Botcon 2013

[primenova]

With looking at toys reused for the last 2 years.

What would you expect 2013 to have? Apart from another rubbish comic.

WOuld it be more Animated, Generations repaints? Or maybe they could move onto Prime with SG Optimus Prime [like we don't have one of them already]. But Octopunch for this year & use of Action Masters. Could we some more next year?

Which action master would you like to see [apart from transforming Krok!!!!!] Which toy could be used for Krok?

[primenova]

Which toys could be repainted as - Krok, Longtooth, Doubleheader?

[Bogatan]

I have no idea what they have planned but the new subscription service from the club may result in a bit if a shake up in the botcon structure. If they have some oddball repaint they want to do they dont have to try and cram into a botcon theme.

Personally I hope they avoid classics next year and do something different, animated or Prime being the two most obvious.

Botcon 2007 through 2010 are fairly interchangable and it was all getting a bit samey, if we had gotten this years set last year it would have been far too much. I know everyone loves them some classics but Botcon needs to mix it up.

As an added bonus if they do animated and especially Prime I imagine the creative teams for those shows will be involved in designing the set and more importantly plotting and scripting the story.

[The Doctor]

Animated stuff would probably go down well considering how popular it is within The Fandom.

-Ralph

[kayevcee]

Keep churning out the Generations figures as Action Masters as far as I'm concerned.

-Nick

[Jim]

You could get Longtooth's inner robot from Breacher (I'm sure I saw someone mock that up once), but I can't begin to imagine how you would get the shell. It's too distinctive.

I don't think I'd lump 2010 in with the rest, G2 Redux is easily my favourite BotCon year yet (excepting the comic) - a return to that wouldn't go amiss for me. G2 FOC Bruticus set (though the retail colours are already pleasingly bright), G2 Mirage and Sandstorm from the concept art, Jazz, Silverbolt... just surprise me with 90s colour scheme goodness!

[Bogatan]

I have no problem with years of actionmasters, but better to release steadily as the best moulds become available. Trying to put out 10 or so moulds each year as a character they weren't designed for I think is just a little too hard considering the classics moulds only get release every 2 years or so.

If they had been patient we could have had Slicer from Gen Wheeljack (Yay!) instead of Energon Downshift (boo!)

May 21, 2012 17:14:10 GMT Jim said:

You could get Longtooth's inner robot from Breacher (I'm sure I saw someone mock that up once), but I can't begin to imagine how you would get the shell. It's too distinctive.

They could follow the Octopunch route and find a suitable vehicle to represent though I suppose they already used the best mould for Longtooth for Octopunch.

May 21, 2012 17:14:10 GMT Jim said:

I don't think I'd lump 2010 in with the rest, G2 Redux is easily my favourite BotCon year yet (excepting the comic) - a return to that wouldn't go amiss for me. G2 FOC Bruticus set (though the retail colours are already pleasingly bright), G2 Mirage and Sandstorm from the concept art, Jazz, Silverbolt... just surprise me with 90s colour scheme goodness!

Dont get me wrong G2 was great, but Thunderclash, Skyquake, Banzaitron, Leozack and Flak from 2009 could all just as easily have been in the 2010 set and aside from Thunderclash are all of about equal quality to the set we got.

SG Rodimus, SG Sideswipe, SG Goldbug, SG Ricochet, SG Thundercracker, SG Tracks, SG Magnus, SG Soundwave and SG Junkions could all just as easily worked as G2 versions with the switch of colour on a faction symbol.

Pretty much everything else from 2009, this year and SG Jazz and Blurr could have been part of the 2007 set.

And vice versa all the G2 stuff could be repurposed as SG if thats your thing.

So in 5 years almost every figure from every set could have been swapped around without radically changing anything about the theme.

For that reason alone getting an Animated set last year was almost a relief to me and a Beast Wars or Prime set in the future would be equally refreshing.

I do want G2 Mirage and the alternative G2 Sideswipe colours though and the Ramjet tiger stripes.

[glaug]

It would be interesting to see what they'd do with a Prime set, though I'm not sure I'd personally have any interest in it. Fairly sick of SG, but it's been a source of some nice Generations/Classics figures even so.

[Deleted]

I'd like them to continue with doing the generations style character updates rather than new characters - or doing new alternate or unused colourschemes like the ones shown in The Vault (though most of this year's figures don't interest me in the slightest)

[primenova]

From the wave 2 Pretenders not updated [by Hasbro or TFCC] since the first Movie 2007. [we'll have to stick with US name of characters due to Botcon being US based]

Doubleheader - Energon Slugslinger
Pincher - Movie Scorponok
Stranglehold - Dinobots BM Triceradon

Could any of the wave ones be redone? What about minicon repaint of them ie Waverider - black seaspray.

