The Transformers Collectors Club’s figure subscription service is delayed until April or early May. This January 30, 2013 Radio Free Cybertron also covers leaked Fall of Cybertron Voyager Springer and Astrotrain and Masterpiece Soundwave and Acid Storm sightings in Australia. Brian Kilby, Exvee and Rob are joined by guests Paladin and Don for RFC’s monthly third-party roundup. Amy Morgan reviews Rage of the Dinobots #1 and #2, and Brian talks RoboForce with Crazy Steve.
News
RFC Toy Fair 2013 Coverage
RFC’s live Toy Fair coverage runs Sunday, February 10, starting around noon Eastern. The show also now hosts a Google Plus Hangout after each live episode, and Brian thanks listeners who left iTunes reviews.
TCC Subscription Service Delayed
The Transformers Collectors Club’s subscription service is pushed to April or early May. Don, who has been to every BotCon but 1997, says Fun Publications should be past these glitches by now. One host half expects it to be canceled. Don jokes that Aaron Archer keeps his picture on the wall with a note never to make a Headmaster Arcee. [Source: not found]
Fall of Cybertron Voyager Springer and Astrotrain
Robot Kingdom in China leaked Fall of Cybertron Voyager Springer and Astrotrain ahead of Toy Fair. Springer’s design comes from the game’s art book, and his helicopter mode looks more like a Halo ship. The crew wonders why Astrotrain gets another figure before Blitzwing. They guess there may be too many tanks in the line already, and expect a Sandstorm retool someday. [Source: Robot Kingdom]
Masterpiece Soundwave and Acid Storm Spotted in Australia
Masterpiece Acid Storm, on the revised Seeker mold, is reportedly coming to Australia, and Hasbro Australia says Masterpiece Soundwave arrives over the summer. The crew suspects licensing kept Sideswipe out, and notes Griffin unearthed the news. [Source: TFormers.com]
What We Got This Week
One host picked up S.H. Figuarts Gokai Green and Gokai Silver. Brian got the Stunticon Bot Shots set, finally found Soundwave and found Lego Series 9 minifigures, which Kim insists on opening. One host says the Bot Shots Ravage doesn’t work and suggests skipping that pack for Ratbat and Rumble.
Comic News with Amy Morgan: Rage of the Dinobots #1 and #2
Amy reviews IDW’s Transformers Prime: Rage of the Dinobots by Mairghread Scott and Mike Johnson, with art by Agustin Padilla. In issue one, the Dinobots defend Cybertron’s last convoy alongside Ultra Magnus. He’s shot down covering Swoop, and both end up captured by the Forged, who report to Shockwave. Issue two finds the Dinobots raiding a Shockwave base in the Sea of Rust and meeting the Forged’s leader. Amy praises the characterization, especially a grumpier, defiant Slug, and the Wreckers-style teamwork and coloring.
Interview: Crazy Steve on RoboForce
Crazy Steve, known for archiving vintage newspaper toy ads and his Mystery of Convoy guide, talks RoboForce in a cardboard Hun-Dred costume. He argues Hasbro may have killed Ideal’s RoboForce after buying CBS Toys in 1985, as a threat to Transformers. Brian notes the Moderately Geeky podcast reports a new RoboForce toy is coming.
Third-Party Roundup
BTS Toys teases Nova Lord, a giant Overlord homage meant to be the biggest third-party figure yet. The crew doubts it will be affordable. Brian loves TFC Toys’ Safeguard Perseus, a Shattered Glass Defensor-style repaint of Hercules. Xovergen’s TF-01 Master Armor, a Powermaster Optimus Prime upgrade, isn’t bulky enough for the crew. TFC’s Project Uranos SR-71 Blackbird and X-45 Phantom Ray, its not-Aerialbots, look nice but pricey. Perfect Effect’s Aranea retools its Arcee into a Blackarachnia homage. Don, who owns Fans Project’s Function X-01, calls it a phenomenal figure, and the crew looks at the new X-2 and X-3 not-Weirdwolf and not-Brainstorm. ToyWorld’s not-Hardhead, Hardbone, gets a fantastic vehicle mode. Planet X’s Project Genesis Omega Supreme is shipping at around $350, though the crew prefers the Year of the Snake Omega Supreme. MakeToys’ Armageddon upgrade for that toy splits the crew. Also covered are Mastermind Creations’ Reformatted Feral Rex and Hexatron and a teased not-Computron. Fans Toys’ Quake Wave, a Masterpiece-style Shockwave with a later Voyager-scale version planned, rounds it out.
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.