Hasbro has renamed the Power Core Combiners Stunticon Spastic to Overrun, using a sticker over the already-printed boxes. On this January 19, 2011 Radio Free Cybertron, JD Church hosts while Brian Kilby is out. John DeLuna, Rob Springer, Exvee, LadyWreck and Weebo cover the new Reveal the Shield and Generations wave. The Generations Optimus Prime gets an alternate Motormaster head and Wreck-Gar an extra Junkion head. The crew also covers a Human Alliance helicopter leak and a fan-made Transformers Thriller video.
News
New Reveal the Shield and Generations Wave Ships
Online retailers are filling preorders for the next wave: the G2-inspired Optimus Prime, Wreck-Gar, Perceptor and a movie-inspired Classics Bumblebee recolor. Exvee explains this Bumblebee’s darker yellow and new deco, and the crew jokes about dressing him as the Eleventh Doctor. Windcharger has reached Canada but not U.S. retailers yet. [Source: not found]
Wreck-Gar Gets an Alternate Junkion Head
Instructions show an alternate head for Wreck-Gar, identified on TFWiki as Junkyard. Takara’s e-Hobby recolor uses a different, more generic head called Scrap Heap. The crew happily plans a Junkion army after years of little Wreck-Gar love. [Source: not found]
Generations Optimus Prime’s Alternate Head Is Motormaster
Instructions posted by Wacky show the G2 Optimus Prime’s alternate head is toy-style Motormaster. One host argues it needs the boxy cartoon head to look right. The crew expects a Scourge repaint, and one host wants Toxitron and Thunderclash from the mold. [Source: not found]
Power Core Combiners Spastic Renamed Overrun
After controversy over the name’s offensive meaning in the UK, the Stunticon commander Spastic is now Overrun, via a sticker on the box. Reveal the Shield Strafe’s bio also changed from a “spastic” fight reaction to a “twitchy” one on Hasbro’s site. JD gives Hasbro credit for spending money to fix it with no obligation. One host notes the Power Core Combiners five-packs are moving so slowly few will ever see it. [Source: not found]
Reveal the Shield Demolition Rumble and Downshift
The crew likes the Demolition Rumble and Downshift two-pack, though one host says Rumble should be Frenzy. [Source: not found]
Where Fans Are Finding Toys
The chat reports finding the first Reveal the Shield toys at Kohl’s, Kmart and Zellers rather than Toys R Us and Target. One host saw five Mindsets at Target but no Jazz or Tracks.
Moonbase 2 Interviews Bob Budiansky
Moonbase 2 interviewed Bob Budiansky, who shared that one early character name idea was Greasefinger. The crew is horrified and amused. [Source: Moonbase 2]
Third-Party Trailer for Reveal the Shield Optimus Prime
An unnamed third party is making a trailer for the Reveal the Shield Optimus Prime, styled after G2 Laser Optimus Prime’s tanker. Silhouettes suggest it combines with the robot mode and adds a bigger sword. [Source: not found]
Human Alliance Helicopter Pictures Leak
Unofficial pictures show a Human Alliance helicopter, and the crew says the shapes would make great exo-suits. One host hopes it’s Machine Wars Sandstorm. [Source: not found]
Transformers Vault Book Announced
Transformers Vault is a $25 book promising every Transformers toy plus the cartoons, comics, collectibles and films. One host calls shenanigans, then admits his last two shenanigans calls were wrong. [Source: not found]
Comics with LadyWreck
Transformers Prime #3 is out this week with #4 next week, and Sector 7 #5 came out today. The IDW Collection volume 3 arrives next week. Infestation is coming too, though the crew questions whether anyone still wants zombies.
TFWiki Spotlight: Alignment
Chris McFeely spotlights Alignment, Simon Furman’s unofficial prose story for the UK convention TransForce in 2001 and 2002. It bridges G2 and Beast Wars and answers questions about the Liege Maximo and the Hub. The article covers its plot, new concepts and the ideas that later became official.
This Week in Transformers History
Exvee notes that Transformers Animated’s The Thrill of the Hunt, which introduced Lockdown, premiered in the U.S. on January 19, 2008. The crew discusses word that Drift was meant to give Lockdown his hook hand in the comics, but Hasbro nixed it to match the toy.
Listener Questions
The chat asks about Legends class toys, and the crew likes them. Rob loves them, and one host’s Legends Ravage sits in Darkmount’s lab. Asked about Generations’ future, the crew expects it to continue alongside the movie line, maybe under a new name. If Transformers Prime toys arrive, the crew expects them under Generations or a simple Transformers banner. One host thinks Prime debuted at the worst possible time, right into a movie year, and Toy Fair should show more.
A Fan-Made Transformers Thriller
Rob found a CG fan video of Transformers, including Drift, Shockwave and ghost Seekers, remaking Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The crew praises the animation, down to Jetfire’s moving wings. Rob says he finds these by typing random words plus “Transformers” into YouTube.
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.