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In our second staff spotlight/interview for 2011, I searched far and wide for a likely candidate. Luckily I was speedy enough to catch up with one of the staff's most prolific members this year, El Duque! Our humble news administrator has been been extremely busy bringing all of you the latest Transformers news and updates. The Decepticon from the state of Oklahoma was kind enough to not blast this innocent Autobot reporter, and fortunately enough for all of you Seibertronians, we have an interview!
[START TRANSMISSION]
Blurrz: Each origin story is different for each and every fan. Transformers and you. How did it start?
El Duque: Way back in 1984, I was in kindergarten and Transformers was just bursting onto the toy scene. Prior to this I had been a bit of a Star Wars kid, but I was a little too young to fully understand the the whole Star Wars culture. I mainly just liked the action figures and vehicles. Transformers on the other hand, I was in on the ground floor. As soon as I started seeing those toy commercials and the cartoon it was all over. All those Star Wars toys quickly became school yard trading fodder. I was pretty much all Transformers all, the time (much like I am now) between then and junior high.
Blurrz: Looks like the force put you in the right direction. Now there are Transformers fans... and then there's big Transformers fans. As you've been a prominent member of the Seibertron.com staff for close to a year, and a member of our community for over four years, just how big is your Transformers collection? Are you one to simply pick your favorites, pick everything, or just a completionist with certain Transformers styles or lines?
El Duque: To be honest I don't really know how many figures I have at this point. I would estimate the count at over a thousand, with about half actually on display. My wife was gracious enough to give me one spare bedroom to do whatever I wanted with, so naturally it became my "Transformers room". At least that's what she likes to call it. Even with a whole room lined with built in wall to wall shelving I quickly ran out of room. I guess I have a fairly eclectic collection with figures from almost every line. The exception being the Beast era, I have no figures from any of those lines. They're just not my thing. I recently purchased the Shout! Factory Beast Wars DVD's and have enjoyed the cartoon, but I just can't get into the toys. My wallet is grateful!
I don't consider myself a completionist in general. I can easily leave a figure hanging on the peg if it doesn't appeal to me, even if I have all the others in the series. The exception would be G1. I would really like to have complete set of all the figures domestically released under the G1 banner, and I'm getting fairly close. I just got one of the big purchases out of the way, that being a complete Fortress Maximus. I'm currently just needing to round out my Pretenders, Micromaster, and Action Masters.
As far as current releases go, I just buy what looks good to me. I typically don't buy figures smaller than Scout size, but if one catches my eye I'll get it. I've picked up several of Cyberverse Legion class figures lately.
The room El Duque claimed for Transformers supremacy!
Blurrz: But the shiny animals are calling you!
El Duque: I'll admit I do sometimes get tempted by some of the Japanese Beast Wars figures. A transforming penguin? For some reason that appeals to me! Must resist!
Blurrz: So we know a little bit about the collecting habits of Mr. El Duque. How about the El Duchess? Does she dig the Transformers collection?
El Duque: My wife actually got me back into collecting. When the DVD Edition MP Optimus Prime came out I would look at it every time we went to Wal-Mart, but I would never pull the trigger and buy him. That year she surprised me with him as a Christmas present. He was the only figure I had for while, but when Classics came out they immediately caught my eye. Again she encouraged me to get them, it was all down hill from there. I think her biggest issues are my lack of dusting the in the "Transformers room" and the frequent visits we receive from the postman, UPS man, FedEx man, etc. They seem to always show up and ring the door bell when she's taking a nap. I'm really lucky that she doesn't mind my love of Transformers. She enjoys the movies and the cartoons, but I think the toys intimidate her a little. I've tried to walk her through some transformations, but she's always afraid she's going to break something. Which would result in another visit from one of the various shipping agencies, and a potentially ruined nap
Blurrz: Earlier you talked about the newer stuff, more specifically, let's talk about Transformers: Prime. Does the line catch your fancy and is there a favorite of yours you can't wait to get? What do you think about Hasbro giving the fans some early birds with SDCC Prime and NYCC 'Bee/Arcee?
El Duque: I'm very excited for the Transformers Prime figures. I've enjoyed the show and can't wait to get my hands on these toys. It's hard to single out one figure as the one I'm most interested in, but being a long time fan of the zombie genre, that zombie/Terrorcon Cliffjumper looks really cool! I'm also really looking forward to that Knock Out that was previewed at the SDCC, he's one of my favorite new characters from the series. Wheeldrift, sorry Wheeljack, looks good too. To be honest they all look good to me.
I'm glad Hasbro has given us the convention teaser figures, I have both SDCC Matrix Prime and the recent NYCC set. All are really nice figures, though I do wish the Jack and Raf mini-figures were articulated. It would be nice have Jack riding Arcee in motorcyle mode (gotta throw "motorcyle mode" in there to keep that from sounding too dirty!). These have gotten me really excited for the full line to hit. It's a shame we have to wait for a season and a half of cartoon to get the toys though.
Blurrz: In regards to even newer Transformers stuff, mind giving us your take on following third party transformers subjects in a paragraph or two?
The Devastator Battle - TFC Hercules or MakeToys?
Mastermind Hexatron Terminus (Shockwave?)
Are you a new heads guy?
Which character would you want to be see done, and by which third party?
El Duque: I'm a big fan of third-party products, I feel they really enhance my collecting experience. If I recall correctly my first third-party item was FansProject City Commander, and I was blown away at how well it worked. Since then I've bought a ton of third-party stuff. There have been a few misfires along the way, Impossible Toys Valkyrie and BTS Sonicron were both duds, but then you have things like the FansProject Non-secticons, MGT Delicate Warrior, and TFC Toys Exgraver that are pure win. I know some fans don't like the idea of these third-party groups threading on Hasbro's intellectual property, but as long as their designs are original I don't have a problem with them. Having these products in my collection won't stop me from purchasing Hasbro offering either. If Hasbro were to bring out an all new triple-changing Springer I would be the first in line to buy him despite already having Warbot Defender. I'll even own up to having a few KO's in my collection. I don't have many, but I couldn't pass up on that Headmaster 10 pack that reproduced the Japanese exclusive heads. I also gave in an purchased the iGear Coneheads, because I didn't think Takara would ever get around to producing official version, but given the recent announcement of the retooled MP-11 I have feeling I may be regretting that one! However, if they do release official MP Coneheads I'll get them as well. The only problem I see with third-party products is their prohibitive pricing, they're just too expensive for many fans to be able to enjoy. That said, I do understand why they cost more, it's just unfortunate that these products aren't in everyone's budget.
The Devy-war? I've made that decision an easy one, I'm getting both. I can never have too many Devastators! I can still remember how excited I was when I got the G1 giftset for Christmas as a kid. I kind of got that same feeling when Exgraver arrived. I guess if had to choose one or the other I would go with Hercules. The fact that he's bigger appeals to me, and I like that the individuals seem a little more G1. I look forward to having both in my collection.
Mastermind Creations is getting very ambitious taking on both Sixshot and HoS Shockwave. Hexatron Terminus looks incredible. Revealing a clear prototype was pretty clever, it allowed them to fully reveal the figure and maintain a little bit of mystery. I can't wait to see this guy in color and in all six modes. I also like how they let the fans pick the color scheme. Even more pleased that the deco that I voted for won! Cyclops looks like an interesting project as well. Maybe not as challenging as making a fully articulated six-changer, but still quite an undertaking. The only problem he presents for me is where to display him. I don't think he'll display well with anything other that their previous Knight Morpher. Which is fine, but these guys are going to need company, keep those HoS molds coming! If they pull both these figures off they will have established themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
I'm most definitely a "new heads" guy. It's amazing what a difference a new head can make, especially on a repaint. Renderform's RF-05 takes Universe Darkwind from mediocre repaint to completely believable. I've found that I actually buy extras of certain figures now anticipating potential new heads. As soon as I saw United Bumblebee I knew someone would do a Goldbug upgrade, and now we have two on the way. Luckily Hasbro seems to be learning how much fans value unique heads when planning repaints.
