Fun Publications confirms BotCon 2016 is its last, and the Radio Free Cybertron crew plans a BotCon retrospective. IDW’s Transformers vs. G.I. Joe will end with issue #13, a surprise to everyone. Chris breaks down how Unite Warriors Computron differs from the Hasbro version, mold by mold. MP-11NR Masterpiece Ramjet gets new images, and Kabaya’s candy-toy combiner unites Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron and Starscream.
News
Fun Publications Confirms the Last BotCon
The day after RFC 458 recorded, Fun Publications told club members that Hasbro will speak to the future of the Transformers club and convention. That makes BotCon 2016 officially the last one under Fun Pub. The crew feels for G.I. Joe fans, since the Joe Club has been their main source of new figures. One host cites Pete Sinclair on the Allspark saying the Joe Club has often had more members than the Transformers club. Gregg Berger is coming as a guest, while another guest had to back out for personal reasons. [Source: not found]
The club’s Only Human Arcee and Rodimus Prime figures will be sold individually carded, plus a later shared two-pack. Chris wants them but worries the standard card and bubble are not collector-friendly. The crew also reviews the Subscription Service 5.0 teasers, including an Oil Master-mold Optimus Prime and a Paradigmatic. Four Combiner Wars silhouettes are based on the Dead End mold but are not Dead End. The membership cutoff moved to Friday, March 18. [Source: TFormers]
Botcon 2016 Tripredacus Council Sample Images Featuring Close Looks At Final Head Sculpts
Final samples of the Tripredacus Council box set look more restrained than the mockups. Some hosts still find them too red. Brian is buying the set anyway because it is a combiner. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Vs. GI Joe To End With Issue #13
IDW’s Transformers vs. G.I. Joe ends with issue #13, two issues from now. The crew loves the book but says it has been writing itself into a corner. Tom Scioli draws, colors and letters it and co-writes it. Rob relays online speculation, retweeted by Scioli, that Hasbro is clearing the deck for a G.I. Joe relaunch. [Source: TFormers]
MP-11NR Masterpiece Ramjet – New Images Of The First Masterpiece Conehead
New Hasbro Asia photos of MP-11NR Masterpiece Ramjet suggest a wider release than the Takara Tomy Mall exclusive. One host already has it preordered. Matt dislikes the clear canopy in robot mode, and the crew wonders how the false cone head and big knee pads will look in hand. [Source: TFormers]
IDW Comics Review – Transformers: Deviations One-Shot
Rob reviewed the Deviations one-shot, which asks what if Optimus Prime survived the 1986 movie. He liked it a lot and says it reads like a classic What If issue. He also praises Priscilla Tramontano’s art. [Source: TFormers]
Is Unite Warriors Computron Significantly Different From Combiner Wars?
Chris compared the Unite Warriors Computron silhouette with the leaked Hasbro set. On the Takara Tomy version, Lightspeed uses the Wheeljack and Breakdown mold and Nosecone is a Rook remold. Strafe appears to be a Blast Off remold. Only Scattershot and Groove are shared, and even Scattershot gets a new head and rifle. Matt and Brian plan to own both Computrons, and Don praises Chris’s detective work. [Source: TFormers]
New Images Of Kabaya Block Wars Candy Toy Combiner Including Combined Form!
Kabaya’s Block Wars candy toy combiner merges Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron and Starscream. Brian loves the combined form, while Matt will buy zero of them. [Source: TFormers]
Third-Party News
Mastermind Creations’ Perfection Series RMX-01 Jaguar Premium Edition, a Masterpiece-style Ravage, transforms into a full-size cassette. It costs about $60, and early owners rave about it. Brian preordered one to display with Masterpiece Soundwave. [Source: TFormers]
Also on TFormers
IDW Comics Review – The Transformers Issue 51 – All Hail Optimus Part 2
Chris reviewed The Transformers #51, part two of All Hail Optimus. He calls the cover misleading and the issue weaker than the one before it. [Source: TFormers]
Robert Kirkman left the Transformers writers’ room after one day because he needed throat surgery. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Movie Concept Art From Dark of The Moon & Age of Extinction
New concept art surfaced from Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction. [Source: TFormers]
TFormers Video Review – Combiner Wars G2 Breakdown
Chris is midway through his G2 Menasor reviews, with Breakdown and Brake-Neck already posted. [Source: TFormers]
This Week in History
In 1999, Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Warriors’ Strongest Decisive Battle came out for Game Boy Color. John played it a lot and says it is great for a Transformers game. You can play as Lio Convoy, plus an original boxing kangaroo character. The crew calls it the best Transformers game until the Armada game.
Listener Question
Griffin Lowerman asked on YouTube why the 1986 movie has no 30th anniversary release. The crew notes Sony handled the 20th anniversary edition and Shout! Factory holds the series. They agree a special release should happen, maybe announced at San Diego Comic-Con. Don suggests a download code with toy purchases, like the old VHS mail-in offer he once used. The crew notes Hasbro is already releasing several Platinum Edition sets tied to the movie’s anniversary.
What We Got This Week
Diecast finally got his slow-shipped Masterpiece Hot Rod and says it is not as bad as he feared. After a week of peer pressure, he ordered G2 Menasor from Hasbro Toy Shop with Chris’s coupon code for about $80. He also bought a Brawl so he can film a fix video. He warns mint-in-box collectors that Hasbro Toy Shop boxes can arrive underpadded.
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.