Exvee hosts while Brian drives to HasCon, and the crew sizes up Hasbro’s first fan convention days before it opens. Toys R Us weighs bankruptcy protection, and the crew debates what that could mean for collectors. Official Power of the Primes teasers, a Predaking mock-up and leaked package art all point toward big HasCon reveals. TakaraTomy lines up Legends Windblade with a Targetmaster and a G2 Megatron. Diecast shows off an LED Unicron head, and Exvee finally lands Micron Legend Tidal Wave.
News
Toys R Us Weighs Possible Bankruptcy Filing
Toys R Us is exploring its options, including bankruptcy protection, to deal with mounting debt before the holiday season. Don warns that bankruptcy covers many legal statuses and does not mean the stores will close. He points to Revco, which kept its stores open under reorganization for years. Others bring up Circuit City, which did not survive. Don worries about losing his small, well-staffed local store. One host fears the less profitable locations will close first, as happened with Kmart and Sears. The crew floats a buyout, perhaps by Amazon, which once powered the Toys R Us website. One host calls the bankruptcy headline clickbait and says it is too early to judge. The crew jokes that Donanomics may have sunk the chain. [Source: CNBC]
HasCon Countdown
With HasCon two and a half days away, the crew expects a smaller turnout than Hasbro wants. They hope the Groupon deal helped sales. They point to the timing, right after school starts and the week after Labor Day, as the biggest problem. Brian, Diecast and Eric are all headed to the show.
Power of the Primes Predaking Mock-Up and a New Megatron Figure
Hasbro’s official Power of the Primes teasers appear to show Dinobots and Hun-Gurrr, matching earlier leaks. Rodimus Prime’s full artwork is also out, and the crew likes it. A photo shows a non-transforming Predaking mock-up beside a figure based on Megatron’s new unified design, which may be Cyberverse. Jason points out that Hasbro mocked up Trypticon from Fortress Maximus parts, so a sculpted stand-in is believable. Don pitches a Jumbo Machinder-style Predaking as a convention exclusive. One host explains that Hasbro cannot acknowledge leaks, so its partial teasers are aimed at less informed fans. [Source: TFormers]
TakaraTomy Legends and Movie Releases for February and March 2018
TakaraTomy’s Movie The Best line adds Leader Jetfire at 10,000 yen and a refined Revenge of the Fallen Leader Optimus Prime at 15,000 yen. That works out to about $100 and $150. One host expects the Jetfire reissue to dent the original’s secondary-market price. Legends adds the Decepticon clones, Windblade with a Targetmaster the crew assumes is Fracas, and a G2 Megatron. The crew expects that Megatron to use the Voyager mold. One host dislikes Windblade’s proportions and does not want to buy it again, while Exvee pre-ordered it for the Targetmaster. Another host will drop his Megatron pre-order if it comes in purple instead of green. The crew hopes Hasbro’s coming collectors club tackles G2 redecos. [Source: TFormers]
Package Art Leak for Starscream, Grimlock and Bumblebee: Is This Cyberverse?
