This month, as Rob prepares for Toylanta, he talks about various convention experiences.
Showing posts with label convention. Show all posts
Showing posts with label convention. Show all posts
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Monday, March 20, 2023
Toylanta Week is here!
It's not just the beginning of a new week here on Planet Zone, but the start of Toylanta week here on Planet Zone! That right, the great toy show is here and I'm hella excited. This week will be a little different. I'll be updating all weekend after each day at the show. Just to give me a little break before the show, we're going to have an all bios week. Since it's such a special con week, we'll focus on some special toys.
Transformers Action Masters Elites were a set of Action Masters that transformed unlike the rest of their ilk. Toylanta gives us a chance to really appreciate the more special side of our hobbies. So I don't see a better time to appreciate a special little set of toys. Check back each day leading up to the great toy show and my ongoing reports. Thank you for continuing to read Zone Base and please share with your friends!
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Toylanta is nearing
Each year as the convention gets closer I make up a mental list of things to look for... and don't follow it well at the show. Partially because things change when you get there and see what's available. Honestly, sometimes you just change your mind. One thing I'm definitely looking for is Gobots and Rock Lords. You guys know I love them and for some reason... I just like buying them specifically at Toylanta. I don't know why, but there is something REALLY satisfying about buying them there. It's super proper, it has to be done. I'll throw other robot toys into that idea as well, because I'll likely get some... but it's really about the Gobots and Rock Lords at Toylanta.
I'll be hosting the Transformers panel, but I don't buy a whole lot of them there. Often dealers will have ones I already have or plan on buying soon. When they have something I don't... it's for a price I don't want to pay. Speaking of prices I don't want to pay, Battle Beasts. They're few and far between these days and generally cost more than I'd want to pay. I straight up walked away from a dealer when he quoted me twenty bucks a piece for some a few years ago. For the record they were very beaten and and one was missing an arm. There's some scummy dealers out there and I just don't tolerate their antics. One guy a few years ago wanted $200 for a ReAction Merman, I passed, and got the same one (with weapon... unlike the other) for $5 last year. It pays to be smart.... and with the cost of everything else these days... you need to be.
Another toy I'd like to find is of Demolition Man. I've forgotten the characters actual name... but the Sylvester Stallone guy. Some of (if not all) of that movies toys were made of New Adventures of He-Man figure molds. The main character is a repaint of He-Man... and I'd like to get one within reason. There's also those Micro TMNT play sets that use old Diaclone molds. Those would be great. That's the cool thing about a con like this, there's a little bit of everything and a lot of surprises. Not much drama either... thank god. I generally have a great time and each year is it's own story. Each year is a different experience, and that's awesome.
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Saturday, September 29, 2018
Great Value BotCon
Ever since the Walmart exclusive G1 reissue Transformers were first shown, I've been jokingly saying Great Value BotCon or Sam's Choice BotCon. It's a silly thing I've been saying as back in the day, something like a G1 Transformers was something you might have to wait until BotCon to score a decent one. Now you can just go to Walmart. I'm being silly, but I'm also outright going to use the term for something else right now.
BotCon was the first Transformers convention, and for many years the only Transformers convention. It became Hasbro supported and eventually an official entity. Ran by a few different organizers, it was retired in 2016. Somewhere around the early 2000's (maybe even earlier) smaller fan run shows became a regular thing, some growing to even rival BotCon in size. There's also the occasional fan meet up organized by individuals based on things like fan groups or local areas. I've organized a few back in the earlier days of the Georgia Transformers Fans group. It's fun and that's where I'm going with this.
Going to conventions is great, it's awesome, it's a fun time to be had with other fans in the hobby. It's our little subculture that lives on the fringe, still not sure how to handle the mainstream popularity of Transformers since the live action movies. Problem with conventions is, a convention is just once a year. BotCon (and now TFCon USA) traveled each year. You might not be able to make it due to location, finances, personal situations, or maybe all of the above. Things happen, life happens. Other Transformers shows are generally in the same location, but still might not be accessible depending on factors.
So why not have your own?
