Rob Clay and Exvee review the Transformers Prime video game for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii on this Halloween 2012 Radio Free Cybertron. Transformers Rewind marks the holiday with the G1 Frankenstein story “Autobot Spike.” The TFormers.com News Desk covers a free G2 orange Kre-O Devastator and Takara’s Arms Micron Silas Breakdown. The monthly third-party roundup takes in TFC’s Photron, iGear’s Huffer-colored Rager and Fans Project’s Stunticons. Aimee Morgan reviews More Than Meets the Eye #10.
News
G2 Fall of Cybertron Bruticus Arrives
The G2-colored Fall of Cybertron Bruticus set has arrived, and one host is thinking of buying a second to keep sealed. He loves the box, with its G2 tech spec and old Hasbro logo. Another host canceled his order. [Source: not found]
JD’s Asian Exclusive Dead End and Laserbeak
JD Church picked up the Asian exclusive basic Dead End and Laserbeak. He likes the Laserbeak mold a lot, but the head already has chipped paint. The crew trades gold-plastic horror stories, from G2 Slingshot to Thunderclash’s gun and the Micromaster Superion’s pelvis.
TFormers.com News Desk
Exvee and JD Church host the TFormers.com News Desk.
Free G2 Orange Kre-O Devastator at Toys R Us
An individually boxed G2 orange Kre-O Devastator may be a free Toys R Us giveaway, per a Canadian fan’s report. It has also appeared on Hasbro Toy Shop at $4.99. It’s unclear if the deal is Canada-only. One host says the orange G2 Devastator was his as a kid, so he needs one. It differs from the large-set version in plastic colors and its gun. [Source: TFormers]
Arms Micron Silas Breakdown Hides a Face
Takara’s Arms Micron Silas Breakdown has a surprise remold. Silas’s face is sculpted into the mechanical detail behind the chest panel, as in the cartoon. It also has a new grill. It is Takara’s third use of the Breakdown mold this year. [Source: Amazon Japan]
Fans Project Stunticons, Assaulter and Warbug Redecos
Fans Project’s first two Stunticon prototypes were on display, part of an eventual five-figure combiner. One host didn’t recognize them as Stunticons at first and hopes color will help. Fans Project’s Assaulter, an IDW-inspired not-Broadside with two carrier modes, is due next month. Its Deluxe Insecticon-style Warbug redecos are a TFSource exclusive, but buying all three costs about $150. [Source: TFormers]
MakeToys Mobine
MakeToys showed its Mobine, based on Dreamwave’s The Fallen, in Fallen-style colors for the first time. It is designed to work with Power Core Combiners. The crew notes the only other Dreamwave Fallen toy was the Titanium figure. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Rewind: Autobot Spike
For Halloween, the crew revisits “Autobot Spike,” the G1 Frankenstein story. Spike is critically injured, and his mind is moved into Sparkplug’s spare-parts robot while doctors operate. Spike becomes confused, watches Frankenstein, and gets manipulated by Megatron. The crew calls it creepy and illogical, and the first sign of season two’s decline. Rob Clay faults Wheeljack for showing Spike Frankenstein. Another host notes how heavily the dialogue leads the audience. The crew also enjoys Optimus muttering about primitive technology.
Review: Transformers Prime for 3DS and Wii
Rob Clay played the 3DS version and Exvee the Wii version for their TFormers reviews. Both praise the full voice cast and a story that feels like a Season 2 TV movie. Agent Fowler is left out rather than recast. Rob says the 3DS controls are better but clunky, with a held target lock. Exvee says the Wii motion controls only half work and the graphics suffer on modern TVs. Both recommend the 3DS version, or the Wii U version at launch.
This Week in Comics
Aimee notes Flint Dille’s birthday and a placeholder listing for More Than Meets the Eye Vol. 3. January solicits include More Than Meets the Eye #13, Rage of the Dinobots #3, Regeneration One #87 and its first trade with the Free Comic Book Day issue. Also coming are Robots in Disguise #13, the Mars Attacks crossover and Spotlight Thundercracker. Casey Coller is at Rhode Island Comic Con this weekend. The Fall of Cybertron digital tie-in also wrapped this week.
More Than Meets the Eye #10
Aimee reviews More Than Meets the Eye #10, “Shadowplay Part 2: Patternism,” by James Roberts and Alex Milne. In the past, Prowl and Chromedome’s murder investigation leads to Orion Pax, who joins the hunt. In the present, First Aid thinks he knows what happened to Red Alert. The story builds to a bomb plot, and Whirl gets a big moment. She couldn’t put it down and gives it five out of five stars.
Third-Party Roundup
Mastermind Creations’ Stormer, a not-Thundercracker, is coming, and one host finds the mold way too busy. iGear repainted Rager in Huffer colors, limited to 500 at $27, in a box that feels very G1. John DeLuna trusts TFC and Fans Project quality but hasn’t tried iGear. Another host vouches that iGear feels like a real toy. The crew warns Hegemon is hideous, over $100 and plagued by quality control problems. They say it looks like an over-detailed G1 cartoon Megatron. Toy World, Hegemon’s maker, showed final images of its not-Throttlebots Grind Rod.
Third-Party Pickups
One host got the Heroic Duo upgrade kit for Classics Red Alert and Sideswipe, about $35. It includes a new Red Alert head, shoulder cannons and rifles, plus pile drivers for Sideswipe. The molding is crisp, but the eggshell finish makes it look like a kit, and he’d rather pay less for just the Red Alert parts. He also got TFC’s Photron. It has first-party-feeling plastic and Classics styling, and stands about as tall as Classics Jazz. At $120 to $130 he calls it overpriced and expects clearance. He likes the seamless camera mode but won’t use it.
Coming Up
Find Superhero Time at tokupodcast.com, Fanboy Versus at fanboyversus.com and Rob and Exvee’s reviews at figurereviews.com and TFormers. The show closes with a video from Rob Springer.
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.