Back from the first HasCon, Brian, Diecast and Eric Crownover recap Hasbro’s convention, from exclusive lines with shifting limits to the VIP tour and Hall of Fame dinner. The crew agrees it was a strong family event, not a BotCon replacement. Diecast and Eric interview Hasbro’s Ben Montano and John Warden about the HasCon Arcee, Power of the Primes and fan patience. Space Ape Games previews Volcanicus in Transformers: Earth Wars. The news brings Len Wein’s passing, a purple TakaraTomy G2 Megatron and Power of the Primes dates in Toys R Us computers.
HasCon 2017
Brian, Kim, Diecast and Eric Crownover attended the first HasCon in Providence. Friday was thin, and the Transformers panel was swapped with Marvel Legends at the last minute while the crew stood in the exclusives line. Staff gave three different purchase limits before settling on two per HasCon item and two per SDCC item. Arcee did not sell out, and the HasCon exclusives go up on Hasbro Toy Shop September 20. Saturday filled up, Magic: The Gathering drew the biggest crowds, and the dealer room on the top floor felt out of place.
The Transformers area had a Trypticon Titan Master play area, Last Knight props and a classic case. Brian loved the G2 Aerialbots display, minus Slingshot. Prototypes included unreleased Robots in Disguise items, the Prime Scraplets and a Blaster-style repaint of Dark of the Moon Soundwave. The VIP tour of Hasbro headquarters showed offices full of staff toy collections. The VIP dinner inducted Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Sue Blu into the Transformers Hall of Fame, and Peter Cullen spoiled Sue Blu’s induction earlier that day. Hasbro then revealed Optimus Primal, Moonracer and Abominus pieces, followed by a Stan Bush set.
Space Ape Games told the Earth Wars panel it pitched a Dinobot combiner called Dinoking, and Hasbro answered with its own Volcanicus design. A Sunday product panel teased Predaking. Overproduced swag meant staff were pushing Magic decks and designer art cards on the last day. The crew’s verdict: HasCon nailed the family audience, but it is not a BotCon replacement.
Interview: Ben Montano and John Warden
Diecast and Eric talk with Hasbro’s Ben Montano and lead designer John Warden. Arcee reuses parts of the Blur mold with new shoulders and an IDW-inspired car front. A TakaraTomy designer hand-picked her colors, and the Titan Master Leonad nods to the Rebirth episode. They say timing a character to an anniversary or event is a big part of planning. The Voyager and Leader foil labels honor G1 and add detail paint cannot easily do. Ben expects Last Knight waves 2 and 3, including deluxe Cogman, to reach shelves. On Deathsaurus, they note he did well in the fan vote and could come later.
Interview: Space Ape Games
Pablo, Space Ape’s social media manager, previews Volcanicus and Predaking in Transformers: Earth Wars. A free Volcanicus demo level goes to all players around September 21, and players with three-star Dinobots or Predacons can unlock the combiners. He says Shockwave and Megatron are tanks for gameplay reasons, since a gun cannot act alone. Space Ape has plans for years, including more combiners and triple changers.
