Date: Sunday, July 1st 2007 9:30am CDT
Categories: Toy News,
Event News
Posted by: Seibertron Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 108,357
I WILL BE UPDATING THIS THREAD THROUGHOUT THEIR PRESENTATION. PLEASE KEEP CHECKING BACK FOR MORE INFORMATION
WE COULDN'T TAKE PICS OF THEIR PRESENTATION.
Transformers Animated
ALLSPARK POWER
Incinerator - Osprey, Voyager
Landmine - Sector Seven looking buggy
Stockade - Sector Seven GMC Envoy, Decepticon
Desert Attack Brawl (Leader Class) with X-ed out Autobot lgos
Nightwatch Prime
New Robot Heroes - Galvatron, BW Megatron, BW Cheetor
Transformers Animated stuff
------------------------------
Going to give us a sneak peak
Better timeslot for TV show than with Energon and Cybertron
Hasbro thinks that we shouldn't be worrying about things as much as we are.
Worked very closely with Cartoon Network.
People working on cartoon are big fans ... I got the impression that they are moreso than the folks at Hasbro
Wanted to diversify, freshen things up.
It's our new Cartoon series for 2008
Production has been brought back to US
Writing Style
------------------------
Return to character development and story telling similar to BW.
Action driven show - very fluid.
Episodic but ties into an overall Seasonal Arc
Smaller cast of Bots with signifciant character development for each individual character.
Action driven with a dose of Humor.
Major fcosu on personality and abilities
Rich action sequences
Familiar and New characters
Human super-villains and Decepticon villains.
Artistic Style
----------------------------
Highly stylized and fluid animation
More energetic and expressive bots.
Major focus on personality and abilities
Grow from Mechanical to Emotive designs
Familiar and New characters
Realistic and Stylized transformations.
1 transformation is tasmanian devil styled.
Will not be anime cut transformations.
You will really see them transform
Summary
----------------------
Set on Earth in the near future in Detroit, the alien Transformers are thrust into a world populated by humans and automatons. As visitors to Earth, the Transformers -- Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Prowl, Bulkhead and Ratchet -- work in the human world interacting with the 'natives' in exciting and humorous ways. Transformers Animated has been created to showcase the heroic Autobots working together to battle the evil Decepticons and save Earth with kid-relatable plot lines filled with humor, distinctive characters persaonalities and dynamic action.
AUTOBOTS
----------------------------
Ratchet - season Autobot, legitimate combat, cybertronian version of the military, like the guy from Full Metal Jacket
Ironhide will be like the Fantastic Four's Thing.
Prowl is like a ninja.
Grimlock is a T-REX!!! HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE!!!
THERE WILL BE TWO OTHER DINOBOTS IN THE SHOW.
They are 3 crazy dude.
Grimlock looks awesome
DECEPTICONS
-------------------
Megatron is a gun in his Cybertronian mode.
Starscream kind of resembles Cyclonus in jet mode.
Has kind of like a Chris Latta voice
Voiced by Tom Kenny
We will be seeing most of the Transformers in their Cybertronian modes at the beginning of the series.
Blitzwing is a triplechanger (tank, jet, robot) - looks f'in awesome!!!
Kind of a new spin on his character, fun personality quirk: has a split personality
Spinning face gimmick on the toy
Lugnut (similar in body style to Bulkhead)
If Bulkhead is like the Thing, then Lugnut is like the Incredible Hulk.
Lugnut has missiles for hands,
Jet of some sort
BLACKARACHNIA!!! HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE
Different origin story for BA than in BW.
Starts out as a different character entirely, flashbacks, one of the more complicated Decepticons, you'll care more about her.
HUMANS CHARACTERS
------------
Cpt. Fanzone - Police Chief
Sari (girl) and her father Isaac Sumdac
Sari's interaction with the Autobots is unlike her interaction in the past shows. It works out better. Not the typical human sidekick.
Sari is an outcast. Looks to the Autobots for friendship.
Human villians - "Angry Archer" (applause), NOT your typical run-of-the-mill Dr. Archeville character. Super villains ...
OTHER STUFF
-----------------------
The Autobots WILL have their Ark. It looks like a stylized G1 Ark. Crowd: Will there be a toy? No response from Hasbro.
The Decepticons WILL have the Nemesis.
Nemesis dwarfs the Ark. It's GIGANTIC.
The Ark is about the size of one of the spikes on the Nemesis.
Nemesis has a purple lighting and black interior.
Ark had warm colors, circular, multi-level
Showed us some shots of what Detroit looks like.
Showed us a shot of the Sumdac Tower's interior.
What will the toys look like?
Toys developed at the same time as the animation designs.
