Dark of the Moon toy reviews lead the week, as Exvee and Peter go hands-on with five early figures alongside Mike of TFormers.com. The new Dark of the Moon trailer lands, Kre-O gets new pictures, and the club’s G2 Ramjet sells out in under a day. The crew breaks down the Transformers Prime episode “Sick Mind,” and Aimee reviews Rising Storm #4. Brian hosts the second Crave Corner, and the chat sets the topic.
News
New Dark of the Moon Trailer
The new Dark of the Moon trailer hit iTunes last Thursday. The crew isn’t blown away but enjoys seeing more Decepticons and Shockwave. One host compares the city battle footage to The Matrix. A 3D version of the trailer comes later. [Source: not found]
A One-of-88 Gold Chrome Optimus Prime
Hasbro is offering a lucky-draw gold chrome Optimus Prime limited to 88 pieces through an Australian retailer. The crew wonders where the other 87 will end up and notes that chrome tends to chip. [Source: not found]
New Kre-O Pictures
New pictures of Kre-O show a hybrid of movie and G1 styling. Basic sets run 65 to 70 pieces for $8, and the Optimus Prime set costs $60 with five Kreons. One host who has seen them in person says they don’t look bad, and the crew prefers them to Built to Rule. One host plans to get the Ratchet. [Source: not found]
Simon Furman Heads to TFCon
Simon Furman is announced as a TFCon guest. The crew expects him at Auto Assembly too. [Source: not found]
Comic-Con Starscream Priced at $50
Hasbro’s Q&A says the San Diego Comic-Con exclusive Starscream will cost $50. Any left after the show will go to Hasbro Toy Shop. The crew calls the price reasonable and remembers past Toy Shop crashes. Exvee won the Pepsi Optimus Prime after entering only two codes. [Source: not found]
G2 Ramjet Sells Out
The club exclusive G2 Ramjet sold out in less than 24 hours. Transtech Cheetor sold about 65 percent in a day and then stalled. The crew blames G2 fever and the pull of anything classic. They doubt a second Ramjet run like the one for Punch-Counterpunch. [Source: not found]
Free Comic Book Day
JD notes that Free Comic Book Day is Saturday, May 7. IDW is offering a Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover comic, with a preview on its website. [Source: not found]
What We Got This Week
JD Church got Windcharger from a friend and loves its clip-on accessory hands.
John DeLuna got Rumble straight from Japan, plus Frenzy.
Transformers Prime: “Sick Mind”
Spoilers: Optimus Prime is infected by a Decepticon-made plague, and the Autobots enter the comatose Megatron’s mind to find the cure. Bumblebee bargains with Megatron, who escapes back into consciousness. The crew enjoys the dialogue and Ratchet’s return. They also like the first on-screen reference to a dead Transformer turning gunmetal gray. Several hosts are tired of Bumblebee not speaking, since it forces Raf to translate.
From the Chat
The chat asks about battle-damaged toys the crew still keeps. John still has his original Grimlock, sun-faded and missing his lower jaw, and Rob shows off a homemade Sculpey Shockwave. Asked to rate Transformers Prime, one host gives it a six out of ten. The crew agrees it’s worth catching up on.
Comic News
Aimee calls Rising Storm #4 a great end to the movie-verse lead-in. Shockwave finishes destroying Diego Garcia and attacks Optimus Prime in Philadelphia, saved by his giant worm creature. The Autobots are left counting their dead. The trade paperback is due soon. One host calls it only the second IDW comic he’s liked, praising its witty dialogue and pacing.
Crave Corner
Brian talks with Cole Sickler of Crave, with Rob joining late. Crave is adding the Dark of the Moon line to its catalog after early listings appeared. A user listed sealed BotCon exclusives, including Tap-Out, Glyph, Springer, Dreadwind, Bug Bite and Razorclaw. A complete 2009 box set is also listed. Generations Warpath sold again, and a Wheeljack, two Kups and a Scourge are up.
Dark of the Moon Toy Reviews
Exvee and Peter talk with Mike, known as Blitzwing1975, of TFormers.com, who found five figures about a week and a half before street date.
Leader Sentinel Prime looks great as a Rosenbauer fire truck. Mike worries about its rubber parts and fiddly tabs, and he wouldn’t recommend it for small kids. Leader Bumblebee is his least favorite. It feels like an oversized Human Alliance figure for $45, with all its electronics in the Mech Tech weapon.
Voyager Shockwave has a techno-organic look, a Mech Tech cannon that locks open and a removable hose and blade. Voyager Optimus Prime has a strong robot mode, but his truck mode has big gaps. Skyhammer is Mike’s favorite of the five, with a believable helicopter mode, though his sample was missing a blade. Mike notes the new characters are outshining the main movie cast.
This Week in History
On May 4, 2009, Burger King announced its Revenge of the Fallen promotion, including the BBQ Double Stacticon. Several hosts remember eating plenty of them.
Topic: The Chat Decides
The chat asks about Cyberverse. Hosts like Cyberverse Bumblebee, Starscream and Mudflap but are split on Topspin. Legion Leadfoot is called the ultimate NASCAR robot. On third-party toys, most hosts follow the news but buy little beyond accessories. Asked where BotCon should go next, the crew pitches Birmingham, Northern Virginia, Dallas and an affordable Florida location. BotCon is now about a month away.
Twitter Theater
Rob shares the Serbian dub of the G2 cartoon, which reuses the dubbed episodes in Serbian with a flat American intro voice-over. The crew finds it lacks the flair of the Omni Productions dubs.
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.