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I have no problems with that scenario.Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
Also, you may want to get prices for going to LA first, when I got my flights, it worked out to be over $400 cheaper to fly out of Sydney on the 11th & stay visit LA for 4 nights before going to Chicago
YES... be aware that the peak/off-peak season starts on or near the 12th of June, so if you are looking to spend 4-5 days in LA, do it before Chicago, as you can save $400-800 on your flights by sneaking in before the peak season starts.Quote:
Originally Posted by fatbot
Ask your travel agent when the peak season cut-off is, and if you can adjust your travel plans around it.
Also, always do a bit of reconnaissance on one or two major airlines website first before you go into a travel agent... so that you know what to expect, and if they are giving you a good deal.
I usually check QANTAS and V-Australia websites and write down the different pricing options for different date scenarios, and work out my travel plans around any date/price options are significantly cheaper.
Then when I go to the travel agent, I already have preferred dates and expected prices ready, and see if they can do better.
Think of it being like going to buy a second hand car for a couple thousand dollars from a car yard - don't just walk in and tell them some rough ideas of what you want and they give you the options that work best for their commissions... do your homework first so that you don't get shafted, and you get the best/cheapest deal possible for your required dates.
The first one is always the scariest, and nerve-wracking, but at least you are old enough to be aware of what you need, and what options are best for you if presented with several options. I was only a few years past 20 when I went on my first International trip to Botcon, which I organised all myself without any help or tips from others... but the trips (and international travel in general) gets easier and easier to do. :)
I asked them last night if/when they will post prices for at show toys, they reckon some time this week
Box picture
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/o...smlbfmnnr.jpeg
I've been fortunate to find accommodation at a Best Western on Main Street, only five minute taxi from the Pheasant Run Resort. But thanks for the suggestions, and it would be nice to meet up at Botcon. I think it's going to be a blast :)
The title on the box bugs me for being bad grammar.
I thought it was "Cybertron's Most Wanted", but now it sounds wrong in my head when I say "Cybertron: Most Wanted".
It doesn't even make sense to me. It's almost like it is copying a TV show title, but I don't recognise it.
TV show is America's Most Wanted
Logo looks closer to the Muppets Most Wanted logo...
Sweet!Quote:
Originally Posted by reillyd
When you getting into Chicago?
An update on the Hartman's collection sale...
They expect to have 4 tables, to sell at least 1200 toys, from the following lines...
123 Transformers
20th Anniversary
Alternators
Animorphs
Armada
Beast Machines
Beast Wars (1998-2001)
Beast Wars 10th Anniversary
Big Adventures (Gobots)
Built to Rule
Commemoratives (Series 1-9)
Cybertron
Cybertron Micro
Energon
Go-Bots (2003)
Heroes of Cybertron
Robots in Disguise (2001-2003)
Universe (2003-2005)
Generation 2 UK (4 items)
Beast Wars UK (8 items)
And just like in 2006 (which was the year I missed), they won't be taking anything home, so they will be priced to clear, and to come by at the end of the Sunday, which should mean another auction of all unsold items (like in 2006).
(hopefully FunPub don't have any good panels at the end of Sunday, so that I can at least witness the clearing out of unsold items at the end of the day)
Karl Hartman has noted that almost everything is retail versions, but there are variants... so I'd expect that some variants are rarer than others.
They don't yet think there will be anything super rare, but if they do, it will be added here.
I'm excited that they have the Playskool Gobots and Big Adventures toys, which I'm missing a few from the last year... so hopefully I don't have any competition.
(another benefit of the Golden Ticket is first-in-line for the Dealer Room... so at least I should be able to get in first if I get a GT)
that's pretty insane, I don't think I'd know where to start with my shopping list. though a lot of this that I would be interested in I might have especially compared to when they sold off all their G1 stuff.
Other sellers are going to be a bit frustrated I imagine, as word gets out about this they will for sure be most peoples first port of call in the dealer room and a lot of people will be holding out till the sunday afternoon with their cash to grab a bargain on whatever they have left.
based on the thread you posted a link to, Jon already has nearly 2000 transformers he's planning on bringing to sell.
Yes... for most people, between the $400-ish cost of FunPub at-show toys and Hartmans toys, there will be even less money left in people's pockets than usual for the other dealers in the Dealer Room. I certainly don't open the wallet much in the Dealer Room anymore after spending a heap of money at the Club Store, and getting as much of the Retail items as possible before the Convention.
The Hartmans tables will be my first port of call on the Friday for the Playskool toys, and then Sunday will be the spectacle worth watching.
This year's Registration is now officially the shortest period before the Convention starts... and there has been no hint at it starting in the next few days. :(
I feel bad for those who will be going for their first this year, because it is so much more of a panic organising your travel plans before Registration has started, because you don't know what you are in for before you have to lock in your expensive travel & accommodation.
