SDCC 2018 exclusives land all at once, led by a movie Bumblebee packed with two ultra-rare Japanese G1 dinosaur cassettes. Throne of the Primes and a Super7 X-Ray Optimus Prime round out the reveals. TakaraTomy lists an Armada Unicron reissue, and Masterpiece MP-43 Beast Wars Megatron breaks the price ceiling at 35,000 yen. The crew also covers Special Edition Blast Off, Cyberverse character art and Rob’s first look at Titan Class Predaking.
News
SDCC 2018 – First Transformers Exclusive Revealed: It’s A Bumblebee
The first SDCC 2018 exclusive pairs a movie Bumblebee with two of the rarest Japanese G1 cassettes ever made, the dinosaur cassettes from the 1987 Headmasters line. One host remembers early BotCon dealers asking five or six hundred dollars for a boxed pair. Another calls pairing them with a movie Bumblebee the most Hasbro design team decision he can imagine. The box says Volume 1, so the crew expects the other dinosaur pair to follow, and Don pictures them packed with a future Masterpiece Blaster. One host jokes that Hasbro needed rare tapes to sell yet another Bumblebee. [Source: TFormers]
SDCC 2018 – Throne of the Primes Exclusive Official Photos of Optimal Optimus Set
Throne of the Primes paints Optimal Optimus in original Beast Wars colors and seats him on a throne. It includes the last Prime Masters fans needed, among them Nexus Prima, Amalgamous Prime and an unnamed thirteenth Prime. Brian calls it his holy grail of the exclusives, though he probably will not buy it. One host who dislikes the retail Optimal Optimus admits the mold finally looks right in these colors. Another notes that a complete original Optimal Optimus may cost little more. [Source: TFormers]
SDCC 2018 – New Image of Comic-Con Exclusive Super 7 X-Ray Optimus Prime Figure
Super7 is making a clear X-Ray Optimus Prime in the style of the old Visible Man anatomy kits, reportedly for about $75. The crew finds it weird and wonderful. One host wishes Super7 had instead made the Shogun Warriors-style Optimus Prime that Aaron Archer once described at a TFcon. [Source: TFormers]
SDCC 2018 – Bumblebee Cast to Appear: Travis Knight, Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena
The Bumblebee movie gets a Hall H panel, which the crew says Transformers films have never had before. The crew jokes that John Cena will appear as an empty chair. They wonder whether Paramount is betting on the series or simply faced little competition for the slot. [Source: TFormers]
TakaraTomy Transformers Products Coming December 2018 and Early 2019: MP Megatron, Unicron and More
TakaraTomy’s upcoming list includes an Armada Unicron reissue for about $200, apparently in the green Micron Aggregation colors of a ten-piece lucky draw prize. Brian calls it the Monkey’s Paw paying off for Diecast’s Get Unicron Made campaign: two Unicrons in two weeks, neither the one he wanted. The bigger shock is Masterpiece MP-43 Beast Wars Megatron at 35,000 yen, about $300 to $330 in the US. One host calls the price illogical, expects it to push buyers toward knockoffs and fears it could start a decline for Masterpiece. Chris explains that Beast Wars Masterpieces cost more because their molds get little reuse. He adds that Megatron gets electronics and stand attachments to help justify the price. Rob expects TakaraTomy to find the price ceiling the hard way, and another host suspects knockoff sales hurt TakaraTomy. [Source: TFormers]
Combiner Wars Special Edition Blast Off Side by Side Photos Compare With Unite Warriors
Chris wrote the article. The Special Edition boxes share one piece of art cut across three side panels. Blast Off’s panel shows a Repugnus claw and leg from the Doublecross and Twinferno mold. Chris says each Special Edition uses a mold from one stage of the Prime Wars Trilogy, so Counterpunch should come from a Power of the Primes mold. One host loves the idea that Counterpunch could just be a space shuttle. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Cyberverse Official Site Launches With Lots of Character Art
Cyberverse toys have been sighted at Toyworld in Victoria, Australia, and the official site now shows character art. Brian loves the bearded Wheeljack. Don likes how the Seekers get distinct designs. Chris explains that the toys will be heavily gimmicked rather than posable versions of these designs. One host worries that Warrior-class prices will buy less toy than Robots in Disguise did. [Source: TFormers]
IMAGES: Nemesis Prime Power of the Primes Transformers Out of Box
Out-of-box photos show the Amazon exclusive Power of the Primes Nemesis Prime, timed for Prime Day. Several hosts have it on order, with ship dates around July 17. [Source: TFormers]
Second Pressing of Music from The Transformers to Feature New Colors and Covers
The vinyl soundtrack sold out, to the crew’s surprise, and a second pressing brings Megatron, Optimus Prime and Starscream versions at 750 copies each. One host says the sound quality is only okay and the opening theme sounds mixed wrong, so it is more novelty than definitive. The crew thinks the Starscream colors look like Pepsi Prime. [Source: TFormers]
Flame Toys Tarn: Test Shot Images of Upcoming Licensed Non-Transforming Figure
New photos show Flame Toys’ large Tarn figure. Brian would buy it if not for his kids and Masterpiece spending. He likes these larger licensed figures but wishes they covered more than IDW characters. [Source: TFormers]
Toys R Us Transformers Adventure Geoffrey Prime Returns!
