MP-43 Beast Wars Megatron arrives for four of the crew, and they agree the T. rex mode is a near-perfect take on the cartoon model. Out-of-box photos of Legends LG-EX Big Powered reveal Dai Atlas has paper-thin lower legs. Banana Force reveals an unofficial Fire Convoy, and JX Figures teases an unofficial Beast Wars Tigerhawk. Eric Crownover rejoins the crew in his new G1 shirt.
MP-43 Beast Wars Megatron
Chris, John, Diecast and Brian all got MP-43 this week. Chris calls it a beautiful, cartoon-accurate take on season one Megatron, and the T. rex head captures the CG model’s expression. Most of the transformation feels natural, but three steps are scary: splitting the back, sliding the torso apart and folding the backpack hinges. Chris recommends Diecast’s tip of starting the split from the tail. John is most impressed by how much personality the T. rex mode has. Much of the dinosaur kibble comes off by design, recreating the scene where Megatron brushes his dinosaur head’s teeth. Diecast posted the first English-language review, and Brian hated the back panels for ten minutes before loving the toy.
News
LG-EX Legends Big Powered Out-of-Box Photos
Big Powered still looks great, but Dai Atlas lost the tank turret halves that filled Overlord’s legs. His lower legs are now just a right angle with no calves. Japanese bloggers have been stuffing Micromasters into the gaps. The crew hopes an aftermarket company makes fillers, and one host plans to hide the legs behind smaller toys. [Source: TFormers]
Limited Edition 80s-Style VHS Bumblebee Trailer
An 80s-style Bumblebee VHS went out to fan sites for April Fool’s, though no one who received one seems to own a working VCR. The crew loves the “Be kind, please rewind” label. [Source: TFormers]
Prime 1 Studio Last Knight MMTFM-22 Drift Statue
Prime 1 Studio’s Drift statue gets little love. One host says many movie designs do not read as Transformers unless they transform. Another would rather have a Robots in Disguise 2015 Drift. [Source: TFormers]
Banana Force MPL-01 Red Sharpshooter Unofficial Fire Convoy
New company Banana Force revealed an unofficial Fire Convoy with an inner frame like a Gundam figure. The crew compares it to Super Robot Chogokin. Don plans to buy it unless it is priced absurdly, and guesses run $60 to $80. [Source: TFormers]
MP-10 Captain America Style Optimus Prime Rolling Out in June
An unlicensed, two-foot Optimus Prime in Captain America colors comes with a shield. The crew is split on the colors. The crew wishes the shield did more, and pitches a Megatron as Red Skull to match. [Source: TFormers]
JX MB-02 TygaEagle Unofficial Beast Wars Tigerhawk
JX Figures, maker of a show-accurate Transmetal 2 Megatron, teased an unofficial Tigerhawk with a silhouette. The crew thinks Tigerhawk is a good choice, since the show model was rushed and leaves room for design liberties. [Source: TFormers]
What’s on TFormers
Siege Voyager Starscream Gallery and Review
Rob says Siege Starscream looks like an HD remaster of a Nintendo 64 character. It still has the best articulation in Siege so far, and he hopes the engineering gets a better-looking jet someday. [Source: TFormers]
What We Got This Week
Chris
Chris got MP-43 Beast Wars Megatron, likely his most expensive toy purchase of the year. He is satisfied, but wishes for a Transmetal version at the same level of care.
Matt
Matt got the Christmas edition of Toy World’s Legends-scale Exhaust from Diecast and is impressed. He also got Siege Chromia for her great ankle articulation, though he prefers the older Prime-mold Chromia. He picked up the G1 reissue Gears on card, since Gears was his first Transformer.
Don
Don found three of the four Siege Wave 2 Deluxes at Walmart, including Ironhide, but left Sixgun. He also got the reissue Warpath on card, Studio Series Bonecrusher and DX9’s Moses. A trade with James on Twitter brought him the original FansToys Phoenix in exchange for his upcoming FT-10X, since the reissue’s changes are minor.
Rob
Rob had nothing in Transformers this week.
John
John got Studio Series Rampage and MP-43 Megatron, and ordered a third-party Cosmos.
Eric
Eric got Studio Series Rampage, which surprised him with articulated fingers, and Studio Series Ironhide, his first good movie Ironhide. He calls Siege Starscream a good toy but a disappointing one. He also bought a Walmart exclusive in G2 Go-Bots colors that he missed as a kid, and received a custom Cybertron Nemesis Prime from a young fan. He also showed his City Commander and Shadow Commander armor sets.
Diecast
Diecast got MP-43 Megatron and wishes the waist swivel were tighter. He loves Studio Series Scrapmetal and likes the new Studio Series Cogman paint, though it stands poorly. Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast sent him the Devastator pack for the trading card game. He also got the Bumblebee steelbook and IDW’s Unicron collection.
Brian
Brian got Bumblebee on 4K, MP-43 Megatron and Studio Series 38 Optimus Prime, which arrived in his Amazon subscription box with dog food. From Chris he bought Universe Onslaught, one of his all-time favorites, and the BotCon 2016 Reflector set. He also got Beast Wars Polar Claw and Bonecrusher, Universe Soundwave with Space Case, and a boxed G1 Omega Supreme for $150. A $20 Rescue Bots Boulder from Kmart is pure fun. The highlight is the Club Seacons he passed up years ago.
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.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:32:10 — 84.6MB) | Embed
RFC News Desk 155 – Happy News Year!
Radio Free Cybertron 796 – Sideburn instead, please.
Radio Free Cybertron 505: A Podcast for the Entire Fanmily
Radio Free Cybertron: 2010 Reviewed. (Also, happy new year.)