A new swarm of Buzzworthy Bumblebee toys lands at Target, led by Origins Bumblebee in plastic-free packaging and the Worlds Collide four-pack. Official photos show Masterpiece Nightbird and Masterpiece Crosscut, while a Masterpiece Cliffjumper test shot leaves the crew whelmed.

Premium Finish Wave 4 and a Fan First Friday date round out the news. Chris reviews Commander Class Rodimus Prime and the Titan Class Ark, and John gives first impressions of Fangry.

News

RFC News Desk 145: All About Bees

A second wave of Buzzworthy Bumblebee toys arrived unannounced, which the crew likens to being a fan in 1999. Three Studio Series two-packs pair Bumblebee with Barricade, Stinger or car-mode Dropkick, reportedly at about $43 each. The Worlds Collide four-pack, first found by mistake at a US Walmart, is now at Walmart in Canada and at Target. Origins Bumblebee is everywhere in solid cases of eight, in an open-front box with no plastic window. Don thinks its Energon rods may fit the original G2 Megatron cannon. Stock photos also show Cyberverse Deluxe Cheetor with beast-mode armor, the nicest Cyberverse Cheetor yet. Commander Class Rodimus Prime and the Titan Class Ark also hit Target. [Source: TFRadio]

Masterpiece Crosscut and Nightbird, Plus a First Look at Cliffjumper

Official photos of Masterpiece Nightbird look much better, and one host found her for about $135 shipped from Amazon Japan. Another notes she is basically a Masterpiece take on Legends LG-15 Nightbird, with matching swords and a Hayato Sakamoto face. Masterpiece Crosscut is a TakaraTomy Mall exclusive, about $89 through Hasbro Pulse. One host calls Crosscut the best deco of the Honda City mold. Don suggests X-Transbots’ cheaper Crosscut, but one host is done with third-party Masterpiece. A Masterpiece Cliffjumper test shot appears to be Masterpiece Bumblebee 2.0 with new parts. Matt finds it underwhelming, though the feet may suit Cliffjumper’s boxier body. The crew expects it to cost about $160 and doubts a Porsche license. [Source: TFRadio]

Premium Finish Wave 4 Revealed: WFC Starscream and Studio Series Ratchet

Premium Finish Wave 4 brings another Siege Starscream and Studio Series Ratchet, due in 2022 in the US and January in Japan. The crew notes this is at least the 11th use of the Starscream mold. One host would rather see Ratchet redone than repainted. Another says Premium Finish suits Studio Series better than Siege, where Netflix accuracy hurts figures like Ultra Magnus. [Source: TFRadio]

The Next Fan First Friday Has Been Scheduled

A press release for a new theatrical run of Transformers: The Movie also set a Fan First Friday for August 13. One host expects movie-themed reveals like Studio Series Sweep and a rumored Kingdom Galvatron redeco. He also thinks Hasbro could tease the Transformers HasLab there. Fathom Events will show the movie on September 26 and 28, tied to the new 4K release. One host enjoyed the 2018 showing in Chattanooga, while others are happy with home viewing. [Source: TFRadio]

What We Got This Week

Chris got a second Dinobot T-Rex, hoping for a better copy. Origins Bumblebee, from Discord member Pandastrong, surprised him with a clean backpack and Netflix Bumblebee size. Its jetpack fits Netflix Bumblebee even better than Origins. Commander Class Rodimus Prime impresses him with Leader-sized engineering, a pointing index finger and a Matrix packed in the chest. The trailer is loaded with storage and ports, though the halves do not close tightly. His big pickup is the Titan Class Ark, about 16 inches long, with a solid robot mode. Mainframe is nearly as tall as Rodimus, and Teletraan I is the first official version of the computer. He calls it maybe the best Titan they have made.

Don got a second boxed Leader Class Slag to start a boxed Dinobot set. John DeLuna sent him Origins Bumblebee, and an early Amazon shipment brought a second Tracks. He also got the Titan Class Ark from Walmart.

Diecast got a second Core Class Soundwave and a damaged-box Astrotrain on clearance for $25. He also got a Hallmark Keepsake Shockwave ornament. His other finds are the Star Wars Transformers Death Star, which is nearly impossible to transform, and a boxed Millennium Falcon.

Rob got Kingdom Arcee for $10 and Kingdom Scorponok, whose ball-jointed pieces keep falling off.

John got the Titan Class Ark. He also got the Worlds Collide set through Pandastrong. His Fangry’s knees are loose but still hold a stance. Blackarachnia is not as saturated as some photos suggest but still awesome, and Nemesis Primal looks better in person.

Matt got Origins Bumblebee from John DeLuna. It is about the size of Earthrise Cliffjumper, and he likes it far more than expected. One vehicle panel is slightly off-color. He says Siege would have earned more praise if it had looked like this.

Brian got a Generations Selects release of Soundblaster in Japanese-style packaging marked for the 35th anniversary.

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