The Energon Pub

News Credits: 33 · by **TF_JW** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 7:57 pm

Hayato Sakamoto is currently writing and illustrating the pack-in and web comics for Takara Tomy's Legends toy line, as well as providing artwork for the occasional IDW Transformers More Than Meets The Eye issue. He has also done the Takara Tomy Kre-O comic strips and the BotCon 2014 "Hoist The Flag" comic.

https://twitter.com/BotCon/status/707006292108386304

News Credits: 33 · by **TF_JW** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 8:30 pm

Last but certainly far from least is Dan Khanna! Dan has been part of the brand almost as long as there has been a BotCon, and continues to produce terrific artwork. Stop by his table and say "hi" as you browse his extensive portfolio.

https://twitter.com/BotCon/status/707013044250005504

News Credits: 33 · by **TF_JW** » Mon Mar 07, 2016 8:31 pm

A pantheon of talent!

News Credits: 6188 · by **Va'al** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 4:32 am

The final round-up of all the artists in their Alley at BotCon 2016 in Louisville, courtesy of TF_JW in the Energon Pub, has been mirrored below for your viewing pleasure - and features all of yesterday's announced guests plus the likes of Dan Khanna, Robby Musso, Hayato Sakamoto, Ken Christiansen and more! Check it out.

News Credits: 42 · by **Autobot N** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 7:20 am

TF_JW wrote:offering to jazz up your Transformers figures with whatever paint you'd like

This pleases me. Since I'm getting the unpainted class figure, I'll have him paint it (and maybe my Wheeljack).

Also, probably a dumb question, but does anyone know if he'll charge money for this?

News Credits: 12 · by **Evil Eye** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 7:41 am

Autobot N wrote:
TF_JW wrote:offering to jazz up your Transformers figures with whatever paint you'd like

This pleases me. Since I'm getting the unpainted class figure, I'll have him paint it (and maybe my Wheeljack).

Also, probably a dumb question, but does anyone know if he'll charge money for this?

Almost certainly. It won't be cheap, I can assure you.

Anyway, this is quite the awesome lineup! I wish I could go. I'd love to meet some of these guys, especially Hayato Sakamoto.

Also, that Strongarm pic by Silas Zee is just adorable.

News Credits: 33 · by **TF_JW** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 8:16 am

I'd reach out to him via Twitter - @Cheetimus or email - Cheetimus@cheetimus.com to ask ahead of time what he would charge. Maybe even get in on his commission list early.

News Credits: 456 · by **Sabrblade** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 9:57 am

When Cheets painted my Primal Prime for me back at BotCon 2014, he charged a fee of $50.

News Credits: 42 · by **Autobot N** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 10:49 am

Sabrblade wrote:When Cheets painted my Primal Prime for me back at BotCon 2014, he charged a fee of $50.

Sheesh. That kicks Break-Neck off of the stuff to buy there.

Then again (if your price range is correct), having the class figure painted would probably equal the remaining cost of taking the class itself, and takes away the chance of me screwing it up.

by **G.B. Blackrock** » Tue Mar 08, 2016 12:25 pm

Sabrblade wrote:When Cheets painted my Primal Prime for me back at BotCon 2014, he charged a fee of $50.

He did mine after the convention, but at the same price. Personally, I thought it was totally worth it, even after accounting for some delays.

You can see some pictures of his work on mine here: http://blackrockstoybox.blogspot.com/20 ... prime.html

News Credits: 33 · by **TF_JW** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 9:16 am

**Important Guest Update For BotCon 2016**

We regret to inform u all that Scott McNeil will not be able to attend BotCon 2016 as a guest due to personal matters. We wish him the best!

https://twitter.com/BotCon/status/707931810018230272

The best to Scott. The staff of Fun Pub and I are sorry you can't make it!

Watch this page for the latest guest updates:
http://www.botcon.com/BotCon2016/bc16guests.cfm

News Credits: 1 · by **Cascadia** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 11:26 am

It is unfortunate that Scott McNeil cannot make it to Botcon but I wish all of the best to him.

by **G.B. Blackrock** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 11:52 am

TF_JW wrote:**Important Guest Update For BotCon 2016**

We regret to inform u all that Scott McNeil will not be able to attend BotCon 2016 as a guest due to personal matters. We wish him the best!

https://twitter.com/BotCon/status/707931810018230272

The best to Scott. The staff of Fun Pub and I are sorry you can't make it!

Watch this page for the latest guest updates:
http://www.botcon.com/BotCon2016/bc16guests.cfm

Bummer.

News Credits: 6188 · by **Va'al** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 12:04 pm

A very brief but important update from BotCon HQ, via TF_JW, concerning Beast Wars voice actor Scott McNeil - who can no longer attend the event, due to personal matters. As we're sure he will be missed at the con, we join in with best wishes and hope to see him at another event soon!

**Important Guest Update For BotCon 2016**

We regret to inform you all that Scott McNeil will not be able to attend BotCon 2016 as a guest due to personal matters. We wish him the best!

