Transformers Event News on Seibertron.com

New Images of Concepts and Customized Figures from Fun Pub at Pete's Robot Convention 2017

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 169,574

Sabrblade wrote:The crown jewel of the dealer room, however, was unanimously the room's corner display, watched over by Shawn D. Tessmann (longtime host of the BotCon customization classes), at which were many rare and never-before-seen-in-person pieces of Transformers history, such as several unreleased Generation 2 toys, production materials from G1/G2/Beast Wars/Beast Machines, non-final factory samples of past BotCon/TCC exclusives compared with their final versions, and a particular art piece dated back to 1996 that absolutely no one, not even the convention runners, could figure out what it was supposed to be: It was concept art for some kind of feminine-looking blue and yellow robot with a jet-like altmode, whose crystalline design looked like something out of Transtech, but the 1996 date nixes that theory.

The unreleased Generation 2 toys on display were loose samples of the five Protectobots, loose samples of the five Stunticons, both a loose sample and a MOSC sample of Combat Hero Megatron (a gray redeco of the purple Hero Megatron), MOSC samples of the Laser Cycles Soundwave and Jazz, and loose samples of the six unreleased G2 Go-Bots (plus all the redecos of the four who did later see release in the 2001 Robots in Disguise toyline). Also on display were cardbacks for the G2 Laser Rods, two different cardbacks of Action Master Treadshot, a cardback for Action Master Jazz, an unpainted prototype of G1 Sixshot, a MOSC Beast Wars Torca, a non-transforming hardcopy of Torca, a boxed Beast Wars Neo Elphaorpha, early packaging designs for the Beast Machines toyline, and even the original Beast Wars catalog versions of orange Tarantulas, blue-green Waspinator, and alternately-colored Grizzly-1/Barbearian figures (along with a MISB Polar Claw). In addition to these were also concept art for Beast Machines Rattrap, Night Viper, and Mirage, an original cardback sample for orange Beast Wars Tigatron, a large rendition of Beast Wars Torca's card art, concept designs for Transtech Starscream, two preproduction cardback samples (one Maximal style and one Predacon style) for Beast Wars Jetstorm that named him "Dragonfire", and undeveloped G1 Micromaster concept art.


And now we come to the BIGGEST deal of the display case: The unproduced BotCon 2017 boxed set figures, attendee figure, souvenirs, and custom class figure, as well as three other concepts that served as backup alternative options for the proposed exclusives, and finally the remaining unproduced Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover "Only Human" figures. All of these were customized by Shawn D. Tessmann himself.

The BotCon 2017 boxed set, titled "Action on Hydrus Four", was to have been an Action Master-themed set of Titans Return molds all done up as new Headmaster-gimmicked Action Master characters:
1 - Actionmaster Optimus Prime (redeco of Voyager class Optimus Prime's body) with Optimus Prime (redeco of Titan Master Infinitus), Rad (redeco of Titan Master Diac), and Lionizer (redeco of Sawback's Titan Master Vehicle lion)
2 - Actionmaster Skyfall (redeco of Deluxe Highbrow's body) with Skyfall (redeco of Titan Master Apeface)
3 - Actionmaster Sprocket (redeco of Deluxe Triggerhappy's body) with Sprocket (redeco of the Japanese Transformers: Legends Weirdwolf's Headmaster) and Attack Cruiser (redeco of Brawn's Titan Master Vehicle jeep)
4 - Actionmaster Megatron (redeco of Leader Six Shot's body) with Megatron (redeco of Titan Master Nucleon) and Devastator (redeco of Titan Master Repugnus)
5 - Actionmaster Gutcruncher (redeco of Voyager Megatron's body) with Gutcruncher (retool of Titan Master Doomshot/Hazard with a new face) and Scout Tank (redeco of Terri-Bull's Titan Master Vehicle tank)

The attendee figure for BotCon 2017 was to have been Dion (redeco of Deluxe Sergeant Kup's body) with Magnum (redeco of Titan Master Hyperfire).

The souvenirs would have continued the use of Titans Return molds, but as legacy characters from several past series, rather than just Action Masters:
1 - Doubledealer (redeco of Deluxe Hardhead's body) with Knok (redeco of Titan Master Nightbeat) and Skar (a significant retool of Titan Master Sawback with new bat wings, new bat feet, and a brand new face)
2 - BotCon Heritage Onyx Primal (redeco of Deluxe Mindwipe's body) with Nightwatch (redeco of Titan Master Infinitus) and swords from TF: Prime Deluxe Wheeljack/Dead End.
3 - Unicron Trilogy Anniversary Armada Hot Shot (redeco of Deluxe Chromedome's body) with Alexis Thi Dang (retool of Titan Master Stylor with a new face, the one on display was just Universe Hot Shot's face glued onto the Titan Master) and Jolt (redeco of Generations Legends class Targetmaster Blazemaster)
4 - Unicron Trilogy Anniversary Energon Megatron (redeco of Leader Sky Shadow's body) with Leader-1 (redeco of Titan Master Ptero but with Ominus's face) and sword from Construct-Bots Megatron
5 - Troop Builder souvenir set: Cassettron Rosanna (redeco of Legends class Rewind), Cassettron Decepticon Enemy (redeco of Legends class Rumble) and Cassettron Flipsides (redeco of Legends class Rewind)

One more souvenir set would have been a successor to the Kreon packs, a pack of six Titan Masters done up as Pretenders.