What character would I like to see as a third-party creation? I would take any of the city-bots. I think a third-party Metroplex, if done right, could be incredible. Hasbro doesn't seem to have much interest in revisiting the city and base-formers, so that seems like a good area for third-parties to break into.
Unicron and his glorious army!
Blurrz: Out of all the figures that you own, which one's the most precious to you? Is it your holy grail, or is that something yet to be acquired?
El Duque: I would say the ones that mean the most to me are the ones that were given to me as gifts from my wife. She gave me the DVD Edition MP Optimus Prime that I mentioned earlier for Christmas one year, the figure that got me back into collecting. She also gave me Classics Voyager Optimus Prime and Voyager Megatron for my birthday.
The "grail" of collection would probably be my complete Liokaiser. It took me forever to complete that thing, and I don't even know how much money. I wasn't really shopping for one, but I came across an incomplete set for a fairly low price so I jumped on it. It was missing Killbison's turret parts, Gaihawk's breast animal, and Jaruga's missiles. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to find those parts loose. After months of daily eBay searches I finally found Jaruga's missiles at a premium price. I finally just gave up on finding Killbison's accessories and Gaihawk's partner loose, and ended up buying new complete versions of both figures. I won't make the mistake of buying incomplete versions of rare Japanese figures again!
I also have a soft spot for G1 Windcharger. He was the first Transformer I ever owned as a kid, and the only figure from my childhood that I still own. I have no idea how that happened. I thought all the Transformers from my childhood were lost forever, but my mom found him a couple of years back while cleaning out a closet. He's a little rough, but there's no telling how many hours that little dude spent in my pocket when I was a kid.
Maybe if I'm fast enough I can 'borrow' one of these expensive combiners
Blurrz: You've been a part of the News Staff for close to a year. Unbeknownst to some, us newsies are generally the first people to see a toy, set or even rumor announcement. What was your most memorable Transformers news story so far?
El Duque: That's a tough one. I think the best I can do is narrow it down to the type of news I like best, which would be anything that has to do with Classics universe toys. I guess I could narrow it down further to news about the TFC Toys Hercules project. Devastator has always been my favorite gestalt so naturally I've been extremely interested in this project ever since we saw those initial teaser images of Exgraver. It's always fun to post news that gets the other members excited and receives a lot of feedback, and news on this project always delivers. In general I enjoy posting news that I actually have interest in. To be honest I have very little interest in most of the new I post, but it's not about what I'm interested in. It's about delivering comprehensive Transformers news for the Seibertron.com members.
Blurrz: What are your views on the latest Masterpiece figure, MP-10 Optimus Prime, and the upcoming masterpiece, MP-11 Starscream? Who would you like MP-12 to be?
El Duque: I've got mixed feelings about them. I would like to see some new characters get introduced into the Masterpiece line, but at the same time I feel both MP-10 and MP-11 surpass their predecessors. As much as I loved MP-01's robot mode, I hated his truck mode. Alt modes have always been a big deal for me. Even as a kid I wasn't found of figures that didn't transform into realistic real world vehicles. I was always a little bothered by the post Transformers: The Movie futuristic alt modes. MP-10 does a much better job of transforming into a believable truck, with the exception of the legs/rear section, but at least those are well masked by his trailer. I grew up around trucks, so MP-01's shortcomings immediately stood out like a sore thumb. Being a retool, MP-11 is a little harder so shallow. I can't help but look at him and think, "This is the MP-03 you should have sold me to begin with." I'm very pleased that they fixed the hip kibble in robot mode, it was really the only issue I had with the figure. I like that they are including the coronation accessories, though I doubt I ever use them. Makes me wonder what extra accessories they will throw in for the inevitable Skywarp and Thundercracker repaints. I know fans get frustrated by the rehashes of previously used characters, but I think we have to take into consideration how much technology and transforming techniques have advanced since the movies came along and really pushed the envelope in those areas. I'm sure if the Masterpiece line goes on long enough we will see a Convoy version 3.0.
As for the next Masterpiece figures, I would like to see Shockwave and Soundwave. I'm also very hopeful that we will get a proper Masterpiece Ultra Magnus using MP-10 as a base with full transforming trailer/armor. I've never accepted white repaints of Optimus Prime as Ultra Magnus. As a kid I never played with G1 Ultra Magnus as a robot without his armor. I'm also looking forward to Megatron 2.0 to get everybody roughly back in scale with one another.
Blurrz: The War For Cybertron video game last year gave fans an opportunity at Pre-Earth Transformers, in which many fans, including yourself, bought into the four figures released, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron and Soundwave. With Fall Of Cybertron on the horizon, which Autobot and which Decepticon are you most looking forward to perhaps being a part of the toyline this time around?
El Duque: Not only did I buy in, I bought in hard with all their repaints, which is something I don't normally do. I love the WFC/FOC aesthetic, and wish there was a separate line solely dedicated to these figures. One of my gripes about their inclusion in the Generations line is the lack of Voyagers class figures. Having a line dedicated to supporting the video game seems like a great idea to me. I'm sure I would bu them all.
I was really surprised Starscream didn't make the WFC cut in the previous Generations line, he's a fan favorite and they get two straight repaints that are sure to sell. That being said, I'm hopeful that the Seekers make an appears in the FOC line. I feel confident Grimlock will get a figure this time around considering how hard they've been promoting his appearance in the game. I never was that big of a fan of Classics Grimlock, so I welcome a new version to put on my Classics shelf. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we will get all five Dinobots even though I know it's unlikely.
Arise, seeker army!
Blurrz: Time for word association. I give you a word, name or phrase and you give us a one word response reflecting your feelings toward the subject.
Michael Bay
El Duque: Gratitude
Blurrz: Megan Fox
El Duque: Who?
Blurrz: Transformers Armada toys
El Duque: Acquiring
Blurrz: Transformers Armada cartoon
El Duque: Unseen
Blurrz: Trukk not munky
El Duque: Truth
Blurrz: Transformers United
El Duque: Shiny
Blurrz: Tornadoes
El Duque: Destruction
Blurrz: BotCon exclusives
El Duque: Frustration
Blurrz: Bumblebee
El Duque: Excessive
Where El Duque makes the magic happen.
Blurrz: Our time has come to an end. Any last words for your fellow Seibertronians?
El Duque: Play nice with one another, don't take things too seriously, and keep this hobby fun! Oh, and REPORT YOUR SIGHTINGS to the News Crew!!!!!!
After a three year hiatus, the Seibertron.com member interviews are back. However the sides have changed. No longer is he the interviewer, but now the interviewee. Say hello to a prominent member of Seibertron.com, Counterpunch! Joining the site back in 2003, he's filled the forums with his astute critique and praise for our beloved Transformers. He's more than just the Ebert of Seibertron.com, he's also the host of the Seibertron.com Twincast/Podcast. Collection wise, Counterpunch has a knack for not just buying what he likes, but he has the ability to turn rather obscure toys into staples for other collectors. Luckily I was speedy enough to catch the Autobot disguised as a Decepticon disguised as a Decepticon acting as an Autobot. The transcript is readable below for all Cybertronian dialects.
[START TRANSMISSION]
Blurrz: Transformers by Michael Bay. It's brought in so many fans, and has rekindled many older fan's interests in this hobby. Of course that's not the only thing that's been different since 2007. What do you think has changed in the past four years in regards to the Transformers franchise, in regards to Transformers toys, and most importantly in regards to Transformers and you?
Counterpunch: Hrm, well, I think that in the past few years we have seen two really important things happen to our hobby and toys.
