Hasbro’s 1986 Toy Fair catalog turned up on eBay, and the TF Wiki and the AllSpark pooled money to buy it. On this February 24, 2010 Radio Free Cybertron, Brian Kilby, JD, Exvee, John DeLuna, Ender and Rob also look at a possible Masterpiece Ghost Starscream. Brian reads Matty Collector’s reply to his Better Business Bureau complaint and calls it untrue. The crew names the Animated Arcee winner, talks with It Figures on its fifth anniversary and swaps stories of the rarest Transformers they’ve owned.
News
1986 Toy Fair Catalog Bought for the TF Wiki
The 1986 Hasbro Toy Fair catalog appeared on eBay for $500. The TF Wiki and the AllSpark went in together to buy it, and Jim Sorensen put them over the goal. The catalog shows prototype colors, including Superion with blue armor and Galvatron with a black cannon. Brian jokes that a group of fans had planned to buy it for Monzo’s birthday. It will be scanned into the wiki. [Source: not found]
Masterpiece Ghost Starscream Pictures Surface
Pictures of a Masterpiece Ghost Starscream appeared, mostly white rather than clear. One host thinks it is just a Photoshop of Masterpiece Starscream. Ender says he doesn’t care about the is-it-real debate, since it will either go on sale or it won’t. He was more taken with a six-foot Animated Optimus Prime display in the same catalog. [Source: not found]
Transformers Collectors Club Previews Metalhawk
Club members can see a preview drawing of Metalhawk from the club comic on the TCC forums. Non-members can find it in Brian’s post on the AllSpark’s Metalhawk thread. [Source: Transformers Collectors Club]
GM Shutting Down Hummer
GM’s sale of Hummer fell through, and the brand is shutting down. The crew wonders what that means for Ratchet in the next movie. [Source: not found]
Matty Collector Responds to Brian’s Complaint
Brian filed a Better Business Bureau complaint against Matty Collector, asking them to improve their service for fans. The reply blamed slow servers on at least 8,000 orders and said Digital River contacted him and apologized. Brian says nobody contacted him and calls the response completely fabricated. He says he is complaining about service, not toys, and he no longer plans to buy from them. The crew urges fans to post their complaints wherever Mattel will see them.
Contest Winners
Tramp the Wanderer wins two issues of Titan’s UK Transformers magazine. Chris Labrador wins The Matrix Quest trade paperback by Simon Furman and Jose Delbo. DEVCON from the AllSpark wins the Toys R Us exclusive Animated Arcee. Next week’s prize is the Toys R Us exclusive Cybertron mode Ratchet. Enter by following RFC on Twitter, joining the Facebook page or emailing brian at tfradio.net.
This Day in Transformers History
JD notes that the Beast Wars episode Bad Spark, which introduced Rampage, premiered in the U.S. this week. Today is also called Optimus Prime Day, tied to the anniversary of The Return of Optimus Prime. JD thinks Dark Awakening or Powermaster Optimus Prime would be better choices.
Interview: It Figures Turns Five
Exvee and his partner RAC talk about the fifth anniversary of It Figures at figurereviews.com. They met working on a Gundam fan site and started their own after a key Gundam review resource disappeared. RAC pushed to cover other lines, so the site now reviews Gundam, Transformers and G.I. Joe. They describe their camera upgrades and say they aim for objective, technical reviews. For the anniversary, they are reshooting older galleries, going up after March 1.
Rob Reviews Transformers Valentine’s Candy
Rob reviews Transformers fruit snacks and Valentine’s chocolates from his girlfriend. The fruit snacks come in a new movie box but are the same Transformers Animated shapes, and the translucent ones taste best. The Optimus Prime and Bumblebee Valentine’s boxes hold standard crispy chocolate hearts.
Rare and Expensive Transformers
John once owned one of only two known Energon Ultra Magnus figures packed with the Speed Team Minicons instead of the Space Team. He sold it in grad school and regrets it. Ender collects Optimus Prime rarities, including a lucky draw prototype and a sterling silver Prime ring. Rob tells of a struggling family who refused any offer for their sealed Grand Maximus. Others want the Armada Optimus Prime chase figure and the decoy Galvatron. Brian recalls missing a sealed BotCon 1994 Breakdown for $300 while running to an ATM. He also owns the 2002 hand-painted Optimus Prime and Brawn by Zobovor. The crew agrees the Japanese-only Metal Hawk is nearly impossible to find.
RFC Twitter Theater: City of Steel
Brian calls City of Steel one of his favorite and least favorite episodes. The crew laughs at the Alligatacon, Optimus Prime’s arm mounted as a gun on a spire and his head left on a shelf. They agree it is watchable but not good, and it might make nostalgic G1 fans rethink their bumper stickers.
RFC Announcements
Brian reminds listeners about the Cybertron mode Ratchet giveaway and the poster mailings. He asks fans to support sponsor Big Bad Toy Store at tfradio.net/bbts, and to subscribe on YouTube. RFC started in 1999, went off the air for about four years and came back last year.
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.