The best to Scott. The staff of Fun Pub and I are sorry you can't make it!

Watch this page for the latest guest updates:
http://www.botcon.com/BotCon2016/bc16guests.cfm

News Credits: 33 · by **TF_JW** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 4:14 pm

From one Dinobot to another: BotCon 2016 is pleased to announce Gregg Berger as guest!

http://www.botcon.com/BotCon2016/bc16guests.cfm

Hello Members!

We have some exciting news! On Friday afternoon, BotCon registered attendees will be treated to a script reading panel starring Judd Nelson, David Kaye, Venus Terzo, and Gregg Berger! To see this you must be a registered attendee, so make sure you have signed up for your Primus, Golden Ticket Primus, MiniCon or Protoform package. Also, for those who have already registered, if you have not yet added your Judd Nelson VIP Pass to your existing package you can do that today! Visit BotCon for the details and then if you need to register, add the VIP pass or do both, you can do that here.

As you can tell from the above paragraph, there has been a guest change. Unfortunately due to personal reasons, Scott McNeil had to cancel. However, Gregg Berger will now be coming! We will all miss Scott, but we are very excited about seeing our old friend Gregg in a few short weeks.

Registration will close on March 21st so there is not much time left to register. Currently there are only 30% of the Primus packages, 8% of the GT packages and 19% of the Iacon (non-attending) packages, left.

Please note that March 16 is the last day you can join the Transformers Collectors Club. If you are interested in receiving the discounts for BotCon, the 2016 FREE Membership Incentive figure and/or purchasing the TFSS 5.0 (to be revealed in full at BotCon 2016) you will need to be an active member as of March 16. All memberships will end December 31, 2016. Hasbro looks forward to sharing new plans for the Collector’s Club with you in the future.

We appreciate your support over the last 12 years and wish the brand well in their new endeavors.

Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing each and every one of our Club members at BotCon 2016!

Brian

News Credits: 1 · by **datguy86** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 4:27 pm

TF_JW wrote:
Please note that March 16 is the last day you can join the Transformers Collectors Club. If you are interested in receiving the discounts for BotCon, the 2016 FREE Membership Incentive figure and/or purchasing the TFSS 5.0 (to be revealed in full at BotCon 2016) you will need to be an active member as of March 16. All memberships will end December 31, 2016. Hasbro looks forward to sharing new plans for the Collector’s Club with you in the future.

We appreciate your support over the last 12 years and wish the brand well in their new endeavors.

Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing each and every one of our Club members at BotCon 2016!

Brian

Ah, so Hasbro is taking over the club. Interesting.

by **G.B. Blackrock** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 4:33 pm

datguy86 wrote:
TF_JW wrote:
Please note that March 16 is the last day you can join the Transformers Collectors Club. If you are interested in receiving the discounts for BotCon, the 2016 FREE Membership Incentive figure and/or purchasing the TFSS 5.0 (to be revealed in full at BotCon 2016) you will need to be an active member as of March 16. All memberships will end December 31, 2016. Hasbro looks forward to sharing new plans for the Collector’s Club with you in the future.

We appreciate your support over the last 12 years and wish the brand well in their new endeavors.

Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing each and every one of our Club members at BotCon 2016!

Brian

Ah, so Hasbro is taking over the club. Interesting.

Not necessarily. All that's saying is that the announcement of who IS doing the club would come from Hasbro. Which is how it's pretty much always been.

Not to say that Hasbro ISN'T taking over the club, themselves. It's just that we can't glean that from this post.

News Credits: 1 · by **datguy86** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 4:39 pm

G.B. Blackrock wrote:
datguy86 wrote:
TF_JW wrote:
Please note that March 16 is the last day you can join the Transformers Collectors Club. If you are interested in receiving the discounts for BotCon, the 2016 FREE Membership Incentive figure and/or purchasing the TFSS 5.0 (to be revealed in full at BotCon 2016) you will need to be an active member as of March 16. All memberships will end December 31, 2016. Hasbro looks forward to sharing new plans for the Collector’s Club with you in the future.

We appreciate your support over the last 12 years and wish the brand well in their new endeavors.

Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing each and every one of our Club members at BotCon 2016!

Brian

Ah, so Hasbro is taking over the club. Interesting.

Not necessarily. All that's saying is that the announcement of who IS doing the club would come from Hasbro. Which is how it's pretty much always been.

Not to say that Hasbro ISN'T taking over the club, themselves. It's just that we can't glean that from this post.

Ah, good point.

MyFigureCollection.net collection · by **Emerje** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 4:47 pm

Yeah, I just read the new email before coming here. This is the first time FunPub has actually addressed the club's move directly. But it seems like they'll still be handling the Figure Subscription Service next year unless that counts as a 2016 project since you need a 2016 membership to buy them.

Emerje

by **G.B. Blackrock** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 4:48 pm

Emerje wrote:Yeah, I just read the new email before coming here. This is the first time FunPub has actually addressed the club's move directly. But it seems like they'll still be handling the Figure Subscription Service next year unless that counts as a 2016 project since you need a 2016 membership to buy them.

