BotCon 2012’s Metalhawk has been revealed on the Thunderwing mold, complete with a human face. This January 25, 2012 Radio Free Cybertron also covers the first wave of Takara Tomy’s Transformers Prime figures, which come with Microns. UK Toy Fair teases new Generations and Fall of Cybertron toys, plus a Kre-O Devastator. LadyWreck reviews Robots in Disguise #1, Rob argues there is no wrong way to be a fan, and the crew runs through the month’s third-party toys.
News
BotCon 2012 Metalhawk Revealed
The big news is Metalhawk, the BotCon 2012 figure on the Thunderwing mold. The crew thinks he is awesome, though the head looks a little small. They like the twist of a human face, since club fiction gave him a robot head and helmet. One host’s soft spot for Metalhawk comes from Joe Ibe, known as Metalhawk Guy, whom RFC interviewed. He wishes the set included a G.I. Joe-style Metalhawk in a business suit. [Source: not found]
Takara Tomy’s First Transformers Prime Wave
Full Metal Hero has pictures of the first wave of Takara Tomy’s Transformers Prime figures, which come with small Microns. An Airachnid toy that turns into a helicopter is also coming. The crew likes that the weapon Mini-Cons carry over the one thing that worked from Power Core Combiners. They also discuss the UK’s Robots in Disguise Prime line, which looks inferior to the First Edition figures. [Source: Full Metal Hero]
UK Toy Fair Teases Generations, Fall of Cybertron and Prime
UK Toy Fair confirmed a new round of Generations and showed a resin Fall of Cybertron Jazz. It also hinted at a Grimlock. The biggest reveal is the Transformers Prime Optimus Maximus battle station, a Cyberverse playset that becomes a base and has a robot mode. Exvee jokes it is a Star Convoy reissue with the motor gutted. Details also surfaced on Bot Shots, a battle game the crew compares to Bakugan. [Source: Full Metal Hero]
Kre-O Devastator
A Kre-O Devastator mixes G1-style robots with the movie colors, building four robots that form separate vehicles or Devastator. The crew thinks the expansion means Kre-O is doing well. One host has bought three sets and loves Kre-O Prowl and Mirage. [Source: not found]
Toy Fair 2012 Coverage
RFC will cover the U.S. Toy Fair live on February 11, which the crew calls its Super Bowl.
Comic News With LadyWreck
LadyWreck recommends the U.S. Classics Volume 2, covering issues 14 to 25. She buys Autocracy #1 for $1 on ComiXology live on the show, her first digital comic. Infestation 2 starts this week with a Lovecraft-themed opener, and the Transformers issue follows soon.
Review: Robots in Disguise #1
LadyWreck reviews IDW’s Robots in Disguise #1, out today. Bumblebee settles in as Cybertron’s new leader while the planet mourns the Autobots believed lost in a fireball. Prowl’s team stops Decepticon enforcers from beating a vandal, and the Decepticons remain confined in Kimia. Ratbat is plotting, and Prowl holds secret meetings. The issue ends with a big explosion when Bumblebee uses the detonator chip. She says it isn’t as intense as James Roberts’ More Than Meets the Eye, but it sets up a payoff. She praises Andrew Griffith’s art and Josh Perez’s colors.
BotCon 2012 Set Debate
The chat likes Metalhawk. The BotCon package costs about $340 at member price, and one host spent over $400 with fees and a hat. The crew wonders why club shirts don’t come in larger sizes. Real photos of the club’s Runamuck look great. Red Trax, the Shattered Glass figure, is Brian’s favorite in the box set, and another host ranks Runabout and Runamuck above everything else. Several hosts call the set a disappointment apart from those. Octopunch will be a show-available figure, and the crew guesses the free attendee figure will be another Jazz mold, perhaps a Stunticon.
TF BBQ: There’s No Wrong Way to Be a Fan
Rob revisits Prime Targets, an unauthorized 2001 episode guide to G1, Beast Wars, Beast Machines and the comics. It is full of errors, such as calling the Vok the ‘Bok,’ but he read it cover to cover anyway. His point is that fans enjoy things their own way. No one gets to tell anyone the right way to be a fan, and there is no such thing as a true fan. Just keep opinions separate from facts and fanon separate from canon.
Third-Party Roundup
Perfect Effect’s PE-DX01 is an Arcee homage the crew finds unappealing and not feminine. They want a third party to nail an Arcee car mode based on Animated Arcee’s engineering. TFC Toys finished all six Hercules figures ahead of schedule with Head Blender, which the crew calls a third-party success story. A full Hercules set on eBay runs about $580 shipped, and the combined figure towers over a deluxe. A G1 Megatron gun homage looks too close without quite getting there, which one host compares to the uncanny valley. iGear showed a Herbie-style deco of its Volkswagen Bumblebee.
City Commander’s Ultra Magnus faces are great. A new $40 parts set upgrades the Devastator Encore reissue, though Devastator’s feet remain unstable. Impossible Toys is making Kranix, Arblus and Alpha Trion figures, which the crew says look like modeling chocolate. The crew notes that some of the best third-party projects share developers.
RFC Network Updates
Fanboy Versus will mention Robots in Disguise #1. Peter’s Screen Review covers the Oscars and The Grey. New Soundwave debuts a new segment next week, and RFC plans Google+ Hangouts with fans.
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.