I think the first thing is that Transformers engineering has evolved by leaps and bounds. Figures aren't just two modes with incidental articulation along the way. Dramatic improvements in the realm of articulation and characterization are present in even the smallest toys. Take for instance Classics Prime who was just on the inside of this revolution. It's a fine toy, but look at all the things we can improve on now; ankle joints, integrated kibble, head movement, overall character cues. Compare that to something like Generations Tracks where you really need to scour for some kind of issue to point out. We are seeing some of the best engineering ever in modern Transformers in large part due to innovations from the movie line and Animated. I love that we're getting better toys, and really interesting ones at that. I just wish we were seeing some figures keep a relative scale, better.
The franchise is big time now and I think that is the other important thing. The old rules do not apply. We see odd ball obscure characters in plastic for now (Straxus, Thunderwing, etc) much like how Star Wars gets a figure of everyone in Mos Eisley. There was a time when we'd never see a figure or character due to this or that reason. Old opinions held true on things right up until the point that they didn't. Generations Thundercracker is a great example. I'm glad this toy got made and that I got to be wrong four years ago that we'd never see it. Anything can happen now and that's great for fans.
As for me personally? Four years ago I was still down with buying any and everything. Since then I have tightened up my scope of collecting quite tightly. I am able to enjoy a show or comic without instantly needing to own a piece of it. I've always been a completist with Armada, Energon, and Cybertron, even down to the variations between US and Japan. In this time I've been able to let stuff go and retain only the better version of things. Part of that has come from really running out of room and still wanting to display stuff well, part of that has come from a sense that, maybe I over did it for a while there. I'm also a lot more relaxed in general about stuff. I still jump into shout about in toy discussion from time to time, but these days I try and save it more for the Twincast or organizing local collector meet ups.
Blurrz: Now you talk about watching a show without any desire of needing to own a piece of it. Is that truly possible? Hypothetically, if Transformers: Prime toys were on the shelf today, and you were to watch the show, how would you resist not being able to pick up a Wheeljack or a Skyquake at your local Target?
Counterpunch: Actually, I'm really looking forward to the toys from TF Prime. So, I'll address this in a different way. Animated and Beast Wars are both good shows that were really influential. I can appreciate them for what they are. That being said, I hate Beast Wars toys. Heh, I hate the proportion of shell-former style transformations, the odd way arms and legs dangle under an animal mode, the way that parts are supposed to fit in a spot but have no guidance or tab to do so, animal head blaster arms, etc etc. For a while, I bought those toys despite my feelings about them because I liked the show so much. When it came time to weigh what I really wanted to display and what I did not, those lost out every time and so they were sold off.
Animated is kind of the same, but I actually like those toys. I just don't need them when compared to Classics (and eventually Prime).
Blurrz: Before we continue on more current affairs, let's jump back to the past, an IDW Origins: Counterpunch if you will. What started you with Transformers? What was your first Transformers toy?
Counterpunch: I think my actual first Transformer may have been G1 Powerglide. My memory is a little hazy about that. I do remember that my neighbor got Optimus Prime and I was insanely jealous of him for that. I hounded my parents for one of those and one weekend I was taken out to get one. Two days later, the child of one of my mom's friends broke Prime and my replacement was Thrust.
So, if anything, the two most influencing factors on my early collecting were jealousy and revenge. Man I was pissed.
In more recent times, the TRU reissue of Ultra Magnus was what got me back into collecting. I bought it on a whim and it's been downhill since then.
Blurrz: Talk about emotions! Unbeknownst to many of our readers, you are also a collector of popular toys in Japan, particularly figmas, and anime statues. What started you off on this wild tangent away from Transformers collecting? What are the similarities and differences between the Transformers fanbase and the fanbase that collects Anime-based media? And the kicker, since being immersed in this new pop culture, have more funds been put into Transformers or Anime toys?
Counterpunch: Well, I've always quietly collected Street Fighter merchandise on the side. It was really just a series of logical jumps. Gashapon (bubble and trading figures) toys led to Revoltech and Figma, those led to pvc statues, etc. Oddly enough, the first episode of the Twincast was a major contributor to all this. The guest for that episode, Touya was a writer for Tomopop at the time and in the course of doing my research I ended up liking their page a lot. Pictures from that, recommendations from their podcast, and a growing circle of friends really broadened my collecting experience.
As for similarities, I don't think there are any. The rest of the toy collecting world seems to think Transformers fans are rabid nutjobs. The circles for purchasing are different. The reasons for buying, other than motivated self interest, are different. There's little sense of needing to complete a line or cast in the anime figure world. That's due largely to multiple manufacturers, stylistic differences, scale differences...a whole slew of things we don't have to account for when buying Transformers. The only real similarity is that both hobbies are passionate about their particular brand of plastic.
With your last question, I will kind of admit something here. This side hobby of mine pretty much rescued my love of Transformers. To explain, let me start by saying that about a year or so ago, I was in a real rut with TF toy collecting. It was a matter of open wallet, collect toy, shelf toy, repeat. I was playing catch up, always. There was no appreciation for what I was getting, it was mechanical. A lot of collectors go through this I think. But once I took a break by branching out into other genres, not just anime, but game influenced media too, I was able to look at Transformers in a new light. I was also more importantly able to say "no", perhaps first starting with the Campaign Microns for Spoilsport and Caliburst. Those were terrible and not even an approximation of their intended characters. So, I firmly decided to pass and use the money for toys that would be more "fun". Since then, I've just had a better perspective on what my money is actually purchasing in terms of paid out enjoyment.
Specifically as to the funding, it's probably split equally right now. I buy more Figmas and Revoltechs than Transformers because Hasbro and Takara are producing boring product right now, but I buy more expensive Transformers to compensate.
Did all that make sense or just make sense in my own inner monologue?
Blurrz:..Yes. Wait, I'm supposed to be asking the questions here! Sometimes I think I'm talking to Punch..
Now among the mass amount of toys that you have within your household, you also have a wife who not only supports your hobby, but also enjoys it. Explain to us how awesome that is.
Counterpunch: So, yea, my wife is not only very supportive of all this, but to varying degrees, is into this stuff as well. She actually likes the Transformers cartoons better than I do and I usually rope her into cooking when we have local collector gatherings at my place. She's down with the anime statue collecting and that has become our shared hobby. It's become fun because I'm usually the one doing the purchasing, but with that stuff, she gets on the hype train as well.
I think it's important to at least have genuine understanding of the hobby from your significant other. That's the baseline. If they're down with it as well, even better. I think you have to compromise a lot too. You need to be aware of when your hobby is becoming a problem or even a distraction to your partner. I see a lot of "You love me and my hobby or you don't really love me." kind of attitudes from people and I think that's wrong. In the end, it's all just stuff. Who ever you're with should want to be with you and you shouldn't really change that to be 'you and your stuff'. At the same time, if your significant other doesn't understand your hobby, maybe they don't really understand you either? It's the big question for a collector. Finding the line is key. Honesty with yourself and them is the first and most important step.
But my wife? She's top-tier. She bought me G1 Star Saber for my wedding present. I win.
Blurrz: Sorry fembots, this bot has been taken for life!
There's a popular phrase that's been going around the forums, and that is 'I've been Counterpunched' which originates from you. What is this new strange phenomena?
Counterpunch: So, my Transformers collecting buddies like to play a bit of in real life trolling on one another when it comes to purchases. The game goes like this, find a figure, buy the figure, and see who else you can get to buy said figure from hype alone. Bonus points for getting people to buy import figures, shitty figures, odd-ball forgotten figures, anything that makes someone go "damnit, I never wanted that until now...". Well, during the time when Henkei came around, my buddy Geekee1 first did this to me with Henkei Starscream. Being big on imports myself, I got most of the Henkei line and in reverse did the same thing to nearly everyone we hung out with. I got a certain amount of infamy for this kind of crap, which in the end is just a fun way of paling around with other collectors.
