Thursday, December 11, 2008

Transformers Team Interview; December 9, 2008

We are thrilled to have received answers to questions we posed to the Hasbro: Transformers Team. Here is what we asked and what they had to say! WOW!

Sabrblade asks question 1: Since the Japanese-exclusive G1 cartoon series (The Headmasters, Chojin Masterforce, Victory, and Zone) were released on DVD in Europe and Australia, is there any hope of seeing them, and perhaps Beast Wars II and Beast Wars Neo, released on DVD in North America? Particularly the United States. From what we can tell, there is quite a demand!

Hasbro has the rights to the majority of the past Transformers entertainment now, and we are currently formalizing a distribution plan globally. This doesn't mean that you will see everything at the same time - we are deciding when and where for the portfolio of entertainment.


Perceptor asks Q2: About a year before the 2007 Transformers Movie, Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci hosted a "live chat" on Yahoo where they unveiled the names of Transformers characters that would appear in the film. Is any such event, (where all characters are unveiled) in the works to announce the characters that will be in Revenge of the Fallen? If so, where and when? If not, we would like to make a suggestion. How about letting the various Transformers Fan Sites unveil one character (each) *before* the toys show up on ebay or some Chinese auction site? You can't let them have *all* the fun right?!

There are currently no plans to make an announcement that we know of, but that doesn't mean it's not going to happen. But that decision (and your spin on it) are studio-led decisions. We'll bring it up with our friends at the studio (doesn't hurt to ask)!


Humanerror asks Q3: In the Transformers: Animated shows, Optimus Prime has various trailers. It seems that the Animated Voyager Prime has a spot on his "Axe" and at the bottom of his heels for add ons. Is there any chance of getting different trailers made for him?

Yes, you will see different trailer/accessory combinations of Animated Optimus Prime. They will not all be built off of the existing Voyager cab, however.


Jason asks Q4: Other than characters we already know of (Blurr, Swindle, Shockwave, Jetfire/Jetstorm...), do you have any *new character molds* slated for the Animated line in 2009 during and after the release of Revenge of the Fallen? If so, would you be willing to release a name or two for this Q&A?

-- Incidentally, we'd really love to see Cybertron mode toys for Bumblebee/Wasp/Cliffjumper, Ratchet/Ironhide. Also, we really liked the matte finish on the earlier TFA toys and how it added to the 'Animated' aesthetic. We hope you bring it back!

Well, by the time you read this you'll already know about characters like Arcee, Waspinator, Samurai Prowl, and Atomic Lugnut… as for some new things to expect - you'll get to see a newer, smaller version of Bumblebee with a cool new accessory upgrade. Soundwave will also be returning complete with a new minion. Everyone's favorite flamed Prime 'wannabe' will also be getting the Animated toy treatment. We're also doing some exploration for some of the Cybertronian mode characters...


Knightwing asks question 5: Talking Universe/Classics, I love the Seekers and want more! Any chance we will get the other two Rainmakers, Sunstorm or those with remolded wings? What's up with the non-G1 colors for obvious G1 homage molded toys like Powerglide and Leo Prime? (I would've preferred a gold and white in tribute to Lio Convoy from the Japanese series Beast Wars II.) Any chance we'll ever get to see Universe/Classics characters featured in IDW comics stories? Please?

As of right now, there are no plans for additional Seekers. Colors are a tricky thing; our design team has been concentrating on realistic alternate modes for our robots as well as coloring. The team thought it was better to make Powerglide primarily silver with characteristic red highlights as a bright red plane would not be very realistic. Leo Prime's coloring was under much debate early on and though the white and gold version did not make it out this time, you never know if and where it might show up in the future although nothing is currently planned.

Transformers Team Interview; October 10, 2008

Lukis Bros and Site Administrators were thrilled with the opportunity to participate in a question and answer session with the Hasbro: Transformers Team recently. Wo-hoo! There's good news and bad news contained below! Read on to learn what we asked and how they responded.

Perceptor (and his 6-year old daughter!) asked Q1: Can you tell us about your plans to produce female character toys for Transformers, especially including SARI but we’re also interested to hear about your plans for Arcee and Genaral Strika (as well as human figures such as professor Isaac Sundac, Capt. Fanzone and super-human villans like the Angry Archer.