1 - Pretender Starscream (redeco of Titan Master Crashbash)
2 - Pretender Jazz (redeco of Titan Master Xort)
3 - Pretender Bumblebee (redeco of Titan Master Firedrive)
4 - Pretender Crossblades (redeco of titan Master Diac)
5 - Pretender Metalhawk (redeco of Titan Master Revolver)
6 - Pretender Vroom (redeco of Titan Master Grax)

The 2017 customization class figure was to have been Actionmaster Rumbler (redeco of Deluxe Triggerhappy's body) with Rumbler (redeco of the Japanese Transformers: Legends Weirdwolf's Headmaster, just like Sprocket) and the B² Attack Team (two redecos of the Arms Micron B.H., the wrecking ball one that came with Japanese Prime Bulkhead).

The three Other Concepts likewise made use of Titans Returns molds as legacy characters:
1 - Armada Jetfire (redeco of Voyager Sentinel Prime/Astrotrain's body) with Comettor (redeco of Titan Master Apeface)
2 - Devcon (redeco of Deluxe Brainstorm's body) with Slizardo (redeco of Titan Master Hyperfire)
3 - Turbomaster (redeco of Deluxe Highbrow's body) with Take Off (redeco of Titan Master Blowpipe)

Finally, the remaining Transformers/G.I. Joe "Only Human" figures would have been:
1 - Only Human Autobot Springer with Newtronium Munitions Case that converts into artillery platform
2 - Only Human Ultra Magnus with Missile Stack & Jack Armor (LOL!)
3 - Only Human Victor Drath

The Botcon Toys That Never Were: TFSS 6.0, Botcon 2011 Cancelled Ideas

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 122,786

#Botcon 2016 Japanese G1 Continuity Talk with Hayato Sakamoto

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 55,682

Sabrblade wrote:On the last day of BotCon 2016, I attended the Sunday morning panel that was hosted by Japanese Transformers artist/writer Hayato Sakamoto, writer/translator Andrew “Hydra” Hall, and writer/translator Ken Rose. At this panel, Sakamoto talked about his working as an artist for IDW’s Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye comic series, as well as his working as both a writer and an artist for the TakaraTomy’s Transformers: Unite Warriors and Transformers: Legends pack-in fiction. (For those interested, you can watch a full YouTube video recording of the panel HERE).

After the panel ended, I approached the three as they were exiting the room (heading back to Sakamoto-san’s booth in the Artist Alley room) to ask Sakamoto-san some questions about his Japanese G1 works. Having an affinity for continuity and lore, Sakamoto-san was quite enthusiastic to discuss these topics with me. I joined the three on their walk back to the Artist Alley, introducing myself to Andrew Hall who recognized my screenname. Once we got to Sakamoto-san’s booth, Ken Rose graciously acted as a translation middleman between the two of us.

Most of my questions originated from what was said during the panel about the continuity placements of Unite Warriors Offshoot and Legends, which then springboarded into a wider discussion of the Japanese G1 cartoon continuity as a whole. Here is a rundown of the things we discussed and the answers I was able to get (note that Sakamoto-san’s attention eventually became divided between myself and other fans who were wanting him to sign and/or draw something for them, so some of the answers I got were less clear than others):

* As said during the panel, Unite Warriors Offshoot and the specific Legends manga chapters that have G1 Megatron, Ultra Magnus, and Springer come into the Legends Universe all take place after G2. But more specifically, they all take place after the two e-HOBBY manga that came with Masterpiece MP-1B Convoy Black Ver. And Masterpiece MP-3G Starscream Ghost Ver.

* As the Legends manga chapter that has Springer go to the Legends Universe takes place in the 2030s, with Operation Combination and United EX set in the year 2035, that era of Legends (and I think Unite Warriors Offshoot as well) takes place in the late 2030s.

* Unite Warriors Offshoot takes place even after the post-G2/post-e-HOBBY era of Legends. However, Sakamoto-san does not yet know how long or short after Legends that UWO takes place, as Legends currently has Metroplex in the Legends Universe while UWO has him in the main JG1 universe, so Sakamoto does not yet know when Metroplex gets out of the Legends Universe and goes back to the JG1 universe. But he does at least know that UWO does come after Legends.

