Masterpiece MP-41 Dinobot goes up for preorder at $250, and the Radio Free Cybertron crew is stunned by the price. Machinima’s Titans Return trailer reveals a Trypticon who speaks with Starscream’s voice, and the animation still disappoints. New Power of the Primes stock photos show the Leader Class Optimus Prime and Rodimus Prime, plus a Grimlock missing a chest piece. Guest Jason Kirk runs the chat, and the show closes with a long round of listener feedback.
The Last Night Before Christmas Toy Drive
This year’s RFC toy drive takes Rob’s suggested name, the Last Night Before Christmas. Plenty of Last Knight wave 1 figures are still on shelves, so the crew asks listeners to buy some for Toys for Tots. Toys R Us is running buy two, get one free, and listeners can tweet drop-off photos with #LKBC.
This Week in History
In 2015, TakaraTomy released MP-25 Tracks, and the crew marvels that Masterpiece is already up to 41. In 1987, “The Rebirth, Part 1” premiered in the US. Don skipped it, assuming reruns, then caught Part 2 the next day with no warning that new episodes had started. [Source: TFWiki]
The Big Item
Beast Wars Masterpiece Dinobot To Be MP-41, But It’s Gonna Cost You
MP-41 Dinobot preorders list at about $250 in the US, $20 more than Masterpiece Megatron. Nobody on the crew has ordered it, and one host will wait for a knockoff. Don wants confirmation of the price first, and the crew floats an unconfirmed theory that it is a case price. Diecast finds the renders unimpressive. Another host hopes the mold leads to a Beast Wars Grimlock, while the crew notes Beast Wars molds offer few repaints. [Source: TFormers]
News
Machinima Titans Return Trailer Online Now: “This Is the Beginning of the End”
The trailer shows Metroplex battling a Trypticon who speaks in Starscream’s voice. The crew calls the CGI PlayStation 2 quality and worries the Starscream twist is a big spoiler. One host feels Machinima spent on celebrity voices instead of better animation or writing. The crew notes Peter Cullen has more free time now that the new Rescue Bots uses non-union actors. [Source: TFormers]
Power of the Primes Stock Images: Leader Class Optimus Prime, Rodimus Prime and More
New stock photos show Leader Class Optimus Prime and Rodimus Prime, plus Beachcomber, Slash and Windcharger. The crew explains the Evolution gimmick: the Orion Pax cab combines with the trailer to form Optimus Prime. One host dislikes the vehicle mode but is buying it for the robot modes. Another spots a smoke-gray chest piece on Voyager Grimlock’s dino mode that is missing in robot mode. A chat member says the convention display Grimlock lacked it too. [Source: TFormers]
Toys R Us Arcee Orders Ship After a Cancellation Scare
Some Toys R Us online orders for Headmaster Arcee got automated warnings that they would be canceled if not shipped in time. Shipping notices followed hours later, and at least two hosts have theirs on the way. One host expects the real trouble with the Grotusk release instead. [Source: not found]
Dr. Wu Reveals Two New Accessory Products: P-38 Asura and P-39 Home
Home is a mechanical display base with a posable clamp arm, which baffles Brian. Others explain the arm can hold slim figures in action poses. Asura is a Masterpiece accessory set with a sword, binoculars and a Reflector camera. [Source: TFormers]
All Aboard! Transformers Join the Happy Meal Holiday Express Train
A Robots in Disguise Bumblebee car joins December’s Happy Meal holiday train set. Brian finds it cute, though he admits it would have bored him as a kid. [Source: TFormers]
What’s on TFormers
HeroX Transformers Generations 2018 Book: New Comic Story Sample
Rob says the sample shows plenty of next year’s toys, including Slugslinger, Twin Twist and Hot Rod. [Source: TFormers]
Done Deal: Paramount and Hasbro Ink Five-Year Plan
Allspark Pictures will develop movies with Paramount for five years. Rob sees it ending in tears for everyone involved. [Source: TFormers]
2018 Movie Edition Line: Package Back Leak for Brawl and Megatron
Brawl and Megatron are numbered 12 and 13. Rob’s best guess is that numbering runs straight through each wave regardless of size class. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers: First Strike #1 IDW Comics Review
Rob says the one-shot reads better than the last one, with strong art from Priscilla Tramontano and colors by Joana Lafuente. He recommends it if you only buy one. [Source: TFormers]
New Toys R Us Listings Feature Movie Toys and Exclusives
New Toys R Us exclusives appear to include movie toys and possibly a Power of the Primes Thundercracker. Exvee also posted a Legends Triggerhappy gallery. [Source: TFormers]
RFC Reviews
Diecast reviewed Masterpiece Kup, which brings him one step closer to finishing the 1986 movie cast.
Listener Feedback
Phil Booth suggests bio pages for the RFC regulars, and Brian says the crew will work on it. Brent asks why there is no Masterpiece Jazz. The crew points to Porsche licensing and third-party options like Downbeat and J4ZZ. One host thinks Takara is saving the big figure for late in the G1 run.
Big Dave wants a Bobby Insecticon figure, which sparks a round of joke characters. Picks include Autobot X, Spike, the Transformers Animated human villains and a Devcon with Scales Lizardo. Others want G.B. Blackrock, Donny Finkleberg and Afterglow Rodimus. Kevin Dorsey cares that Fans Project is finishing its Dinobots, and Timmy Dodson got a Titans Return box set Optimus Prime with two left hands.
From the chat, the crew mostly sees normal quality control in box sets. For Power of the Primes leaders, one host wants Star Saber, and others suggest Ultra Magnus or Fire Convoy. After Power of the Primes, they want Euro and Japanese characters, Micromasters, new media and Transformers vs. G.I. Joe. Asked where Hasbro will be in five years, Brian expects 3D printing to reshape toys, and another host predicts downloadable blueprints.
What We Got This Week
Brian got Robots in Disguise Twinferno at Target for about $13. He loves the look and transformation despite fiddly legs. Legends Triggerhappy, Kickback and Brawn also arrived, still unopened.
Diecast opened a wave 3 Bumblebee and calls it a floppy mess, since the arm pops off to fit its blaster. He calls the new-mold Crosshairs great.
Don picked up the TF Nation Transformers Animated finale book and Dragon Storm for $26 after discounts. He also got the first two War in Pocket Bruticus pieces, Brawl and Swindle. His highlight is the oversized Voyager Megatron he got from Diecast at TFcon, plus a nearly free kit that fills its hollow jet mode.
Matt had nothing in Transformers this week.
Jason got Skullcruncher to go with his Alligator Prime from TFcon. He also got a third-party Doublecross and its matching Grotusk, which has both claw hands and upgrade parts for earlier figures.
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.