Hasbro’s San Diego Comic-Con 2014 exclusive, the Knights of Unicron set, debuts on Entertainment Tonight, and the crew is baffled by its rock-star hair and $185 price. Age of Extinction figures start shipping, with Rampage’s tiny head the hot topic. New BotCon 2014 test shots show Scorponok’s Headmaster partner, and Alpha Trion leads the Generations Volume 2 exclusive poll. Sentinel’s Convoy Pen, Toy World’s not-Goldbug and Fans Project’s stalled Headmasters round out the news. Rob Springer tackles a riddle of a listener question and shows off the Kre-O Character Encyclopedia.
News
SDCC 2014 Knights of Unicron Set Revealed
Entertainment Tonight revealed Hasbro’s San Diego Comic-Con 2014 exclusive, the Knights of Unicron set, priced at $185. The crew compares it to Van Halen, Poison and a Jem crossover. Nobody plans to buy it. One host gives the design team credit for originality but says it fits nowhere in a collection. Brian hopes a smaller, collector-focused exclusive will be revealed at BotCon. [Source: TFW2005]
What Else Could Turn Up at Comic-Con
The crew trades guesses for a second exclusive. Ideas include an Autobot-badged Megatron and the missing Generations Crosscut, which was produced but never hit shelves. Windblade, Arcee, Chromia and G-Axis are still expected in later Generations waves.
Age of Extinction Rampage, Barricade and Frenzy Ship
Rampage and Barricade with Frenzy are shipping. Rampage’s head is tiny, about the size of a pencil eraser, much like Punch-Counterpunch. One host says it does not bother him, since big robots often get small heads. Another is leaving Barricade in car mode to avoid lining up panels. Frenzy is an unpainted silver Arms Micron. [Source: not found]
The Kre-O Grimlock Unleashed set builds a G1 Grimlock and includes Kreons of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Galvatron and Lockdown. It is $25 at Toys R Us. One host says it may be the first Kre-O kit he keeps out on display. [Source: TFW2005]
Dinobots Greatest Hits DVD and a Target Two-Pack
A Dinobots Greatest Hits DVD with six G1 episodes is at Target, including War of the Dinobots and Heavy Metal War. Target also has a $29.99 two-pack of Dark of the Moon Voyager Grimlock and Deluxe Optimus Prime. [Source: not found]
BotCon 2014 Scorponok Test Shots
New test shots from the BotCon 2014 set show Scorponok’s Headmaster partner up close. Zarak looks good for a Spike remold. The crew asks why a new character was created instead of using an existing one. Devcon remains the must-buy of the set for one host. [Source: TFW2005]
Generations 2014 Volume 2 Exclusive Poll
Alpha Trion leads the poll to pick the next book exclusive, followed by Go Shooter, Silverbolt and a black Drift. The crew is not surprised, since Alpha Trion would never reach retail. None of the Omnibots made the top four. [Source: not found]
Sentinel’s transforming Convoy Pen gets new photos, with Scourge and an HLJ-exclusive Ultra Magnus to follow. It runs about $50 at Japanese retail. One host badly wants one. Another doubts it will be a comfortable pen, though Sentinel’s build quality is well regarded. [Source: TFW2005]
Goken Optimus Prime and Grimlock
Die-cast Optimus Prime and Grimlock figures stand about 18 centimeters tall and weigh nearly two pounds. They cost around $150 to $170. The crew thinks Grimlock looks far better than Optimus. [Source: TFW2005]
Toy World’s Not-Goldbug
Toy World shows new photos of its GW-05 Mini Cooper not-Goldbug. One host was worried after a long silence, since earlier releases went on clearance. Toy World is also juggling its own Headmaster series. [Source: not found]
Where Is Fans Project?
Fans Project has shown nothing new on its remaining Headmasters, Mindwipe and Skullcruncher, in months. The crew worries the company is overextended. Fans Project is due at TFCon, so news may come then. [Source: not found]
Shrapnel and Tailgate Hit US Retail
Shrapnel and Tailgate are showing up at Target. One host calls Shrapnel extremely nice, though the antennae are wobbly. He has posted a video review at Tformers.
Rise of the Dark Spark Release
Rise of the Dark Spark arrives around the week before Age of Extinction. The crew plans to review it. [Source: not found]
Q and A with Rob Springer
A listener known only as a series of numbers asks Rob if he is ready for Transformers. Rob guesses it means the new movie and says he expects a fun time, not the greatest film ever. He also shows off the Kre-O Character Encyclopedia and the Kre-O Grimlock Unleashed set.
RFC Announcements
The JD Church memorial episode arrives June 25, and Brian is still collecting favorite JD moments. The crew plans live coverage during the BotCon Hasbro panel and an Age of Extinction review the Friday it opens.
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.