Botcon 2015 - Chicago June 18-21

[reillyd]

Is anyone else having it timeout? I've tried for the last five minutes to click the attending registration button, bupkus.

[griffin]

Aaaaand, it's been turned off again. :rolleyes:


We have temporarily turned off the 2015 BotCon
Registration due to the load issue.
We are working with the service company
to correct this problem.

Sheesh, you'd think they'd test it before they start it... and if they do, then there must be something they aren't testing for this to keep happening.

And here I was thinking that it would be great to have a US morning registration, so that we get in before many of the Americans are up or aware of it starting.

[griffin]

Still could be soon... according to their facebook page... if "soon" has any meaning from them anymore.


Programmer said we were we good to go. Stand by.

[jop]

Rego is back up - but it's still taking forever to load

EDIT: and now it's down AGAIN. This is now kind of hilarious.

[griffin]

I just got the email they sent before they opened it up... 15 minutes after its sent time, and therefore after it was shut down.


We have now turned the registration system back on. We have been assured once again that it will work this time under load. It may take a few minutes for successive servers to spool up so I have made the time out 20 minutes. This will keep items in your cart until you finish or the registration times out. Ah, and just as I was typing this, the followup email saying it is again closed has arrived.


The application has crashed after no registrations have been processed. We will go back to the programming serving company. We are very upset as well and will be taking action.

We will have registration. I know you are worried and we understand. This would be so funny if it wasn't affecting us Transfans...

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/kitty.jpg

[reillyd]

I'm not getting any emails from them whatsoever, so perhaps their system is so overloaded its still sending them out in batches. But I'm not getting the FSS emails either, though its a verified email address I get emails without fail

Does anyone else think that it won't come on today?

[griffin]

I'm not getting any emails from them whatsoever, so perhaps their system is so overloaded its still sending them out in batches. But I'm not getting the FSS emails either, though its a verified email address I get emails without fail

Does anyone else think that it won't come on today?

Two of the emails yesterday ended up in my spam filter... so maybe they are on a blacklist somewhere on your system?

[griffin]

Does anyone else think that it won't come on today?

Yeah... it sounds like they are back to square one with their software, so I don't think it will be any time soon. :(

It is now just over 21 days on their countdown clock (http://www.botcon.com/BotCon2015/) (which counts down to the Thursday evening 6pm "official" launch of the convention)... so if it gets any closer, I think they might resort to using the old system, as they did for this year's JoeCon. (they wanted that convention done through this new system as well, but couldn't get it to work... so I don't see why they are so surprised and upset at others about it not working)

The old system is one that might be more work for them, especially with the added Welker VIP pack option, but they just have to cut their losses for this year and fallback to that backup option, as they are doing more damage to their reputation (what's left of it) by prolonging this nightmare.

[griffin]

They appear to be giving it another try soon, but don't sound very confident.


I apologize for the errors our vendor continues to cause us. Since they are our vendor, we take complete responsibility. We are going to try one more time with this system. They are doubling the servers we will be starting with from the last round.

To lighten the load slightly, we will only start with Attending packages. We have Non-attending sets and loose sets set aside for you guys and will allow Non-attending registrations after the load is past for the attending items. The Non-attending packages are turned off so there is no way you can pick one. Please wait until we give you the go-ahead.

If for whatever reason this system fails again, we will do registration a completely different way which is a semi manual system.

Registration retry email coming in a bit.

[fatbot]

I hope it's soon, I've been awake for 25 hours now (damn you work!), I really would like to get some sleep

[griffin]

The link for registration is back up on the botcon website a couple minutes ago... but still isn't loading up for me yet.

From their facebook...


They have spooled it up as fast as they can go. Hopefully this works or we will look at a totally different alternative. Last shot on this system.

Hopefully they keep their word, and if it fails again, they put it to bed for today and come back another day with a backup.

[jop]

Site is back up, looks fine. Got to the part to enter my credit card details really quickly.

All this extra time has made me rethink this purchase and I don't think I should buy any of the packages on my income. I'll just purchase on site registration over the weekend and check it out.

