Radio Free Cybertron 1012 is about one toy: Missing Link C-16 Headmaster Arcee, and the US-style box Don has wanted for almost 40 years. Rob says Takara Tomy just beat Hasbro at Hasbro’s own vintage packaging. Takara’s November preorders, the MPMN Sideswipes and Adamas Machina Star Saber fill out the news. Diecast’s Rewind Toy Exchange also launches this Sunday. Then, in What We Got This Week, Don’s Tobot Sonic and a $7.50 Optimus Prime popcorn bucket lead the haul.

News

New Takara Tomy Pre-Orders For November 2026

Takara Tomy’s November preorders include Age of the Primes Machine Wars Starscream and Onyx Prime, plus Allicon, Wheelie, Jazz and Transformers One Shockwave. All of them are figures the crew has already seen. Brian doesn’t expect US shortages, but he calls Takara a good backup for that Starscream. He also still thinks Starscream looks wrong. [Source: TFW2005]

Takara Tomy Transformers MPMN-01 and MPMN-02 Sideswipes In-Hand Images

MPMN-01 Sideswipe and MPMN-02 Red Sideswipe are both in hand now. Don has the silver one on order, and he calls Revenge of the Fallen Sideswipe his favorite movie toy. His reason: it looks like a Transformer instead of a bag of knives. The red one is a maybe for him. Diecast is getting Sideswipe too, which surprised Brian. [Source: Tformers]

Overgear OG-02EX Grinder (CTC Technology Demonstration Unit Specification) Takara TOMY Official Images & Details

Overgear OG-02EX Grinder has better photos, and Brian loves the green on the canopy and blades. He says it would be a nice helicopter even if it weren’t a Transformer. Nobody on the panel is buying it, though. Rob calls the line pricey but interesting, and Don is still debating Overgear Optimus Prime. [Source: Tformers]

AM-T03 Star Saber Official Images & Details, Takara Tomy T-Spark Adamas Machina

Adamas Machina AM-T03 Star Saber is 49,500 yen for June 2027, and a Victory Leo has been teased. Brian thinks the jet mode looks like a pancake, and the shield throws him off. Don says it looks like a Gundam kit and a redo of the Flame Toys Star Saber. Rob sees modern real-grade Gundam detail, and he prefers his Star Saber closer to on-model. [Source: Tformers]

Bingo Toys BT08-04 Darwin (MP Nosecone) New Project Images Revealed

Bingo Toys has new images of BT08-04 Darwin, its Masterpiece-scale Nosecone. Brian likes the set, but he and Rob both think the drill is too fancy. Don still picks Bingo over FansToys for its look and its price. He figures his Bingo Strafe cost about $100 less than the FansToys version. [Source: Tformers]

NL-10 Gou Prime & Vector Sigma Transformers New Legends Official Images & Details

New Legends NL-10 Go Prime comes with the Vector Sigma and key from the San Diego Alpha Trion and Orion Pax set, Matt says. Rob identifies the figure as a Thundertron recolor based on Transformers Go. Matt and Brian call the colors stunning, but Diecast isn’t digging it. Brian isn’t buying, and he isn’t sure who it’s for beyond completists. [Source: Tformers]

Blokees Transformers Defender Version 09 Power of the Primes, Dinobots Volcanicus Combining Mini Model Kits

Blokees Defender Version 09 and the Dinobots Volcanicus kit are up for preorder, and Brian calls it the best-looking Volcanicus yet. Matt calls that a low bar. Rob’s theory is that it helps when the torso doesn’t have to become dinosaurs. Don would still rather keep his Dinobots individual, and Matt says combining Dinobots should mean Dino Force. [Source: Tformers]

Missing Link C-16 Arcee Headmaster (Reverse Type) Takara TOMY Transformers Official Images & Details

Missing Link C-16 Arcee has in-package images now, and Don says this is literally everything he asked for. He stood up at BotCon starting in 1994 and asked for a Headmaster Arcee every year but 1997. Daniel transforms into her head, she’s got the Rebirth-era box, and she’s interchangeable with other Headmasters. Rob says Chromedome and Brainstorm have already been shown with Daniel, though Matt says he looks a little out of scale.

The box is the story. Takara Tomy built US-style Headmaster packaging, since Arcee wasn’t a Headmaster in Japan, and Brian checked it against his own Hardhead and Brainstorm. Rob says Takara has done a better job of US vintage packaging than Hasbro could. Matt and Rob also spotted Missing Link Bugbite and Hubcap in Takara’s group photo. Matt says neither has been announced yet.

Takara lists her at 16,500 yen. Brian puts the preorder price here at about $150. Don isn’t happy about the price, but he’s already got two on order, one for the box and one to open. Matt suggests a third for Susan Blu and David Mendenhall to sign. Don plans to leave them to someone who understands what they mean, and Brian suggests Aaron Archer. [Source: Tformers]

Uncirculated G1 Soundwave Listed on eBay for $41,500

Closing the loop from a few episodes back, the uncirculated G1 Soundwave is up on eBay for $41,500. It hasn’t sold, and Brian figures it belongs at Heritage Auctions.

Diecast’s Rewind Toy Exchange Launches Sunday, November 8

Diecast’s marketplace, Rewind Toy Exchange, opens for purchases this Sunday, and anyone can start listing now. He says a listing takes two or three minutes, and bulk posting is available too. Payments run through Stripe, and problems get resolved through tickets. It covers toys, collectibles, video games and cards, with a wish list and seller names. Brian says it isn’t an ad, just something the fandom has needed for a long time.

What We Got This Week

Rob

Rob ordered more Auldey AAE Transformers Wave 3 from AliExpress, and his latest pull is the set of minifigures with Brawn, Bombshell and Ratbat. They’re about two and a half inches tall and keep most of the larger figures’ articulation. He still doesn’t have Galvatron, but he’s probably buying more either way.

Diecast

Diecast got MPG-20 Hot Rod Style Generation to stand with his MPG-17 Optimus Prime. He hasn’t opened it yet, but he says it’s bigger than the older Masterpiece cars.

Don

Don found a $12 Transformers anniversary lunchbox at Walmart and the last Optimus Prime popcorn bucket on Target clearance for $7.50. He also picked up marked-down Hot Wheels Transformers to finish both waves, plus Powerlinx Red Alert with the Mini-Cons. Then, through tfradio.net/amazon, he got Tobot Sonic for $51, against about $90 on eBay. He loves the transformation.

Matt

Matt had nothing in Transformers this week.

Brian

Brian had nothing in Transformers this week, but he promises a couple of cool things next week.

Elf on a Shelfwarmer

Elf on a Shelfwarmer, RFC’s 15th annual holiday toy drive, is in go-drop-it-off season. Toys for Tots boxes are landing this month, so get that shelfwarmer out of the house and into one. The final round is December 9. Thanks to Shawn Williamson for the Gundam kit, Moonscream for LEGO Friends and Rescue Bots, and Peter BB for the Optimus Primal mask and Bumblebee model kit. Snap a photo and tag #elfonashelfwarmer. No box nearby? The Amazon wishlist ships to Brian, who drops it off. We get no referral fees from any Elf on a Shelfwarmer links. This is just for the kids.

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