Transformers Digital Media News on Seibertron.com

Transformers Hall of Fame 2023 Voting Opens

Date: Friday, September 8th 2023 10:48pm CDT
Categories: Event News, Digital Media News
Posted by: Sabrblade

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Views: 70,977

It's that time of year again.

Voting for the Transformers Hall of Fame 2023 has opened up. Voting closes on September 17, and the winner will be announced on the 22nd in a Hasbro Pulse livestream.

https://go.hasb.ro/480wmSB

This year, the categories are:

"Favorite Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 cartoon series) character"

And

"Legacy: Evolution toy of the year"


Now, Sky-Byte was the indisputable breakout star of the RID 2001 series, and made it all the way to the final voting of 2012 Hall of Fame (but lost to Wheeljack). If anyone deserves the win this year it's him, and this could be his last chance.

And, the Hall of Fame has never guaranteed a new toy for the winner. The only fan polls that have resulted in new toys have been the non-Hall of Fame ones, like the ones that yielded Windblade, Victorion, Titan Trypticon, some of the Vintage G1 reissues, etc. So no matter who wins this vote, it won't directly result in a new toy for the winner. All that the Hall of Fame really results in nowadays is a little tiny icon in the top-right corner of a TFWiki page.

Also, Sky-Byte winning this year would be even more meaningful because... well... his voice actor, Peter Spellos, is current battling Stage 3 pancreatic cancer. He's set up a GoFundMe for anyone to help him in this literal fight for his life.

Twincast / Podcast Episode #332 "Earthsharks"

Date: Saturday, August 26th 2023 1:44pm CDT
Categories: Site News, Digital Media News, Podcast
Posted by: ScottyP

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Views: 98,766

It's time to rise and grind on your rollerblades, because episode 332 of the Seibertron.com Twincast / Podcast is here to slam out opinions on the first season of Earthspark. Host Scotty P is joined by Aaarnhide19 and Megatronus, aka "Sir Did-Not-Watch-Earthspark". Toy leak speculating and our continued look back at Transformers history are also within, so there's something for everyone even if you don't care to hear about the latest cartoon.

Episode #332 “Earthsharks” is available directly and in our RSS Feed, and should appear on Apple Podcasts and many other Podcatcher sites within 24 to 48 hours of when you see this news post.

Here's what we discuss in this episode:

• Earthspark season 1 has come and gone, so we discuss the first season with focus primarily on the last batch of 7 (or 8, depending on where you watch it) episodes.
  
• Do you like leaked toy listings? Or lists of names of toys without pictures? Me neither.
• The next chapter of our "40 for 40" mini-series, all about our favorite Transformers from 1989. Also, yes, we accidentally forget about Victory. Comments about this will be pointed to this news post and laughed at - we know.
  
• Bragging Rights finishes things off. Here's a link to the Generations Deluxe book that Scotty mentions.
  

Twincast / Podcast Episode #331 "Missing Link"

Date: Sunday, August 13th 2023 5:06pm CDT
Categories: Site News, Digital Media News, Podcast
Posted by: megatronus

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Views: 72,493

The Seibertron.com Twincast / Podcast is back to attack the Transformers news of the day... or the last 2 weeks. Join Mini-con Leader ScottyP and miscreants Mr. Starscream, Aarnhide19 and Megatronus as we discuss how our worlds are in danger! However, there's no Cyber Planet Key to be found, so it seems we're up the creek.

Episode #331 “Missing Link” is available directly and in our RSS Feed, and should appear on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio and many other Podcatcher sites within 24 to 48 hours of when you see this news post.

Here's what we discuss in this episode:

• The launch of Takara's Optimus Prime has the Twincast crew in a tizzy. Is this innovation the revolution we've been looking for? Is it all hype? Who will get the Missing Link treatment next?
  
  
  
• We take a slight detour to Studio Series TFTM's first Commander Class figure: Ultra Magnus. After we get through the mechanics and features exciting us about Magnus, we move on to a few of the Optimus Primes giving us life.
  
  
  
• Word on the street is that Transformers Rise of the Beasts bottoms out with the lowest performing box office in the franchise. We sharpen our pencils and take out our calculators to investigate.
  