Good luck to everyone going!

[griffin]

Some people on TFW are registering quite easily... but the page won't even load up for me. :(

[reillyd]

Try using a US based proxy server. I just did, and it took less than 2 minutes.
Especially if you have something like TOR onion router already installed. Heaps faster.

I'm still waiting for my regular ISP's proxy server to connect to the site.

[griffin]

It wouldn't connect on firefox or on my phone, but I managed to get it working on Explorer... which is sad to see that browser working where the others had failed.

I just got the acknowledgement email that had all the items I bought, but notes that it still needs processing.

I didn't see the Custom Class toy... I must have missed it in the rush to get through before it crashed again. And the only option to change anything at the end was to start over, and I didn't want to risk doing that.

I also ended up with the wrong t-shirt size (in the rush)... so I'll see how much can be edited or added to an existing order.

[reillyd]

Glad you got through. I was talking to Grant trying to place an order for him, but it sounds like he was able to get in on his computer.

I forgot to add a assembled class toy (in case I muck it up), but worse case scenario I'll buy one on ebay if its a decent figure.

Fingers crossed for luck that the credit card processing goes smoothly.

[griffin]

The old version allowed you to add to an order... but this one appears to require you to completely register again, including getting a boxset just to add on other items.

So I got the Wednesday tour and thursday custom class, with the Golden Ticket and a loose set. (and t-shirt)
With the $7 processing fee, that came to US$1386.

[fatbot]

The old version allowed you to add to an order... but this one appears to require you to completely register again, including getting a boxset just to add on other items.

So I got the Wednesday tour and thursday custom class, with the Golden Ticket and a loose set. (and t-shirt)
With the $7 processing fee, that came to US$1386.

Minus the shirt & loose set I got the same

[griffin]

I had another look at the instructional video, and the custom class toy was supposed to be on the page with the t-shirt and hat, but I remember that it wasn't there because I waited nervously as the images for the t-shirt and hat loaded up, and that was all on the souvenir page.

Something they messed up, which they will have to fix I guess... and figure out a way for us to add on items.

[griffin]

Well, that's three of us going... if the payments process in the end.
(I won't relax until I get the receipt for payment or confirmation of attendance).

Another long night, but finally it is over... with just 19.5 days until the start of Wednesday events. (or just a mere 13 days before I fly out)


Since I don't have facebook to ask, I've emailed them about adding on items without having to re-register, as there was an answer on the FAQ about adding on people to a registration requiring them to ring up the office to do it because this new system doesn't have the ability to add-on like the old system did. (the old system had the first page option of "no boxset" for people to add on extra items later)

I think the Custom class toy shouldn't sell out this year during registration (the last two years they had stock left in the Club store at the convention), and even if it does, I can live without an unpainted version now that I should be in the Class. (I just like having a "before" and "after" of my attempts at customising a toy)

[Krayt]

Gah.... They turned non attending off!

I hate unknown wait times :-(

Also, iPad on home network won't load page, but iPhone on data will..

[UltraMarginal]

Site is back up, looks fine. Got to the part to enter my credit card details really quickly.

All this extra time has made me rethink this purchase and I don't think I should buy any of the packages on my income. I'll just purchase on site registration over the weekend and check it out.

Good luck to everyone going!

If you are going it's worth at least getting the primus pack for the extra access. Traveling all that way and not seeing all of the convention would bea bit of a waste. You could always sell your box set to recover some costs.

[griffin]

I asked by email...


Once registered, is it not possible to add items with this new system, like you could with the old system?

And got this reply...


That’s in version 2 so for this year, just call next week and admin can add the items for you.

So if you are attending and you forgot something or want to add on something extra later (like the Custom class toy or an extra boxsets/loosesets, or had second thought about a class or tour), you have to ring up their office during their office hours (our midnight to about our 8am - Eastern Australia Time).
0011-1-817-448-9863

So next year we will probably be going through the same hassles then, as their planned "version 2" is to allow people to add on items themselves, and they won't work on it until it is time to start registration next year, and then all the bugs will delay it for weeks again.

