The crew is back from Toylanta, where Don’s Donanomics panel drew the biggest crowd and Diecast lost a shoe fleeing a staged brawl. Box art for the Titans Return Chaos on Velocitron set arrives, and the crew realizes its Titan Master Rodimus Prime is basically Micromaster Hot Rodimus. A leaked Infernocons combiner from The Last Knight looks better combined than apart. A new Kids’ Choice Awards trailer comes closer than anything yet to selling the movie. FansToys Phoenix nearly looks Titan Class Devastator in the eye.

Toylanta Recap

Most of the crew spent the weekend at Toylanta in Atlanta. Don’s Donanomics panel was the most popular of the show. Brian calls Crazy Steve’s panel on vintage Transformers ads the most interesting, and Dusty’s Toyhax panel was a hit too. The panel recordings were lost to a failed SD card. The highlight was Diecast’s staged confrontation with a wrestler, which ended with Diecast fleeing the room without his shoe. The video is up on YouTube and Facebook. The crew praises the staff and the hotel beds but thinks the show has outgrown the venue. Don says the camaraderie felt like BotCon 1994.

One host also chatted with Derek Yaniger about his gatefold cover for Generation 2 issue 1, which took a lot of redos. A third-party Masterpiece panel featured an IP attorney, and Brian came away thinking Hasbro could stop third-party toys if it really wanted to.

This Week in History

In 1954, Bob Budiansky is born. The crew thanks him for creating so much of Transformers fiction, including the Micromaster wrestling story and Skullgrin’s turn as a movie stuntman. In 2009, the triple-length Transformers Animated season three opener “TransWarped” premieres in the US, while Canada gets only the first two parts.

News

Titans Return Chaos on Velocitron Set Hits Hong Kong in Late April, Package Art Revealed

The box set is up for preorder in Hong Kong, and the crew loves the box art. Its tiny Titan Master Rodimus Prime clinging to Optimus Prime is effectively Micromaster Hot Rodimus. One host plans to sell the Quickswitch because he dislikes that deco. The crew teases Don that Nautica is his best shot at a female Titan Master, and one host guesses Arcee is in one of the unannounced box sets. [Source: TFormers]

TFSS Series 5.0 Subscription Service Figures Begin Shipping Soon

Subscription Service 5.0 figures should start shipping around March 16, 2017, in pairs to finish as fast as possible. The crew expects John to have his pair first. [Source: TFormers]

Unite Warriors Baldigus New Photo With Guest Appearance by Fire Convoy

TakaraTomy’s account posted Unite Warriors Baldigus standing beside Fire Convoy. Don is glad he passed on Unite Warriors Bruticus for this version and calls it one of his most anticipated sets. One host notes the tweet was signed by Hisashi Yuki. [Source: TFormers]

Transformers: The Last Knight Infernocons Combiner Revealed

Leaked packaging art from Weibo shows a combiner built from four recolored Beast Hunters Terrorcon Cyberverse figures and a new torso. The crew finds the pieces crummy but likes the combined form. The heavier torso fixes the mass problem of five-same-size combiners like Legends Abominus. One host suspects the combined Infernocon will appear as a single entity in the movie. [Source: TFormers]

Transformers: The Last Knight Kids’ Choice Awards Trailer Released

A new trailer aired during the Kids’ Choice Awards, and an expanded version was rated in Canada ahead of release. Several hosts call it their favorite trailer so far, with the Mini-Dinobots a highlight. One host says it sold him on the movie. Rob, bound by the reverse Gigabeetle challenge, found a nearby theater that serves alcohol. [Source: TFormers]

Paramount China Deal May Mean Trouble for Transformers: The Last Knight?

A problem with the company set to distribute The Last Knight in China could hurt the film’s biggest market. The crew notes Age of Extinction leaned hard on Chinese co-production, and this film seems to have fewer such ties. [Source: TFormers]

Official Packaged Photos of Premier Edition Voyager Megatron and More From Amazon Spain

Packaged photos of Voyager Megatron, Deluxe Bumblebee and Hound appear from the Amazon Spain listing. Voyager Megatron looks worse than it did at Toy Fair, though the Leader still looks amazing. The crew is puzzled by Hound’s washed-out green. [Source: TFormers]

Prime 1 Studio and ThreeA Movie Collectibles

Prime 1 Studio announced a Dark of the Moon Shockwave statue, which the crew shrugs at. ThreeA showed its $430 Premium Scale Evasion Optimus Prime from Age of Extinction, a large non-transforming figure that looks nice if it is your thing. [Source: TFormers] [Source: TFormers]

Rare Transformers Toys on Display at Pete’s Robot Convention

Pete’s Robot Convention will display G2 Stunticons, G2 Protectobots, the Laser Cycles and more, and will open a Hero Combat Megatron at the show. Brian points out that more people have walked on the moon than have owned G2 Protectobots. He would rather see rare history than a big dealer display. Don would like to go but can only fit Toylanta and TFcon into his vacation time. [Source: TFormers]

Generation Toy GT-5 Leaders Set: Legends-Sized Unofficial Optimus Prime and Megatron

The Legends-scale pair looks amazing, apart from a Megatron head that reminds Brian of Ram Man. The crew thinks they are prebuilt versions of Generation Toy’s earlier model kits. [Source: TFormers]

Planet X PX-12 Fatum: Unofficial Fall of Cybertron Thundercracker

Nobody is excited. One host finds the vehicle mode too video game accurate, and the crew prefers the cheaper official Deluxe. [Source: TFormers]

FansToys Phoenix Unofficial MP Skyfire Is How Big?!

Comparison photos from Sixo’s Transformers Photo Library show Phoenix nearly eye to eye with Titan Class Devastator. At around $220 to $230, Phoenix compares well with FansToys Sovereign and Masterpiece Megatron. Diecast expects his review sample soon. [Source: TFormers]

Also on TFormers

Jack spotlights an oversized Korean knockoff of Bluestreak decorated as KITT from Knight Rider. Rob’s Titans Return Voyager Megatron gallery is up, and a stop-motion video pits Soundwave against the Autobot Combiner Force basketball team. Diecast’s FansToys Grinder review is on the way. [Source: TFormers] [Source: TFormers] [Source: TFormers]

What We Got This Week

Don

Don hit about 20 Walgreens on the drive and found Titans Return Kup, Krok and Perceptor, plus Sixshot. He likes Kup better than he expected, though Takara will probably do a better job with it.

Chris

Chris picked up the Sector 7 recolor of Cybertron Armorhide, a second Power Core Combiners Heavytread and another Beast Machines Obsidian. He also found a Transformers Collectors’ Club figure on the Universe Hot Shot mold and a Titans Return Breakaway on the way down.

Matt

Matt was talked into Robots in Disguise Stormshot and more Mini-Con jets, and Stormshot won him over. He got a G1 Hot Rod with rubber wheels and metal toes, a G1 Scourge that needs repro labels and an Animated Arcee from Don. From Diecast he got an oversized Defensor knockoff with die-cast parts, which came with a surprise Q-Transformers Hot Rod in the box.

Diecast

Diecast got a print of G1 Skyfire.

Brian

Brian bought Titans Return Deluxe Wave 3 from Wade Doolittle, who owns the PowerOfThePrimes.com and TitansReturn.com domains. He ordered a Korean Big Convoy so he could photograph it for a listener. He also got Robots in Disguise Blastwave, which is much nicer than he expected, and Titans Return Leader Soundwave for about $40 at Target.

Rob

Rob’s pickups this week were not Transformers.

John

John got Legends Lio Convoy but has not opened it yet.

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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