Masterpiece Grimlock is now listed in Canadian Toys R Us computers at $70 Canadian. The Transformers Collectors Club says Dion will ship in late April, and the crew reacts to the first promo video for The Hub. TFG1Mike of the GeekCast Radio Network joins the show while Ender is out sick. The crew tours Transformers video game history, from Return of Convoy to the upcoming War for Cybertron.
News
TFCC Dion Due Out in Late April
The Transformers Collectors Club says Dion will ship in late April. The crew expects TFCC releases to run late and jokes that the boxes arrive like time capsules. Two hosts say they are more interested in Punch/Counterpunch. [Source: not found]
The Hub Promotional Video Released
The first promo video for Hasbro’s The Hub channel is out. One host calls it 95% Discovery Kids and 5% Hasbro, with the Transformers logo on screen for half a second. The crew does like the crisp, G1-style logos. [Source: not found]
New Diablock Images
New images of the Diablock block-built Transformers have surfaced. One host can’t stand the Optimus Prime truck, which the crew compares to mall security and a hiking backpack. The crew notes the faces now use stickers. They agree Lego-style Transformers only work if the builder engineers special pieces. [Source: not found]
Masterpiece Grimlock Turns Up in Canadian Toys R Us Computers
Masterpiece Grimlock is listed in Canadian Toys R Us computers at $70 Canadian. The crew guesses a U.S. price around $80, the same as Masterpiece Optimus Prime at launch, and still far less than the roughly $150 import. Several hosts compare Masterpiece collections. They praise Masterpiece Skywarp, now on clearance at $30, as easy to transform. [Source: not found]
Optimus Prime Built from Recycled Junk
XV shares a fan-built Optimus Prime made from recycled material. The crew notes that the movie Optimus Prime design lends itself to junk sculptures. [Source: not found]
This Day in History
JD notes that Toonami began on Cartoon Network on March 17, 1997, with a week of Beast Wars episodes. That sparks a debate over “Transmutate.” One host calls it the worst Beast Wars episode, and another rates it a favorite. Beast Wars Transmetals arrived on PlayStation on March 15, 2000, with an N64 version as a Blockbuster rental exclusive. The crew says the PlayStation version is the better game.
Transformers Video Game History
The crew and TFG1Mike walk through Transformers video games. The Famicom game Return of Convoy is frustrating to the point of insanity, and the Commodore 64 game is a text strategy title. The Headmasters game on the Famicom Disk System fares a little better. A planned Super NES game never came out. Beast Wars on PlayStation and PC was fun for its deathmatch, and the Japanese Beast Wars II Game Boy Color fighter holds up.
Dream Mix TV World Fighters pits Optimus Prime and Megatron against Simon Belmont, Bomberman and Microman. The Atari Armada game on PlayStation 2 gets the most praise, especially its level inside Tidal Wave. The movie games draw complaints about timed missions. Transformers Animated on the DS earns a recommendation for its Lost Vikings-style tag-team play.
War for Cybertron Hype
One host expects War for Cybertron to be the Transformers version of Batman: Arkham Asylum. JD warns against overhyping it, pointing to how Star Wars: The Force Unleashed failed to live up to its trailers. The crew agrees the game looks great but is still only video so far. One host objects to James Remar as Megatron, while another argues the game targets fans who half-remember G1.
Twitter Theater
Twitter Theater revisits Transformers Victory and the episode “Unite! Multiforce.” The crew remembers how good Victory looked before they watched it, and laughs at the clunky English dubs. One host wants to redub Transformers Animated the same way. Rob plans to post old Japanese dub episodes to YouTube.
Wrap-Up
TFG1Mike plugs his GeekCast Radio Network shows and the Toy Cast episode 50 contest for a Recon Ravage, with a March 29 deadline. Brian announces a live Radio Free Cybertron on March 31 around 8 p.m. Eastern. Listeners who want to join can email brian@tfradio.net with a Skype handle and a topic.
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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