BotCon 2016 news and reveals

[griffin]

All of the images for my 2016 archive are now done (there were 939 this year, a lot les than recent years), and are all inserted into web pages for the write-up... and I'm just going through them to add in the text (most of it has been posted here).

But for here, these are the final three panels from the Sunday.


Sunday 10am - (Western) Artists

With IDW not attending again this year, we had a repeat of last year's Artist panel, with several volunteers who have worked for IDW and had tables in the Dealer Room, get up on stage and answer questions... with no images on the screen or news reveals.

Since I came in late to this panel and I'm not too familiar with the various comic artists currently working for IDW, I only recognise three of the four on the panel - Matt Frank, Josh Burcham and Derrick Wyatt.
I think the one on the left is Thomas Deer, but I could be wrong.


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Some of this panel, which I only ended up seeing 25 minutes...

Talking about how they decide on colour schemes (probably from characters that aren't based on a toy), from initial designs... and have to be exact with the colours, while being careful or mindful about how they will end up when processed digitally.

One of them talked about how they love drawing Beast Wars, especially LioConvoy, but I don't know who it is, as I didn't take notes (this is from an audio recording).
There is then discussion about how much more difficult it is to draw Beast Wars characters over non-BW characters... probably by someone else.

Talking about having some artistic freedom, and how much they are required to stick to the look of the official images or toy designs in the comic. Noting they also have their own art styles that readers expect from them when they see their name in the comics credits.

They always have characters they hate to draw, or dread when they see it in the story.

They mentioned the 2007 movie prequel comic had to have Bumblebee redrawn throughout the entire comic, and coloured, because it's design had changed from when they had started drawing it.

They ended with comments on how much they love coming to BotCon, meeting and hanging out with the fans and other artists (for the first time or even in person), and how sad it is that it is ending.

Next, Japanese Artist Hayato Sakamoto.

[griffin]

Sunday 11am - Japanese Artist Hayato Sakamoto.
(with a translator on the left and Andrew Hall on the right)



From his work on MTMTE...


Sunder - wanted it to be a horror character, like Freddy Krueger (with the hands). Turns into a lunar vehicle.


Kindle and Furver(?).
Only appeared in a single issue (48), but still put in the effort to create detailed characters with alt-modes.


Another of his creations - Agent 1-13(?) (I'm not too familiar with the recent IDW comics, so am just going by what I think they said)


And in one issue, he had a whole page of obscure characters (most from the back of the original Generations book), just to kill them off. There was only one character here who ever had a toy (Drillbuster from Zone).

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Next he talked about the Unite Warriors Offshoot universe and artwork.
What happens to these characters after the Gen1 stories, or giving a nod to Gen1 elements and characters (like Hasan from the cartoon, driving his Rolls Royce).


The Stunticons with Auggie Cahnay's son running after Dead End.


He makes sure the mini stories fit in somewhere in the existing universe.


The Protectobots, using the combiner hands as gloves for their ball game.


The Constructicons, rebuilding Crystal City, with Road Hauler and Chip.


The original plan for the Constructicons was going to have them preparing a meal of Humans, with a candy house... but it was rejected for being a bit too creepy.


For Grand Convoy Prime set, a number of the Human females from Kiss Play and Binaltech.


The artwork for the unreleased (at the time of BotCon) Grand Galvatron. Galvatron as a ghost possesses Cyclonus, which ends up with him having a Galvatron head inside him.


He noted that Bruticus was also coming and he was currently working on the artwork for it.

He mentions the Legends stories, which is a universe he created that blends together others into it... but also explains elements (loose ends) from existing stories, including how Ultra Magnus is alive again in Generation 2 (he died in the Japanese Gen1 cartoon), and the new Matrix (created from Alpha Trion in the cartoon, and represented in the Japanese toy that has Alpha Trion instead of Minimus Ambus).

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As the next phase of Legends will cover the new Headmasters (Titans Return toys), he's already been working on explaining new bodies and any Headmasters who weren't Headmasters in Gen1.

At the end of the panel Hayato showed us an unused concept design he found at Takara from the Powermaster era, of a triple-changing Optimus, with the cab being able to turn into a jet as well. Apparently it was patented, but never developed.


After finding that unused triplechanger Autobot leader concept, he did up this idea for a triplechanger Decepticon leader to go with it...

[griffin]

Sunday noon - Podcast.

I didn't sit in on this one, as I had something important to do for Pete, but at least this year I know that it happened...



Sunday 1pm - BotCon Reflections.

The final panel on the final day of the final BotCon... hosted mostly by Pete, who showed us photos from a shoebox (yes, the non-digital kind of photos) taken during the first 10 years of BotCon.
Since most of them have him in them I haven't included them all... just the ones with important people or events in them.



The Generation 2 toys at BotCon 94, which never ended up being produced.


BotCon 97, with Vince Dicola and Stan Bush... with some very 80s hair going on there.


