Radio Free Cybertron, the world’s first and oldest toy and action figure podcast, celebrates its 11th anniversary. Takara reveals a Frenzy and Rumble two-pack, and Reveal the Shield Windcharger wins over the crew while new Power Core Combiners repaints do not. Third-party news includes Hothead, an unlicensed VW Bumblebee and a Firestar the crew finds unsettling. Jay Simpson wins Darkmount, and the crew shares their highest and lowest moments as fans.
News
Frenzy and Rumble Two-Pack for Takara United
Takara will release Frenzy and Rumble as a two-pack in its United line. The crew notes the bulky figures, with removable pile drivers, are not cassettes, but they look great anyway. Rumors say Hasbro will sell them separately, and the crew expects a reverse-color Target set within a year. [Source: not found]
Reveal the Shield Windcharger
Ender posted on the TFormers message board that he wants the Reveal the Shield Scout Windcharger, and the crew agrees it looks amazing. His fold-out magnetic guns replace his hands, though some gallery photos show them oriented wrong. [Source: not found]
Power Core Combiners Scout Wave 3 Repaints
New images of the third wave of Power Core Combiners repaints disappoint the crew. They call the colors random and wish Bombshock had used G2 Onslaught colors, though the new names win some praise. One host says the line has lost its appeal now that the same molds keep returning. [Source: not found]
Better Photos of Generations Laser Optimus Prime and Wheeljack
New TFormers photos make Exvee happier with the G2-inspired Optimus Prime, and he wants Toxotron, the unproduced G2 toy shown at BotCon 2005. The crew agrees Wheeljack suits the shared mold better than Tracks, and likes the wrench-shaped shoulder cannons. [Source: not found]
War for Cybertron Cliffjumper Photos
New photos of War for Cybertron Cliffjumper show a repaint with a new head. Rob wants it as a head transplant for his Classics Cliffjumper. [Source: not found]
Third-Party Hothead, VW Bumblebee and Firestar
Hothead, a third-party kit that turns Universe Hardhead into the G1 Headmaster, is shipping and looks better than expected. A VW Bumblebee from another third-party maker borrows the Classics head, and the crew expects lawsuits. A third-party Firestar from Impossible Toys looks lifeless enough to disturb everyone. [Source: not found]
No Baby Megatron After All
The fan behind the ‘My sister said if I get one million fans she will name her baby Megatron’ Facebook page has a niece named Dylan instead, per a Facebook post by Michael Wilson. [Source: not found]
Comics With LadyWreck
Drift #4 is out, and Aimee names Drift and Last Stand of the Wreckers her top two picks of 2010. Rob struggles to get through issue three. Aimee argues the miniseries shows Drift’s inner conflict wisely, and the crew floats a Fanboy Versus episode with Chris McFeely, who dislikes Drift.
This Day in History
On October 15, 1999, Brian released the first Radio Free Cybertron, a nine-minute show downloaded by about eight people. On October 16, 2007, the Robots in Disguise DVD box set was released in the UK.
TFWiki Spotlight: The Japanese G1 Cartoon Timeline
Chris McFeely spotlights TFWiki’s timeline of the Japanese G1 cartoon continuity, a translation from a 2007 graphic novel collecting the Kiss Players manga, sold at one Japanese winter convention. It ties together the cartoons, manga, Beast Wars, Beast Machines and more obscure stories, with points added from Kiss Players packaging. He says it is less complicated than forum talk suggests.
Anniversary Contest Winners
Jay Simpson, drawn from RFC’s Facebook fans, wins Darkmount. The War for Cybertron Megatron prize goes to a voicemail skit with Megatron and Waspinator. Brian adds two surprise prizes: the Last Stand of the Wreckers trade to Twitter follower Malunas and the UK comic collection Perchance to Dream to Roxy Slaybaugh. Listener Rich Mitchell also called to congratulate the show. Details of a year-end 2010 contest come next week.
Hopes and Fears for Transformers: Prime
Following last week’s chat suggestion, the crew hopes Transformers: Prime looks like the movies with smarter writing, and fears it will feel stilted. Brian is going in with moderate expectations, since Animated set a high bar.
Highest and Lowest Moments as Fans
One host’s high point is the BotCon debut of the first minutes of Armada, the most excited crowd he has seen. JD’s low point is the Cybertron era, when the fiction gave him nothing to latch onto. His high point is breaking BotCon news: a Cold Hard Slag interview with Michael Bell revealed Gregg Berger would attend before the convention announced it.
Rob’s high point is time with his fandom friends. His low point is drunken arguments about Transformers cartoons with an armed neighbor. Bweebum treasures meeting online friends in person and regrets the animosity between fans. Brian’s high point is his first full convention, OTFCC 2003. His low point is giving away toys on the BotCon 2006 dealer floor while he was drifting out of the hobby.
Twitter Theater
Rob’s pick is an infamous Challenge of the GoBots clip that circulated in the late 1990s, which sends the crew into GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords memories and a plea for GoBots in Generations.
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.