Toy World announces yet another unofficial Devastator, and the crew spends the back half of the show debating third-party overload, Masterpiece scale and stolen intellectual property. A first look at Combiner Wars Ultra Prime’s Autobot car limbs is a letdown for one host who wanted a Masquerade-style team. Subscription Service 4.0 orders open while Combiner Wars fatigue sets in. Transformers Legends Ultra Magnus shows off a sharp deco and a tiny Alpha Trion. James Roberts and Corin Howell join the TFCon Charlotte guest list.
This Week in History
In 1986, The Transformers: The Movie opens in US theaters. Don saw it at 16 and recalls being stunned as Ironhide, Prowl and Optimus Prime fell one after another. Coming off a cartoon where nobody died, he says he could not process it until he left the theater. One host sobbed over Prime’s death as a child, then watched a VHS copy every day for a summer as a teen. In 1989, the movie reaches theaters in Japan. The crew puzzles over how it fits a Japanese continuity that had already run through 2010 and into Headmasters.
News
Subscription Service 4.0 Orders Begin
Orders for the Transformers Collectors’ Club Subscription Service 4.0 opened the day before recording. The set is a Combiner Wars team that includes Needlenose, Ruckus, Windsweeper and Spinister. One host admits he is slowly tiring of Combiner Wars repaints and wishes the releases were spread out. Others say the club is striking while the line is hot and the molds are easy to reuse. Most of the crew wants the set but leans against buying it. [Source: not found]
Transformers Legends Ultra Magnus Shows Off Its Deco
New photos show the Takara Tomy Legends Ultra Magnus deco, which one host calls far prettier than the Hasbro release. It comes with a tiny Alpha Trion, and the crew wants the character bio to explain why. Don is not attached enough to the character to buy it. The figure is due the following month. [Source: TFW2005]
First Look at Combiner Wars Ultra Prime With Autobot Car Limbs
Seeing the Autobot cars in limb mode is a letdown for one host, who had hoped for the Masquerade-style team he always wanted. The crew notes Mirage is the only Masquerade member in the set. They would rather have standalone updates of Prowl, Sunstreaker, Trailbreaker and Ironhide than more combiner repaints. Several hosts say they are retreating to Masterpiece and third-party figures for G1 characters. They want new molds beyond Sky Lynx and hope Titan Wars freshens things up. [Source: TFormers]
Kabaya Piranacon Gum Kit Ships
New photos show the Kabaya gum kit Piranacon, the Seacons combiner, which is now shipping. One host has his but has not had it shipped yet, and he plans to actually build this one. The crew calls the Kabaya Fortress Maximus the best of the kits. [Source: TFW2005]
James Roberts and Corin Howell Announced for TFCon Charlotte
Writer James Roberts and current Windblade artist Corin Howell are confirmed for TFCon Charlotte. Most of the crew will attend, though John, Rob and Chris will miss it. The crew hopes a strong 2015 show leads to a 2016 TFCon Charlotte alongside TFCon Chicago. One host keeps lobbying for Michael Bell as a guest. [Source: not found]
Toy World Announces an Unofficial Devastator
Toy World’s unofficial Devastator will stand an inch taller than Combiner Wars Devastator. The crew counts it as the fourth or fifth third-party Devastator, after TFC Toys Hercules, Make Toys Giant, DX9 Hulky and Generation Toys Gravity Builder. One host wishes third-party makers would coordinate instead of splitting a small market. Don says third party worked best when it filled holes, and a Devastator is already on store shelves. Diecast loves Giant but now wants a definitive Masterpiece-sized Devastator to match his Warbotron Bruticus. He leans toward the Generation Toys version. Don counters that scale is a recent obsession and a good-looking figure matters more. Matt calls all third-party figures stolen intellectual property, and the crew teases a Mini-cast on a third-party engineering dispute. [Source: TFW2005]
What We Got This Week
Brian
Brian got five boxes of vintage toys from a friend at work. The Transformers include a well-worn Sky Lynx, a complete-looking Jetfire, a nice Ramjet, Blaster and some combiner pieces. He also picked up the gold-hued recolor of Robots in Disguise Grimlock, Generations Tankor for eight dollars and the Kabaya Piranacon kit.
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.