BotCon 2013’s Machine Wars: Termination set takes shape with General Obsidian on a Highbrow repaint, Strika, Skywarp, Hoist and the unseen Clone Army Commander Megaplex. This February 27, 2013 Radio Free Cybertron is the monthly third-party roundup, with Diecast and Don covering Fans Project’s Stunticons Menasor and the War Lord Predaking. Perfect Effect Master Swords and an MP-scale Gears join the haul. Exvee and Rob review Robots in Disguise #14, and Transformers Rewind revisits the Beast Wars classic “Code of Hero.”

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BotCon 2013: Machine Wars Obsidian Revealed

BotCon 2013’s Machine Wars Obsidian uses a thorough repaint of the Highbrow mold with a new head sculpt. Brian loves it, though he’d prefer a helicopter. The crew notes the GDO Power Dive also used this mold and praises BotCon’s recent head sculpts. [Source: TFormers]

BotCon 2013 Convention Details Released

Fun Publications released the BotCon 2013 brochure with the Golden Ticket, Primus and Iacon packages. The Machine Wars: Termination set includes General Obsidian, General Strika, Clone Army Commander Megaplex, Skywarp and Hoist. Primus package buyers can also buy a pre-assembled, unpainted customizing class figure. The crew guesses what Megaplex’s clones will be and calls the set a hodgepodge of homages. Don compares it to Wings of Honor, built from whatever molds Takara will run. Brian says he remains pro-Fun Pub, and Diecast, whose credit card was stolen in the club’s breach, is giving it another chance. [Source: TFormers]

Masterpiece Prowl, Smokescreen and Bluestreak Silhouettes

Takara teased silhouettes of Masterpiece Prowl, with Smokescreen and Bluestreak expected from the same mold. [Source: not found]

Alternity GT Megatron

Don likes the first good pictures of Alternity GT Megatron, a remold of the GT Optimus Prime, but balks at preorder prices of up to $130. [Source: not found]

Beast Hunters Debuts March 22

Listener Trax notes that Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters debuts March 22. [Source: not found]

Comic News

Aimee reports that Emerald City Comic Con will bring news on Monstrosity. IDW Limited is releasing a 250-copy limited edition of The Art of Fall of Cybertron, with a custom slipcase, 10 lithographs, metallic ink and a vellum overlay.

Comic Review: Robots in Disguise #14

Exvee and Rob say the issue finally explains Prowl: he has been controlled the whole time, which writer John Barber says was planned from day one. They praise how five pages of recap and flashback work, calling it the comic equivalent of a clip episode that succeeds. Megatron returns to an older body that reminds one of them of Beast Wars Megatron, and Omega Supreme is taken out to clear the way for Devastator. The issue ends with a big setup for next month.

Transformers Rewind: Code of Hero

Brian, Chris McFeely, Don and the crew revisit “Code of Hero.” Dinobot steals the Golden Disk back from Megatron and saves the proto-humans’ valley. He overrides stasis lock to fight a transmetal Megatron with a stick, destroys the disk with his last breath and dies. They call it among the most weighty sacrifices in Transformers fiction, with no other way out. They note the proto-human cracking a coconut with Dinobot’s stick, which turns Megatron’s plan against him. The episode also ends the beloved banter between Dinobot and Rattrap. McFeely notes UK broadcasts cut Dinobot’s attempted suicide and his corridor talk with Rattrap. He says the daylight animation and the proto-human opening look rough.

Transformers Prime Retro Review: Darkness Rising Part 4

Aimee and Nicole review the zombie battle in “Darkness Rising Part 4.” Optimus and Ratchet hack apart the Dark Energon-raised dead while Bulkhead protects Miko aboard the Nemesis. The kids photograph the space bridge schematics, and Jack decides he wants out. They note how dark the episode is for kids and praise its sound design and Raf’s sensitivity. They also highlight the show’s recurring theme of the humans’ safety. Season 2 is now available on iTunes.

Third-Party Roundup

The crew counts more than three third-party releases a week in 2013. Brian preorders the Springer and Blitzwing figures that Milvar flags as up at Big Bad Toy Store. Fans Project’s unpainted Stunticons combiner, based on a Don Figueroa design, wins Brian over, with Motormaster expected at $80 to $100 and the combined form about 11.5 inches tall. Brian finds the War Lord Predaking nice but says he has become desensitized to modern combiners. Don and Diecast agree there isn’t enough money for everything and that Hasbro gets their money first.

Perfect Effect’s red and blue diecast Master Swords for Fortress Maximus run about $35. One host applauds an MP-scale Gears but doesn’t get it. Dr. Wu’s Star Saber swords for Voyager Prime cost $17. Brian also finds a Scourge remold with a new Ratbat head, and Don notes a Planet X Project Genesis accessory is coming.

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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