Animation style allows us to show more personality with each character.
90% animation/toy accuracy.
Takara has really helped out with these designs.
New sculpting style.
No more full line gimmicks!!! WOO HOO! Big round of applause ...
Transformation is the feature.
Signature weapons and poses - attitude and stance.
Range of motion is great!
Allows for the characterization to stand out more.
There are some things they won't be able to do because of joints and stuff.
Accessories will transform?
Convey a greater range of style with these characters.
Wow ... just showed us what deluxe and Voyager Optimus Primes. Look awesome. The stylistic sculpting is there ... match up extremely well with the animated versions. Wow. Just wow! I wish you guys could see this.
Deluxe Bumblebee and Voyager class Bulkhead - really staying faithful to animated look.
Archer: can't thank Takara enough for their help with this line.
Really paid off by working daily with Takara and Cartoon Network.
Deluxe Prowl and Deluxe Ratchet
All figures have great articulation.
Artist rendition (3-D model) of Voyager Grimlock.
Voyager Megatron and Starscream: Megatron is a vertical take off Cybertronian vehicle in this image. I'm confused with the gun mode drawing of him from earlier. Maybe the gun mode Megatron is his earth mode.
Deluxe Blackarachnia looks great!
Lugnut and Blitzwing pics ...
The future
-------------------------
Working on season 2 already.
More familiar and new characters.
Possibility of season 3 and 4.
Desire to create brand new characters ... with cameos by G1 favorites.
Toys will have a "matte" finish like Batman Animated.
Marty Isenberg is on clip they show us.
AllSpark looks like a Matrix/
Optimus has an axe.
Megatron has a sword.
The animation is really slick looking. Everyone is going to love this.
Optimus Prime doese have a mouth and a face shield.
The transforrmation of Optimus Prime looked really cool.
My opinion has officially changed
Optimus says: "transform and roll out."
Opening audio is very cool: hip hop, rock type style.
No transformation audio yet.
The Optimus Prime axe is awesome.
Showed us a space scene.
Optimus pole-vaulted with an extended version of his axe.
HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE.
FALL 2008 ... CLASSICS??????????????????
CLASSICS 2.0
Showed us Sunstreaker and Sideswipe.
Want to continue realistic look with Classics.
"Transformers Universe" in G1 styled font.
Deluxe scale.
Will not be licensed vehicles
In early development.
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe will not have the same chest, head or design. They look just as different in robot mode as their G1 selves.
Showed us Octane (triple changer): military tanker vehicle and looks like the gun ship from TF Movie that took out Scorponok.
Looking to add an ultra scale to Transformers Universe.
They are planning on doing a new Galvatron figure that is not a repaint of Megatron.
2 segments for fall 2008: Transformers Animated and Transformers Universe (Classics 2.0). I have the impression that the G1 styled font "Transformers Universe" is the official name for Classics 2.0. The fans shouted ... Hasbro heard.
------------------------------
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Why not a cartoon based on the movie? The movie is it's own Universe.
Robot Heroes: wanted to see how well it did before they committed to more figures.
They are a big hit.
Will make a decision in a few months on how to expand the line.
Any chance for an Ultra Magnus that isn't a Prime repaint? YES!
No mentions of Alternators or Titaniums - had to make some choices based ... $2 million dollars invested in Alternators and die-cast in Titaniums ... Hasbro wasn't getting a return on their investment with those lines so they decided to focus on Classics 2.0.
Larger scales for Classics.
Similar number of figures as wave 1 in last fall's Classics line.
Animated Optimus Prime has a detachable trailer.
Classics Jazz or Arcee? Jazz is likely as a Classic. Not sure about an Arcee yet.
Getting more and more difficult to make just a trailer without a feature.
Probably will not do a character in Animated and Classics at the same time.
Probably won't see the Dinobots in the upcoming Classics line.
Grimlock performed really well in the Classics line.
Fan: please make Arcee a real car and not a bike.
There will be an upcoming Combiner. Not sure if they meant Classics or Animated.
The unproduced Titanium molds (Bumblebee, Cosmos, Shockwave and Arcee) could be used for other lines.
Will not be a vending machine Transformer (in reference to the Mountain Dew vending machine Transformer).
Skywarp and Thundercracker might turn up in Animated. Still working with Cartoon Network on this.
Cosmos could end up somewhere. Hasbro said they will keep trying to get us that figure/character.
Titanium will end with WW Prowl and WW Grimlock.
One of the problems with the Titanium and Alternators is that the momentum is hard to keep up. Sounds like those lines just weren't selling.
There will be redecos in the Universe line.
Prowl in the Classics line as a police car?
