#Botcon 2012

[transformers-mosaic]

Transformers: Mosaic #650 - "Destructive Character"

Originally posted on June 25th, 2012

Story - Martin Fisher Art - Jake Isenberg Colours - Kal Kyle Letters - Dave Reynolds

deviantART | Seibertron | TFW2005

wada sez: This is Fisher’s final Mosaic strip. Thrust, Ramjet and Grapple hadn't been given official Shattered Glass colour schemes; Ramjet’s is possibly based on an orange knockoff. Weirdly, Universe Tread Bolt is hanging out with the Decepticons; clearly this is meant to be a repurposing of some kind, but I can’t conclusively say who he’s meant to be. My best guess is that this is actually Dreadwind, inspired by the BotCon-exclusive Classics toy, based on the head detailing and faction; the color scheme would be a match for Dreadwind’s official Shattered Glass appearance as a repurposing of Robotmasters Smokesniper. Clean inks below.

[superbbirdofparadise]

He actually does come back! There was a script reading at BotCon 2012 called Return of Blurr where Sari revives him! It is, as the kids say, "pretty cool."

blurr's whole existence in tfa is so fucking funny to me genuinely. he gets introduced with a whole episode entirely about him where he gets zero lines and you're not even sure if he's sentient until nearly the end. he doesnt show up again for half a season. he gets like five lines of dialogue but theyre long as fuck. he RUNS to another planet (NOT FLY. NO FLYING. HE RUNS THERE). he dies immediately upon arriving. hes the only character in the whole show to die and not come back.

[soyrapido]

[textsfrommytoys]

[stairre]

Primus’ Nepotism (Long Post!)

So. I, er. I was deep-trawling through TFWiki the other day, as you do when you’re a TF fanfic writer, and I spotted something that I... honestly didn’t know, but intrigued me greatly. I feel that this is one of those things that either you know or you get blindsided by, so give me a minute.

Hot Rod | Rodimus Prime - primarily the G1 Marvel comics version (though this phenomena did overlap a bit into the Dreamwave comics, and the 3H Productions comics) - looks like Primus. I mean, a lot like Primus. And it’s apparently intentional. 

Here’s a picture of Primus’ head from the 3H Productions comic Transformers: Universe #1, published in 2003 (he’s the big disembodied head in the centre, but I feel like you’ve figured that out already):

And here’s a picture of Rodimus Prime’s head from IDW’s The Transformers: Regeneration One #81, published in 2012 (I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that his head design has been pretty much made similar across continuities and has had its basics set in stone for decades now):

Notice any similarities? Across most continuities, his helm is shaped like this, whether he’s Hot Rod or Rodimus Prime. Sometimes the kibble at the top centre is shaped like the one in the Primus picture above (notably in IDW’s More Than Meets The Eye and Lost Light), but he always has that same piece of kibble. And he always has rounded audios on either side of his helm. 

But wait, there’s more! 

Here is a picture of Primus from the 3H Enterprise’s BotCon 2000 exclusive comic Terminus (sorry for poorer quality):

And here is a picture of Rodimus Prime from the Marvel US comic The Transformers #43, published in 1988:

Notice the spoiler wings on their backs? The shape of their helms? These are two very different comic panels, done by different artists, by different companies, at different times. And they chose to continue to make them look similar.

Not convinced yet? Here’s Primus from the Japanese continuity’s Generations Selects Special Comic: Super Megatron #3, published by TakaraTomy Mall: 

That’s an awfully familiar paint scheme... The TakaraTomy Mall comic is from 2020. This has been a Thing since Transformers comics began, over thirty years ago. 

In Japan, there was even a highly limited toy for Primus put out in 2004 as a Lucky Draw toy. It’s a golden recolour of Rodimus Prime. Here is a photo of it pulled straight from the TFWiki Primus page (credits to the contributors TFWiki users FigureGunplaFan and Monzo):

If you’re still not convinced... the question has been posed before, and answers from the sources themselves have been given:

In Marvel Comic’s The Transformers #160, published in 1988, there is a section called Grim Grams, where Grimlock answers questions sent in by fans. I’ve highlighted in red the relevant part:

The text, shortened for relevance, asks:

Dear Grimlock, I have a few questions to ask you. 1) Rodimus Prime looks a lot like Primus (the energy being who became the Creation Matrix). Is this because Hot Rod was changed by the Matrix?

