Rob from the Bot Files reviews the Fun 4 All keychain Bumblebee and Cliffjumper, near-exact copies of the G1 minibots in replica packaging. Finback has his girlfriend Maddie review Dreamwave’s Transformers: Generation One comic as a reader new to the story. Brian catches up on the news RFC missed, from Armada paperwork at Walmart to a coming G1 Season 2 DVD box set. He also recaps a thin showing for Transformers at HeroesCon.
This is the first RFC update since April. Brian had planned to review his bootleg Defensor, the G1 DVD box set, the mini Scourge and X-Brawn, the new Dreamwave comics and Titan Books’ trade paperbacks. Air Attack Optimus Primal and the laser cycles were also on the list. Those reviews will come later.
News
Transformers G1 Season 2 DVD Box Set Coming Soon
Brian has heard the Season 2 DVD box set of the G1 cartoon is coming soon, at about $80 to $90 for the whole season. [Source: not found]
Transformers Armada Paperwork Turns Up at Walmart
More of Armada has been shown, and Brian hears the line is turning up in small amounts. He isn’t sure the toys have reached shelves yet, but Walmart is putting out the paperwork for them. [Source: not found]
Air Attack Optimus Primal Released
Air Attack Optimus Primal, who fans never thought would come out, is out. Brian also notes several issues of Dreamwave’s G1 comic have come out since the last show, and Toy Fair has come and gone. [Source: not found]
Toy Review: Fun 4 All Keychain Bumblebee and Cliffjumper
Rob from the Bot Files reviews Fun 4 All’s new keychain Bumblebee and Cliffjumper. They’re the original G1 toys with an added plastic loop on the left shoulder and a small detachable clip chain. Cliffjumper’s red is a little darker, and Bumblebee is a cardinal yellow. Rob says to take the chain off before playing, since the metal will break easily. He also warns they’re too big for a keychain and easy to lose off a bag.
The transformation is the classic one, and Bumblebee stands about two inches, the size of a Robots in Disguise Spy Changer. The hands are solid G1-style pieces, and the tires are rubber, which Rob likes as a collector. Bumblebee’s face looks more like Goldbug than the cartoon, and the tires drop the original Dunlop lettering, probably for legal reasons. Cliffjumper transforms the same way into a generic sports car. His face matches the cartoon exactly, which Rob calls rare for a minibot. Both are top- and front-heavy, so leaving the chain behind them works as a counterweight for display. Rob jokes that Bumblebee is the show’s wuss, there for the kids like Snarf on Thundercats.
The packaging nearly replicates the originals, with color instructions and tech specs you read through the red decoder panel. The art is enlarged and placed around the toy, so opening the bubble doesn’t tear the picture. The Fun 4 All logo is the only giveaway. Cliffjumper’s tech specs still mention his glass gas gun, though he comes with no gun. Rob notes Action Figure Xpress sells them for about $11.99. He got his at Hot Topic, where he had to ask for them from the back because they’re easy to steal. The assistant manager says more are coming, and Rob knows the next two are Brawn and Windcharger. He plans to buy extra sets to keep carded, hopes to find the originals at BotCon to compare, and recommends them even to non-fans.
Comic Review: Dreamwave’s Transformers Generation One, With Maddie
For his second segment, Finback reviews Dreamwave’s Transformers: Generation One comic by interviewing his girlfriend Maddie. She has seen all of Beast Wars, half an episode of Beast Machines, a few G1 episodes and the movie. She picks out most of the Decepticons on the cover, and Finback helps with Devastator, Thundercracker, Skywarp and the Insecticons. She calls the art beautiful, the colors excellent and the story easy to follow. They find the jungle opening with Megatron’s giant hand a bit cliche, noting the animals would have gone quiet.
They note Spike now lives in Cleveland rather than Oregon, wonder whether the woman shown is Carly, and spot a plot-device medallion around Spike’s neck. The general seems sympathetic one page and a cliche bully the next. Some fans argue the terrorist Lazarus is Sparkplug, but one of them thinks he looks too young. One of them also laughs that the hooded prisoner sounds like Cobra Commander. Maddie never suspected the Jeep was a Transformer, and Finback identifies it as Hound. The centerfold’s overdone glowing eyes draw a complaint, and they like the footage reveal of Megatron. They also spot a BotCon 2002 ad with the Unicron statue, which Finback is attending, and an ad for the hardcover reprints of the original comics.
HeroesCon Recap
Brian went to HeroesCon over Father’s Day weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina. He hoped Pat Lee and Dreamwave would be there, but they weren’t. Transformers content was thin: a few old G1 toys, some Car Robots, comics, busts and bootleg videotapes. There was more Dragon Ball Z than Transformers, which surprised him since Transformers are hotter in the mainstream. He thinks the active fandom has cooled, judging by eBay prices. A friend picked up a God Ginrai for about $45, and another friend got one too. Brian spent more time with creators and had a good time. His photos, mostly of the Charlotte skyline, are on tfradio.net.
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.
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