Philip Morris warns Big Bad Toy Store against selling Masterpiece Exhaust, whose deco echoes Marlboro packaging. The crew debates whether a collector toy can dodge tobacco advertising rules. A Walmart listing all but confirms Combiner Wars Protectobots with a Legends Groove. Masterpiece Ultra Magnus gets a limited release in Hong Kong and Australia. A Figure King interview reveals that Generations Arcee’s designer brought his custom to his Takara job interview. The Thanksgiving show closes with what each host is thankful for.
News
Philip Morris Targets Masterpiece Exhaust
Philip Morris sent Big Bad Toy Store a letter saying it cannot sell MP-23 Exhaust, whose red and white deco evokes Marlboro packaging. Other retailers kept selling it at first. TFSource put a black bar over the design, then pulled the listing, and another retailer photoshopped the red to purple. One host explains the letter cites laws against marketing tobacco imagery to children, since it is still a toy. Don argues few young buyers would connect the design to cigarettes, and the crew disagrees. [Source: not found]
Masterpiece Ultra Magnus Comes to Hong Kong and Australia
Hasbro will release Masterpiece Ultra Magnus in Hong Kong and Australia in limited numbers, for about AU$300, roughly US$256. It does not settle the crew’s bet on a US release. Diecast worries a reveal could come at Toy Fair or San Diego Comic-Con, and the crew calls Toy Fair a coin flip. [Source: not found]
Loyal Subjects Wave 3
The third wave of Loyal Subjects vinyl figures brings Constructicons, Dinobots, cassettes, cars and a Triple Changer. One host has lost interest and hates blind boxes, though he admits he still buys LEGO minifigures. [Source: not found]
Cloud Wave 3 Rodimus Ships
Takara Tomy’s Cloud Rodimus is shipping, with e-Hobby’s Shockwave on the same Springer mold. Don does not see the appeal. Another host argues that fans have needed a good G1-style Rodimus since the poor 2006 toy, and this robot mode fits the character. [Source: not found]
Figure King Interviews Hironori Kobayashi
Figure King issue 202 interviews Generations Arcee designer Hironori Kobayashi. Exvee says Kobayashi took his Arcee model to his Takara job interview before it appeared at BotCon Japan 1998. Kobayashi credits changes on Hasbro’s team for finally making female characters, and he would like to try a Headmaster version. Rob notes that Kiss Players artist Yuki Oshima did the body design. The interview also confirms more Masterpieces are in the works. [Source: Figure King]
Generations Brainstorm Sells Out at Hasbro Toy Shop
Brainstorm went up for preorder at Hasbro Toy Shop and sold out quickly, with shipping expected soon. [Source: not found]
Combiner Wars Protectobots in Walmart’s System
A Walmart listing all but confirms the Protectobots, with Groove as a Legends figure. A new Deluxe named Rook takes Alpha Bravo’s role, and Blades repaints the helicopter. The crew guesses the not-Wildrider mold becomes First Aid. The listing also includes a Legends Warpath, and the crew speculates about how Combaticons might be divided. [Source: not found]
Final Images of Invisible
Final product images of Invisible, the third-party not-Mirage, cool the crew’s interest. The crew sees upscaled Classics Mirage engineering and an odd waist. One host would rather wait for Takara Tomy to make a Masterpiece Mirage. [Source: not found]
Masterpiece Wish Lists
With MP-25 rumored as Megatron, the crew guesses what comes next. Ideas include Mirage, Inferno, Jazz and a smaller Seeker mold. One host expects molds with several repaint options. Most of the crew warns against Masterpiece Rodimus, which broke for many of them.
Comics Reviews at TFormers
TFormers reviews More Than Meets the Eye #35, Drift #1, Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #4 and Angry Birds Transformers #1. The crew calls Angry Birds Transformers a harmless all-ages comic set in an alternate G1 world, with fitting art from Livio Ramondelli. One host calls Drift’s first issue weak despite great art. The crew loves Transformers vs. G.I. Joe, which has reportedly been the best-selling Transformers comic every month it has come out. [Source: TFormers]
This Week in History
In 2000, Kid Rhino released Dinobot Island parts 1 and 2, The Desertion of the Dinobots parts 1 and 2 and S.O.S. Dinobots on VHS. The crew recalls when those releases felt huge. One host notes that Zobovor helped recreate missing episode title cards for the Rhino DVDs.
What We Are Thankful For
Diecast is thankful for third parties, which he believes pushed Hasbro toward Combiner Wars and could lead to a Masterpiece Devastator. Another host is less thankful for third parties than ever and calls the scene a family bush. Still, he agrees it shows Hasbro what fans want. Matt is thankful for IDW’s comics, the coming Combiner Wars toys and Don’s sense of humor. Rob praises IDW for taking chances, such as Sarah Stone on Windblade. Don is thankful for his cat Massey, the Generations line and finally getting Arcee. He also thanks his podcaster friends and the chat. Brian is thankful to have met everyone on the show in person, most of them many times.
RFC Announcements
The Audio Knights Theater’s More Than Meets the Eye #4 is up, with Chris McFeely back as Megatron and Ravage. Anthony Brucali’s TFU.info has a help page listing toys it still needs photos of. Don asks shoppers to be patient with retail workers over the holiday, and Brian pushes Toys for Tots again. The year-end show will cover the last two weeks of December, so episode 400 lands in January. Superhero Time turns five in January.
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.