BotCon 2014 Teaser Sketch "A Captain needs his Navigator"

Flight of the Navigator. Clearly a Cosmos repaint, into Dinobot colours, for some reason.

El Duque wrote:The official BotCon Twitter feed has posted another teaser sketch for this year's Pirates vs. Knights set, and it's another organic! This one appears reptilian and comes with the blurb, "A Captain needs his Navigator..."

A Captain needs his Navigator... #PVK

Iguanus?

Is it too soon for them to use a BH predacon mold?

Could it be... Slizardo?

So, Cannonball is the captain of a crew of non-toy organic aliens?

I... guess it could work, so long as the story makes it work.

Though, since there will be five pirate toys this year, with these organic crewmen thrown into the mix, it must be a big crew.

Sabrblade wrote:So, Cannonball is the captain of a crew of non-toy organic aliens?

I... guess it could work, so long as the story makes it work.

Though, since there will be five pirate toys this year, with these organic crewmen thrown into the mix, it must be a big crew.

Didn't the club say the army builder pack were also pirates?

Making a transforming Iguanus shell wouldn't be unprecedented since we got that Metalhawk figure. Remolding the top of the Beast Hunters Skystalker figure without the bot head could be done, but would be a little odd with just the one head between both modes. Armor would be hard to paint up as well, but at least he'd have his tail in bot mode. Fail that, I wonder if there's enough room to fit that head on Generations Wreck-Gar's body. If he can't be a lizard then he should be a motorcycle.

That's assuming it's Iguanus anyway.

Emerje

Henry921 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:So, Cannonball is the captain of a crew of non-toy organic aliens?

I... guess it could work, so long as the story makes it work.

Though, since there will be five pirate toys this year, with these organic crewmen thrown into the mix, it must be a big crew.

Didn't the club say the army builder pack were also pirates?

Yes they did.

I wonder if they're going to go back to the idea of Star Seekers being non-Cybertronian transformers, ones that primarily transform into beasts. The Chinese MMO stated that Thundertron recruited the ranks of the Star Seekers from alien robots that turned into animals, they could redeco/remold some Predacons. Or, since they claim Cannonball's the only prime mold in the box set oh god.

Universe 2008 Dinobot redeco/retool. Not digging the idea of that.

Downbeat wrote:I wonder if they're going to go back to the idea of Star Seekers being non-Cybertronian transformers, ones that primarily transform into beasts. The Chinese MMO stated that Thundertron recruited the ranks of the Star Seekers from alien robots that turned into animals, they could redeco/remold some Predacons. Or, since they claim Cannonball's the only prime mold in the box set oh god.

Universe 2008 Dinobot redeco/retool. Not digging the idea of that.

That's the Aligned Continutiy Star Seekers that you're thinking of. These will be G1 cartoon continuity Star Seekers from the Wings Universe.

Sabrblade wrote:

Downbeat wrote:I wonder if they're going to go back to the idea of Star Seekers being non-Cybertronian transformers, ones that primarily transform into beasts. The Chinese MMO stated that Thundertron recruited the ranks of the Star Seekers from alien robots that turned into animals, they could redeco/remold some Predacons. Or, since they claim Cannonball's the only prime mold in the box set oh god.

Universe 2008 Dinobot redeco/retool. Not digging the idea of that.

That's the Aligned Continutiy Star Seekers that you're thinking of. These will be G1 cartoon continuity Star Seekers from the Wings Universe.

He's wondering whether or not this set will share the aligned continuity's backstory about the Star Seekers being non-Cybertronian and beasts.

PrymeStriker wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Downbeat wrote:I wonder if they're going to go back to the idea of Star Seekers being non-Cybertronian transformers, ones that primarily transform into beasts. The Chinese MMO stated that Thundertron recruited the ranks of the Star Seekers from alien robots that turned into animals, they could redeco/remold some Predacons. Or, since they claim Cannonball's the only prime mold in the box set oh god.

Universe 2008 Dinobot redeco/retool. Not digging the idea of that.

That's the Aligned Continutiy Star Seekers that you're thinking of. These will be G1 cartoon continuity Star Seekers from the Wings Universe.

He's wondering whether or not this set will share the aligned continuity's backstory about the Star Seekers being non-Cybertronian and beasts.