Leaked package art shows Starscream, Grimlock and Bumblebee, plus Optimus Prime and Megatron illustrations, in the designs from the My Busy Books art. A package back confirms this Grimlock is not from Power of the Primes. Rob now suspects these designs are Cyberverse, possibly sold simply as Transformers. He notes that related merchandise, like the go-karts HeyMickey found, carries no Cyberverse branding. The crew expects a mass-market line by the end of the year as Robots in Disguise winds down. One host theorizes Hasbro wants a single recognizable version of each character across its lines. Another notes the leak came from a Chinese site, so Voyager may only describe size. [Source: TFormers]
BAIT and Diadora Reveal Transformers Sneakers
BAIT is running a lottery for the chance to buy Diadora shoes themed to Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee and Soundwave. Each pair costs $230 and includes a small character figurine. The crew doubts their shoe sizes will be covered. [Source: Sneaker Freaker]
Bumblebee Movie Seeks Santa Cruz Beach Extras
The Bumblebee movie, filming under the name Brighton Falls, is casting beachy Santa Cruz locals as extras. The crew urges Diecast, who dreams of appearing in a Transformers movie, to head to California. [Source: TFormers]
Legends LG43 Dinosaurer vs. Titans Return Trypticon
A side-by-side comparison finds TakaraTomy’s Dinosaurer and Hasbro’s Titans Return Trypticon essentially identical. The stickers are the same, though the sheet is laid out differently. One sample’s hips were better on the Takara version, but the plastic colors match. The crew’s advice is not to bother importing. [Source: TFormers]
Soldier Story Unicron Lamps Stand for Final Inspection
Factory photos show rows of Soldier Story Unicron lamps during final quality checks. The crew marvels at how much money sits in one room. Don asks whether the Rodimus figure comes off, and the crew confirms it is removable. Rob notes the boxes are marked one of two, so the lamp ships in two parts. [Source: TFormers]
Ocular Max Omne Reconnaissance Is the Third Unofficial Masterpiece Cosmos
Mastermind Creations’ Ocular Max label shows test shots of PS-11 Omne Reconnaissance. It is the third Masterpiece-scale Cosmos after the Toyworld and X-Transbots versions. One host likes its lighter green but not its dark ring. Don prefers another version’s goofy, cheerful charm and better-placed blasters. A front panel swaps for a clear window that shows a tiny pilot inside. The crew agrees a few takes on one character is fine, up to a point. [Source: TFormers]
Remembering Samantha
Exvee opens the show with sad news. Samantha, a longtime friend of the Radio Free Cybertron family and a big contributor to the fandom, passed away from complications of a medical issue. The crew sends its best to her family and promises to remember her contributions.
Contest
Listeners can win Brian’s surplus Titans Return Legends Topspin, Skywarp and Cliffjumper. To enter, leave a review of the RFC Daily Transformers News Update on Amazon via tfradio.net/alexa.
This Week in History
In 2001, Robots in Disguise premiered in America with the episode “Battle Protocol!” Don recalls Neil Kaplan’s Optimus Prime and the dub’s punched-up humor, especially Sky-Byte. The series has no US DVD release, only a UK set with commentary from Chris McFeely. Exvee notes it was the first Japanese Transformers series dubbed to become the main line. He retells the story of Hasbro reps buying Car Robots toys off a New York shop’s shelf for the Toy Fair display. The crew then argues over whether Robots in Disguise Ultra Magnus is really that bad.
Dear RFC
Listener Winston Leggett asks by voicemail whether RFC sells T-shirts. Nothing is available yet, but the crew has a design and is talking to printers. Don suggests iron-on transfers of the best designs and a “Powered by Donanomics” slogan.
What We Got This Week
Don
Don got Fans Toys’ G2-colored Grinder for $150 shipped, thanks to an eBay coupon, on a figure that sells for about $215. He also earned $16 in eBay bonus bucks. He finds it solid and has no problem with the head, though he wishes the blue were a lighter powder blue. He plans to skip the other Dinobots unless he finds them cheap.
Matt
Matt got nothing this week.
Jason
Jason canceled his pre-order and bought Titans Return Blitzwing and Octone at Target. He found what looked like baby food on his Blitzwing, so he exchanged it for a clean one.
Eric
Eric picked up the Siege on Cybertron set before HasCon. He finds Tidal Wave a better fit for the mold than Broadside, with noticeably smoother parts.
Rob
Rob had nothing this week.
John DeLuna
John DeLuna had nothing in Transformers this week.
Exvee
Exvee finally got Micron Legend Tidal Wave, a figure he has wanted for about 15 years, at a great price from Jack at TFormers. He calls it the best deco of the mold. It was a $25 Ultra Class toy in 2003, and side by side with Overlord the crew agrees it would need to be a Leader today.
Diecast
Diecast picked up a free Mission to Cybertron glyph decoder card at Toys R Us. He also got the Toys R Us exclusive Optimus Prime, the Dark of the Moon Voyager mold with clear red plastic and a sword and shield. He added a third-party Springer and plans to get all six. He found the two clear Sweeps from the canceled Kmart three-pack sold separately, plus a small third-party Cyclonus. His highlight is an LED Unicron head that chomps when its head moves, which cost about $60 shipped. The crew wishes its eyes were green instead of red.
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.