Botcon 2012 Info Thread

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zigzagger
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Botcon 2012 Info Thread

Post by zigzagger »

This is your all-purpose Botcon 2012 info thread.

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The Botcon website has posted the brochure for Botcon 2012.

The brochure gives the usual details about the convention as well as revealing this year's theme -- The Shattered Glass Universe vs The Classics Universe.

This year's boxset will include:

Shattered Glass: Evil Ultra Magnus, Evil Tracks, Heroic Soundwave, Heroic Treadshot

Classics: Overlord (listed as Gigatron), Metalhawk

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Overlord (Gigatron), remold/retool of ROTF Bludgeon: Bot & alt-mode @ Botcon, and Botcon 2012: Figure Reveal video. Close up of new head sculpt @ the Botcon facebook page.

Shattered Glass Tracks, RTS Turbo Tracks redeco.

Shattered Glass Soundwave, Universe Ironhide redeco/retool.

Shattered Glass Treadshot, RTS Jazz redeco/retool.

Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus, redeco/retool of RTS Optimus Prime. Close up of new head sculpt @ the Botcon facebook page.

Metalhawk, redeco/retool of Generations Thunderwing.

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zigzagger
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Post by zigzagger »

While, admittedly, I'm not at all interested in the convention, I am marginally curious by what mold they'll use for Overlord.

Mind, it'll probably be a case of deco-ing up mold X to resemble character Y rather than it being a decent match, but I've no intention of buying the thing anyway...

I just like the character, which is in no way influenced by my love for Last Stand of the Wreckers.
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Post by inflatable dalek »

The link to the brochure doesn't seem to be working at the moment (including from the Botcon site itself) so I've no idea how they're selling this, but that list doesn't seem very exciting. I'm assuming "Evil Ultra Magnus" is an Animated reuse?
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Post by Rookwise »

Evil Ultra Magnus is a straight repaint of the rts laser prime. Story behind it is that Magnus and his group manage to leave the mirror universe and enter the main classicsverse. They encounter Overlord etc


Star Trek anyone?????
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Post by poyguimogul »

Botcon 2012 Overlord (aka Gigatron)

Image

Botcon video reveal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9ncc_64 ... r_embedded
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Post by Cliffjumper »

And there was much meh'ing. BotCon back to form after a few decent years; certainly not worth braving the world's largest collection of sex offenders, sweat factories and manchildren for at any rate.
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Post by Jaynz »

I'm further glad that I stopped collecting TF toys. This isn't the 'worst thing ever', but it really looks like Bludgeon got dipped in paint more than anything else. Overlord, however, he most certainly is not.

Gotta go back to the tail line of G2 to see worse-applied names to toys.
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Post by inflatable dalek »

I don't know, i think it looks better than last years "Animated Optimus wearing a plastic bag on his head and pretending to be Menasor" repaint.
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Post by zigzagger »

Huh.

...

Well, to its credit, it is a nice mold. But, as an "Overlord"? Nnngh, not so much. This really isn't doing much for me.
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Post by Jaynz »

inflatable dalek wrote:I don't know, i think it looks better than last years "Animated Optimus wearing a plastic bag on his head and pretending to be Menasor" repaint.
That was a weak entry, but it worked when looking at the rest of the set and where it was supposed to fit. I wouldn't have gone out of my way to get it, mind you... but with the others?

"Overlord" here just... he doesn't fit the classics aesthetics well, and doesn't actually invoke "Overlord" except for the paint colors. It's about as close to getting "Overlord" as repainting Energon Ironhide white and blue and then calling him "Movie-Verse Ultra Magnus".
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Post by zigzagger »

TFVanguard wrote: "Overlord" here just... he doesn't fit the classics aesthetics well, and doesn't actually invoke "Overlord" except for the paint colors.
No, it really doesn't. And it's not just the Samurai-ness that's throwing me off here (though I'm sure the in-fiction explanation why he is will be hilarious).

I understand that it's not intended to be LSotW or Masterforce Overlord, but it's still meant to be a Classics/G1 iteration of the character, isn't it? I know I'm probably being too harsh on the thing, but, well, I just don't see it.

----

EDIT

Close up of new head sculpt @ the Botcon facebook page, as well as clearer images of bot & alt-mode @ botcon.com.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Truth is Bludgeon was unique enough originally, and the RotF figure was a real "Hell yes, that's Bludgeon!". The best Hasbro could do for a recolour was pulling the name of someone who might have hung around with Bludgeon at some point out of a hat and thus basically admitting they had to recolour the thing and even they weren't convinced. DotM Guzzle has more in common with Overlord than that did (plus, if you were going to homage Overlord and had to pick just one mode, you'd go for the jet, surely?).

This is a very retro figure in a way. While the past few years have provided highly desirable Classics/Animated figures that really warranted a wider release, this guy's a throwback to the likes of CatScan, Shadow Striker and Windrazor - an arbitrary recolour of whatever Hasbro offered that nobody really wants and everyone will have forgotten in six months.
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Post by Jaynz »

Cliffjumper wrote:Truth is Bludgeon was unique enough originally, and the RotF figure was a real "Hell yes, that's Bludgeon!". The best Hasbro could do for a recolour was pulling the name of someone who might have hung around with Bludgeon at some point out of a hat and thus basically admitting they had to recolour the thing and even they weren't convinced.

Banzaitron more or less worked, since he shared a similar theme. But, admittedly, it still looked like Bludgeon stole Banzaitron's paintjob instead. That mold is just way too distinctive.
This is a very retro figure in a way. While the past few years have provided highly desirable Classics/Animated figures that really warranted a wider release, this guy's a throwback to the likes of CatScan, Shadow Striker and Windrazor - an arbitrary recolour of whatever Hasbro offered that nobody really wants and everyone will have forgotten in six months.
FanPub has slowly been sliding into 3H territory by becoming a fanclub of themselves rather than of the Transformers franchise. This shouldn't be surprising, since it's a lot of the exact same people enabling this issue that did it for 3H as well.
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EVIL TRACKS / RR

Post by poyguimogul »

Newest update: Evil Tracks / Diaclone E-hobby ROAD RAGE

Image

Image

(Me = <3 it!)
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Post by inflatable dalek »

Now that actually works, it means any collector with no interest in the fiction (most of them?) gets a nice Road Rage toy out of the set.
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Post by poyguimogul »

I like the subtle little Diaclone detail love on the knees and wings.
Those little details look better on this then the execution on G2 Ramjet.
(Shiny Sticker is distracting) :swirly:
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Post by Jaynz »

Here we go, much much better. Only slight downside is that the head wasn't altered to be more female (maybe strap on Overlord's noggin? :) ) but it's pretty spot-on to how it should be. I see some reprolabel sales coming to 'correct' the sigils.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

While it was obviously forced on them, I've always liked the way Road Rage isn't remotely female (ditto BT Arcee). No need for them to have tits and curves just because they're female.

Plus this sort of thing happens when you let some retarded fanboy write an official biography twenty years after a figure's released. As long as we don't have ****ing Road Hauler all over again...
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Post by inflatable dalek »

Plus, Evil Tracks presumably isn't supposed to be female anyway.

I'm actually surprised they haven't done "Road Hauler" from classics Grapple yet.
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Post by zigzagger »

Seeing as (so far) two figures in the set are Diaclone throwbacks*, it's a shame the rest won't be following the same theme.

At any rate - yeah, this one isn't too shabby.

* - Though, this is the Transformers fandom we're talking about here -- it's probably a throwback to MB Tracks or "Back-Of-The-Box" Tracks. I can see the fiction now...
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