Don and Aimee report back from BotCon 2013, where the toy news impressed but word on the next show never came. Hasbro told Don after the panel that fans asking for Arcee should give it a year and a half. Toys R Us sets a date for Masterpiece Soundwave and Acid Storm, and Platinum Edition Predaking is up for preorder. The club’s 2014 membership figure is Rampage, and Aimee brings the Dark Cybertron news from BotCon.
News
BotCon 2013 Reactions
Don and Aimee attended, and Aimee nearly missed the Hasbro panel while in Artist Alley. The crew says the toy news was strong, but there was no brand panel and no word on the next show. One host thinks BotCon is now about the toys, while San Diego Comic-Con gets the media news. Exvee is thrilled with Skids after wanting one since 2008. One host is pleased with Swerve and Cosmos and glad he skipped iGear’s Cosmos homage. Don is looking forward to G2 Dreadwing, Skids and Rhinox. [Source: not found]
Metroplex at BotCon
Big Bad Toy Store overnighted Metroplexes from China and sold them at the show for about $150, against $109 preorders. The crew describes a wall of Metroplex boxes in the dealer room. Neither Don nor Aimee bought one, for lack of space. Once one host learned the Comic-Con version’s minifigures are just decoys, he settled on the $110 retail release due August 1. [Source: not found]
Deluxe Abominus Unlikely From Upscaled Cyberverse Molds
Don asked a Hasbro representative whether the upscaled Deluxes mean a Deluxe Abominus. The answer was no comment. The crew notes the combiner pegs on these figures are just surface detail. Later, one host cites a Hasbro interview saying the upscales are a stopgap before scratch-built simplified toys. [Source: not found]
Double Dealer Guessed by a Fan From Singapore
Don’s roommate, from Singapore, was first to guess Double Dealer during the panel’s hint game. Don loves the concept and the nod to the Powermasters. [Source: not found]
Platinum Edition Predaking Up for Preorder
Takara’s second Predaking reissue comes to Asia as a Platinum Edition at about $120. Don would jump at it, and the crew notes the Hasbro reissue arrives on top of three third-party Predakings. They doubt those third-party projects can be canceled this late. [Source: not found]
Kre-O Looks Past Its Peak
Kre-O at BotCon was mostly Construct-Bots, and one host thinks Kre-O has peaked. Stunticon sets are already at Ross for $9.99, and Bot Shots appear to be done. [Source: not found]
Asia Reissues Masterpiece Grimlock
Asia is getting a Masterpiece Grimlock reissue in a new box, which John DeLuna says looks like a Mastermind Creations box. BotCon dealers wanted $200 to $350 for the original, so the crew expects about $100 to $150. [Source: not found]
Masterpiece Soundwave and Acid Storm Coming to Toys R Us
Toys R Us will open preorders for Masterpiece Soundwave at $120 and Acid Storm at $85. The new packaging changes direction for the Masterpiece line. The crew calls Soundwave with its cassettes a deal compared to import prices. They expect a feeding frenzy when the page goes live. [Source: not found]
San Diego Comic-Con Metroplex Box Art
One host says the Metroplex box art looks Dreamwave-style, with awkward Pat Lee-like angles. Others still like it. [Source: not found]
Platinum Grimlock and Bruticus Two-Pack
A Platinum set repeats the Comic-Con Bruticus colors with Fall of Cybertron Grimlock. Don dislikes this Grimlock, but the crew credits Hasbro for following through on its promise to rerelease those colors. Fall of Cybertron Blaster is scarce, packed one per case, and a refresh case is coming. [Source: not found]
Transformers 4 Shows a Concept Camaro
A 2014 concept Camaro has turned up for Transformers 4. One host worries the movies are repeating the same cycle and wishes for an older Camaro. The crew dismisses Motormaster rumors and wonders whether two Optimus trucks mean an upgraded Prime. [Source: not found]
Club Reveals Rampage and Transmutate
Depth Charge has arrived for club members. The 2014 membership figure is Rampage, from the First Edition Prime Megatron mold, which the crew calls a great fit. Transmutate, a club exclusive, gets called a terrible idea. JD jokes Silverbolt will come from the Blitzwing mold. [Source: not found]
Third Party Sold Openly at BotCon
Don says third-party toys were sold openly at BotCon despite dealer contracts against it. Hexatron sold well at $150 to $165, alongside Hearts of Steel Seekers and Tetrajet Seekers. One theory he heard is that the ban was driven by Aaron Archer, who has left Hasbro. [Source: not found]
Hasbro on Arcee and Female Characters
After the panel, Don asked why this year could not finally bring a Generations Arcee. He says Hasbro answered, give us a year and you will be surprised, a year and a half and you will be ecstatic. Aimee says Mairghread Scott rallied female fans at the Hasbro booth. The fan-vote figure will be revealed at Comic-Con, and it is a jet. Don thinks Headmasters could return now that Aaron Archer is gone. [Source: not found]
Q&A with Rob Springer
James McCully asks why Generations distribution is so poor in Spain and Europe. Rob says stores order what sells locally, and Hasbro distributes where demand is. He recalls buying Energon Ultra Magnus from Australia because it never reached Georgia. His advice is to order online when local stores fall short.
Comic News with Aimee Morgan
Robots in Disguise #19 is out, along with Monstrosity #10 digitally. John Barber and James Roberts will write Dark Cybertron, which runs through Robots in Disguise and More Than Meets the Eye. A teaser shows Ultra Magnus’s empty helmet, with the event starting in the fall. Other books include Jim Sorenson’s 30th anniversary collection, Covenant of Primus by Justina Robson and Matthew Reinhart’s pop-up book. Alex Irvine’s Exodus and Exiles get a third novel, Retribution, by David and Mark Williams.
Comic Review: Robots in Disguise #19
The reviewers love the painted art, especially the backgrounds of Gorlam Prime. The story is thinner, a Waspinator spotlight in which Waspinator barely appears. Orion Pax’s team mainly fetches a Metrotitan for the larger plot. Orion dismissing Hardhead’s discovery feels out of character to them. Wheelie’s rhyming dialogue wears thin, and the whole Dark Cybertron event will be packed with toys.
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.