Chris hosts while Brian is away. The crew admires Unite Warriors Bruticus’s box art and the full feature set of its shuttle Blast Off. Figure King scans show Takara Tomy folding Titans Return into its Legends line with new cartoon-accurate heads. MP-29 Shockwave gets new official photos, and an unreleased G2 Sandstorm surfaces on a Chinese auction site. Plus Mastermind Creations’ Backdraft adds a third unofficial Masterpiece Inferno.
News
Transformers Unite Warriors UW07 Bruticus Box Art Image
The box art, stamped as a sample, is beautiful. Don, who owns every Bruticus, may sell his unopened Combiner Wars wave since he is getting this one. One host would like Hasbro to explain why it released a solo Scattershot months before the Computron box set. [Source: TFormers]
Unite Warriors Blast Off Shows Off All The Things It Can Do
New prototype photos confirm the tail fins can stay on the legs and the combiner fist can do a Hulk hand. Chris expects photos of the second, toy-style chest on its back soon. Because it transforms backward, the chest sticks out far, and the painted browns look a little off. One host jokes it would make a good Max Solarzord redeco. [Source: TFormers]
Titans Return: Figure King Scans Show TakaraTomy’s Plans For Headmaster Legends
Takara Tomy will fold Titans Return into its Legends line with new heads based on the Headmasters cartoon. Diecast will double dip, while another host prefers the more interesting Hasbro heads. Don notes Japanese Legends prices are nearing Hasbro’s, and that Takara Tomy might make an Arcee even without Hasbro plans. Hardhead may also get a second gun to match the animation. [Source: TFormers]
Masterpiece Shockwave MP-29 New Official Images
MP-29 Shockwave ships at the end of March and looks gorgeous. One host wonders if the purple is too lavender, and the crew blames tricky purple photography. After MP Ironhide surprised him, Don might buy Shockwave too. One host would love a Hasbro version in an Action Master-style deco. [Source: TFormers]
Unreleased G2 Sandstorm Figure Surfaces On Chinese Auction Site
An unreleased G2 Sandstorm appeared at auction. Matt shows its package art in the Transformers Legacy book by Jim Sorenson and Bill Forster. The crew says to enjoy finds like this, since there are only so many unreleased pieces left to discover. [Source: TFormers]
Combiner Wars Wreck-Gar New Official Product Photos
Wreck-Gar is an orange Groove with a Wreck-Gar head, and the photos look peachy. Chris found a way to attach the mold to Sky Reign. Since he ships in a Legends wave with reruns of three older figures, the crew expects him to be hard to find. [Source: TFormers]
New Robots In Disguise Legion Class Stock Photos Reveal Season 2 Spoiler?
Blizzard Strike Optimus reuses standard art, but Legion Ratchet gets new Transformers: Prime-style Ratchet art. Don hopes it means Ratchet joins season two, ideally still voiced by Jeffrey Combs. He is less impressed with his Legion Patrol Strongarm. [Source: TFormers]
Titans Return: New Leak Of Deluxe Brainstorm
A full-body color image of Deluxe Brainstorm leaked this week. [Source: TFormers]
Action Toys Ultimetal Ultra Magnus Revealed At C3 Show In Hong Kong
The figure bolts Ultra Magnus armor over Action Toys’ existing Optimus Prime, which the crew notes is not how Ultra Magnus works. Any white Optimus showing through the joints could throw off the colors. With Ultimetal Optimus around $800, nobody on the crew is buying. [Source: TFormers]
Kabaya Transformers Block Wars: Cyber Battalion Candy Toy Combiner
Kabaya’s candy toys turn the Cyber Battalion Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Starscream and Megatron into one strange combiner. One host says the combined mode reminds him of early non-Transformers combiners like the Zybots. [Source: TFormers]
Sparktoys Civil War Series ST01 War Within-Inspired Optimus Prime Color Images
One host thinks the color images are gorgeous. Another liked the gray prototype, but in color the Dreamwave proportions read more strongly to him. [Source: TFormers]
Mastermind Creations Ocular Max PS-03 Backdraft: Not Inferno
Backdraft is the third unofficial Masterpiece Inferno, and the crew thinks it looks great. One host likes that both hands swivel between fists and missiles with no extra parts. Don is torn between it and MakeToys’ Hellfire. The crew expects Takara Tomy to make an Inferno soon, since the mold could also become Grapple, Artfire and Hauler. [Source: TFormers]
This Week in History
In 1987, “The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1” premiered in the US. The crew jokes that Prime returned the very episode after Rodimus finally accepted leadership. Don was nearly 17 and wanted Prime back, though he had hoped Rodimus would keep leading on Cybertron.
Announcements
Rob Springer, Dusty Griffin and Brian present the Transformers panel at Joelanta in Atlanta on Saturday, March 12, at 2 p.m. The podcast review contest continues: reviews left before the contest count, and the Combiner Wars Onslaught winner is announced March 2. Jason calls in to thank the crew for its Toy Fair coverage.
What We Got This Week
Brian
Brian, away this week, picked up the Robots in Disguise Mini-Con Battle Pack Optimus Prime with Bludgeon, according to the show notes.
Don
Don’s pile of loot is waiting for FansToys’ Stomp before he ships it. He has Masterpiece Hot Rod coming from HLJ. After the crew’s praise, he is going back for Masterpiece Ironhide.
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.