* Unlike the rest of the Unite Warriors fiction released so far, the Grand Galvatron comic does not take place in the same post-G2/post-e-HOBBY era as UWO. Though the comic does say that it takes place ten years after Galvatron’s death in 2011 (2021), Sakamoto further revealed that it takes place after the Masterforce cartoon.

* As stated at the panel, one of the things Sakamoto set out to do with the Legends manga was to show Ultra Magnus’s rebirth into his G2 Laser Ultra Magnus body. However, in the Legends manga that showed Ultra Magnus’s rebirth, Ultra Magnus is shown waking up from inside his coffin in his Legends toy body instead. When asked if Ultra Magnus was reborn in his G2 Laser Ultra Magnus body or his Legends toy body, Sakamoto said it was the former, and explained that manga chapter as being more of a retelling of Magnus’s rebirth than a literal depiction. He also explained that Ultra Magnus can change his physical form back and forth between his G2 Laser body and his Legends body by the power of the Reconfiguration Matrix. This explains how Magnus was able to appear in his G2 Laser body during the post-G2 e-HOBBY manga and then as his Legends body later on in the Legends manga.

* Reiterating something he said at the panel, when Alpha Trion sacrificed the last of his energy to recharge the Matrix in episode 3 of The Headmasters, he didn’t merely recharge the Matrix, he became the Matrix. A new Matrix, at that. And this Matrix being a new one is why Rodimus Prime (or rather, his animation model) looked different in The Headmasters compared to how he looked in season 3 of the G1 cartoon. And in the Legends manga, when Alpha Trion put himself into Ultra Magnus’s chest, Ultra Magnus came back to life by having the new Matrix (Alpha Trion) put into him.

* As he referred to the Grand Scourge comic to present the continuity placements of UWO and Legends during the panel, I asked him if the Grand Scourge comic is supposed to be a part of the main JG1 cartoon continuity or not, as the comic itself is rather vague on its own continuity, seemingly on purpose. Sakamoto’s answer is that he’s presently not sure if it is or not since he’s not the one writing it. As I type this answer, I suspect that Sakamoto is open to the possibility of the comic being on its own outside of the JG1 continuity, and is just taking precautions with the placements of UWO and Legends to allow the Grand Scourge comic to be slotted into the main timeline should the opportunity arise at a later date. But for right now, its placement in the main timeline (should it ever be included) remains undetermined.

* As stated at the panel, Sakamoto is among those responsible for creating the big JG1 timeline from 2007. He confirmed that he played a role in adding Car Robots to the timeline. His reasons given for including it were that RobotMasters Wrecker Hook is an amnesiac Car Robots Wrecker Hook (I did not get to ask if this was the official consensus or just his own personal consensus), Brave Maximus came back to Earth after Car Robots (and apparently so too did God Magnus, from what I was told, but didn’t get anything further about that), and that when the e-HOBBY G1 GoBots came to the Transformers universe, their technology was used to create the Spychangers.

* At the end of the Car Robots cartoon, Brave Maximus had taken all of the Destrongers back to Cybertron to stand trial before Vector Sigma. Since the characters of that cartoon were said to have come from the future, I asked if Brave Maximus took them back to the Cybertron of the cartoon’s present time or the Cybertron of future that the characters all came from. Sakamoto said it was the future.

* In the Legends manga that features Car Robots Black Convoy (RiD Scourge), he has his own Energon Matrix, as a means of explaining the molded-in Matrix on the toy. Sakamoto explains that Black Convoy was able to get an Energon Matrix of his own because the United EX fiction had the Energon Matrix technology being developed in the year 2035. And since Black Convoy had been taken back to Cybertron in the future, he was able to get his Energon Matrix during a point when Energon Matrix technology existed.

* When asked to tell more about how Black Convoy got his Energon Matrix, Sakamoto said that he’s waiting for a Unite Warriors Baldigus release before saying any more about that. I didn’t get to ask if he meant that there is a Unite Warriors Baldigus coming, or if he’s just wanting there to be one.

* Sakamoto told me an in-fiction reason for why Car Robots Ai and the human Ai Kuruma looks alike. Car Robots Ai's appearance is based on a scan made of Ai Kuruma.

* I asked Sakamoto if he could tell me what exactly a Spark Engine was, as it was only mentioned once in the Car Robots anime but never told what it was. Unfortunately, this question didn't get to be answered. I don't fully recall why it wasn't answered, but I think it was either due to the answer being tied with the Black Convoy question that he was waiting on a UW Baldigus release in order to answer, or was due to Sakamoto's attention becoming divided between my questions and other fans coming to his booth to ask for his autograph/artwork.