And Grimlock’s answer is:

Ah, yes. I suspected Issue 150′s shocking revelations about the origin of we Transformers would provoke a few comments and suggestions. I’ll do my best to answer what I can. 1) I reckon you’re spot on there, kid. Primus recreated Hot Rod in his own image, calling himself Rodimus Prime.

And, more recently, on the 30th August 2015, someone asked the Ask Vector Prime Facebook page... (link here to the archive page for that on TFWiki):

Why does Rodimus resemble Primus so much?

And the answer was:

Dear Godly Guy,

Nepotism?

Just some food for thought, everyone. 

[megaweapon]

i know what predacon that is

affixing your pins to a new bag. is a sacred act

[archivist-orion-pax]

UPDATED Transformers Shattered Glass: Fiction List (Links)

Shattered Expectations: Original April Fool’s comic preview released on the BotCon website.  Page1 Page2 Page3

Shattered Glass: BotCon 2008 Comic.

Dungeons & Dinobots: Prose story released on the Transformers Collector’s Club website.

Do Over: Prose story released on the Transformers Collector’s Club website.

The Desert Heat!: Two page prelude to Eye in the Sky released on the Transformers Collector’s Club website. Page1 Page2

Eye in the Sky: Prose Story released on the Transformers Collector’s Club website.

Blitzwing Bop: Prose story released on the Transformers Collector’s Club website.

Transhuman: Prose story released on the Transformers Collector’s Club website.

Coalescence: Prose story released on the Transformers Collector’s Club website.

Invasion: BotCon 2012 Comic

Solar Requiem: Comic released with the SG Soundwave vs SG Blaster toy set

Reunification: 6 part comic released in the Transformers Collector’s Club magazine..

Beast Wars Shattered Glass: 6 part comic released in the Transformers Collector’s Club magazine.

Spatiotemporal Challengers: 4 part prose story released on the Transformers Collector’s Club website. Part1 Part2 Part3 Part4

Another Light: 6 part comic released in the Transformers Collector’s Club magazine.

*Recordicons:  A series of comic strips by David Willis, showcasing the adventures of Shattered Glass Ravage and other Mini-Cassettes.

*SD SG: (Short for “Super Deformed Shattered Glass”) is a series of comic strips by Josh Perez.

*Incomplete

[therobotmonster]

TRANSFORMERS FOR SALE

Trying to get ahead on cash before it becomes a problem in two weeks. The usual alternative methods (patreon, gofundme) are still open, but I am also looking to pair down the TF collection a bit. 

Contact via PM or email to trenttroop (at) gmail (dot) com.

From above the fold we have:

BOTCON 2012 Invasion Boxed Set: -SOLD

MSZ-010 Mobile Suit ZZ-Gundam Perfect Variable High Complete Model - Complete figure with packaging and paperwork. - $30 + shipping

TFCC Rampage - -SOLD

Botcon 2014 - Knights 3-Pack - $100 plus shipping - Alpha Trizor, Apelinq and Flareup, sealed, never opened from baggie.

Botcon 2014 Kre-O Bagged Set - -SOLD

Botcon Shattered Glass Junkon Scrap-Iron -SOLD

[allspark]

Emitting lethal beams of energy in the Allspark Studios today is cold, brutal and scientific Siege Shockwave!  Will emotional thinking ruin his clarity of thought, or will he give in to the feels and adopt a Littlest Pet Shop puppy for a shelf companion?  Tune after the break to find out!

G1 Shockwave was one of my holiest of grails, alongside Jetfire.  I remember being on the playground in 2nd or 3rd grade when the rich kid in our school pulled out both to show off.  Shockwave mesmerized me due to the powerful look of the laser gun mode, and the fact that this toy resembled the character on the cartoon, unlike Megatron.  I had to have him…but don’t remember actually ever seeing him in a store.   I do remember a weekend trip to Pensacola, Florida that led us by a Radio Shack where I once saw the grey “Shackwave”, who was one of the first G1 figures I bought on eBay back in 2000.  I would not get the real Shockwave until Botcon 2005, and that one sits in his original packaging to this day.  He has been joined by a minty Shockwave I display, as well as numerous iterations, minus one of my current white whales, the Botcon 2012 customization class figure.  All of this to say, I am a bit illogically obsessed with the logical oriented character.

