Official images of Masterpiece MP-13 Soundwave with Laserbeak and MP-14 Red Alert lead this August 30, 2012 Radio Free Cybertron. The TFormers news desk also covers Japan’s Gaia Unicron, in-hand Masterpiece Sideswipe and Thundercracker, and Transformers Subscription Service Scourge and Breakdown. Generations Voyager case assortments and the subscription service’s launch follow, plus Aimee Morgan’s comic news and a Rescue Bots review. The show closes with a Beast Wars rewind of A Better Mousetrap and the monthly third-party roundup.
News
Masterpiece MP-13 Soundwave and MP-14 Red Alert Officially Revealed
Takara Tomy released official images of MP-13 Soundwave with Laserbeak and MP-14 Red Alert, both due in December. JD says Soundwave looks even better than he imagined and hits him right in the pocketbook. He says Red Alert captures G1’s boxiness and appears to fit the new Masterpiece scale. In-hand images also surfaced of MP-12 Sideswipe, due in October, the first of the new, smaller Masterpiece scale. [Source: Takara Tomy]
Dengeki Hobby Reveals Gaia Unicron
Dengeki Hobby magazine showed more of the Takara Tomy-only Transformers Prime Gaia Unicron, which JD calls a bag of knives. It appears to combine with the Voyager Megatron and Optimus Prime. Peter doesn’t expect it in the U.S. [Source: Dengeki Hobby]
Transformers Subscription Service Scourge and Breakdown
New images show the Transformers Subscription Service Scourge, whose sword reads “Who has the power now?” The club posed him with Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime, like the Three Musketeers. JD plans to keep Scourge from his set. A new image shows the subscription Breakdown with the same head as the G2 BotCon Breakdown, though JD questions its plum-colored face. [Source: Transformers Collectors’ Club]
Henkei Ultra Magnus Coming to Japan
Takara’s Asia-exclusive Henkei Ultra Magnus comes to Japan in late September or early October for about $67.90, almost entirely white. JD notes the previous release came only in a Target two-pack with Skywarp, so demand rose with Fans Project’s City Commander kit. He wonders whether Fans Project will reissue the kit. [Source: not found]
Masterpiece Thundercracker Spotted in U.S. Toys R Us
The Toys R Us exclusive Masterpiece Thundercracker has been sighted in the U.S., first by Formula93 in Kansas. It adds tampographed details, permanently mounted lasers, a single head and a new heel piece. [Source: TFormers]
Prime Capsule Toys, Arms Micron and Deluxe Rumble
Wave 2 Transformers Prime capsule toys include Arcee’s blade, Megatron’s cannon, Bulkhead’s knuckle and two colors of Dado, which may combine with the first wave. JD says Arms Micron are his obsession. Clear images show Arms Micron AM-17 Swerve, a red repaint of the Japan-only Breakdown, and AM-18 Airachnid. JD calls Airachnid a terrible toy despite her beetle Micron. Prime Kup is arriving as the Deluxe Ironhide mold before Ironhide, and more images are out of the new Deluxe Rumble. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Prime Season 2 on DVD and Blu-ray
Transformers Prime season two comes to DVD on November 20 and Blu-ray on November 27, with all 26 episodes. Extras include Larry King’s conversation with Peter Cullen from San Diego Comic-Con. [Source: not found]
Takara Gives Power Core Combiners a Story as United EX
Takara Tomy is releasing Power Core Combiners as United EX with a backstory, translated by Andrew “Hydra” Hall of the AllSpark. The Autobots worked with Professor Chase on a combination system that lets the Master Class combine with war drones, and the Decepticons formed Master Chaos with the same ability. JD notes it echoes the Binaltech story. [Source: AllSpark]
Generations Voyager Assortments
Robot Kingdom revealed the next two Generations Voyager cases. The first is half Soundblaster and half Soundwave, and the second is three Grimlocks and a Soundwave, with no Blaster yet. Exvee advises buying Soundblaster from the first case. He jokes that a Twincast repaint will become a BotCon toy. [Source: Robot Kingdom]
Transformers Subscription Service Opens
The Transformers Collectors’ Club subscription service is live through September 10. Brian signed up on installments with Kim’s OK and is excited for Slipstream on the First Edition Starscream mold. JD has pre-sold his Ultra Mammoth. The club has asked subscribers not to share images of their figures.
Comic News with Aimee Morgan
Aimee Morgan notes the digital Fall of Cybertron tie-in #2 is on Comixology for a dollar. The Transformers Facebook page has commentary for More Than Meets the Eye #8, and letterer Chris Mowry has a birthday. Amazon lists Robots in Disguise Volume 2 and G.I. Joe/Transformers Volume 2 for December and Regeneration One Volume 1 for February. Her Underbase podcast has an interview with James Roberts from Auto Assembly.
Rescue Bots: Under Pressure
Aimee and Nicole Hale review the Rescue Bots episode Under Pressure, in which a man-made volcano sends lava through Griffin Rock’s sewers. Releasing the pressure sends lava toward Cody at the firehouse, and Heatwave, Kade, Dani and Blades cool it with water. They like Heatwave and Kade’s partnership and the first appearance of Hayley.
Transformers Rewind: A Better Mousetrap
Brian says he has a new appreciation for the Beast Wars episode A Better Mousetrap. Rhinox’s Sentinel defense system goes haywire after Dinobot stabs the controls, and Rattrap shows off his soldier and spy skills by shutting it down from inside. Meanwhile, Tigatron foils a Predacon plan to tunnel into the base with a sonic emitter. Rob praises how the episode makes the comic relief useful. Exvee notes Sentinel’s internal defenses barely appear again. They love Dinobot’s honest eulogy for the presumed-dead Rattrap. Rob says he resisted Beast Wars until Exvee handed him season one. Diecast shares Dan Khanna’s card art for the subscription Ultra Mammoth.
Third Party Roundup
The roundup covers Mastermind Creations’ Hearts of Steel Starscream, which the crew calls well done if not for them. iGear’s PP-05 Not Ratchet and Not Ironhide shipped, and Brian praises iGear’s G1 homages despite a fan’s Not Ratchet arriving with no tires. TFC’s Phototron, three robots that form a camera in a Reflector homage, looks great to Brian at an expected $120. iGear’s UFO, a not-Cosmos, doesn’t capture Cosmos for Brian. TFC’s Project Uranus F-4 Phantom shows a Skydive-style Aerialbot in prototype at about $80 each. The crew calls the Aerialbots the least compelling combiner group.
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.