Exvee hosts Radio Free Cybertron while Brian is away, and the first clear photo of Titan Class Devastator divides the fandom. Inventory listings confirm Combiner Wars Cyclonus as a Silverbolt retool, plus Optimus Maximus and a Decepticon Viper that looks like a Cobra Rattler. In-hand photos show how different Generations Motormaster is from Optimus Prime, and Leader Class Thundercracker arrives without Jetfire’s armor. Fun Publications retires the Classics Seeker mold, and the crew shares memories of Toy Fairs past.
News
First Clear Photo of Titan Class Devastator
A representative of an Italian toy retailer posted the photo from the Nuremberg Toy Fair on Facebook. It follows earlier shots taken through a window. Most of the crew loves the hand-painted prototype. One host dislikes the purple treads and the small Mixmaster cab. Another expects production colors to match the prototype, or lose detail. Don reminds fans that older collectors waited decades for a big Devastator, and the crew hopes Costco sells it for under $100. The crew wants G2 versions, and notes the arms seem to attach to Long Haul, leaving room for a third-party Prowl head. [Source: not found]
Inventory Listings Confirm Combiner Wars Cyclonus, Optimus Maximus and Viper
Listings confirm Cyclonus as a Combiner Wars Voyager. Art from the Transformers Battle Tactics game shows he is a Silverbolt retool. The white Optimus Prime torso from earlier art is Optimus Maximus, due in wave 4. Decepticon Viper is a Powerglide redeco that looks like a G.I. Joe Cobra Rattler, and the crew loves it. One host pushes back on fans who assume Cyclonus will be a lazy repaint, pointing to the Chromia and Sandstorm retools. Another works out how new torso parts on Silverbolt could match the game art. The crew pitches a BotCon Jetstorm redeco and Sweeps as limbs. [Source: not found]
In-Hand Photos of Generations Motormaster and Legends Blackjack
Photos show that Motormaster shares only the legs with Combiner Wars Optimus Prime, with over 90 percent of the upper body new. Legends Blackjack reportedly feels like a small Deluxe, with bicep swivels. However, it does not dock well onto Motormaster, because one socket is split between its leg halves. [Source: not found]
Official Images of Leader Class Thundercracker
Rob found the images. Thundercracker reuses the Jetfire mold without the backpack or chrome, at the same price. The crew hopes for more Seekers, released together so cases do not flood with one figure. [Source: not found]
Fun Publications Retires the Classics Seeker Mold
Fun Publications says it has no plans to use the Classics Seeker mold again after two final uses. Exvee notes several toolings of the mold exist. The crew is not sad to see it go. They point to the new Robots in Disguise Bumblebee mold as a flexible base for future Autobot cars. [Source: not found]
Robots in Disguise Inventory Lists Jazz, Sideswipe, Fracture and Windblade
Upcoming Warrior Class figures include Jazz, Sideswipe and Fracture, plus a Legion Class Windblade. The crew likes that Bumblebee leads the show instead of Optimus Prime, and that Steeljaw leads the Decepticons. They also enjoy an overseas Robots in Disguise commercial. [Source: not found]
Third-Party News
X-Transbots Arkose and Badcube War Dog
X-Transbots shows computer models of Arkose, a Masterpiece-style not-Beachcomber. The crew likes its balanced look but has heard mixed reports on the company’s plastic. Badcube’s War Dog, a not-Warpath, shows a perfect brick red in color test shots, with seams hidden along the tank’s panel lines. [Source: not found]
Around TFormers
Rob recaps TFormers’ review of More Than Meets the Eye #37, the tipping point of the Elegant Chaos story. The site also has photos of Age of Extinction Advanced Series Stinger, a Bumblebee recolor. Hisashi Yuki tweeted a boxed TakaraTomy Legends Arcee, again with open hands. Don has one on preorder and may keep it boxed.
Toy Fair Coverage and RFC Updates
Toy Fair 2015 is ten days away. RFC will stream from noon to about 5 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, February 14, and again on Sunday. Diecast has appointments with Hasbro, Mattel, Mezco, Bandai and, after eight months of work, LEGO. He also explains that RFC had to move to a new Google+ page linked to its YouTube channel.
This Week in History
In 1999, a Hasbro press release tied the 15th anniversary of Transformers to the launch of Animorphs. The crew defends the toys, noting the Beast Wars Mutants began as Animorphs designs. One host bought them on clearance for a dollar each. They also recall an alt.toys.transformers argument over Rachel turning into a male lion.
Toy Fair Memories
One host recalls Deathy, who claimed to talk his way into early Toy Fairs. He broke Transmetal 2 Megatron’s sample packaging one year and Beast Wars Mutant Soundwave the next. Robots in Disguise replaced a planned Beast Machines follow-up on short notice. Hasbro reportedly bought Car Robots toys at a New York anime shop to fill the display. Don imported most of the first Car Robots wave, then found Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus at Walmart for less. The crew also remembers the 2013 Metroplex surprise, the Transformers Weebles that never came out and Power Core Combiners. One host quotes Aaron Archer at ShardCon: by wave three a line is perfect, and then it is canceled. The crew calls Combiner Wars the exception, since its first wave is already excellent.
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.