Radio Free Cybertron turns 27 this week, and the gift is Studio Series 2027 Wave 1 opening for preorder with $29.99 Deluxes. Diecast brings back word from Hasbro’s NYCC event on the Nexus Maximus frame, the Autobot cassette six-pack and the next HasLab, which sets off a Metroplex-versus-Primus debate over what it will cost. The Mattel Creations Hot Wheels Bumblebee gets roasted, and Blokees Shining Version 06 earns real praise. In What We Got This Week, Diecast’s Missing Link Grimlock survives a crushed shipping box, and Brian calls Dynamite’s Transformers trading cards a letdown.

News

Studio Series 2027 Wave 1 Preorders Open with $29.99 Deluxes
Studio Series 2027 Wave 1 is up for preorder, and Deluxes now cost $29.99. Nobody on the panel is excited. Diecast says Hasbro’s Nate confirmed the increase is company-wide for Deluxes, while Voyagers and Leaders hold steady for now. Chris notes Marvel Legends make the same jump. Brian’s math puts a $10 Deluxe from 2007 at about $20 today, and Matt points out they cost $30. Nate also told Diecast the 2027 line was designed for $27.99, so 2028 should pack more value at the new price. Chris recalls Siege, the last price jump that came with real upgrades. Brian revisits Aaron Archer’s 2013 warning that shipping plastic across the planet isn’t sustainable. [Source: Transformers.tv]

NYCC Panel: New Nexus Maximus Frame and Future Combiner Plans
Hasbro plans a dedicated combining frame for Nexus Maximus, and Diecast heard about it straight from Mark at the Hasbro event. It isn’t in the 2027 line, so expect 2028 or 2029. Mark’s advice: don’t buy a spare Silverbolt or Bruticus frame to fake it. He also wants extra pieces to fill out the combined form. Chris expects a Nexus Prime reissue bundled in, and Matt pitches a Commander Class set with the last two limbs. Brian suggests black Play-Doh, with Energon cubes buried inside, per Matt. [Source: Tformers]

NYCC Reveals: ’Til All Are Loved Valentine’s Pack, Autobot Cassettes and Goldfire
The ’Til All Are Loved Valentine’s Day Pack pairs Optimus Prime and Elita-1, and Brian loves the box. Chris wanted both figures in pink and is disappointed. Optimus gets opaque windows and white thighs, Elita-1 gets an updated deco, and the set adds Centurion Drone accessory pieces. There’s no price yet, so Brian plans to wait for Ollie’s.

The Studio Series 86 Autobot Cassettes six-pack brings Rewind back in opaque plastic. Matt notes Bolts uses a new mold based on Rumble and Frenzy. Diecast loves the scorpion Stinger. Matt credits Chris McFeely’s videos for Cubbie’s backstory as an early movie-draft cassette. Studio Series Devastation Goldfire rounds out the reveals. Diecast adds that Mark wants the rest of the Wreckers after Guzzle, and more Machine Wars characters. [Source: Tformers]

Walmart Collector Con Opens Retro G1 Bug Bite and Exhaust Preorders
Walmart’s Collector Con opened preorders for Retro G1 Decepticons Bug Bite and Exhaust. Chris admits he preordered Exhaust. So did Don, who’ll keep his on the card and open a Selects version. Diecast predicts Walmart will cancel both orders. [Source: The Beat]

Next Transformers HasLab Expected Around Spring with an Extended Campaign
Hasbro says the next Transformers HasLab should arrive around spring, with an extended campaign window. Matt hears “start saving now” and expects it to be expensive. Diecast floats an Autobot base, and Brian votes Metroplex. Matt and Chris fear Primus, and Matt really wants Big Powered or Raiden. Chris argues a new Metroplex must fit with existing Titans, not tower over them. Price guesses run from about $400 to over $600. Diecast says Nate had just pitched a 2027–2028 HasLab, so the program isn’t dead. Brian cautions that a pitch isn’t a green light. [Source: Tformers]

The Knights of Unicron Release “Optimus Prime Forever”
The Knights of Unicron released “Optimus Prime Forever,” which Brian calls a tribute to Peter Cullen and Optimus Prime. He hasn’t heard it yet but recommends checking it out. [Source: Tformers]

Auldey Clash of Masters Wave 5 Roster Revealed
Auldey’s Transformers Clash of Masters Wave 5 includes Greatshot and Rodimus Prime. Chris says Auldey figures always look great and are impossible to find. Don bought a single from AliExpress for about $20 shipped and suggests that route. [Source: Tformers]

