Siege Deluxe Barricade debuts at Australia Toy Fair, a Smokescreen redeco based on Guido Guidi’s fan art. Siege Wave 2 Voyagers and Studio Series Wave 6 start turning up at Walmart and Target, and Exvee reviews Soundwave and Starscream. Hero-X reissues the Generations Deluxe reference book, and 7-Eleven Japan teases a Legendary Optimus Prime. Exvee hosts with Brian out sick, and Eric Crownover of Steel City Bots joins the crew.
News
Siege Wave 2 and Studio Series Wave 6 Hit Stores
Siege Wave 2 Voyagers and Deluxes are turning up at Walmart, and Studio Series Wave 6 is appearing at Walmart and Target. Many listings had an April 1 date, so Exvee reads it as a good sign that preorders will ship on time. He suggests toy hunters get out this week.
Australia Toy Fair 2019: Siege Deluxe Barricade Revealed
Siege Barricade is a Decepticon redeco of the Smokescreen mold, with shoulder cannons. Its deco comes from Guido Guidi’s fan art, and Guido says on Twitter he was involved with the toy. One host hates the head color but loves the body. Another is glad because it means a Smokescreen is coming. Exvee would like one styled after his digibash of Alternators Smokescreen, and hopes Hasbro paints the next one better than recent versions. [Source: TFormers]
Australia Toy Fair 2019: Siege Micromaster Sports Car Patrol and Off-Road Patrol
A Decepticon redeco of Race Car Patrol, including Blackjack, is coming as Sports Car Patrol. Eric calls the mold awful, and another host sold his the day he opened them. Half of the Off-Road Patrol, High Jump and Powertrain, was also shown. Eric would rather see Lionizer repaints in two-packs than more Micromasters. [Source: TFormers]
Hero-X Reissues the Generations Deluxe Reference Book
Hero-X is reprinting the 2004 Generations Deluxe G1 and G2 reference book as a 35th anniversary “Rebirth” edition. Rob explains it was one of the first places fans saw G1 concept art. The reprint is unchanged and costs under 3,000 yen, while the original runs about $170 on eBay. It is due March 15, and Matt ordered a copy during the show. [Source: TFormers]
More In-Hand Images of MP-10ASL Convoy
New photos of the LeBron James Masterpiece Convoy show it with a basketball, which comes from a Figma and is not included. The crew wants a BotBots basketball. [Source: TFormers]
IDW’s John Barber and Hasbro’s Michael Kelly Talk the Transformers Comics Reboot
Rob says the interview explains the reboot: 13 years of continuity was unfriendly to new readers. It also covers how the new creative team was chosen and shows the first story pages. One host loves a small world-building detail in how Optimus Prime and Megatron shake hands. [Source: TFormers]
7-Eleven Japan Exclusive Legendary Optimus Prime
7-Eleven Japan is teasing another exclusive Optimus Prime based on the Bumblebee movie’s Legendary Optimus Prime. Only a silhouette is out, with a full reveal due Friday. [Source: TFormers]
Civil Warrior War Within Optimus Prime
A new third-party company, Civil Warrior, is making a War Within Optimus Prime called General Grant. The crew likes the look, but several hosts would wait for a white or black repaint. [Source: TFormers]
Toy World TW-F03 Bulldog Color Images
Toy World shows its World War I tank robot from The Last Knight in color. It is due this month and would be Toy World’s first release after about 20 announcements. One host now dislikes the finish, while another loves it. [Source: TFormers]
Why Jetfire, Not Skyfire?
One host explains that adding a prefix does not get around another company’s trademark. As far as the crew knows, Mattel has held Skyfire since about 2001, from a Max Steel toy. The crew points listeners to RFC Mini-cast episodes on trademarks with an actual expert.
What’s on TFormers
Siege Deluxe and Voyager Wave 3 Case Assortment Updates
Exvee wrote up conflicting Siege Wave 3 case listings. He suspects Hasbro is spacing waves out so shelves are not empty by August, as happened with Power of the Primes. [Source: TFormers]
Mazinger Z vs. Transformers Cover by Tsuyoshi Nonaka
Rob shares a new cover by Studio Ox alum Tsuyoshi Nonaka, who also designed toys for Zyuranger. Rob is most excited for the cover from Mazinger Z creator Go Nagai. [Source: TFormers]
Siege Deluxe Refraktor Test Shot Images
E-Hobby posted test shot images of Siege Deluxe Refraktor, giving the best look yet at its camera mode. The crew jokes that Siege offers an amazing array of flying rectangles. [Source: TFormers]
What We Got This Week
Diecast
Diecast received a Rise of the Combiners booster box from Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast to review, and posted an unboxing on RFC Reviews. His first card was Blur.
Matt
Matt stripped the battle damage paint off his Siege Ultra Magnus with a Magic Eraser and likes the toy a lot more now.
Don
Don got Magic Square’s Light of Freedom Optimus Prime and the Studio Series Bumblebee movie Optimus Prime from Walmart. He will skip the Studio Series Constructicons, since Devastator has never impressed him.
Exvee
Exvee found four cases of Siege Wave 2 Voyagers at Walmart and bought Soundwave and Starscream. He loves Soundwave’s head sculpt, yellow visor and hinged shoulder cannon. Cassettes fit too tightly to drop out of the flip-around door, so insert them painted side out. Starscream’s jet looks better in hand than in photos, and the robot is very posable. Still, the head sculpt is weird, the chest plate pops off and the battle damage is heavy.
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.