Siege Shockwave appeared to be a dream come true.  Initial pictures showed he had all the best design cues from the original figure, loads of articulation, and a neat set of armor to throw into the mix.  I was so excited that I began to worry if Shockwave would be able to live up to my expectations.  Let’s give the toy and look and see how it measure up!

Spaceship/Gun/Destroyer Mode

The spaceship mode for Shockwave is an upside-down gun.  It’s not going to do any G1 fans pining for a real blaster any good, however, because at the current size, this laser gun would only fit a toddler’s hand.  I imagine this could be one of the figures targeted by the KO industry for an upsize, as the most common complaints I see online are related to the size of the leader class figures.  But I digress…

Resemblance to a weapon aside, spaceship mode fits with quite a few of Shockwave’s legacy forms, such as the most recent Walgreen’s exclusive, Combiner Wars Shockwave, and the FOC Shockwave.  I love the idea of Shockwave becoming a battleship.  In my fanon, he designs full size battleships based on his current alt-mode, because logically he chooses the most powerful forms, and these ships are his personal battalion.  It’s silly, but I love to display his vehicle modes, and it gives me a reason.  😀

While I am not a huge fan of the overloaded surface details of the Siege line, it does look good on Shockwave’s vehicle modes, even if I would have preferred smoother panels.  Other neat details include incorporating the hose from robot mode into the spaceship, as well as a uni-eye at the front of what I imagine is the bridge from the tower.  Another cool piece is the “gun” barrel as the front of the ship.  They could have really gone out of their way to make this appear less like a blaster muzzle, but they didn’t, and I love it.  I can imagine Autobots seeing this battleship and turning their own around, not willing to risk a fight with a flying cannon.

You an take this mode into overkill mode and really make an impressive battleship by incorporating the armor.  Doing so beefs up the front end of the ship, adds more engines, and additional cannons just behind the bow and to the sides of the new engines.  If an Autobot ship were afraid of the regular spaceship mode, this cruiser is frightening enough to make an entire fleet turn tail and run.  This is the best Decepticon battleship yet created, and I must admit I am so enamored with it that I want to have an extra to leave in this mode at all times.  Fortunately, the cold logic of my empty wallet has silenced the impulse…for now.

Robot Mode

Where do I start?  Siege Shockwave is 96% the Shockwave of my dreams.  Why only 96%?  What happened to the other 4%?  Well, I am taking off 4 points due to a few minor issues I have with the toy.  Let’s cover those now and get back to the absurd lovefest.  I am deducting 1 percentage point of love for the following issues:

  The purple, while reminiscent of the G1 figure, has way too much blue and not enough red. Simply put, he’s not the right shade of purple.

His neck has some articulation, but I expected more. I think the worst part of this is that the hinge that holds his backpack is the biggest limiting factor in the movement.  He should be able to move his head around with greater range, and neck articulation continues to be an issue for the current design team.  I see improvements here and in the Siege line, but I want consistency across figures.

The details are overly busy. I get that they wanted more detail than the smooth panels of the G1 figure, however this is overload, and unnecessary.  I wish they had come to a middle ground before finishing this mold.

He is too small. I feel like this is mostly due to increased parts and joints for the mold, and I cannot completely fault them for that…but that makes him less for me by 1%.  I would say the same applies to Ultra Magnus.

All negatives aside, this is a glorious rendition of Shockwave in robot mode.  He has the right build and proportions.  He has an actual rubber(ish) hose.  He has some of the best damn light-piping ever seen in a Transformer.  Beyond his backpack, he has no hollow spaces, which while I was never bothered by them, they were the bane of some fans’ existence.  Shockwave also comes PACKED with articulation!  He has:

  ankle tilts

ratcheting knees

lateral thigh articulation

double rotary hips

rotating waist

double rotary shoulders

lateral bicep articulation

rotating elbows

rotating wrists

ball jointed neck with some limitation in backwards and forwards movement

This figure can get into basically any of the classic Shockwave poses.  My favorite is the pose from the cover to Marvel Comic’s “The Transformers” #5.

  Hover Mode/Armored Mode

Personally, I love the hovercraft mode most out of these configurations.  I can see Shockwave using this to loom over his enemies and his subordinates, as well as providing a tactical advantage in battle while remaining in robot mode.  It is an ingenious use of armor parts, and I hope we get more of this in the future.