[griffin]

I couldn't see anything on the botcon facebook or twitter, so I don't know if this is true (because you can't go back into this new registration program to see what is sold out)... but one person claims (http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/1040871-registration-botcon-update-55.html#post12586327) that 3 hours after registration started, they had sold out of the Thursday Custom Class and the Friday Welker tickets.

If true, it is expected, as the Thursday class sold out first last year (ever since they started selling the unpainted figures, people weren't as keen to be in the Wednesday class to be the first to get the toy)... while the Friday Welker tickets would be the better option, as you are less likely to miss out on any panels on Friday, as they only have them in the morning (the Dealer Room opens in the afternoon), and the Hasbro panel is not going to be on Friday either... but often is on Saturday.

I am surprised that the Welker tickets sold out so fast (if this is true)... but I guess if you are someone who wants a Megatron toy signed by him, this was the only option, and they only have about 100 VIP passes for each day (I recall them saying that it would be a little over 200 in total).

What I'm not surprised about, is not selling out on the first day... or even any mention about how well they did on the first day like they usually say in past years.
And the first day is when they do most of their business, even if this wasn't a last minute start - if they don't get at least half of their attendee packs sold on the first day, they aren't likely to sell out at all.
As they've said before at their BotCon panels, the first day of any of their items (toys & Con) is where they hope to sell out... because after that, it is a struggle to sell what's left.

It should mean a lot of non-attendee sets for the rest of you who wants one.

[fatbot]

What I'm not surprised about, is not selling out on the first day... or even any mention about how well they did on the first day like they usually say in past years.
And the first day is when they do most of their business, even if this wasn't a last minute start - if they don't get at least half of their attendee packs sold on the first day, they aren't likely to sell out at all.
As they've said before at their BotCon panels, the first day of any of their items (toys & Con) is where they hope to sell out... because after that, it is a struggle to sell what's left.

It should mean a lot of non-attendee sets for the rest of you who wants one.
I hope they don't sell out of the bagged figures, I really want to buy a set, I didn't have the cash when I registered

[jop]

If you are going it's worth at least getting the primus pack for the extra access. Traveling all that way and not seeing all of the convention would bea bit of a waste. You could always sell your box set to recover some costs.

Thanks for the advice Ultra, never thought about scalping the box set. Anyways, I've recently moved to the US and will be working here for the 2 years, so happy to just go for the weekend.

It's nice to be able to order from amazon and toys r us US site for once!

[griffin]

That's the thing really... if you have no interest in any of the toys and the boxsets sell out, you will be guaranteed to be able to resell yours at the full ($409) price you paid (and more), and end up getting all-access to the convention for free - including the extra day and evening events that are not available to walk-ins, who would end up paying more than you did just to end up with limited access. And with the bonus Attendee figure and the Club Membership toy that you'll get next year to sell on top of the Boxset, you will actually be making money from attending.

And even if you have to discount your boxset by a little to get it sold (if it was a failed year and the Club has heaps of boxsets left unsold), you should still be able to sell it off for no more than $100 off, and still make up the difference with the bonus Attendee toy and Membership toy... and even if all that doesn't sell to make up the difference of the boxset, you would still be paying less than a walk-in would for both "walk-in days" (Saturday & Sunday), plus you have access to the extra day (Friday) and all the evening events.

So if you have the money on-hand to afford it (because you won't get it back for a couple months), and you have no interest in any of the FunPub toys, there is a financial benefit to registering over being a walk-in... which could make you a fair bit of money if it is a popular year (or at the very least if it isn't a popular year, it will cover your Registration cost and you'd spend the entire 3 days there for free).

[griffin]

For those going, or buying a non-attendee set, check out you orders page on the eventman site after a couple days - if the money has finally gone through, it should show a dollar sign on the order listing (http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/1040871-registration-botcon-update-post12596626.html), and on the order summary page it should say "approved" at the bottom with an option for "credit" next to the Delete.