"Counterpunched" I think was Razorclaw's term. Don't think I'm immune to it either, plenty of people have got me to buy stuff that I was happy to pass on. Except Delicon...I'll never buy World's Smallest Transformers, buddy. Ever.
Blurrz: Somehow I think this would end up into a very interesting drinking game..
Methods of collecting Transformers have evolved over the years. From wandering aimlessly from shop to shop, to pre-ordering figures online or simply hoping your network of fellow collectors can bail you out, what method do you see yourself relying on these days?
Counterpunch: I do most of my shopping online now. Regular release stuff I find as I do my regular shopping or weekend trips. Places like Target where you have easily obtained exclusives through DPCI numbers I will hit up on my lunch break.
I found that I would waste a lot of time going about hunting for toys, so I stopped. Whatever I pay extra in shipping, I make up in time saved and gas.
I understand why people still go around hunting but it's only really worth it for regular releases and early waves in a given line.
Blurrz: There's a big decision many collector's will have in the upcoming year, and that is whether or not to renew their membership with the Transformers Collectors' Club or to join up with them. What was your opinion on this year's club exclusives Side Burn, TFA Cheetor, G2 Ramjet and the upcoming Runamuck, Runabout and SG Drift?
Counterpunch: The TCC is something I wholeheartedly endorse. I've been a member since it began. I always tell people that they should sign up for it. The Club makes great toys. G2 Ramjet was really well done. Other club toys from the past have been great. Cheetor...not so much. Occasionally something goes wrong in their communication with the factories and their product suffers. They have reasons for that, but at some point, that kind of stuff needs to stop. Punch, then Cheetor suffered due to poor co-ordination with their production factories. Businesses should learn from their mistakes and sometimes I feel that the Club only learns from its successes.
On a more kind sounding note, Sideburn is very nice and I really, REALLY hope that they are smart enough to continue making car brothers now that they have one. I think the upcoming toys may be the best yet. All three sound great to me. Some of my buddies are tired of the SG stuff and in a way, I understand that. I mean, if you don't have the 2008 BotCon set, why would you want SG Drift?
I find myself saying, "The Club is great, the toys are great!" and meaning it, but at the same time having to be honest with myself and others by pointing out some of my perceived flaws. There's far more good than bad. If anything, I simply wish they were more agile in adapting to their consumers which, I admit is hard with our fans. Oh...and get this headsculpt thing figured out. They need better consistency with sizing and detail.
Blurrz: The Quintessons wish to erase the Alternators toyline from the history books. You are the Alternators defense attorney. How do you win?
We settle out of court. They drop the law suit, we give them a minor part in the Kiss Play Broadway Show.
Everybody wins.
Blurrz: There's a point in time where collectors like you and I strive to obtain a very important figure or figures. We call it the holy grail. Care to explain what the holy grail is to our newer readers, and what is/was your holy grail?
Counterpunch: Well, this is a term that gets over used in the fandom. People tend to call the latest and greatest of their wish-list items a "Grail". I know I'm splitting hairs over the term, but a grail item should be something so rare, so beyond your price range, or so completely necessary to your collection that you'll nearly never find them or you can call years of searching over.
A grail is something that you can not find at Wal Mart or Target. It's not a matter of saying you have to spend a lot to find something, but whatever it is, there should be actual work involved in finding it.
I have had two grail items over the years. The first is Shining Unicron aka Unicron of Light. It was a Lucky Draw figure that runs a few thousand dollars and I honestly doubt I'll ever really have the leverage to get one. Maybe someday if the opportunity arises after we move to a permanent location. The other is to own a full set of the Micron Legend DvD Microns. As of writing this response, I am perhaps two or three days away from actually completing this goal. When I first started, I wasn't sure I would find them all as I was so far behind on this one...but the good will of other collectors is helping me to actually make this one happen. I'll tell all on the next Twincast.
Blurrz: No need too, the Iacon paparazzi already snagged pictures of your set!
Time for the lightning round! I`ll give you a this or that question and give me your answer and a sentence or two explaining why.
Punch or Counterpunch?
Counterpunch: Counterpunch aka Spacepunch. Without this component of his personality, he's just Jazz or Bumblebee.
Blurrz: Hot Shot or Cheetor?
Counterpunch: Hot Shot. Cheetor is always a bitch. Hot Shot is pretty bad ass by Energon and a certified bad ass by Cybertron.
Blurrz: Takara 2010 Unicron or Primus?
Counterpunch: Takara 2010 Primus. Unicron had too many production flaws and the Amazon version is going to cannibalize anything special about the Takara Unicron.
Blurrz: Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley, or Mari Makinami?
Counterpunch: Asuka. I always felt bad for her. I think she has the most heartfelt admissions in EoE.
Blurrz: Henkei! Henkei! or United?
Counterpunch: Henkei...100%. United is a pale imitator to the throne. Henkei showed me that you don't have to be satisfied with average.
Blurrz: Wait, what do you mean you have to go back and spy on Megatron? Fine. Any last words to your fellow Seibertronians and adoring fanfembots?
Counterpunch: Just...be excellent to one another, to steal a line from some excellent dudes. Make friends and ignore people that get too angry. Laugh off everything you can. If your hobby becomes work or stress, step back and re-assess the situation.
Transformers-Prime.com, a sister site of UK based fan-site Transformers at the Moon, has held an interview with the newest voice actress to the vast family of Transformers voice actors we love so very much.
We will post just the first two questions, so if you wish to read the full interview please do so by clicking here.
It is our privilege to be able to bring you an exclusive interview with Transformers Prime voice actress Tania Gunadi. Tania voices Miko Nakadai the female lead human character in the show. We recently had the opportunity to ask Tania some questions regarding her role, the show as well as her acting and background in general.
Q1. You were born in West Java in Indonesia and moved to the United States at a young age, could you tell us more about this and what first impressions when you arrived within the US?
Oh man, moving to the US was one the coolest things ever. It was actually a really big surprise because my sister had submitted my name into the US green card lottery, and I won- along with my Mom and Dad! This might sound a little funny to Los Angelinos bu t when I first walked out of LAX airport, I was blown away at how fresh the air was and how awesome the traffic flowed cause I'd never seen a freeway before. And I liked looking at all the big buildings, the variety of people surrounding me and everyone was speaking English! And while I didn't quite understand what they were saying cause my English was super bad at the time, I was just so excited to be here.
Q2. How did you get into acting and voice acting and what was it that interested you in acting in the first place?
When I grew up in Indonesia, I knew nothing about acting, voice over, or anything involving TV/Film. Then while working at Pizza Hut, my first job in LA, a friend mentioned something about auditioning for a Disneyland commercial. I didn't even know what auditioning was but long story short, I booked it and have been hooked on acting ever since. I remember calling my mom and telling her that I found what I wanted to do in life, and she was pretty much shocked. She was hoping that I would work in a bank or something like that where I have a stable income with my own office and wear like, a nice suit and stuff. She tried convincing me that acting was to be a hobby only, and that I should find a real job, but I told her that it IS the best job for me because I get to have fun and make a living at the same time? Eventually after coming to set and sitting in some acting classes with me, she came around to being very supportive of what I love to do. She even had a small part in an episode of Boston Public with me and enjoyed it very much!
If you're a frequent visitor to Seibertron.com (as we hope you all are), you'll already know that we offer the most comprehensive coverage on the various Transformers conventions, both domsetically and abroad. While BotCon is easily the largest Transformers convention in the United States and TFCon can say the same for Canada, they are hardly the only TF conventions out there. "Across the pond" in the UK there is one annual Transformers event that has grown to the point that it has broken records and become Europe's largest Transformers convention, having pulled in just over 500 attendees last year. Recently, we caught up with Simon Plumbe, organizer of that convention which he has named Auto Assembly.