[primenova]

Action master I want to see

Charger - green con car -
Gutcrucher - green con tank - Guzzle repaint?
Jackpot - Jazz repaint?
Krok - hoover craft con -
Mainframe - Blaster repaint if they do a reworked Generations toy
Over run - bot - ?
Powerflash - Powerglide
Rad - Jazz repaint?
Roll out - what does he transform into?
Skyfall -
Sprocket -
Takeoff - car

[The Doctor]

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I think that doing Animated in toys and in their comic strip would be a perfect fit for TFCC. It's still very popular with fans, Botcon still runs panels about it yet it's not really commcercially viable outside the core fanbase. Creative brains behind the show have done work for TFCC (including that one Animated comic). Continuing the Animated story/toy-line could bring people back to the club and give it a unique selling point you can't get anywhere else. With the sub service they can still keep doing other stuff, for variety.

Unless there is a rights issue. I have no idea how much of a controlling influence Cartoon Network maintains in the property.

-Ralph

[primenova]

Do Cartoon Network own the characters that appeared in it & the IDW comic? The non-Transformers ones. The comic had a black cat character like the robin hood theft guy.

Animated Jazz would make a better Jackpot/Rad repaint than Generations Jazz. They could be brothers.

[Deleted]

I don't think CN owns the character designs or the aesthetic (I haven't seen their brand on any of the recent products like the comics, TFCC toys etc) they just own the animation annoyingly (I WANT THE SEASON THREE DVD!!)

[Toph]

They said at their panel that the club membership figure, Subscription, and the club comic will give us clues.

Based on the the membership figure being pre-beast Depthcharge, and ULTRA FRIGGIN' MAMMOTH!!!!! I find myself hopeful that this will be another beast era set.

[The Doctor]

That would not be a bad idea.

-Ralph

[Deleted]

I'd rather they didn't, Beast Wars is getting a bit tiring now (IMO) Though then again I won't be buying them anyway so whatever (I will probably be getting the Sub figures though if they explain how it works properly one day....)

[Philip Ayres]

The world needs more Beast Wars, not less!

[Jim]

Didn't the club also say that the 3 exclusives starting with Dion would have a linking theme? It turned out to be "they're in the same universe", if I recall correctly. The Transformers Collector's Club do not do pub quizzes. But if they did, they'd probably be the worst pub quizzes in the world.

[Deleted]

May 22, 2012 21:50:11 GMT Jim said:

Didn't the club also say that the 3 exclusives starting with Dion would have a linking theme? It turned out to be "they're in the same universe", if I recall correctly. The Transformers Collector's Club do not do pub quizzes. But if they did, they'd probably be the worst pub quizzes in the world.

I think that was the original udea, but they gave up on it in favour for what actually happened

[Jim]

Hmmm, I"m sure there was a thread on TFW earlier this year where Pete@BotCon popped up and said the connection was the same-universe thing. Maybe I misunderstood.

[Deleted]

Maybe, I have no idea honestly (and it is kind of a weak connection honestly)

[primenova]

May 22, 2012 19:03:39 GMT Toph said:

They said at their panel that the club membership figure, Subscription, and the club comic will give us clues.

Based on the the membership figure being pre-beast Depthcharge, and ULTRA FRIGGIN' MAMMOTH!!!!! I find myself hopeful that this will be another beast era set.

Seeing we have Depthcharge they would have Rampage too from the RTS line. But this is toys released during the year & not for the convention set.

[Kingoji]

Are Go-Bots inevitable yet?

[Bogatan]

At the very least I'd like to see the ehobby minibot gobots completed.

They should have done Gobots vs Transformers this year instead of SG vs G1.

[Bogatan]

Or Gobots vs Diaclone.

That would be brilliant.

Except Diaclone tracks and Powered Convoy got done this year.

Still I bet there could be a great set.

[Toph]

May 23, 2012 11:18:06 GMT primenova said:

May 22, 2012 19:03:39 GMT Toph said:

They said at their panel that the club membership figure, Subscription, and the club comic will give us clues.

Based on the the membership figure being pre-beast Depthcharge, and ULTRA FRIGGIN' MAMMOTH!!!!! I find myself hopeful that this will be another beast era set.

Seeing we have Depthcharge they would have Rampage too from the RTS line. But this is toys released during the year & not for the convention set.

I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't understand what you're trying to say?

In case there was a missunderstanding in my post, at the round table panel at botcon, they said that there would be clues to the 2013 Botcon set theme with the club comic, the subscription figures, and the club membership figure.

While I'm not holding my breath, with Ultra Mammoth being in the subscription, and Omacron Theta Depthcharge as the membership figure, I find myself hopeful that means the 2013 botcon will be Beast Era.

[primenova]

Is it just the 2 figures they have down for release? does this replace the free yearly toy - i stopped getting them from the 4th one.

The fan club should mark on the image & toy news release which toys are TFCC ones - ie the combining set, Ramjet, Dion, Runabout, Runamuck, Depthcharge. ...& the Botcon ones being labelled Botcon & the year. To save getting them mixed up.

[kayevcee]

At Botcon they previewed figures they're doing as monthly releases on an annual subscription basis like Mattycollector's MOTU line, except they're repaints instead of new moulds and they'll be a lot more expensive.

...

Anyway, the first 6 figures have already been revealed. They range from the passable to the spectacular. Depthcharge is the subscription figure next year.

-Nick

[primenova]

I knew i'd seen Jackpot & Circuit somewhere before in repaint toy - but could only remember Breakdown, Slipstream, Scourge & Ultramammoth from that news story.