Tokyo Toy Show brings a more animation-accurate Masterpiece Optimus Prime for the 35th anniversary, and the crew debates whether it will break the Masterpiece price ceiling. TakaraTomy also unveils Golden Lagoon-inspired toys and color photos of MP-43 Beast Wars Megatron. Studio Series Ironhide sneaks out in Singapore, and Hasbro promises Power of the Primes wave 2 will return. Statues dominate too, from a four-foot M3 Studio Optimus Prime to an Imaginarium Art G1 Starscream.
This Week in History
In 2003, Hasbro announced plans for a live-action Transformers movie. The crew remembers the producer’s forum as one of the worst places fans ever gathered willingly. Brian calls 2003 a boom time, with Masterpiece Optimus Prime, Binaltech, Armada wrapping up, Energon, Universe, Encore reissues and Dreamwave comics all at once. One host thinks the upcoming Bumblebee movie looks closest to what fans expected back then.
News
Tokyo Toy Show 2018: Better Photo of Masterpiece Optimus Prime Version 3
TakaraTomy’s more animation-accurate Masterpiece Optimus Prime will launch next year for the 35th anniversary. One host loves the vehicle mode but not the robot, so Brian runs the angled photo through Microsoft Office Lens to correct the perspective. One host expects it to approach 30,000 yen and break the Masterpiece price ceiling. Matt thinks TakaraTomy will try to stay near 27,500 yen and earn more back with repaints. Don had hoped for an MP-01 reissue, another host asks whether it is different enough from MP-10, and Matt says he would buy it. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers 35th Anniversary Golden Lagoon Toys from TakaraTomy
The Golden Lagoon sub-line covers a Power of the Primes-style Starscream at 3,800 yen, Perceptor, Seaspray and Beachcomber at 8,000 yen, and an MP-10 Optimus Prime at 15,000 yen. One host hates himself for wanting it. Another notes three Starscream torsos now exist, leaving fans one Starscream short of an all-Starscream combiner. Matt will probably get only the Starscream. Another host wishes Beachcomber came in green chrome for a G2 minibot set. [Source: TFormers]
Tokyo Toy Show 2018: MP-43 Beast Wars Masterpiece Megatron Additional Detailed Photos
Color photos of Masterpiece Beast Wars Megatron leave the crew in love. One host notes the deco is still a work in progress, and he praises both the robot face and the T-rex head. Folded dinosaur panels on the back suggest a complex transformation, and he expects about 25,000 yen. [Source: TFormers]
Studio Series Ironhide Released in Singapore With No Warning
Studio Series Ironhide turned up in Singapore with no warning beyond leaked slides from a year ago. One host recalls Singapore also beat a planned Hasbro Australia reveal of Legends wave 2 by three days. Brian may buy Ironhide, but he is cooling on Studio Series and likes Blackout less the longer he owns it. [Source: TFormers]
Power of the Primes Wave 2 Will Be Back?
Replying on its official Facebook page, Hasbro says wave 2 sold out quickly and will return to stores and online retailers over the summer. The crew is skeptical, since one price point was exclusive to a grocery chain over Easter. One host remembers Aldi stocking Hunt for the Decepticons figures for $6 or $7. [Source: TFormers]
Optimus Prime #20 Retailer Incentive Cover
The black-and-white cover features Beast Wars Megatron. The crew says Kei Zama draws him beautifully, and one host loves the retro look she and colorist Josh Burcham give the book. [Source: TFormers]
Wave 3 Power of the Primes Preorders: Inferno, Optimus Primal and More
Wave 3 preorders are up at Big Bad Toy Store, TFSource and Captured Prey, with Optimal Optimus at $100. One host preordered the Prime Masters and Legends, while another preordered Inferno because he doubts he will find Voyagers at retail. The crew praises retailers for selling the three Terrorcons as a set. [Source: TFormers]
M3 Studio The Last Knight Optimus Prime Statue Is Tall, Limited and Expensive
The statue stands 130 centimeters tall, costs about $4,800 and is limited to 188 pieces. The crew notes that is four Unicron lamps tall and agrees a used car would cost less. [Source: TFormers]
Big Bad Toy Store Exclusive G1 Starscream Statue from Imaginarium Art
The G1 Starscream statue costs $1,200 with a $240 deposit, which one host calls half as tall for a quarter of the price. Another host dislikes the face and the Megatron head Starscream stands on. [Source: TFormers]
Maketoys Cross Dimension Rioter Galcatron Prototype Revealed
Brian first mistook it for Beast Wars II Galvatron and finds it tremendously overdesigned. Another host says it does not match the rest of the Cross Dimension line. Hosts who collect the line are more positive, and one suggests the movie-era characters will share a separate post-movie look. [Source: TFormers]
What’s on TFormers
Rob shares an unused head sculpt for Studio Series Voyager Brawl. [Source: TFormers] Alex Milne’s Stadium Comics exclusive cover for Unicron #1 pays homage to The Transformers: The Movie poster. [Source: TFormers] Sara Pitre-Durocher’s retailer incentive cover for Unicron #1 honors the first Marvel cover. Nominations for the Transformers Hall of Fame are open through TFormers. [Source: TFormers]
What We Got This Week
Brian
Brian got the Street Fighter II crossover figures and is keeping them sealed because he loves the action poses in the bubbles. He hates the rest of the packaging, which does not look like anything in particular.
Diecast
Diecast got Dark of the Moon Topspin, the Lowe’s race car, and Legends Greatshot. He reviewed the TDW-04 upgrade kit and warns it does not fit Combiner Wars Computron, only the Unite Warriors version. Another kit on his Combiner Wars Superion bulks up the legs nicely. From Amazon warehouse deals he got Jada’s 1:24 scale Bumblebee and Optimus Prime cars and a rusty first-movie Bumblebee. A 1:24 Crosshairs arrived as a tiny car instead, and Amazon refunded him.
Chris
Chris had nothing this week.
Matt
Matt’s pickup this week was not Transformers.
Don
Don got The Last Knight wave 1 Bumblebee for $2.50 at Walmart, after earlier grabbing Drift, Crowbar and Barricade at the same price. He also found a lone Titans Return Windblade at Ollie’s for $7.99.
Jason Kirk
Jason had nothing in Transformers this week.
John DeLuna
John also got the Street Fighter II figures. His shipment included the TakaraTomy Legends Windblade rerun, which the crew calls the best Windblade available.
Rob
Rob got Titans Return Windblade from Valkesis on Twitter, though its head keeps falling off. He also got Power of the Primes Dreadwind, thanks to Barricade64, and calls it a big improvement over the Aerialbot mold. Wish list gifts brought Titans Return Crok and the G1 cartoon DVDs he was missing.
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.