Radio Free Cybertron turns 16 and gives away a copy of Transformers: Devastation for Xbox 360. New images of Takara’s MP-29 Masterpiece Shockwave show his gun mode, clear hands and light-up arm. Hasbro’s Titans Return Sentinel Prime press photos have the crew predicting an Astrotrain repaint. The Collectors’ Club’s BotCon 2016 Beast Wars combiner leaves most of the crew cold. Diecast opens a big third-party haul as everyone gets ready for TFCon Charlotte.
16th Anniversary Giveaway
Radio Free Cybertron’s first episode posted this week in 1999, so this is the 16th anniversary show. Brian gives away his unopened Xbox 360 copy of Transformers: Devastation, since he switched to the PC version. The winner is Justin Harris of Fresno, California.
TFCon Charlotte
TFCon Charlotte opens Friday, October 16, 2015, and most of the crew is going. John stays home with his new baby. Brian says he is mostly going to see people rather than shop. He also plans to skip BotCon 2016 for WrestleMania 32.
This Week in History
Brian notes that “Fight or Flee” and “Carnage in C-Minor” both premiered this week. He picks Radio Free Cybertron’s first posted episode from 1999 instead. The crew agrees that first episode is still rough listening.
News
Subscription Service 3.0 G2 Starscream Arrives
John was the first to get the Collectors’ Club subscription G2 Starscream, and his transforms with no issues. Matt’s arrived misassembled, which some other members have also reported. Brian calls it the first subscription figure he has really wanted. Don pitches a BotCon 2016 Waspinator on the same War for Cybertron jet mold. [Source: not found]
New Images of MP-29 Masterpiece Shockwave
Shockwave now carries the official MP-29 number. He comes with two clear hands and a gun attachment, and the arm should light up. The crew likes the legs and the extras that recreate cartoon animation errors. Several hosts now prefer it to Fans Toys’ Quakewave. Don will pass, since his G1 Shockwave holds up, but he is buying Masterpiece Hot Rod. [Source: not found]
Titans Return Sentinel Prime Press Photos
Sentinel Prime was shown at Hasbro’s press event the day after last week’s show. He is a Titan Master, and his feet have both train and space shuttle ends. The crew is sure an Astrotrain repaint is coming. The crew loves how toyetic the whole Titans Return line looks. A listener predicts Beast Wars will follow, while Don suggests a Micromasters-focused line. [Source: not found]
Machinima’s Combiner Wars Series
Chris worries when Machinima calls its new Transformers series “badass.” Brian says that tone only bothers him when a show claims to continue G1. Recaps of the New York Comic Con news are on last week’s RFC update. [Source: not found]
BotCon 2016 Beast Wars Combiner Includes the Tripredacus Council
The last three members of the Collectors’ Club’s Beast Wars combiner are the cartoon’s Tripredacus Council. All five figures get new head sculpts. The crew would rather have had Magnaboss or classic Beast Wars characters. One host guesses Hasbro only offered recent Combiner Wars molds. Another jokes the team should combine into a President of Evil. [Source: not found]
Third-Party News
X2 Toys Devastator Upgrade Video
A video shows Combiner Wars Devastator getting X2 Toys’ add-on parts. The crew is baffled that the kit keeps the original wrist plates while replacing nearly everything else. [Source: not found]
Fansproject Positum Rumored for TFCon
Fansproject’s Positum, an Optimus Prime homage whose name is an anagram, is rumored for TFCon. Brian and Diecast both hope to get one. Diecast admits he started the rumor himself. Matt plans to buy two. [Source: not found]
This Week on the Network
On RFC Mini-cast 32, John, Diecast and Matt review Transformers: Devastation. Chris hosted the RFC New York Comic Con update. Diecast posted RFC Reviews of Fans Toys’ Grenadier and Warbotron’s Laser Cannon. On TFormers, Rob shares a Motormaster hip-ratchet guide, a Masterpiece Tracks video review and a Devastation achievement guide.
What We Got This Week
Diecast got Generation Toy’s Scraper, the first of its unofficial Constructicons. He also got Fansproject’s Crocs, still unopened. Fans Toys’ Grenadier and Warbotron’s Laser Cannon, the center of its unofficial Computron, are reviewed on the RFC YouTube channel. He admits Hasbro’s deluxe Skullcruncher looks so good he might have skipped Crocs.
Rob finally got Battle Core Optimus Prime, the Optimus Maximus set. Its joints are stiffer than the first Voyager release, and the improved hip ratchets help in combined form. He calls Sunstreaker’s glossy yellow plastic atrocious. Combined, it looks like a Megazord a child got bored coloring. The silver paint on the hand-foot guns does not match the molded silver fingers.
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.