A sealed, no-rubsign G1 Megatron just sold for $161,458 at LCG’s Summer Premier Auction — the headline of a six-figure Transformers auction week. Mattel’s first transforming Hot Wheels Bumblebee is official at $65, and the panel spends a good chunk of the show picking apart why its robot mode doesn’t work. More Than Meets the Eye Starscream and Prowl are both turning up at Target, alongside a wave of Blokees, Cyberworld, and Super7 reveals. What We Got This Week features Matt’s Studio Series Cliffjumper, Diecast’s reissue Fangry, John’s Grave Digger Grimlock crossover, and Brian’s BigFigs Optimus Prime.

News

LCG’s Megatron Sells for $161,458, Buyer’s Premium Included
LCG’s Summer Premier Auction closed with a sealed, no-rubsign G1 Megatron (AFA 90) bringing $161,458 including buyer’s premium. Brian called it a likely alternative-asset buy, comparing it to investment-grade sports cards. The rest of the top six — a pre-rub Bluestreak, a Devastator giftset, Ramjet, Dirge, and a rub-sign Prowl — combined for well over half of the category’s total sales. The panel also traded notes on the wider grading world, including sealed cards now getting CAT-scanned to verify contents. [Source: LCG Auctions]

Hot Wheels Bumblebee Is Official—And $65
Mattel’s third transforming Hot Wheels collaboration is a 1:64 Bumblebee that converts into a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle. The panel spent a long stretch debating why it doesn’t work: ExVee walked through the engineering constraints of matching Volkswagen’s real proportions at Hot Wheels scale, while Don argued the vehicle mode ate every bit of design budget, leaving the robot mode’s back hollow. [Source: Mattel Creations]

More Than Meets the Eye Starscream Reaches Target
Studio Series More Than Meets the Eye Starscream has been spotted at Target. Don checked his own local stores without luck, but the panel noted Insecticons and other line pieces are starting to surface for some shoppers. [Source: TFW2005]

More Than Meets the Eye Prowl Also Turns Up at Target
Prowl from the same collection has been confirmed at Target locations in Riverside and Garden Grove, California, for $27.99. The panel’s read: this is physical stock showing up, not a sign that canceled preorders are being restored. [Source: TFW2005]

Optimus Prime: Awakening Gets a Teaser Clip
A new teaser for Optimus Prime: Awakening is up on the official Transformers YouTube channel. Brian watched it and came away lukewarm but relieved it isn’t trying to visually match Transformers: The Movie. [Source: TFW2005]

The 1986 Movie Gets a November 27 Japanese Theatrical Date
Transformers: The Movie is getting a Japanese theatrical run on November 27 — its first wide release there, following a limited 1989 charity screening ExVee remembered from research. [Source: TFW2005]

DNA Design Reveals DK-88 Armor for MPG-17 Optimus Prime
DNA Design’s unlicensed DK-88 kit adds Jetfire-style armor and upgraded hip joints to MPG-17 Optimus Prime. Don likes MPG-17 on its own and isn’t sold on the armor, though the panel agreed it avoids the “kludgy” look a lot of Jetfire add-ons get. [Source: TFW2005]

Blokees Shows Optimus Prime Ver. EVO
Blokees revealed its Action Edition Optimus Prime Ver. EVO, a roughly seven-inch stylized non-transforming release. Rob compared it to a Bandai Master Grade “version 2.0,” and Diecast said he’ll pick it up through his usual Blokees supplier. [Source: TFW2005]

Wonderfest Shanghai Gets Two Exclusive Blokees Primes
An exclusive Nemesis Prime and a pink Blokees Wheels Optimus Prime are coming out of Wonderfest Shanghai on October 3–4. Brian said he doesn’t hate the pink paint job, though the panel noted the renders may not reflect the final finish. [Source: TFW2005]

Super7 Shows DX Metallic Megatron
Super7’s DX Metallic Megatron, packaged in VHS-style box art, got its first official images. Rob and Diecast both compared the chrome-look head to Destro. [Source: TFW2005]

R.E.D. Grimlock Packaging Surfaces
New packaging images have surfaced for the canceled R.E.D. Grimlock line. Diecast actually owns a pre-production sample bought years ago on eBay for about $90 — missing its crown accessory — and noted current asking prices online have climbed toward $1,000. [Source: TFW2005]

Selects Mirage, Ironhide and Bluestreak Get Another In-Hand Gallery
A fresh gallery covers the Age of the Primes Generations Selects Autobot three-pack. The panel remains a fan of the set with no new concerns raised. [Source: TFW2005]

Energon Universe Optimus Prime Gets Additional In-Hand Photos
New images cover Studio Series Energon Universe Optimus Prime, whose price jumped from an originally announced $60 to $79.99. ExVee noted the toy doesn’t include a trailer at that price, calling the jump the bigger story. [Source: TFW2005]

Cyberworld Energon Surge Lockdown Gets an In-Hand Look
Wave 5 Cyber Changers Lockdown got its first in-hand report from the Energon Surge line. Brian liked the wolf-mode look overall. [Source: TFW2005]

Cyberworld Air & Sea Starscream Gets an In-Hand Look
The first in-hand images of Energon Surge Ultimate Cyber Changers Air & Sea Starscream surfaced, which the panel identified as a possible retool of the Age of Extinction Megatron mold — flagged above as unverified, so treat that lineage claim as speculative rather than confirmed. [Source: TFW2005]

What We Got This Week

Don: No Tobots or Metal Cardbots this week. Picked up a second Point Blank Targetmaster reissue on Matt’s recommendation, plus several unbranded AliExpress robots — Prince Gallius (a truck) and Epsilon (a bullet train) from an unfamiliar line, and a Japanese-style pickup-truck robot that arrived with transit damage. Also grabbed a bootleg “Justice Titan” combiner he thought was the official smaller release.

Chris (Exvee): Had nothing in Transformers this week.

Matt: Studio Series Cliffjumper. Likes it more than he expected — the blocky proportions that hurt Bumblebee work in Cliffjumper’s favor, the deco fix on the pelvis is an improvement over early images, and the vehicle mode nails the super-deformed penny-racer look. Price tag stings.

Diecast: The reissue Fangry now stands up on its own, fixing a known problem — but the tail won’t tab shut when the knees are posed solid. Plans to keep both the single and four-pack versions to get both benefits.

Rob Clay: Had nothing in Transformers this week.

John DeLuna: The Grave Digger Grimlock crossover — Voyager-sized, a throwback feel he compared to Cybertron-era toys, built for actual play. Wants articulated wrists and would fully recommend it once the roughly $60 price comes down.

Brian: BigFigs Optimus Prime. Loves it — heavy, hollow but well-built, a better value than his Super Shogun Optimus. Liked it enough to buy a second, sealed.

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