Target is getting a 3D-scanned, 30-inch Big-Figs Optimus Prime for just $35, and the cast can’t figure out how the retailer is making money on it. Upper Deck is entering the Transformers trading card business with a Transformers: The Movie 40th Anniversary line, and the Sunbow Marvel Archive has posted all 65 scripts for G1 seasons 1 and 2. A private collector’s case of six sealed G1 Soundwaves — one graded a record U95 — has the crew debating what they’d even do with a toy that pristine. For What We Got This Week, Matt found the last Swindle and a lone Starscream in the same Target run, Don brought a stack of Metal Cardbots and Tronified figures, and ExVee delivered a scathing review of the Unicron Soldier retool of The Fallen.

News

Upper Deck Signs Multiyear Licensing Deal With Hasbro, Kicks Off With Transformers: The Movie 40th Anniversary Cards
Upper Deck is launching a new Transformers trading card line as part of a broader Hasbro licensing deal covering multiple brands. Brian wants to see screenshots and box art from the original cartoon rather than generic character shots, and says he’ll buy at least a box regardless. Don notes his local Target has already rebuilt its collectibles section with 16 feet of shelving standing ready for the line. (Source: TFW2005)

Target Exclusive Big-Figs 30-Inch Transformers Optimus Prime Action Figure Revealed
Target is releasing a giant Big-Figs Optimus Prime that appears to be a direct 3D scan of Studio Series 86 Optimus Prime, right down to the backpack panel details, for $35. Chris points out the figure reportedly weighs 6 pounds, which has Brian wondering how Target can turn a profit on it at that price. Both hosts say they’re buying one regardless, and Don floats a matching Megatron as a natural follow-up. (Source: TFW2005)

G1 Transformers Cartoon: All 65 Scripts for Seasons 1 and 2 Now Available Online
The Sunbow Marvel Archive has added 16 previously missing scripts, completing the full run of seasons 1 and 2, including multiple drafts and revisions per episode. Brian calls out “Autobot Spike,” “Changing Gears,” and “City of Steel” as favorites, while Don highlights “Masquerade.” (Source: TFW2005)

Six Sealed G1 Soundwaves Surface at AFA, One Grades a Record U95
A frequent AFA submitter sent in an unopened case of six G1 Soundwave figures, and one came back graded U95 — the highest Soundwave grade on record. The crew speculates the set could head to auction, with Brian guessing a $70,000–$80,000 price tag if it does. (Source: pending Brian’s confirmation — headline left unlinked, no article was located this session; don’t fabricate one)

Transformers: Cyberworld Season 2 “Energon Surge” Gets Premiere Date, Trailer, and Images
Cyberworld’s second season has a premiere date, trailer, and new images. Neither host has kept up with the show, though both say they liked EarthSpark and Cyberverse more than they expected to. (Source: TFW2005)

Blokees Transformers Defender Version 08 Battle Stars: Full Official Images Revealed
The new Blokees Defender wave includes Super Megatron, Star Convoy, and Sky Gary — Beast Wars II characters that have had little to no representation outside Japan. Brian calls it the line’s most exciting wave yet and says he’s buying a full case. (Source: TFW2005)

Blokees Transformers Champion Class Bumblebee Movie Optimus Prime and Bumblebee Revealed
Blokees is also adding Champion Class figures based on the Bumblebee movie designs for Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Matt and Brian both say it’s a harder sell than the Battle Stars wave, though ExVee notes the Bumblebee movie designs still have a strong following. (Source: TFW2005)

Takara Tomy Transformers Wild King W: New Upcoming Figures Teased
New Wild King W figures are coming, including a World Dragnus redeco and an all-new Spinosaurus mold, Spiny Scuto, which combines with Rexblade. Brian and Matt are both tempted to pick up multiples, and ExVee notes the line’s increasingly Sentai-inspired look. (Source: TFW2005)

Takara Tomy Missing Link D-01 Soundwave Transformation Video Surfaces
TFW2005 has posted transformation photos of the Missing Link D-01 Soundwave showing off its added articulation. Both Matt and Brian have pre-ordered the toy version. (Source: TFW2005)

What We Got This Week

Chris picked up the Studio Series Transformers One B127 Bumblebee for $11.99 at a Ross closeout — a basic but satisfying transformation she calls the perfect price point for a clearance find. She’s also holding an unopened SDCC Gem and the Holograms Blaster, nicknamed “Billy Stardust” by a Discord listener, that she’s reluctant to open because of the packaging. Thanks to Matt, she picked up the Unicron Soldier, Herald of Unicron — a retool of The Fallen — and did not hold back: the vehicle mode “feels like a complete write-off,” combining ideas from Cybertron Unicron and Marvel’s Unicron cultists without committing to either. She also shared new reveal photos from Takara’s booth at what appears to be the Tokyo Toy Show, including a Studio Series-scale Delta Magnus (built on the New Legends mold, with a Powered Buggy and a Titan Master pilot the group first mistook for Carly) and two new Dinobot Island dramatic capture sets pairing Ratchet with Grimlock and Sludge with Slag in a shinier finish. She also confirmed, via the toy’s own name tag, that a Rodimus-colored figure everyone assumed was an Optimus Prime redeco is actually an Evangelion Prime Unit 02 crossover.

Matt found the last Swindle on the shelf at a Target in Morgantown and calls it one of the best deco jobs of the wave, despite some visible kibble on the forearms he says he’ll never quite get used to. In the same visit he also found a lone Starscream, which he’s passing along to Diecast.

Don brought back a haul of AliExpress Metal Cardbots — a yellow Lamborghini figure with giant spiked-gauntlet fists, and a buffalo-themed figure with an extra pair of backpack-mounted arms — plus a Tobot Tetran combiner that stands as tall as the HasLab Omega Prime. He also picked up three of the four Tronified translucent redecos and a Rising Force Swindle, a third-party Fall of Cybertron-style figure he found too complex to enjoy and is putting up for resale after this episode. He canceled a preorder for the official Unicron Soldier retool after handling Chris’s copy.

Brian picked up the Cyberworld Pirate Ship Optimus Prime with its Mirage/Riptide pilot figure, and from a local auction trade landed a boxed G1 Fort Max in the harder-to-find American box (with some yellowing he’s considering retrobriting), a near-complete vintage G1 Galvatron, a mostly complete G1 Trypticon missing one small piece, a boxed G1 Optimus Prime, and a second boxed Trypticon to round out his collection. He also bought a bulk pack of wall-mount display cases.

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