A Studio Series Commander listing for an 86-film Rodimus Prime surfaces, prompting debate over how much retooling Hasbro will do versus leaning on the strong Kingdom mold. The officially licensed Yolopark Safety Megatron — a long-coveted BotCon 2026 exclusive based on Aaron Archer’s rejected reissue concept — draws immediate orders from both Brian and Don. Missing Link Ultra Magnus earns Brian’s highest praise despite minor nitpicks about a visible trailer joint and limited cab-leg articulation, while Missing Link Ironhide generates genuine excitement for how TakaraTomy will engineer a proper robot mode out of the original Diaclone-walker source toy. In What We Got This Week, Don’s standout haul includes autographed copies of the newly repressed Vince DiCola BotCon 97 CDs and a Bingo Toy Strafe whose sheer mass — its Computron hand alone towers over a Deluxe-class figure — makes a strong case against waiting for the FansProject version.

News

A 2027 Studio Series Commander listing for an 86-film Rodimus Prime has surfaced. The crew isn’t surprised — the Kingdom mold is widely considered near-perfect for the character, so the main question is how extensive the retooling will be. Rob notes that a prior interview suggested Hasbro would do a new pass rather than a straight repaint. Matt and Rob both see a Cyclonus/Springer-style partial retool as the most likely outcome. Brian admits he needs it despite already owning the Kingdom version; Rob holds out for a Missing Link Rodimus Prime instead.

TakaraTomy Legends N03 Nemesis Star Convoy is a black repaint of the Titan-class Star Convoy. Brian is an immediate buy; most of the crew acknowledges the toy is excellent while passing on the repaint. The news prompts a wishlist discussion: Brian and Matt both want TakaraTomy to produce a G1-style Super Megatron companion, noting the character has appeared primarily in manga without a proper vintage toy counterpart.

Missing Link Ironhide images show a speculative “what if Ironhide had been designed as a humanoid robot from the start” approach rather than a strict G1 reproduction. Rob notes that the original Diaclone face sticker has been faithfully recreated in paint and sculpt on the chest. The team speculates that the battle station sled may detach to reveal a conventional robot lower half. Rob describes it as one of the most fascinating Missing Link engineering challenges yet. The yellow eyes generate debate — Rob suggests a possible Marvel Comics connection.

The Yolopark AMK Mini Decepticon Avatar Megatron — Safety Megatron, the BotCon 2026 exclusive — is now available through Yolopark. Aaron Archer originally designed the figure for the G1 reissue line in safety-regulation colors; it was never produced officially until now. Brian ordered two. Don ordered one.

A red repaint of the Hot Wheels Transformers Twin Mill has been confirmed as a Target exclusive, launching alongside Wave 2. Matt had predicted both the red color and the Target exclusivity. The Hot Wheels branding means the Twin Mill name carries over rather than receiving a new character name.

Dr. Wu’s Weibo account has been updated with core prototype images of the War Within Devastator set, Cyber Hercules. The set comes in two-packs; Don estimates pricing around $39–$45 per pack, putting a complete Devastator at roughly $120–$135. The War Within head design divides the room — Matt loves it, Brian and Rob are less convinced.

DNA Designs has announced an upgrade kit for the Studio Series Blue G2 Grimlock, following a previously announced Slag and Swoop kit. Don notes that Swoop already includes swords, so the additional options are supplementary rather than essential.

What We Got This Week

Don picked up Star Eagle — the Air Razor mold in Beast Wars Prowl-style colors — as a box display piece, along with Age of the Prime Smokescreen, which he calls a significant improvement over the original toy and a genuine wave surprise. The chest panel fits correctly once the arms are extended slightly. Don also received Age of the Prime Ratchet using the Trailbreaker mold; all tools store internally in vehicle mode, and Don considers it a convincing Animated Ratchet through a G1 filter.

The highlight of Don’s haul: newly repressed physical copies of Vince DiCola’s Protoform Sessions and Artistic Transformations — both originally BotCon 97 CD exclusives. Don received autographed inserts, apparently selected at random, paying roughly $28 shipped for both.

Don also picked up Legion Maximus at Target using an unexpected Circle Rewards bonus, landing the Leader-class figure for around $30. The plastic density impressed him. He closes out his on-topic picks with Bingo Toy’s Strafe for the Technobots/Computron build — at roughly $118, priced well below the FansProject alternative. The scale is striking: the Computron hand accessory alone is as wide as a Deluxe-class Bumblebee and reaches his Autobot symbol in height.

Matt got Legacy Swerve, which he loves, and praises the robot mode while finding the plane mode passable. The alien mask gimmick from the cartoon works via a weapon-activated face-spin mechanism. He also received Legacy Powerglide, rating it slightly below Brian’s enthusiasm — he notes the wing tabs function more as suggestions than true locks on his copy.

Brian attended a local toy convention run by a friend, picked up Cybertron Swerve, and also got Legacy Powerglide — finding the tabs lock in firmly on his copy, suggesting a copy-to-copy variance. He also received the Masterverse-adjacent Chromedome figure, which he calls excellent aside from a missing gun in the box. His boxed acquisitions included a G1 Cloud Rodimus and a third boxed G1 Metroplex. The episode’s top pick: Missing Link Ultra Magnus. Brian’s only reservations are a visible joint in the trailer arm and limited range of motion in the combined cab-and-armor legs — structural necessities, not failures. He calls the ratchets phenomenal and the overall toy one of the best Missing Link releases.

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