Titans Return Arcee heads to Toys R Us on October 5 at $25, identical to the HasCon release. Transformers Authentics leaks show Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Starscream and Megatron, and the Last Knight Cogman case breakdown arrives as TakaraTomy delays its version. MakeToys cuts Galaxy Meteor to $99.99, and Imaginarium Art wants $1,200 for a Coronation Starscream statue. Chris unboxes 14 different home video releases of The Last Knight. The crew also gears up for TFcon and the show’s 18th anniversary.
News
Arcee Goes to Retail: Toys R Us Puts Up Page for Titans Return Arcee
Titans Return Arcee hits Toys R Us on October 5 for $25. It looks identical to the HasCon version, so Brian updated the anniversary contest wording. One host notes the deco is more premium than most deluxes, which fits the price. Toys R Us will also have its first New York Comic Con booth and sell Arcee there. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Authentics Bumblebee and Optimus Prime Photos, Now With Robot Mode in Package
More leaks from the TFCN Facebook group show the Authentics line in package. One host says it is the evergreen house styling, not the upcoming Cyberverse line. The leaks pointed to a $5 or $6 price point, and the crew guesses they run Legends to deluxe size. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Authentics Starscream and Megatron Official Photography Leaked
These look like a step up with more ball joints. One host likes the Megatron and Starscream if they are cheap. The crew debates whether a gap in Megatron’s leg is a photo masking error or needed for the tank mode. [Source: TFormers]
The Last Knight Premier Edition Cogman: The Legend Continues
The wave 4 case breakdown is in: two Cogman, one each of Barricade and Berserker, and reshipped Bumblebee, Crosshairs and Strafe. TakaraTomy’s Cogman is delayed with no new date, and the crew argues over what ‘indefinitely’ means. Brian tweets a #GetCogmanMade hashtag from the RFC account. [Source: TFormers]
Galaxy Meteor Lives! MakeToys Announces Price Drop on MTRM-10 Unofficial Cybertron Starscream
After a fan campaign, MakeToys dropped Galaxy Meteor to $99.99. One host plans to buy one as soon as he can spare $100, and another has always loved the Cybertron Starscream design. Friends who own it love it. The crew urges everyone who tweeted #GetMakeToysMade to follow through. Don notes the original price was likely set to recoup the mold before Thundercracker and Skywarp repaints. The talk turns to wished-for third-party Galaxy Force toys, like Vector Prime, Overload and Downshift. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers G1 Autobot Base and Cybertronian Carrier Base Designs
Concept art shows unmade playsets, including a mountain with the Ark inside. The crew compares it to M.A.S.K.’s Boulder Hill, and one host notes Visionaries playsets were in development at the same time. The crew wonders if Iron Factory or DX9 could make small-scale bases, or if a cardboard pop-up playset could work. [Source: TFormers]
Unproduced G1 Personal Organizer Transforms Your Journal Into an Autobot or Decepticon
One host calls the transforming journal his new favorite thing ever. The design looks like the G1 cassettes, and the crew pitches it as a future convention exclusive. [Source: TFormers]
The Golden Gun: MP-36 Megatron New Lucky Draw Masterpiece Release
One host respects lucky draw collectors for preserving little-known promotions, though gold chrome does little for him. Another’s only lucky draw goal was Black Fire Convoy, the easiest one, and it still took him years. Brian has been eyeing Micron Legend Shockwave but will not pay $180, and another host says the going rate is $60 to $80. [Source: TFormers]
Imaginarium Art Shows Off Coronation Starscream Statue in New Photo Shoot
The $1,200 statue captures one short scene from The Transformers: The Movie, with a throne Starscream never sat on. The crew cannot see paying that much. They invite statue collectors to write in and explain the appeal. [Source: TFormers]
Third-Party News
The crew finds it visually striking but unnecessary right after Titans Return Ginrai and Godbomber. The Godbomber parts have no robot mode, and the crew is unsure whether the price covers the full set. [Source: TFormers]
Iron Factory War Giant Attackers Set: Color Photos of Legends-Scale Unofficial Swindle and Brawl
The crew loves these Legends-scale Combaticons and the poseable Bruticus they form. Matt and another Combaticon fan hope for G2 or Battle Gaia repaints. One host would rather have this than any other third-party combiner because he has room for it. [Source: TFormers]
Unique Toys Unofficial Combaticon Project Not-Onslaught Color Sample Photos
The crew passes, calling the chest boxy and the look boring next to Iron Factory’s version. [Source: TFormers]
The Last Knight on Home Video
The Last Knight is out on home video, and the Target exclusive adds Combiner Wars and extra bonus content. Don praises the young actress Isabella in the opening. Rob says the Cybertron finale is a cheap rock quarry shoot and a dull action sequence. The crew plans a commentary track with Rob and possibly Triplett. Drift Samurai Master reports Last Knight One-Step wave 3 at Toys R Us in New York.
TFcon and the 18th Anniversary
Most of the crew will be at TFcon this weekend. Brian plans a viewing party there for the Headmasters episode Life Can Be Sacrificed for Peace on Earth, recorded for What’s Happened to the Headmasters. The show’s 18th anniversary episode is a few weeks away. One contest prize is a Titans Return Arcee autographed by Don.
This Week in History
In 1992, Headmasters episode 11, King of Shadows Scorponok, aired in Malaysia, a few episodes ahead of What’s Happened to the Headmasters. The BotCon customizing class item sparks a debate over the year, and the crew settles on 2010. Don and another host call Games of Deception and Dawn of Future’s Past the most loved Fun Publications BotCon sets. The crew guesses John paid four figures for his BotCon 2010 G2 Sideswipe.
This Week on TFormers
Rob reviewed ROM vs. Transformers: Shining Armor #3 and First Strike #4, and he praises Mairghread Scott’s writing on First Strike. Chris unboxed every Last Knight home video release, with a giveaway running through October 4. Rob wrote about six areas where Power of the Primes could improve on Combiner Wars. Chris also launched Why, Transformers? with Eric Crownover, asking why there are only two Titans Return box sets.
What We Got This Week
Brian
Brian had nothing in Transformers this week.
Diecast
Diecast had nothing in Transformers this week, just supplies for TFcon.
Matt
Matt’s pickup this week was not Transformers.
Don
Don got his Titans Return Arcee from Hasbro Toy Shop. He plans to display the box opened flat on the wall.
Rob
Rob had nothing in Transformers this week; he got The Last Knight the week before.
Chris
Paramount sent Chris 14 different home video releases of The Last Knight. They include retail, Target and Best Buy steelbook editions, five-movie sets and two Walmart exclusives, one with die-cast vehicles and one with a cardboard viewer. He has not watched the movie since seeing it in theaters.