Arcee is a fan favorite character and will become more fleshed out in the upcoming season of TF Animated. We have a toy planned for her as well. No Plans for Strika right now. As for the humans, as much as we would all want an Angry Archer figure, there are no plans to produce the humans


Sabrblade asked Q2: I’d like to know more about what else is planned to commemorate Transformers 25th Anniversary. Will there be more "completely show-accurate" versions of characters from past lines like cartoon accurate Universe Deluxe Starscream figure or other “Masterpiece” figures?

We are looking at releasing another Masterpiece figure in the US in Fall 2009, but are not ready to make an announcement yet. Also we are glad you liked the new version of Starscream. I think that we are looking at each character individually and deciding how we want to handle it. But there might be a few more suprises for you in 2009.


obsidian@unicron.com (Jason) asks Q3: Can you tell us about the Transformers Animated Constructicons making their way to toy form: size, price point, potential release date, will they interact/unite in anyway?

Contrary to popular belief, we have no concrete plans for Animated Constructicon Product. Any drawings that support evidence otherwise are merely situational design explorations in the event that we one day decide to do them.


Knightwing asks Q4: I would like to ask how many more figures are planned for Transformers Animated as a way to see if Animated is officially an “ongoing” series? In other words, does Hasbro have plans to evolve it into something else; in the way that Armada became Energon which became Cybertron which was phased out in favor of Classics…? We hope not, we love Aniimated and would like to see it stick around for awhile!

We look at Transformers Animated as its own thing, so if the story evolves it will likely still be called Transformers Animated, and maybe have a sub-name. Hasbro plans to continue with the Animated toys throughout 2009 as we anticipate the series continuing on Cartoon Network throughout the year.


Byrerprime asks Q5: Is Transformers going to offer "Comic Book Packs" similar to Star Wars and G.I. Joe, where a classic figure is packaged with a reprint of a pertinent comic?

We have begun to do this with some exclusives. There are one or two coming out this fall, but will likely be at a higher price point than the SW and Joe packs since our figures are so much bigger. I know one is a Voyager and Deluxe packed with a comic.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Reveiw: Transformers: Autobots for Nintendo DS

REVIEW: Transformers: Autobots
by: TriPredRavage

Transformers: Autobots for the Nintendo DS starts you off as an unnamed Autobot recruit who lands on Earth to assist Bumblebee. You begin with very basic capabilities, but through a leveling process, you obtain new skills to help you wage the war against the evil Decepticons.

Utilizing the scan ability, you obtain different vehicle forms from the surrounding areas and take to the streets. You can even customize your color and detailing to a degree, making your personal Transformer really feel your own.

The game follows the basic plot of the movie with the exception of the human characters, which have been replaced by your 5-letter-named Autobot.

As the story begins, you rendezvous with Bumblebee who teaches you the finer points of combat. You quickly move on to 'Tranquility' and begin to encounter serious Decepticons, such as Barricade. After this point, you again move onto another area where you meet Ironhide and scan your first aerial vehicle. Thus is how the game progresses, sending you to new areas, giving you new forms to scan, and more movie Decepticons to fight.

Each Autobot has their own unique feel and abilities; while some are fast, others are strong, but you don't truly come to appreciate each character until you reach later portions of the game where you can play the movie Autobots more regularly. By this point, however, you may have become so comfortable with your custom Autobot that the movie Autobots may feel as though they are holding you back.

In the end, your custom Autobot comes to be known as a hero amongst the Autobots whose name is always remembered (but never said). Once the game is finished, you then have freeplay where you can replay missions and freely play as any of the six Aubots present in the game. There is still plenty to see and do, considering that finishing the story mode only completes about 65% of the actual game.

While the graphics are nowhere near par to the household systems, they stand up very well to what the DS has to offer. Each character is clearly who they are meant to be, and they represent their big-screen selves nicely. The game's weakest point is in the leveling system because the only way to gain experience is through missions, replaying missions, and random Decepticon encounters that are all too infrequent. The voice acting in the game is top-notch offering familiar voices such as Steve Blum, Keith David, and G1 reprisals by Peter Cullen and Frank Welker who return to their familiar selves.

The game even has an online mode where you can play daily uploaded missions in attempt to obtain points that further unlock more content. When 2500 points are obtained, or if you managed to take your game to a download station while available, a new vehicle is unlocked: Skydive. Skydive has the best stats of all available vehicles in the Autobots game and makes short work of several missions throughout the story mode.

What is probably most interesting about the game is its story involvement. The characters are all rather well developed and have distinct personalities; even the Decepticons who you only encounter briefly before engaging them in combat. All-in-all, the game does well to translate the movie and provides a fulfilling experience.