Mattel Creations Hot Wheels Bumblebee Arrives in Collectors’ Hands
The transforming Hot Wheels Bumblebee is shipping, and the panel isn’t impressed. Don questions whether the license is worth a product people are laughing at. Matt sums it up: they were so concerned with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should. Chris says the rusty weathered paint looks like bad production. Rob isn’t sure it’s for anybody, while Brian thinks it’s for carded display. Ness reports in chat that even Hot Wheels collectors are passing. [Source: Tformers]

Blokees Transformers Shining Version 06 “The Shattered Crown” Official Images
Blokees revealed Shining Version 06, The Shattered Crown, and Diecast loves it. The roster includes Coronation Starscream, Astrotrain, Blurr, Shattered Glass Metroplex, a clear Trypticon and a light-up planet Cybertron. Chris calls Cybertron possibly the first truly media-accurate official version, though he’s less sold on clear Trypticon. Rob would rather see a metallic Cybertron as the chase figure. Brian says the Blokees Astrotrain looks better than the Studio Series one. [Source: TFW2005]

What We Got This Week

Don
Don had nothing in Transformers this week.

Matt
Matt picked up Age of the Primes Commander Class Armada Jetfire and calls him really good. He’s a little small for a Commander but a wide, solid figure with better proportions than the original. Transformation is fiddly, especially into Optimus Prime’s jet-pants mode, and one payload door pops off often. Matt also got the Autobot three-pack with Ironhide, Mirage and Bluestreak in all-opaque, more cartoon-accurate colors. He’s swapping in weapons from the older releases, but the new versions look better overall.

Rob Clay
Rob Clay had nothing in Transformers this week.

Chris (Exvee)
Chris found the Hot Wheels Transformers Scorcher marked down to $25 at Walmart. It reminds him of a G2 Go-Bot, and the car mode comes together solidly. It feels smaller than wave one, and he’d never pay full retail. He also grabbed Age of the Primes Deluxe Blanker from VIP Outlet at a small discount. The opaque parts and painted windows look closer to the original Pointblank, though the arms still need a fix.

Diecast
Diecast got a free Studio Series 86 Cliffjumper in his Hasbro event bag and fixed its gray panel with a Sharpie. At Ross, he found Nemesis Prime for $39.99, the Slag and Snarl Dinobot two-pack and Big Convoy for $19.99. Armada Jetfire and MicroMaster Skyhopper are waiting to be opened. His Missing Link Grimlock arrived in a crushed box, but the damage hit dead space and the figure’s box came through fine.

Brian
Brian opened a hobby box of Dynamite’s Transformers trading cards and calls it a letdown. A third of the box is dim puzzle-piece cards, and the toy photos look flat. Scotty P. of Twincast called them trash tier, and Brian agrees. Hits included a metal Cyclonus card and autographs from Jim Salicrup and Bob Budiansky, though the ink looks weak. He also landed a pristine loose G1 Grimlock for his gold box Classic Grimlock, plus a sealed AFA 40 Targetmaster Cup. Armada Jetfire is waiting to be opened.

Elf on a Shelfwarmer
RFC’s 15th annual holiday toy drive is on. Buy a shelfwarmer or donate a sealed piece from your collection, drop it in a Toys for Tots box by December 9, and share a photo with #elfonashelfwarmer. Details are at Elf on a Shelfwarmer. No box nearby? tfradio.net/elf ships it to Brian for local drop-off, and RFC receives no referral fees.

Chapters
0:00:00 Radio Free Cybertron 1009: 27 Years
0:01:23 Elf on a Shelfwarmer: 15th Annual Toy Drive
0:03:38 Studio Series 2027 Preorders and $29.99 Deluxes
0:08:38 NYCC: A Nexus Maximus Combining Frame
0:13:14 ‘Til All Are Loved: Optimus Prime and Elita-1
0:15:08 Studio Series 86 Autobot Cassettes
0:17:31 Goldfire, the Wreckers and Machine Wars
0:20:46 Walmart Collector Con: Retro Bug Bite and Exhaust
0:21:28 The Next Transformers HasLab
0:31:51 Knights of Unicron: Optimus Prime Forever
0:32:08 Auldey Clash of Masters Wave 5
0:33:40 Mattel Creations Hot Wheels Bumblebee
0:36:40 Blokees Shining Version 06: The Shattered Crown
0:40:01 Armada Jetfire at tfradio.net/armadajetfire
0:40:49 What We Got: Don and Matt
0:46:56 What We Got: Rob and Chris
0:53:05 What We Got: Diecast
0:57:21 What We Got: Brian
1:04:34 Thank You, Patrons
1:06:49 27 Years of Radio Free Cybertron
1:07:21 Where to Find Us

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