Walmart Collector Con is the week’s big story, and its broken listings page frustrates the crew. Beast Wars reissues of Optimus Primal, Megatron, Cheetor and Rattrap arrive in vintage-style packaging. Netflix Voyager wave 3 brings an all-paint blue Deep Cover. Leaked photos of Kingdom Galvatron look great, battle damage aside. Diecast passes along Unicron.com’s Ben Montano interview as everyone waits on HasLab Unicron.

News

Walmart Collector Con

Walmart Collector Con opened with an exclusives page that showed almost no inventory for a long stretch. After about 45 minutes it filled with unrelated items that were already on the site. One host signed up for a Walmart+ free trial to get free shipping. Hasbro Pulse offered a limited allocation first, but only to Pulse Premium members, and it sold out fast. One host notes the rumored Pulse share of other retailers’ exclusives is about 5 percent of a run. The crew agrees a Monday midday launch was a bad choice. The Netflix spoiler pack turned out to be Siege Megatron again, with a new Matrix harness, an AllSpark and a purple Paleotrex. One host cancelled his preorder as soon as UK retailer Smyths showed the contents.

RFC News Desk 134 – Beast Wars Reissues Revealed

The Walmart Beast Wars reissues bring back Optimus Primal, Megatron, Cheetor and basic Rattrap. Optimus Primal’s weapons are a different blue, and Megatron’s helmet appears black in some photos and silver in others. Cheetor mixes eye colors from earlier releases. The packaging uses Kenner branding, and Rattrap comes on a rocky bubble card. The crew thinks the prices are fair next to vintage examples. A Toy Detective supplemental on the RFC Patreon explains why basic Rattrap costs the same as deluxe Cheetor. [Source: TFRadio]

RFC News Desk 135 – First Look At Netflix Voyagers Wave 3

Netflix Voyager wave 3 includes a Sparkless Seeker, a battle-damaged black Ironhide drone and an inverted-color Deep Cover. A tweet revealed that Deep Cover is cast in gray and painted blue, so its battle damage cannot be cleaned off. The crew still jokes about a Super Sentai team of Sideswipes, with Gigawatt as the sixth Ranger. The Kingdom Optimus Primal and Rattrap two-pack barely changes either figure, though Rattrap now has a white nose. The crew wishes it had been Packrat instead. [Source: TFRadio]

Hasbro Pulse Fan Fest Set for April 9

Hasbro announced the Hasbro Pulse Fan Fest for April 9 as its Toy Fair replacement. The Transformers panel promises Kingdom wave 3 reveals, Commander and Titan class figures, and a first-time character, likely the Ark. The crew jokes that the advance notice gives leakers three weeks to spoil everything. [Source: not found]

Transformers WFC Kingdom Galvatron First “Official” Look

Leaked photos show Kingdom Leader class Galvatron, and the crew thinks it looks amazing. The battle damage is tampo-printed, which disappoints several hosts. A widely shared second photo turned out to be a Photoshop fake. Selects is expected to rerun the mold in toy colors later. One host pitches a Selects Straxus, and Discord suggests Beast Wars II or Energon Galvatron. One host still prefers the Titans Return Legends Galvatron because it turns into a spaceship. [Source: Allspark]

Unicron.com Interview with Ben Montano

Diecast recommends Unicron.com’s interview with Ben Montano, conducted by Kevin Lucas. Montano hints that a peg on HasLab Unicron’s stand is meant for a future accessory pack. One host has heard a second accessory pack will focus on blast effects. Another notes Kingdom Galvatron’s small ships are scaled to work with HasLab Unicron. Montano also says shipping may follow geography rather than order date. John’s eagerly awaited large box from California turned out to be a floor lamp from Target. [Source: Unicron.com on YouTube]

What We Got This Week

Chris had nothing in Transformers this week.

Don got R.E.D. Arcee from Brunosaur on Twitter after Walmart cancelled his order. He also found Kingdom Ultra Magnus at Walmart without looking for it. He wishes the cab robot’s hands did not stick out the back, but he is warming to Ultra Magnus figures.

John had nothing in Transformers this week.

Matt got Kingdom Blackarachnia, which he calls okay, and Kingdom Inferno, which he adores. He hopes for a Selects Artfire. He also bought Netflix Optimus Prime for its G2-style colors to sit beside his G2 Megatron.

Rob got the Galactic Odyssey Botropolis Rescue Mission set. The Micromaster missile truck team is surprisingly good, and he calls the set the best use of the Modulator molds. Netflix Cheetor is on its way from Wheeljack64.

Diecast had nothing in Transformers this week.

Brian got a sealed Netflix Soundwave from Triplet. At Walmart he picked up Kingdom Dinobot and Inferno after another shopper left them behind. He rebought items he once let go: 2002 New Year Convoy with its mouse pad, and the desert camo Ruination set. He added six Mini-Spies, a numbered Gigawatt for $60, and G1 Sky Garry from Return of Convoy. The Sky Garry seller, Jim, included a letter saying he listens every week.

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