The armored mode answers the question; do I need a Shockwave with more gun arm?  The answer is yes.  Yes, you do.  And now you get a Shockwave with 3-gun arms, two laser feet, and a bulked up backpack which must hold a larger power source.  If regular Shockwave was not firepower overkill, this mode definitively is.  While I must admit it is fun, mine won’t be staying in this mode.  I much prefer G1 Shockwave riding in on his hover platform, and that is how he will be displayed.

Recommendation

I give Siege Shockwave 9.6 multiples of 10 on the logic scale!  He hits all the right stops, looks like the ultimate update to G1 Shockwave, comes with more than enough articulation, and the C.O.M.B.A.T. system armor adds tons of playability and 3 additional modes to this nuclear powerhouse of a figure.  While I did not cover transformation in detail, I am pleased to find he is not super difficult yet contains a few neat steps that add fun to the process, like the formation of the “muzzle” and spaceship tower.  Kids will like him.  Older fans will LOVE him, and that is something Shockwave would dismiss as he has no time for expressions of emotion.

Don’t let that stop you!  Siege Shockwave is beginning to really hit stores in force now, so get out there and add to your Decepticon army!

    Siege Shockwave Gallery and Review! Emitting lethal beams of energy in the Allspark Studios today is cold, brutal and scientific Siege Shockwave! 

[dynared]

So...VoltCon is a real thing

After getting questions on it, I’ve gone and done some research on what VoltCon is and how much comedy can be gotten from it.

https://voltcon.org

So, VoltCon is a convention that’s supposed to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Voltron franchise popularizing giant piloted robots in the US of A.

Naturally, everyone is making the connections in their brain to Legendary fuckups of the past, like DashCon, the “convention” that amounted to little more than a ball pit and a lawsuit, and the Fyre Festival, which was so infamous it has a Netflix documentary about it.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ0KNVU2fV0

Perfectly reasonable assumption, mind you, but apparently, the goal of VoltCon seems to be less a celebration of Legendary Defender, and is instead one of the original. Furthermore, the dislike of shipping is rather notably implied.

“We love Legendary Defender and consider it a milestone of writing and animation that has revitalized the franchise. That said, our event will pay tribute to all facets of Voltron, with a strong focus on the original series from 1984, celebrating its 35th anniversary this year!”

Yeah, rather than be about who’s gay, how Klance is canon king, why Pidge is trans, and other nonsense, the event seems to be focused on why people loved the original show in the first place, and showing there’s a demand for a re-redo of Voltron (because...fifth time’s the charm? Then again Rise of the TMNT debuted only a few months after TMNT 2012 finished so what do I know?). It also seems to be, as per a lot of the VoltCon twitter, buddying up with fans of Transformers and Power Rangers, both fandoms which have had very successful conventions throughout the year (BotCon, which is done in tandem with Hasbro, and Power Morphicon, which Saban has given its blessing). The idea being it’s a general convention celebrating the original Voltron and other mecha cartoons and media that are popular in the US, and act as a sort of rehabilitation for the name and the fandom to make people realize what matters in a show called Voltron.

The problem is still that it’s associated with the Voltron name. And that name is in the proverbial mud right now thanks to VLD and its “fandom”. A clean break from things like extortion attempts and death threats will require a LOT of work. Can they pull it off? Maybe.

Any suggestions?

[anoddreindeer]

How could you post this and NOT add

(i saw it first at 2012 Botcon in Dallas)

[jimclassicstoycollection]

Transformers Timelines

Deluxe class

Hoist (Machine Wars)

For Christmas 2017 I received the Botcon 2013 Machines Wars set. This is Hoist.

The mold for this version of Hoist is from the Transformers Generations deluxe class Sergeant Kup figure from 2011 with a new head sculpt reminiscent of the mid-90′s basic class toy of Machine Wars Hoist.

Vehicle mode: 

I like it. I really do. Its a dark brown pick-up truck done in the mixed style of the old pick-up trucks you’d see in the 1940s, but with the smooth stream-lined curves of the 21st century. 

Really, and truly this mold is best suited for Kup than it is a Machine Wars Hoist, but i still like it.

The truck does have a yellow line running throughout the length of the car, with silver wind screens and silver headlights. The monogram ‘W&S’ was from the old Machine Wars Hoist as well standing for Wilk & Sons’ if I remember correctly. My MW Hoist is put away in storage, so I don’t have it available for comparison at the moment.

