The crew returns from TFcon DC 2019 with tired wallets and stories from the podcaster, third-party and Aaron Archer panels. FansToys teases a giant Fortress Maximus, and Brian comes home with G1 Overlord, Metrotitan and Star Saber. In the news, Hasbro’s MCM London Comic Con presentation brings BotBots Goldrush Games and built-in Cyberverse armor. Takara Tomy shows King Poseidon fully combined, and Viz lists a second volume of Transformers: The Manga.
TFcon DC 2019 Recap
Matt calls this a really well-run show, and the crew agrees the social side was the highlight. Eric ran the podcaster panel, with Jen bringing much of the energy. Brian wishes the panel had focused more on the shows themselves. Don sat in on the third-party panel, where FansToys teased a huge Fortress Maximus with a Cerebros head the size of FansToys’ Hoodlum. Don also asked Aaron Archer about HasLab Unicron. Archer said it could only happen in today’s collector-driven market and he is glad he did not have to run it.
One host raves about the Transformers: The Movie commentary panel run by Aaron and Ryan. The next TFcon, in Orlando, is set for March 20 to 22. The dealer room was full of Japanese G1 rarities, from boxed Guardian sets to sealed G2 Watch Men. A surprise exclusive, Pharaoh, put the Sphinx Mirage mold in black and gold. Brian got the G2-colored Regenesis Sphinx, while Don bought all of the exclusives.
What We Got at TFcon
Diecast talked a dealer down to $110 for a 2014 set he plans to display with HasLab Unicron. He also bought another Six Gun and another Brunt from Eric.
Matt got the boxed God Neptune from Azusa’s table, a figure he has wanted for over 20 years. He also picked up a woven Seekers blanket, an X-Transbots G1-colored Breakdown and Dead End, and Rail Racer. A Constructicon-colored Build King and a Maccadam’s Old Oil House mug came home too. Casey Coller’s art book and a print from Aaron Archer round out his haul, and Don found him a Siege Ratchet at Walgreens.
Don got Casey Coller’s Circuit Breaker print and all of the TFcon exclusives. He added Iron Factory’s Mirage, Magic Square’s Hoist and a Generations Selects Smokescreen. He split the TFCC Old Snake set with Diecast and a friend. From Miguel, he finally got a Telemocha Tigatron he had hunted for years. Back home, his Walmart display gave him Barricade and the cel-shaded 35th anniversary Optimus Prime and Megatron.
Brian went in looking for G1 Overlord and left with much more. He found a mint-in-box G1 Jetfire for less than he once sold his own. He also got a G2 Laser Optimus Prime missing its chest stickers and disc launcher. At Transformerland he bought Overlord, then Metrotitan, a toy he has wanted since 1997, and a complete G1 Star Saber with scary-tight legs. Matt kept pointing out more, including Guardian.
What We Got This Week
Chris built the Flame Toys Furai IDW Autobot Megatron kit for review. He likes it more than the Bumblebee kit, with two full sets of hands and a sturdier build. He dislikes the foil chest stickers, though. It is a little small next to Siege figures. HeyMickey found him the Walgreens Siege Ratchet, whose weapon has a mis-molded peg.
Rob got Siege Ratchet from Phil of ASM Zine as a get-well gift and loves the new parts. He also got Nonnef Productions’ G2 Sideswipe upgrade set, with a soft silicone bandolier, and its Legends weapon set.
John is collecting vintage toy industry documents. He got Galoob’s 1989 Toy Fair catalog and a 1996 Hasbro Toy Group binder with Beast Wars sell sheets. He is now hunting GoBots-era Tonka price lists.
Brian also picked up the cel-shaded 35th anniversary Optimus Prime and Megatron at Walmart and loves them. He added Bluestreak, Siege Ratchet, the 2009 Toys R Us exclusive Darkwind and Rail Racer. Masterpiece Red Bumblebee and Masterpiece Clampdown join his collection too.
News
MCM London Comic Con: New Cyberverse and BotBots Goldrush Games
Hasbro’s presentation showed Cyberverse figures with built-in Spark Armor instead of a separate robot. BotBots Goldrush Games turns out to be a gold trophy assortment, not a mobile game, to the crew’s disappointment. A BotBots gumball machine and claw game each dispense a set of figures. [Source: TFormers]
First Look at Studio Series Devastator Combined
A display of test shots shows Devastator in wrong colors and assembled incorrectly. A cleaner render appeared in the presentation, but the crew does not think proper colors will save it. [Source: TFormers]
Asia Comic Con Malaysia: Masterpiece Hound and Blackarachnia
Displays give a better look at Masterpiece Blackarachnia, whose spider mode looks better but not good to the crew. Her chest may be more orange than expected. Masterpiece Hound looks good, if late. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers: The Manga Volume 2 Up for Preorder
Viz’s second volume of the Japanese G1 manga is up for preorder. One host suspects the hardcovers split a 640-page 2002 Japanese compendium. If so, volume two would bring Headmasters, Masterforce, Victory, Zone and Battlestars stories to English readers. The crew is thrilled. [Source: TFormers]
Takara Tomy King Poseidon Fully Combined
Photos show King Poseidon fully combined, even posed with the combined sword. The crew calls it glorious, and one host wants three. [Source: TFormers]
Studio Series New Official Images
New images cover Mixmaster, Soundwave, Megatron, Bumblebee, Arcee, Chromia and Elita-1. The crew thinks Mixmaster looks rough, though its main job is forming Devastator’s head. One host does not plan to buy any of them. [Source: TFormers]
What’s on TFormers
Rob points to a Siege Deluxe Crosshairs video review and Chris’s Flame Toys IDW Autobot Megatron review. [Source: TFormers]
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.