Said something about Ironhide as well but I didn't catch it.
Susan Blu is the voice director for Transformers Animated.
Hasbro has little to do with voice casting (which translates to they really don't have anything to do with it).
Weird Al will be voicing a character in the Animated series.
The BotCon exclusives will NOT be released at retail. Hasbro will never release a convention exclusive at retail.
It was unknown at the time when the BotCon exclusives were decided if the Classics line would continue later down the road.
Toy trademarking only lasts for a few years which is why they keep reusing the names. It's kind of a "use it or lose it" type of thing.
Could possibly be more female Transformers in later episodes of Animated.
Takara apparently claims they can't find the Dinobot molds.
Might be a garbage truck or school bus type vehicle mode Transformer in Animated.
Fans keep bringing up Arcee to Hasbro. They just want one down right.
Working internally at Hasbro to figure out how to do the cross-over lines with Star Wars or G.I.Joe.
Grimlock will have his familiar talk in the Animated series.
Reaction to Animated and Movie ... let's wait to react until we actually see this stuff. Hasbro: just trust us. Seibertron: they're 100% correct. We spend a lot of time bitching about stuff that we just need to see more visuals of.
Looking to do more than just the G1 season 1 and 2 core characters in the Classics 2.0 line.
Elita-One from comic: Hasbro hasn't discussed it with anyone yet. Lots of people from convention are hoping it will released as a club exclusive.
Leader class Movie Bonecrusher hasn't been decided yet.
Brawl/Devastator error in Movie is just a continuity error. It is supposed to be Brawl.
Archer's favorite character is Lockdown, a Boba Fett-like character.
Classics Decepticons: GALVATRON that is not a redeco of Megatron (Hasbro forgot to mention it earlier).
Date: Thursday, June 28th 2007 12:08am CDT
Categories: Comic Book News,
Event News
Posted by: Tigertrack |
Credit(s): Fun Publications
Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 39,962
Howdy folks! Just read through the Botcon comic, which continues the timelines saga that is being presented in the club magazine bi-monthly.
Written by Forrest Lee
Shown in the picture is the Alex Milne cover and the Target Exclusive Convention Pack
It reads a little out of place. Last club mag, we had the Autobots getting ready to go toe to toe with Devastator. For those that read the five page preview, you know that they have returned from it, and Rodimus (Hot Rod) is gravely injured.
S P O I L E R S...S Y N O P S I S...
____________________________________________________________
Here's some other information which would be considered spoiling:
Characters:
Bots: Prime, Bumblebee, Mirage, Rodimus, Magnus, Grimlock, Snarl, Swoop, Elita One, Springer, Huffer, Strongarm
Cons: Megatron, Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Ramjet, Thrust, Dirge, Dreadwind, Weirdwolf, Soundwave, Ravage
Other: Bugbite
After a Devastator induced devastation of the Earth bound bots, Prime needs more help and Magnus, Springer, Elita One, Huffer, Swoop, Snarl and Strongarm show up to give it to him.
Meanwhile, Bugbite plots revenge against all Transformers, as he implants 'cerebro shell' based control devices in the seekers, and Starscream, and attempts a coup of Megatron, and all the Cons. His goal is the destruction of all Transformers, because he is from another time and place, where he is now the lone survivor.
Not for long though, as Megatron pounds him. The Autobots rescue Mirage (who used his invisibility to spy on the Cons, but then is captured and brought to Megatron by Bugbite and his forces).
The Autobots get out intact and wholly unharmed (except Mirage and Rodimus), but Decepticon casualties are really high, and the Autobots did nothing to them really, but free Mirage and jam and destroy the cerebro technology.
_____________________________________________________________
It's a good read, and uses some characters that have been gone for too long. Things like 'master partners are brought up as very appropriate plot points, and why there is no longer binary bonded partners to Weirdwolf, and Dreadwind.
Elita One is portrayed as a very capable warrior and spy, and there is nary an interaction between her and Optimus, for good or ill...
_____________________________________________________________
EDIT:
Date: Saturday, September 30th 2006 10:43am CDT
Categories: Toy News,
Event News,
Company News
Posted by: Alex Kingdom |
Credit(s): TFormers.com
Permanent Link
Views: 101,416
It's what you've all been waiting for, Hasbro reveal new never before seen Transformers products live at BotCon 2006!
Tformers.com are reporting live from the event. Read thier report
here.
Summary
- Panel includes: Forest Lee, copyrighter for TFs. He comes up with the character bios on the packaging. Aaron Archer Toy Designer, Greg Lambardo Marketing Director, Eric Sabenhauler Toy Designer.
- Movie Toy line confirmed release date July 4th 2007.