Megalopolis Toys has the Toys R Us Japan Geoffrey Prime available again, a Minicon-armor Optimus Prime in Geoffrey the Giraffe colors, for about $35. Brian already has two and calls it a neat reminder of Toys R Us. [Source: TFormers]
UPGRADE: Optimal Optimus DK-08 Kit from DNA Design Maximizes Your Maximal!
The DK-08 kit restores the land vehicle mode, adds original-style rifles and bigger wings, and fills a gap in gorilla mode. The crew agrees it improves the toy, but the figure plus kit costs about what a complete original might. [Source: TFormers]
SND-04 X-Mortis Upgrade Kit for Battle Core Optimus Prime
This kit turns Battle Core Optimus Prime into Nova Prime. It was first shown as concept art about two years ago. One host bought an earlier kit he thought would be this one, but it turned out to be a white version of their Optimus Prime kit. [Source: TFormers]
Confirmed: Verizon’s go90 Streaming Service to Be Discontinued
Rumored since February, the shutdown is now confirmed, and the Power of the Primes cartoon has already moved to Tumblr. The crew has little love for the Machinima series. [Source: TFormers]
This Week in History
In 2005, the Cybertron cartoon premiered on American television with its third episode, “Hidden.” The crew remembers Cybertron as the best of the Unicron Trilogy, with real effort from its production and dub teams. In 2007, the first live-action Transformers movie hit US theaters and set a record for a Tuesday release.
What’s on TFormers
Rob’s Power of the Primes Titan Class Predaking unboxing is up. Rumors from Chinese social media point to Masterpiece movie Megatron, Starscream and Jazz. Rob notes the same source called Ironhide early.
What We Got This Week
Rob got Power of the Primes Titan Class Predaking. He finds every flaw from the photos is real, yet calls it technically the best modern Hasbro combiner, solid and heavy with tight connections. He would add bigger wings and a sword. With 87 thin foil stickers, he suggests a gold Gundam Marker instead, and another host swears by Toyhax labels.
Brian got more Kre-O, including a Strongarm and Springload set. He also received Robots in Disguise Strongarm from Paladin.
Jason found the Power of the Primes Wave 3 Voyagers at Walmart, Hun-Gurrr and Starscream. With Rippersnapper on order from Big Bad Toy Store, he has four fifths of Abominus. He agrees Sinnertwin’s plastic feels worse than the others, and that Blot looks like an angel and a pirate had a baby.
Chris had a Star Trek pickup this week, not Transformers.
Don got a G1 Optimus Prime and Bumblebee mug as a gift. He also picked up Mastermind Creations’ Colossus, an unofficial Thunderclash, and finally received G Creation’s ape figure after an earlier copy stalled in customs and was refunded. He is curious whether its plastic holds up.
Diecast got Power of the Primes Inferno, found for him by Chris. He also shows off the assembled Toy World Devastator. It is tab-heavy but the most stable combiner he has handled, earning his Golden Spudger award.
John received Rodimus Unicronus, Cindersaur and Outback. He likes Rodimus Unicronus more than the regular Rodimus, though its knees are wobbly in combined mode and the stickers are as bad as usual.
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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