[fatbot]

I was hoping for Flywheels,


Pete Sinclair was on the latest episode of the Cybercast podcast and here are some interesting bits of information that came out of the podcast. The information within:

Souvenirs this year shouldn't cost more than last year.
There is one more figure this year hinted as being part of a 4-pack (of Waspinators perhaps?).
Flywheels was confirmed as not being part of the offerings.
Also hinted was a two-pack of Diaclone figures.
The Kreons are not Microchangers, and because of this they will be just over half what last year's set cost.
There will also be a piece of art included in the Kreons which will be familiar to fans who followed the TakaraTomy comic.

[UltraMarginal]

SNIP<, you will actually be making money from attending. > SNIP



Assuming you don't go nuts in the dealer room or buying signed prints from comic artists ;)
:o:cool:

[griffin]

I was hoping for Flywheels,

I'm not surprised about Flywheels, as it could have gone either way. We already look to have 3 Voyagers this year, so any more would really push up the price of the at-show toys. I think Flywheels is guaranteed eventually, and maybe it will be in next year's subscription set, or BotCon... or as a Store exclusive which would be their only real money-maker for the year (everyone with Battletrap is going to want one, and the scalpers will know it to buy up extras).

I'm surprised about the Waspinators being a 4-pack, as if they couldn't decide which three made the most sense to produce as toys, or at least, having one as an attendee or Custom Class toy. (I'm not surprised about the cash-grab though, as they keep expanding their number of toys every year)

The Black Skids is pretty much confirmed then, as part of the "Diaclone" 2-pack. Now to wonder what the other one might be. A Red Trailbreaker perhaps.

I don't mind Kreo... but when it comes to FunPub, that's one thing I will be happy to see go when Kreo is finally wrapped up. At least this year's set of Kreons is promised to be cheaper because they are the non-convertible kind. (like the 2013 Machine Wars Kreons)


I wonder if they've finally been taking some of my advice about not keeping all of their at-show toys secret (to help convince the fence-sitters to attend just to make sure they don't miss out), or they are just so desperate with the sluggish sales that they "thought of this themselves" out of panic. :rolleyes:
(sure, keep a couple secret for that fun element, but why keep 10 of the 15 toys secret when you get the same "surprise" element from 2 toys, and only end up preventing (mostly American) people from attending who would have gone just to secure certain toys before they sell out, that they really really want)

[griffin]

As noted by Fatbot in the meet topic, the Schedule for this year has been released (http://www.botcon.com/BotCon2015/bc15schedules.pdf).

As I had expected, the Saturday VIP sessions, which includes all of the VIPs for photos, would mean missing panels, including the Saturday panel that looks to feature the other two Gen1 guests (Sue & John).
A lot of fan-related panels this year that aren't news or feature guests... which is nice to have included, but it's taken them 10 years, and of all the years that they finally include them, this year will have the least amount of fans attending who would be interested in supporting these panels.

And what is with nothing on Friday night for non-GT attendees. They always have something on Friday night (except 2012, which was their first year with the GT reception, so probably didn't want to stretch their resources if they didn't know how long it would go for). Even 2010 was only empty of items because they wanted to allow people to use the Disney park for its night-time events.
I think this will be a point of contention for the non-GT people not having any evening events, which includes the non-GT VIP people. I know that there is room-to-room trading that will happen, but that can happen on other nights as well, so they don't need a night completely free of events to allow for it... and the GT dinner/reception is usually only about 90 minutes, meaning that attendees have from 9pm to amuse themselves.


I wonder who Frank Todaro is... and why he and his "friends" have been called in to fill spots on the Script Reading on the Sunday.

[Krayt]

I wonder who Frank Todaro is... and why he and his "friends" have been called in to fill spots on the Script Reading on the Sunday.

Google says he is a voice actor, I could only find him in this from an old botcon (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Theft_of_the_Golden_Disk)

[UltraMarginal]

I wonder who Frank Todaro is... and why he and his "friends" have been called in to fill spots on the Script Reading on the Sunday.

perhaps a pseudonym for Frank Welker, rather than advertise him at that panel they are avoiding massive crowd control issues. which hopefully they're set up for everything else he's related to.

