JD guest-hosts while Brian and Rob cover the Transformers ride in Orlando. A Masterpiece fan poll of non-G1 Optimus Primes sparks a long debate, with Powermaster Optimus Prime picked as the likeliest winner. Masterpiece G2 Sideswipe surfaces from the Tokyo Toy Show, and the crew calls it the best news of the week. Mastermind Creations’ Arcee homage, Charticon’s Landshark exclusive and a More Than Meets the Eye #18 review round out the show.
News
MP-20 Is a Hard-to-License Car
Word is that the next Masterpiece is a car whose license has been hard to clear. The crew bets on Jazz, with Wheeljack and Bumblebee also in the running. A chat viewer notes Fiat owns Lancia, which could make a Wheeljack license easier. One host wants a Masterpiece Bumblebee, while another is sick of Bumblebee. Another host only wants an IDW-style Swerve and has the third-party Veer on preorder. [Source: not found]
A Masterpiece Fan Poll Lists Non-G1 Optimus Primes
A fan poll asks which Optimus Prime should get the next Masterpiece. Choices include Armada Optimus Prime, Big Convoy, Dai Atlas, Fortress Maximus, Lio Convoy, Optimus Primal and Powermaster Optimus Prime. The crew calls most of the options hopeless and picks Powermaster Optimus Prime as the likeliest. One host loves the Armada truck design and keeps the Deluxe on his desk. Diecast worries about the line straying from G1. Another host argues Masterpiece is a luxury line built for G1 nostalgia, and Galvatron tops the crew’s own wish list. [Source: not found]
Masterpiece G2 Sideswipe Shown at the Tokyo Toy Show
Takara showed a black Masterpiece G2 Sideswipe with the G2 logo and spiky shoulder wheels. The prototype still lacks some paint. One host calls it the most important news of the week and needs it badly. Don points out the missing bandolier and gets sent to time-out. [Source: not found]
Classics Jetfire May Return With Both Faction Symbols
A possible Asia reissue of Classics Jetfire carries Decepticon wings and an Autobot chest, likely as a Platinum release. The crew mocks a toy built around a scene that never aired. Don recalls a fan who scratch-built about a dozen transforming Jetfires and sold them at a late-1990s BotCon. [Source: not found]
Mastermind Creations Shows an Arcee Homage
Mastermind Creations revealed CAD renders of its Arcee homage. The crew says the head sculpt is right on, though the pink may change. One host has never bought a Mastermind toy but would buy this one. Don hopes for a later kit with a transforming head, and price talk lands near $70 or more. [Source: not found]
Platinum Ultra Magnus Out in Asia
Don reports the large Ultra Magnus is out in Asia as a Platinum release, at about $60 base retail. Diecast left it out of the notes on purpose. [Source: not found]
Club Subscription Figures and BotCon Next Week
BotCon is next weekend, and Don and John DeLuna will report from San Diego. Club members got emails to update their addresses, so the subscription figures may ship soon. [Source: not found]
Charticon Reveals Its Landshark Exclusive
Charticon’s second exclusive is Landshark, a Sharkticon homage built from the Beast Hunters Deluxe Bulkhead mold. The crew calls it a better Sharkticon than a Bulkhead. The convention’s door prize is a Metroplex, and a customizing class makes a custom Thunderwing. [Source: not found]
Q&A with Rob Springer
Antoine Lewis asks who appears on the left of the new Metroplex box. Rob thinks it is Trailbreaker, though some fans guess Skids. David Paulk asks if Trypticon is the next Titan Class figure. Rob doubts another Titan is coming soon and expects a Metroplex repaint first. For a new mold he guesses Omega Supreme, since good guys sell better.
Comic News with Aimee Morgan
Monstrosity #9 is out on comiXology, and the first print issue collects issues one through three. The IDW VIP tour at BotCon now includes Andrew Griffith, Alex Milne, John Barber and Mairghread Scott, among others. Amazon lists the $99 Covenant of Primus for December and Jim Sorenson’s The Art of Prime. September solicits include ReGeneration One #0, More Than Meets the Eye #21 and Robots in Disguise #21. Aimee will sell T-shirts at BotCon.
Comic Review: More Than Meets the Eye #18
The reviewers call it a middle-of-the-arc issue, with the Remain in Light story running through issue 21. They love Swerve and his bright, talking gun from Brainstorm. Skids turns out to learn anything quickly, and the Metrotitan graveyard page stands out. Some art feels crowded, with pencils and inks split this issue. Ratchet and Pharma’s scenes are creepy, and Ultra Magnus may get a new identity. Unlike ReGeneration One, they say, this book never feels like a waste of time.
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.