Hasbro posts a first-quarter loss and blames the Toys R Us liquidation, and the crew asks what a post-Toys R Us hobby will look like. Studio Series Thundercracker escapes Toys R Us exclusivity, while MAAS Toys and TF Dream Factory show off eye-catching unofficial figures. Power of the Primes Optimal Optimus gets final stock photos, Predaking stands next to Devastator, and Machinima’s Power of the Primes gets a premiere date. A listener asks whether Studio Series is worth collecting.
News
Hasbro Earnings Don’t Wanna Grow Up as Company Is Hit by the Fallout of the Toys R Us Liquidation
Hasbro reports a first-quarter 2018 loss of $112.5 million, or 90 cents a share, and blames the Toys R Us liquidation. Brian recalls Aaron Archer saying that making toys from oil and shipping them overseas is not sustainable. He sees that as one reason Hasbro is remaking itself as an entertainment company, and thinks the hobby could look very different in 10 years. Don asks whether Hasbro might someday sell 3D-printable files. Brian doubts a public company could live on selling files. Another host expects collector items to move to a HasLab-style model. One host predicts the loss of Toys R Us will reshape the Transformers line by 2020. [Source: TFormers]
Studio Series Thundercracker Escapes the Doom of Toys R Us Exclusivity
Entertainment Earth was first to list Studio Series Thundercracker, at the Toys R Us price. Big Bad Toy Store and TFSource followed within a day. Brian tells anyone scalping Toys R Us Thundercrackers to sell now, and expects Amazon to carry it too. [Source: TFormers]
MAAS Toys MS-01 Renegade: Prototype Images of Unofficial Tetrajet Starscream
At about 20 centimeters tall, Renegade is roughly Voyager size. The crew loves the robot mode, but opinions split on the jet. One host likes how it blends the cartoon Tetrajet with the Cybertron Starscream design. Don admits the 1984 Tetrajet is the one design he wants screen-accurate. Chat members say the jet looks like a Battlestar Galactica Viper. [Source: TFormers]
Unofficial Dark of the Moon Roadbuster From TF Dream Factory Shows Vehicle Battle Mode
TF Dream Factory’s Roadbuster carries Chevy, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mountain Dew and National Guard markings. Brian expects lawsuits and notes that Dale Earnhardt Jr. lives about 20 minutes from him. He likes the Wreckers and will buy it if it comes out. [Source: TFormers]
Fansproject Returns Again With Beastructor Not-Monstructor Combiner Set
Fansproject repaints its Dinoking mold as Monstructor. The crew sees it as a way to earn back the mold cost, though it looks great. Don, who bought the Dinoking version with its shells, still prefers Dinoking. The crew thinks an official Monstructor is more likely than an official Dinoking. Brian jokes that it will never come out anyway. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Movie Studio Series Fourth Voyager Assortment to Feature Optimus and Bonecrusher?
Listings point to Optimus Prime and Bonecrusher in the fourth Studio Series Voyager assortment. Optimus Prime has a different product number from the Wave 1 figure, so the crew expects a different movie design. [Source: TFormers]
Power of the Primes Optimal Optimus Fan Vote Leader Figure: Final Stock Photos
Optimus Primal’s chin guard is unpainted blue in the final photos, which matches the foil Maximal sticker. The crew hopes Toyhax makes a fix. One host is less interested than ever. The crew notes that Walmart stores are cutting Leader and Voyager shelf space. [Source: TFormers]
Machinima Power of the Primes Web Series Premiere Date Revealed
The series premieres May 1 on Tumblr, since Go90 is going away and Verizon owns both. One host notes Tumblr video is easy to rip, so it will end up on YouTube. The crew finds the trailer a hair better than past entries, with more professional voice actors. Another host wonders whether a second production team helped. [Source: TFormers]
Power of the Primes Titan Class Predaking: Early Look at Hobby Magazine Photos
Figure King scans show Predaking about a head shorter than Devastator. Some of the crew is fine with that. Rob hates everything about it. That leads to HasLab wishes, and one host predicts an Animated Omega Supreme HasLab that the rest of the crew doubts. [Source: TFormers]
Flame Toys Furai Model Optimus Prime Action Figure Kit: Official Photos
The $40, six-inch Furai Model kit looks far more striking in color than the white prototype did. One host likens it to an Optimus Prime from Gundam Build Fighters. Another is glad Hasbro licenses things like this for fans who want them. [Source: TFormers]
DX9 Toys Montana: Unofficial MP-Scale Stunticon Breakdown Color Photos
DX9 starts its Masterpiece-scale Stunticons with Breakdown, around $100, followed by Motormaster. Most of the crew is not moved, but Diecast digs it. [Source: TFormers]
This Week in History
In 2008, BotCon 2008 in Cincinnati had its first full day. It included a preview of the Transformers Animated episode “Garbage In, Garbage Out” with Hasbro commentary. Don and John were there. [Source: TFWiki]
Listener Question
Joey asks whether Studio Series is worth collecting. Don bought Stinger, Blackout and Grimlock, and is unsure about another movie Starscream. One host calls the line a solid design exercise, but says you need to care about the characters already. He bought Stinger for its Pagani Huayra mode. Another host names Crowbar as the one to skip, since it is so close to the older Berserker. If you love the movie characters, buy them while you can.
What’s on TFormers
Rob covers Bumblebee movie promotions at CinemaCon 2018, plus Leaked From Cybertron features on Studio Series Grimlock, Power of the Primes Slash and Leader Blackout. James Roberts will take a break from Transformers writing after Lost Light, so IDW’s post-Unicron future is uncertain. [Source: TFormers] TFormers also has the first look at this year’s Hallmark ornament, G1 Starscream. [Source: TFormers]
RFC Announcements
After the live show, the crew tests It’s a Don Deal, a call-in segment at 931-99-GO-BOT, in the post-show slot. Radio Free Cybertron is also now on Spotify.
What We Got This Week
Brian got Robots in Disguise Combiner Force Soundwave with Laserbeak as a Targetmaster, a nearly one-step changer he likes. He also bought Movie the Best Grimlock with Optimus Prime riding it, a running joke among his friends. Cyber Battalion Jetfire is not as nice as Prowl but has plenty of fiddle value.
Matt‘s pickup this week was not Transformers.
Diecast got Mastermind Creations’ unofficial Drift to go with another MMC figure he liked. He also got TakaraTomy’s Legends Grand Maximus from Chosen Prime, beautiful even if the toy is not great. At a Toys R Us in Hickory he stacked discounts on the Last Knight Cybertron Primus, and he also picked up a Thundercracker and another Gnaw.
Chris had nothing in Transformers this week.
Rob had nothing in Transformers this week.
John got Power of the Primes Battletrap. The combined robot is fine, but Battleslash’s transformation is overly complicated for a Legends-size toy and the opposite of the G1 original.
Don is still working through Mech Fans Toys’ Dinobots and calls them very nice. He also picked up Studio Series Starscream and has not decided whether to keep it.
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.