Titans Return Voyagers Octone and Blitzwing are already turning up at Target in California. Transformers: The Last Knight moves up two days to June 21, which happens to be Don’s birthday. TakaraTomy opens Legends preorders for Kickback with Clowder, Brawn with Repugnus and Targetmaster Triggerhappy. Last Knight Wave 2 Deluxes surface at a Kansas comic shop. Don scores both Subscription Service 5.0 Pretenders for $160.
Show Notes
Brian plans to launch the new tfradio.net on June 5, its first redesign since 2009, ahead of the JD Memorial episode at the end of June. The winner of Brian’s Titans Return Krok giveaway on Twitter is longtime listener Michael Stanford.
This Week in History
In 2013, Hasbro posts the second of two Fan Built Bot polls that led to Windblade. The crew notes that only feels four years ago after five or so Windblade figures since. In 2011, IDW releases the Dark of the Moon movie adaptation in trade paperback. Chris says the live-action movies all blend together for him, and the crew lists the moment that offended them most in each.
Bad Poet’s Corner
Brian debuts the segment’s first new poem since its return, a haiku titled “By Michael Bay” that ends with a fart joke.
News
Transformers: The Last Knight Theatrical Release Date Changed
The movie moves up two days to Wednesday, June 21, Don’s birthday, and one host offers to take him. A new poster shows Bumblebee in World War II, and the crew would happily watch a Captain America-style Bumblebee movie instead. One host worries the retcon that Transformers were part of all human history will make for a weak story. The crew wonders if the earlier date is a hedge on the opening weekend, while expecting strong overseas business. One host wants it to make a ton so the profits fund the Generations line. [Source: TFormers]
That Was Quick: Titans Return Voyager Blitzwing and Octone Found in California Target
Sightings are mostly in Southern California, plus at least one in Texas, with this one in Manhattan Beach. The receipt shows $28.99, though prices vary from $22.99 to $28.99 by location. [Source: TFormers]
No photos yet. One host explains “Crowbar” is likely Clowder, a Doubledealer name from Masterforce, so a true Doubledealer is still not coming. The crew wonders which Titan Master body Takara will use, as it did for Sweeps. [Source: TFormers]
Optimus Prime and Bumblebee Mugs Coming From Vandor
The $20 sculpted mugs are cute, though Optimus Prime’s ears stick up past the rim. Brian wants them, and Don offers to trade a mug for a Unicron lamp. [Source: TFormers]
Robots in Disguise Menasor Combiner Force Team Pack New Image
The first look at production toys shows a mistransformed Motormaster. At a $34.99 SRP, the five-robot set is decent value. The crew still finds the Crash Combiners lacking in articulation. [Source: TFormers]
Coming Soon: Laser Optimus, Armada Megatron, Drift and Barricade Join Transformers: Earth Wars
Brian highlights the comments on the Earth Wars Facebook post, where many fans insist the game be G1 only. Don, at 46, says if he can love nearly every incarnation, others can accept variety too. [Source: Transformers: Earth Wars on Facebook]
Robots in Disguise Soundwave Running Change Discovered on Warrior Class Combiner Force Figure
Swift found that Soundwave’s full red visor is now a remolded, half-opaque faceplate closer to the card art. Some of the crew like the new face, while one host prefers the original Prime-universe visor. [Source: TFormers]
Bitfig Part 2: New Gachapon Assortment Includes Soundwave, Ironhide, Skywarp and Nemesis Prime
The roughly inch-and-a-half figures are 300 yen each from capsule machines, and one host asks friends in Japan to find him some. [Source: TFormers]
Crush Soda Transformers: The Last Knight Free Movie Tickets Campaign
Buy three 12-packs of Crush and get a free ticket at a participating Fandango theater. If your grocery store has a sale, that is about the price of a ticket. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers: The Last Knight MTV Awards Clip Screencap Gallery
The clip’s main draw is Anthony Hopkins saying “dude.” It also shows the World War I tank Transformer in robot mode, a look at Cogman and Hot Rod transforming. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers: The Last Knight Package Art for One-Step Turbo Changers Cogman Leaked
The blacked-out area is probably just the empty space beside the hook on a printer proof. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers: The Last Knight New Promo Spot Featuring Optimus Prime With His Dialect Coach
Optimus Prime practices his English accent with a human dialect coach, whom he threatens. [Source: TFormers]
The Last Knight Megatron Knight Armor Turbo Changer Found at Toys R Us
It is the first Wave 2 Last Knight toy at US retail, and it looks good for a simple figure. Don reports Drift, Sqweeks, Steelbane and Slug have also turned up at a comic shop in Kansas. One host adds that a Seaspray and Cosmos reissue was in that assortment. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers: The Last Knight Tiny Turbo Changers Wave 2 Revealed
Some of the crew love Tiny Turbo Changers as idle fidget toys, though one host finds them a bit fiddly. The crew thinks they belong near checkout lanes. Wave 2 includes Sqweeks. [Source: TFormers]
Also on TFormers
Rob reviewed Lost Light #5 and posted quick looks at Legion Class Barricade, Optimus Prime and One-Step Bumblebee. Exvee covered the Armor Up Bumblebee, Tiny Turbo Changers Lockdown and Crosshairs, and a Wave 1 code guide for finding figures in the blind bags. [Source: TFormers] [Source: TFormers] [Source: TFormers]
What We Got This Week
Brian
Brian got Titans Return Krok and calls it the prettiest toy in the assortment. He liked it so much he gave one away on Twitter.
Chris
Chris finally found Brawn and Roadburn at Toys R Us. Reward points and a coupon brought the pair to $9 after tax.
Diecast
Diecast got a Transformers: The Last Knight T-shirt from Taobao with the movie logo on the back.
Matt
Matt found a single Titans Return Broadside at an out-of-town Walmart on Free Comic Book Day. His own Walmart restocked year-old waves instead.
Don
Don won both Subscription Service 5.0 Pretenders, Optimus Prime and Megatron, on eBay for $160 shipped. They were the two figures he wanted most from the subscription.
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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