Opening Salvo
Seeing as how the last CE went up on Thursday and Mike and I haven’t gotten feedback from our usual crowd I assume no one is reading this but I. Well still got news and goodies, so it’s time to Transform!
Toys: What I got, what they got, and some news too
Before we begin just to let you all know Alessandro has a new review up here. It is none other than Classics’ Jetfire. Originally I was going to add some info about Macross and the history of the mold but Alessandro took good care of that and anything else I was going to add in can be found in previous editions of the CE. What were going to be new were some pictures of Jetfire with a 1/60 Super VF-1J Max type. Those should be up here next week.
Well this week I picked up Slumblebee and Softimus Prime from TRU as well as the exclusive 3†Titanium set of Prime/Bumblebee. While there I almost had a stroke from the rage I felt at finding 3 reissue Soundwaves on the shelf. You see I had to buy mine on Ebay for almost double then what it costs at retail. I did this because I read online at several sites that had members in the NYC area that if you haven’t found Soundwave yet chances are you’ll never see him because not all the TRU’s were carrying him. Yeah I was pissed. On with the news!
Well, the fall is looking to be rather slow for me on the Transformers front as well. An image of Optimus Prime from the new cartoon series Heroes has found its way onto the net. Basically Optimus looks like his old G1 self if you were seeing the reflection from one of those fun house mirrors. I’m gonna love to see how Hasbro pulls off toys for this line.
Hasbro is hopping that the success of the Transformers movie will draw attention to their other brands and thus make them more money. With what Hasbro has in store for the 25th anniversary of the 3 ¾ scale GI Joe figures in the fall they should be focusing on that brand more, but then again what do I know.
Takara will be releasing FAB Frenzy but only as an exclusive to online retailer Toy-Hobby-Market. It is interesting to note that as of right now Frenzy will only be available as a FAB and as the figurine with Barricade. In other Takara news an Aqua blue and white version of Sports Label Convoy has surfaced, the figure is being referred to online as Ultra Magnus although his official name is Aqua Convoy.
Several months back images of an illuminated TF shirt were shown on a UK website. Well the shirts are now available in the US. One features the Autobot insignia while the other the Decepticon insignia. Both feature a small power pack to control how the insignias light up. Not sure how heavy the pack is and I would never wear it in the rain or wash it, but they look nice nonetheless.
The same company that made the G1 Quintessons is back at it. This time they are making a Microman sized Spike figure. From the pictures I’ve seen the figure looks more like Sparkplug than Spike, but I digress.
Stan Bush will be a guest on Chunin’s Corner which is a radio show that airs on Rossland Radio The show will air on July 3rd at 5:30 PM (PST) Also his new album “In This Life†is available from his site for preorder. This is the American version with two bonus Transformer tracks. For a guy who did the movie 20 years ago it is nice to see that he still fondly remembers the brand. Ernie Petragelo will be joining Stan at Bot-Con; for those of you who may not remember he was a co writer on “Instruments of Destruction†which is one of the kick ass tracks on the Transformers: The Movie soundtrack.
Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman will be stepping into the Lions’ den when they attend Bot-Con. Who wants to bet that their panel will be invite only as to avoid some of the more rabid fans that are out for blood? Joining them will be Daniel Ross a Transfan made good. Daniel has done fan dubs of some of the Japanese series for years building a loyal cult fan base; well his work paid off, as he will be the voice of Starscream in the Transformers video game. Finally none other than Peter Cullen will be joining the party that Bot-Con is sure to be. Ya know I got irked the other day when someone pointed out, in a less than polite manner, that Peter Cullen has the same answers every time he is asked about working on Transformers back I the day. This person was trying to insinuate that Peter never really cared about Prime until later on in life… WELL DUH!!! He never saw a piece of fan mail until the show was off the air; of course he didn’t know what was going on or what he was apart of. I’m sure Stone Cold Steve Austin would tell you he never expected to become the cultural institution that he is now but nobody faults him. Some people I tell ya.