Since the dawn of social media, it's much easier to hook up with fans in your area. It doesn't take much to plan a get together with a few like minded individuals. Maybe everyone meets up at a restaurant and goes to some nearby stores after. There was just that screening of the 1986 Transformers movie. That would have been ideal to organize something with others in attendance. Or hey, Bumblebee is about to come out. Arrange a group viewing and a trip to the store later! Maybe rent out a room somewhere, get some folks to set up tables with toys they may have to sell or customs they have to show off. You could play some episodes and order pizza (everyone can chip in $5 each for some Little Caesar's). There's that new trading card game, I'm sure getting players together couldn't be that hard.
Name your event, it can be as simple as just 'Transformers Delaware Fans Meet Up' or 'Local Fans Bumblebee Viewing'. Maybe even give it a neato name, maybe it could become bigger and become the next BotCon one day. Have one as often as you can possibly have one, it's your party. The Transformers fandom was grown from grassroots and from grassroots it will continue even if the mainstream attention fades away (won't be the first time). Have fun, you might meet some new people and make some new friends, or have some new fun with old friends.
You know, maybe you could just stroll into Walmart and get one of those G1 reissues.
Monday, August 20, 2018
TFNation 2019 logo is awesome
Realistically, I'll never get to go to a TFNation show. That's a shame because it looks like a really good time, but being a working professional, going a few states over for a convention is hard to fathom theses days let alone another country on the other side of the world. Regardless, they deserve a great deal of applause for the Beast Machines inspired logo for next years show. Say what you will about Beast Machines (and you probably already are), but that was a good looking logo and packaging. Nice to see it getting some love here, specially in these G1 era heavy days.
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Friday, June 29, 2018
Screaming into space
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| Damn that art sells it |
But, the big one. The poop your pants one.
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| The stuff dreams are made of |
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| I'm a positive person, but knowing I'll likely never get this is super depressing |
Saturday, June 23, 2018
GI JOE Japanese theme
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
If I were cool
I'll never be involved with any official Transformers fan entity. I'd like to be, I think I could be. I'd like to think I'd do a good job figuring out things like exclusives and fun activities for a convention and stuff. I may be wrong, but I may be right. It's a fun day dream to one day come up with something cool like a fan club exclusive toy. Sure, it looks like they heyday of that sort of thing has passed us by and when it was a thing there was plenty of the same dudes always in those spots. I know, what's to say I'd actually come up with gold ideas. Maybe all my ideas are crap. I'll never know, but I'd like to think I'd be good at it.
I mean, I've been doing this Transformers thing for a long time.
And I still really like it.
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Toylanta 2018 Report
*Note- I will be adding to this post throughout the weekend, so please check back as I'll be adding to it periodically, also please check out my Instagram for pics from the show*
Friday- After sleeping off my work night, the wife and I headed to the con getting there around 7pm for the opening evening activities. Roaming around the dealer area as it was being set up and popping in and out of the lobby swap I spent most of the evening with my friends Shawn and Stuart as we chatted about various things. Tons of toys were out and of course I didn't stop by the ATM on the way, so mental note for the morning: bring some cash tomorrow! So far aside from some random G1 bots (and the mandatory Firecon purchase) I've spotted some great deals on kaiju vinyls and some great custom GIJOE that at least one must come home with me. Shawn gifted me with legion Hound and Dragonstorm, which was most awesome. We came home and ordered pizza on the way home for a great supper. Time for some sleep before a busy Saturday.
Saturday- Saturday started off well enough, we got to the show around 10am and roamed the dealer areas a bit before a run to McDonald's for some lunch. I managed to snag some Beast Saga figures and some Maximal symbol pins. After a Big Mac, we headed to the panel area for the Space Toys panel and it was a treat. I initially thought it was going to be a roundabout of all space toys, but was mostly about lines from the 60's and 70's ran very well by some well spoken gentlemen. One speaker that I enjoyed talked about his time trying to get stores to carry Star Wars toys by way of letter writing campaign
After the panel I met up with Dusty and we went over notes for our Transformers panel as we found Gabe, Mike and Alan. The Transformers panel went extremely well and I'm very happy with how it went. Afterwards we made a rush back to the dealers room where I caught up with Aaron and Tony where we talked about wrestling and the ROH ppv that took place Friday night. While in there I bought the remaining Beast Saga figures from the dealer I went to earlier. That had to be my favorite dealer, just a big set of tables with baskets full of various parts, pvcs, capsule toys, and random toys for great pricing. I plan to visit him again tomorrow to raid his bin of 1$ monsters.