In that case, good question.

Thus far, it looks as though the crew consists of some TFs and some organic aliens, and if this Cannonball is anything like his Decepticon Warlord predecessor, then he too might be a Cybertronian.

Having finally gotten my TCC magazine issue #55, it sounds like all/most of the TFs in Cannonball's crew will be former members of Squadron X. So, not so much pirates as "old Marvel G1 characters who had no toys" like Straxus and Jhiaxus were.

Sabrblade wrote:Having finally gotten my TCC magazine issue #55, it sounds like all/most of the TFs in Cannonball's crew will be members of former members of Squadron X. So, not so much pirates as "old Marvel G1 characters who had no toys" like Straxus and Jhiaxus were.

dammit. I guess I'm gonna be keeping my eyes peeled for a pre-order or something then.

magirus wrote:Has there been any word or speculation on when the prices for the packages will be announced and when they will go on sale. It seems very late this year.

yeah, it's never very easy to find out info in advance about Botcon. Making it that much more difficult to find the time or money to get there or arrange alternatives.

Hope we get pics soon.

So I'm kind of new to this Botcon, is there a way to preorder tickets or is it all purchased at the booth entrance?

skynet1O1 wrote:So I'm kind of new to this Botcon, is there a way to preorder tickets or is it all purchased at the booth entrance?

A brochure will be released soon detailing all the information you'll need. Based on previous BotCons (since '05) there will be several packages which you can order in advance. These packages are the only way to guarantee getting the toys:

Primus Package contains the boxset, the Freebie upon entering the Con, and several perks including early entry into the Dealer Room and special Exhibits.
Mini-Con Package is an add-on to the Primus one for additional guests in your party. no extra toys tho.
Protoform Package is a scaled down Primus package, without the toys basically.
Iacon Package is the non-Attendee's choice, includes the toys, but not the bonus freebie.

General Admission is Saturday and Sunday only, and I wouldn't advise winging it, lines can be really long.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
A brochure will be released soon detailing all the information you'll need.

Any idea when "soon" is? They seem to be running late this year.
Maybe I'm just paranoid...

The BotCon 2014 team have updated their website with information about the first three guests for this year's event, namely: Susan Blu (G1 Arcee), Hal Rayle (G1 Dinobot Snarl) and Michael McConnohie (G1 Tracks). Read their full profiles here!

02/28/2014 - This year’s show is going to be on amazing event and you will find everything you need to know about the show here at BotCon.com! Over the next few weeks we will be releasing all the info you need pertaining to this 30th anniversary celebration that you won’t want to miss! First up, we are pleased to announce our first three guests: Susan Blu (G1 Arcee), Hal Rayle (G1 Dinobot Snarl) and Michael McConnohie (G1 Tracks). For a complete look at ALL of their Transformers character credits, be sure to click the GUESTS link along the left side of the page! Stay tuned. So much more news, toy reveals and show information to be announced!

Hal Rayle is an interesting choice.

And other pages are up as well, including the Exclusives. Seems the box set will have 3 Pirates and 2 Knights.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:And other pages are up as well, including the Exclusives. Seems the box set will have 3 Pirates and 2 Knights.

So then the souvenirs and attendee figure must consist of the remaining 2 pirates, the remaining 3 knights, and the rogue Decepticon (not necessarily in that order, though).

Anybody know if we'll get the Arcee figure in time for Sue to sign it?

The official BotCon 2014 website has revealed the faction breakdown in this year's Pirates vs. Knights boxset. The set will feature three pirates and two knights, so far know the identity of one of the pirates, their captain Cannonball. The convention attendee only add-on sets will of course add to both of their ranks. BotCon takes place June 19th - 22nd in Pasadena, CA.

Reposting this due it relevance:

Sabrblade wrote:So then the souvenirs and attendee figure must consist of the remaining 2 pirates, the remaining 3 knights, and the rogue Decepticon (not necessarily in that order, though).

Hehehehehehhee.

Staaaaaaaaar Seeeeekkerrrrssssss....

Even money the rogue Decepticon will be the attendee freebie.

Then we'll see one voyager knight vs one deluxe pirate, and one deluxe pirate vs one deluxe knight, and then an army builder pack of pirates.

PrymeStriker wrote:Hehehehehehhee.