Delicon: On behalf of myself and the rest of the staff here at Seibertron.com, I'd like to say how privileged we are to have a special guest today in Simon Plumbe. Simon is the founder and the organizer of Auto Assembly, Europe's largest Transformers convention. Simon, we humbly thank you for your time today.
Simon Plumbe: It's my pleasure - thanks for being interested in us and for all your support over the last few years!
Delicon: There are obviously millions of Transformers fans all over the globe, but only a select few have been involved in putting together a Tf-themed event on the scale of Auto Assembly. What inspired you to take on such a venture and did you have any idea years ago how big it would eventually become?
Simon Plumbe: Well, I've been active in science fiction fandom for 21 years now and obviously involved with Auto Assembly for the last 10 years, and Auto Assembly's origin started then. Back in 1989 I founded Infinite Frontiers, Auto Assembly's "parent" organisation which is a non-profit making sci-fi group. Originally, it started as a Doctor Who fan club, but quickly evolved into a sci-fi organisation. A Star Trek fanzine soon followed, then a Star Trek convention in 1996, followed by a Star Trek club with regular monthly meetings. It was from these meetings that former team member Sven Harvey suggested doing a one-off Transformers meeting similar to our Star Trek ones. The event was planned, publicised on a limited basis and had a fairly decent turnout of 30 people - Auto Assembly was born! Another followed about 6 months later with 61 people, a bit more elaborate and ambitious and it seemed as if we were obviously onto something.
Delicon: Was there a particular year when you got a first real glimpse of just how big Auto Assembly could actually be?
Simon Plumbe: Things really took shape in 2003 when the UK's other Transformers convention Transforce took a gap year. We expanded quite a lot, hired a large hall, invited a couple of guests and had over 230 people attend from all over the UK. Auto Assembly had arrived!! Things just grew from there really. Since then there have been some behind the scenes changes and for reasons I won't go into here, I took sole charge of the convention for Auto Assembly 2009 and I'm now driving it with a new vision and it's grown into the sort of scale that I envisioned a few years ago making it into the sort of sci-fi conventions I used to attend and I think the attendees have responded really well to it. I brought in a new committee late in the day last year and they really rallied around me and helped save the convention and they have done a fantastic job. I've pulled talent in from a lot of the major UK forums and websites and fan groups and I think it really has added a lot to the convention and we've got a great team to really take the convention forward for the next 10 years and beyond!
Delicon: Last year it was well publicized that AA broke the magical 500 attendee mark. How many attendees have registered so far this year and is there any kind of limit as to how many guests you could possibly accommodate?
Simon Plumbe: This year it has been incredible! At this point last year we had about 120 pre-registrants but so far we are already up to just under 200! Going by that number, we are well on track to not only beat 500 but shatter that total. In fact, I think we're on course to have this year being the first total sell out so we will have to turn people away so I'd seriously suggest that people don't leave it too late to book their tickets! We have set an attendance cut off point of 550 people per day for the convention to keep things comfortable and within the hotel safety limits. As we are using four function rooms in the hotel we don't think any part of the convention will get too crowded at any time and we think that 550 will keep things nice and friendly and informal for everyone, including the guests. As I said, that figure is each day though, so the total figure could be a lot higher taking into consideration that some people may only be there for a single day.
Delicon: That brings me to my next question. Although there was some speculation otherwise, is it safe to say from your last statement that you will again be offering single day passes for the convention?
Simon Plumbe: We have had people asking us for a while whether or not we are going to be offering one day tickets again for Auto Assembly 2010. Well I can now exclusively reveal that not only are we doing this, but they will be going on sale in the next couple of days! We are doing things slightly differently to last year though. Last time we set an allocation for one-day passes then released them slowly over several months. This time we are limiting it to just 75 one day tickets for Saturday and the same for Sunday and that is it. All the remaining tickets are weekend passes only so once those 75 have sold out on your chosen, the only way you will be able to attend is to book for the other day, or the full weekend. Price wise, we are freezing the ticket price from 2009 and one day tickets will be £25 for adults, £18 for children, students and senior citizens, and free for under 5s.
Delicon: Can you let our readers know the time and place for Auto Assembly 2010, as well as the rest of the pricing structure?
Simon Plumbe: It's taking place over the weekend of Friday 13th(!)-Sunday 15th August 2010 in the Holiday Inn Birmingham City Centre hotel, Birmingham, England. To avoid confusion, there are two Holiday Inn hotels in the centre of Birmingham but the one we are using is specifically called the Holiday Inn Birmingham City Centre. We've got varying ticket prices dependent on age and discounts for families.Adult (16+) full weekend tickets are £45, Children, students and senior citizens are £35 for the weekend, and under 5s are free. We also do a family pass which is £145 which covers two adults and two children All of those are rates are for the full weekend. The Friday starts from about 6:00 pm until about 10:00 pm (really just as "starter" for the weekend) and the main convention is from around 9:30-5:30 on Saturday and 9:30-6:00 on Sunday. There is also a special evening programme on the Saturday from 7:30 until around 1:00 am that is exclusive for weekend attendees only (as is the Friday evening programme)
Delicon: What can you tell us about the Friday and Saturday evening programs that might make a prospective attendee consider registering for the entire weekend?
Simon Plumbe: Friday is very much a pre-convention social gathering - the dealers will be setting up and we'll still be doing some of the pre-convention setting up, but we're opening up the Main Hall and bar to attendees. We'll have some videos running, possibly a quiz or two, most of our guests will be around and we will no doubt have another one of our live fan dubs on the big video screen but really it's a pretty informal fun night. Last year we finished the night off with a group trip to the cinema to see Revenge Of The Fallen and we are still talking to the same cinema about trying to do something again this year.
Delicon: Wow, those are just the Friday activities?
Simon Plumbe: Yeah, that's just Friday night! Saturday night is another exclusive night for weekend attendees and this is probably the highlight of the weekend for me personally, because Saturday is party night! The main convention will end at about 5:30 pm and will re-open at 7:30 pm and the night is going to be running on until around 1:00 am. We're going to have two concerts by rock band Next Of Kin (one will be a set featuring covers of songs from the 1986 animated Transformers movie and the set later in the night will be a general mix of stuff into the early hours), we'll have a cosplay fashion show/competition, our script reading featuring Garry Chalk, our second voice actor and several fans performing a brand new script written by Simon Furman (see our Youtube channel for all three parts of last year's script) and maybe a few more surprises that we're working on...all this and a bar that will be open all night long! Most importantly though, ALL of this - the Friday night, the Saturday night mparty, the workshops, autograph sessions... EVERYTHING is included in the ticket price! Apart from your travel, hotel bill, food and whatever you spend in the dealers room, you won't have to pay for anything that takes part at Auto Assembly 2010. Well, obviously, apart from the raffle and auction!
Delicon: That sounds awesome! I imagine that beyond the parties, many many other things will be going on as well. Is it possible to explain in words to someone what Auto Assembly is all about and do it justice if they have never been to one?
Simon Plumbe: I'll try. We hope that from the minute people arrive at the convention, until the time they leave they'll find plenty to do and have a weekend that they will never forget! I don't think there's any one thing that I could single out about the convention, but over the years it's definitely changed, even more so in the last 18 months with our change of committee since I took sole charge of the
convention backed up by a new team... the main thing I would say is that it is a weekend long social event, a chance to spend a few days mixing with fellow Transformers fans One way I like to think of it is that you could go to the convention alone and go home with several hundred new friends! Last year, almost everyone said that they felt that meeting friends, and the social aspect of the convention was the hightlight for them so in a way, you could look upon the convention as a three day party! Obviously, there's a lot more to Auto Assembly than just a place for people to meet though. There will be dealers from all over the UK and further afield with toys for sale ranging from G1 to RotF and beyond, video screenings, rare toy and art displays, quizzes, competitions, workshops, games, a costume competition, a live band, guest talks including 8 comic guests, and 2 voice actors, a live script performance with our voice actors on stage...and that's not even half of it!!
