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Welcome once again folks to your weekly roundup from our creative forums.
Before we get into this weeks highlights i'd like to thank everyone for all their positive responses both to the roundup news, and all the customs that were featured. Feedback, be it positive or constructively negative, is good.
We also had a minor forum restructure which you may or may not have noticed. A number of sub-forums have been merged into one to cut down on some confusion of what should go where.
We've got some great work this week, so let's get to showcasing!
1stDestron unhappy with Build King and feeling Autobot Combiners don't pack enough muscle, brings us what can only be described as a beast. Supreme Build King!
Taking a break from Transformer customs for a moment, speedlesscustoms brings us two Marvel characters this week.
Hi folks, and welcome to what will hopefully become a weekly feature here on Seibertron.Com as we showcase the creativity of our many members each week.
Gen1. shows off his 3D modelling skills with a rendition of IDW's Classic G.I. Joe Volume 14 cover, a solo pic of Masterpiece Megatron, and a behind the scenes look at how it all came together.
Our Photo Blitz forum has been pretty quiet except for one thread, as Godzillabot Primal struggles to keep up with the many requests he's had for his digibashing skills. Check out Godzillabot's Digibashes for all of his creations and make your own requests.
And that folks, is the weekly round-up of our creative forums. We encourage you to check them all out, give feedback to our artists and if you're brave enough, start posting your own creations!
Okay, so you've decided to attend BotCon, but you probably have a lot of questions. Hopefully this article can put a few of your fears to rest and answer some of those questions. There are many elements to BotCon, including Hotels, Registration Packages, Exclusive Figures, Sales Room, Panels, Seibertron.com Meet ups, etc., and we are going to examine each one in some detail.
Depending on the location, many people choose to fly to BotCon each year, others turn it into a road trip. If multiple collectors from your area are planning to attend, a carpool road trip can save everyone some money on gasoline. If flying is your preferred mode of travel, it is a wise idea to buy plane tickets early (often before BotCon Registration opens) to get the best price.
Every year, there are several hotels (2-3) that are within a block or two (or attached to) the convention center where BotCon is held. These hotels usually offer reduced prices for the convention. BotCon.com usually provides this information after the dates and location are announced. Bear in mind, however, that these are generally 4 or 5 star hotels. Even with the BotCon discount, you are looking at approximately $150 per night. Many people choose to stay at a cheaper hotel within a short driving distance. This can save you some money on hotel costs. However, you will also have to pay for parking at the convention center each day, and that can add up. Or you could take a taxi from your hotel to the convention. The major downside to an offsite hotel is that you miss out on a lot of the room-to-room trading and general hanging out that happens during the evening and nights in various hotel rooms. It's a lot easier to stay up until three am talking Transformers if your bed is right down the hall. Otherwise, you end up in ours...
Registration Packages:
Primus Package - This package generally costs about $340 (For club members, nonmembers pay more.) Also, prices vary slightly from year to year) and includes the following:
Full admittance to the convention, sales room, panels, and autograph lines
Admittance to the Saturday Night Awards Dinner
Six-Figure Boxed Set
One Free Attendee Figure
Minicon Package - Can only be purchased as an add-on to a Primus Package. This package is typically around $100, depending on the year and whether or not the person is a club member. Minicon Package includes:
Full admittance to the convention, sales room, panels, and autograph lines
Admittance to the Saturday Night Awards Dinner
No figures
[i]Protoform Package - This package generally costs between $180-200, and includes:
Full admittance to the convention, sales room, panels, and autograph lines
No figures, no Awards Dinner
Iacon Package - This package is for NON-attendees who wish to purchase a boxed set and have it shipped to their home. The price is typically equal to the price of a Primus Package. However, with the Iacon Package, you do not receive the free attendee figure. It does however include domestic shipping. International shipping is extra.
General Admission - General Admission is available for walk-ins on Saturday and Sunday ONLY. Includes admittance to sales room, autograph lines, and panels.
*** Golden Ticket Packages - These are "Golden Ticket" versions of the Primus, Minicon, and Protoform Packages. For approximately double the regular Package Price, "Golden Ticket" Package Holders are allowed to purchase triple the regular limit number of Souvenir Sets from the Club Store, and receive front-row reserved seating to the Panels.