Parachute drop went well, though wasn't as populated as before. Papi's Toys had several paratroopers in use including a Pretender Vroom equiped with a parachute. Surprisingly made for a good drop participant. Here was where my only complaint for the weekend has been. The hotel restaurant was renovating and had a temporary set up in the lobby. Which during a regular day wouldn't have been an issue, during a con was a giant pain. Not to mention, the diners were constantly bombarded by thr parachute dropped toys, so I'm sure they didn't appreciate that. Due to the overall sea of people my wife and I was seated for a table, but never got served prompting us to leave without eating. Though that was probably for the best as word was it wasn't very good.
I spent most of the day with Shawn, whom I shared a great conversation about Battle Beasts with at one point. Really glad he came, awesome dude to hang out with. Came home and ate the rest of the pizza from Friday night. One more day of the best damn toy show going.
Sunday- Sunday started off kind of rough as daylight savings time hit overnight throwing me off (really can we just stop doing this) as well as a headache I developed overnight. I took some medicine and fixed a simple oatmeal breakfast before heading out (the wife felt like staying home) stopping only for a can of Monster. It was rainy making for an interesting drive, but in all nothing too bad. Got in the dealers room around 10am and spent the next few hours with my friends Shawn and Stuart whom where heading out soon.
After they left, actually I missed Stuart leaving somehow (sorry man), I poked around for a little bit. Almost bought a vintage Pirantishead before deciding the Imaginext one I'm getting soon would suffice. I did visit my favorite dealer from the weekend and grab a Zenon pvc amd stop by the pin and sticker dealer to grab something for my wife. I decided to check out the custom cars one more time and head home (Sunday everyone is wrapping up and the show wraps up earlier).
Ran into Aaron and Tony at the cars and we chatted for a bit, they were heading out too. As we were chatting Gabe was coming in to get a little extra filming done for his school project, so we came in with him. Spent a little longer farting around with the guys and got a free bottle of Billy Mitchell hot sauce from the Southern Friend Gaming Expo booth who had been selling arcade marquee art and various oddities. I was super close to grabbing the Altered Beast arcade cabinet instruction manual. We headed talked wrestling a bit before all heading out. The great toy show had come to an end for the year and time to return to normal life. The rainy weather got me stuck a little in some wreck traffic. Passing some of the cars moved off to the side of the show, I recognized a few folks I had seen at the show over the weekend. Man, that had to suck.
Overall- Wow, what a great weekend. I've been having a pretty stressful time recently so this fun weekend was exactly what I needed. As fun as the Botlanta event was last year, it was a lot of work and it was a relief to return to the normal Toylanta. The RFC crew couldn't make the show, instead opting to gather for the weekend at Kilby's house for the weekend. Kilby sent me a portable recorder to make a podcast out of the Transformers panel. Unfortunately the recorder didn't show up until Saturday afternoon, so I regret not getting that recorded, though Gabe did film the bulk of it and offered to give Kilby the audio from that.
The hotel's renovation efforts was mainly a pain for the lobby as that's a main meet up area during a con and it was reduced that area greatly, not to mention had to be unpleasant for diners while trying to eat. Outside of that I really enjoy the hotel and talks of the show eventually moving makes me hope if and when that happens they'll find as good as a space to host the show.
As usual, I pretty much hibernate all day after the show, but also enjoyed some home cooking after a weekend of fast food. Absolutely had a blast and as always makes for great memories.
Monday, March 5, 2018
Toylanta prep
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| Firecons are kinda my mental mascot for this years con |
I like digging in bins for figures, scouring for deals, and this con has plenty. I dig the shows vibe too. Relaxed, laid back, meant to be fun. No anxiety or various fandom drama, just a bunch of cool people enjoying their various hobbies together. The high quality conversations I have over the weekend cannot be replaced. One year I spoke for hours with a dude about discount store fantasy figures. Another about Starriors. Just a great convention.
Fortunately the show is just a short road trip for me, so I just have to plan for the drive each day, which isn't too bad. Mainly anticipate where I'm eating lunch more-so than really anything else. Looking forward to the Transformers panel I help line up each year. Dusty and I are planing some good conversation and hoping those in attendance participate.