• Part 5 of our '40 by 40' segment is upon us: we travel in the way back machine to discuss our favorite Transformers release in a given year. The year is: 1988.
  
  
  
• We wrap up with a round of bragging rights that are warped right into space.
  

Hasbro Talks About Studios in Studio Series and Activision Game Rereleases in Q&A

Date: Monday, July 31st 2023 10:25am CDT
Categories: Cartoon News, Comic Book News, Movie Related News, Toy News, Game News, Digital Media News, Book News
Posted by: Emerje | Credit(s): TFW2005

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Views: 126,921

Often when talking about Studio Series and the progression from live action movies to animation to video games the question of what exactly is a "studio" comes up. Thanks to a Q&A held by TFW2005 with the Hasbro Transformers team (and thanks to Seibertronian Munkky for bringing this to our attention) we get some insight into just what qualifies as a studio. The short answer is, well, basically everything including comic books.

Q: So we kind of hit on this with the comic talk, but just to elaborate – first we had 86, now we have Gamer Edition expanding Studio Series even more. What sort of other things could happen?
A: Anything that’s technically a studio could be on the table. We’re trying to look at that and make sure that it’s authentic to what Studio Series is. We don’t want to just shoehorn everything into Studio Series, but we do know that there are opportunities to grow the brand. We always say from screen to toy. And a lot of people read comic books on screens now.

Q: Hasbro turns the tables! Asks us if we’d consider comic publishers as studios, and that they could live in the Studio Series segment?
A: Led to a small back-and-forth on this subject, but in short it seems Hasbro may be interested in something like this.

On that note, they also talked about what games they're open to doing in the Gamer Edition line.

Q: For Gamer Edition, is it limited to just WFC or will FOC (Dinobots, Bruticus, etc) and all the Transformers games be included?
A: Pretty much all of it. Think the clear winner will probably be, everybody wants some Devastation stuff, we need to figure out how to do some cell shading for it. Continuing from WFC, think FOC is on the table. Team has even joked about doing Mystery of Convoy, doing some sort of dot deco or something like that. We have the Ultra Magnus now and we have the Rodimus from Kingdom, it’s like why not. Why not some N64 Transmetals too? We can get some of that in there, there’s a lot of options. If it’s been in a video game, we have the opportunity to look at it, taking a little bit of a cue from what the Star Wars team did with their gamer stuff. There’s no licensing issues, we own all of that, it’s all on the table for us. But with the live action movie stuff, there’s always that stuff going on, you still have to deal with Paramount and the licensors.

Could we really see the Studio Series line become the home of Beast Wars Transmetals figures or future and former Commander Class figures done up for Mystery of Convoy for the Nintendo Famicom? Time will tell!

Final big piece of news that's currently making its rounds on video game news channels is the current status of Activision's Transformers games. It's a mixed bag, but the team seems optimistic about these being available again. Turns out licensing was never the issue as has long been speculated.

Q: Possible to re-release the Activision TF games to coincide with Gamer Edition?
A: Sadly, apparently Activision’s not sure what hard drives they’re on in their building. When a company eats a company that eats a company things get lost, and that’s very frustrating. Hope is that now that the deal is moving forward with Microsoft and Xbox that they’ll go through all of the archives and every hard drive to find it all, because it’s an easy Game Pass add. We want those games back up for people to have a chance to play.

Q: How did that impact the process of making Gamer Edition?
A: Sam had to load up the games on older platforms because there were some deco details we couldn’t find – we have the CAD, but it’s not colored. So we had to find some of the character details within the games themselves.

Q: So you do have some of the game assets then?
A: We do, but it’s very interesting. FOC, we have everything. For WFC, we had to rip it ourselves, because they could not find it – they kept sending concept art instead, which we didn’t want, we need the CAD. So we booted up an old computer and ripped them all out from there. Which was a learning experience and a long weekend, because we just wanted to get it right, so that’s why we did it like that.

Hopefully Activision finds those hard drives, fans have been begging for new opportunities to play those games for years now.

TFW2005 also did a very lengthy solo Q&A with Evan where he talks about figures he'd like to make, what is and isn't possible, and whatever happened to that Takara Armada Optimus Prime prototype among many other things. It's a very extensive read so check it out the link at the top of the page.

