Vintage G1 Transformers prices have crashed while new short-packed figures command big money, and the crew digs into the secondary market on this May 17, 2012 Radio Free Cybertron. News covers the hard-to-find Transformers Prime Wave 3, a Fans Project subscription service and TFC’s Superion project. Brian Kilby’s BotCon 2012 interview with David previews the fan documentary Transform Me. The crew also reviews the Transformers Prime episodes “Tunnel Vision” and “Triangulation.”
News
Transformers Prime Wave 3 Is Out, Barely
Transformers Prime Wave 3, with Hot Shot, Knockout and one Vehicon per case, is trickling out. Voyager Wave 2 with Bulkhead and Starscream is out in some places, packed one each to two Optimus Primes. One host wants to troop-build Vehicons, but they are one per case. The crew expects Hasbro to cycle the Vehicon back in gaudy recolors. [Source: not found]
Fans Project Subscription Service and TFC’s Superion
Fans Project announced a subscription service with original fiction, which the crew calls a bad idea that dares Hasbro to sue. TFC announced its Superion project, codenamed Project Uranus. One host got a replacement forearm for his iGear Rager straight from China and praises the customer service. Another praises TFC for sending corrected parts for its earlier Constructicons. [Source: not found]
Club Subscription Service Still Quiet
There is no news on the official Transformers Collectors’ Club subscription service since BotCon. The G.I. Joe version has been in the air for about six months. [Source: not found]
Rob Springer’s YouTube-Exclusive Show
RFC is moving some content exclusively to YouTube. That starts with Rob Springer’s first YouTube-only podcast, which Brian calls funny, on the TF Radio Network channel.
Where Is Hasbro After BotCon?
One host says it’s odd that Hasbro has gone quiet after BotCon, with Fall of Cybertron coming this summer. Another has grown to really like Transformers Prime but says it’s limited by the Hub, calling it “the prettiest girl in the leper colony.” Rescue Bots got a mixed reaction, though Aimee and Nicole like it and plan a podcast version for RFC.
Interview: David on Transform Me
At BotCon 2012, Brian talks with David, a longtime fan and bootleg hunter, about his fan documentary Transform Me. It grew out of a 2004 Transformers awards show and footage he shot back at the first BotCon in 1994. Featured fans include Mr. Optimus Prime, who legally changed his name and saw the character as a father figure. Others include Joe Ibe in his duct-taped Star Saber costume, BotCon founders Jon and Karl Hartman, and voice actor Daniel Ross. The three-hour rough cut is being trimmed with a new editor. An Indiegogo campaign is raising completion funds, and David promises it will be done this year.
This Week in Comics
Aimee, under the weather, says there’s no Transformers comic this week. Bob Budiansky is going to TFCon. The Underbase interviewed Chris Metzen and Flint Dille about Autocracy.
Transformers Prime Review: Tunnel Vision and Triangulation
The crew liked “Tunnel Vision” for its crazy human, its trains and a Miko who was useful and minimally annoying. They wish the train had been a Rail Racer. “Triangulation” was better, thanks to Steve Blum’s Starscream. One host notes Blum can really act because he records before animation. That’s unlike anime dubbing, which Garry Chalk has said he hates. The crew praises Tony Todd’s Dreadwing but doesn’t see why Optimus Prime thinks he is honorable. The episode’s Iacon relic is the Apex Armor, which turns Starscream into a juggernaut until Prime and Dreadwing drop him into the ocean.
Chat: Distribution Problems
John DeLuna reports the chat is talking about how hard Transformers Prime is to find, both the toys and the show. Wave 3 is scarce, and many people don’t get the Hub. One host notes Prime has shrunk to about two pegs at Walmart, and store layouts are inconsistent.
Topic: What’s Up With the Secondary Market?
Brian and John DeLuna started this talk at BotCon. New, short-packed figures command high prices, while G1 and early Beast Wars toys are now dirt cheap. With no third-party at BotCon this year, dealers showcased boxed G1, and boxed 1985 and 1986 figures topped out around $100. One host bought a Beast Wars Neo figure for less than it cost new. Others note Korean reruns flooded the Neo and Car Robots market. Exvee says vintage Japanese pieces like Headmasters and Masterforce now draw buyers from China, so prices there stay high. Reissues often outsell originals, like Sixshot and the Toys R Us Insecticons. The crew says collectors chase characters, not antiques, and the commemorative Ricochet versus the expensive United Stepper proves it. Classics and Generations figures have replaced vintage toys on most fans’ shelves.
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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