Delicon: You didn't mention it just now but I've heard that AA has also become a haven for video gaming. Do tell!
Simon Plumbe: Most years we've tried to have a video games area at the convention and several times we've worked closed with games publishers to have their support - thanks to Atari one year we had Playstation 2 in-store units sent along to showcase their game, along with demo discs to give away to all our attendees and one fan went home with a PS2. This year we wanted to do something a little different. It's been 25 years since the first Transformers game was released on any format and we wanted to showcase the best (and worst) of these and give people a chance to play as many of these as possible and expand our games area as we could so we're getting as many old computers and games consoles as we can and the games to go with them, and setting up a dedicated Games Zone. We're going to have everything from the Commodore 64 right up to the Playstation 3 and everything in between and while a lot of games will be familiar to those attending, we're sure most people will see games they have never played before and we're pretty excited about it.
Delicon: Something very enticing to fans at a large convention such as this is always the guest roster. You mentioned 8 comic guests as well as 2 voice actor guests. Now in past years, I know Auto Assembly has featured such "names" as Dan Gilvezan (he even mentioned Auto Assembly on the Shout! Factory Transformers cartoon DVD set), Ian James Corlett, Gregg Berger and Simon Furman. What special guests have been announced so far for Auto Assembly 2010?
Simon Plumbe: Well, we had more guests than ever last year but being honest we felt that we probably had too many and not only was the guest area too crowded but it didn't give the guests enough time on stage either, so we thought that this year we're focusing on fewer guests but choosing guests we know people want to see either returning or to see for the first time. So bearing that in mind, comic wise we have the return of Auto Assembly regulars Simon Williams, Liam Shalloo, Kat Nicholson, Jason Cardy and Kris Carter. Returning after a one year break is the legendary Simon Furman and making a welcome return after his Auto Assembly debut in 2006 is Guido Guidi. With our guests of honour, we have our first two confirmed - Garry Chalk who needs no introductions, and Transformers Animated lead character designer Derrick J Wyatt, who is being brought to the convention thanks to sponsorship from the guys over at http://www.transformertoys.co.uk and http://www.transformersanimated.com We are still in talks with our final guest of honour (who is our second voice actor for the convention) but we DO have another guest to announce right now and right here!!!
Delicon: By all means, don't you let me hold you up! I'm sure our loyal Seibertron.com viewers are eager to know!
Simon Plumbe: Well, he was such a hit last year that we couldn't resist inviting him back. We are proud to announce that once again we are going to be joined by IDW Publishing's artist/writer Nick Roche!
Delicon: That sounds like a pretty star-packed lineup to me. I understand that many of your guests will have items such as prints, original comic art, commissions, pre-signed comic issues and more for sale. Is it also true that they will sign all of these items for free?
Simon Plumbe: We always insist that our guests don't charge for autographs. If they bring things along with them to sell then that's fine with us, but if fans bring their own things then we don't allow guests to charge for these things to be signed. Artists will be selling prints and charging for sketches, and all our attendees will have postcards in their goodie bags with characters that the actors will have played so they have something that they can get signed, but
if they want to buy a photo from the actors then they can. Obviously, we want people to be sensible and not abuse it though. If people take a pile of comics to Simon Furman and ask him to sign all of them, then they have to expect him to say no at some point as it's not fair to expect our guests to sign hundreds of items for every attendee! However, our autograph and guest system is handled VERY informally so all attendees have the chance for autographs all weekend and our guests have plenty of time for themselves too!
Delicon: That's a really nice thing that you are able to do. Speaking of "doing nice things," I've heard that Auto Assembly has in the past used a portion of the proceeds to raise money for charity. Can you elaborate on that and will that continue this year?
Simon Plumbe: Yeah, that's something that we've always tried to do. We're a non-profit making event (ever since I set up Auto Assembly's "parent" organisation, Infinite Frontiers, back in 1989 it's been non-profit making) but for conventions at least, we've had some form of charity fund-raising element added to it. We tend to have a charity auction and raffle as part of the programme and - if we are in the position to afterwards - put some of the excess funds from the convention to charity as well. This year's auction is already looking quite impressive with a lot of signed photos of various voice actors from G1 onwards, original comic artwork, signed comics, and lots more besides! Last year Gregg Berger got involved in the auction and became a guest auctioneer for part of it, which really helped raise more money but really made it an entertaining part of the weekend as well and we hope to get one of our guests to do the same again this year.
Delicon: Earlier on, you mentioned that Auto Assembly now has its own Youtube channel. What sort of content is provided there and roughly how often is it updated?
Simon Plumbe: We're trying to use the channel in two ways - first as a news/information channel to give people as many updates on the convention as possible and all the breaking news and developments and go into the sort of detail that we couldn't go into anywhere else. Secondly, we have a massive archive of material that we have recorded since the first event back in 2000 and we wanted to share it with everyone so we're slowly going to be editing it and releasing it on there. Originally, we were looking into releasing a DVD from Auto Assembly 2009 and we had about 14 hours worth of footage to use, but as this plan has been shelved, a lot of this will be uploaded to Youtube in time but we decided to start with the interviews with Gregg Berger, Ian Corlett and Andrew Wildman along with the script reading. In terms of updates, we'll aim to upload at least one video a week, possibly more including our news bulletins.
Delicon: A lot of colletcors attending conventions are more and more interested in collecting exclusive items that are either only given away or put up for sale there. However, I understand it's a pretty difficult process to get exclusives produced. Where does AA stand when it comes to offering exclusives and where do you WANT to stand?
Simon Plumbe: We have been trying to arrange for an exclusive toy for a LONG time but it's difficult. Not being an official convention takes away a lot of power from us to be able to do something like that, and even if we were, the cost would be astronomical and we would need a business partner to take on the cost risk. We have been approached several times now by companies who manufacture the
unlicensed accessories such as Powered Commander, but that's not a route I want to go down - either we get something official, or not at all. That's why I was so excited last year when we had the convention exclusive cover variant of All Hail Megatron #13 and I'd like to do something similar again this year.
Delicon: Well, while it may not be a special edition figure, Auto Assembly does still give out something called "goodie bags." Can you explain the kinds of items that are included in those?
Simon Plumbe: The goodie bags are something we have been doing since 2003 and it's just something we wanted to do as a "thank you" to all our attendees for coming along to the convention. We know that for some people, the cost of attending the convention can be quite high so even if someone doesn't have enough money to buy a lot, we wanted EVERYONE to be able to go home with something so the goodie bag was born. We don't know exactly what will be in this years yet apart from 2-3 postcards, a keyring, comics, stickers, pin badges, but what you get will vary depending on when you register - the earlier you book, the more you get! We're also going to have some more exclusive postcards in our goodie bag - we're looking at either two or three new postcards and a keyring in the bag for everyone, and we may have more keyring designs on sale. As always, I am constantly going to be talking to companies to get more items donated right up until the last possible minute to give everyone the best bag of gifts we can!
Delicon: What can you tell us about the workshops that will be held this year?
