TakaraTomy’s mall-exclusive MP-11NR Masterpiece Ramjet leads a news week the crew spends recovering from TFCon Charlotte. Brian, Matt, Don, Rob Clay and Diecast open their con hauls, heavy on Fansproject. BotCon 2016’s Cicadacon, new MP-25 Tracks photos and Combiner Wars Combaticon stock shots keep the debate going. The club’s seventh subscription surprise, Nightracer, nods to her BotCon 1995 roots. The crew also mourns IDW’s all-ages Robots in Disguise comic, ending with issue 6.
News
Legends Blackarachnia Towers Over Slipstream and Nightbird
A TFormers photo from Twitter user TFormers90 showed the three new Legends figures: Slipstream, Blackarachnia and Nightbird. Blackarachnia, built on the Transformers Animated-era deluxe mold, stands head and shoulders above the other two. The crew said she looks almost Voyager-sized next to them. One host wants to compare deluxe figures over the years since the price point began. [Source: not found]
Hasbro Q3: Transformers Down, but Better Than Feared
Brian recapped Hasbro’s third-quarter earnings, first covered on episode 439 and a half. Transformers sales fell year over year against a movie year, but by less than Hasbro expected. Brian noted movie toys don’t sell like they used to. One host credited online sales, since Transformers aisle space keeps shrinking at local stores. [Source: Hasbro via SEC]
BotCon 2016 Reveals Predacon General Cicadacon
The latest Dawn of the Predacus reveal is Cicadacon, built on Combiner Wars Skydive. The crew first thought it had a new head, then realized the paint just makes it look different. They noted Tarantulas, Sea Clamp, Ramhorn and Ravage all get new heads. A Beast Wars combiner without beast modes leaves the crew cold. Diecast suggested Hasbro may only offer recent molds, but stressed that is speculation. The crew recalled Beast Wars’ real combiners: Magnaboss, Tripredacus and God Neptune. [Source: TFormers]
MP-11NR Masterpiece Ramjet Is a Mall Exclusive
TakaraTomy Mall will sell MP-11NR Masterpiece Ramjet, limited to 2,000 units. The crew put retail around $130 but expects about $200 imported, like Skywarp last year. Ramjet is a Conehead, which suggests the other two Coneheads will follow. The crew found the face a little off, but not enough to stop buying. [Source: TFormers]
MP-25 Masterpiece Tracks Photos Surface
New photos put MP-25 Masterpiece Tracks beside Alternators Tracks. Don finds it odd that the head shows plainly through the translucent windshield in car mode. The rest of the crew thinks the figure looks fantastic. [Source: TFW2005]
Robots in Disguise Mini-Con Battle Packs Revealed
Exvee’s TFormers story covers Mini-Con battle packs with Optimus Prime and Sideswipe. The photo suggests Optimus gets a sword Mini-Con. The crew loves the Optimus color scheme but wishes it were green. They referenced designer Rik Alvarez saying Optimus Prime should always be green. [Source: TFormers]
Combiner Wars Combaticons Stock Photos
New stock photos show the Combiner Wars Combaticons. The crew praised the heavily remolded Swindle, Brawl and Onslaught on the Hot Spot mold. Vortex looks like a recolored Alpha Bravo, and the crew regrets losing a space shuttle Blast Off. Don calls Bruticus his favorite American combiner and plans to double-dip on a Takara set. He’ll skip repaints in the “cheddar cheese” Ruination camo, though. [Source: TFW2005]
Club Subscription Surprise Is Nightracer
Subscription service figure three arrived as Krok, the only one left. The seventh surprise figure is Nightracer, originally from BotCon 1995 and the first official female Transformers toy. Raksha updated her original bio for this release, and her partner Shakar is an anagram of Raksha. The crew praised the paint and the nod to Raksha’s work. [Source: Seibertron]
Transformers: The Movie Vinyl for Black Friday
Legacy Recordings announced a limited two-disc Transformers: The Movie vinyl for the Record Store Day Black Friday event. Autobot and Decepticon symbols are etched into the discs. Brian owns the standard black release, not the blue one. The crew debated whether the etching affects playback and decided it likely sits outside the grooves. [Source: TFormers]
e-Hobby Deadlock Drift Repaint Up for Preorder
e-Hobby’s Deadlock is a black and purple repaint of the Drift mold. One host has already preordered it. Hobby Link Japan lists it for about $48, cheap for an e-Hobby exclusive. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Adventure Stepper Joins a VS Set
Transformers Adventure VS-04 includes Stepper, who looks good in vehicle mode. The crew isn’t a fan of the mold but likes seeing more Stepper and Artfire figures. They noted the Million Publishing Artfire could pair with it. The set is two Autobots, so the crew misses Takara’s Autobot-versus-Decepticon VS boxes. [Source: TFW2005]
IDW’s Robots in Disguise Comic Ends With Issue 6
IDW’s all-ages Robots in Disguise comic will end with issue 6. The crew called it a solid comic they would recommend to kids, unlike IDW’s main books. They wondered if the show will stop at two seasons, though a full second season is confirmed. The crew blamed the 6:30 a.m. time slot and Cartoon Network. They praised Combiner Wars going to Machinima instead. [Source: TFormers]
Badcube Sunsurge Comes With Chip Chase
Badcube’s Sunsurge Sunstreaker homage has an accessory pack with Fry, its Chip Chase, wheelchair included. The crew loves the wheelchair. Don joked that Chip should have become a Headmaster. One host said he’s preordering Sunsurge. [Source: TFormers]
This Week in History
Atlus released The Transformers for PlayStation 2 in Japan in 2003. The host who played it called it the worst Transformers game ever, except Mystery of Convoy. The crew believes it was a Japan-only release, though it is mostly in English. [Source: TFWiki]
What We Got This Week
Don
Fansproject Positum, Devil Star (the darker Evil Star repaint) and the first three figures of the Fansproject Dinoking homage. Brian reminded him he also bought the Visualizers. Don later remembered he picked up Alligaticon too, and he showed off a Beast Wars II God Neptune on camera.
Diecast
Positum, the Visualizers and the first three Dinoking figures, which he called too good a value to pass up. The cost and availability of the Dinoking shells still bother him. He also got Voodoo Robots’ Animus Stealth Mode, an Ironhide and Ratchet homage he has already reviewed. He thinks it’s the best Ironhide/Ratchet we’ll get, though $120 feels about $20 high. The tiny directional plugs were the only tricky part.
Matt
The Mastermind Creations Cynicus from Diecast and a Masterpiece Starscream that Don picked up for him. He bundled Dinoking one, two and three at a buy-two-get-one-free price. He added a Star Convoy reissue for about $90, a complete Action Master Starscream for about $20 and a BotCon Dirge.
Brian
Not much beyond the Visualizers, because they were so cheap, plus Alligaticon. He almost bought an Energon Tidal Wave, thinking it was the Micron Legend version he wanted.
Rob Clay
He’s still working through Combiner Wars Wave 4 and reviewed one of them on TFormers. He received the club’s final subscription figure, Krok, and says the colors make him much nicer than expected.
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.