Hasbro’s New York Comic Con panel unveiled Beast Hunters, the season 3 arc of Transformers Prime, along with Predaking and a Viking-helmeted Bulkhead. This October 11, 2012 Radio Free Cybertron also covers Kre-O 2013 sets, a Platinum Edition Omega Supreme and Energon Optimus Prime, and a 2014 Generations push for the 30th anniversary. On the news desk, Encore Fortress Maximus and Masterpiece cassette packs lead. Aimee reviews the Robots in Disguise Annual, and Transformers Rewind revisits “Attack from Outer Space.”
News
Beast Hunters Revealed for Transformers Prime Season 3
Hasbro’s NYCC panel revealed Beast Hunters as Transformers Prime’s season 3 arc, with a trailer clip and an 80s-style logo the chat compares to Gargoyles. The new Predacon symbol strikes Brian as too curvy next to past faction logos. Toys include Cyberverse Commander Bulkhead with a new Viking helmet head, which Brian says he will buy for the helmet alone. Beast Hunters Bumblebee and Wheeljack add spikes and tendrils that the crew finds hideous. Cyberverse Arachnid looks better than the Deluxe. Twin Strike is a clear Sentinel Twin homage, and Laserbeak is a new griffin-like mold. [Source: TFW2005]
Predaking comes in Cyberverse and Voyager versions and appears in the Beast Hunters trailer. Brian finds it fine but not exciting, a callback to Transmetal 2, Beast Machines and Cybertron rather than something new. Another host notes it is mostly a Thundertron remold. The crew hopes the Autobot redesigns carry over to the show. [Source: TFW2005]
Kre-O 2013 Lineup
Kre-O’s 2013 sets include Ripclaw, a jeep Bumblebee with a battle net, and Trailcutter versus Grimwing. Brian is thrilled by Windcharger versus Kirada, a Beast Wars Neo snake. He says he has never paid full price for a Kre-O kit, which the crew calls a bad sign for the line. [Source: TFW2005]
Platinum Edition Omega Supreme and Energon Optimus Prime
A Platinum Edition Omega Supreme with a new head and gold paint, from Hasbro Asia, will be an Amazon and Big Bad Toy Store exclusive. Brian would consider it under $100, and Exvee expects $50 to $60 since it is a Supreme. The crew is baffled by an Energon Optimus Prime release that combines with Omega Supreme. [Source: TFW2005]
Rage of the Dinobots and a 2014 Generations Push
IDW’s Rage of the Dinobots bridges Prime seasons 2 and 3 and is billed as “after the fall, before the hunt,” which hints at a Fall of Cybertron follow-up. Hasbro said 2014 will likely be a big Generations push for the 30th anniversary. The first wave of 2013 Deluxes is due next month. [Source: TFW2005]
Encore Fortress Maximus Announced
On the TFormers.com news desk, JD Church and Exvee cover Takara’s Encore Fortress Maximus, with the Master Sword and the accessories Brave Maximus lacked. JD preordered it within 30 minutes of the Big Bad Toy Store listing. He’ll cry if a Grand Maximus version with the shell follows, which Exvee expects as an e-Hobby or Amazon Japan exclusive. [Source: Big Bad Toy Store]
Masterpiece Cassette Packs MP-15 and MP-16
MP-15 and MP-16 are Masterpiece cassette two-packs, Rumble with Ravage and Frenzy with Buzzsaw. They are posed like the G1 box art and fit G1 Soundwave. Exvee expects $50 to $60 each and guesses Ratbat will come with a future Masterpiece Soundblaster. [Source: not found]
Third-Party Uranos Aerialbots
New images show Silverbolt as an SR-71 Blackbird plus a small stealth bomber that becomes Superion’s chest. The crew admits it can’t tell the Aerialbots apart. [Source: not found]
Comic Review: Robots in Disguise Annual and More Than Meets the Eye #9
Aimee reviews the Robots in Disguise Annual by John Barber, with art by Brendan Cahill, colors by Joana Lafuente and flashbacks by Guido Guidi. It wraps the Metrotitan story from the More Than Meets the Eye Annual on Cybertron, with a focus on Metalhawk. She praises Cahill’s art as his best yet and gives it five out of five. She also gives five out of five to More Than Meets the Eye #9 by James Roberts and Alex Milne, the start of Shadowplay. In it, Rewind’s crew tells a murder mystery from Orion Pax and Prowl’s past to wake the unconscious Rung. She also notes the Fall of Cybertron art book has moved to November 6.
Rescue Bots Review: Walk on the Wild Side
Aimee and Nicole review the Rescue Bots episode “Walk on the Wild Side,” which aired April 21, 2012. Boulder mistakes the zoo for an animal shelter, and the bots leave the cages unlocked, so wild animals roam Griffin Rock. Trash-sorting lemurs attack the new recycled library. Frankie’s force field bracelet saves Cody from a lion, and Boulder ends up with a plant as his pet.
Transformers Rewind: Attack from Outer Space
Exvee picks the Robots in Disguise episode “Attack from Outer Space,” one of a few never aired in the US after September 11. Movor replaces a space shuttle to track the Autobots, settles on Sideburn and gets knocked out of orbit after accidentally blasting Scourge. Mickey calls the show Digimon starring Big Lots G1 knockoffs, and Rob says everyone in it is an idiot. The crew says nothing of value was lost by skipping it in the US. Next week’s Rewind is “S.O.S. Dinobots.”
Plugs
Brian thanks Don for a Masterpiece Thundercracker. RFC returns to Wednesday live shows on Halloween, with a third-party episode. The crew guesses Chicago or Atlanta for BotCon 2013 and plans a panel at Shardicon, August 9 through 11, 2013, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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.