I've been slowly working on a list for stuff to look out for, though I wonder just how much I'm going to adhere to it. I don't really buy a whole lot at the show, but what I do get is generally great. I still fondly remember my main purchase of 2016. Aside from some great Beast Wars stickers I got, I hadn't really bought anything until I was about to leave that Sunday ending out the con. As I walked around and said goodbye to friends I dug through one last dump bin and there it was. A gallon zip lock bag containing about 75% of a G2 Bruticus in fairly good condition for 20$. Well shucks.
Just a few more days and we'll see what fun I'll have this year. What's great about this show is it's always an experience. Each year I have a different experience and that's the kind of thing you can't buy.
Monday, January 1, 2018
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Throwback Thursday- Botcon 1995 Pre Reg
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| Oh, they're doing it again? I can't miss it again this year! |
******************************
BOTCON '95
The Second Annual Transformers Convention
Dayton Convention Center, Dayton, Ohio
Saturday and Sunday, August 5 & 6, 1995
Some planned events include:
- A special Convention Exclusive Transformer figure available only to preregistrants
- A laser light show synchronized to the soundtrack of Transformers the Movie
- A presentation by Hasbro executives on upcoming plans for the toy line,
including a question-and-answer session
- An art display and contest with prizes awarded in color and black & white
categories, as well as an art auction
- A display room featuring private collections of Transformer-related
merchandise
- Continuous videos, including the Japanese episodes and the Movie
- Dealer tables for the buying, selling, and trading of Transformers and
Transformer-related items
- Presentations by the officers of the fan clubs and club media producersPrices:Non-Dealers:
Preregistrants $25 for whole weekend, $15 for single day (Sat. or Sun.)
(Preregistration includes the Convention Exclusive Transformer)
For non-preregistrants, admission at the door is $5 per day.Dealers:
$80 per table for whole weekend; $45 per table for single day (Sat. or
Sun.)
(Price includes admission for dealer and one helper, and the
Convention Exclusive Transformer)
Hotel Costs:Stouffer Renaissance Dayton Hotel is connected directly to the Dayton
Convention Center.
$64 per night, single or double room (up to 4 people per room), plus 12.5% tax
(=$8 in tax per night). To reserve rooms, contact Stouffer Renaissance Dayton
Hotel at:
Fifth & Jefferson Streets
Dayton, OH 45402
phone: (513) 224-0800 (call collect)
Remember that you must make hotel reservations separately (not through the
convention organizers) by *July 14, 1995*. Be sure to say you're coming for
BotCon '95 in order to get the reduced room rate.
Other things to see in and around Dayton:Wright Patterson Air Force Museum with IMAX theater; International Women's Air
& Space Museum; Dayton Art Institute; Dayton Museum of Natural History;
National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center; Victoria Theater; Memorial
Hall; Sunwatch Village; Paramount's King's Island; The Beach Waterpark; Blue
Jacket Outdoor Drama.
The Dayton Convention Center is conveniently located close to Dayton
International Airport, and is easily accessible by highway. Greyhound bus
station is located directly across the street from the Convention Center and
hotel.
Contact: Raksha, convention organizer
a.k.a. Jovanka Kink Michael Payton, phone contact
1177B Georges Place OR (614) 885-5313 (Sun.-Wed.)
Columbus, OH 43204-1085 e-mail Micr...@aol.com
e-mail jk...@magnus.acs.ohio-state.
3701 Connecticut Ave. N.W. #500
Washington, D.C. 20008-4556
e-mail st93...@pip.cc.brandeis.edu BotCon (TM) by Jonathan Hartman******************************
Registration Sheet |Official Use Only: |
|Date Received_______ |
BotCon '95 |Registration #______ |
August 5 & 6, 1995; Dayton, OH |Weekend__ Sat__ Sun__|
|---------------------|Name ______________________________
Address _____________________________
City ______________________ State___ Zip____________
Country _____________________________
Phone _____________________________
e-mail (if applicable) ______________________________
__ Non-Dealer __ Attending whole weekend (Saturday and Sunday)
__ Attending Saturday only
__ Attending Sunday onlyPrices:
Non-Dealers:
$25 for whole weekend; $15 for single day (Saturday or Sunday)
(preregistration includes the Convention Exclusive Transformer)
Admission at the door for non-preregistrants is $5 per dayDealers:
$80 per 8' table for whole weekend; $45 per table for single day (Saturday
or Sunday)
(Price includes admission for dealer and one helper, and the
Convention Exclusive Transformer)Total amount enclosed: $___Hotel Accommodations must be made separately:
$64 per night, single or double room (up to 4 people per room), plus 12.5% tax.