The official schedule for the Bot-Con weekend has been posted. All in all it looks to be a good con for everyone going.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
7:15 AM Woods Hole and Whale Watching Tour Westin Lobby
9:00 AM Customizing Transformers Class Westin Bristol
9:30-10:30 PM Check In/Registration for Thursday Tour people and Wed. or Thurs. Custom Class attendees Convention Center Ballroom
Thursday, June 28, 2007
9:00 AM Customizing Transformers Class Convention Center Room 553A
9:00 AM Transformers 3-D Display Class Convention Center Room 553B
8:30 AM-4:15 Newport Tour Westin Lobby
4:30 PM Registration/Package Pick-Up Begins Convention Center Ballroom
6:00-7:30 Dealer Unload and Drop Convention Center Loading Dock
9 PM Message Board/Room-to-Room Trading Info Westin Providence Ballroom
9 PM Package Pick-Up/Registration Closes Convention Center Ballroom
10:30 BotCon Charity Transformers movie screening Providence Place Mall Cinema 16
Friday, June 29, 2007
7:00 AM Hasbro Visit Purple Group Meets Front of Convention Center
7:30 AM Late Package Pick-Up Convention Center Ballroom
7:30-4 PM Dealer Set-Up Convention Center Ballroom
8:30 AM New Registrants Convention Center Ballroom
9:00- 9:50 Panel: David Kaye Westin Providence Ballroom
9:45 AM Hasbro Green Group Meet Front of Convention Center
10:00-10:50 Panel: Stan Bush Westin Providence Ballroom
11:00-11:50 Panel: Movie Writers Alex Kurtzman, Robert OrciWestin Providence Ballroom
12:00- 12:50 Panel: David Kaye Westin Providence Ballroom
1:00-1:50 Lunch
1:30-5:00 Contest Set-up Convention Center Ballroom
2:00-3:00 Board Wars Prelims Westin Providence Ballroom
3:00-3:50 Movie Writers Panel Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci Westin Providence Ballroom
4:00 Private Sales Room Experience Convention Center Ballroom
4:00-5:00 PM Autographs: Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci Convention Center Prefunction E
6:00-7:00 PM Autographs: David Kaye, Stan Bush, Ernie Petrangelo, Daniel Ross Convention Center Prefunction E
6:00 PM Contest Judging Convention Center Ballroom
7:00 PM Private Preview ends Convention Center Ballroom
9:00 PM MSTF Westin Westin Narragansett Ballroom
Saturday, June 30, 2007
7:30AM Dealer Set-up Convention Center Ballroom
8:30AM Walk-up Late Check In/Registration Convention Center Ballroom
8:30AM SALES ROOMOPEN for Private Preview Convention Center Ballroom
9AM Video/Courtesy Room open Westin Providence
9AM Early Bird – Admission Convention Center Ballroom
Hourly Door Prize Giveaway Convention Center Ballroom
9:00-10:00 Attacktix Tournament Registration Convention Center PrefunctionW
9:30-10:30 Autographs: Peter Cullen Convention Center Prefunction E
9:30-11:00 Autographs: David Kaye, Daniel Ross Convention Center Prefunction E
10:00-10:50 Panel: MovieWritersAlex Kurtzman, Robert Orci Westin Narragansett Ballroom
10:30 Attacktix Tournament Starts Convention Center PrefunctionW
11:00-11:50 Panel: Hasbro TransformersMovie Partnership Westin Narragansett Ballroom
11-12:30 Autographs: Stan Bush, Ernie Petrangelo Convention Center Prefunction E
Noon-1:00 Autographs:Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci Convention Center Prefunction E
12:30-1:00 How to Draw Classic Transformers Convention Center PrefunctionW
12:00-12:50 Panel:Activision Westin Narragansett Ballroom
1:00-1:50 Panel: IDW Westin Narragansett Ballroom
1:30-2:00 How to Draw Classic Transformers Convention Center PrefunctionW
1:00-2:30 Autographs: David Kaye, Stan Bush Convention Center Prefunction E
2:30-3:00 How to Draw Classic Transformers Convention Center PrefunctionW
2:00-2:50 Panel: Peter Cullen Westin Narragansett Ballroom
3:30-4:00 How to Draw Classic Transformers Convention Center PrefunctionW
3:00-3:50 Transformers Collectors’Club Roundtable Westin Narragansett Ballroom
3:30-4:30 Autographs: Peter Cullen,Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci Convention Center Prefunction E
