Michael Bay is back to direct Transformers 4, due June 29, 2014, and the crew wants new robot designs worth buying as toys. The last US wave of Dark of the Moon toys is cancelled, while the Trilogy Optimus Prime with Mech Tech trailer turns up early at Target. Peter Van weighs in on the two Fall of Cybertron Bruticus color schemes. Aimee covers More Than Meets the Eye #2 and Autocracy #3, and the crew recaps Toy Fair 2012 and its 40 Generations toys for 2013.
News
Michael Bay Confirms He Will Direct Transformers 4
Michael Bay will direct Transformers 4, set for release June 29, 2014. One host admits to being the only one even moderately excited, since he likes the movies; the dread is the toys. Talk of a reboot came up, but a same-day press release called it a reimagining, not a reboot. The crew hopes the new film replaces the human cast and most of the robots. Redesigned robots would at least make the toys look new, since Optimus Prime and Bumblebee only got slight tweaks across three films. Revenge of the Fallen wave 1 toys like Brawl still sit at Toys R Us. Asked whether the movie will kill Transformers Prime, the crew expects Prime to have run its course by 2014. [Source: Film Buff Online]
Transformers Prime Episode Titles Reveal Operation Bumblebee Miniseries
Upcoming Transformers Prime episode titles reveal an Operation Bumblebee miniseries starting March 10, about three weeks away. The crew jokes that Bumblebee is such a fresh new thing. They also note that most of the country can’t watch The Hub in the first place. [Source: not found]
Photos of the Sci-Fi Revoltech Dark of the Moon Bumblebee
T-Formers.com has photos of the upcoming Sci-Fi Revoltech Bumblebee from Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The crew agrees it is clearly the movie Bumblebee. A couple of hosts like Revoltech, and one dislikes it only when it apes Pat Lee art. [Source: not found]
Final Dark of the Moon Wave Cancelled for US Distribution
The final run of Dark of the Moon toys has been cancelled for the US. It includes Human Alliance Soundwave, the deluxe car Soundwave, Wheeljack and some Bumblebees. The crew notes that the Soundwaves and Wheeljack were the pieces fans actually wanted. The wave will still go to Hasbro’s Asia and Canada markets, which can take smaller orders and move product faster. The crew recalls other figures that were easier to find in Canada, such as the blue Energon Omega Supreme repaint, Omega Sentinel, and Energon Ultra Magnus. [Source: not found]
Trilogy Series Optimus Prime With Mech Tech Trailer Found at Target
Brian shares breaking news: the Trilogy Series Optimus Prime, the deluxe mold with the Mech Tech weapon trailer shown at Toy Fair, turned up at a Target in California for $30. The same deluxe mold is plentiful at Walmart, where it was released twice as an exclusive. The crew thinks other stores picked it up because they never had the figure before. One host owns the Walmart version and likes it for $10. Peter Van adds that the trailer Prime was tucked behind the Fall of Cybertron toys at Toy Fair, so few people photographed it. [Source: not found]
Official Fall of Cybertron Bruticus Image Shows a Different Color Scheme
Activision’s and Hasbro’s PR agencies sent out images of the Fall of Cybertron Bruticus toys in two different color schemes. Put on the spot, Peter Van says Hasbro’s official images and the G2-style colors shown at Toy Fair are final. RFC emailed Hasbro but has not heard back. One host notes the Toy Fair samples look hand-painted. Peter adds that once colors are committed to plastic like that, they are more or less final. The crew hopes for a G2 Bruticus skin as game DLC and jokes about store-by-store pre-order bonuses for each Combaticon. With five Combaticons in one wave, someone gets short-packed. Several hosts would rather pre-order a full case than hunt. On Twitter, TFG1Mike said he would buy only Swindle, which proves an earlier prediction right. The game is due in the fall, likely September. [Source: Seibertron]
Transformers Collectors’ Club Overrun Is Shipping
The crew points out that Overrun is shipping, except for orders that included a T-shirt, which ship later. [Source: not found]
Comic News With Aimee
Three Transformers comics are out this week: More Than Meets the Eye #2, Autocracy #3 and the Transformers chapter of Infestation 2 #2. Amazon has listed the extras for the Last Stand of the Wreckers collection, which may run more than 60 pages. They include “Bullets,” “Out of Bullets,” “Dead Man’s Boots,” character profiles, script extracts, guest artwork, “Squadron X,” “Escape,” pin-ups, “Zero Point” and “In Word and Deed.” Alex Milne has posted new More Than Meets the Eye art, and Nick Roche has posted his variant cover for issue two. A video features Chris Metzen and Flint Dille going fanboy over Soundwave and Autocracy #3. In Autocracy #3, Orion Pax goes after Soundwave, who throws everything he has at him. Aimee calls it fun and worth the dollar. She calls More Than Meets the Eye #2 well paced, with action, comedy and plenty of character development as the crew gathers survivors on the planet.
Comics Talk: More Than Meets the Eye and Autocracy
The crew loves More Than Meets the Eye. One host who rarely loves anything from IDW calls it fantastic and laugh-out-loud funny. They praise the Cyclonus and Whirl encounter, Swerve’s face time, Rung’s character work and a Ratchet moment. They say the care put into it sets it apart, and they like Alex Milne’s art after Nick Roche’s first issue. JD Church calls Autocracy an “atrocity.” Most of the issue is Soundwave spitting cassettes at the Autobots, and Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage and Ratbat get torn apart with no weight or remorse. He also finds the art hard to read and the story flat. Another host agrees it is all plot and no character development, but keeps buying it at a dollar an issue. One host has not read Infestation 2 yet but likes its H.P. Lovecraft angle, deep ones and tentacles, which perks up Exvee.
Toy Fair 2012 Recap
Peter Van covered Toy Fair in person. From the Hasbro event he brought home a DVD with Transformers Prime’s “Orion Pax, Part 1” and the first episode of Transformers: Rescue Bots. The big Transformers news is about 40 Generations toys coming in 2013, with no word on what they are. Hopes include figures that were teased but never released, a better Grimlock, a new Mirage, Trailbreaker and Armada Sideways, plus more non-G1 and Beast Wars figures. The crew also liked the Beast Wars anniversary Optimus Primal and Megatron. Cyberverse reveals include a Dreadwing who looks like Depth Charge. Bot Shots are called the coolest Transformers thing at the show, described as Micromasters meets Bakugan or Jumpstarters meets Battle Beasts. A Death’s Head figure is coming to the Marvel Universe line, probably in 2013. The crew is frustrated that the neatest news is all a year out.
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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