Picking Up Your Package:
If you are enrolled in one of the Customizing Classes, you will receive your Package on Wednesday for Early Pickup. If, for whatever reason, you are not arriving at BotCon until Friday or Saturday, but choose to register a package, you will be able to pick it up upon your arrival at the con. In previous years, Late Package Pickup began at 9:30am on Friday. Otherwise, you may pick up your Package (name badge, boxed set, convention comic book, etc) on Thursday evening. Times will be assigned by FunPub prior to the convention, so you will know when it is your turn to get into the first of many long lines.
Would you believe this was only half the line? It was.
Customizing Classes:
There is usually one class on Wednesday and one on Thursday. They are not included in the cost of any of the above Packages. They cost extra. You will be given one figure and the instructor will walk the class through customizing it. These classes are very small and fill up quickly. For 2012, the Customizing Classes sold out 10 minutes after Online Registration became available. If you are lucky enough to get into one of these classes, you will receive your name badge, boxed set, etc, on Wednesday instead of the normal Package Pickup on Thursday night.
Exclusive Figures:
The Boxed Set - Six figures in a box with certificate of authenticity. These are limited in number and available only to those who buy a Primus or Iacon Package. Primus Package holders receive them at Package Pickup along with their name badge, club comic, etc.
Loose Set - Primus and Iacon Package holders have the option to purchase an additional loose set of the figures from the boxed set. Many Primus Package holders choose to buy these to turn around and sell them to other convention goers to recoup some of the cost of their trip.
Free Attendee Figure - Each Primus Package holder receives one free figure at Package Pickup. This figure is usually a repaint of a mold used in the boxed set.
Souvenir Sets - Each year, the club provides two or three "Souvenir Sets" these are additional pairs (or trios) of exclusive figures. They usually complement the boxed set and/or a previous year's set. Souvenir Sets may be purchased from the Club Store after Package Pickup on Thursday night, or anytime throughout the convention until they sell out. If they do not sell out by the end of the con, the remainder will be sold in the Collectors' Club online store.
Speaking of the Club Store:
The Club Store opens Thursday evening after Package Pickup. Once you pick up your name badge, etc, you are free to get into the Club Store line. There is usually one line for cash and one for credit. The cash line has moved slightly faster in previous years. At the Club Store, you may purchase the Souvenir Sets, t-shirts, other TF memorabilia, other Club exclusive figures (like Astrotrain, Airrazor, Nightbeat, Punch/Counterpunch if he wasn't sold out, you get the idea). Friday evening, the Club Store booth will be dismantled and rebuilt inside the Sales Room on Saturday morning, where it will remain for the duration of the show. The Club Store accepts both cash and credit, however the cash line moves slightly faster.
The Sales Room / Dealer Room:
Primus, Minicons, and Protoforms gain admittance to the dealer room for a few hours Friday evening, and Saturday morning before General Admission opens. The dealer room usually closes at 5pm on Friday and Saturday, and at 3:30pm on Sunday (when the entire convention officially ends). Certain dealers in the sales room accept credit cards. Mostly big names like BBTS and TFSource. The smaller, private dealers are usually cash only.
Raffles & Drawings:
Once you pick up your package, you will find that it includes a few pieces of paper for voting for your favorite Transformers website (Seibertron.com!) in three categories (News, Layout, & Resources), and other feedback forms. You should definitely fill these out and turn them in to the Club Store. Over the weekend, slips of paper will be drawn and the names will be called out in the Sales Room. If your name is called, you win a door prize. These vary but are usually deluxe class figures or something of similar value. On Saturday the voting slips will be collected from the Club Store and tallied up. The winning website/s will be announced at the Saturday Night Awards Dinner and the webmasters will be presented with a small trophy.
Panels:
Many Panels are conducted on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. These generally include a Hasbro Panel (which includes sneak peeks at future figures, you do NOT want to miss this!), an IDW panel where they talk about recent and upcoming TF comics, a video game panel to promote and discuss the latest TF video game.
Your convention name badge will have a complete schedule of the weekend's events on the back of it. This will become your best friend. You can also view the complete schedule by clicking here.
Autographs:
Many guests will sign autographs. These are done at certain times (see the back of your name badge for times), and it is wise to get in line early, ESPECIALLY for guests such as Peter Cullen whose line will be exceptionally lengthy. Be prepared to sit in line for an hour or two. In previous years, people have been allowed to have two items signed and a quick picture taken.
Seibertron.com Meet-up:
One night (typically Friday), Seibertron.com organizes a meet up in one of the hotel (or nearby) bars. This event is for anybody who wants to come or happens to wander in. It is an excellent chance for Transformers fans to get together, talk Transformers, and make new friends in an open, relaxed atmosphere. If this is your first BotCon, or if you just want to make some new TF friends, this event is for YOU!