Contact Stouffer Renaissance Dayton Hotel directly at:
Fifth and Jefferson Streets
Dayton, OH 45402
phone: (513) 224-0800 (call collect)
Reservations must be made by July 14, 1995. Be sure to say you're coming for
BotCon in order to get the reduced rate.Registration deadline is July 20, 1995.
Cancellations must also be received by this date to guarantee a refund. Return this sheet with check or money order payable to:
BotCon '95
1177B Georges Place
Columbus, OH 43204-1085 BotCon (tm) by Jonathan Hartman
******************************
*note* I had so much fun doing this last week, I thought I'd do it again. Not sure how many of these I plan to do, but for the moment I'm having fun. I pulled this from this old usenet post.
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Throwback Thursday- BotCon 1994 Pre Reg
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| Who's all going? |
What: Transformers Tenth Anniversary Convention
Where: The Grand Wayne Center, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
When: 9:00am-5:00pm, Saturday, July 16, 1994
Contacts: Jonathan Hartman, Chairman David Kolodny-Nagy, Art Contest
209 West Rush Street Box 845 Brandeis Univeristy, PO Box 9110
Kendallville, IN 46755-1741 Waltham, MA 02254-9110
(219) 347-1154 (617) 736-5485
The purpose of this convention is to celebrate the tenth anniversary of
Transformers. Fans, collectors, and dealers are all invited to come and be a
part of this special event. Planned events and activities include:* A presentation by Hasbro executives on the past, present and future of the Transformers, including a sneak preview of upcoming toys.
* A special Convention Exclusive action figure available only to those who
preregister. [Not necessarily a TF then...Dave]
* A collection gallery displaying private collections of American, European
and Japanese Transformers items.
* An autograph signing and question-and-answer session with members of the
Transformers comic book staff. (Tentative) [perhaps because the team
itself is tentative - Dave]
* An art contest and auction for fans to show their talent at rendering
their favorite Transformer. Prizes will be awarded in two different
categories.
* A video gallery where Transformers cartoons will be shown, including The
Transformers: The Movie.
* Dealer and collector booths for the buying, selling and trading of Transformers and Transformers related items.Attendance by preregistration is encouraged as it will allow guests to guarantee a hotel room for staying overnight (if desired), and it will be the only way to get the exclusive convention action figure. The fee for non- exhibiting guests is $15 per person before April 30, 1994. After that date it will be $20. Dealers and collectors who wish to set up a booth are required to pay $45 before April 30, 1994. This includes drapes and an unskirted table for one 10'x10' booth. Exhibitors will be allowed to bring one helper for the booth. Additional drapes, tables, table skirting and booth spaces are also available if desired. After April 30, the fee will be $50. Free bus transportation will be available to and from the airport on the day of the show only. Admission on the day of the show will be $5. Lodging is available at the Fort Wayne Hilton at the Convention Center which is attached to the Grand Wayne Center. The special convention rate of $62 per room will only be guaranteed to those who preregister. The Hilton is conveniently designed so that guests do not have to go outside to travel between the Convention Center or the adjacent parking facility [and the hotel]. The hotel also has a shuttle service to transport registered guests to locations around the city, including the airport. Many eateries are available to guests downtown, as well as those provided by the Hilton. For more information, please contact Jon Hartman at the above address. Inquiries about the art contest and auction should be directed to David Kolodny-Nagy.[Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce type stuff deleted. For those uncertain exactly where this is, Fort Wayne is in the Northeast corner of Indiana.]
------------------------------
BotCon '94 Registration Sheet
|Reg #:
Rates: Non-exhibitor before April 30, 1994 - $15 per person
Non-exhibitor after April 30, 1994 - $20 per person
Exhibitor before April 30, 1994 - $45 *
Exhibitor after April 30, 1994 - $50 *
Entry fee on day of show for walk-ins - $5 per person
* Fee covers one 10'x10' booth and a helper
Please inquire if you want more than one booth
Rates: $62 per room per night (single or double occupancy)
Rooms must be reserved by a deposit equal to one night's
accomodation.