Special Note: if you really want to feel the part, you can always take your five available letters and name your recruit something like “Prowl”, “Hound”, or “Swoop” and get your transformation on!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Botcon 2008, part 3

Okay, it's time to wrap up our report from Botcon 2008!

Starting with a photo gallery of new toys the Hasbro display, which included new toys put out for all to see on the final day of the convention, followed by a quick story and then our notes from the Hasbro/CN Transformers Animated Seasons 2 and 3 Panel. Within this gallery, you'll see I took a lot of pix of Sentinel Prime, the Autobot you love to hate, Swoop (the dinobot I love to love!). There are also several pix of upcoming Classics/Universe and store exclusive toys, TFA package art and me with Sari Sundac (Tara Strong! ;)

So, I forgot to mention earlier why I took this picture. The handsome gentleman you see was the buyer of the most expensive Transformers purchase transaction I ever witnessed. It was an AFA graded 90, 1985 G1 Thrust. As you can see, the package was in amazing condition. Care to take a guess at how much he paid? That's right, we watched in awe as he negotiated a $100 discount off the dealer's $2,000 asking price, down to $1,900.00. Now you know what it's *really* worth. Wow, what fun!

Here are my notes from the Hasbro/CN panel:
The theme of this presentation was, “what to expect from Transformers Animated Season 2 and Season 3.

After making this statement, someone in the crowd yelled a question, “So, will there be a season 3?” The answer came from Aaron Archer who answered, (approximate quote) ~”Officially, the project has not received the necessary ‘green light’ from higher up decision makers. However, from a development standpoint, we have to move on as though there will be a season 3 and have begun working on what we’d like to see happen. The answer depends on how the ratings go for Transformers Animated (which so far are doing very well) and how well the toys sell (expected to do well, we’ll see.) So buy the toys, keep watching the shows and keep your fingers crossed with us!”

• The first slide they showed had the CartoonNetwork drawing of Wreck-Gar. Alongside the drawing, was the grey resin model of the toy in both robot and garbage truck vehicle mode. Toy is a voyager class price point, looks show accurate and very impressive.
• Then saw Blurr, Cartoon Network drawing only in robot and vehicle modes. He will be featured in the story’s present (not a flashback.) He’s elite guard member w/ ‘wings’ on the sides of his Autobot Symbol. His body is all about speed his ankles are transtech inspired, large hollow wheels. Terrific!
• They next showed “twin” combiner figures, one has a fire theme the other with ice. Both jets (tho my brother thought they were futuristic looking jets?!) they’re sold together as a voyager set and combine and their allegiance is a mystery.

From the Q&A:
• No plans for a larger Lugnut figure.
• For (primarily) budget reasons, Slag and Swoop have no speaking lines. Marty Isenberg said they’re played as a “Larry and Darryl and Darryl” (an old reference to the Bob Newhardt show, “this is my brother Darryl and my other brother Darryl.) Creative director’s comment was that if they do get speaking lines (later) his dream voice for Slag would be Louie Anderson.
• Their intent is not to expand the core team members. There are no immediate plans to expand. If we get more seasons basically planning on sticking with the same characters. “But we do want to make sure you get your Jazz fix” knowing how popular the character is, one panelist commented.
• When asked about adding the other 2 Dinobots, panel responded, not yet, but if the show does well enough, it’s definitely a possibility.
• Aaron Archer talked very positively about the shows development, being more of what U.S. audiences want, “more humor, more fun, embedded in a great TF story.”
• Yes, there will be other elite guard characters implied or introduced.
• When asked about Skywarp and Thundercracker, Marty Isenberg stated they do not want to have a “clone army” (of seeker jets). Then Aaron Archer commented, “but Hasbro will happy to make lots of recolors!” Everyone laughed and applauded indicating their desire to see Skywarp and Thundercracker.
• When asked about introducing Pretenders, panel said that Octo-punch was originally the episode 1 villian, which later got trumped by Angry Archer. Then stated that it’s a possibility, “if we have a need for more b level villains.”
• Someone asked about possibility of making Transformers: Animated Robot heroes. Panel joked about “wouldn’t that be a great line to put some human characters!?” Everyone said, Yeah wouldn’t that be a great place for that!” very interesting commentary… Here’s hoping!
• When asked about possibility of a TFA movie response was, ‘Certainly not in the plans. Almost definitely not in the theaters. We’d all love to do it at some point in the future. Perhaps strait to DVD or… season three opener (big hint from Marty).
• Marty was asked about development of Blitzwing: He said that BW started as a Mask/Beatlejuice type character. Wanted something that could transform into anything, but totally not practical for a toy, or animation noted the artistic development director. Marty mentioned that they had, “thought about Sixshot.” Eric said no, from a toy development standpoing, a triple changer is hard enough!
• Decision for female human-> CN decision. To hasbro’s surprise, Sizable girl audience. Yeah!
• Captin Fanzone’s character was named after sports player Carmon Fanzone. Happens to be Marty’s neighbor. Only a couple Fanzone(s) in the state of MI, so legal made Marty I. Walk next door and get a waver signed!
• I asked panel a question about the upcoming TFA comic series: 5 Issue mini-series. Marty “would REALLY like to write for a comic series” – dropped a lot of hints to Hasbro. Eventually got IDW and Marty in touch with each other. The series will be written in Season 1 continuity. Stories we would have liked to have put in the show, but didn’t get around to. New material. To get everyone caught up to the Animated universe, the first issue will show the TFA intro movie but told from other (Inhabitants of Cybertron?) points of view.
• When asked about Starscream, Marty answered: “He is difinatively dead.” That is, his spark is extinguished. But gave a quizzical look when they talked about him being really, really dead. And gave a look that to me suggested a definite possibility of a ghostly comeback. We’ll see
• Then treated to episode 27 “Black Friday” which was as awesome as ever, a nice stand alone episode w/ not too many revealing spoilers.

