topless Robot]
Big Bad Toy Store
Big Bad Toy Store has pre-orders up for the Device Label Animated Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, which Ender already ordered. New arrivals include a Masterpiece MP-05 upgrade kit restock, Encore Skids, the Encore cassette Big Mission set with Rumble, Frenzy, Laserbeak and Overkill, and Device Label Tigatron. Listeners can use tfradio.net/bbts.
This Day in Transformers History
JD Church marks February 1997 and the Beast Wars episode “Low Road.” Rob loves it, praising its structure, its dialogue and Scott McNeil talking to himself. He argues the closing fart is a punchline the whole episode sets up, not a cheap fart joke. JD also notes KB Toys closed last year. The crew remembers KB exclusives like Machine Wars, the Commemorative Series Sideswipe and Snowcat, plus deals at Toy Liquidators.
Interview: Jim Sorenson on AllSpark Almanac Volume 2
Jim Sorenson says AllSpark Almanac Volume 2 arrives in June 2010 and covers Season 3 with the same detail as Volume 1. Nearly every cameo gets a full bio. Season 3 should fill about 150 pages, leaving about 70 for the production side: toys, box art, actors and possibly the video game and comics. He again works with Bill, his Volume 1 partner, with Jim focused on writing and Bill on original art and final layout. The in-universe episode guides return as Autobot incident reports and Decepticon logs, plus a Project Omega chapter. He wants the book to work for a seven-year-old fan and a hardcore fan alike. Jim asks fans for photos of non-toy Transformers Animated merchandise like shampoo, backpacks and sheets.
Brian’s Transformers Birthday Cake
Brian’s wife Kim wants to make him a Masterpiece-size Transformer cake for his June birthday. Brian had pitched the Headmasters scene of Blaster fighting Soundwave in the Arctic. Ender suggests a Cybertron cake with Unicron smashing his fists into it. Send ideas to brian@tfradio.net.
Topic: Who Deserves the Masterpiece Treatment?
Brian always wanted Grimlock, but now that it exists, his pick is Galvatron. Ender picks Prowl for the endless repaint potential, from Bluestreak to Smokescreen to Autobot Spike. Exvee picks Whirl as a character the Alternators couldn’t cover. Others want a Triple Changer like Blitzwing or Octane, plus Hot Rod, Overlord, Star Saber, Star Convoy, Ratbat and Beast Wars Megatron. Joke picks include Optimus Primal with real fur, Masterpiece John DeLuna, and the Flip Changers.
Twitter Theater
This week’s Twitter Theater episode is G1’s “B.O.T.” Exvee picks it over Sea Change, if only for Swindle selling his teammates for scrap without remorse.
Plugs and Coming Up
Fanboy vs. Fanboy, with Ender, Chris McFeely, Chris Triplette, JD Church and Brian, launched this week. Superhero Time covers Super Sentai and Power Rangers. Rob notes that 2007 Transformers movie water is now past its date. The crew plans to live-tweet Transmorphers: Fall of Man, and New Soundwave episode 17 is hosted by JD.
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.