A Transformers 35th anniversary endcap starts turning up at Walmart, packed with the exclusive Optimus Prime and Megatron. Takara Tomy lists Studio Series figures through May 2020, including Leader Shockwave, Sentinel Prime and Roadbuster. Takara’s Raiden Project hints at a December train announcement. Ahead of TFcon USA, the crew sizes up the convention exclusives, led by Ocular Max’s G2-colored Sphinx Regenesis Mirage. Rob returns after surgery, and Diecast finally gets a loose Cybertron Unicron.
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Listener Mail: Car Robots or Robots in Disguise?
Listener Patrick asks whether Car Robots tells a different story than the Robots in Disguise English dub. Chris says the dub punched up the jokes but did not change the story in any meaningful way. Brian notes the Japanese series of that era skew young. The episodes held back in the US after 9/11 aired in Canada, so they exist dubbed. Robots in Disguise has never had a US home video release, and Don hopes Shout Factory picks it up.
Transformers 35th Anniversary Exclusives Endcap Appears at Walmart
A photo from a Walmart in East York, Pennsylvania, shows a cardboard display packed with the 35th anniversary Optimus Prime and Megatron. Bluestreak and Wave 3 figures fill it out. Don explains these drop-in displays arrive pre-filled. One host has seen an Optimus Prime with the preferred faceplate deco. Brian explains that vendors pay extra for endcap space, though Don and another host note the stock often ends up on regular pegs anyway. [Source: TFormers]
Sentinel Prime, Roadbuster, Scrapper and More Studio Series From Takara Tomy
A Takara Tomy listing covers February to May 2020. It includes World War II Hot Rod, Leader Shockwave, Megatron, Scavenger, off-road Bumblebee, Voyager Sentinel Prime, Roadbuster and Scrapper. Brian wonders how Topspin’s deco will work, since its movie car was Jimmie Johnson’s Lowe’s-sponsored 48. One host expects movie-accurate colors with generic logos. [Source: TFormers]
Generations Selects Seacons Wave 3 Now on Hasbro Pulse
Overbite and Tentakil are up for order on Hasbro Pulse until October 29. One host jokes that he paid for Unicron before the Seacons, since the Seacons never needed crowdfunding. [Source: TFormers]
Studio Series Leader Shockwave In Hand
In-hand photos show an aged-metal paint finish. Eric loves it, but the crew says it looks more like an Inhumanoid than a Transformer. They agree it is a faithful take on the movie design if that is what you want. [Source: TFormers]
The Raiden Project and a Railway Story in the Sky
Takara Tomy is tying Raiden to a traveling Japanese railway exhibition that starts in December, with a new project to be announced. One host would welcome an Encore reissue of the original, while others suspect only a display. One host notes Zeta Toys has also announced a Raiden. Brian’s Twitter poll on what to splurge on at TFcon chose G1 Overlord over Raiden, Guardian and Battle Gaia.
TFcon DC 2019 Exclusives
Brian runs through the convention exclusives. The G2-colored Planet X Vulcan is a pretty Grimlock, but it does not grab him, and Don prefers FansToys’ Grinder. Mastermind Creations’ Reformatted R41 Ultio looks nice, but the crew prefers R37 Bedrock, a bulky Bulkhead. Brian’s favorite is Ocular Max PS-01R Sphinx Regenesis, a Mirage in colors from unproduced G2 concept art. The crew happily calls it Watermelon Mirage. [Source: TFcon]
What We Got This Week
Chris got the Siege Micromaster cassette set with Rumble and Ratbat. Rumble’s humanoid robot impresses him, though the tight wrists make its tape mode scary. Ratbat nails its bat mode at the cost of a convincing tape. He also got the Amazon three-pack. He thinks the clear Mirage’s blue came out darker than the package art intended.
Brian got the Decepticon Battle Patrol Micromasters and the Rumble and Ratbat set. Anthony Brucali sent him Super7’s New York Comic Con exclusive Megatron, caught mid-transformation into Galvatron. It stands 11 inches tall and will stay in the box.
Don split the Amazon three-pack, selling Impactor and the clear Mirage and keeping Aragon. That gives him all three Powerdashers.
Diecast found a loose Cybertron Unicron, complete with its Cyber Planet Key but missing instructions. Chris saw it revealed at BotCon to applause and loves how strange it is. Another host warns that the clear hinge on his copy broke.
Rob‘s pickups this week were not Transformers.
Matt had nothing in Transformers this week.
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.