BotCon 2015 reveals Oil Master with an all-new Pretender shell, but the convention brochure’s prices dominate the talk. Fun Publications also plans to enforce a dealer room ban on IP-infringing items. Windblade joins Robots in Disguise, and the fan-built combiner is named Victorion. Store listings point to 2016 Combiner Wars Combaticons, and DX9 turns its Invisible mold into Kokomo, a not-GoBots Crasher.
News
Windblade Joins Robots in Disguise
USA Today carried the announcement, alongside news that the fan-built combiner is Victorion, an all-female team. The crew backs the choice and is baffled by fans complaining about it. [Source: not found]
Robot Kingdom Opens Quickslinger and Brake-Neck Preorders
Robot Kingdom posted photos and preorders. Chris suggests waiting a few weeks for other stores. [Source: not found]
Store Listings Reveal 2016 Combiner Wars
Listings include Deluxe Combaticons Vortex, Brawl, Swindle and Blast Off, plus Autobot cars Wheeljack, Smokescreen and Trailbreaker. Legends include Stripes, Wreck-Gar and Rewind, and Buzzsaw is already in the first Legends wave. One host wonders whether a Combiner Wars Soundwave will follow. Don floats a Dinobot combiner, and another host says he would buy one. [Source: not found]
Robots in Disguise Adds Thunderhoof and Quillfire
Store listings show Warrior Class Thunderhoof and Quillfire. One host will get Thunderhoof and hopes for a bigger version. [Source: not found]
BotCon 2015 News
Oil Master Gets an All-New Pretender Shell
Oil Master, a canceled double Pretender, comes with a newly made shell, a Swerve-mold inner robot and a small partner. All three pieces count as Oil Master. One host wants to see a production sample, since only a hand-painted resin copy has been shown. One host now ranks Oil Master as his favorite in the set, ahead of Battletrap. [Source: not found]
Official Photos of The Boss
Official photos of the Megatron figure do not change anyone’s opinion of it. [Source: not found]
The BotCon Brochure Sparks Price Complaints
The Primus Package costs about $410, close to last year, but the Golden Ticket jumps to $400. The Frank Welker package adds $200 on top. BotCon also tweeted that fewer souvenir add-ons will be made this year, with minimums guaranteed only for pre-registrants and Golden Ticket holders. One host says the reasons he used to attend are fading as news moves to other shows and press releases. [Source: not found]
A General Optimus Prime Homage on the Roadbuster Mold
A leaked Roadbuster repaint appears to homage General Optimus Prime, an unreleased G2 Autoroller. The crew likes the deco and the nod to unreleased toys, though some would rather buy Cloud Roadbuster. [Source: not found]
Third-Party Ban Returns to the Dealer Room
The brochure bans third-party and IP-infringing items from the dealer room, as in 2012. Pete Sinclair says he pushed for the ‘IP infringing’ wording, which may spare upgrade parts. One host wants clearer guidance, and Don worries buyers will lose the chance to compare prices. [Source: not found]
Third-Party News
DX9 Kokomo Turns Invisible Into Crasher
DX9 improves its Invisible mold and turns it into Kokomo, a not-Crasher from GoBots. One host has preordered it. Don plans to get it and may go back for Invisible if reviews hold up. Diecast’s Invisible review is on the RFC YouTube channel. [Source: not found]
Iron Factory Legends-Scale Ultra Magnus
New images show the not-Ultra Magnus in Powered Convoy colors and another deco. It runs about $50, larger than other Legends-style figures. [Source: not found]
Terminus Hexatron Greatshot
Don will get the Greatshot version, since an original Greatshot costs far more. Most of the crew is done with the mold. [Source: not found]
Toy World Not-Dinobot Combiner Photos
The individual Dinobots look good, but the combined mode looks like a mess. One host suggests a third party combine the Dinobots into a giant monster instead. [Source: not found]
Perfect Effect Combiner Hands and Feet In Hand
The PC-01 and PC-02 sets look poor on Superion but suit Menasor and look great on Defensor. One host plans to buy purple and black sets, mostly for the ankle tilts. They cost about $30 each. [Source: not found]
Other Third-Party Notes
iGear is rumored to be finished, and FansToys will soon announce two more figures. [Source: not found]
Also on TFormers
Someone made an impressive stop-motion video with Masterpiece and third-party figures. Rob reviewed More Than Meets the Eye #40, and the site teases an announcement for Thursday at noon Eastern. [Source: TFormers]
This Week in History
On April 26, 2000, Beast Machines aired Endgame Part 2. Brian also marks three years since BotCon 2012, the last time the crew saw JD Church in person.
What We Got This Week
Chris
Listener Eddie Arregas is sending Chris a Legends Gears, after Hasbro Toy Shop once shipped him an empty box.
Don
Don’s AD-31 Optimus Prime arrived from The Chosen Prime. He calls it one of the prettiest Primes ever, with clean paint, and wishes Target’s Silver Knight Prime had used this mold.
Diecast
Diecast fixed his Bullsfire Airstrike with a replacement part after it broke on its first transformation. He reviewed Robots in Disguise One-Step Fixit and picked up the Happy Meal Bumblebee, which does not impress him.
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.