HasLab Unicron adds only about 226 backers in a week, even as EB Games and Hasbro’s Taobao storefront join the campaign. A new robot mode video fails to win the crew over, and Unicron’s yellow-leaning colors draw criticism. Hasbro Pulse sets dates for leftover SDCC 2019 exclusives like MP-10G and the BotBots Con Crew. A stack of MP-30 Ratchets turns up in a New Jersey Walmart. A 1987 Toy Fair order form reveals what G1 Fortress Maximus cost retailers.
News
Unicron Watch: Robot Mode Video Previews the Biggest Transformer Ever
HasLab Unicron added roughly 226 backers in the past week. EB Games now takes orders in New Zealand and Australia, and Diecast confirmed Hasbro’s Taobao storefront is involved too. Without a late surge, one host projects about 3,000 Hasbro Pulse backers. The new robot mode video mentions moving eyes, but Diecast could barely see them and says the video added no excitement. He wants Hasbro to reveal its promised surprises now, since many fans only back projects that are sure to fund. The crew stresses that prototypes cost Hasbro little next to cutting steel molds. Rob estimates, from 1987 wholesale math, that 8,000 Unicrons would cost about $3.5 million to make. One host suspects Hasbro might pad the numbers near the end, but doubts it will get close. The crew finds the colors too yellow, and John shares a Photoshop of Unicron in orange. One host asks whether a Transformer even needs to be this big. [Source: TFormers]
Hasbro Reveals Dates for Its SDCC 2019 Exclusives
Hasbro sent Brian the BotBots Con Crew SDCC set and MP-10G, and both go on sale on Hasbro Pulse. Premium members get early access on September 3, with general sales on September 4. MP-10G is $149.99 with a limit of one, and the Con Crew set is $34.99 with a limit of two. The Transformers Trading Card Game Blaster vs. Soundwave box is $49.99 and the convention pack is $15. Brian loves MP-10G’s packaging too much to open it. [Source: Hasbro Pulse]
First Look: Siege Hot Shot In-Hand Photos
A Siege Hot Shot redeco of the Sideswipe mold turned up, with a gun modeled on Cybertron Hot Shot’s shoulder cannons. One host says Hot Shot should be yellow or red, so this one does not register for him. Others like the colors. The crew guesses it is a Generations Selects release paired with Nightbird. [Source: TFormers]
Squirtimus Prime Toys Invading Japan McDonald’s Happy Meals
McDonald’s Japan is offering a water-squirting Optimus Prime with an Autobot symbol target. It sits alongside Shinkalion, Tomica and other TakaraTomy properties in the Happy Meal lineup. Brian is excited about the Optimus, and a friend of the show may track one down for him. [Source: TFormers]
Toy Fair Order Form From 1987 Reveals What G1 Fortress Maximus Cost Retailers
TFWiki posted a 1987 Hasbro Toy Fair price list showing G1 Fortress Maximus at about $70 wholesale. Rob wrote up the find and says the markup holds steady across the line. A 1987 Toys R Us ad priced the Computron set at about $28, against roughly $20 in wholesale components. One host notes volume discounts mean few retailers paid list. [Source: TFormers]
MP-30 Masterpiece Ratchet Allegedly Sighted in a New Jersey Walmart for $50
Twitter user Cadet Foster shared a photo of five beat-up MP-30 Ratchets on a Walmart shelf in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Rob says nothing confirms the shelf tag belongs to them. The crew suspects a supply chain fluke, since TakaraTomy Masterpieces sometimes ship in plain Hasbro cartons. One host doubts the Japanese UPCs would even ring up. [Source: TFormers]
What’s on TFormers This Week
Rob points to new images of Siege Spinister, Crosshairs, Astrotrain, Barricade, holo Mirage and Impactor. The fan vote pack’s stock photos mix in the single-pack Impactor’s Marvel UK head. Package photos of the Walmart 35th anniversary figures show Optimus Prime with cartoon-white waist and thighs, which wins one host over. Generations Selects Smokescreen stock photos replace his stylized 38 with Cybertronian-font blocks. One host dislikes the change and wants a Toyhax sticker fix.
What We Got This Week
Diecast got Studio Series Hightower from Hasbro Pulse, plus Helicopter Drift and Muscle Car Dropkick. With Long Haul from Target, he now has every Constructicon released so far. He ordered Siege Thundercracker from Amazon and canceled his Pulse order. A friend tipped him off to the Rainmakers at his local Target, and the employee was surprised he wanted only one set.
Brian made about 11 trips to his Walmart before finally landing the G1 reissue Soundwave for $49.97 and the cassette two-packs for $20 each. He loves the individually packaged cassettes. He also got the Cyberverse Optimus Prime from a Burger King kids meal, which he rates just below Cyberverse quality. Hasbro surprised him with the BotBots Con Crew set and MP-10G.
Chris got Siege Thundercracker. Its blue is almost identical to the blue Rainmaker, and its chest and intakes are unpainted gray. The smirking face looks unnatural to him, especially since the box art shows a frown. He also got Cyberverse Spark Armor Skybite from Hasbro’s eBay store and calls it disappointing. The parts do not tab together, there is no neck joint, and the drill’s peg will not fit his hand.
Matt got the G1 reissue Soundwave and all his cassettes. Rob points out the mold still carries Soundblaster-era hinges and buttons. Matt also got Thundercracker and swapped its head with Starscream’s. His Rainmakers arrived from Don, who waived the shipping. He also got Refraktor from Amazon at retail after Chris spotted the restock, plus a spare Brunt. He bought new shelves and now needs wall space.
Rob received a Transformers Trading Card Game Siege booster box from Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast for a TFormers unboxing video.
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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