Earliest check-in time on day of arrival is 3:00pm. Check-out time
is 12:00pm.
_____Non-exhibitor_____I will be driving to the show [Autobot?]
_____I will be flying to the show [Decepticon?]_____I will be staying in the hotel on Friday night
_____I will be staying in the hotel on Saturday night
_____I will be staying in the hotel both nights.
Total Amount Enclosed:
BotCon '94
209 West Rush Street
Kendallville, IN 46755-1741
*credit* I found this in an old usenet post. Guess I'll go ahead and link to my post regarding older cons while I'm at it. Since I'm at it, check out these scans of Tomart covering BotCon 1994. Some of the copied text didn't format well to the blogger format, so I made an attempt to clean it up so it could be easily read.
Sunday, April 23, 2017
Living in the past
It's silly how my mind works. I often think of older Transformers conventions as better automatically. Which isn't fair to newer shows, but I guess that's just me doing a stereotypical "things used to be better" and feeling all smug. Though, those older BotCons had something that the later ones didn't have and it's extremely hard to describe if you were never there. A vibe, a mojo, a something. Not that's not saying newer shows don't get it, Charticon in 2013 had it. My friend Don compared Toylanta (the show where the Botlanta panel track I organize is) to the most similar any con he's attended to the first BotCon (he went to the first and yes that was flattering). Not to mention, I see pictures online of smaller TF shows around the world, and they seemingly have it. I don't know if it was just a moment in time, or me being younger, but there was a certain something about those older shows that I've never let go.
 |
| BotCon 01, the hair since has migrated from my head completely to my face |
BotCon 1995, the second BotCon. I would have loved to go, unfortunatley I was just a kid in high school and only knew of them from ads in Lee's toy magazine (or was it Tomart?). I used to love that old back section full of classifieds. Pre-internet, that was the main way for people to advertise their toys stores, or zines, or fan clubs, or conventions, or really anything that we easily do on Facebook now and take for granted. I'd often see them in toy, video game, and horror magazines. I'd regularly send in an envelope with a few dollars and enjoy the onslaught of random catalogs and various zines and pamphlets I'd get in return. You'd be surprised at the amount of detail that goes into a book made at a local copy center.
At about 5:59, that's me in the fire bowling shirt walking up to a table. Oh yea, that's also the same shirt I'm wearing in the pic a little up at BotCon 2001. It was the first BotCon I was able to go to. As a broke community college student, they all seemed so far away and out of touch. Though in 2001, I was on my own and just barely making ends meet. 2001 was in Durham North Carolina, which is about 4-6 hours away from here. My Mom called me one morning to check on me, and while we were talking I brought it up as I was trying to figure out how to go. She actually woke me up and the Toyfair issue opened to the page with the ad was open laying right next to me. When I asked her how far away Durham was, she offered to take me. We went Friday night, and came back Sunday with the main day of fun being Saturday. Of note, we hit every difficulty imaginable and the trip there took over 12 hours. I wish I was kidding.
OTFCC 2003, despite all the organizers drama that led to the 3H split, I went to OTFCC 2003 (there was a name change) and had a great time. It was a really good show and if you watch that video or as you can see in the preview there was a dance party. I was there a few minutes when some friends and I went to discover it after the line died down. I fondly can remember Brian Kilby making a nervous smile that pretty much said it all and Ant not appreciating the remix of Metallica and TFTM audio clips. This was just before Hooper X launched from our group and started punch dancing to the derision of others.
The following year was OTFCC 2004 and BotCon 2004. I wanted to go to both, but could only go to one. So I went to OTFCC 2004 and had a great time. It really was a good time and the last 'old style' BotCon. Outside of the at show memories, and not in this clip, was Ruben Studdard. There was a wedding going on in the convention center (as well as a few other cons) and they apparently hired him to sing at it. Later in the hotel, I got to witness a drunk Ruben Studdard in the hotel resturant, a well as his entourage get into a fight with the bridesmaids in the lobby.
