War for Cybertron casting news leads Radio Free Cybertron’s first live call-in show on March 31, 2010, though the Leonard Nimoy rumor is debunked on air. The Transformers Collectors Club’s Punch-Counterpunch sells out fast, and the club is looking at a bigger production run. The crew also covers The Hub’s 10/10/10 launch date and a Warbot Defender knockoff. Callers DMG, Tony and the Fish dig into toy scale, Power Core Combiners and War for Cybertron gameplay.
News
War for Cybertron Voice Cast Rumors
Exvee reports new voice actor names for the War for Cybertron game, including Doug Parker, Terrorsaur from Beast Wars, and Leonard Nimoy. One host guesses Parker will voice Starscream and Nimoy Zeta Prime. Partway through, a chat room listener reports the Nimoy news is false, and the crew retracts it on air. [Source: not found]
The Hub Launches October 10, 2010
Hasbro and Discovery’s joint channel, The Hub, will launch on October 10, 2010. The crew jokes about the 10/10/10 date and the coming apocalypse. [Source: not found]
Warbot Defender Is Not Springer
A Protoculture Empire post called the knockoff Warbot Defender “Springer,” though the green and yellow triple changer can’t use the name. The crew mocks the overpriced bootleg. They note listener Chris Labrador received one and likes it. [Source: not found]
Punch-Counterpunch Sells Out, More Coming
The Transformers Collectors Club’s Punch-Counterpunch sold out at near Masterpiece speed, and Shattered Glass Cyclonus is not far behind. The club is looking into expanding the Punch-Counterpunch run. At about $60, the crew calls the price high but acceptable given the new head tooling. They note Punch-Counterpunch was one of the earliest popular Universe kitbashes. [Source: Transformers Collectors Club]
New Walmart Listings
New Walmart listings reveal names such as a Voyager twin boom fighter, Banzai-Tron, Tomahawk, Sunspot, Hatchet, Firetrap and Oil Pan. One host wishes the Bludgeon recolor were Skeletor. [Source: Walmart]
Transformers Animated Arcade Games
Video of Japanese Transformers Animated arcade shooting games draws ridicule for its tiny budget and Lockdowns that never shoot back. The crew notes Animated targets young kids in Japan. [Source: not found]
Hall of Fame and G1 Reissues
The crew jokes about the Transformers Hall of Fame and bronze busts. A discussion of mold wear leads to why some G1 reissues, like Sunstreaker, never happen, and why the thirst for G1 reissues has faded.
Transformers Animated Arcee Giveaway
John Bailey wins the Transformers Animated Arcee figure, courtesy of Tformers.com. One host found zero Arcees but 16 Ratchets at his Toys R Us.
This Day in Transformers History
For April Fools, JD Church notes that the Beast Wars episode “Other Voices, Part 2” premiered in 1997 and killed Optimus Primal. In 2000, James Hooks faked his own death as an elaborate April Fools prank. In 2008, Shattered Expectations was revealed as a prank, and the fan response reshaped Shattered Glass.
Caller: DMG
Dual Mirrored Gridwork asks about scale. The crew says it comes down to budget and marketability, and that Hasbro scales to the character rather than the alt mode. They argue Beast Machines’ first wave suffered from show designs never meant to be toys, while the second wave, such as Nightscream and Jungle Pounce Cheetor, shows genius engineering. DMG also recalls shaving an Autobot logo into his beard for the first live-action movie.
Caller: Tony
Tony is excited for Power Core Combiners like Smolder, though he worries UK fans will miss some. He also wants the new Thrust. On War for Cybertron, he hopes for class-based online squads and attacks that drive into enemies and transform mid-charge. The crew expects more playable characters than Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Ratchet, with party roles like heavy hitters and healers.
Listener Email: Power Core Combiners Drone Sets
Kyle Scott asks whether Hasbro will sell drone-only sets so fans needn’t buy two combiner packs. The crew expects recolored drone sets if the line succeeds and hopes for Energon combiner limbs retooled to fit.
Caller: The Fish
Bill, known as the Fish, is selling toys at Dairycon in Fond du Lac, which may be its last year. He loves Classics Megatron and pitches an Animated Warpath, pointing to a scratch-built Masterpiece Warpath. He asks whether Alternators could return under Generations. The crew says no, citing licensing and cost.
Shout-Outs and Closing
One host thanks Ultra Convoy for sending a red and blue Optimus Primal and what appears to be a prototype Action Master Optimus Prime. The crew mentions a live RFC segment in Toycast episode 50. The podcast version ends with Transformers: The Movie parody Part 5, an April Fools retelling of the live-action film.
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.