Fans Project’s mystery Toys for Tots figure turns out to be Function X-1, a not-Chromedome, on this December 26, 2012 Radio Free Cybertron. It leads a monthly third-party roundup that also covers Planet X’s Genesis prototype and a Fans Toys Masterpiece-scale not-Shockwave. Rob Clay reviews Fall of Cybertron Soundblaster with Buzzsaw, and John DeLuna reviews the Maiden Japan Junkion upgrade kit. The show also replays a full interview with IDW’s John Barber from Fanboy Versus.
Brian is joined by Rob Clay and John DeLuna for the post-Christmas show. Brian asks listeners to leave RFC a review on iTunes instead of sending him gifts.
News
Kre-O Predaking Pictured
Photos of the Kre-O Predaking kit are out. Brian likes the impressionistic body and the iconic toes but dislikes the snarling head. The crew notes Predaking’s cohesive colors, then compares their incomplete childhood combiners. [Source: not found]
Kre-O Wave 2 Blind Packs Arrive
The second wave of Kre-O blind-pack figures has hit US retail, found at Target and Walgreens. It includes Bludgeon, Springer, Hook, Blast Off, Dirge and Arachnid. Brian has a stack of newspaper coupons for free blind packs. Rob is tired of Bot Shots for lack of variety but wants Jetfire. [Source: TFormers.com]
Review: Maiden Japan Junkion Upgrade Kit
John DeLuna reviews Maiden Japan’s Set A Junkion kit, which pairs best with Junkheap, while Set B suits Reveal the Shield Wreck-Gar. Each set adds a shoulder pad, chest plate, waist, knee pads, an axe, a spiked wheel shield and a new head. The rubbery resin feels like a garage kit but is solid and clips on firmly, so watch the chest plate on Wreck-Gar’s spikes. At about $55 plus a $15 to $20 base figure, he calls it pricey but worth it for Junkion fans.
Rescue Center: Countdown
Aimee and Nicole review the Rescue Bots episode Countdown. Frankie’s dogs release robot bugs called Tracers, built in the 1950s to teleport people to an underground shelter. The townsfolk vanish into an unstable cavern, leaving the bots to find them. Professor Baranova returns, and Frankie admits she is afraid of the dark. Both call it one of their favorites.
Interview: John Barber
From Fanboy Versus, IDW’s John Barber talks with Nicole Hill, Chris Triplett and Chris McFeely after BotCon 2012. July is Decepticon Month, with More Than Meets the Eye introducing the Decepticon Justice Division and Turmoil returning in Robots in Disguise. August is Dinobot Month across every title, with Action Master Grimlock in Regeneration One and Grimlock returning in More Than Meets the Eye. Barber calls Robots in Disguise political in the way Game of Thrones is political, about what happens after the good guys win. He agrees More Than Meets the Eye is a quest story, as the Odyssey comparison suggests.
Barber also recalls editing Marvel’s Dark Tower series, when Stephen King laid out 30 issues at the pitch meeting. He says Simon Furman’s Marvel UK stories won him over as an adult. Regeneration One is aiming for issue 100, with a real ending and deaths that stick.
Review: Fall of Cybertron Soundblaster
Rob Clay’s figurereviews.com review calls Fall of Cybertron Soundblaster his best Voyager of the year. He is big and solid, like a 2010 Voyager, with good articulation and a sculpted finger that reaches his own eject button. His hollow chest launches disc minions in robot or vehicle mode. The included Buzzsaw disc auto-transforms but tends to stick. Rob says get Soundwave or Soundblaster, rating it excellent on the figurereviews.com scale.
Third-Party Roundup
Fans Project’s Toys for Tots mystery figure, $69.99 with $20 to the charity, is Function X-1, a not-Chromedome. Brian loves it, while John finds the head and feet garage-kit looking. Fans Project’s Function line also includes a not-Brainstorm, a not-Weirdwolf, a not-Ratbat and a Skullcruncher in Optimus Prime colors. Planet X showed its Genesis not-Omega Supreme prototype in G1 colors, though the final will follow Fall of Cybertron’s darker look. Fans Toys showed a Masterpiece-scale not-Shockwave, and the crew finds the legs too chunky. [Source: not found]
G1 Prices and Masterpiece Wish Lists
Brian is surprised how low G1 prices have fallen on eBay, citing a like-new Tracks at about $50. The crew suspects collectors are liquidating, while lines like Dino Riders still fetch big money. They wish for Masterpiece Shockwave, the Coneheads, Ironhide, Ratchet, G1 Bumblebee and someday Masterpiece Dinobots.
Wrap-Up
Brian recommends last week’s special report on the state of Transformers, the Superhero Time best-of and the 2012 year in review with Chris McFeely. John recommends the store-exclusive Fans Project Deluxe Insecticons, Ransack, Barrage and Chop Shop, as a safe third-party buy.
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.