I didn't get to go to BotCon 2004, I could only choose one, and OTFCC was closer and a lot of my friends went as well, so the draw for what makes a con fun was there. I did order a non attendee pack though, really wish I could have went. I couldn't find a video of the 2002 show which was also a great deal of fun. I'm not doing any travel this year for conventions, I'd love to check them all out though. Hascon is coming up and it looks neat. There's TFCon of course and I've enjoyed those a lot. Pete Sinclair has his new Robot Convention I'd like to check out, ignoring any drama (I try my best too, it has zero to do with why I'm going to a convention anyway), there's going to be some cool displays there and I'd love to go to Fort Wayne again. Botlanta was earlier this month which makes the year wait until next year feel like an eternity. I went to a good deal of the Fun Pub BotCons and always had a good time, though eventually got priced out as the costs started going over what I could justify. There's just something special about these older shows. That's what I want to do with Botlanta, and I hope I can find at other shows. That vibe. It's hard to describe, but once you feel it, you know it.
I could go on and on, but I figure now's a good time to stop inserting videos and help the wife make supper. I've got some TF's to open, I should get to that.
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Weekly Spotlight: Shattered Glass Blurr
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| The smarter I am, the faster you die. |
Before he was recruited by Prime, Blurr was an eloquent and well-groomed lecturer. Though his demeanor hasn't changed, Blurr looks more like a battle hardened warrior rather than the soft spoken robot he is. Yet, Prime uses Blurr as an information hub first, and a soldier second. Constantly on the move, Blurr is well equipped to intercept messages from enemy couriers such as his heroic renegade cousin, Crasher. Though no longer on the lecture circuit, Blurr now finds himself trading information and unreleased protoform images with other archivists, desperate to get an upper hand on his opponents. He often seeks to add any vital information to his data banks in order to provide eloquent strategic infiltration plans to his Autobot comrades. In vehicle mode, he can travel faster than most Decepticons, speeding past them to the point where their microcircuits fuse together, leaving them helpless. Once disabled, Blurr meticulously disassembles their processors, slowly explaining the entire process in excruciating detail to each victim.
Sunday, October 30, 2016
It's totally him
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| Well, I guess... maybe... uh |
There I was, late July 2002 sitting in the lobby of a Holiday Inn in Fort Wayne Indiana. It was Friday morning and I had driven overnight for BotCon. I had planned on driving the 10-12 hours from Atlanta over night and sleep a few hours before pre reg pick up. I didn't count on getting there too early and having to wait for my room to become available. So there I was sitting in the lobby, half napping, half playing my Gameboy Advance. Eventually more people started pouring into the hotel and before I knew it, some friends from Transfandom/TFW2005 (before they split up) had plopped down next to me in chairs. We all were super excited for the weekend and chattering away about what we hoped the exclusives would be.
You see, back then, it was a mystery.
That's right, back in the old days, the BotCon exclusives were a mystery. You could wait until the con to buy them, or buy them at pre reg blind. If you didn't like them, there was plenty of dealers willing to buy yours on the spot. The most you had for a clue was a rough size hint on the pre registration form.
It was super fun.
Well, in 2002 things were changing. Instead of the usual one or two exclusives, there was four. That's right, before the 10-15 exclusives of the Fun Publications days, we only got one or two. So four seemed insane. Let me break it down for you. This year there was a pre registration exclusive. Then, as the current comic publisher wasn't happy with 3H selling comics, they sold a small exclusive that came with that years convention comic. Then after that you had the traditional large and regular sized exclusives. Also for the first time, we all knew who the large exclusive was going to be. 3H had shown him off in order to get more fans to the con.
So, going in we knew the large toy was Cyclonus made from the Beast Machines Ultra Class Jetstorm toy. Which still left the other three a complete mystery. To add to the fun, there was two different con shirts that year and if you bought one during pre registration, it would be a mystery as to which one you got. Of course you could buy the other one at the show (and I did).
After I got my room and a nap, I met my friends from the lobby to go to pre reg pick up together. We were all staying at the Holiday Inn, the second hotel with a convention discount rate, but also about two blocks away from the con center. So we had a short walk ahead of us. We got in our respective lines (separated alphabetically by last name) and picked up our pre reg kits.
