G1 is back in a big way, as reissue Soundwave and Buzzsaw are revealed and Warpath and Gears join Walmart’s lineup. Bumblebee has turned into a box office success, nearing $300 million worldwide after a strong run in China. Hasbro Toy Shop is closing and will be replaced by a curated e-commerce site in February. Chris McFeely’s Transformers Historia arrives early in the UK, and Studio Series Leader Jetfire appears in hand. Chris and Don share in-hand thoughts on Siege Ultra Magnus and Shockwave, and Matt finally sees Bumblebee.
News
In Memory of Mike Walker
Brian opens the show remembering Mike Walker, who voiced RFC’s intros, outros and liners for nearly 10 years. Mike was 60 and a 45-year radio veteran. Brian calls him a mentor and a friend.
Bumblebee’s $20.8 million opening looked like a failure, but its week-over-week drops have been small. It is now near $100 million domestic and about $208 million overseas, close to $300 million total. It overperformed in China. The Last Knight made about $130 million domestic on a much bigger budget. Bumblebee is on track to earn back its budget at home. [Source: Box Office Mojo]
35th Anniversary Begins as G1 Reissue Soundwave and Buzzsaw Revealed
The new G1 Soundwave reissue has a flat chest door. One host explains Hasbro retooled the Soundblaster door to sit flush rather than restore the lost original tooling. Another host loves the toy and says that change gives him a reason to buy it. Another host expects it to cost $70 with only one cassette. [Source: TFormers]
More G1 Reissues Coming for 2019: Warpath and Gears Join the Walmart Exclusive Lineup
One host names Gears his favorite Minibot, while another host is more excited for Warpath and his flip-up head. Warpath’s return suggests Hasbro is drawing on the 2004 Transformers Collection Minibot set. That could mean Powerglide, Cosmos and Huffer are next. One host wants a G1 reissue of the Decepticon Viper. [Source: TFormers]
Matt Sees Bumblebee
Matt finally saw Bumblebee and genuinely liked it, not on a Transformers sliding scale. He praises Hailee Steinfeld and calls John Cena better than expected. It is only the second Transformers movie he has seen. He is eyeing Studio Series 38 Optimus Prime.
Transformers Historia Out Early in the UK
Chris McFeely’s official history of the first IDW Transformers continuity is out early in the UK. Without a preorder, physical copies may be hard to find, but it will be on Kindle and Comixology. The crew celebrates McFeely, a longtime friend of the show and a TFWiki stalwart. Brian recalls the Stump Monzo segment, where McFeely was the first to stump Monzo. [Source: TFormers]
Hasbro Toy Shop As We Know It Ends, to Be Replaced by a Curated E-Commerce Site
Hasbro Toy Shop is closing, and a new curated e-commerce site arrives in February. Brian says curated could mean almost anything. Don and Brian suspect it will become a link farm pointing to Amazon, Walmart and Target. One host expects the relaunch to line up with Toy Fair. [Source: TFormers]
Iron Warrior IW-05 Pioneer Official Color Images
Iron Warrior’s Pioneer is a non-transforming figure of Transformers: Prime Optimus Prime, not Solus Prime as the headline suggests. One host likes that it is something different, though he is not a fan of the design. A Megatron is also coming. [Source: TFormers]
BotBots have turned up at Big Lots, which gets first-run stock as well as closeouts. Don also found the $2.99 single boxes at Target after his store’s reset. [Source: TFormers]
Studio Series Leader Class Jetfire In-Hand Photos Featuring Jet Power Optimus Prime
One host has never understood the appeal of this Jetfire, though he admits it does not look bad. Others note Jetfire was the one entertaining part of Revenge of the Fallen. One host prefers an upcoming third-party Jetfire power-up set. [Source: TFormers]
Generations Selects Red Swoop Package Image Revealed
Red Swoop ships in a cardboard mailer, and Rob says that packaging makes sense. Red Swoop is indeed red, matching the first promo renders. [Source: TFormers]
Studio Series 38 Optimus Prime First Video Review
The first video mostly shows the transformation in both directions. Rob notes the sample reportedly came out of a production facility in Vietnam. It still looks like a really good toy. [Source: TFormers]
Siege Greenlight and Dazlestrike Listed on Amazon Canada
Rob reports that Greenlight and Dazlestrike now have an Amazon Canada listing. [Source: TFormers]
What We Got This Week
Brian got Encore Unicron for about $135 shipped from Amazon Japan. He expected to hate it but finds the joints super tight, better than his original. He also found soft transforming plush clips of Optimus Prime, Hot Rod and Soundwave on Target’s Christmas clearance for $2.
Chris got Siege Leaders Ultra Magnus and Shockwave. Ultra Magnus’s armor feels like a refined City Commander, and building the trailer without instructions is a fun puzzle. He wishes the blue were lighter and had less paint-scrape deco. Shockwave’s extra parts are less flexible than hoped, but the battleship mode looks great in person. Both are worth buying at the right price.
Don got Siege Ultra Magnus and Shockwave from his Target’s reset. At 3 a.m. he spotted Voyager Optimus Prime and Megatron on Hasbro Toy Shop with a working discount code. He likes both, and the weathering does not bother him.
Rob‘s pickups this week were not Transformers.
Jason opened a surprise gift live on air from his co-host David: a pair of Transformers sneakers.
Diecast got Iron Factory’s G2 Sideswipe, which is nice but feels too small. He also got a limited Shattered Glass combiner numbered 415 of 500. He picked up an upscaled Legends Chromedome and a Devcon on the Scourge mold with a derpy face. From Magic Square he got Trailbreaker, which is excellent, and Cyclonus, whose jet mode he calls a potato. He also got Fans Toys Sixshot and a 3D-printed Matrix from Etsy, which he reviewed.
John DeLuna got Encore Unicron, plus Siege Skytread, Cog and Megatron. Megatron is very good and the best G1 likeness yet. But he calls it the tenth Megatron in 20 months, and the crew wishes for more new characters.
Matt got Mech Fans Toys’ knockoff of DX9’s Hulky in all orange, a Diaclone nod, for about $50 on eBay.
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.