Movie Masterpiece MPM-11 Ratchet is officially revealed as a $120 Target exclusive in the US, completing the 2007 Autobots. An Earthrise Bluestreak listing surfaces, and Chris maps out the summer’s Target and Amazon exclusives. A Walmart listing for a Studio Series 86 Grimlock leaves the crew guessing. Chris hosts while Brian is sick, and Diecast cracks open a Transformers TCG Titan Masters Attack box.
News
Movie Masterpiece MPM-11 Ratchet Officially Revealed
MPM-11 Ratchet comes to Target in the US for $120. The product copy lists 61 transformation steps and more than 150 paint operations. One host thinks it looks like an upscaled deluxe and is in no rush to preorder. Another notes Movie Masterpiece Ironhide’s mixed reviews will give some buyers pause. The prototype’s mismatched panel colors were reportedly an early-sample issue. One host finds the new focus on paint-operation counts a little odd. [Source: TFormers]
A German wholesale site lists a single Earthrise Bluestreak, which Chris dug into for a Toy Detective special. He expects four Earthrise exclusives at Target and four at Amazon this summer, with two still unaccounted for. Amazon listings point to July 1. The latest Hasbro Pulse Fan First Friday showed only a mock-up of Earthrise Scorponok’s box art. Hasbro hinted the box was ‘more than meets the eye,’ but nobody has found a secret yet. [Source: RFC News Desk]
Target Lists the Earthrise Seeker Two-Pack and Decepticon Clones
Target posted product pages for the Skywarp and Thundercracker two-pack and the Decepticon Clones, both marked sold out. Chris suggests bookmarking them. [Source: not found]
KFC Unofficial Junkion Series Images
KFC’s EAVI Metal Phase Six adds more unofficial Junkions with swappable heads, at roughly $119 to $130 each. The crew calls that steep for troop builders. One host thinks shared-part two-packs would have made more sense, and the crew expects these to hit clearance. [Source: TFormers]
A Studio Series 86 Grimlock?
A Walmart app listing names a Studio Series Grimlock 86 at the Leader price. One rumor says next year’s Studio Series will favor the 1986 movie, but 86 could also be a product number. The highest known number is 67, Cybertron-mode Cliffjumper. Don floats a Beast Wars Grimlock, and the crew points out that would be 96, not 86. [Source: not found]
Third-Party Corner
Diecast’s third-party Unicron arrives in pieces. The head and wings come as an accessory kit from one company, and 01 Studio sells the headless body, due mid-June. The crew suspects the split is meant to dodge a cease-and-desist. Zeta is also reissuing ToyWorld’s Infinitor.
What We Got This Week
Chris
Don sent Chris a Netflix War for Cybertron Scrapface. Chris can see why Matt repainted the red shin blobs. His Walmart had not stocked any Earthrise before the Netflix display arrived.
Don
Don got absolutely nothing this week. He reports Target restocked Starscream, Grapple, Sentinel Prime and Scrapper.
Matt
Matt completed his Netflix camera with three Scrapfaces and repainted the legs. He also got Hot Link, whose purples read much better in hand than in photos. He likes the sea-foam Targetmasters and wants a flamethrower accessory. He now owns eight of the Seeker mold.
Rob
Rob got Earthrise Cliffjumper and likes it, though the removable car rear will always bother him. He passes on the third-party hinge fix, and Don agrees. Rob’s second try at a Walmart order brought Siege Soundblaster, after the first one sent Megatron. He loves owning both Soundwave and Soundblaster on one mold, even with the battle-damage deco.
Diecast
Brian mailed Diecast a print of the G1 Jetfire box art. Diecast opened a ReAction Optimus Prime from Amazon Warehouse and found the plastic surprisingly rigid. Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro sent him a Transformers TCG Titan Masters Attack booster box. It includes an oversized Fortress Maximus card with separate Titan Master head cards. His live pack opening turned up Titan Master Optimus Prime with its head card, Outback and a Brawn card.
John
John didn’t get anything this week. He did put his Thunderwing transparency in a shadow box.
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.