We were given our shirts and a small box with all out con materials inside including the pre reg exclusive. The other three were available for pick up at the Friday night dinner for those in attendance, or Saturday morning for everyone else.
The shirts were either Optimus Prime or Megatron decorated with neat art of their various bodies on the back. I got the Megatron (and totally bought the Optimus shirt the next day). The pre registration exclusive was Tap Out! Made from the recent Cliffjumper keychain toy in a neat green deco. I was ecstatic over Tap Out. I was a big fan of the keychain toys that were released months before the show.
They were reissues of the classic Bumblebee and Cliffjumper toys with a small plastic loop molded on allowing for a keychain to be attached. With this in hand, we all decided the small toy with the comic had to use the Bumblebee keychain mold. Also inside the little box was all sorts of goodies including an Optimus Prime sucker (I still have it, good thing it's wrapped in plastic... yikes) and also a neat art print. My friends got Skywarp, but I totally got Tigatron. They were all jealous, as they should have been.
There was also the convention guide book inside, which on it's cover had what one friend decided HAD to be the other exclusive. You see, the cast of Robots in Disguise (the 2001 series) were all guests and the guide cover reflected that. Each actors characters were on the cover... but for some reason, Prowl was purple and black. This wasn't too much of a hint to the rest of us, but that one guy swore we were definitely getting this.
I mean loudly. Very loudly. We were in the Burger King and there he was screaming over and over, "GUY'S, IT'S TOTALLY IT, IT'S TOTALLY IT, OH MAN IT'S SKYWARP FROM PROWL THATS WHY THE PRINT WAS IN THE BOX, GUY'S THAT'S WHY!"
So we had to leave Burger King and eat at Rally's and he had to chill out, which he didn't. He went on and on and on. Later as the dinner went on, we went down to hang out at the con center with the other non dinner attendees and tried to hear what was going on inside. Those in attendance were given free Armada and Heroes of Cybertron toys and a showing of the pilot episode of Armada was shown.
I wasn't too jealous of the toys, because they had already been showing up at stores. I was jealous over the Armada showing as it wasn't due for air for a few more months and I was eagerly looking forward to it. During the dinner, 3H revealed what the exclusives were to much applause. We didn't get to hear what they were and headed out to join in the parts parties.
Over the course of the night, I heard that there was a Cheetor in Jetfire colors. I also didn't pay it too much attention as that just sounded ridiculous.
The next morning I stood in line to get my exclusives, still mostly clueless to their identity. Then one of my friends stopped by to show me one of their con exclusives. It was CatSCAN!
Made from the Beast Machines deluxe Nightslash Cheetor in RATCHETS COLORS, in a pretty neat box that was made to resemble a small laptop, CatSCAN was pretty cool. In fact he remains to be one of my favorite BotCon exclusives. The small comic toy turned out to be made from the Bumblebee keychain as we predicted. In a cool metallic blue, Glyph was a really nice looking mini bot!
Now, about that Skywarp Prowl toy... it of course never happened and that friend didn't really hang around us for the rest of the convention.
Guess he was embarrassed.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
The new big show.
Earlier today I was having trouble getting to sleep, which worked out as Brian Kilby texted me to check the RFC mail list. We had gotten the press release for the new official convention (replacing BotCon) known as HasCon.
I was kinda blown away.
So this fall, HasCon will host events not only for Transformers, but also My Little Pony and other Hasbro brands. That's kinda a deal maker as whenever I go to these shows, my wife is pretty bored. But here, she'd be able to enjoy the MLP stuff. Making for a better time for the both of us and not just me.
Also in the email was news of the upcoming new Fan Club to replace the ending one ran by Fun Publications. I'm a sucker for a fan club and even more for an official fan club. I can't help but to wonder how it would operate and how things would go. I generally liked the former club magazine and hope we get some sort of newsletter. Hopefully the new club would have some sort of membership exclusives.
Speaking of exclusives, I wonder how the at show exclusives would be? Would they be some super niche thing aimed at fans? Or would it be special editions of current figures? Personally, there has been some pretty neat special editions of current toys, so I'd be for that.
I'm super interested in what's to come of this new show. It feels weird to have watched 2 incarnations of official Transformers conventions open and close. This new show is almost like a comic con based on Hasbro characters. Considering all the properties they own, I'm not against that.
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