HasCon’s schedule shows just six Transformers panels, several repeated daily, and the crew sees little reason to go. The Last Knight drops 78% in its second weekend in China. Hasbro has licensed an official, non-transforming Tarn from Flame Toys, and Titans Return Overlord out of the box can hold two Titan Masters. Cloudraker and Wingspan are confirmed as a Walgreens two-pack, and TakaraTomy leaks Legends Bumblebee with Spike and a Black Convoy reissue. Exvee’s Trypticon hip guide arrives as breakage reports spread.
News
HasCon Schedule Revealed: Details on Transformers Panels
HasCon lists six Transformers panels, and several repeat across days. The reveal panel, More Than Meets the Eye, runs all three days, and photography and video are banned. Don has been to more than 20 BotCons and says nothing on the schedule makes him want to go. One host credits the repeats for day-trippers but calls the offerings thin. The crew doubts the rumored 45,000 attendance. Rob questions whether brands need official conventions at all, since the best ones grew from fans. In the chat, Dusty notes Hasbro’s latest earnings report did not mention Transformers. [Source: TFormers]
Titans Return Cloudraker and Wingspan Set to Be Walgreens Exclusive
The Cloudraker and Wingspan clone two-pack will be a Walgreens exclusive. Robot Kingdom lists it at $24 for August, and the crew expects about $25. There is still no SDCC Trypticon, but Titans are usually revealed the week before. The crew considers an SDCC livestream or supplement episode. [Source: TFormers]
The Last Knight Dives 78% in Its Second Weekend in China
The Last Knight fell 78% in its second weekend in China, where it was expected to overperform. One host read that theaters avoided opening other films against it, and that Chinese investors guaranteed Paramount a fixed payout. The crew says a sixth movie may not come soon, though Bumblebee is in production. One host liked the movie and is perplexed, while another says audiences caught on one movie too late. [Source: TFormers]
More TakaraTomy Releases Leaked
Leaks include Legends Bumblebee with Spike, Perceptor, Octone and an MP-10B Black Convoy reissue. The crew expects Spike to be the Cerebros head from the US Fortress Maximus. The Black Convoy reissue is about $130 for the figure alone, and two hosts have preordered it. One host has also preordered Bumblebee and Slugslinger. [Source: TFormers]
Official Licensed Tarn From Flame Toys
Flame Toys will follow its non-transforming Drift with an officially licensed Tarn. No price is set, and the crew guesses $100 to $150. Brian missed Mastermind Creations’ Kultur and is torn about his rule to skip third-party figures when an official one exists. He would still rather have Kultur because it transforms. The crew is surprised Hasbro licensed it, since TakaraTomy farms out non-transforming products far more often. [Source: TFormers]
Titans Return Overlord Out of Package
Out-of-package photos show Overlord’s chest holds two Titan Masters, even in the US version. A Hong Kong collector found the Continuum Godmaster parts for Carnifex fit those ports. Some fans leave the heel flipped down to add about half an inch of height. The crew calls it shockingly good. [Source: TFormers]
Misfire is out in the Philippines. Some hosts will wait for the Targetmaster version, while others expect to double dip. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Tribute 2007 Leader Optimus Prime
The Tribute release is the 2007 Leader Class movie Optimus Prime. The crew calls it a good Leader toy whose main flaw was following pre-production design. [Source: TFormers]
SDCC 2017 Primitive Skateboarding Optimus Prime In Hand
In-hand photos look good, and the crew wonders if it will double as the HasCon exclusive. One host now wants it, while another is lukewarm. [Source: TFormers]
Movie Block
Mission to Cybertron Infernocus In Hand
Infernocus looks better with the new center torso, which raises the combiner to about Voyager height. The crew wishes for more orange highlights, and the limbs are still weak. [Source: TFormers]
One host prefers the Deluxe Scorn. Adam Pawlus says the dinosaur-mode photos mislead, and the Voyager is noticeably longer than the Deluxe. [Source: TFormers]
Nitro Zeus Makes a Body for Titan Master Thunderwing
In-hand Nitro photos look good, and with the Thunderwing Titan Master’s head, he looks great. One host says that combination re-solidified his interest in Nitro after the movie dampened it. [Source: TFormers]
Last Knight Case Assortments
New case assortment listings show Dragonstorm shipping with a Megatron reship, not Optimus Prime. Cogman looks like a fourth-wave release, which the crew expects to be hard to find. [Source: not found]
Third-Party News
Unique Toys Ragnaros Unofficial Bruticus
New assembled prototype photos show Unique Toys’ Masterpiece-scale Bruticus. Don explains that Zeta Toys’ separate Bruticus comes from a design team that left Toyworld. One host vastly prefers Ragnaros to Warbotron, but Swindle still looks wrong as a limb. Brawl and Swindle run about $89 to $99 each. [Source: TFormers]
Fans Hobby’s Flypro is an unofficial Masterpiece-style Grotusque. Brian loves the Monsterbots group shot and Fans Hobby’s off-the-beaten-path picks, even though he will never buy it. The crew calls these labors of love from small design teams. [Source: TFormers]
What’s on TFormers
Titans Return Trypticon Hip Joint Modification Guide
Rob says Exvee put together a guide to keep Trypticon from tearing his own hips. The work comes from an Australian collector named Quan, who took the photos and assembled the information. Some hip plastic is softer than the heavy ratchets need, and cutting the spring in half eases the stress. [Source: TFormers]
Exvee reviews Till All Are One #11, the second-to-last issue. Rob calls it fantastic and will miss the series. [Source: TFormers]
RFC News
About 100 listeners have answered the RFC survey, and Brian is acting on the feedback. Bad Poets Corner is retired, since most feedback said it had run its course. Survey answers also asked for more comics talk, so Brian plans a short show alternating comics and cartoons he is catching up on. The new Mini-cast covers what has happened to third-party Transformers.
This Week in History
In 1987, Headmasters premiered in Japan with “Four Warriors Come Out of the Sky.” Brian first saw it on a bootleg VHS from HeroesCon and calls its opening the best of the three main Japanese series. In 1985, Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers premiered in Japan with “The Road to Earth,” the Japanese “More Than Meets the Eye.” Brian also points to Machtackle’s Violent Jagger take on Infernocus.
RFC Reviews
Diecast reviews Mission to Cybertron Skullitron, with Steelbane, plus Premier Edition Voyager Megatron. He also reviews the BadCube Brawny and Backland reissues, with some heat-gun mishaps. His Steelbane fell apart out of the box because parts were not tabbed in, but only the ball joints are loose.
What We Got This Week
Don got the Yes Model Sunstorm, whose colors he prefers to Hasbro’s. He also bought TFC’s Raging Bull blind with a coupon, the start of their new third-party Road Caesar.
Diecast got Last Knight Voyager Megatron and Hound, and both are really nice. His Hound got too little black paint on the beard, so he looks like Santa.
Rob got Q-Transformers Prowl from his Amazon wish list, from an unknown sender. He likes the transformation much more than the Evangelion Q-Transformer he bought at BotCon.
John got nothing this week, but Magna Convoy arrives next week.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (42.1MB) | Embed
Radio Free Cybertron – 478
Radio Free Cybertron 737 – Thanks for the suggestion, though
Radio Free Cybertron 831 – Sub-Deluxe
Radio Free Cybertron 868 – GEEWHINER