A full color image of Combiner Wars Computron leaks, and the Radio Free Cybertron crew finally sees a good-looking Scattershot torso. Takara Tomy reveals MP-31 Delta Magnus, its Masterpiece take on Diaclone Powered Convoy, and Brian wants it badly. BotCon 2016 adds Judd Nelson as a $129 VIP guest, and a new Hasbro trademark for Combiner Force sparks guesses. Chris finds G2 Menasor far better than he expected, while Masterpiece Hot Rod lands as just okay.
News
Botcon 2016 Books VIP Guest Judd Nelson – Voice of Hot Rod From Transformers: The Movie
Judd Nelson, the voice of Hot Rod, joins BotCon 2016 as a VIP guest for an extra $129. The package includes an in-person autograph, a professional 5×7 photo, a Hot Rod print, a pen and first seating at his panel. Brian calls it an accomplishment for the convention, but he doubts Transformers: The Movie means much to most fans in 2016. Don hopes paid packages never become the only way to meet guests. Others note the wall also gives guests crowd control. A $7 online processing fee irritates the crew more than the price. [Source: TFormers]
New Hasbro Trademark: Combiner Force?
Hasbro filed a trademark for the name Combiner Force. One host guesses it becomes this year’s box set brand, like Combiner Hunters. Another thinks the box sets could be rebranded midway as Combiner Wars winds down. Don points to the leaked Liokaiser art and the old UK Rescue Force repaints as other possibilities. [Source: TFormers]
MP-31 Revealed! Delta Magnus – Better Known As Diaclone Powered Convoy?
Takara Tomy revealed MP-31 Delta Magnus, better known as Diaclone Powered Convoy. Brian loves it and jokes about burning his third-party version in effigy. One host calls it his figure of the year already, while another bets on Masterpiece Shockwave. The crew explains the Delta Magnus name comes from a single panel of IDW’s More Than Meets the Eye. [Source: TFormers]
Legends LG21 Hardhead, LG22 Skullcruncher and LG23 Galvatron ship July 23, and MP-31 Delta Magnus follows on August 27. The Legends price rose to 4,000 yen because each figure includes a Titan Master vehicle. Galvatron is the crew’s favorite, though one host prefers the darker purple of the Hasbro version and plans to buy both. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers The Movie 1986 Complete Storyboard Collection Up For Auction
The Space Bridge, a UK fan group, is auctioning the complete storyboard collection from the 1986 movie at about $4,500. It is said to be the set used in production, with deleted scenes included. The crew expects a last-minute bidding climb and would love just to page through it. [Source: TFormers]
Combiner Wars Computron – First Color Image Of Full Combiner Leaked – And He Has Rocker Ankles
A full color image of Combiner Wars Computron leaked, and it changes the crew’s minds about the set. The Scattershot torso finally looks right, and the new feet add rocker ankles. Strafe is a remolded Air Raid, Lightspeed reuses the Streetwise mold, and a Cosmos-mold minicon makes seven Technobots. The crew dislikes how Nosecone’s deco clashes and wants to ask Hasbro why Voyager Scattershot came out first. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Adventure TAV39 Quillfire – Comparison With Unreleased RID Warrior Class Figure
Takara Tomy’s Transformers Adventure Quillfire was compared with the unreleased Robots in Disguise Warrior Class version. The crew calls the two a lateral move. One host likes how the Hasbro gray breaks up all the brown. [Source: TFormers]
IDW Comics Review – More Than Meets The Eye Issue 50 – The Dying of The Light
Chris reviewed More Than Meets the Eye #50 for TFormers and gave it three stars. Rob says he is close to done with the book because he has seen through the writer’s moves. Chris still hopes it turns around, and both agree The Transformers has been the stronger title. [Source: TFormers]
Third-Party News
Fansproject Function X Browning II Unofficial Highbrow New Photos
Fansproject’s Function X Browning II, an unofficial Highbrow, showed up in new photos. It has taken so long that Brian canceled his preorder. He says the Masterpiece line has taken over most of his interest. [Source: TFormers]
MakeToys MCB-03 Pandinus – Not Scorponok Robot, Scorpion and Temple Triple Changer Images
MakeToys’ Pandinus, a giant not-Scorponok, is finally up for preorder. The crew saw the mockup at TFcon and calls it massive. Don sees it as Scorponok 2.0, and the temple mode’s scorpion-leg archway wins people over. A Black Zarak version is also planned. [Source: TFormers]
Also on TFormers
Kia Builds Life Size Transformer For Car Show
Kia showed off a life-size transforming car at an auto show, and several listeners sent it in. [Source: TFormers]
MP-30 Ratchet In-Hand Images of Takara Tomy Transformers MasterPiece Figure
In-hand images of MP-30 Ratchet still do not flatter it. One host thinks it already looks better than Masterpiece Ironhide. [Source: TFormers]
This Week in History
In 1998, the Beast Wars episode “Code of Hero” premiered in the US during a Toonami week on Cartoon Network. Brian won an Airazor in that promotion by calling the line over and over before it officially opened. It was his first Beast Wars episode and his first Beast Wars figure. Neil Kaplan, the voice of Robots in Disguise Optimus Prime and Ro-Tor, was born in 1967.
What We Got This Week
Brian got Masterpiece Hot Rod and G2 Menasor. He finds Hot Rod okay but not exciting. The crew blames bad Takara photos for souring first impressions, and one host thinks the colors lean too magenta. John calls it as good as a Masterpiece Hot Rod can be. Brian bought his G2 Menasor on eBay.
Chris picked up G2 Menasor in person at Dorkside Toys before street date. He expected to hate it and loves it instead. He praises the cyan accessories, complex tampos and tighter tolerances. The painted accessories chip, and Blackjack still will not stay on the chest.
Matt also got G2 Menasor on eBay. He has been mixing the G2 Aerialbots onto his Skylynx.
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.