For Primus and Minicons only. This is the only time that food will be provided. The type of food varies from year to year. There will be food, socializing, and a small presentation that varies from year to year. For 2010, we are being treated to the induction of the first of the Transformers Hall of Fame. 2009 was a Stan Bush concert and sneak peek at a few scenes from "Revenge of the Fallen."
The show officially ends on Sunday afternoon at 3:30pm. Of course, many people tend to mingle, say their goodbyes, grab dinner on their way out of town, etc. BotCon is an amazing experience. Despite the exclusive figures, awesome guests, huge sales room, it is the people you meet at BotCon each year that will make it worth the trip time and time again.
Me, Geekee1, & Counterpunch
What You Can Expect Day By Day:
Wednesday - Customizing Class
Thursday - Customizing Class in the morning, Package-Pickup & Club Store line in the evening
Friday - Sales Room open, Club Store open, Autograph lines, Panels
Saturday - General Admission open, Sales Room & Club Store open, Autograph lines, Panels, Awards Dinner
Sunday - General Admission open, Sales Room & Club Store open, Autograph lines, Panels
In the recent gallery of Transformers Prime Robots In Disguise HOT SHOT, you might have noticed that I modified Hot Shot and Bumblebee's heads so that it sits properly above his chest/shoulders. All you have to do is remove the last two teeth behind the head with an exacto knife as demonstrated in my pictures and MisterFanwank's video below. Care should be used so that you do not accidentally scar other plastic pieces. I was able to do the modification without taking the figure apart, but as you can see from the video below some might recommend that you take the figure apart.
Mach has sent another load of pics, this time detailing the Transformers Prime Arms Micron campaign. These Deluxe scale figures will include dynamic new "partners" that will transform from weapon to robot or animal. Also on display are 2 Lucky Draw style Voyagers from Dark of the Moon; Megatron and Sentinel Prime!
Thanks again go to Mach's efforts to bring the CybertronCon coverage direct to Seibertron.com!
Seibertron.com Team member Mach is on hand in Singapore at the beautiful World Resort. His first wave of photos can be found below and it still some time before the event launches! Displays of the origins of Transformers have been spotted, and the empty room where an interview with Hideaki Yoke, considered the father of Transformers, will be soon be filled. We will continue posting news and reveals throughout the event and for the remainder of the weekend!
After a very busy few weeks picking our favorite ones, arguing about them a bit, abandoning the whole list and starting over and arguing some more, we are finally able to announce the staff top 10, here's Burn with the details...
Burn wrote: So after going through all your submissions, the staff have sat down and come up with a list of 10 potentially new weapons that we'll be introducing into the game.
But to do that, we're turning things back over to you guys to vote on which one you'd like to see first.
So get voting as you only have two weeks to vote!
The list is:
Cosmic Rust Cannon
Cyber Potato Cannon
Quad Beam Cannon
Hellfire Shotgun
Magnus Hammer
Distortion Field
Shark Launcher
Eldrich Energy
Laser Burst
Restraining Order
This is the best of the players suggestions that were not already pencilled in for the game. There will more updates, more weapons (a small percentage of which many will have already seen) and more toys to play with over the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned to the HMW general discussion forums for more information, if you have any questions about the game or just want to brag about killing your foes.
Hasbro has posted some interesting information on what we can expect to see at the 109th American International Toy Fair in New York, NY. Mr. Seibertron and El_Duque will be on hand bringing you all the latest coverage beginning this weekend. However, the good folks at Hasbro have given a little heads up on some of the products that will be on hand:
Hasbro wrote:Throughout the year in 2012, kids and fans of the globally popular TRANSFORMERS brand will get to experience the “MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE” property in a variety of new and exciting ways. In February, the new animated series TRANSFORMERS RESCUE BOTS and the second season of the hit animated series TRANSFORMERS PRIME, both from Hasbro Studios, will debut on The Hub television network. And, for the first time ever beginning in March, most of the TRANSFORMERS action figure expressions will adopt the TRANSFORMERS PRIME styling to complement the award winning series. Also in March, Hasbro will introduce a new toy segment called TRANSFORMERS BOT SHOTS, a whole new way to play out TRANSFORMERS battles. Available in favorite characters like OPTIMUS PRIME and BUMBLEBEE, kids can choose their power, crash into battle and defeat their opponent. TRANSFORMERS BOT SHOTS automatically convert when you crash ‘em! Sold one per pack, fans can collect 44 different BOT SHOTS figures across the product line. Then in May, fans will have another new way to experience the TRANSFORMERS brand with the launch of the highly anticipated new motion-based thrill ride TRANSFORMERS: THE RIDE-3D, opening at Universal Studios Hollywood. To finish the year with even more entertainment experiences, TRANSFORMERS fans will be able to enjoy the much buzzed about new video game TRANSFORMERS: Fall of Cybertron from Activision and High Moon studios as well as the highly anticipated TRANSFORMERS UNIVERSE MMO from Jagex both launching in Fall. Roll Out!