[griffin]

perhaps a pseudonym for Frank Welker, rather than advertise him at that panel they are avoiding massive crowd control issues. which hopefully they're set up for everything else he's related to.

I thought it might have had something to do with Welker (and I wish he would have been involved in the script reading), but Todaro is listed on IMDB as a voice actor, and from Krayt's post, it sounds like he has done some work for FunPub before as well.

When there is only 2 voice actor guests, plus a couple spots filled by fans in an Auditions process at the Convention, I guess they need to more "professionals" on stage.

[griffin]

Apparently IDW are not at this BotCon because they are currently moving offices (https://www.idwpublishing.com/idw-publishing-makes-big-move/).
I'm surprised that they couldn't send at least one person for a presentation or manning of a table in the Dealer Room... as those two things will be missed by me (their panel is news-worthy, and their presence in the Dealer Room allows me to catch up on all their comics without paying for postage from an online source).

[griffin]

Another update (http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/1043232-botcon-trivia-contest-cancelled-replaced-mystery-event.html) - the Trivia contest that was noted in the Brochure for Saturday has been cancelled, and they have planned something "exciting" in its place, that they may not reveal until the Convention starts.


Something with Frank Welker perhaps? :D

[griffin]

With the Registrations being so last minute, all their usual updates of minor elements are now all being crammed into the last two weeks.

Today we get two more updates...

1 - Artists in the Dealer Room (http://www.botcon.com/BotCon2015/bc15artists.cfm).
Even though IDW isn't an official guest this year (due to them moving offices this month), some of their free-lance artists will still be attending, for fans to buy artworks off them or just meet up with their favourite official artists. (and some fan-favourite non-official artists too)
There are 13 listed so far, including...
Casey Coller - various IDW
Matt Frank - various IDW
Alex Milne - various IDW
Robby Musso - various IDW
Josh Burcham - various IDW
Dan Khanna - official character art used on licensed products
John-Paul Bove - various IDW
Thomas Deer - various IDW
Livio Ramondelli - various IDW
Brendan Cahill - various IDW


2 - Update of Registration packs and Welker VIP passes
They must be really struggling to sell out this year, as they are now offering Welker VIP passes to Protoforms and Minicons (both of which don't pay as much as they don't get a boxset). Too bad for anyone forced to buy a US$409 Primus pack in the first week because it was the only way to get the $200 Welker VIP pass.

The email from FunPub had a few people worried, because the title sounded like Welker was not attending anymore... but it was just noting the two elements of the email - Welker AND non-attending (boxsets).


BotCon Registration update: Welker - Non-attending

We have shuffled around the inventory for attending and non-attending packages. There is now more stock for non-attending (Iacon) packages and additional loose sets.

We also have a few Frank Welker VIP passes available for Friday and we are opening these passes to Mini-Con and Protoform packages as well. If you want to add this to your registration, you will need to call the office at 817-448-9863 between now and noon Friday. These are on a first come, first served basis.

If you have not registered, these are still available through the online system for Golden Ticket and Primus packages. Primus and Golden Ticket packages can also have the Frank Welker VIP pass added to your existing registration by calling.

If you still need to do your initial registration, please use the link at BotCon.com and do it from a computer not running IE. We have seen issues with mobile registrations and IE browsers. If you need to add something to your registration, you will need to contact the office.

Registration closes on Friday at 5 pm Central Time.
Just noting that if anyone attending still wants to add anything to their registration, you MUST do it before about 8am Saturday East Australia time (I think that's 5pm Central time in America). But you need to phone them up, to add on items, so have your credit card handy.

Last chance for anyone in Brisbane wanting me to buy an extra boxset to bring back with me, and you get the attendee figure with it for free.

The lateness of registration only allowed people 10 days to register to attend... that's really short, but not as short as the JoeCon this year, who only had about a week.

[griffin]

Registration has now closed for attendees.
Non-attendees can continue to buy Boxsets AND loose sets (still not sold out), but they will be done through the club store. Other BotCon items will be available after the convention, if they are not yet sold out.