Staaaaaaaaar Seeeeekkerrrrssssss....

And?

Sabrblade wrote:

PrymeStriker wrote:Hehehehehehhee.

Staaaaaaaaar Seeeeekkerrrrssssss....

And?

There's a 3-2 ratio in favor of the Star Seekers in this set.

The awesomeness speaks for itself.

PrymeStriker wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

PrymeStriker wrote:Hehehehehehhee.

Staaaaaaaaar Seeeeekkerrrrssssss....

And?

There's a 3-2 ratio in favor of the Star Seekers in this set.

The awesomeness speaks for itself.

Though, the overall ratio in the whole of the exclusives will still be an even 5:5.

Sabrblade wrote:

PrymeStriker wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

PrymeStriker wrote:Hehehehehehhee.

Staaaaaaaaar Seeeeekkerrrrssssss....

And?

There's a 3-2 ratio in favor of the Star Seekers in this set.

The awesomeness speaks for itself.

Though, the overall ratio in the whole of the exclusives will still be an even 5:5.

Aren't there Star Seeker army builders? I think they should outnumber the knights effectively. Unless there are knight army builders I missed.

Come on and show us some figures! This set has awesome written all over it!

PrymeStriker wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

PrymeStriker wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

PrymeStriker wrote:Hehehehehehhee.

Staaaaaaaaar Seeeeekkerrrrssssss....

And?

There's a 3-2 ratio in favor of the Star Seekers in this set.

The awesomeness speaks for itself.

Though, the overall ratio in the whole of the exclusives will still be an even 5:5.

Aren't there Star Seeker army builders? I think they should outnumber the knights effectively. Unless there are knight army builders I missed.

True. Maybe the "5 pirates vs. 5 knights" thing counted the pirate army-builders as a single pirate toy just repeated. Or maybe it just discounted the pirate army-builders.

Either way, still kind of a letdown that, aside from Cannonball, these probably won't be "pirates" so much as "Squadron X members repurposed as pirates".

Sabrblade wrote:Either way, still kind of a letdown that, aside from Cannonball, these probably won't be "pirates" so much as "Squadron X members repurposed as pirates".

Actually, that's a selling point for me, in a set I'm otherwise not too interested in. I do love having obscure Decepticons to add to my ranks of CHUG figures...

Random thought of the day....

The other day there was a post about "ROM the Space Knight" being acquired and potentially used by Hasbro in Transformers...

When I read that I immediately thought about Botcon Pirates vs. Knights

I will not be surprised if THE robot knight of all robot knights ends up in the set... I would be interested to see what mold gets used if they do.

zatara1701 wrote:Random thought of the day....

The other day there was a post about "ROM the Space Knight" being acquired and potentially used by Hasbro in Transformers...

When I read that I immediately thought about Botcon Pirates vs. Knights

I will not be surprised if THE robot knight of all robot knights ends up in the set... I would be interested to see what mold gets used if they do.

The ROM news was regarding IDW's potential use of him. For Fun Pub to use him so soon might feel like an unfair intrusion upon anything IDW's planning down the road.

Sabrblade wrote:

zatara1701 wrote:Random thought of the day....

The other day there was a post about "ROM the Space Knight" being acquired and potentially used by Hasbro in Transformers...

When I read that I immediately thought about Botcon Pirates vs. Knights

I will not be surprised if THE robot knight of all robot knights[/color] ends up in the set... I would be interested to see what mold gets used if they do.

The ROM news was regarding IDW's potential use of him. For Fun Pub to use him so soon might feel like an unfair intrusion upon anything IDW's planning down the road.

But it also mention Hasbro having secured rights for toys also...

"So, there are currently three trademarks Hasbro has applied for. The first is for comic books and was granted in April 2013. They've already used the first of their five possible extensions to use it in commerce (i.e. publish a ROM comic book). Extensions are required every six months if Hasbro doesn't have proof of use. Five extensions give them three years to do so.

The second trademark is for "toy action figures and toy robots convertible into other visual toy forms," which leads to the already existing rumor that Hasbro is going to make Rom part of the Transformers toy line. It, too, was granted in April 2013 and has had one extension filed against it.[/color]

The final trademark is for "entertainment services, namely an on-going animated television series for children." This one was only granted in June 2013 and, because I've gotten lazy, is new to me. It would seem to contradict Hasbro making Rom part of the Transformers, unless such a TV series would be a spin-off of Transformers: Prime or something. The first extension was just granted last month."

