Chris gets Earthrise Scorponok early and calls it the best Titan Class figure yet, and Diecast shows off Studio Cell’s take on Unicron. A one-armed Earthrise Dirge sample leaks, and the Centurion Drone turns out to be real, packed with a Weaponizer accessory set. Generations Selects adds Tigertrack and Rotorstorm, and R.E.D. Soundwave appears in stock photos. Walmart’s $30 G1 Blaster reissue and Earthrise Alternate Universe Optimus Prime round out the news.
Brian marks the anniversary of Radio Free Cybertron’s 2009 return to weekly production and remembers JD Church, who talked the crew into coming back. Patrons got a new Toy Detectives and a new RFC Throwback on collecting tips.
News
Earthrise Dirge Revealed With Leaked Sample
A sample of Earthrise Dirge surfaced missing an arm, likely a factory reject. The crew thinks the cone is not the real nose cone. Like the leaked Thrust, it has new leg mounts for the wings. Matt agrees that the leaked Thrust has its wings attached in the wrong place. The crew expects a Ramjet sample to surface soon. [Source: tfradio.net]
Generations Centurion Drone Weaponizer Pack Stock Photos
The Centurion Drone is real, as one host predicted, and it comes with an accessory pack for Earthrise figures. The pack includes Ironhide’s drill, a Bumblebee pistol, an Optimus Prime rifle and a dish for Trailbreaker. Tiny Reflector, Soundwave and Megatron figures are included too. The set briefly listed for $19.99 before rising to $29.99. The crew welcomes official accessory packs, something fans have long requested. [Source: tfradio.net]
Transformers R.E.D. Collection Optimus, Megatron and Soundwave Stock Photos
R.E.D. Soundwave leaked hours before Fan First Friday. The legs are miscolored again, apparently from a fan-colored model sheet. The crew finds the proportions and Optimus Prime’s antennae slightly off. One host notes TFU.info reports the R.E.D. figures are Walmart exclusives and up for preorder. [Source: tfradio.net]
Generations Selects Tigertrack and Rotorstorm Stock Photos
Fan First Friday revealed Tigertrack and Rotorstorm instead of the expected Exhaust and Greasepit. Rotorstorm is a straight Spinister repaint with a painted chest cockpit, giving the mold a third cockpit. Don jokes that it can now become a Cobra Mamba. One host ordered Tigertrack only because he wants a Selects Spinout to go with it. The two are numbered 18 and 19, so several more Selects are due this year. [Source: tfradio.net]
Earthrise Alternate Universe Optimus Prime Official Stock Photos
The Amazon exclusive shows a battle-damaged Optimus Prime from The Transformers: The Movie. Hasbro ties it to the Netflix series. It costs about $50 and is due July 15. The crew expects it to sell out for good. [Source: tfradio.net]
G1 Blaster Reissue Coming to Walmart
The next vintage G1 reissue is Blaster, a Walmart exclusive at $30. The crew notes Blaster has little metal. They hope cassette two-packs follow. [Source: Walmart]
Rescue Bots Academy to End After Season Two
One host reports that Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy will end after its second season. The crew ties it to Hasbro moving media production to Entertainment One. [Source: not found]
What We Got This Week
Chris
Chris got Earthrise Scorponok from a US seller ahead of its release. He calls it probably the best Titan Class figure so far, better than Omega Supreme. Only his copy’s right shoulder is a bit loose. It has no stickers, comes with the Jetfire-style blast effects and only minor parts-forming. The Zarak head figure is a healthy deluxe size and scales with the Titans Return Headmaster Decepticons. A big space map piece charts Unicron and places like the Ark, the Nemesis and Fool’s Fortune. He would seriously consider a black Zarak version. He also got Generations Selects Exhaust and Greasepit early on eBay. Exhaust’s name is misspelled on its tampos, and his copy has a misfired knee rivet. Greasepit’s gas station mode won him over, and he likes it more than Exhaust.
Diecast
Diecast got Studio Cell’s Unicron, based on the old Zeta design. He praises its slim profile and posability, and notes the design mirrors one set of parts for both sides. His part one review is up at tfradio.net/reviews. He also got another DX9 Motormaster-team figure, leaving him one Legends-scale limb short. Fans Toys Magnum, their Wildrider, arrived thanks to his friend Nick.
Matt
Matt had nothing in Transformers this week.
John
John found the Earthrise Seeker two-pack at Target in North Texas and picked up a second set for Don. He thinks Skywarp and Thundercracker look better on the Earthrise mold than Starscream does. His Skywarp has the angry yelling face.
Brian
Brian is finishing a sealed Machine Wars set and got Hubcap for about $5. He also got Studio Series Sentinel Prime, which stays in the box. A magenta and black McDonald’s Cliffjumper puts him on track for 15 of 24 Happy Meal Transformers. His minor grail is a vintage The Transformers: The Movie soundtrack LP, a radio station promo copy. He also found a 12-inch promo single of Stan Bush’s “The Touch.” He rebought a sealed e-Hobby Megaplex and a boxed G1 Megatron to start rebuilding his 1984 collection.
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.