HasLab Unicron’s first production update shows how the giant’s tooling is laid out. It has about twice the mold parts of a Titan Class figure. Takara Tomy makes half of the known first Earthrise wave web-store exclusives in Japan, including Cliffjumper and the Micromasters. Target reports weak holiday toy sales, and a Hot Steel Planet Cybertron sculpture launches on Indiegogo. The RFC Toy Fair live stream is set for February 22.
News
HasLab Unicron First Production Update: Laying Out Toolings
Hasbro shows how the model is broken into pieces and laid out on mold templates. Diecast notes some molds hold one huge piece while others hold two or three smaller ones. Unicron has over twice the mold elements of a Titan Class figure, roughly 60. A team of about 50 people spent two days in Hong Kong on the layout. One host calls it one of Hasbro’s most open looks at production. John, in the chat, finds the numbers low for the size. Another host expects fewer, chunkier parts in the load-bearing core. [Source: TFormers]
TakaraTomy Earthrise Cliffjumper and Micromaster Military Patrol Images and Details
Takara Tomy will sell Cliffjumper and the Military Patrol only through its Takara Tomy Mall web store. With Sound Barrier and Grapple also exclusive, about half of the known first wave is online-only in Japan. The crew suspects Grapple went exclusive so Inferno reaches retail. The crew guesses Artfire would come as a Generations Select. One host suggests Japanese buyers may care less now that Takara uses Hasbro decos. [Source: TFormers]
The Real Warning in Target’s Holiday Sales: Toys Are in Trouble
Target’s holiday toy sales fell, and Hasbro and Mattel stock dropped with them, while Amazon came out ahead. The crew says empty toy aisles reflect stores putting little priority on restocking slow sellers, not strong sales. Amazon buys in smaller volumes than Target or Walmart, which hurts toymakers. A friend of the show reports Canadian Walmarts raising Voyager and Leader prices by $5. The crew wonders if this is why Earthrise waits until April. [Source: CNBC]
Takara TOMY Earthrise ER-05 Starscream Official Images
One host wants this Starscream in every color possible. Don sees too little difference from the 2006 Classics Seekers to buy them all again. One host bets the mold exists to make the Coneheads, but it has to ship as Starscream first. He notes the Classics mold aged quickly. The crew hopes for Sunstorm and the Coneheads before any cel-shaded repaint. [Source: TFormers]
Hot Steel Planet Sculpture: Unofficial Planet Cybertron Crowdfunding Project
Diecast likes this light-up half-planet Cybertron, a close match for the 1986 movie. Pledges run about $145 plus roughly $20 to $25 shipping on Indiegogo, toward a flexible $145,000 goal. He would display it with Unicron smashing into it. [Source: TFormers]
New Transformers Authentics Figures Discovered: Ratchet, Soundwave, Starscream, Grimlock
The crew is unimpressed. Ratchet might look better posed, and Soundwave’s vehicle mode is the best of the bunch. Starscream looks flat, and this is one host’s least favorite Grimlock in a while. [Source: TFormers]
Toy Fair Live Stream and Giveaways
The RFC Toy Fair live stream is Saturday, February 22, starting around noon Eastern, and Brian hopes to take viewer calls. Patrons get a monthly Q&A starting January 29. Brian’s new Twitter giveaways include Maketoys Gundog, Maniac King in animation colors and Throne of the Primes. A box of extras includes Power of the Primes Inferno and Beachcomber, Micromasters, BotBots and the Walgreens Ratchet.
What’s on TFormers
Furai Model Devastator Model Kit Completed Official Image From Flame Toys
Rob finds the stylized Flame Toys Devastator interesting but not his style. Don wishes it looked more like the non-transforming animation Devastator shown at TFcon Chicago. One host would buy an Armada Megatron in this style. [Source: TFormers]
What We Got This Week
Chris only got non-Transformers birthday gifts and finds this week.
Matt only picked up non-Transformers figures this week.
Diecast got Fans Hobby’s God Bomber from his Taobao spree, which shows stress marks where the wings tab in. Its swappable heads hint at Masterforce characters. He also got a small third-party Mohawk from The Last Knight and Mastermind Creations’ Ravage with extra parts for their Megatron. A set of third-party Energon cubes rounds out the order.
Don had nothing this week.
Rob found a BotBots Season’s Greeters pack at Ross for about $5, with Halloween Night and Latte Spice World as his favorites. He also bought the Movie Masterpiece Bumblebee he found at Ross for $25 and wrote about for TFormers.
Brian got the Dollar Tree minifigures from Brian Cooper on Twitter and praises their paint. He started rebuilding Landcross through Takara’s reissue, beginning with Tackle. He found the Cyberverse Quintesson Invasion set and calls it OK. He also got a Super7 ReAction Optimus Prime and Cyberverse Deluxe Optimus Prime. Takara’s 35th anniversary Studio Series Optimus Prime and G1 Convoy arrived too. The Japanese Mazinger Z vs. Transformers comic is beautiful. His MP-36+ Megatron had a glued barrel cap. A piece sheared off when he removed it, so he fixed it with a small screw.
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.