Maiden Japan will mass-produce its Junkion upgrade kit for Junkheap, so the crew urges fans to grab cheap Junkheaps at Ross and TJ Maxx. Tim Curry guest stars in a two-part Rescue Bots time-travel episode with Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Brian finally gets his San Diego Comic-Con Shockwave HISS Tank after a trip to a FedEx depot. The crew wishes for a Battle Gaia Bruticus and looks back at Scramble City combiners. Transformers Rewind takes on City of Steel, which Brian calls the worst G1 episode ever.
TFormers NewsDesk
Maiden Japan Mass-Produces Its Junkion Upgrade Kit
With Peter Van and JD Church out, the panel reads the news. Maiden Japan, which began with made-to-order garage kits, will mass-produce its Junkion upgrade kit, rumored at $50 to $65. The neutral colors suit Junkheap, Wreck-Gar and possibly Scrapheap, and the pieces attach with ball joints and snap-on parts. Brian plans to buy several, and the crew recalls the similar armor idea of Animated Samurai Prowl. [Source: TFormers]
Tim Curry Guest Stars in a Two-Part Rescue Bots Episode
Optimus Prime and Bumblebee team up in a two-part Rescue Bots time-travel episode guest starring Tim Curry. Brian says the headline alone is all he needs. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Collectible Pins Come to Japan
A set of collectible pins for Japan includes a Quintesson sigil, a Maximal symbol, Jazz and Red Alert chests and a NEST logo. Brian wants the Quintesson pin, which reminds him of the ancient in The Return of Optimus Prime. The crew is less sure about the character pins. [Source: TFormers]
John DeLuna points to the movie Barricade Saleen Mustang on eBay, bidding about $37,100 without meeting reserve. The crew notes Generations has no third wave, and the next releases are the 2013 line.
Brian’s Shockwave HISS Tank
After last week’s FedEx trouble, Hasbro Toy Shop began recalling the package, so Brian drove to a FedEx depot. He was sent to a second facility, behind turnstiles and security, before getting his Shockwave HISS Tank. He calls it worth the effort: the B.A.T. uses Constructicon green, and the HISS has translucent purple cannons and a Shockwave cannon that clips onto the standard launcher. He hopes for a Snowcat at Comic-Con 2013.
Brian could have bought the Comic-Con Bruticus two or three times but passed, since the game-accurate colors do nothing for him. The crew counts the many Bruticus redecos and debates the true Scramble City design, where each limb can be an arm or a leg. They agree it rarely makes a great arm, leg, vehicle and robot all at once. Magnaboss looks great, while Tripredacus and Magnatron disappoint.
Rescue Bots: Family of Heroes
Aimee and Nicole go back to the first episode. Optimus Prime gives the Rescue Bots their mission to live with the Burns family. Cody learns the truth and coaches them on acting like robots, and the episode introduces Frankie, her father and Dinobot. They call it a solid setup, if not as funny as later episodes.
Combiner Talk
During the break, John finds a fan’s Battle Gaia kitbash of Fall of Cybertron Bruticus, and the crew calls it the best possible redeco. They also note a chat suggestion for an e-Hobby-style Cybertron Bruticus repaint. Talk turns to Computron, whose vehicles looked futuristic in the 1980s, except for the drill tank Nosecone. Scattershot’s shield stand helps hold him up. Brian has lost his childhood longing for G1 combiner gift sets as G1 prices have fallen, though he would still like a Dinoking set. He notes Japanese-prominent characters like Sixshot still command high prices.
Transformers Rewind: G1, City of Steel
Megatron steals the Empire State Building to turn New York into New Cybertron. He captures Optimus Prime, whose body the Constructicons scatter while Megatron keeps the head. The Autobots battle an alligator robot in the sewers and rebuild Prime. Brian calls it the worst G1 episode, worse than Carnage in C-Minor, though one host enjoys it because it hurts. The crew blames AKOM’s animation for its scale and character models and mocks Optimus Prime’s psychic control of his own arm. Next week’s Rewind is the Beast Wars episode The Low Road.
Rob reviewed Mystery of Convoy for Review a Bad Game Day. Brian asks listeners to help the Facebook page reach 1,000 fans, and says Aimee will return next week to review Robots in Disguise #8 after Auto Assembly.
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.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:31 — 27.7MB) | Embed
Transformers Rewind: Showdown on the Surface moon
Radio Free Cybertron 578 – Diecast vs The Monkey’s Paw
Radio Free Cybertron 778 – Monitoring from upstairs
The RFC Mini-cast – 066: SDCC Revolution!