A Russian Transformers page reveals Power of the Primes Nemesis Prime, complete with Armada-style accessories. The Encore God Fire Convoy reissue looks great but costs a lot, and Legends Greatshot and Grand Maximus surface in hand. Studio Series Leaders hit US shelves early, so the crew now thinks the street date was April 2. Plus TFC’s Rolling Thunder Optimus Prime, Fans Toys’ Mindwipe and Skullcruncher, and BotCon 2016 memories.
Draw Your Favorite Furmanism
Don’s challenge from last week asks artists to illustrate Simon Furman’s signature phrases. Rob suggested an art exhibit, and Don took it further to an art book of artists interpreting lines like “a vast predatory bird.” The first submission, a predatory bird, arrives during the stream. Don asks artists to tweet their work to TF Radio and tag him.
This Week in History
BotCon 2016, the last BotCon, opened two years ago this week. The crew compares its dealer room with the St. Charles show the year before and remembers a final Stan Bush concert and first meetings with friends, including Eric. At one panel, attendees stood for every BotCon they had attended, and Don had to sit down at 19 years because he missed 1997. John and Karl still saved him the Packrat and Fractal two-pack that year. Don calls the 1994 and 1995 BotCons the foundation of his collecting, when Japanese toys like Victory Leo sold for under $100 in the dealer room.
In 2000, the first episode of Car Robots premiered in Japan, debuting Fire Convoy. One host recalls that Hasbro’s Toy Fair 2001 display reportedly used store-bought Car Robots toys because the switch to Robots in Disguise came so late. Don says TFYLP, his other podcast, covered the cancelled Transtech line in an interview with Aaron Archer. One host adds that Archer told a BotCon 2016 panel that Beast Machines prototypes, including a Megabolt head playset, may still sit in TakaraTomy’s archives.
News
Revealed: Power of the Primes Nemesis Prime Coming Soon?
Images from an official Russian Transformers social media page show a Power of the Primes Nemesis Prime. It reuses the alternate head Hasbro made for Combiner Wars Optimus Prime, which became the Collectors Club’s Toxitron. Armada-style accessories, including a dark Star Saber, convince the crew it is not a fake. Eric wants one, and the crew guesses it could be an exclusive. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Encore Car Robots God Fire Convoy Out-of-Box Photos
Don likes the reissue’s brighter, more animation-accurate paint, but calls the price prohibitive for first-time buyers. The crew spots plastic wheels where the original had rubber tires. One host has heard reports of stress marks and breakage, and another explains that today’s plastics and tolerances may not suit such an overengineered design. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Legends LG-EX Greatshot In-Hand Photos
Don calls Greatshot pretty and an affordable way to own the Victory character. One host notes Terminus Hexatron costs about the same, though another dislikes that mold. Brian preordered from Big Bad Toy Store and has not been charged yet, since the figures only shipped in Japan around March 30. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Legends Grand Maximus Pack-In Comic First Look
One host relays a Twitter translation saying the Greatshot comic makes him Sixshot in a new body. The crew likes Grand Maximus’s look but is disappointed by the Titans Return Fortress Maximus mold. One host would rather have a Toy World Fortress Maximus in Brave Maximus colors. [Source: TFormers]
Flame Toys Tarn: Official Images of the Latest Kuro Kara Kuri Figure
The new photos look beautiful, but Tarn costs $370. The crew discusses the unmasked face and Tarn’s IDW identity. One host thinks it is fine for the IDW continuity to end, since Transformers has never had one consistent canon, and he trusts IDW to do good work next. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Movie Studio Series Leader Class in Stores in the US
Don found Studio Series Blackout at Target for $44.99. A leaked Toys R Us date suggested April 20, but Hasbro Toy Shop listed the whole range on Monday, so the crew now thinks the street date was April 2. Diecast thanks Ginfu Young for the tip that the figures were up on Amazon. [Source: TFormers]
DX9 Toys X34B Plissken, a Nemesis Version of Dutch
One host plans to buy the Nemesis version of DX9’s Legends-size Optimus Prime. A transformation demo shows it is simpler than the crew guessed last week but still does interesting things. [Source: TFormers]
Fans Toys FT-23 Dracula, an Unofficial Masterpiece-Scale Mindwipe
Diecast is looking forward to it. Don notes Fans Toys’ Weirdwolf divided collectors, and one host says he generally prefers the look of MakeToys’ figures at this scale. [Source: TFormers]
Fans Toys FT-26 Chomp, an Unofficial Masterpiece-Style Skullcruncher
Chomp is Diecast’s favorite. The crew wonders why the Decepticon Headmasters are numbered FT-23 and FT-26 and what FT-24 and FT-25 will be. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Studio Series Jazz In-Hand Robot Mode Photos
Studio Series Jazz looks plain to one host and like a good toy to another. Like most Jazz figures, he wears much of his car as a backpack. One host says the Pontiac Solstice was a smart stand-in for a Porsche. [Source: TFormers]
TFC Toys Shows Prototype for STC-01 Unofficial Rolling Thunder Optimus Prime
Chris explains it is a Masterpiece-scale Optimus Prime with an alt mode based on the G.I. Joe Rolling Thunder. TFC leans into its use as a playset for Diaclone Dianauts and Titan Masters, which he calls a great move. He will not buy it at full price but loves the concept. [Source: TFormers]
What We Got This Week
Brian
Brian’s Amazon Japan haul included Legends Topspin and Twin Twist, which are nicer than he expected. One wing on his Legends Windblade from Big Bad Toy Store snapped off immediately. He also got Moonracer, Blackwing, Snarl and Rippersnapper, plus a dancing Sqweeks toy for $5 at Five Below.
Don
Don got Fans Project’s Warbot Daisy, a Dai Atlas homage, for $85 after returning a used one. He also picked up Studio Series Thundercracker at Toys R Us and found Studio Series Blackout at Target. Earlier, at a Walmart in Roanoke, he got movie Drift, Steelbane and Crowbar for $2.50 apiece.
Matt
Matt got TakaraTomy’s Legends Ultra Magnus to house his white Perfect Effect Optimus Prime. It comes with a tiny Alpha Trion. He also got Power of the Primes Hun-Gurrr and Elita-1, and says Elita-1 is much nicer than Starscream. His last two Iron Factory Combaticons complete a Bruticus about the size of Leader Ultra Magnus. He calls it beautiful but not fun to transform.
Chris
Chris had nothing this week.
Eric
Eric got Studio Series Thundercracker, thanks to Ant from tfu.info. He loves transforming the Nitro Zeus mold again, and the crew agrees the gray works as a highlight in hand.
Jason Kirk
Jason had nothing this week.
John DeLuna
John had nothing this week.
Diecast
Diecast got Studio Series Thundercracker at Toys R Us, plus one for a friend. His big item is X2 Toys’ oversized Ark computer, which has working lights, though he found no sounds. He also got a third-party Shockwave, an Age of Extinction Blu-ray with a Grimlock and Optimus Prime statue for $24.99, and a Voyager Optimus Prime that arrived unordered in a Taobao package. A Diamond Select Rodimus Prime piece from 2007, numbered 472 of 1,500, rounds out his haul.
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.