Today is the last day for BotCon registration for ATTENDING packages.

Registration closes at 5 pm Central Time.

If you need an ATTENDING package and you are still getting non-member pricing (limited number of accounts), go ahead and process your package and send us an email so we know to process a credit. The credits won't be processed until next week.

Some of our NON-ATTENDING members are also having an issue getting the member pricing. For you, after we close ATTENDING registration today, we will move the NON-ATTENDING packages to the club store. If you are getting non-member pricing and need a NON-ATTENDING package, check the Club store tomorrow and you can order the NON-ATTENDING sets there.

PLEASE note that the store has no way to limit the loose sets to a 1:1 (must purchase box set to get loose set), but every order will be reviewed by admin for compliance.

All remaining T-shirts, assembled unpainted class figures and hats will go to the show. If there are any left, we will put them in the store after BotCon.

They have also updated (https://www.facebook.com/BotConOfficial/posts/987462347960891) the details of the Saturday night events, letting us know that the surprise element isn't something new, but just a fourth inductee to the HOF this year... which should be Frank Welker.
Hyping this up just 5 hours before Registration closes, as if such last minute news is going to suddenly draw in the masses...


We are excited to announce that at the BotCon 2015 Saturday Night Awards Dinner and Auction, the Transformers 2015 Hall of Fame induction ceremony will also be included in the nights festivities. Fans at BotCon will be first to see which character, combiner and musical act will be added to the Transformers Hall of Fame. And as a VERY special treat, Hasbro will also be inducting a human to the Hall of Fame for 2015. This legendary actor has been part of the Transformers brand since the very start. You will NOT want to miss this event!

So Saturday night will start with a dinner, then the Hall of Fame presentation, and then the Auction, which is usually done a little later as the main room/hall gets reverted back to a panel room format (from a dining room layout).
If it is Welker (it should be), then that will be another chance to see and here him over the weekend. :)

Also, there must have been some cancellations at the Resort since Registration started, as there seem to be some extra rooms now available (https://twitter.com/botcon/status/606899442537664512)... if anyone still needs one.

[griffin]

I'm not sure if I should be worried (because I'm staying there) or find it funny (that most of the fandom is now finding anything they can against FunPub), but, two of the major fansites have now posted up warnings (http://tformers.com/botcon-2015-survival-guide-for-staying-at-pheasant-run-resort/26742/news.html) about the Resort being listed on a bed-bug registry and having review sites mention them... plus other issues with the site.

I don't think I've ever come across a place with bed bugs before, but I think this could be an issue with any hotel, as long as it is an isolated incident and not ongoing.
On the one hand, there are only 2 or 3 reports of bedbugs in a year of thousands of guests, but on the other hand, how many other people affected would know about those reporting sites or be motivated enough to find one to report it.

It also sounds like the older parts of this Resort (the non-Tower rooms), have reviews noting that the rooms are noticeably run-down and not very well cleaned or ventilated, so when I check-in I might see if a Tower room is covered by my reservation/rate.
The reviews on the tripadvisor and yelp (at the Tformers link) were interesting reading, with a fair few rating the staff and administration as very poor, and gave the resort an overall rating of barely average... which isn't a good sign.
The San Diego hotel had a bit of a resort nature to it, and was similarly looking a bit old and run-down, but ended up being acceptable. I guess since fans have been giving feedback of preferring "cheaper" hotels, we get what we pay for. (and goes with the saying of be careful with what you wish for)

[griffin]

I forgot to copy over the details of the Panels that they released, to explain the vague titles...

Below is a short version, but the full descriptions can be seen here (http://www.botcon.com/BotCon2015/bc15panellist.pdf).