* When asked what future era the Car Robots characters hail from, Sakamoto said that it’s currently fuzzy on what era they came from. When I mentioned that some fans like to think that they come from the same era as the Beast Wars II and Beast Wars Neo cast, he said that that idea pretty much aligns with his own ideas (of note is that a small book of his original artwork that he had for sale at his booth contained a page of artwork that featured Big Convoy and JRX together on Cybertron, but it wasn’t official art, just one of his many personal art pieces).

* Sakamoto also asked me if I work on the TFWiki, and I said yeah. Sakamoto told me a few things that he’d like to see on the Wiki. Specifically, he’d like to see more images overall of artwork, especially more images of full-body character artwork. I told him that, while I do contribute to the Wiki, I’m not a member of its administrative staff, and that the Wiki does have some policies regarding what images it uses and such, but which are reasonable.


I think that’s everything we got to discuss before the convention ended. If I remember any more, I’ll add more to it.

Hasbro's 2016 Transformers Hall of Fame Fans' Choice Voting

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 71,606

• Arcee* (Class of 2014)
• Bumblebee (Class of 2010)
• Dinobot* (Class of 2010)
• Grimlock (Class of 2012)
• Ironhide (Class of 2011)
• Jazz (Class of 2012)
• Megatron (Class of 2010)
• Megatron – Beast Wars* (Class of 2013)
• Optimus Prime (Class of 2010)
• Predaking (Class of 2015)
• Prowl (Class of 2015)
• Ratchet (Class of 2011)
• Rodimus* (Class of 2014)
• Shockwave (Class of 2012)
• Soundwave (Class of 2011)
• Starscream (Class of 2010)
• Ultra Magnus* (Class of 2013)
• Waspinator* (Class of 2011)
• Wheeljack* (Class of 2012)

• Michael Bay (Class of 2011)
• Bob Budiansky (Class of 2010)
• Stan Bush (Class of 2014)
• Vince DiCola (Class of 2015)
• Simon Furman (Class of 2012)
• Yoke Hideaki (Class of 2010)
• Chris Latta (Class of 2012)
• Kojin Ohno (Class of 2010)
• Steven Spielberg (Class of 2011)
• Frank Welker (Class of 2015)

Ages Three and Up Pre-order Announcement (BotCon 2015 Souvenir Sets)

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 34,792

SDCC 2014 Coverage: Official Images of Generations: Combiner Wars Aerialbots and Stunticons

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 100,062

Morgan Lofting Added as Special Guest for BotCon 2014

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 34,512

MORGAN LOFTING worked throughout the 70's and 80's performing various media voice-overs including cartoons, narrations, and commercials. On-camera there were a few good old TV series and Movies of the Week -- plus plays in New York and L A. and several regrettable movies, but let's not go there.

In 1989 Morgan returned to college to finish her Bachelor's Degree, stayed for an MA in history and was on her way to a doctorate when she took another swerve... so much to learn, so little time.

Now Morgan has found a new love, "bartending with books" as she calls it at her city library -- a job that leaves her plenty of time to travel, do yoga and read, read and read. However, after her first ever convention appearance at GIJoeCon 2011 and a subsequent appearance at BotCon 2011, Morgan was tapped by Derrick J. Wyatt to voice the villain Fistina, a character created especially for her, on the series Ben 10: Omniverse.

For many, Morgan will always be the voice of the Baroness from the G. I. Joe: A Real American Hero animated series, as well as Firestar and Moonracer on the classic Transformers animated series. Even her son and grandkids are fans!

BotCon 2014 Official Comic 'Hoist the Flag' Preview - Ferak and Cannonball

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 36,132

BotCon 2014 is coming to Pasadena, CA June 19th-22nd. For the full reveal of this year's 5-figure convention set and general information on the show, be sure to visit http://www.botcon.com. To see two of the exclusive characters in action (Cannonball and Ferak), we have an exclusive preview of pages 3 and 4 from this year's BotCon comic!

Rumor: BotCon 2014 to be held at the Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena California?

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 32,806

BotCon 2013 Artist Alley Update: Alex Milne and Joana Lafuente

Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 28,189

ALEX MILNE is a professional illustrator based in Canada who has been working in comics for the past ten years. He has worked on many different projects over this time, but is best known for his Transformers work with IDW Publishing. Some of the titles he has worked on over his career have been, Megatron Origins, Spotlight Arcee, Drift mini series, Transformers Ongoing (Chaos Theory) and various other titles and covers. Currently he is working with James Roberts on the latest ongoing title More Than Meets The Eye.

JOANA LAFUENTE is an illustrator/colorist from Portugal who has worked as colorist on a variety of IDW Publishing Transformers titles such as Spotlight Blurr, Spotlight Drift, Ironhide mini-series, 2011's OnGoing, More Than Meets The Eye and Robots In Disguise just to name a few.