- Two new movie preview figures will be released May 2nd 2007.
- Transformers Cybertron will end this year.
- Transformers Classics line is designed to fill the gaps between end of Cybertron and the beginning of the Movie Toy line. the thought process behind Classics is a continuation to G1, almost a sequel.
- Classics mini-cons. Started with as 2-packs but then switched to 3-packs explaining some unique parings. This was their first time doing beast minicons and it was a success they think.
- It has been requested that Oil Slick be repainted as big daddy. Fireflight was suppposed to be Poweglide, but they couldn't get that name. All the new mini-cons were shown in the cases yesterday at the Hasbro booth.
- Optimus Prime Vs. Megatron DVD Ultimate Battle 2-pack. The new molds for Prime and Megatron were inspired by G1 and G2. The concept behind the DVD is a sort of 'Transformers 101' chronicling Transformers over the years.
- Classics Bumblebee has been repainted as Cliffjumper. He will be in the Hasbro cases later today.
- Classics Jetfire's design is as close as they could get to the classic G1 form. Don decided to use that form for the comic. Hasbro says the jet-pack comes off.
- 20th Anniversary DVD Optimus Prime - They wanted to do something to celebration of the 20th Anniverary Transformer the Movie DVD re-release. Its the same mold as before and no DVD is included.
- Regarding the Trailer Archer said 'Takara has done one now and everything they do Hasbro has access. So you never know?'
- The G1 Soundwave reissue will be Toys 'R' Us exclusive with ravage and laserbeak and will hold both tapes. It will have a unique box and that will be in the display cases later today.
- No Classics Soundwave planned due to the Toy 'R' Us Reissue
- No plans for further G1 Reissues after Soundwave.
- Classic Devestator will be Wal-Mart exclusive. It appears to be an Energon Constructicon Maximus repaint. It will be in the display cases later today.
- Alternators will be ending before the movie. Decepticons Rumble and Ravage will be the last two figures. Rumble has no hands. Both will be displayed later today.
- However the Alternators may return after the movie. They feel the movie will help them broaden the scope for getting real licenses to do more with the line.
- The movie toy line will be a full line. It will be broad and have multiple scales.
- there will be a Titanium 6-inch Fallen and War Within Megatron set, 6-inch G1 Ultra Magnus (new mould) and 3-inch Predaking, War Within Grimlock will also be a Titanium 6-Inch figure.
- No plans for Titaniums larger than 6" and no combiners.
- The Characters chosen for the first wave of Classics were chosen because they wanted to do a broad variety recognisable characters.
- If the Classics line does well and they chose to continue Classics we are likely to see Cosmos, Jazz, Sideswpe and Sunstreaker.
- When asked about the recent Japanese prototype cell phone, camera and game machine figures they gave no comment
- Of the Takara Kiss Players line they said 'They are allowed to do in their market whatever they want but doesn't make sense to Hasbro. Whatever works for them'
- No plans for an animated DVD Classics movie but they said it was a cool idea.
- No plans for other Beast Wars toys right now other than those in Titanium.
- Transformers Heroes cartoon - Cant talk about it. Working title is just a hasbro title. It will be an American based developed show.
- The Cadillac XLR Alternator was something they were looking into but dropped since Altrenators went on hiatus. - It would have been Megatron!
- When asked about the possible Cybertron Traffic light (Signal Lancer) figure they said 'Maybe if they find a home for it'.
- When asked about who had more input in the Movie designs, hasbro or Michael Bay, they answered 'Its a great partnership. Trying to make cool characters that looked good on the screen, but wanted to have some heritage. Its been fun.'
- The G1 Seacons that were rumoured to be released as part of Universe are done and ready but Hasbro are looking for a home for them.
- No plans for other Classics combiners other than Devastator and maybe Seacons. If they do them they would most likly be as part of Classics.
- No plans to release Cybertron Blue Screapmetal.
- The Tan Abrams tank artwork seen online was a fan made experiment by friends of Hasbro outside of company.
- No plans for Fortress Maximus sized figures.
- The voice stand for 20th Anniversary DVD Prime was voiced by a hired 'local guy'. Hasbro wanted Peter Cullen but they had just developed a relationship with Sony so they couldn't get the sound clips. Also they didn't want interfere with Peters work on the new movie.
The panel ended with a clip from the forthcoming movie. Included images of Prime as Truck, an Autobot hood ornament on prime, an Army Scenes, lots of explosions, no scenes showing anything in robot mode.
See all the new Transformers products revealed at BotCon in our
Hasbro's Toy Display Cases Photogallery!
Check out all the BotCon 2006 News Coverage
here at SEIBERTRON.com
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