FRIDAY 19/6
10am - PANEL Club Magazine - Pete Sinclair hosting
11am - PANEL Filmfest - fan film submissions
noon - PANEL Behind the Characters - Derrick Wyatt talks about Animated
1pm - PANEL Birth of Transformers - Kojin Ono's 30+ years designing Transformers in Japan

SATURDAY 20/6
10am - PANEL Gen1 Retrospective - Susan Blu & John Moschitta
11am - PANEL Online Fandom - hosted by Seibertron's owner
noon - PANEL Hasbro Product Preview - Hasbro's new toys
1pm - PANEL Cosplay - all about fan costuming for Transformers fans
2pm - PANEL The Japanese Perspective - Andrew Hall hosting again about contemporary Transformers in Japan
3pm - PANEL Collector Club - by FunPub
4pm - PANEL Frank Welker

SUNDAY 21/6
10am - PANEL Script Reading Auditions - to select two participants for the Script Reading later in the day.
11am - PANEL The Art of Transformers - a variety of official (comic) artists talk about their recent works.
noon - PANEL Script Reading - The Return of Blur - Sue, John, and others.
1pm - PANEL MegaToyCast BotCon Podcast - A live broadcast by a group of fans.

[griffin]

FunPub have posted up the prices of the at-show toys for this year, for people to plan ahead with.

Souvenir Set 1 (2 pack) - $89 (should be the Gen2 pair as one is a Voyager)
Souvenir Set 2 (2 pack) - $79 (should be the Diaclone pair as both should be Deluxes)
Souvenir Set 3 (4 pack) - $169 (the four Deluxe Waspinators)
Kre-O Souvenir Set (6 pack) - $29

I find it strange that the 2-packs are both cheaper than the last four years, while on the other hand, the 4-pack is a lot more than all previous 3-pack deluxes (at price per deluxe).

In recent years, prices of 2-packs have been pretty stationary at 80-something and 90-something since 2011...
2015 - $79 (2 DLX), $89 (VOY, DLX)
-
2014 - $82 (2 DLX), $95 (2 DLX)
2013 - $87 (2 DLX), $92 (VOY, DLX)
2012 - $89 (VOY, DLX), $95 (2 DLX)
2011 - $89 (VOY, DLX), $92 (VOY, DLX)

And as for the 3-packs that have been 3 Deluxes, the price per Deluxe used to be about $30...
2015 - $42.25
-
2014 - (not 3 DLX)
2013 - $33 (Seekers)
2012 - $33 (Junkions)
2011 - $29.67 (Auto-troopers - all the same)
(2009 & 2010 were a lot cheaper as they were all the same)

So it ends up balancing out this year.

[griffin]

For those following BotCon by twitter, they've closed their regular account and set up a new one here as BotCon_2015 (https://twitter.com/botcon_2015).


Starting fresh for their public image I guess, so that it looks like they haven't had any issues and don't need to resolve anything now. Another question that won't be asked at BotCon.
I wonder if they will do the same with facebook.

[fatbot]

Prices for at show figures have been released

Pack 1) $79 (2 pack)
Pack 2) $89 ( 2 pack)
Pack 3) $169 (4 pack)
Kreo 6 pack $29

[griffin]

Looks like Frank Welker is hitting the convention scene in a big way this year, as a third one (in Rhode Island in November) has just been announced (http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/conventions-15/meet-peter-cullen-and-frank-welker-at-the-rhode-island-comic-con-182983/), paired with Peter Cullen (like the Texas one in August).
Kind of a shame that FunPub were the only ones who couldn't get both, or be able to afford both, as each of those other two locations are charging well over $100 just for access to those two guests (in addition to the admission price).


Americans are so lucky, as I'd travel interstate to see him at least once or twice, even at those prices... and I hope this isn't a sign of Welker suddenly doing conventions because he's retiring or has a terminal illness.

[UltraMarginal]

Americans are so lucky, as I'd travel interstate to see him at least once or twice, even at those prices... and I hope this isn't a sign of Welker suddenly doing conventions because he's retiring or has a terminal illness.

DARK, SO DARK:eek:

[griffin]

Some details (http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/1040871-registration-botcon-update-post12646259.html) about the "Transformers in Japan" Sunday panel, which is being hosted by Andrew Hall/Hydra...


I’d like to tell everyone a little about what we’ve got in store for the Japan Perspective panel, held on Saturday afternoon from 2:00 to 2:50.

