Hasbro confirms a War for Cybertron toy line on this January 27, 2010 Radio Free Cybertron. Glu Mobile’s Bernard previews Transformers G1, a turn-based strategy game for iPhone and iPod Touch. Ender gives IDW’s Last Stand of the Wreckers #1 by Nick Roche a perfect score, and the crew argues over it. The show closes with the crew’s picks for the best Transformers toys ever.
News
Hasbro Confirms a War for Cybertron Toy Line
Hasbro has confirmed a limited War for Cybertron toy line, starting with Optimus Prime, Megatron and Bumblebee. One host cheers the news, but the crew wishes Hasbro could photograph its toys transformed correctly. They debate Megatron’s Cybertronian alt mode, which one host calls the lamest transformation ever. [Source: not found]
Animated Toys Coming from Japan Draw Groans
A new set of Transformers Animated toys is coming from Japan, and the crew compares their quality to Built to Rule. Bumblebee draws the harshest reviews, with one host saying he looks worse than a grade-school drawing of a sports car. [Source: not found]
Animated Arcee and Cybertron Mode Ratchet Are Toys R Us Exclusives
Transformers Animated Arcee and Cybertron mode Ratchet arrive in February as Toys R Us exclusives, and some stores already have them. One host plans to buy every Arcee he finds. [Source: not found]
Optimus Prime with Jetfire Armor in Japan
A Japanese release pairs Optimus Prime with Jetfire armor, and the crew likes the look. They expect the Voyager Optimus mold and wonder what size class it will sell at if it comes to the US. [Source: not found]
Fans Project Builds Swindle
Fans Project is moving from add-on armor to full figures, starting with Swindle for its Bruticus. The crew is surprised the company has not drawn a cease and desist. That leads to talk of Big Lots pulling knockoffs of products Hasbro was still selling there. One host asks knockoff makers to produce the Robot Heroes Hasbro never made. [Source: not found]
Transformers Heroes Prototypes Surface
Prototype photos surfaced from Transformers Heroes, the early concept that became Transformers Animated, showing what may be Rhinox and Hot Rod. The crew wonders whether a line killed that early would even reach prototypes, but notes Hasbro jumps to prototypes fast. [Source: not found]
New Retail Exclusives
Walmart gets the Legends class Constructicon Devastator plus NEST exclusive Scouts Beachcomber, Deadlift, Slapdash and Trenchmouth. The crew likes Beachcomber and links Deadlift to the first movie game. Toys R Us gets Global Alliance Mudflap and Skids with Voyager Demolishor. The crew then swaps clearance stories from Walmart, Toys R Us and Target. [Source: not found]
This Day in Transformers History
Transformers Energon premiered in the US on January 31. JD also reports the first known use of the term G1, on January 29, by a tfarchive.com user named Cliffjumper. He says Nevermore spread the term, and the crew wants Nevermore back for a European segment.
New Comic Podcast
Brian and Chris McFeely launch a new comic book podcast this weekend. Listeners can vote on its name through a poll at TFormers.com or by email to brian@tfradio.net. Bagged and Boarded is the crew’s favorite.
Interview: Bernard of Glu Mobile
Bernard, product marketing manager at Glu Mobile, previews Transformers G1 for iPhone and iPod Touch. It is a turn-based strategy game with 23 characters from the original series and 17 story levels. It revamps Glu’s 2008 Java game with 3D animation, multi-touch controls and in-game iPod music. Each character has a unique ability, such as Ratchet healing other Autobots. Adjacent team attacks earn bonuses, and terrain affects battles. The roster draws on the start of the TV series, from Optimus Prime and Bumblebee to Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave and Frenzy. Modes include story, objective-based showdown and a pass-and-play Cybertron Arena. Bernard says Hasbro approves everything, and the game is due at the end of February. Updates are at glu.com and on Glu’s Twitter and Facebook pages.
Comic Review: Last Stand of the Wreckers #1
Ender gives Last Stand of the Wreckers #1 a perfect score. Nick Roche writes and draws it, and Ender says more happens in its 22 pages than in the last five or six Transformers comics he read. He praises the dialogue, structure and art, which captures G1 as fans remember it. Every character has a personality, and the issue ties into All Hail Megatron. He met Roche at BotCon and calls him a real fan. Ender urges listeners to buy both variant covers and vote with their dollars.
Not everyone agrees. One host calls Skyquake’s early death a cliche and finds Verity’s outfit sexist. Ender answers that cliches exist for a reason and that reading Transformers comics means ignoring the humans. Spoiler: the issue ends by bringing back Impactor, who has been untouched since Simon Furman’s original run.
Topic: The Best Transformers Toys Ever
The crew opens with a debate over whether the Beast Wars Happy Meal Unde3 was the best or worst Happy Meal toy. JD picks Armada Cyclonus for its price, poseability and Minicon gear interaction. Ender calls the question philosophical. He picks the Voyager Animated Optimus Prime and the Beast Machines Nightslash Cheetor for its rotating head-swap mechanism. He also praises Energon Galvatron’s vestigial sound button, and the engineering of the Revenge of the Fallen Leader Optimus Prime and Masterpiece Optimus Prime.
One host picks Armada Supercon Optimus Prime as a great action figure that reimagines Prime without copying him. Rob picks Beast Machines Supreme Optimus Primal. Exvee goes with Takara’s Beast Wars Metals Transmetal Megatron. One host names Powermaster Optimus Prime his all-time favorite, an Easter surprise, and credits it with launching the recurring-character model. Another host picks Armada Megatron despite its antlers and names Beast Machines Supreme Cheetor the toy with the worst reputation ever. The worst toys get their own turn next week.
Twitter Theater
Rob picked this week’s episode because it features Overlord, who appears in the Wreckers comic. The crew suggests next week’s pick be the Beast Machines episode where Thrust flips off Optimus Primal, and remembers Mainframe’s animation.
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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