4:00-4:50 Panel: David Kaye Westin Narragansett Ballroom
5:00 PM Close Show
7:00 PM Awards Cocktail Party WestinAll Ballrooms
8:00 PM Awards Party Concert WestinAll Ballrooms
Sunday, July 1, 2007
9AM Dealer Set-up Convention Center Ballroom
9AM Video/Courtesy Room opens Westin Providence
9:30AM SALES ROOM & GENERAL ADMISSION OPENS Convention Center Ballroom
Turn in evaluation form and get your entry “2 Trips to 2008 Convention” ticket
10:00-11:50 Panel: Hasbro Transformers Future Product Unveiling Westin Narragansett Ballroom
11-12:30 Autographs: Stan Bush, Ernie Petrangelo Convention Center Prefunction E
12:00-12:50 Panel: David Kaye Panel Westin Narragansett Ballroom
12:30-2:00 Autographs: Daniel Ross Convention Center Prefunction E
1:00-1:50 Panel: Pete Sinclair TCC Comics Westin Narragansett Ballroom
2:00-2:50 Panel: Stan Bush Westin Narragansett Ballroom
2:00-3:30 Autographs: David Kaye Convention Center Prefunction E
3:00 Draw for Trips to 2008 Convention Convention Center Ballroom DRAWING: 2 TRIPS TO 2008 Convention,Must Be Present to Win! (2 drawings, for one person each: 1 airfare (limited to $450), hotel 3 nights, & 1 Primus package)
3:30 PM ALL EXHIBITS & SALES ROOM CLOSE
Hmm, I find it kinda odd that Hasbro waited for the last day, when most people are leaving, to do their panel. Perhaps they were worried about getting negative feedback about the movie and such?
The final poster for the live action movie is up and it is the same as the European one that popped up on the net a few weeks back. I kinda like it still don’t like the bots though. Funny rumor going around the net now is that Transformers will be the first movie dual released in the theaters and pay-per-view. This type of release has been in the planning stages for a while to give people an option who may not want to go to movie theaters anymore. Don’t get too excited though the price I read quoted was in the neighborhood of $50 while Michael Bay has been quoted as saying that the rumor is utter BS.
The anime repaint of MP Starscream has been all but confirmed as being false, at least to forum experts who feel that years of posting gives them expertise. Doubt was raised when some new pictures of Screamer were posted online that showed the figure with a normal MP-03 box in the background. Things are still up in the air over him and we should hear something coming out of Bot-Con. New images of MP-06 Skywarp have surfaced of the bot in Jet mode. He is all black with no trace of purple. Most fans believe he will have the purple detailing in robot mode; also there is a report that his “Grimace†face is being remolded to look less stupid.
Surfing The Space Bridges
Do you think that MP Starscream will be the big announcement from Hasbro at Bot-Con or are they going to have something bigger?
Sixty-Second Review
War Within Starscream
MSRP:$19.99
OUT NOW
On one hand I was really excited to see Hasbro release WW Starscream, on the other hand I was concerned that the usual problems with repaints would rear their ugly head on what is widely considered the best Titanium mold thus far. Unfortunately, the later occurred.
Thanks to my Black and Decker power scissors I was able to free Starscream with a minimum of damage. Once out of the box I noticed that his shoulders were not as secure as they could be which makes him look like he is doing a permanent crotch chop. Once I transformed him I discovered that his legs don’t lock into place as snuggly as they should, popping open at the base of the nosecone.
Due to the issues with SMS articulation is limited. I’ve been able to get some posses out of him but nothing like Thudercracker. Starscream could’ve been a great figure but ended up being another middle of the road Titanium which unfortunately most of them are. On Elohim’s Energon cube ranking scale I give WW Starscream six out of ten Energon cubes. Buy him only if you’re a completist.
Parting Shots
I’ll be back with more next week. Take care friends.
The King of the Fanboys,
Charles
