Generations Thundercracker’s retail release angers some owners of the 2007 BotCon set, and one poster even threatens a class action. The crew says exclusivity was never promised. BotCon 2011 registration opens, and the Iacon packages sell out within days. TakaraTomy announces a Transformers card game, Kre-O minifigures look great, and Alex Irvine’s Exiles is dated for September 27. Windcharger appears on Hasbro Toy Shop for about five minutes.
News
BotCon 2011 Registration Sells Fast
BotCon registration is open with one major glitch: the Hall of Fame dinner briefly dropped off the order form. One fan who ordered a shirt got a cap instead. All Iacon packages and loose sets have sold out, and over half the Primus packages went in about half a day. Brian wishes BotCon would simply make more. Peter argues that announcing sellouts only on Twitter is a disservice, since not everyone uses it. Others note BotCon also sends emails, and its website is hard to update. [Source: not found]
TakaraTomy’s Transformers Card Game
TakaraTomy announced a Transformers trading card game, and Rakuten shows a card holder for the deluxe Bumblebee. Brian isn’t a card gamer but loved the old Dreamwave Armada cards for their character bios. Dark of the Moon cards and dog tags are also coming. [Source: Rakuten]
New pictures show more Kre-O sets, and Brian really wants the small G1 minifigures. Peter, who saw them at Toy Fair, calls the minifigures the best part, since brick-built robots will always look blocky. [Source: ACToys]
Dark of the Moon Voyager Optimus Prime Recolor
A darker recolor of the Dark of the Moon Voyager Optimus Prime comes with a new MechTech weapon. The crew says it looks like a rake and jokes about Farmer Optimus Prime. [Source: Allspark]
Transformers: Exiles Arrives September 27
Alex Irvine says Transformers: Exiles, his follow-up to Exodus, comes out September 27. Brian will read it if it reaches the Kindle. Rob prefers paper and will wait for the paperback. [Source: Allspark]
Windcharger’s Five Minutes on Hasbro Toy Shop
Windcharger appeared on Hasbro Toy Shop this morning and sold out in about five minutes. Brian doubts he will ever find one, and he won’t pay $100 for a case just to get two. The crew marvels that fans are now desperate for a Windcharger. [Source: not found]
Final production photos of iGear’s Kup head show a back with screw holes. The crew guesses there is one back piece with swappable faces, a sensible way to keep costs down. One host wants a Mechanic add-on for Kup next. [Source: iGear on Facebook]
From the Chat: Paying the Aftermarket Price
Inspired by Windcharger, the chat swaps stories of toys they gave up hunting and bought online. John DeLuna paid $20 for Wheelie. Another host overpaid for Energon Ultra Magnus on eBay right before learning a friend’s stores were full of them. The crew notes that hard-to-find toys often turn up later at Ross and TJ Maxx. Brian, a retail veteran, says chain stores now push corporate decisions down to every store.
Comic News
Aimee reports Foundation #2 came out last week, and she and Rob are enjoying it. Heart of Darkness #1 is out this week, reportedly with Galvatron in a big role ahead of IDW’s coming Chaos event. Rising Storm #2 arrives next week, and Aimee expects new series announcements soon.
TFWiki Spotlight: Movie Shockwave
In a spotlight recorded with JD Church, Chris McFeely covers movie Shockwave ahead of Dark of the Moon. Shockwave’s history goes back to media tied to the first movie, including the games and the Titan magazines. The article also covers his strange Revenge of the Fallen cameo and his role in John Barber’s current IDW comics. [Source: TFWiki]
This Week in History
Exvee notes that the Robots in Disguise finale, “The Final Battle,” premiered in the U.S. on March 23, 2002. Brian says it took fans years to appreciate the show. A Dreamwave Generation One issue came out on March 24, 2004, which leads to memories of Dreamwave’s rise and collapse.
Topic: The Generations Thundercracker Fight
Generations Thundercracker is shipping, and some owners of the 2007 BotCon Seekers set are furious that their exclusive deco now has a retail cousin. A 4chan poster claims a lawyer is organizing a class action. John DeLuna reads a BotCon certificate of authenticity aloud, and it promises nothing about future releases. Aimee says buyer beware. Brian and Rob say they buy exclusives as mementos, not investments.
John points out that BotCon’s organizers once talked about protecting the sets’ value, which encouraged collectors to treat them as investments. The crew agrees retooled parts stay truly exclusive. They think BotCon should stick to obscure or original characters. Brian worries a lawsuit would only end BotCon exclusives for everyone.
Twitter Theater
Rob shows a children’s magic show starring a magician in a terrifying, marshmallow-like Optimus Prime costume. The crew agrees the kids will never sleep alone again.
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.