I remember how bad it felt in 2010 when it felt like last-minute for me, but I didn't realise it was still 6 weeks before the convention. Back then I would wait until Registration before booking flights, so that I didn't spend more time than I needed (or not enough time), which means missing out on cheap seats or whole flights when it is that close.
Now that I tend to plan and book before Registration (and look for options to fill in time if needed), I don't get as stressed out... but I'd be a nervous wreck this year if I had waited.
It's really starting to shit me that these fools can't get their act together & get registration started. Surely Hasbro needs to do something about how inept Funpub is.
this just came through the emails
Quote:
Hello Everyone!
We are in final testing for the registration system now. So I'm gong to say it won't be up this week. I'll give you an update at the first of next week. Thanks for your patience!
See you in St. Charles!
Brian
What a crock, if I haven't already paid the airfares, I'd tell em to piss off
The only way it would work is if that person's desk had mulptiple planets with most wanted lists.Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
Betelgeuse 5:
Mostwanted
Alpha Centaur:
Most wanted
I guess.
Mind you, fun pub, has never, really, had a grip on, grammar.
There may be a 4th ozformer coming along, still early days so no names no pack drills.
Ooo... mystery. :p
So, another week wait... and that's IF it is ready by next weekend.
Monday is 30 days before the start of the convention (which I count as Wednesday, as there are events and package pickup on that day), so if it is next Weekend, that will be just 25 days... or a little more than 3 weeks for most people to head off to America for the convention. :mad:
it boggles the mind how they seem to get less organised year after year.
I know... it just doesn't make sense.Quote:
Originally Posted by UltraMarginal
They started the online registration in 2010, so they've had 10 Conventions use it, and yet each one gets later and later before they can "get it working".
So where has all that money (online processing fee) gone? They never charged a fee when you had to fax in the forms, so after 10 conventions of at least 1000 orders each time (probably a lot more than that), with at least $5 processing fee... that's well over US$50,000 raised just from the fee that was supposed to be one-off in 2010. I'm sure that could have paid for a really good website by now.
At least with the manual registration method before 2010, it was out fairly early... usually 3 months before the Convention started, so it was enough time to know what you are signed up for (or if you got a boxset to be worth going), and still get the cheaper airfares or wait a 2-3 weeks for a sale.
So maybe FunPub should consider falling back to the old manual method (allowing for emailing in copies as well as faxing), if the online Registration website isn't working before a set date (like 2 months before the convention).
A prelude to this year's BotCon comic has been posted up on twitter. It isn't in the BotCon comic, and just gives us a little look at Packrat.
Do you think FunPub have ever heard about Eventbrite? Or one of the other off the shelf event management software tools out there? Hell you could do it with Surveymonkey.
is that a trick question, hmmm? O_oQuote:
Originally Posted by Paulbot
May 13 update says not this week. Looks like we can sleep well this weekend without missing it. We'll probably be screwed though if they don't give advance notice though, or the credit card processor rejects us.
UltraMarginal kindly offered to send me a text. Is anyone else doing a SMS-chain?
I'm doing a phone call/text to both Griffin & Paul Agnew, PM me if you want me to add you to the listQuote:
Originally Posted by reillyd
SMS chain works wonders, definately helped me when registration came up back in 2011. Good luck to all & I hope you all get what you're after :)Quote:
Originally Posted by reillyd
Is Botcon predominantly male attendees or is there a healthy presence of female fans as well?
Many of the females are in costumes... but if you've looked through my reports and photos, you probably see about 5-10% of people being females (with some of them just being partners of fans who are dragged along to the event, or being used by their partners to buy extras of exclusives for reselling).
30 days until the start of the convention (our time) and still no registration. :(
For those going, CHECK your passport to make sure it is currently valid and has 6 months past your time in America, as they may not let you into the country. If you still need a passport, you might still have time if you pay extra for a rush on it.
Also, CHECK your US Visa Waiver registration as well if you already have one (they only last for 2 years), or get it done now if you don't have one. It is about US$10-14 for 2-years of unlimited usage, which prevents the need to fill out a paper form when entering America. (I'd prefer the free paper forms... but the fee came in a couple years after it went automated, purely for revenue raising.)
Some updates...
A fourth feature guest has been hinted, but not yet revealed... so maybe has something to do with the Hall of Fame and won't be doing much else at the convention.
After being spoiled in the last two years of heaps of guests (due to BotCon being in California where many live or work), this scaling back to just three or four feature guests feels more significant because of the remoteness of the location being a negative factor this year as well.
For those still weighing up their options for getting between the airport and the Resort, FunPub are still promising to provide details or a discount.