Emerje

I'm still convinced that they're going to try to squeeze those in by the end of the year. Admittedly, they'll have to move pretty quickly after BotCon to make that happen.

News Credits: 1 · by **Lucky Logician** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 4:56 pm

TF_JW wrote:Please note that March 16 is the last day you can join the Transformers Collectors Club. If you are interested in receiving the discounts for BotCon, the 2016 FREE Membership Incentive figure and/or purchasing the TFSS 5.0 (to be revealed in full at BotCon 2016) you will need to be an active member as of March 16.

As a side note, can you only get one TFSS per membership? Cause I'm thinking about ordering two for 5.0 and I need to know if I should buy another membership now in order to make that happen.

by **G.B. Blackrock** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 5:39 pm

Lucky Logician wrote:
TF_JW wrote:Please note that March 16 is the last day you can join the Transformers Collectors Club. If you are interested in receiving the discounts for BotCon, the 2016 FREE Membership Incentive figure and/or purchasing the TFSS 5.0 (to be revealed in full at BotCon 2016) you will need to be an active member as of March 16.

As a side note, can you only get one TFSS per membership? Cause I'm thinking about ordering two for 5.0 and I need to know if I should buy another membership now in order to make that happen.

Historically, you can get as many TFSS sets you like, so long as you've got the money, and you make the orders during whatever subscription period is set for the TFSS. You won't need to buy an extra membership.

News Credits: 1235 · by **LOST Cybertronian** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 11:20 pm

The Transformers Collectors' Club sent out an email update for BotCon 2016. As was mentioned earlier, Scott McNeil is no longer attending but in his place Gregg Berger (G1 Grimlock, Long Haul and Skyfire) will be attending and participating in the script reading with Judd Nelson, David Kaye and Venus Terzo. Also registration will close on March 21 and the update gives a hint concerning the future of the Transformers Collectors' Club. You can read their entire update below.

Hello Members!

We have some exciting news! On Friday afternoon, BotCon registered attendees will be treated to a script reading panel starring Judd Nelson, David Kaye, Venus Terzo, and Gregg Berger! To see this you must be a registered attendee, so make sure you have signed up for your Primus, Golden Ticket Primus, MiniCon or Protoform package. Also, for those who have already registered, if you have not yet added your Judd Nelson VIP Pass to your existing package you can do that today! Visit BotCon for the details and then if you need to register, add the VIP pass or do both, you can do that here.

As you can tell from the above paragraph, there has been a guest change. Unfortunately due to personal reasons, Scott McNeil had to cancel. However, Gregg Berger will now be coming! We will all miss Scott, but we are very excited about seeing our old friend Gregg in a few short weeks.

Registration will close on March 21st so there is not much time left to register. Currently there are only 30% of the Primus packages, 8% of the GT packages and 19% of the Iacon (non-attending) packages, left.

Please note that March 16 is the last day you can join the Transformers Collectors Club. If you are interested in receiving the discounts for BotCon, the 2016 FREE Membership Incentive figure and/or purchasing the TFSS 5.0 (to be revealed in full at BotCon 2016) you will need to be an active member as of March 16. All memberships will end December 31, 2016. Hasbro looks forward to sharing new plans for the Collector’s Club with you in the future.

We appreciate your support over the last 12 years and wish the brand well in their new endeavors.

News Credits: 387 · by **Bounti76** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 12:14 am

Soooo.....it looks like one of two things has happened. Either FunPub lost their license to the Collector's Club, or Hasbro just decided not to renew it, in order to run it themselves or license it to someone else. As for TFSS 5.0, my guess is that it had been planned before this decision, and it will be FunPub's swansong as operators of the Fan/Collector's Club. Whether it will come out late this year or finish next year is anyone's guess.

MyFigureCollection.net collection · by **Emerje** » Fri Mar 11, 2016 7:44 am

G.B. Blackrock wrote:
Emerje wrote:Yeah, I just read the new email before coming here. This is the first time FunPub has actually addressed the club's move directly. But it seems like they'll still be handling the Figure Subscription Service next year unless that counts as a 2016 project since you need a 2016 membership to buy them.

Emerje

I'm still convinced that they're going to try to squeeze those in by the end of the year. Admittedly, they'll have to move pretty quickly after BotCon to make that happen.

There's a few reasons why that is unlikely:

1) They likely wouldn't be able to run a payment plan if they have to handle everything by the end of the year. And asking full payment would be too much for those on the 4.0 payment plan.

2) It'd be too close to the final 4.0 release. The first figure in a sub usually comes in the spring, it's hard to believe they'd have the resources to push out seven sub figures that fast.

3) If they were to do that then between two sets of sub figures, BotCon exclusives, the Membership figure, and store figures they'd be releasing more than two dozen figures in a year which would be exceptionally difficult for a company of Fun Pub's size to coordinate.

I think as long as they're getting people to sign up in 2016 and placing they're order with the factory they're being allowed to continue operating the sub. In reality this wouldn't be all that different from a store exclusive, just spread out over a year.

Emerje