Twincast / Podcast Episode #330 "SDCC 2023"

Date: Sunday, July 30th 2023 9:52am CDT
Categories: Site News, Digital Media News, Podcast
Posted by: kuhlio

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Views: 59,433

SDCC 2023 is in the bag, just in time for the Twincast / Podcast to discuss the new reveals, "new" reveals, pizza vans and 1987. Thankfully, these things are not discussed at the same time. Join host Scotty P alongside Aaarnhide19 and Kuhlio for a wrap-up of the big convention news plus the continuation of the year-by-year selection of personal favorites.

Episode #330 “SDCC 2023” is available directly and in our RSS Feed, and should appear on Apple Podcasts and many other Podcatcher sites within 24 to 48 hours of when you see this news post.

Here's what we discuss in this episode:

• San Diego Comic Con reveals for this year were, mostly, a slew of repaints. However one Max-Con provides us a shimmer of hope and includes the first of not one but two Mini-Cons showcased at the event. The rest of the rainbow of common repaints also get a nod - some expected, some unexpected and one even predicted by this podcast indirectly on accident.
  
• Ultra Magnus commands our attention as we try to figure out if Studio Series hit this one out of the park or not.
  
• Code Red is the newest revealed Collaborative release.
  
• 40 for 40 takes us back to the past, this time to the year of 1987. Let's see if this year was kinder to the Autobots as the cast talks about the finer points of the vintage toy line.
  
• Bragging Rights once again brings the discussion to a close.

Twincast / Podcast Episode #329 "Scrambled Legs"

Date: Sunday, July 16th 2023 12:15pm CDT
Categories: Site News, Digital Media News, Podcast
Posted by: Aaarnhide19

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Views: 60,915

The Combiner Wars return, at least for a short while, on episode 329 of the Seibertron.com Twincast / Podcast. The gang finally finishes its long-running, sometimes forgotten "Classics" retrospective series with a look at the Combiner Wars series. Host Scotty P is joined by Aaarnhide19, Kuhlio and Mr. Starscream as they create a topic sandwich with Generations Combiner Wars forming the meat. We reflect on more than the toys from the line, looking into the comics and focusing on how it changed the Transformers toy line in ways that still persist seven years later.

Episode #329 “Scrambled Legs” is available directly and in our RSS Feed, and should appear on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio and many other Podcatcher sites within 24 to 48 hours of when you see this news post.

Here's what we discuss in this episode:

• The next installment of the 40 for 40 segment takes us into the exciting year of 1986 and the introduction of our favorite scramble city combiners as well as movie characters.
  
  
  
• All this gestalt talk transitions nicely into the Classics Retrospective finally coming to an end with all the long-awaited combiners and some new challengers getting a fresh - and then quickly stale - take in the Combiner Wars
  
• Bragging Rights finishes things off as it usually does
  

Twincast / Podcast Episode #328 "Shades of Blue"

Date: Sunday, July 2nd 2023 10:11am CDT
Categories: Site News, Digital Media News, Podcast
Posted by: kuhlio

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Views: 89,652

The Seibertron.com Twincast / Podcast is back with episode #328. Host Scotty P has a full house with Megatronus, Mr. Starscream, Aaarnhide19 and Kuhlio to discuss recent Transformers news. Legacies evolving, Gs two-ing, Voids rivaling and many other nonsense combinations of not-nouns and verbs are ready to take you away on this long train running.

Episode #328 “Shades of Blue” is available directly and in our RSS Feed, and should appear on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio and many other Podcatcher sites within 24 to 48 hours of when you see this news post.

Here's what we discuss in this episode:

• Another Transformers Tuesday Livestream happened the day after we recorded the last show. The cast discus the official reveals for a slew of repaints and some other "Trash" they may want to add to the collection.
  
• Another Amazon Exclusive 2 Pack leaked with minimum information. Confusing character choices in the Comic-Verse inspired toy line is the next topic.
  
  
• Walmart's Toxitron Collection returns the show to the 90's. Find out how the day-glow color choices impact the crew's wallets, as well as their fashion choices.
  
  
• Cold Slither fans rejoice! Soundwave joins the G.I. Joe Collaborative collection with not one- but two Dreadnoks.
  
• Transormers returned to print! Skybound has officially launched the Energon Universe. What is expected to come from this new comic adaptation and how will the shared universe be different from previous iterations?
  