The always prolific, sometimes controversial manga artist Hayato Sakamoto and I will be joined by our longtime friend Jim Sorenson. We’ll begin by talking about the interesting things going on in the Japanese Transformers scene right now, and introduce the works of some of our favorite artists. Some you may have heard of, some probably not, but all awesome!

For the remainder of the panel, I’ll interpret as Hayato discusses his experiences drawing and writing Transformers, from assisting on Kissplay (everyone’s favorite, right?) to creating Kreo and Legends, to filling in for Alex on More Than Meets The Eye... We’ll show you plenty of design work and cool things that have never seen the light of day.

For the last few minutes, we’ll take Q&A from the audience. Hayato and Jim are two of the most (if not the most) crazily TF-literate creators out there, and I’m no slouch myself, so we welcome tough or critical questions!

For the rest of the weekend, I will be hanging out at Hayato’s table, where I’ll be interpreting and chatting with you guys. Hayato will be selling some prints, and doing commissions all weekend, so feel free to come take a look (or even better, inquire in advance). This guy can draw ANYTHING. Rorza, the Rocket-cycle Racer from Rigel III? Pfft, give us a challenge! (Of course, requests for characters people actually care about are welcome, too. Especially Nickel, who he designed!) Those with questions can contact me at andrew@phase6.jp

Although I will likely be in Artist Alley for most of the weekend, for probably the last time ever, I’ve registered a dealer table with the self-explanatory name of “Hydra’s Wedding Sale.” I’ll be tying the knot this very weekend next year, so I’ve decided to let some of the crazy TF stuff from out of my closets go to free up space. A few rare things, and lots of weird junk! Even I can’t remember what’s in there, but check it out!

Looks like some people have been sent or emailed pickup session times...


Package Pick up Dates & Times:

Golden Ticket package holders*************** Wednesday 8:30pm Mega Center

Tour or Class Participants********************** Wednesday 9:30pm Mega Center

ALL Other Attendees**************************** Thursday Night: *St. Charles Ballroom

4-5 pm: Golden Ticket package holders

6 pm:* Invoice #148 - 348

7 pm:* Invoice #349 - 549

8 pm:* Invoice #550 - 750

9 pm:* Invoice #751 –

If they were emailed out, I didn't get it, but I already know when my pickup is.

[fatbot]

Some details (http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/1040871-registration-botcon-update-post12646259.html)



Looks like some people have been sent or emailed pickup session times...



If they were emailed out, I didn't get it, but I already know when my pickup is.


I didn't get any email either, seeing as how I got the GT, does this mean Wednesday night?

[griffin]

I didn't get any email either, seeing as how I got the GT, does this mean Wednesday night?

Yes.
Technically it's any time you want really, as you can go during the first session which is on Wednesday, and anytime after that.

[griffin]

Going back over this year's BotCon news today, this made me laugh...


Pete has posted this on TFW2005 (http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/1038543-botcon-legends-chopshop-recolor-possible-sg-chopshop-vicegrip-post12398381.html), to let us know, to not be too complacent if we want any of the BotCon toys this year...


We tweaked quantities on the souvies as well so don't expect to see extra's in the store.

Hehehe.... yeah, not even close.

[UltraMarginal]

It's unfortunate that they seem to be struggling, the brand itself is booming they should be too. This should be the decade of the epic botcons.

[griffin]

It's unfortunate that they seem to be struggling, the brand itself is booming they should be too. This should be the decade of the epic botcons.

That's what is so annoying... the last 3-4 years of BotCons should have been epic and huge for those of us who spend a lot of money going to it, but instead it is like the peak was 2011 and they've been going downhill since then... leaving us with no sense of assurance that "next year will be better".
:(

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

That's what is so annoying... the last 3-4 years of BotCons should have been epic and huge for those of us who spend a lot of money going to it, but instead it is like the peak was 2011 and they've been going downhill since then... leaving us with no sense of assurance that "next year will be better".
:(

Their habit of leaving bookings and various details to the very last minute doesn' exactly convey an image that they are well organised, that's for sure.