No matter what, Rom was a favorite along with Iron Man before our favorite robots hit our shores... I will be happy just seeing old toaster head again...

Yes, but wouldn't you rather see ROM in something more mainstream and available to everybody like with IDW, instead of in something that only the special folks who can afford to go the BotCon could get a hold of?

ROM has a better chance of success with IDW than he does with Fun Pub (especially since any BotCon toy of him would just be a redeco/remold on an existing toy instead of ROM getting a unique, super special extra sweet mold of his own ).

Sabrblade wrote:Yes, but wouldn't you rather see ROM in something more mainstream and available to everybody like with IDW, instead of in something that only the special folks who can afford to go the BotCon could get a hold of?

ROM has a better chance of success with IDW than he does with Fun Pub (especially since any BotCon toy of him would just be a redeco/remold on an existing toy instead of ROM getting a unique, super special extra sweet mold of his own ).

Oh I agree completely!! I was just saying my brain linked the two (Botcon and ROM) when I saw the ROM story He is after all THE Space Knight...

No we can speculate what alt mode he would have

I am still interested to see what they bring out for the knights... Pirates are cool, but SOOOOOOoooo burned out on them!!! Maybe it's because my 5yr old makes me endure Jake and the Neverland Pirates... Plus I am kinda disappointed Thundertron seems to be out of the mix. Maybe some of the swabbies can be Jack Sparrow-ish remold of the Dredds LOL

Hal Rayle was at Charticon. He did a lot more voices than just G1 Snarl by the way. He's a total class act.

So glad Im skipping this year. If I like any of the figures Ill get em off ebay. I wish they would get rid of "themes" altogether and just do obvious filler sets like 2007 and 2009.

Rated X wrote:So glad Im skipping this year. If I like any of the figures Ill get em off ebay. I wish they would get rid of "themes" altogether and just do obvious filler sets like 2007 and 2009.

Only to have Hasbro release general retail version a couple years later? The only satisfaction one could get out of "filler sets" is the fact they have exclusive (and expensive) bragging rights for only a few years.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Rated X wrote:So glad Im skipping this year. If I like any of the figures Ill get em off ebay. I wish they would get rid of "themes" altogether and just do obvious filler sets like 2007 and 2009.

Only to have Hasbro release general retail version a couple years later? The only satisfaction one could get out of "filler sets" is the fact they have exclusive (and expensive) bragging rights for only a few years.

I know what you're talking about here, but that's not even kind of correct. I own the Botcon 2007 Seekers and the general releases of Thundercraker, Thrust and Dirge, as well as had owned the Henkei TC for a while as well, and I am satisfied with all of them on a personal level, regardless of bragging rights or whatnot. The existence of the mass retail Seekers in no way diminishes my enjoyment of the Botcon ones; in fact the Botcon ones are the ones that are special to me.
I don't think that they lost any degree of specialness when the retail ones were released. I do know that some of the fandom does think that way, so save yourself the trouble of needlessly pointing that out for me, but I think it's foolish to think that the fandom as a whole lost any positive feelings for the '07 set when the retail figures were released.

I also am growing tired of theme sets. I don't think the fiction attached to them is really anything to get excited over most of the time, and I'd prefer filler sets over most of the stuff from the Animated Stunticon set until this one, honestly.

http://www.botcon.com/BotCon2014/BC14exclusives.html
http://www.botcon.com/BotCon2014/BC14canball_page.html

Official website reveal of Cannonball (as opposed to the early reveal from the magazine and from Twitter).

Technically was revealed almost a month ago, but now it's official! The BotCon 2014 website has been updated with official images of Cannonball from this year's Pirates vs. Knights convention boxset. The figure is a repaint of Transformers Prime Robots in Disguise Deluxe Ratchet with a brand new head mold. Check out the official images below:

Nice! Not my cup of tea, I want to see the other boxset members though,

Not bad, not bad at all.

I love how FunPubs definition of "official" nowadays is "let's photoshop the colors and put on a CG rendered head"

Show me the actual plastic.