Last but not least a few more videos! First up, *THIS* is what Botcon is all about! Kids checkin' out Transformers! Pretty cool, the convention organizers set aside floor space and Hasbro donates the toys so kids can go wild! What fun!





in the Voice Actor Panel, David Kaye, Bumper Robinson and Tara Strong act out some of their characters: Ben 10, BW Megatron, Grimlock, Bumblebee, Blitzwing... ordering some coffee at the local drive thru:




Here, Tara Strong, the voice of "Sari" talks about her son's reaction to telling his friends that his mom is the voice of Ben10! :)


Thursday, May 1, 2008

Botcon 2008, part 2

Starting with pictures, Click HERE to see photo galleries taken by Lukis Bros 2&3.
The first two (horizontal) rows are from the Hasbro display case, Robot Heros, Mini-con packs, Classics/Universe and Transformers Animated.

The first two pictures included the 3rd row are of the Voice Actor panel
Bumper Robinson: voice of Blitzwing, the news reporter and Bumblebee
David Kaye: Voice of TFA Optimus Prime and Grimlock
Tara Strong: Voice of Sari
The 4th picture in the 3rd row shows me and my brother J, talking with Marty Isenberg.
Remaining pictures are fairly self-explanatory, more pictures from the convention show floor, a few from the Casino Night Auction and us in Cincinatti.

Next up, let's talk about the Cartoon Network Panel. My laptop is usually quite reliable, but this time, for some bummer of a reason, it crashed mid-way through the panel. Although I lost a good deal of terrific notes, fortunately, I did get it back online in time to write some pretty choice pieces. Here are some excerpts:

Sitting in on this Transformers Animated (TFA) Panel were:
Derrick Wyatt, TFA Art Director
Marty Isenberg TFA lead writer
Matt Youngberg, Creative Director Cartoon Network

Q: Any chance we’ll see Unicron in Transformers Animated?
A: Matt: you can never do better than the original movie, so I wouldn’t want to do Unicron in TF: Animated

Q: Who are your favorite your favorite characters?
Marty Isenberg: I really liked Wreck-Gar, and I also really like writing Starscream
Matt: I love how Bumper does Bumblebee
Derrick: my favorite character not in show yet, but he’s voiced by Fred Williard. (Hm, now who could that be?!)

Q: When asked about Blackarachnia, having a helmet
A: Marty answered that it was art dept. creative license showing the Blackarachnia helmet aboard the Decepticon ship in “Along Came a Spider”

Q: What’s up with all the 1970’s styling! (We love it!)
A: Marty: In the 22nd centryry, retro 70’s is going to be the style. We started developing the visual style. Everything in Detroit and we just fell in love with the look. Well, that and
Derrick: I’m addicted to Game Show Network! With all their 1970’s classic re-runs… I started noticing all those crazy styles and just figure I had to find a way to work it in. Thus was born the “suit” of Promethius Black!

Q: About casting (of TF roles)
A: Marty: Cast was set before I became involved. I had no say in the beginning. Now we’ve developed this huge laundry list of characters want to use. Part of it is want op pay homage but also wanted to bring in new aspects and bring in the best from over the years.

