Power of the Primes leaks reveal the Abominus combining diagram plus new Elita-1, Inferno and Moonracer combiner figures. Comicbook.com’s first look at Cyberverse centers on an amnesiac Bumblebee and his best friend Windblade. Encore God Fire Convoy gets updated sound samples, and Movie Masterpiece Barricade comes into focus. Radio Free Cybertron opens its 19th year with big plans for National Podcast Post Month.
News
Leaked art shows Abominus in full, using the Silverbolt combiner engineering the crew expected, and marked for late 2018. It also shows Elita-1, built from Starscream, and Inferno, a repaint of Hot Spot. The crew is amazed Elita-1 is getting a mainline combiner figure. One host wishes Inferno had been a Fire Convoy homage under a new name. Another thinks Elita-1’s shoulders echo the way Sky Lynx’s torso transforms. The Prime Master chest armor makes every figure look a little heavy. [Source: TFormers]
Power of the Primes Leak: Inferno, Moonracer and Elita-1 Photos and Package Backs
Package-back photos show Moonracer, and Rob and Chris confirm the square on her back is a combiner port. The crew dislikes the chunk of quarter panel and tire on the outside of her legs but will still buy her. A figure marked with a four looks like Jazz, so the team may not be all female. The crew likes a mixed team built around a female centerpiece and notes Hasbro is running out of G1 female characters. [Source: TFormers]
First Look: Transformers Cyberverse Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Windblade
Comicbook.com revealed the Cyberverse premise: Bumblebee has lost his memory, and the backstory unfolds as he regains it. Windblade is his best friend. One host loves Optimus Prime’s almost Animated look, and another compares the head to Titans Return Orion Pax. One host, stressing it is pure speculation, says the setup could frame Bumblebee clip shows. One host recalls hearing the show will use 12-minute segments. [Source: TFormers]
Encore God Fire Convoy to Feature Updated Sounds, With Samples
TakaraTomy posted sound samples for the Encore God Fire Convoy set, which some retailers list for under $250. The crew finds them clear and far better than the original electronics. One host tweeted Neil Kaplan, hoping he could record new lines if Hasbro brings the set over. [Source: TFormers]
MPM-5 Movie Masterpiece Barricade: New, Clearer Images
New images show Movie Masterpiece Barricade based on the 2007 film, and it does not appear to include Frenzy. One host says his Human Alliance Barricade is good enough. Rumors point to a Masterpiece Ironhide and a Bumblebee based on next year’s Bumblebee movie. [Source: TFormers]
Titans Return Cartoon From Machinima Gets a Premiere Date
Machinima’s Titans Return series premieres November 14 on go90. [Source: TFormers]
G1 Design Sketch: Heartbreakingly Unproduced Classic Car Cowboy Robot
A Diaclone-era design sketch shows a cowboy robot that turns into a vintage car, likely a Rolls-Royce. The crew loves it and begs Maketoys or Iron Factory to make one. One host shows off a similar classic-car robot from another toy line that he had to buy from Italy. The crew wishes more Transformers used vintage cars. [Source: TFormers]
DX9 Gabriel: New Prototype Photo of the Financial-Ruin-Sized Not Omega Supreme
DX9 shows a new prototype photo of Gabriel, its unofficial Omega Supreme. The crew likes the lines but wants to see a further-along prototype, since Fans Toys’ version looks so nice. One host hopes DX9 offers a blue version so he does not duplicate a mold he already has. [Source: TFormers]
Darth Vader TIE Advanced Color Photos of the Star Wars Powered by Transformers Figure
Color photos show the new Darth Vader TIE Advanced, with a tiny Vader pilot and first-run stormtrooper figures. The crew agrees it is heavily reworked but still built on the 2005 toy’s frame. Most would only bite at around $30 shipped, not the Japanese retail price. [Source: TFormers]
Year 19 and National Podcast Post Month
This is the first episode of RFC’s 19th year. Brian recalls the early days, when other sites linked straight to RFC’s audio files and passed them off as their own. An RFC Extra mini-series about the last 18 years of Transformers is in the works. For National Podcast Post Month in November, the network plans new and returning shows. Family Versus returns, John agrees to a new Soundwave, and a Last Knight commentary is planned.
This Week in History
In 2005, IDW published Infiltration #0, the start of its first Transformers universe. One host bought the issues but never read them after Dreamwave. Others praise E.J. Su’s art and debate Simon Furman’s later work. In 2008, Big Lots recalled bootleg Legends toys under legal pressure from Hasbro. The crew notes Big Lots was selling the real Cybertron Legends figures right beside them.
What We Got This Week
Matt
Matt finally got Titans Return Leader Overlord, which arrived today. He also got TakaraTomy’s Legends Kup and Hot Rod in their Japanese colors. He declares himself done collecting Sharkticons after seeing @Dogcades’ far bigger army on Twitter.
Rob
After a long fight with DHL and Amazon Japan, Rob’s replacement TakaraTomy Legends Kup arrived. He finds it more like Kup than the Hasbro version and loves the Targetmaster. Paladin also sent him a Titans Return Leader Sixshot, and Rob hit the quality-control lottery on the knees.
Chris
Chris got Cogman through Diecast for about $30 all told, roughly what the all-but-canceled Takara version would have cost.
Diecast
Diecast’s big Taobao box held Fans Toys’ redo of its Masterpiece-style Slag, which he finds a bit too big but packed with option parts. He also got the Transformers Movie The Best Laserbeak, which he will keep boxed. He added the third clear knockoff of the Generation Toy combiner, Last Knight Leader Dragonstorm and the Dr. Wu hammer for Bumblebee.
Don
Don found Movie Masterpiece Bumblebee at Toys R Us for $44, down from $79.99, thanks to Donanomics and $20 in reward points. Both parts of his third-party Omega Supreme arrived at once. He paid for Part A and covered Part B with eBay Bucks, so the full set came to about $350.
Brian
Brian got The Last Knight Hot Rod through Walmart’s site-to-store shipping for $15, thanks to a tip on Twitter.
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.