Transformers: Dark of the Moon gets a July 1 North American release date, with some countries seeing it June 29. Transformers: Prime gets a Black Friday sneak preview, with the five-part Darkness Rising running November 29 through December 3. The Hub posts an exclusive Prime trailer during the live show. New photos cover Special Ops Jazz, Takara’s black Animated Rodimus and Movie Masterpiece Starscream. The crew details the year-end giveaway and tells how the RFC crew first met.
News
Dark of the Moon Release Date Set
Transformers: Dark of the Moon opens July 1 in North America, and some countries get it as early as June 29. The crew plans to see it in 3D. [Source: not found]
Transformers: Prime Schedule and Previews
Transformers: Prime gets a sneak preview on Black Friday, November 26, and the five-part Darkness Rising runs November 29 through December 3. USA Today and IGN ran preview pieces, and the crew objects to claims that Transformers has been off TV since the 1980s. Brian hopes to do a live commentary on the premiere. [Source: not found]
The Hub’s Exclusive Prime Trailer
During the live show, Bweebum spotted a new Transformers: Prime trailer on The Hub’s Facebook page. The crew finds it higher quality than earlier clips, and Bulkhead steals the show. [Source: not found]
Grapple, Thunderwing and Special Ops Jazz
Solar Storm Grapple and Deluxe Thunderwing turned up at KO Toys, and the crew is surprised Thunderwing is a Deluxe. New, higher-resolution photos of Special Ops Jazz show a scowl and an Alternators-style gun. Brian found Generations Blurr, a great toy that he notes is more IDW Blurr than G1, and reviews it on the RFC YouTube channel. [Source: not found]
Takara’s Black Animated Rodimus and Movie Masterpiece Starscream
Photos show Takara’s black and pink Animated Rodimus, about 3,000 yen. Comparison photos put Movie Masterpiece Starscream next to Hasbro’s Leader Starscream, with a different deco at almost three times the price. [Source: not found]
Transformers Happy Meal Toys Confirmed
Transformers Happy Meal toys are confirmed on HappyMeal.com, starting with Bumblebee. [Source: not found]
Third-Party Annihilator and Painted Protector
A third-party company shows a black train-mode Optimus-style figure called Annihilator in a cast-iron look. Fans Project’s Protector appears painted, and Rob admits it looks nice, though he prefers Masterpiece Rodimus. [Source: not found]
Movie Barricade Car for Sale
One of the three Mustangs used as Barricade in the live-action movie is for sale. The crew doubts it is worth much more than a regular Mustang, since a car built as a prop is hard to drive. [Source: not found]
Comics With LadyWreck
No new comics this week beyond the Nefarious trade paperback. The movie prequel Rising Storm arrives January 5, 2011, with the first look at possible Dark of the Moon characters. Aimee promotes an all-day War for Cybertron Xbox Live meetup on Friday, organized on TFormers, TFW2005, Nerds Fear and Moonbase 2.
Brian notes a photo of his fourth cousin, Jack St. Clair Kilby, hangs on the wall at Sector 7 headquarters in the comic. The Underbase reviewed Sector 7 #2.
This Day in History
November 3 marks the premiere of The Ultimate Doom, Part 1, which just reran on The Hub. JD calls it one of the first episodes to establish Grimlock’s personality.
RFC Year-End Giveaway
Prizes include another Darkmount, Generations Blurr, an ENI T-shirt and a Fanboy Versus clock. Titan trades include Showdown, All Fall Down, Last Stand, Matrix Quest, Treason, Second Generation, Fallen Angel, Target 2006, Perchance to Dream and Earthforce, plus Titan magazines. Follow RFC on Twitter, Facebook, Ustream or YouTube to enter. Winners will choose in draw order on the December 29 show. Details are at tfradio.net/contests.
How the RFC Crew Met
Aimee asked how the crew met, and all but Rob knew each other before RFC. Brian met John on alt.toys.transformers in 1998. JD met Brian on the newsgroup around 1999, where JD ran the ATT Who’s Who, an early fan profile site archived at tfradio.org/attww. Brian reads his own entry from his college days. Exvee met the crew through IRC.
Twitter Theater
Rob’s pick is a four-minute chibi Drift animation that he jokes is the compressed Drift miniseries.
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.