  
• Find out how much money was spent... SAVED with the Hasbro Pulse sale as Bragging Rights brings our show to a close.

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Junkion Combiner Revealed by Designer Mark Maher

Date: Tuesday, June 20th 2023 3:01pm CDT
Categories: Toy News, Rumors, People News, Digital Media News
Posted by: Bounti76 | Credit(s): Mark Maher

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Views: 100,272

Thanks to a heads-up from our own Sabrblade, we have our first look at the Junkion combiner teased by designer Mark Maher in the Hasbro Pulse livestream this morning. Feast your eyes on.....



Using Trashmaster as the torso, Scraphook and Axlegrease as legs, and Crashbar and another (unrevealed Junkion?) as arms, Junkasaurus comes together looking pretty awesome. Mark revealed this on social media just a little while ago, and we're glad to bring this to your attention!

What do you all think about this combined mode? Are you going to get those Junkions you may have missed or on so you can create your own Junkasaurus? Let us know your thoughts below!

Twincast / Podcast Episode #327 "Review of the Beasts"

Date: Thursday, June 15th 2023 5:11pm CDT
Categories: Site News, Digital Media News, Podcast
Posted by: ScottyP

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Views: 79,016

The Bread shall Rise again! Transformers Rise of the Beasts is now in theaters and host Scotty P is joined by Mr. Starscream, Kuhlio, and Aaarnhide19 to talk all about the latest entry in the Transformers film franchise. Overall thoughts, deleted scenes, and speculation on continuity along with things to come leaves us with plenty to discuss. Spoilers are present for the film in this episode, but hopefully you expected that. After the film talk wraps up, some surprising reveals from the Buzzworthy Bumblebee toyline also squeeze in to the discussion.

Episode #327 “Review of the Beasts” is available directly and in our RSS Feed, and should appear on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio and many other Podcatcher sites within 24 to 48 hours of when you see this news post.

Here's what we discuss in this episode:

• The latest Transformers film, Rise of the Beasts, has arrived! The crew shares their thoughts on a variety of topics.
  
• Details about a deleted scene featuring everyone's favorite Deceptibus Transit has us discussing the lack of Decepticons in the movie.
• The implications of a wider Hasbro universe from the mid credits scene and continuity with previous movies wraps up the topic with where do the films go from here.
• Moving into toy talk, new Buzzworthy Bumblebee reveals of a multiverse troop builder pack as well as a dead Ironhide and Prowl 2 pack catch us by surprise
  
  
  
• Bragging Rights finishes things off as it usually does
  

Twincast / Podcast Episode #326 "Sometimes It's Headmasters"

Date: Sunday, June 4th 2023 11:28am CDT
Categories: Site News, Digital Media News, Podcast
Posted by: ScottyP

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Views: 79,673

With Rise of the Beasts just around the corner, episode 326 of the Seibertron.com Twincast / Podcast has us "Going Hollywood" a little bit early. Host Scotty P is joined by Mr. Starscream and Aaarnhide19 to talk all about the latest Masterpiece reveals including a look at finally combined Raiden, a legacy leak, Takara's team up with JAXA to give us a transforming lunar rover, and another Jurassic Park collaboration. The next installment of the 40 for 40 segment covers the 1985 Transformers toyline has us discussing the smelting pool of different manufacturers that resulted in many unique characters before Bragging Rights brings the show to a close.

Episode #326 “Sometimes It's Headmasters” is available directly and in our RSS Feed, and should appear on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio and many other Podcatcher sites within 24 to 48 hours of when you see this news post.

Here's what we discuss in this episode:

• Masterpiece Moist, sorry, Hoist has been revealed, and ready for his closeup!
  
• The long teased reveal of MPG Kaen has finally come along with a look at a fully combined Raiden.
  
  
  
• Images of an upcoming Legacy Shadowstriker have been leaked, but not the version you might think.
• Takara Tomy's team up with the JAXA team gives us a lunar rover Prime. Check out the reveal video as well!
  
• Another Jurassic Park collaboration set is a surprise to be sure but a welcome one.
  
• The next installment of the 40 for 40 segment brings us into the glorious year of 1985
• Bragging Rights finishes things off as it usually does