A big week for new toys: MP-20 Wheeljack, Generations Windblade, Jhiaxus and Crosscut, and KFC’s Diaclone-colored Citizen Stack all land. The crew debates Hasbro’s renewed love of chrome as Leader Jetfire’s paint chips, and notes that Crosscut fixes Skids’ backward hips. KTC shows unofficial Overkill and Slugfest cassettes, and Unique Toys’ Blot impresses. Then the crew names the third-party toys they would buy again, and the ones they regret.
News
MP-20 Wheeljack Arrives
Diecast and Matt have Masterpiece Wheeljack, and both are happy with it. Exvee asks whether the engineering has improved over Sideswipe and Prowl. One owner notes the car underside hides the robot. Matt says the forearms have more plain flat surfaces than the Datsuns. One host says the paint is much better than the first Sideswipe’s. [Source: not found]
Hasbro Brings Back the Chrome
Leader Jetfire’s clear red paint is already chipping, though its chrome holds up. One host says Hasbro explained at Toy Fair that it believes fans want chrome. Nobody on the show has met those fans. The crew likes chrome used sparingly, such as on a grill or headlights. They agree the current team listens to fans more than ever, with combiners and a Headmaster Brainstorm as proof. [Source: not found]
Generations Crosscut Fixes Skids’ Hips
Skids shipped with its hip joints reversed, and many fans broke it trying to fix them. Crosscut’s legs move forward correctly straight out of the package. It is still hard to stand, just like Skids. [Source: not found]
Jhiaxus, Nightbeat and Out-of-Order Comics
Jhiaxus is a very bright safety orange, with an excellent head sculpt but strange paint choices. Exvee points out dark gray paint on gray plastic, and Nightbeat’s back window painted the same blue as the plastic. He also notes the Dark Cybertron comics packed with the figures run out of order. Jhiaxus is figure 18 with chapter 10, Windblade 19 with chapter 8, and Nightbeat 20 with chapter 9. His reviews of Windblade and Jhiaxus are up on TFormers. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Timelines Issue 9 Free From the Collectors’ Club
Issue 9 of the Club’s Timelines comic is a free PDF download, with interiors by Josh Burcham and a cover by Matt Frank. [Source: not found]
Better Photos of Subscription Service 3.0 G2 Starscream
The sixth Subscription Service 3.0 figure is G2 Starscream. One host finds it pretty but tame next to wilder G2 recolors such as the Constructicons and Sideswipe. The talk drifts to G2 Grimlock and the KB Toys orange Constructicons. [Source: not found]
Leader Jetfire Preorder Troubles
Toys R Us warned that Jetfire preorders could be canceled if not shipped by October 10, though it now shows him in stock. Amazon keeps changing its date. One host has Jetfire ordered from three places and none has shipped, though he could likely find one at Kmart. Don has switched his preorder to the chrome-free Takara version. [Source: not found]
Third-Party News
KTC Shows Unofficial Overkill and Slugfest
KTC’s next cassettes are Overkill and Slugfest, two of Brian’s favorites. They are shown beside the old Hasbro Toy Shop Deluxe Overkill. The dinosaur modes look stellar, though the cassette modes do not. Brian would consider them if they beat KTC’s Bad Bat. One host recalls the designs surfacing years ago before being shelved. [Source: not found]
Unique Toys Shows Troll, Its Not-Blot
Unique Toys’ Orden 0-01 Troll looks fantastic, with hands that hide in the monster arms. Two hosts would buy Blot alone if he were smaller, for old fandom reasons. One host is still trying to resist Warbotron’s Bruticus. [Source: not found]
Third-Party Hits and Regrets
Brian admits third-party toys are knockoffs, but some are the only way to get a character he loves. His favorite recent buy is Salmore, and a green and black version is coming. He would not buy the vintage-color Mania King again, and he might not buy Dice Stack or Smart Robin again. From iGear’s Mini Warriors, he loves Cogs and the Beachcomber, Hinch and Rager analogs, but calls Veer hideous.
Exvee wishes he had bought the Head Robots Brainstorm instead of Smart Robin, and would not pay for Impossible Toys’ Tetrajets. One host regrets Uranos even with its upgrade kit, and another would happily rebuy every Fans Project Function X figure. Don regrets Sonicron and Toy World’s Hardbone, though he loves the Toy World Throttlebots. Other favorites around the table include Scoria and the Master Shooter weapon add-ons. The crew also praises add-on makers, such as BMOG’s original designs and Shapeways kits, for supplementing toys instead of replacing them.
This Week in History
Twenty-nine years ago this week, the episode Traitor premiered in the US and cemented Cliffjumper’s characterization. Don remembers season two’s first run on his local Fox station. The crew calls it a decent episode but not a season two highlight. Instead they pick War Dawn, City of Steel and Child’s Play.
What We Got This Week
Brian opened Dice Stack, KFC’s Citizen Stack in Powered Convoy colors, and found it bigger than expected. He went to Toys R Us for Jetfire and left with a Prime Evolution two-pack. He opened Windblade and Jhiaxus on air.
Don picked up the Silver Knight Platinum Optimus Prime for the colors, with a free one-step Lockdown. He also got Sky-Byte with a Hasbro Toy Shop coupon. MP-20 Wheeljack arrived from HobbyLink Japan, and Mania King came the day before.
Diecast got MP-20 Wheeljack.
Matt got MP-20 Wheeljack.
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.