Dark of the Moon exclusives lead the week, with a Walmart Sideswipe repaint and a Target Space Case on the way. Stores are already breaking street date, and Hasbro Toy Shop opens preorders. The club’s Transtech Cheetor and G2 Ramjet go on sale, and MP-10 is revealed as a new Convoy mold. RFC debuts Crave Corner, Exvee shows off the iGear Kup heads, and the crew builds its Dark of the Moon shopping lists.
News
Hasbro Toy Shop Opens Dark of the Moon Preorders
Hasbro Toy Shop begins preorders for early Dark of the Moon toys, expected to ship by June 20. The crew jokes the toys will be everywhere in about three weeks anyway. [Source: not found]
Stores Break Street Date
Some Targets and more stores in Canada are reportedly selling Dark of the Moon toys early. Leader Bumblebee and Sentinel Prime are among the figures spotted. The crew praises Megatron and Leader Ironhide and expects the first wave to be plentiful, with no reason to pay a markup. Dark of the Moon Ring Pops are already turning up at Walmart and gas stations. [Source: not found]
Walmart and Target Exclusives
Walmart gets a repainted Sideswipe as its Dark of the Moon exclusive. Target gets Space Case, a recolored Terradive, which the crew calls a great mold and a great character. One host believes Target also gets a solid case of Deluxe Optimus Prime first. A count posted at Allspark puts G1 Optimus Prime at around 75 toys since 1984, and the movie Optimus Prime already matches that. [Source: not found]
A Huge Ship for the Movie
A high-quality picture shows a huge ship from the films. The crew notes its insectoid look and compares it to Men in Black. [Source: not found]
Club Exclusives: Transtech Cheetor and G2 Ramjet
The Transformers Club’s Animated Transtech Cheetor and G2 Ramjet are on sale. Member prices are $52 for Cheetor and $58 for Ramjet. The club’s Twitter reportedly says both are more than halfway sold. One host notes Airazor and Astrotrain are still in the club store. Ramjet is $98 for non-members, which one host understands includes the cost of club membership. [Source: not found]
MP-10 Is a New Convoy Mold
Masterpiece MP-10 is a new Convoy mold. It is smaller, comes with a driver and a trailer, and costs about $270. One host says he called it, while another wonders whether TakaraTomy can improve on the first Masterpiece Convoy. [Source: not found]
Shout! Factory’s Japanese G1 Box Set
Shout! Factory announces a $90 box set of Headmasters, Masterforce and Victory without English dubs. The crew passes and debates subtitles versus dubs. [Source: not found]
Figure King 159 Reveals Japanese Exclusives
Figure King 159 shows two Japan-exclusive Dark of the Moon recolors. RC is a Chromia repaint, and Air Raid is a Revenge of the Fallen Thrust repaint. TakaraTomy also runs a gold and silver chrome Mech Tech weapon campaign for buyers of Dark of the Moon product. The crew compares it to the Energon weapons and chrome that flakes off Transmetal toys. [Source: not found]
Comic News
Aimee recommends Transformers: Dark of the Moon Foundation #3, the only comic out this week. It shows more of the split between Optimus Prime and Megatron. She says it fits neatly between the cracks of Defiance rather than undoing it, and the art is good.
From the Chat
Rob fills in for John DeLuna on chat duty. Headmaster Don points out that Air Raid’s deco is a nod to the GoBot Heatwave. The chat also asks for ReBoot on DVD.
The Great BotCon Hookup
Brian isn’t going to BotCon this year, so his planned roommate Headmaster Don needs a new one. RFC plays Don’s voicemail offering rooms, including backup reservations a little further down the road. Fans who have a room or need a roommate can email contact@tfradio.net, comment on the latest RFC YouTube video or call 931-99-GOBOT.
TFWiki Spotlight: Walter Simmons
Chris McFeely spotlights Walter Simmons, a featured article on TFWiki. Walter is the great-grandfather of Seymour Simmons, John Turturro’s character in the live-action movies. He starred in IDW’s Sector 7 miniseries and anchors the Dark of the Moon prequel comics. Chris credits writer John Barber, who blended material from Ghosts of Yesterday and the 2007 movie prequels into a rich history.
This Week in History
April 25, 2008, was the first full day of BotCon 2008. Rob remembers Marcelo Matere’s panel on drawing Animated Bumblebee. The crew recalls fans pressing Hasbro for G1 and argues Animated was as close to G1 as Classics.
iGear Kup Heads
Exvee shows the iGear replacement heads for Generations Kup in video. The IDW-style head with the snarl and cigar matches a comic panel, and its turquoise color matches the toy almost perfectly. The set ships in a small plastic box with a screwdriver too tiny to use comfortably. An eHobby-colored set costs a little more. Exvee would rather have a Targetmaster for Kup and suggests Power Core Combiner Minicons as stand-ins.
Crave Corner
Rob debuts Crave Corner with Cole Sickler of the Crave Marketplace, a Transformers fan-to-fan marketplace with Facebook integration. Cole says a complete G1 Astrotrain is listed at $30 and usually sells within a day. A new Warpath is up, and one seller offers Generations Kup already fitted with the iGear head. A Classics Ratchet sold for $58 and a Classics Ironhide for $49. A Legends Megatron is listed at $6.97 plus shipping.
Topic: Your Dark of the Moon Shopping List
Space Case and the Walmart Sideswipe top one list. Voyager Megatron arrives in wave one, and no Decepticon Leaders have been announced. The crew debates whether kids will want Leader Ironhide. Sentinel Prime and the $90 Ultimate Optimus Prime look good, and one host wants the NASCAR Wreckers.
Rob notes the new Commander class is about the size of a 3.75-inch figure. The crew praises the Human Alliance figures, including the snowmobile Ice Pick, at the price of a Power Core Combiner two-pack. One host wonders whether smaller toys become the norm as plastic costs rise. Others look forward to licensed items like Bumblebee Snickers.
Twitter Theater
Rob shares an eight-minute short film about Ping, a boy who wishes for more Transformers and wakes to find Blaster by his bed. The crew calls it nostalgic. It is posted at TFVideo.net.
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.