Q: All the G1 references are GREAT! Who do we thank for doing all their homework?
A: Derrick did his homework! And a lot of it!

Q: Will other 2 dinobots ever be brought on board? Will Slag/Swoop ever get speaking lines?
A: Marty: probably not. For simplicity sake doubt we’ll see the others talk.
A: Derrick: My dream cast member for Slag would be Louis Anderson!
Q: Someone shouted, “you mean Snarl?”
A: Derrick: Hey, he’ll always be SLAG to me! (Crowd erupts w/ applause!)

Q: Is the Allspark case still going to be featured?
A: Marty: Hm, yes it’s a good carrying case for allspark fragments.

And finally, here are a few sample videos from the Transformers Animated, Voice Actor Panels. the first below shows Bumper Robinson doing Blitzwing. He was asked to recite some Blitzwing lines. He did a few (what he could remember) then said "If you want more, you'll have to watch the show!"





Then, here is David Kaye, acting out a golf game between Beast Wars Megatron and TF: Animated Optimus Prime





Last but not least, my brother asked if the trio of voice actors could act out a scene where Blitzwing, Optimus and Bumblebee buy Sari an ice cream cone! This is sheer ad-lib comedy brilliance folks! :)



Sunday, April 27, 2008

Botcon 2008, part 1

Botcon day one (which for us, which was Saturday) was busy and fun! If a picture is worth a thousand words then we've got 153,00 words to share, and that's just from day 1!

CLICK HERE for the photo gallery. Listed below are our summary of notes from the first very revealing Hasbro Panel.

Greg Lambardo, Director of Marketing for Transformers began the presentation with discussion of the past year.

2007 was tremendous! Great year will lead to the ability do more projects the fans have been asking for!
• Movie gross sales over 700 million worldwide
• Transformers Movie DVD sales were #1 DVD in the USA
• Transformers toy line was the #1 Action figure toy brand
• Movie deluxe assortment won some toy industry board (whose name I wasn’t fast enough to type!) award for best boys action figure toy line
• We know how strong of a fan base Transformers has and “we want to want to thank all of you for your support,” a round of applause from Hasbro to us the #1 fans

“Now on to the good stuff!” He said they would skip most of what we seen, leaked on ebay and such
• Transformers Animated toys to hit the shelves be June 22, plus or minus a few weeks depending on location. full toy line starting by August
• Lots happening promotionally, Transformers Animated Season 1 released on DVD, coming soon!
• First slide was Sentinel Prime Deluxe 9/2008
• Deluxe Swoop: Blown away by how show accurate, Project was a Hasbro/Takara co-development project
• Deluxe Elite Guard Bumblebee! (toy was not on display) It was a redeco of the standard deluxe Bumblebee. Dark Brow on top car bronze bottom.
• Leader Ultra Magnus! Crowd applause erupts! :) Very show accurate, has hammer, absolutely awesome!

Transformers Universe product update:
• Originally line was it’s basically everything but animated and movie
• Classics Universe deluxe Ironhide. Very G1 inspired, very nice a SUV w/ front silver rollbar. Not an 80’s van, “this is our interpretation of what we think Ironhide would be in today’s modern times.”
• Classics Sideswipe: same car as sunstreaker, new redeco and new silohette. New head sculpt!
• Universe Ultra Silverbolt. A concord with sounds in jets and robot mode, with transformation form and other electronic sounds when flying
• Universe Storm Cloud is a Powerglide recolor. Dark color scheme, looks great
• Universe legends: Megatron and G1 inspired Jazz, Kickback vs Ironhide, BW Transmetal Megatron vs. BW Silverbolt, Thrust vs Blaster

Fall 2008 Exclusives:
• Comic Con Hasbro Nemesis Prime
• Titanium 6” War Within Skywarp.
• It is Hasbro’s intent to sell exclusives such as Comicon on Hasbro Toy shop July ‘08
• Walmart exclusives: Breakaway is a recolor of Cybertron Hotshot, Fracture is a red and white recolor of Mirage, Crankcase,
• Dirge and Roadbuster G1 color schemes look great. Each pack includes a deluxe and a voyager figure. They come with a comic featuring these characters! Roadbuster is a recolor of Cybertron Defefense Hotshot and Dirge is Voyager Starscream. Springer and Ratbat Springer is a green recolor of Cybertron Evac, ratbat is a purple and grey recolor of Sideways. Both look great.

