Titans Return is unveiled live from Hasbro’s pre-New York Comic Con event, with Diecast and Ant calling in from the floor. The line brings back Headmaster-style Titan Masters, led by a triple-changing Voyager Galvatron, Skullsmasher and a Blaster base with new cassettes. Hasbro frames Combiner Wars and Titans Return as the first two parts of a Prime Wars trilogy, and a Walmart listing reveals a Powermaster Optimus Prime. The crew gives Transformers: Devastation a mixed verdict. RFC also launches a 16th-anniversary giveaway of the game.
Live From the Hasbro New York Comic Con Event
Diecast and Ant call in from Hasbro’s pre-New York Comic Con event to walk through the reveals. The line is officially Titans Return, and Hasbro staff call the new Headmaster partners Titan Masters. Both say the deluxe and Voyager figures have far more detail than usual and almost look like third-party toys.
The first table shows Skullsmasher, an obvious Skullcruncher, along with Nightbeat, a roughly $5 Titan Master that comes with a vehicle and weapon. Sky Lynx and the previously seen deluxes such as Hound and Wheeljack sit nearby. The center table has Galvatron, a Voyager triple changer whose Titan Master resembles Megatron. It also shows a G1-colored Bruticus that impresses the crew, and Terri-Bull, a $5 Titan Master that resembles G1 Horri-Bull.
The third table shows Blaster, whose head is Twincast and whose base mode has a Micromaster-inspired warning sticker. His cassettes include Rewind, Buzzsaw, a tiger-to-jet named Stripes and a purple and white Tyrannosaurus named Overkill. The bases connect to one another, and Hasbro says larger figures will connect too. Titan Masters scale with the 1988 Headmaster Juniors rather than Brainstorm or Arcana. Hasbro says the heads are interchangeable, and the $5 packs let kids replace lost ones.
Robots in Disguise has more Warrior-class figures on display, plus Legends recolors and a blue Drift that Hasbro calls Arctic Camo. Ant reports a Legends Ratchet built on the Legion Strongarm mold. Back in the studio, Brian has his eye on Hardhead and Galvatron. One host calls Galvatron a War for Cybertron-flavored take on G1 Galvatron, and the crew is glad he is not a deluxe again. [Source: not found]
RFC’s 16th Anniversary Transformers: Devastation Giveaway
To celebrate 16 years of Radio Free Cybertron on October 15, Brian is giving away an Xbox 360 copy of Transformers: Devastation. To enter, US fans like and share the RFC Facebook page, and a random winner will be drawn on the next live show.
This Week in History
In 1986, “Surprise Party” premieres, with Wheelie and Daniel trying to discover Ultra Magnus’s birthday. Brian loves it for adding to Cybertronian culture and history, even though he admits it is a bad episode. Don was just glad when it was over.
News
Walmart Listing Reveals a Powermaster Optimus Prime
A Walmart inventory listing reveals a Titans Return Powermaster Optimus Prime. Brian calls it the best news ever for fans approaching 40 and says the line is clearly aimed at older fans. The crew wonders whether every partner gimmick will simply be called a Titan Master. [Source: not found]
Prime Wars Trilogy Announced
Chris explains a Hollywood Reporter story: Hasbro is turning Combiner Wars into part one of a fiction trilogy. Titans Return is part two for 2016, and an unnamed third chapter follows in 2017. The goal is to tie together the IDW comics, the toy line and Machinima’s animation. The shuttle with an Optimus head from the BotCon line art turns out to be Sentinel Prime. Chris says Animated’s Sentinel Prime may be his favorite Transformer ever. [Source: not found]
New Photos of MP-28 Hot Rod
New photos show Masterpiece Hot Rod next to Masterpiece Ultra Magnus, and he comes with Daniel. Don notes HobbyLink Japan preorders at about $53 for Hot Rod and $112 for Shockwave, plus the Ultra Magnus reissue at $120. He warns that preordering now is a bet on the exchange rate. The painted figure looks better, though the crew jokes about a robot muffin top. They separate MP-09’s design flaws from simple quality control. [Source: not found]
Legends Blackarachnia, Slipstream and Nightbird Photos
More photos show Takara Tomy’s Legends Blackarachnia, Slipstream and Nightbird. Don is taken with Blackarachnia, and Matt still favors Slipstream. The crew calls Nightbird a surprise standout. Brian adds Slipstream and Nightbird to his cart on air. [Source: not found]
DX9 Hulky Pricing
DX9’s Hulky, its Legends-scale Devastator, will come in two-packs for about $50 each, roughly $150 total. One host says that is below average for third-party Legends figures. Another likes that DX9 keeps nearly all the combiner parts integral to the six robots. [Source: not found]
FansToys Stomp Color Photos
FansToys shows color photos of FT-07 Stomp, its unofficial Sludge. One host does not hate it but will not buy it, while another will finish his FansToys Dinobots with it. The crew notes every third-party Dinobot team must eventually beat Masterpiece Grimlock, which is why they all save Grimlock for last. [Source: not found]
Transformers: Devastation Review Roundtable
Diecast calls the game fun in his five-second review from the event. John wishes it had been an arena brawler like Power Stone and finds the story pacing and first Devastator fight unsatisfying. One host calls the combat generic and says Peter Cullen no longer sounds like G1 Optimus Prime. Chris counters that the script’s lack of contractions is the real problem. Don suggests Brian and John built the game up too much. Rob thinks a Gundam Versus-style arena game would have fit better. The crew notes no DLC is planned and says the game feels about ten years too late.
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: 59:03 — 27.3MB) | Embed
Radio Free Cybertron – 331
Unique Toys Mania King Vintage Color Version Not Galvatron Transformers Review
Radio Free Cybertron 914 – “Man, I really hate Hot Wheels”
Radio Free Cybertron – 396