HasCon 2019 is postponed until further notice, and the crew weighs Hasbro’s financial pressures. Bumblebee opens third at the box office with about $65 million worldwide by Christmas. A Chinese court upholds Hasbro’s trademark rights in a counterfeit case, and MP-36+ Megatron’s toy deco splits the crew. Siege wave 2 Deluxes appear in package, and Siege Ultra Magnus turns out smaller than expected. The show closes with a full spoiler review of Bumblebee.
News
RFC Daily Transformers News Update Is Back
Brian is now recording the RFC Daily Transformers news update every day. It runs on the RFC Alexa skill and as a podcast feed.
Bumblebee opened third, within about a million dollars of second place. By Christmas it had about $34 million domestic and $31 million foreign, roughly $65 million total. Aquaman is near $500 million worldwide, and Into the Spider-Verse is at about $140 million. One host thinks Bumblebee would have done far better if The Last Knight had not come right before it. [Source: Box Office Mojo]
HasCon 2019 Postponed Until Further Notice
Hasbro postponed HasCon right after Bumblebee’s opening weekend. Brian had planned to take his kids. The crew points to Hasbro’s financial pressure, planned layoffs and investor lawsuits over Toys R Us disclosures. A chat member notes Hasbro may consolidate its Pawtucket office into Providence rather than leave Rhode Island. The crew stresses that HasCon was never a BotCon replacement, and BotCon is not coming back. TFCon remains an option for fans. [Source: TFormers]
Chinese Court Upholds Hasbro’s IP Rights in Counterfeit Transformers Judgment
Two individuals and a company were found liable after a 2017 raid for counterfeiting Hasbro trademarks. The crew says it is unclear whether this touches third-party toys at all. It could be as simple as unlicensed logo stickers. John recently discussed third-party toys and trademark law with author and former IP attorney Bill Ray. One host notes Hasbro Asia distributes many Masterpiece figures, which may explain why Hasbro brought the case. [Source: TFormers]
MP-36+ Masterpiece Megatron Toy Deco Out-of-Box Pictures and Collector Coin
The toy-colored MP-36+ divides the crew. Rob loves it, while Brian, Diecast and Don find the deco ugly. It even has Decepticon-labeled panels where the G1 toy’s stickers went. One host wishes it came with toy-style versions of MP-36’s alternate faces. It runs about $250. [Source: TFormers]
Box Image of Unicron Micron Combine Color Encore Exclusive
Brian’s Encore Unicron has already shipped from Amazon Japan. The crew calls it gorgeous but questions buying such an old mold again. After the Godfire Convoy recall and the Coneheads’ problems, one host says Encore cannot afford another quality-control debacle. [Source: TFormers]
Studio Series 32 Voyager Optimus Prime Out-of-Package Comparison Photos
The new Voyager is designed to combine with the upcoming Leader Jetfire. Most of the crew calls it far better than the original Voyager. Brian still does not care for the first-movie design, and another host finds it underpainted. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Siege Wave 2 In-Package Images
Ironhide looks a good inch taller than the other Deluxes, and Sixgun looks great. Prowl looks bad in package, and one host worries about his clear plastic lower legs. Another fears the mold will be reused for a Smokescreen that will not look right. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers Siege Ultra Magnus In-Hand Photos
Siege Ultra Magnus stands two heads shorter than Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus but weighs six grams more. His guns are Cybertron Optimus Prime’s rifles. The ankle tilt keeps the wheels off the ground in robot mode. One host still likes him but will wait for a markdown. [Source: TFormers]
Zeta Toys’ Legends-scale bar set costs about 150 yuan, or $21. Its modular pieces work as chairs, tables or bar extensions. The Decepticon logo on the throne piece is blurred out in one photo. One host wants it for his Swerve. [Source: TFormers]
Bumblebee Spoiler Review
Brian calls Bumblebee good, not great, and the best Transformers movie ever made. He says it feels like a true 1980s film rather than a movie mocking the decade. Charlie plays almost like an apology for the earlier films, and he never had to cover his kids’ eyes. He believes it can work as a prequel or a reboot. He disliked Cliffjumper’s brutal death at the hands of Shatter and Dropkick. Diecast left the theater indifferent, calling the story thin and the Decepticon choices poor. The crew rates it two and a half to three stars. They agree it is the movie to show someone what Transformers is about. John Bailey voices Shockwave and Soundwave, and the crew praises his Shockwave. One host notes Blitzwing dies in the first few minutes despite heavy promotion.
What We Got This Week
Brian got the G1 reissue Bumblebee from Walmart. At Target he grabbed a clearance Bumblebee movie pack that includes cassettes. He calls the Bumblebee in it the most garbage action figure he has owned, despite high-quality plastic.
Diecast got a Robots in Disguise Combiner Force set, Bisk, from the last wave through a third-party Amazon seller. From Hasbro China’s Taobao store he got MP-10 Nemesis Prime for about $80. He also got the last set of Generation Toy’s upscaled combiner and wants G2 colors next. His Toyworld Christmas Exhaust arrived, and he likes its simple transformation. He also found a Transformers memory card game with chocolate at Five Below.
Don used his last eBay coupon on Legendary Toys’ arctic blue and white movie Optimus Prime for $50 shipped. Thanks to Rob’s heads-up, he also grabbed the $10 Siege Deluxes when they returned to Hasbro Toy Shop.
Matt got the reissue Starscream and Hot Rod for Christmas. He also got the Starscream Keepsake ornament, and his sister found him the Optimus Prime ornament they both missed.
Rob added Siege Lionizer to an Amazon order at retail price and likes it a lot. He also got Power of the Primes Rodimus Prime for $20. He likes the combined robot mode but plans to leave it combined for a while.
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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