News
Power of the Primes Art Assets Leaked Featuring Character Images and ‘Secret Messages’
Rob says the Weibo leak matches artwork shown at HasCon. Exvee translated the glyph messages for TFormers, and they are generic slogans. [Source: TFormers]
HasCon 2017: New Transformers Products Display Hi-Res Images
New at HasCon were Volcanicus, the Dinobots, Optimus Primal, Cloudburst, a clear look at the deluxe Hot Rod and the new Dinobot Slash. Volcanicus uses dedicated feet on the Voyagers and hands on the deluxes, and each limb can mount a Prime Master. The crew dismisses fan claims that Slash copied a 15-year-old fan model. The display also showed Enigma of Combination pieces with the Voyagers. One host notes Hasbro shared no collectors club news, and Ben Montano gave no straight answer on a wider Arcee release. [Source: TFormers]
Power of the Primes and More Listed in Toys R Us Computers
The do-not-sell-before date is December 1 for everything except the Leaders, which follow in January 2018. [Source: TFormers]
Comics Writer and Editor and Transformers Scriptwriter Len Wein Passes Away at Age 69
Len Wein co-created Wolverine and shaped the modern X-Men. One host notes Mark Evanier wrote that Wein had been ill on and off for years. For Transformers he wrote several episodes, and that host’s favorite is Webworld. The crew notes he also wrote the Beast Machines episode that introduced Savage Noble. [Source: TFormers]
Legends Series Windblade, Clonetrons and G2 Megatron Complete TakaraTomy Stock Photos
TakaraTomy’s G2 Megatron is purple, not green, and comes with the Titan Master Savage Noble. One host is disappointed, though Nightsword points out a green Megatron would be confused with Megastorm. Some of the crew keep their preorders, while another says TakaraTomy saved him $60. Windblade’s Targetmaster looks like Pinpointer without Crosshairs, which may hint at a future release. [Source: TFormers]
TakaraTomy Movie The Best Lineup for February and March 2018
Rob says the line reissues movie figures with new decos and accessories. His favorite is Last Knight Hound with a bed cover that doubles as a shield. Last Knight Megatron gets his red face stripe, and Nemesis Prime uses the Leader Calibur Optimus mold. One host wants that Nemesis Prime even though it is the Leader mold. [Source: TFormers]
Machinima Titans Return Poster and Preview Images
The Trypticon poster shown at HasCon now has an official graphic, with Optimus Prime and Megatron in the foreground. [Source: TFormers]
The Last Knight: New Transformers Designer Desk Video for Premier Leader Class Megatron
Rob calls it a decent look at a nice toy, with amusing outtakes of John Warden at the end. [Source: TFormers]
HasCon 2017: Transformers G1 Monopoly Deluxe Collector’s Edition Board Game
One host says the set will launch at $300, not $500, though the price may rise as it sells through. [Source: TFormers]
Live Mailbag
Listener Jared Hebert asks what retools and redecos the crew wants in Power of the Primes. Answers include G2 Dinobots and TakaraTomy’s Blast Off as a deluxe. Chat suggests a Leader Ultra Magnus from Optimus Prime and Leozack from Voyager Starscream. Don wants G2 Beachcomber, a US release of Buster and Hydra, and a Shattered Glass Rodimus. Rob would take new Datsuns from the Jazz mold.
This Week in History
In 2000, the Car Robots episode Enter! God Magnus premiered in Japan, a very different take on the Ultra Magnus archetype. In 2016, Shout! Factory released The Transformers: The Movie on Blu-ray in Region 1.
Movie Bob: Really That Good
Don recommends Bob Chipman’s Really That Good episode on The Transformers: The Movie. He likes that it is a fair critical analysis from outside the fandom. Chipman opens by saying it is not a very good movie, then explains why it became more than a commercial.
RFC on Alexa Contest
Brian reads two winning Amazon reviews. A Gearhead wins Titans Return Topspin and Legends figures, and a second reviewer wins a pack of HasCon swag.
What’s on TFormers
Rob revisited TFormers’ four HasCon wishlist items and found only one and a half answered, with no collectors club or Cyberverse news. He also posted What We Know Take II, a post-HasCon Power of the Primes breakdown by size class, and asks for corrections at @FigureReviewers.
What We Got This Week
Diecast
Diecast got a more G1-accurate replacement head for his Fans Toys FT-08 Grimlock and DX9’s Richthofen. Richthofen has some over-tight joints and a hard-to-open chest door, but he likes it a lot. At HasCon he got the Headmaster Arcee and the SDCC Primitive Prime.
Brian
Diecast brought Brian a magnetic bug combiner and, as a joke, a Transformers Armada car sticker that Brian plans to put on proudly. Anthony Brucali got him Octane and Blitzwing. From HasCon he has Arcee, and Diecast snagged him a Primitive Prime before it sold out.
Rob
Rob got Titans Return Breakaway and Legends Seaspray from an anonymous Amazon wishlist gift. He plans to put the Titan Master on a 2007 Breakaway, and he finds Seaspray a solid little figure.
Don
Don got the US 10th anniversary 2007 Optimus Prime in a scratch-and-dent box for $65. With an Amazon coupon, he also got a Japanese movie Optimus Prime he calls Caliber Optimus, whose redone trailer becomes a shield.
Eric
Eric got the Headmaster Arcee and Primitive Prime, which he praises for its sharp paint. Last Knight Steelbane disappointed him because it falls apart. He loves the portable battery Optimus Prime, even though its head splits in half to transform.
Matt
Matt had nothing Transformers related this week, since he is saving for TFcon.
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.