Then the biggest news: TRU exclusive
• 6” titanum War Within Prowl!
• 6” titanium War Within Grimlock
• These are coming thanks to fan support and interest, (and because the molds were already made! Ha!)

25th Years of Transformers 1984 to 2009 SNEAK Peak. 25th anniversary of the brand
• Targeting Thanksgiving: G1 Optimus Prime Re issue, it’s original G1 OP includes digitally remasterd on DVD first 3 episodes with sound box of Cullen Quotes, and a re-print of issue marvel #1, Silver foil logo of 25th anniversary packaging
• Celebrating all lines he showed logos of many ‘core lines of Transformers: Energon, Armada, RID, Beast Machines, Beast Wars and G2…
• First showed Universe deluxe: Hound with with Ravage! As a cassette tape, very G1 style looking. Ravage looks pose-able. Here’s the great part, this Ravage will fit into the chest of G1 Soundwave!!!! Very cartoon accurate, colors pose-ablity CROWD GOES WILD!! :)
• Universe Cyclonus with Nightstick. VERY G1 cartoon accurate. VERY nice sculpT. G1 cartoon Look!
• Beast Wars g1 cartoon accurate Cheetor, totally new mold… totally new sculpte, pose-able, AWESOME!
Aaron archer joked, in this 25th Anniversary celebration, we’re even “celebrating variants” the eyes open and change from red to green color!  The intent here is to make a toy that looks much more like the cartoon.
• Universe Legends Brawn and Beachcomber, look very G1 inspired Using legensds scal;e
• Robot Heroes BMach cheetor vs. Tankor, RID OP v. Megatron

Questions:
Q:Movie 2- Vehicles being driven around. Will we get redesigned versions of the Movie characters or the same.
A: Ongoing, It’s going well, We’re very happy. Product line; Wait and see! “We’ll look at releasing characters in other sizes.. Make them more movie accurate.”

Q: Masterpiece Thundercracker,
A: It’s on the short wish list.

Q: Off screen Animated characters? Blackout in Animated form?
A: Nope. Oilslick is the only one.

Q:More Attacktix?
A: No

Lukis Bro Question: “Thank you for featuring strong, kick butt female characters!... (Sari)” Any chance they’ll be producing humans coming into the line?
Aaron Archer: “When we say it’s at the top of our short (wish / want to produce) list… We mean really short list.”

Q: Titanim line:
A: Collector market liked them. But that’s about it. Not enough market to support

Q: Another round of questions about Arcce begging:
Greg Lambardo: answer: just because you haven’t seen it, doesn’t mean it’s not being worked on!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Comic Con 2008: Days 2 and 3

Posted by:
TriPredRavage

Days 2 and 3 of Comic Con, here we go! Okay, so as I mentioned in Day 1's post, Transformers has a severely lacking presence at Comic Con. That said, there wasn't much to see, but what I saw you shall see now. I was lucky enough to find for the low low price of $20 the Beast Wars Rhinox Bust which you can see again here. I mentioned once before that there was an exclusive collectable bust available at Comic Con that was of Thundercracker, but it was about $60 and I was so not down... Anyway, There were a bunch of other busts available such as Prowl (boxed), Ironhide, Devastator (boxed), Starscream, Cliffjumper, Grimlock and of course, Unicron (which, fun fact there were only 1986 ever made; 2 points for who get the reference with that number). Now, up and coming bust are the part that I think is probably one of the most impacting parts of the convention on the Transformers community. Arcee and Rumble don't really do anything, BUT that one that you can see in the back is indeed SOUNDBLASTER. That's right, it is the first official release (that I know of) of the rebuilt and upgraded Soundwave that we all know and love from the Japanese exclusive series Headmasters. So who knows, maybe we can look forward to more future official releases of Japanese exclusive characters? Lastly, I got to see some awesome original pieces of art by Robert Shum. You can see his art here and you can see my AWESOME original Cheetor Sketch here.

Sooo.... that's about it. Like I said, not much a'do with TF, but enough to keep me excited for three days amongst all the other things going on. Happy Viewing Everybody!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Comic Con 2008: Day 1

Posted by:
TriPredRavage

Yo everybody. Comic Con day one has taken place and it was a great time. Transformers didn't have a major turn out today, but there were some pretty awesome things to see still. There were a few memorable moments though, some of which were getting to see the Revoltech Figures on display... that we couldn't buy... I did however manage to find Optimus Prime and Megatron available else where and pick them up. They also had some of the TFA figures on display. There was also this wall scroll... thing... But here it is the glory of all events so far.

