Radio Free Cybertron turns 26, and the crew marks the occasion by arguing over the $90 Energon Universe Optimus Prime and its single Megatron arm. New York Comic Con also revealed a feudal Japan Timelines set with an ox-cart Optimus Prime and a tengu Starscream. HasLab Liokaiser appeared in molded plastic colors, and Studio Series 86 Thundercracker drew unflattering comparisons to the Earthrise seekers. Transformers protein powder and a Blokees Defender Bruticus round out the news. In What We Got This Week, Matt and Brian both rave about Missing Link Arcee and Diecast goes all red.

News

Energon Universe Optimus Prime Leads the NYCC 2025 Transformers Preorders

Energon Universe Optimus Prime, based on the Skybound comics, went up for preorder at $90. One host got excited for five seconds, thinking it meant a Transformers Energon Optimus Prime, then lost interest. Brian preordered it immediately because seeing the comic design in transforming plastic is so ridiculous he had to have it. The crew asks why this toy gets a correct fusion cannon when Studio Series 86 Megatron didn’t. At $90, it’s a Leader Class toy at a premium, with no trailer and only a new Megatron arm. Diecast argued that a lower price would sell two or three times as many. The crew reminded him he is not Hasbro’s finance department. Wheeljack64 noted in the Discord that it was originally solicited at $65. It isn’t due until October 2026, so Hasbro may be hedging against rising costs. [Source: TFW2005]

NYCC 2025 Panel Reveals a Feudal Japan Timelines Theme

The next Timelines theme is an original feudal Japan setting. Optimus Prime is an ox and cart, and Starscream is a tengu built on Airazor’s engineering, while the Decepticons are based on yokai. Hasbro says every Timelines set will feature Optimus Prime, Starscream, Megatron and Bumblebee. One host would rather have seen more Hearts of Steel. Don asked whether the paired figures are tied together for manufacturing, which would limit solo recolors like Hearts of Steel seekers. One host likes the look of both toys for the first time in a Timelines set. Another may grab the Starscream alone if it turns up at a reasonable price. The panel also showed Titan Class Grimlock and updated renders of Age of the Primes Onslaught. [Source: TFW2005]

HasLab Liokaiser and Studio Series 86 Thundercracker on Display at NYCC

Hasbro’s NYCC booth showed HasLab Liokaiser in molded plastic colors for the first time. It appears to be an engineering pilot sample with the planned paint operations. Studio Series 86 Thundercracker stood beside Earthrise Starscream at roughly the same height, but the two won’t blend on a shelf. Diecast thinks the Earthrise seeker makes the better jet. One host explains that even Masterpiece never solved the seeker problem: realistic jets make for less cartoon-accurate robots. Earthrise and Classics seekers favor the jet, while Studio Series 86 leans into the rounded cartoon look. One host still grabbed a Walmart preorder at $35, adding a $25 Windcharger for free shipping. [Source: TFW2005]

Core Nutritionals Launches Officially Licensed Transformers Protein Powder

After the earlier Transformers pre-workout, Core Nutritionals now has licensed Transformers protein powder. Flavors include pre-workout grape lemonade, milk chocolate and cookies and cream whey protein, and a grape lemonade hydration mix. It appears to come with a Transformers blender bottle. Don pointed to a Consumer Reports bulletin about lead levels in protein supplements, though nobody knows whether this product is affected. Most of the crew just wants the blender bottle. [Source: TFW2005]

Blokees Defender Bruticus Is on the Way

Brian Blade reminded the chat that a Blokees Defender Bruticus is coming. Like the Devastator set, Blokees sells the parts to combine the alternate-mode Combaticons into Bruticus. Blokees now distributes the Devastator parts in the U.S. for about $7. The hard part is pulling the Combaticon vehicles from blind boxes, which took about three cases for Devastator. Some retailers sold cherry-picked complete sets instead. [Source: Tformers]

26 Years of Radio Free Cybertron

This episode marks the show’s 26th anniversary. Chris and John have been around since roughly episode three, and Rob Springer counts as a founding member. Rob has been on for 16 years and Matt for 12 or 13. Don’s first appearance came during BotCon 2012, in an end-of-day live update from John DeLuna’s living room.

Listener Note

Aaron West sent a short message on Patreon calling the show “an island of calm in my world.” Brian says that is exactly why he does the show, and the crew agrees it’s their weekly island of calm too.

What We Got This Week

Diecast

Diecast’s theme this week was red. He picked up Fans Toys Ironhide, which looks much better in hand than in photos. He doesn’t plan to transform it because of reports of paint chipping. He also found a sealed, very red exclusive on Facebook Marketplace for about $170, one he had missed when it sold out.

Matt

Matt received Missing Link C-07 and C-08 Arcee and loves both, though he prefers the prototype head. She can even sit cross-legged, and her shoulder fenders are diecast metal. He warns that the wheels sit level with her heels and waist plate, so rolling her on a tabletop could leave rub marks. To him she feels like a 1986 toy and a spiritual sister to Kup. One host notes the prototype colors show the toy as it might have been in 1986, while the anime colors match what an e-Hobby reissue might have been.

Don

Don found the Runamuck reissue with Bumblebee at Walmart. At a Greensboro store he paid $7 each for prebuilt Blokees Jazz, robot-mode Grimlock, Bluestreak and Prowl. Prowl and Bluestreak join the Smokescreen he got at TFCon last year to complete the Datsun brothers.

John

John had nothing in Transformers this week.

Rob

Rob got Cronus Prime and really likes it, calling him a guy in power armor who turns into a little guy on a unicycle. He also picked up Cyberworld Megatron, a simple, solid figure that turns into a steer. Another pickup was the Transformers One Quintesson Commander for $12. A Woot deal netted a case of Legacy Core Class figures for $40. He kept Optimus Prime, and most of the rest will go to Toys for Tots. Core Class Optimus Prime is good, but the Missing Link and G1 Toy versions convinced him the original toy is hard to improve on.

Chris

Chris had nothing in Transformers this week. He did recall that the Kingdom-era Core Class Optimus Prime became his favorite desk fiddle toy.

Brian

Brian got two each of the anime and prototype Missing Link Arcee and calls her his favorite toy of the year. His one nitpick is that the anime version lacks a tampographed Autobot symbol. From Amazon Japan he received the green bird from Wild King, number 10, which Miguel identified as Skyreport. He also received the Studio Series More Than Meets the Eye collection Megatron, a slight redeco of the Gamer Edition War for Cybertron Megatron, plus the matching Optimus Prime. Onyx Prime arrived as well. A Prime Day deal brought Sandstorm and Slugslinger, and he got two Seasprays. A Walmart deal gave him a boxed Cyberworld Scorponok. From Rapido’s eBay store he landed a sealed G2 Slag, leaving Snarl as the last sealed G2 Dinobot he needs.

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