Radio Free Cybertron recaps SavCon 2012 with interviews from Gregg Berger, Neil Kaplan, Daniel Ross and Ravage voice actor Lee Tockar. San Diego Comic-Con exclusive prices land, including a $99.99 game-accurate Bruticus and a $24.99 Terrorcon Cliffjumper. The Hasbro catalog shows off Thundertron and confirms Skyquake, while deluxe Generations prices rise to $14.99. Transformers Rewind tackles “Fight or Flee,” and the third-party roundup covers TFC’s Project Uranus Aerialbots.
San Diego Comic-Con Coverage Plans
RFC will cover San Diego Comic-Con on July 14 and 15, with a recap the following Thursday. Brian wants the Hiss tank and the Bruticus, and expects Bruticus to be the exclusive that sells out.
The TFormers.com News Desk
Hasbro Catalog Shows Thundertron, Ultra Magnus and Skyquake
Peter Van and JD Church report that the new Hasbro catalog has better looks at Thundertron and an Ultra Magnus that resembles a blown-up Cyberverse figure. Skyquake will release after being delayed for Dreadwing. Breakdown and Unicron are missing, and JD doubts the spiky Unicron will pass U.S. toy testing. [Source: TFormers]
Generations Wave 2 Brings Bruticus and Higher Prices
Big Bad Toy Store reports that Generations Wave 2 includes all five Combaticons in one wave. The Bruticus five-pack is $104.99, or $119.99 for the full case with two Optimus Primes and a Jazz. Deluxe prices rise to $14.99 starting with this wave. [Source: Big Bad Toy Store]
TFC Toys Announces Project Uranus
TFC Toys is following its Devastator homage with Project Uranus, a third-party Superion. The first two figures, Phantom and Eagle, homage Fireflight and Air Raid. [Source: TFormers]
San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive Prices Revealed
The Transformers Prime Terrorcon “Rust in Peace” Cliffjumper will be $24.99, the game-accurate Bruticus $99.99, and the G.I. Joe Hiss tank with Shockwave colors, Destro and a B.A.T. $59.99. Leftovers usually go to Hasbro Toy Shop a few days after the show. [Source: TFormers]
Million Publishing Has the Only Artfire
Takara clarified on Twitter that the Million Publishing mail-order Artfire is the only version. Reports of a separate Transformers United UN32 Artfire were wrong. [Source: Takara Tomy]
Michael Bay Says Transformers 4 Is His Last
Michael Bay told the Los Angeles Times Hero Complex that Transformers 4 will absolutely be his last and will set up the next director. He says the film may go into space, but not much, since its budget was cut by $30 million. JD notes that Bay said the same after the second and third movies. [Source: Los Angeles Times]
News
Asian Generations Deluxe Case Shorts Wheelie
The Asian Generations deluxe case packs three Cliffjumpers, two each of Springer and Swerve and one Wheelie. Robot Kingdom’s $120 case preorder sold out, and Big Bad Toy Store couldn’t get any. The crew suspects it is a Japan-only release. They note that releasing a mold in either Japan or North America pays off its cost. [Source: not found]
Takara Darkness Megatron and Jet Vehicon Images
New Takara images show AM-15 Darkness Megatron, with a bat Minicon that becomes a scythe and more paint than most Arms Micron releases, and the AM-16 Jet Vehicon. The crew wants the Jet Vehicon but expects it to stay in Japan. [Source: Takara Tomy]
Rescue Bots Review: Rules and Regulations
Aimee and Nicole review Rescue Bots episode 16, “Rules and Regulations.” They pick apart the physics of the skydiver rescue and wish the chief had just explained why the bots couldn’t enter a zone that shuts down electronics. They call it Chase’s episode, loving his 1959 handbook and the line “rules don’t come with an expiration date.” They suspect the dead zone foreshadows something later.
Comic News
Aimee notes a Nick Roche and James Roberts Q&A from Orbital Comics, an Auto Assembly goodie bag comic, and that comiXology will carry the Free Comic Book Day issue 80.5. She calls More Than Meets the Eye #6 mind-blowing: Fortress Maximus cracks aboard the Lost Light, leading to a hostage situation and a death. She won’t spoil who dies.
SavCon Recap
Brian calls SavCon markedly different from BotCon, drawing local fans who don’t make the trip to BotCon. Two third-party exclusives were offered: a SavCon-colored Maiden Japan Junkion head and a recolored cassette drone limited to about eight pieces. Rob Springer got Lee Tockar to read parts of Ravage 3 Bodies Evolution.
Transformers Rewind: Fight or Flee
JD, XV and Brian revisit the G1 episode “Fight or Flee,” in which Cyclonus and Scourge stumble onto the lost colony Paradron. JD was horrified that Rodimus Prime blows up Paradron rather than defend it, then tells Sandstorm Cybertron is better anyway. XV defends Rodimus as a get-it-done leader, comparing him to Captain Jellicoe in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Brian praises the Scourge and Cyclonus banter, especially “everybody’s got to be somewhere.” Next week is the Beast Wars episode “Transmutate.”
Third Party Roundup
The crew calls TFC’s Phantom and Eagle a long-overdue answer to a weak official Superion, though they expect the price to be steep. Fans Project’s Warbot WB02 Steel Core is an original design, and XV predicts third-party designers could one day rival Hasbro or go high-end like Hot Toys. A third-party fire truck trailer with a wing blade mode is coming for Animated Voyager Optimus Prime. Dr. Wu adds a Star Saber and a Prime-style hammer.
SavCon Interviews
Neil Kaplan, 11 years out from his Transformers role, says he is humbled whenever a fan is happy to meet him. Gregg Berger recalls recording Duckman lines from Moscow while filming Police Academy during the attempted overthrow of the Russian government. Daniel Ross, a fan turned voice actor, explains how Activision steered his video game Starscream away from a G1-style voice to a light British accent. He tells listeners not to let anyone tell them no. SavCon founder Sean Casey reports about 400 attendees on Saturday and praises the Cosplay for a Cure team for braving the heat. Lee Tockar reads Ravage lines from fan fiction, and Rob dubs Ravage the Russian Tom Waits.
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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