If you were around in the days of Beast Wars, you had probably heard of ReBoot. Well, ReBoot co-creator Gavin Blair is at Comic Con this year due to the pending new series. I decided that because ReBoot and Beast Wars were so related of series from Mainframe, I figured he had to have had something to do with Beast Wars back in the day. Well it turns out, he is the guy who MADE the Cheetor character model used in Beast Wars! So I had to shake his hand simply because he created the character that honestly made me a fan of Transformers.

So there it is! The first picture of me on Unicron.com... okay, so that's a little cheap, so here it is me with my new hero. Happy Viewing everybody. Hopefully I'll have more to report after tomorrow. Look forward to it!

Saturday, March 1, 2008

ToyFair 2008: Final Report

Posted by:
Human Error

Here we are with the long awaited, exciting conclusion to Unicron.com's Trip to ToyFair 2008! If you missed our first reports check them out:
Report From ToyFair 2008, part-1

TOYFAIR Reveiw, Part 2


After the power point presentation the floor was opened for a quick Q&A. The questions mostly involved Indiana Jones and Star Wars. However, our very own TriPredRavage asked a gem of a question involving the future of the Alternators, Titanium, And future Masterpiece releases. While there seems to be no hope in sight for the Titanium's we were given a little glimmer of hope involving the Alternators. Hasbro recognizes the want and admiration the fans and collectors have for the Alternators line. Here's the problem they have. We were told that they just dont know where they can fit the Alternators in line with the movie/animated/universe lines, but they haven given up on them completely and we should look forward to 2009 for more details about that. Their comment about the Masterpiece line was a little more bleak but not too disparaging, they have been talking to Takara/Tomy and have been trying to work something out but thats all they could really comment on at the moment. We were left with this final nugget of information. All of the transformers for Transformers 2 are designed and ready to roll out!

After the Q&A session we were treated to a preview of Star Wars Clone Wars. I decided to beat the crowd and get my thing from the coat check while TriPredRavage stayed to watch the clip. I stepped outside and was once again joined by my Unicron.com comrade and we were shuttled to the Hasbro showroom by bus. The fine people at Hasbro were kind to give us a delicious cookie for the trip.

We arrived at the Hasbro showroom and it seemed as though they weren't ready for the sheer volume of people that were there. All of the tours (we were tour 4) were pretty much lead into the same area and that just happened to be the Transformers section. After they realized we were all trying to get to the same place they quickly rectified the problem, and brought our tour to the elevator of doom! We overloaded the elevator's weight capacity and once the doors shut it wouldn't move. So, like a true Decepticon i helped one of the other unlucky passengers pry the door open and jumped ship with the Hasbro guide, leaving TriPredRavage and the others to fend for themselves. We finally made it up to the second floor and joined the rest of the group to see the Indiana Jones/Star Wars and the Hulk/Iron Man rooms. Things seemed a little less chaotic up here and we were able to take our time admiring and examining the products on display, which can be seen here. Finally we were led back into the elevator of doom and allowed to browse the other displays at our leisure. These included Transformers, Nerf, Spiderman, Playschool, And G.I. Joe.

All in all i had a great experience! It was great to meet a fellow Unicron.com member, even though he would rather go home and sleep in stead of hitting up Toys r us times square with me! (Just kidding with ya TPR it was a pleasure). The folks at Hasbro were very gracious to us, and i would love to go again in the future.

TOYFAIR! 2008 Gallery 1 2
Hasbro Gallery

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

ToyFair 2008 Report: part 2

Posted by:
TriPredRavage

So I got up at 7:30 am (which is probably my least favorite hour of the day because if you wake up early, you can say "oh I've still got XX hours before I have to be awake," and go back to sleep, but 7:30 is just early all around), spent $12 on trains, had one of the best glazed doughnuts of my life, and got lost in New York City. “And for what?” you may ask. Well, let me tell you how it all started…

Human Error and I got in contact the night before the big event in what was probably one of the most awkward phone calls I’ve ever had (never have I known someone so well, and not known them at all at the same time before). We agreed to meet at the Krispy Kreme and then be on our way.

Once this took wind and we bought our pens and paper from a K-Mart that had NO Transformers selection, it was time to get lost in NYC. We crossed a bunch of streets until it was blatantly obvious that we didn’t know where to go. So we asked a couple of police officers… who told us to go the wrong way. Luckily I had the address saved on my phone and we managed to find our way.