A third page of the Comic prelude has been released, featuring Thrustinator, Packrat and Heinrad, which sets up the Convention Comic and confirms its setting within the FunPub multi-verse of Axiom Nexus.
There will be a three page preview of the actual Convention Comic later this week.
And for those going, the Saturday night auction is regular cash, not "Casino Dollars", as there doesn't appear to be a Casino night this year... and they will take credit cards, so go nuts. :p
(actually, I think since it is regular cash, there is less chance for a good win, as some years when there are a lot of items, a lot go cheap)
I wonder if there will be some sort of credit voucher for Golden Ticket holders in place of the bonus Casino Dollars in previous years. When there is a Casino night, Golden Ticket holders get $1100 Casino dollars in their Primus Pack for the auction, compared to just $100 Casino dollars for regular Primus pack people. Since the GT is $100 more this year, I would hope that we aren't getting less out of it by not having something for the auction.
Give yourself 20-30 minutes for this, as I just did mine and they are asking a lot of information now. A lot more than the previous three times I applied (and the first one was free before the tax was added in 2010).Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
It makes me concerned that they are demanding so much information now, in place of that one small piece of paper you used to have to fill out and hand in. There is so much information being asked that is just for them to create a massive database of interlinked information of people for intercepting or tracking down terrorists... which feels like a massive invasion of privacy for those of us who are law-abiding citizens just visiting for a toy convention.
At least a number of options allow for "Unknown" to be added in the "required fields"... so click on the blue question-marks to see what you can fill out with "unknown" if you don't want to give them so many details.
To help you a little with the filling out of the location details, as there is a time limit for completing the application form...
Pheasant Run Resort
4051 East Main Street, St. Charles, Illinois 60174
(0011 1) 630 584 6300
Looks like we might have some more at-show toys revealed (to go with the black DLX Skids and army camo VOY Roadbuster)... four different decos of the GEN DLX Waspinator toy.
Three are likely to be the three pack, while the fourth could be in a 2-pack with something else if these four have a major role in their comic story. (like the Scourge and Sweeps in 2009)
The left one looks to be based on the Foxkids Transmetal Waspinator (which FunPub had as its , while the one on the right has similar colours to the 2005 BotCon Virulent Clone (if true, the last two years have had a lot of BotCon homage toys).
The middle two have very familiar colours, but I can't quite put my finger on what they are trying to look like.
Some speculation on other sites include Beeline (BotCon Doublepunch's bee) or BW Inferno for the one on the right... Bugbite or Bugly for the white/pink one... unreleased Halloween Horrorcon Waspinator for the dark purple/black one.
I can't shake the feeling that the purple/black one looks like something from the JP Beast Wars era... or RID-2010/Car Robots Megatron.
are there seekers that these colour palettes approximate? waspinator carried Starscreams ghost for a while...
They've stated on Twitter that registration, when it finally goes up, will be in business hours. I'm guessing 9am local time, which works out to be midnight Sydney time
That's not unusual, as they usually start at the end of their business day, which is early morning for us. Most years it seems to start at about 7-11am our time... which would be in the afternoon in Texas.
So it certainly isn't much help them "narrowing it down" to their business hours, as that's still a third of the day.
I'm pretty sure the one on the left is meant to represent SG Waspinator, definately want that one. Hmmm, does that mean that maybe SG Megatron may be made?Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
Apparently the blacked out character on the third page was originally just a silhouette, but was quickly changed to be a bigger black block, because people were identifying it as the GEN DLX Scoop mould... which would confirm the rumour of a "Gen2 Hound" being done to partner with the "Gen2 Optimus" Roadbuster toy that was leaked a few weeks back.
So that's 7 so far leaked... plus the blue/grey Chopshop targetmaster (which would be paired with someone). And if Flywheels is included, that's another at-show toy, leaving just two left unknown (there are usually 9 at-show toys - two 2-packs, a 3-pack, the attendee figure, and Custom Class toy).
27 days till the start (according to the countdown clock on the BotCon site)... and still no registration.
Between this last-minute registration (for dealers and attendees), the ban on 3rd party products creating a backlash after two years of allowing it, having no rooms at the hotel or in the ones across the road, and being in the middle of no where (impacting on walkin numbers)... I can see this BotCon being very quiet this year, and a much smaller dealer room (because dealers need time to organise themselves, and if registration is too last minute, some will just not bother).
26 days to go, and still no word on if registration will be soon, or even this week.
Todays update is for the hat and t-shirt for this year, plus a group shot of the boxset toys.
Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
https://twitter.com/BotCon/status/601516866583007232
the claim is tomorrow, if true, I reckon about 6am Sydney time
http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/o...sc5gqsu1q.jpeg