More than Transformers, Hasbro is bringing a ton of other great products from Bey Blade to My Little Pony and host of new G.I. Joe toys and games to coicide with new Joe film. To read more about the Hasbro Toy Fair contingent, click here! Keep checking Seibertron.com this weekend for all the news regarding Toy Fair 2012!
Is Infestation 2: Transformers issue 1 a horror from the deep or just a horror?
Because Lovecraft
Steering clear of making direct references to HP Lovecraft's work apart from to drop his name in the adverts, this book is unashamedly influenced by it and, as a cross-over concept, works better than the Vampire/Zombie hybrid theme from the first series. Set in the period created by the sub-series Hearts of Steel its almost as if Chuck Dixon created HoS specifically with this book in mind so seamless is the transition. The story is atmospheric and Guido Guidi's character redesigns are (with one very notable yellow exception) as good as you would expect for the period, rivets, steam exhaust ports, propellers and all. (Although there is one image of Trailbreakerblazer that will be burned into your mind for a very long time, but that's a entirely different style of horror.)
I wonder who that could be..?
Set deep into the steampunk-era, those of you familiar with HP Lovecraft, (and those of you who aren't, get yourselves to a bookstore immediately) will know the art behind his writing was in making the humans the ultimate victims in his stories, unable to resist the flowing tide of horror that engulfs them from the deep... and this has transposed well. Revisiting the life of the now married Tobias & Kitty Muldoon, and making a new famous friend in the form of Nikola Tesla on the way, Tobias is visited by Bumblebee who's concise plot-exposition cues up a week-long trip north on the Trailblazer, Hound, Ratchet and Wheeljack express to visit a sleeping friend where Tesla's historically famous inventing skills are set to be pivotal.
I know! Guard carriage at the front? What were they thinking...
The stronger side of this story however is the unseen antagonist. Guidi's inhuman aquatic thralls of the nightmarish Elder Gods from beyond the stars fuel this Cthulhu-inspired tale as they spread the word of their masters power to all they encounter as they rise from the depths, enslaving human and robot alike, culminating in a scene with returning fishermen confronted by the horror of the creatures evil on the docks, helpless and unable to comprehend the demons before them, before darkness of the sea finally consumes them...
The Ancient Ones are no longer dreaming. Now they are hungry
Their masters keeping to the shadows, the creatures overall mystique is spoiled slightly by the overly simplistic sci-fi explanation given by Bumblebee, however a 2-comic span of a story doesn't allow much room for suspense so, from a Transformers perspective, it sadly fails to really deliver. The Autobots are notable as always, if somewhat lacking in individual personalities, but as a by-product of the Decepticons allegiance change there is little action from them apart from one memorable instance that Ironhide wont forget in a hurry, although a great piece of dialogue from Bonecrusher appears to have been glossed over, hopefully to be realised in part 2. The overall standard of this comic is up there with IDW's other non-transformers titles and I can see this theme working better in amongst their wide-ranging GI Joe and D&D line or their fledgling TMNT series.
Waterproof too
As there is only two comics to this sub-arc, I wouldn't expect much to surprise you in the second half of this story, trying to put too much suspense into too little space, however as a wider piece of this latest Infestation picture it has real potential and, from this snippet of a 12 issue arc, if horror comics or the Lovecraft-mythos are your thing I would suggest seeking out the first and last issues at the very least.
Overall, limited appeal for Transformers fans, those into the period, particular fans of HoS and/or Lovecraft will appreciate a lot about the book, but those with a love of the more mundane Transformers series are most likely to be disappointed.
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.jpg "Transformers News: Transformers Prime Arms Micron on Display at CybertronCon 2012 Singapore")
.jpg "Transformers News: Transformers Prime Arms Micron on Display at CybertronCon 2012 Singapore")
.jpg "Transformers News: Transformers Prime Arms Micron on Display at CybertronCon 2012 Singapore")
.jpg "Transformers News: Transformers Prime Arms Micron on Display at CybertronCon 2012 Singapore")
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