Transformers: The Last Knight tops Rolling Stone’s list of the worst movies of 2017, though the crew does not think it was the year’s worst. TakaraTomy’s first Power of the Primes images look identical to Hasbro’s, and Titans Return Arcee finally reaches Toys R Us stores. The crew pitches the Bumblebee movie as Smokey and the Bandit with an invisible John Cena. Flame Toys teases its licensed Tarn, and the chat drives a Q&A on favorite knockoffs.
Episode 550 Is the Year in Review
Brian says next week’s episode 550 will be the mega year-in-review show, a week early because Christmas falls on a Monday. The crew will go through 2017 month by month, revisit last year’s predictions and pick toys of the year. Brian expects at least three hours.
This Week in History
In 1984, “Heavy Metal War” premiered in the US. Megatron gathers power chip rectifiers to beat Optimus Prime in a one-on-one duel, and the episode marks the first appearance of the Constructicons. Brian calls season one the most focused and structured Transformers season, and Don learns it is the season one finale. In 2005, Titan Books released the Transformers: Earthforce trade paperback. One host recalls a story where the Constructicons build a stand-in Devastator.
News
TakaraTomy Power of the Primes First Images Look Identical to the Hasbro Releases
The first TakaraTomy photos match Hasbro’s figures, and several hosts are glad to skip a double dip. One host explains that TakaraTomy photographs in darker lighting, which makes colors look different. The crew realizes Prime Masters also plug into weapons as a third play pattern. With no Dreadwing, Starscream or Dinobots shown, they expect TakaraTomy to sell the combiners separately, perhaps in a Unite Warriors-style line. [Source: TFormers]
Machinima Titans Return Episode 6: Desperate Actions
Rob appears to be the only host who watched. Two groups barely work out that Overlord killed the Mistress of Flame, while others try to revive Fortress Maximus. Megatron tries to warn the four combiners, and they all attack him, yet he holds his own. Don says that when a podcast of lifelong fans would rather skip a web series, something is wrong. Diecast likes it because it is free, short and Transformers. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers: The Last Knight Tops Rolling Stone’s Worst Movies of 2017
The crew does not think it was the worst movie of the year, though it is an easy target. One host says Justice League made him cringe more. Another says he left The Last Knight less offended than any Transformers movie since the first. [Source: TFormers]
Bumblebee’s Hailee Steinfeld on Her Movie Role and Transformers Fans
In comments posted on IGN, Hailee Steinfeld says future spin-offs depend on how Bumblebee performs, which the crew calls obvious after The Last Knight. One host wants the Bumblebee movie to be Smokey and the Bandit. Barricade would fill the Jackie Gleason role, and John Cena would play the Bandit as a hologram nobody can see. [Source: TFormers]
Titans Return Arcee Hits Brick-and-Mortar Toys R Us Stores
Arcee is in US Toys R Us stores at $26.99 after showing up in Hong Kong first. One host notes the packaging and even the shelf tag are unmarked. Brian bought an extra Arcee on purpose and plans a contest for it next week. Don finds Arcee on Amazon for $34.98, and the crew warns it is a third-party seller. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Authentics Bravo Wave Sighted in the Philippines
The Bravo wave has Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee and Starscream. Early in-hand reports say Megatron and Starscream are fair, while Optimus Prime and Bumblebee are weak. Bumblebee looks almost exactly like an old Legends Hot Shot. The crew expects these at dollar stores and Big Lots. One host suggests Bravo stands in for what Hasbro used to call Market 6, the retailers beyond the big box chains. [Source: TFormers]
Robots in Disguise Combiner Force Crash Combiners Primelock and Saberclaw Surface on Amazon
Saberclaw combines Saberhorn and Bisk. The crew loves Bisk, and one host still wants a Thermidor. Another wishes TakaraTomy’s Adventure line had continued its repaints, but that line is over. [Source: TFormers]
Flame Toys Licensed Tarn Prototype Teaser
The teaser shows a dark Tarn with red eyes, and one host wants it immediately. It is the first official Tarn figure. Flame Toys makes higher-end, non-transforming figures, and one host cites a price near $300. More may surface at a Hong Kong toy show that weekend. [Source: TFormers]
Zeta Toys Shows Prototype Silver Arrow, an Unofficial Masterpiece-Style Silverbolt
One host hates that it is not a Springer. The crew counts at least seven third-party Silverbolts and calls the character a boring design. Brian wishes a third party would make non-transforming, cartoon-accurate combiners, like a caped Predaking. One host notes a cheap company such as the maker of their Galvatron knockoff could try it. [Source: TFormers]
Generation Toy GT-6 Guardian Prototype Photos of Unofficial Protectobots and Defensor
The crew would rather see a third party tackle Raiden, ideally compatible with Combiner Wars and Power of the Primes. One host says six train robots is the least interesting thing a company could make. Another points to heavily discounted Liokaiser sets as a sign that big combiners struggle at retail. [Source: TFormers]
Perfect Effect Shows Off Gorira Jr Redeco and the Future of Its Perfect Combiner Line
The gorilla accessories go with Perfect Effect’s not-Optimal Optimus. Perfect Effect also plans upgrades for the Power of the Primes combiners, which one host says Volcanicus needs. [Source: TFormers]
What’s on TFormers
Rob shares a cardboard sculpture of the Infobar Optimus Prime phone and urges everyone to see the artist’s other work. [Source: TFormers] A Chinese video review of Power of the Primes Rodimus Prime shows the trailer’s foil stickers already wrinkling. [Source: TFormers] Taggle photographs the clear Voyager Optimus Prime from The Last Knight that shipped with Japanese DVD preorders. [Source: TFormers] The first look at MP-39 Sunstreaker’s packaging echoes his G1 box pose. [Source: TFormers]
Questions from the Chat
Jason Kirk relays the chat. Rodimus Supreme points out that any kid’s playtime story is technically fan fiction. Contest ideas include guessing when Don’s cat Massey will attack and building your own combiner. With no HasCon this year, the crew wonders whether Hall of Fame inductions will pause. Asked for favorite knockoffs, Brian loves obvious, wrong-colored KOs like the shrunken combiners from Tuesday Morning. One host treasures a Walgreens Easter basket knockoff of Fans Project Munitioner, and another an eight-inch Fortress Maximus knockoff. The crew also admires A Plus Toys’ Animated-style Dirt Boss, which forms a Devastator head.
What We Got This Week
Diecast
Diecast got Fans Hobby’s Master Builder Power Baser, thanks to Captured Prey, and plans a video review on RFC Reviews. He also got Legends Beachcomber and two more Legends from Hasbro Toy Shop. His first Combiner Force figure is Shocknado.
Jason Kirk
Jason got Titans Return Trypticon for about $90 on Black Friday and ordered Toyhax labels for it. He also got Iron Factory’s Bridge Watcher and completed his Fans Hobby monster set with Repugnus. He has the three new Legends and every Power of the Primes Deluxe except Jazz.
Brian
Brian got Legends Beachcomber, Windcharger and Slash, and he finds Slash surprisingly complex for a Legends figure. His wife Kim also found him a Titans Return figure at Aldi.
Don
Don did not get anything this week. His Chosen Prime order is still in transit by SmartPost.
Chris
Chris got Titans Return Ramhorn for about $4 from a Hasbro stocking stuffer display at Aldi. That finishes Titans Return for him.
Matt
Matt’s pickup this week was not Transformers.
Rob
Rob got Titans Return Overlord off his wish list as a gift from the crew.
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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