Once we were in the convention lobby, something became very clear to us very quickly… I was the youngest person at the convention! This quickly became a joking topic between Human Error and me, Human Error only having a few years on me as it was.
They provided us with bags of popcorn and water bottles. They then told us that the popcorn was not allowed in the theater, so I had to scarf my second bag before entering the contention theater. Mouth full of kernels aside, the entrance was very regal with Darth Vader ushering us in.

G.I. Joe was the first item of discussion and with the new movie on the way they’ve got a pretty strong line up of toys coming out. Then came Transformers… and then went Transformers…

The Transformers section was very quick. They explained the three lines that were going to be available and showed us some figures from all three lines including Animated Jazz and Classics Galvatron (a dream come true: a new mold!).

Human Error and I spent a long time trying to think of questions at Q&A, but the people around us actually asked some pretty good ones. One of which was about the future possibility of more Masterpiece figures. Aaron Archer explained that they had been in touch with TOMY TAKARA about the future possibility of more MPs, but nothing was really in the works as of yet.

I actually asked if there were any possibility of future Titanium and Alternator figures, to which Archer replied by telling me that they acknowledge that the fans were fond of the Alternators line. He then mentioned how there was nothing as of now because they wanted to focus on the three present lines, but there may be something in the future. So the future seems somewhat bright for Alternators, but not once did he mention Titanium… T_T


Stay tuned for Part 3 where Human Error and I take you into the display room where all of our pictures came from. Where we tangoed with a deadly elevator, a GIANT HULK, and a mob of people in the way of taking pictures of Transformers...

Sunday, February 17, 2008

ToyFair 2008: Continues!

Posted by:
TriPredRavage

Hey everyone! I have uplaoded my pictures from Toyfair to the albums. You can view them here! Human Error and I shall be collaborating on our own recap of Toyfair, which should be available soon, so keep your eyes open. You'll also notice I have a video uploaded in my album, it doesn't have sound, but I will be adding audio to it soon, so be patient please! Happy viewing everybody. My favorite items have to be Classic Universe Galvatron and Classic Universe Blaster (Cybertron Soundwave Repaint). What are yours?

Saturday, February 16, 2008

ToyFair 2008 Report : part 1

Posted by:
Human Error
From a run in with Titan of the new American gladiators, to getting trapped in an overloaded elevator, and being under the watchful eye of Darth Vader and his Storm Troopers. TriPredRavage and i had an interesting experience yesterday with Hasbro at their special Collector's Day presentation.

We met up in Penn Station, had a Krispy Kreme donut (its sort of a tradition of mine when i go into the city) and were on out way. First we had to make a stop however. You see, both of us forgot a pad and pen! So, after a quick stop at K-Mart we were once again on our way.

TriPredRavage and I arrived at the theater a little early and were greeted by a very kind usher named Paulet. She informed us that we couldn't enter for about a half hour and that we could go across the street to a hotel lobby and wait. After killing a half hour by geeking out discussing Transformers we made our way back to the theater.

We weren't allowed to bring any recording devices into the theater, but a pen and pad were considered ok recording devices(good thing we made that stop at K-Mart). We soon found out that TriPredRavage's brand new pens didn't work to well, I told him we should have stopped at a bank an swiped one but we did our best to take good notes.

Now onto the meat and potatoes of what all you want!

Throughout the Spring and Fall of 2008 Hasbro plans to "Expand The Brand". What does that mean? Well, that means there are three main segments they're going to focus on. The Movie line, The Animated line, and The Universe line. We were shown many images of the three line's (they are linked below) including our first looks of Animated Jazz and Universe Galvatron. After what seemed like a very brief presentation they moved onto Marvel. We were treated a sneak peak of the new Hulk film and toy line including the Marvel/Transformers Crossover Hulk and Ironman. IMO it looks as though the Hulk Transformer could've been a scrapped Grimlock design


To Be Continued....

Stay tuned for part 2 of our exciting adventure coming soon! Including information on alternators and American Masterpieces! I know the suspense is going to kill you *insert evil laugh here ________

Until then enjoy these wonderful galleries:

Here is a whole Gallery of on site photos from me and here is TriPredRavage's.

Here is a gallery of Hasbro's Promotional Photos they were so kind to provide for us.

<<>>

**If there are any pics you would like for your very own. Like the stuff that was non transformer related, feel free to shoot me an email at HumanErrorHaunting@yahoo.com ill me more than happy to share. Hasbro was gracious to provide us with a flash drive loaded with pics of everything we saw there!**