Simon Plumbe: Last year we ran a number of workshops over the course of the weekend and we know they were all a hit with the attendees and we are hoping to run all of these again. We have already confirmed that we will be runing a comic colouring workshop with IDW colourists Liam Shalloo and Kris Carter, we are hoping to have another children's art workshop as part of our dedicated children's programme of activities and if we can persuade him again(!), we would hope that Nick Roche will do another art workshop. As well as that, we are hoping to run another kitbash workshop over the weekend so there will be plenty of hands-on activities for people to get involved in. If anyone else wants to run workshops, activities or events of their own over the weekend, we do have our Alternative Programme Room that is bookable by attendees so it's completely open-ended. Right up until the convention itself, we have no idea what extra programme items could be taking place!!
Delicon: In the past, UK transformers fansite Transformers @ The Moon has been on hand to show off some ultra rare figures, notably their massive Lucky Draw display last year. Will TFTM be participating in a similar fashion this year?
Simon Plumbe: Well, Steve and Dave Mapes from Transformers @ The Moon are now official sponsors of the convention - they're bringing Derrick Wyatt over - but they are also members of my new committee and they are in charge of the toy display! They do have an idea for something special this year. It won't be lucky draws this time as they wouldn't be able to top last year when they showcased their entire collection, but they have got some pretty good ideas lined up, some of which are still in the works.
Delicon: We're just about out of time today. Simon, is there anything you'd like to say in closing, either to returning AA attendees or those who are reading this and possibly still on the fence?
Simon Plumbe: I just want to thank everyone who has registered so far for AutoAssmbly 2010 and to thank everyone for their support last year in helping make Auto Assembly 2009 the biggest Transformers convention in Europe and smashing the 500 barrier that we've wanted to break for so long, especially after the problems I had in the run-up to the convention making sure it actually still went ahead. If you are planning on coming this year, all I will say is hurry and book up while we do still have places available as you won't regret it, especially as we make more announcements over the coming weeks and if you're not sure about coming just check out the videos on Youtube -
ours and ones other people have recorded - and see what you missed last time and maybe that will change your mind!
Delicon: Can you give everyone one last quick reminder of the time and place of Auto Assembly 2010?
Simon Plumbe: Yeah, it's 13th - 15th August 2010 at the Holiday Inn Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham, England. Auto Assembly will start at around 6:00 pm on Friday for weekend attendees only and at around 9:30 am on Saturday / Sunday for single day attendees.
Delicon: Thanks so much, Simon! For more information on Auto Assemby 2010 and further updates as they become available, please visit http://www.autoassembly.org.uk. You can also find AA2010 on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/auto_assembly) and Youtube
(https://www.youtube.com/autoassembly) Of course, Seibertron.com will continue to have extensive AA2010 updates, also. Simon is also a registered member of our Energon Pub forums so he is accessible there
as well.
There are many famous voice actors in the Transformers universe. Obviously, Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime and Ironhide), Frank Welker (Megatron, Soundwave, Galvatron and the cassettes), and Chris Latta (Starscream, Sparkplug and Wheeljack) are nothing less than iconic but for many fans Gregg Berger is just as legendary. Gregg has a very extensive resume but he's best known to Transformers fans as the voice of Skyfire, Outback, Long Haul and of course GRIMLOCK from the G1 Sunbow cartoon.
Gregg has been a very busy man in 2009, headlining at not one but THREE major conventions this year. The first was at Botcon 2009 in Pasadena, CA this May. I had the honor of being granted an interview with Mr. Berger at that time and he was a true class act. The topics included the most unusual items he has ever autographed, a breakdown of some of his current projects and of course some reminiscing about the old Sunbow cartoon among other things. You may read that interview here.
Roughly 2 weeks ago, Gregg was also one of the featured guests at the world famous San Diego Comic Con. While at SDCC, Gregg again took some extra time out for an interview, this time with newsarama.com. Gregg kindly voices his opinions on the Shout Factory! G1 boxset and the live action Transformers movies, and of course a lot more. You may view the entire interview here.
Headlining at those 2 conventions would be impressive enough but Mr. Berger's appearance schedule still has one major stop ahead. This time, he will be heading to the United Kingdom for Europe's largest Transformers Convention, Auto Assembly 2009. The staff here at Seibertron.com would like to applaud Gregg for everything he has done and continues to do for the many Transformers fans all over the world. Those of us who have been lucky enough to meet him feel very honored for that opportunity. The fans attending AA2009 are in for a treat, to say the least!
For more information on Gregg Berger, you may visit his official website and his myspace page. For serious booking inquiries, you may contact his representative Emily Danyel of Tri-Booking Management at emily@tribooking.com and at 1 (310) 497-7994.
Seibertron.com - If you like Transformers, you'll love us!
Shia LaBeouf, who plays Sam Witwicky in the latest Transformers movie Revenge of the Fallen is currently part of a promotion tour for the release of the movie. This includes guest appearances on various TV Shows.
Last Friday Shia LaBeouf was the guest on the Tonight Show with Connan O'Brien. His appearance can be watches at the link below on Hulu.com.
(Hulu.com can only be viewed within the United States).
It might be cold outside but the activity at Transtopia has been hot. This edition features the creative work from December. Check out the latest customs, artwork, painting guide, and contest. We also have exciting news in the wings - two new sections will roll out next month: Fan Fiction & Artist Interviews. Make sure to read about the details below so you can part take in the action and possibly get featured. And in March, get your cameras ready for another creative section. Remember, to visit Transtopia periodically for the latest work.
-Stormrider
How to Showcase Your Work
The newsletter is your opportunity to show off your work and talent. We rely on your articles, artwork, and customs to make it interesting. Entries will be reviewed on a monthly basis. You can submit your work here: Repaints, Kitbashes, Scratchbuilds Fan Art, Fan Fiction, Guides
Make a Difference, Join the Newsletter Team!
Want to contribute to the Seibertron community? Why not join the newsletter team? We need a few more volunteers for our crew. Duties require a few hours each month, consistently. Roles include layout & design, overseeing sections, and formatting. If you are interested send me a PM: Stormrider.
Newsletter Credits:
Newsletter Editor - Stormrider
Guides Editor - Dead Metal
Interviewer & Columnist - Burn
Fan Fiction Editor - Sledge
Customs Formatter - Mattyc1007
Chuck Close is a famous and very talented painter from Monroe, Washington, United States of America. He was part of the Photorealism art-movement from the US in the 1960's in which the artists based their paintings on photographs. He was one of the greatest of this art-style; but after he was paralyzed from the neck down he really rose to fame. He managed to still paint but being unable to move his arms properly he created a completely new technique of painting to achieve photorealism. He achieved this by painting in grids similar to pixels so when looked at from afar it is indistinguishable from a real photograph.
He paints to this day in this art-style.
As the first Transtopia "How to .." painting guide fellow Transtopian, The Freezer, shows us how you can paint your favorite Transformer in the style of Chuck Close.
Painting Guide (Chuck Close Style)
I had a spare day at college a while back and did this.
1. Find a picture of your desired Transformer and then grid it.
2. Get a canvas or a peice of paper masking taped to some board.
3. Grid said paper or canvas. There MUST be the same amount of squares as on the original gridded picture.
4. Paint the squares in block colour using a mix of the colours in the square on the original picture. For example- original pic- red and black your painting- very dark red.
The end result should be like a pixelated image.
5. Now we add the detail, this is done by painting small shapes in the coloured squares to look like the corresponding square on the original pic. Close up its jibberish but back away and you should see it.
6. Fill in the back ground squares with more funny shapes.
Do you want to contribute to the Transtopian guides? Then send us an e-mail: Transtopia.Guide@gmx.de You can find the guidelines by clicking here.
Featured Artwork
Cyber-Kun is this month's featured artist. Cyber-Kun gives us his rendition of Animated Jhiaxus. It is interesting to see how the color scheme, vehicle mode, and transformation were carefully considered during the execution of this piece. You can post your comments about this featured artwork here.
Honorable mentions goes to Zero-Kaiser for his Scourge/Nemesis Prime. To all of you modest artists out there, make sure to submit your artwork for the next newsletter here by January 31st. Submissions are open for all Transformers artwork (new & old pieces).
