Hasbro’s BotCon 2010 design panel was “G1-a-palooza,” and Brian Kilby, Rob Springer and Ender recap it in this Saturday post-show recorded live at BotCon. Highlights include Legends Gun Megatron, a Generations Perceptor with treads, a Jazz with fold-out door speakers, and a first look at Megatronus of the Thirteen. Headmaster Don reacts to finally getting an Arcee. The crew also shares the story of Stan Bush and Scott McNeil at a Hasbro karaoke night.

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Hasbro Design Panel: Generations, Legends and Power Core Combiners

The crew calls the Hasbro design panel G1-tastic, and one host says it made him more interested in Generations. Legends Gun Megatron is small enough for Masterpiece Starscream to hold. The Generations Perceptor has half treads in place of rear wheels, matching the old toy’s legs, and a likely Reflector repaint. His head looks like the original Perceptor. One host names Deluxe Jazz his favorite, calling it the Masterpiece Jazz you wanted at a price everyone can afford, with fold-out door speakers. A Generations Scourge looks way better than the G1 toy, and Tracks has a wing car mode. A Scout Windcharger was the only Scout shown. Legends Optimus Prime looks so good the crew thought it was a deluxe, and a Legends Megatron and Starscream were also shown. Power Core Combiners reveals include Grimstone, the Constructicon set Steamhammer, Heavytread and Sky Hammer. Hasbro also showed a G1 Grapple from the Inferno mold with a new crane, and a World War II fighter inspired by Animated Lugnut. [Source: not found]

The Thirteen and Megatronus

Hasbro showed some of the original Thirteen, including Megatronus, the progenitor of Megatron. He has a Decepticon symbol for a face. [Source: not found]

New Heads and Swappable Weapons for Repaints

Almost every repaint shown had a new head, with Cliffjumper a possible exception. Hasbro also said Deluxe weapons will be interchangeable, so Perceptor’s sniper rifle can go to another figure. The crew thinks the extra-head approach first seen with last year’s Ratchet is now standard and should cut forum complaints about repaints. They also say Cliffjumper will be his own character in Transformers Prime. [Source: not found]

Headmaster Don and Arcee

Headmaster Don used his panel turn to thank Hasbro for Arcee after asking for 15 years. He also asked about bringing over Brave concepts. He thinks the answer missed his point, but liked hearing Hasbro had looked at the Brave molds. The crew wishes for Webdiver, Galleon, Captain Shark and Guardian. Don says he can live without a Headmaster Arcee as long as the figure looks halfway decent.

Girl Transformers and the Arcee Question

One host says his young daughter recently named Arcee her favorite Transformer. He thanks Hasbro for finally making one and faults it for taking 25 years. A fan at the panel asked about more girl Transformers, and Hasbro said Slipstream is in the works. The crew argues that ignoring half the population is a flawed business model, since girls buy these toys too.

Stan Bush and Scott McNeil Karaoke

After Friday’s live show and the Hall of Fame celebration, Brian, Monzo and John DeLuna went looking for Scott McNeil. They found Stan Bush singing karaoke at a Hasbro get-together. The lead producer of Transformers Prime sang “La Bamba,” and Stan returned for an encore of “Hotel California.” Scott McNeil sang too, and Monzo banged on the window to call him in from outside. The crew calls McNeil a force of nature and his Silverbolt the best voice ever.

Listener Visit

A fan stops by to thank RFC for the Animated Arcee he won on Facebook, which he gave to his daughter for her birthday. He says Transformers helps his family connect with his son, who has autism, through the voices and the smaller toys. He plugs TFormers.com.

Coming Up

The full BotCon show, with interviews and commentary, arrives Wednesday.

Radio Free Cybertron: The Transformers Podcast

Brian Kilby

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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