A cool thing to note is the weapon storage for Hoist. His rifle can be stored underneath the car, and the barrel of the gun poses as the exhaust pipe. Pretty cool. And of course Transformers toys from 2009-2012 all had those clips so multiple weapons could be attached everywhere, so the rifle can go on top the roof.

It’s a very clean vehicle mode, and it looks good; yes I would have preferred a tow winch since Hoist is supposed to be a tow truck, but I’m pretty sure there weren’t any tow truck Transformers made in the 21 century yet (possibly Generations Hoist was still a year or two away) so a pick-up truck was the next logical choice.

Transformation into robot is a bit tedious for this toy. I’d dealt with worse, but compounded with the fact that all of the Botcon Hoists were mis-assembled in the factories didn’t help much. I had to disassemble a part of Hoist, flip a piece around, reassemble the toy just to convert it to robot mode properly. And of course I lost a screw in the process, but I managed to correct the flaw thanks to the help of a youtube tutorial.

The arms I also believe were mis-assembled as well, but fortunately they don’t hinder the transformation at all.

Robot mode:

Hoist’s bot mode is basically Machine Wars Hoist head of a brown Kups body. And I’m not complaining. This is a reinterpretation of the MW Hoist, and this mold is a good one; I’m glad it got one last hurrah before being retired.

Remember how I said early about the arms also being mis-assembled on the factory line? It’s not a total deal breaker, but at least they don’t effect the toy as a transformer, and they just looks a little off.

So yea, that’s Botcon Machine Wars Hoist. I do like this toy; and is a fun nod to a defunct, forgotten time in the Transformers past

[tfwiki]

Are there any official Shattered Glass comics/ content? It's part of transformers that's interested me for a while, but the only thing I've found about it (other than the premise and the fact it exists) is the cancelled TFA episode about it.

Oh sure! The “Shattered Glass” concept was created by Fun Publications and has been entirely told through their comics and stories. Here’s a list! It began at BotCon 2008 in the official ‘con comic, in which the Cliffjumper of the “Classics” universe (a version of the G1 Marvel comic world) gets transported to an alternate universe of evil Autobots and heroic Decepticons:

This was followed by a run of prose stories released exclusively through the Transformers Collectors Club website between 2008 and 2011, which chronicled the coming of the Transformers to the Shattered Glass version of Earth. Concurrently, the 2009 Collectors Club magazine ran the comic strip “Reunification,” which checked in with events going on on Shattered Glass Cybertron.

In the 2012 BotCon comic, “Invasion,” the Shattered Glass and Classics universes crossed over, which resulted in the Earth from the Classics universe being transported into the SG world. This story was followed up by another run of Collector Club magazine comics - “Beast Wars Shattered Glass” in 2013 and “Another Light” in 2015 - which directly carried on from those events. Finally, in 2016, just before the fan club closed down, one final, heavily-delayed prose story, “Coalesence,” was released, wrapping up the loose threads left over from the earlier prose stories.

[vlampomeister957]

Just Pinned to Transformers: WNW: Senile versus crazy who wins? (TR Kup and Botcon 2012 Spinister). http://ift.tt/2hxDqBr

[isleofrangoon]

The Isle of Rangoon hits Botcon!

[archivist-orion-pax]

Transformers Shattered Glass: Fiction List (Links)

Shattered Expectations: Original April Fool’s comic preview released on the BotCon website.

Shattered Glass: BotCon 2008 Comic.

Dungeons & Dinobots: Prose story released on the Transformers Collector’s Club website.

Do Over: Prose story released on the Transformers Collector’s Club website.

The Desert Heat!: Two page prelude to Eye in the Sky released on the Transformers Collector’s Club website.

Eye in the Sky: Prose Story released on the Transformers Collector’s Club website.

Blitzwing Bop: Prose story released on the Transformers Collector’s Club website.

Transhuman: Prose story released on the Transformers Collector’s Club website.

Coalescence: Prose story released on the Transformers Collector’s Club website.

Invasion: BotCon 2012 Comic

Solar Requiem: Comic released with the SG Soundwave vs SG Blaster toy set

Reunification: 6 part comic released in the Transformers Collector’s Club magazine..

Beast Wars Shattered Glass: 6 part comic released in the Transformers Collector’s Club magazine.

Spatiotemporal Challengers: 4 part prose story released on the Transformers Collector’s Club website.

Another Light: 6 part comic released in the Transformers Collector’s Club magazine.