Fan Fiction
Okay Transformers Mythos Writers here's your chance to be featured in the next newsletter! Starting in February, the Transtopia Newsletter will feature a Fan Fiction story written by one of you. Seibertron member, Sledge, will be directing this new ongoing column and select one story each month.
Entries will be reviewed monthly. Make sure to conform to the guidelines below. Submissions are open for new and old stories. There is no limit to the number of stories that you can submit, but please do not resubmit the same story twice. Post your entries here.
Guidelines:
1) 10,000 word limit. Rough guideline to start with, I won't be automatically disqualifying anything that comes in over.
2) Decent spelling, grammar and punctuation. People need to at least run a spell-check over the thing before submitting it. This isn't me being a grammar Nazi, it's just difficult to get absorbed in a story if you're constantly being jolted out of it by bad spelling.
3) Be specific as to where/when the story is set. So what continuity is it in (G1 comic, G1 cartoon, Armada comic, etc) and where is it set? Before the events of the show or comic, after, during? If during, where does it fit?
4) Fan characters are fine, but I'd prefer people avoid making them those annoying "I am more powerful than any other Transformer!!!" types. Also, consider if there's an under-used existing TF who'd fit the needs of the story just as well as someone new. Existing characters are almost always more interesting to everyone else.
-Sledge
Artist Interiews with Burn G'day folks, Stormrider's asked me to throw a blurb together to introduce myself and to also introduce another new part to the monthly Transtopia Newsletter.
My name, obviously, is Burn, and I've been handed the duties of having a chat with one (or more, depending on interest and time) of our many artists that frequent Seibertron.com and Transtopia.
The aim of the monthly chat is to get to know a little more about our creative geniuses, more than just their finished pieces of art. I'm sure many of you have looked at a kitbash or a repaint, or a photoshop piece or even read a fanfic and wondered who the person is behind that.
So that's where this little feature intends to come in. We'll get to know the people behind the art.
Some of you may be wondering, "Why you Burn?" Well Stormrider and First Gen were busy doing other stuff, plus I have done my fair share of creating things.
Some of you may remember a few of my characters from Seibertron.com's Heavy Metal War game. I'm the guy responsible for creating such characters as Gore, CATalyst, Slice, Dice, Dead Reckoning, Cannon Fodder Lemming, and the midget clone every body loved to hate, Mini-Maximus Prime, together they were better known as "The Freaks". I've written a number of back stories for some of these characters, and kitbashed nearly all of them (along with a number of other characters, including Autobots, plus a couple of characters created by Whisper and War Hammer).
So where did it all begin for me? Looking back it really began a bit over two decades ago around the age of 10. Al Gore had yet to really invent the internet, porn was still predominantly distributed on VHS, and Optimus Prime was a truck and Megatron was a gun.
I had never even heard of the term "kitbashing" and my skills up to that point in my life had been basically assembling model aeroplanes, which also often resulted in my fingers being glued together more than the planes themselves.
I also, it seems, had a fascination with the colour "black".
I'd take junker toys, including some busted TF's, and just cobble parts together. If anything these "creations" were the original "Freaks", because that's what they were, freaky looking things, I was a young Dr Frankenstein to plastic toys.
Who liked to paint things black?
I should also point out that at that age too, kids really shouldn't play with sharp knives.
Over the years though I drifted away from Transformers, blame High School. It was only a few years ago that I got back into TF's and in my quest to acquire many missing figures for my collection, I gathered up a nice pile of junker TF's.
This was the early days for kitbashing I might add, Transtopia didn't exist, and many of the major TF forums dedicated very little space to kitbashing. But I had all these junkers and influenced by the few artists that were around, I decided to try my hand.
In no way do I consider myself to be a great kitbasher, (and even less of a writer) but I do have a number of figures I am proud of, and then there are those I just don't even want to talk about!
If I was to say the one thing that is important to me when it comes to kitbashing and even writing, it's to create an original character. Canon characters just aren't my thing, I like creating a character from scratch, defining its personality, and making that personality match the figure.
I also rarely do a straight repaint. I always feel the need to modify a figure in some way to set it apart from the original mould. Whether it's something minor like a weapon change to something extensive like articulating a brick, anything to make it just that little bit different and unique.
So that's me, I'm sure Stormrider was hoping for some shorter, but I had to do SOMETHING while Dexter downloaded!
So this is where I turn it over to you guys, if you've showcased any form of artistic piece here on Seibertron.com recently, be it a repaint, a kitbash, a piece of fanfic, a photoshopped pic, or anything else that you've posted, and you're interested in being interviewed just drop me a pm and we'll get the ball rolling: ucp.php?i=pm&mode=compose&u=4677
-Burn
Banner Contest:
Hey all you savvy digital artist. Do you enjoy whipping up signatures and showing them off on the Internet? Well, here's your chance to put your skills to the test. Create a banner for the Transtopia Newsletter and become the ultimate show off.
Additional banners are needed for the newsletter. Create one or several banners and enter for your chance at fame and glory. The deadline is January 31st. There is no limit to the number of entries you may submit. The winner(s) will have their banners proudly displayed in the newsletters and receive credits and bragging rights.
Create one or all four: (Banner titles)
"Artist Interview"
"Featured Artwork"
"Fan Fiction"
"Photo Blitz"
Requirements:
1. The banner should be 500 pixels wide x 165 pixels high.
2. You can only use pictures or artwork that you have received permission for. You are welcome to use the images from the Seibertron galleries for this contest.
3. Each banner should have the title in the bottom center.
4. Submit your entries in jpeg format.
In a recent article posted by My Park Magazine, Shia LaBeouf and others comment on the filming experience of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and the safety level that seemed to be a non factor.
"During filming I've got 75 military officers firing at me, shrapnel falling on my head that's bigger than my arms. It's hard to be normal", stated the 22 year old LaBeouf, "You're running past them, and your clearance is only about 10 feet. These dudes are moving, and if one trips or falls and we run into the muzzle of a blank, that could blow your chest open or burn you."
It seems that adding realism to the film was a huge factor during filming and if Shia's comments aren't convincing enough, Lieutenant Colonel Gregory Bishop of the United States Army stated that he's never seen a joint military operation, involving all branches of the military, on this scale before for a movie.
This statement supports our previous report on the US Military's involvement in the filming of Revenge of the Fallen here. Lt. Col. Bishop served as a military liaison for the film.
Our friends over at the Nordic Transfans Association were fortunate enough to sit down and talk with HASBRO's Global Brand Marketing Director Michael Vibede Vanting recently.
Here's an excerpt from the interview:
NTFA: Was the Transformers brand a deliberate choice of yours, or were you assigned to that brand?
MVV: After a few months of being at Hasbro in the United State, I was asked to join the new Transformers global team. I was very pleased as, in my opinion, it is one of Hasbro’s “coolest” brands to work on. It is a pioneer for a lot of the things we are doing at Hasbro with re-vitalizing our brands via different modes of entertainment, I find that very exciting and a great opportunity. Finally the Transformers team of designers and marketing people are so talented that it is a privilege to work on the team.
The interview makes for a great read and lets us know that HASBRO worldwide cares about the faithful consumers that love the brands they bring to us. Getting a chance to talk to someone within the industry is an opportunity no News Crew member would pass up for any TF website. So HASBRO, if you're reading this, I'm ready when you are.
A new interview with the Transformers writers and artist Simon Furman, Steve White, and Geoff Senior has been posted. The interview can be found at AICN. The interview focuses on the new Titan Magazine Transformers comic in the United Kingdom based on the Transformers Movie. Read the interview for yourself at AICN.
Goto Page: <<1, 2, 3>> 22 total news articles in this section, 10 per page.
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