The crew trades tips on organizing and focusing a Transformers collection, from banker’s boxes and themes to dropping packaging. A Japanese listing points to a Movie Masterpiece Starscream next, and Hasbro shares soar after its CEO cites strong demand for toys. TFCon’s streamed third-party panel brings FansToys’ Jazz and Mirage, and the former Zeta Toys Unicron reappears with its head and wings. Brian opens a surprise Arcee statue from a friend and adds a Robots in Disguise Optimus Prime he always wanted.
News
The Next Movie Masterpiece Is Starscream, According to a Japanese Product Listing
A Japanese product listing points to Movie Masterpiece Starscream next. Diecast calls the movie Starscream the ugliest Decepticon design, though the crew notes good toys have been made from it. One host expects an all-new figure, smaller than MPM-1 and scaled to MPM Optimus Prime’s robot mode. Official photos usually follow such listings within a couple of weeks. The same listing confirms Japan gets the Netflix Siege redecos in September, and Canadian Walmarts already have some. [Source: TFRadio]
Hasbro’s CEO said demand for toys is strong and its China supply chain is coming back. One host notes the stock bottomed at about $45 on March 19 and closed around $67. The crew hopes it translates into good things for the people who work there and for fans. [Source: CNBC]
FansToys FT-48 Jazz and FT-49 Mirage at the TFCon Third-Party Panel
TFCon was canceled, but its third-party panel streamed online. FansToys showed FT-48, its Jazz, with a placeholder preorder price, plus a redesigned FT-02 Soundwave and an early FT-49 Mirage render. One host expects the fully painted FT-48 to beat Make Toys’ Downbeat, whose unpainted gray feet bother him. For Mirage, the crew says DX9’s Ocular Max is still the best, with Transform Element’s version a contender. [Source: Taobao]
01 Studio Cell Unicron Now Has Its Head and Wings
The former Zeta Toys Unicron appeared unnamed at the third-party panel, now shown with its head and wings. Diecast says his Taobao sources always said it would come out. At about 19 inches, one host says it would sit well with a CHUG collection. The crew also jokes about a plush planet-mode BotBots-style Unicron. [Source: Taobao]
Hasbro Pulse is charging and shipping the first Generations Selects Seacons wave, with possible shipping delays.
Organizing and Focusing Your Collection
Answering a listener question, Brian describes 95 IKEA Kallax cubes, each holding a banker’s box of toys. He swaps pieces between boxes to group lines and sorts loose accessories by color and line. He wants to focus on G1, Beast Wars, Generations and probably the Unicron Trilogy, and to complete G1 within 10 years. Matt keeps things manageable by buying only within clear limits for each line. Don has never purged and is filling two 10-by-10 storage buildings.
John keeps a CHUG-themed collection, with a Nemesis Prime on nearly every Decepticon shelf. He replaces figures when a superior version arrives and sells the old ones in eBay lots. He also keeps only the instructions from new toys, which he calls liberating. The crew agrees much mid-era product has little resale value, so lots, Twitter giveaways or thrift-store donations often make more sense. Matt bought a second Earthrise Starscream to display both modes, and both Matt and Don used to buy a second copy to keep packaged.
What We Got This Week
Brian
Brian’s friend Dusty dropped off a belated 666th-episode gift: a Transformers dice bag and a Palisades Arcee statue. The note offers a choice of explaining it to Kim or regifting it to Don. Brian also got a mint sealed G2 Optimus Prime for about half what he expected. He bought the Sam’s Club Robots in Disguise yellow Optimus Prime and its Ultra Magnus, a set he always wanted. Talk turns to the infamous translucent yellow Shining Ultra Magnus, which turns up listed near $1,000.
Diecast
Diecast found Micromaster Decepticon Rumble and Ratbat on eBay for $18 shipped. Some warned it was a knockoff because Spinister is on the card back, but one host says that is normal cross-sell art. A friend found him two Sound Barriers, and he grabbed two more on Amazon. He also got Transformers: The Manga volume 1 to make sure he gets the Headmasters volume.
Don
Don has found nothing this week. His Target has put out only Starscream and Grapple since February, though his Walmart now has Earthrise Leaders, a pile of Astrotrain reissues and Soundwave.
Rob
Rob had nothing this week.
John
John had nothing 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.