Scott McNeill, just sitting on the floor chilling with fans.


The Hasbro product display for Beast Wars (probably BotCon 98 as I can see Transmetals there).


With Garry Chalk.


Raksha's snake, who was a regular feature at the early BotCons.


Jim Byrnes (BotCon 99 - which was my first BotCon).


Beast Wars Voice Actors at BotCon 2000 - Ian Corlett, Alec Willows, Venus Terzo.


Scott McNeil and Garry Chalk (probably BotCon 2001).


Dan Gilverzan and Wally Burr at BotCon 2004.


Script reading rehearsal at BotCon 2004.


With Peter Cullen at BotCon 2004.


The massive toy display of almost every Transformers toy at that point, at BotCon 2004.


From BotCon 2005 - Brian and Lanny.


Then a few people told of their first experiences with BotCon, including Tim Finn, who attended the first 15 or so BotCons, and was one of my first American friends at BotCon.


Then Pete called up those who had a perfect attendance at all 22 BotCons, which were six others (and him), and gave each a special commemorative baseball shirt with the number on the back.

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The panel ended with one last person getting up to speak about their experience with BotCon... the co-founder of the event - Jon Hartman, who had come back because it was the last one.


The panel ran about 15 minutes over, but it was the last one, so it didn't matter... but it was a fitting end to have Jon Hartman speak to wrap it up.


As noted a few posts back, my coverage is at this link, and with any luck, I will have it completed by the end of this long weekend, as most of the work has been done now... I just have to put it all together.

Thanks for reading.

[Megatran]

That concept looks more like a Disney Mickey Mouse crossover.

After finding that unused triplechanger Autobot leader concept, he did up this idea for a triplechanger Decepticon leader to go with it...

[Paulbot]

That concept looks more like a Disney Mickey Mouse crossover.

When I saw that I thought it was being revealed that Doubledealer had originally been designed as Megatron which would have been a great long lost secret origin.

[griffin]

For anyone wanting to relive or remember any of the pre-BotCon news announcements, the timeline page is finally done (it takes the longest out of all the pages, so it has held up everything else... but most of the rest is mostly done anyway).

There isn't really any other news elements now left that hasn't already been posted here, or done on my archive. This should be the last news posting here from me for BotCon 2016.


(I only just found out today that the Golden Ticket dinner had an autograph print like previous years, with signatures from the four main voice actors, including Judd Nelson... and I missed getting it, thinking that the GT toy was the exclusive item, and I left for the Concert without thinking to ask if there were any other freebie items at the dinner. )

[griffin]

(I only just found out today that the Golden Ticket dinner had an autograph print like previous years, with signatures from the four main voice actors, including Judd Nelson... and I missed getting it, thinking that the GT toy was the exclusive item, and I left for the Concert without thinking to ask if there were any other freebie items at the dinner. )

Credit where credit is due...

In the mail yesterday I got an orange envelope from FunPublications, that was larger than their white club magazine envelopes (which was in my mailbox at the same time)... and it was stamped with "do not bend" (which the post office actually adhered to).
Inside was the signed Golden Ticket print, which I was actually going to email them this week (after I finished my BotCon write-up) to see if I could get one posted out to me and I'd pay for postage (because they should have had a few left over from people who didn't go to the dinner, and those like me who left early for the Concert).

I looked online to see if they were all being posted out (if they just weren't ready for the dinner), and nope, two were sold on ebay on the weekend of the convention... so someone at FunPublications posted this out to me without any warning (they must have been getting people to sign for them this year, which they didn't do a couple of previous times).

I am really impressed. I seriously would not have expected them to do that voluntarily without being chased up for it (and then be told, too bad, all the spares were gone).

I also just found out who the fifth signature is supposed to be in the bottom right corner - Aaron Archer.

(I couldn't find anything about this item on the major fansites... only on the half a dozen listed on ebay, with one selling for US$95.)

[Megatran]

^ Sounds like you need to start a 'FunPub Appreciation' thread.

[griffin]

An upcoming UK GIJoe/TFs convention that has a working relationship with FunPublications, will be selling the BotCon 2016 Megatron and Airazor toys, at about double the price they were at BotCon.
Even though the UK convention is scalping them off at double the price, I looked on ebay and saw that the Megatron toys are SELLING for US$500-800.
Finally after many years, a BotCon toy has become an investment again, costing just US$89 (plus tax) to buy, and most are making at least $500 profit.
If only we had a crystal ball to know that there would be a BotCon toy worth buying spares of again, as all the spares I ended up with since 2010 required heavy discounting and losses just to sell them.

(not sure where this UK stock has come from though, as Megatron and Airazor were the only ones to sell out at BotCon so FuNPub must have set aside some for the UK convention... instead of sending over the two toys they didn't sell out)

[Metallikato]

An upcoming UK GIJoe/TFs convention that has a working relationship with FunPublications, will be selling the BotCon 2016 Megatron and Airazor toys, at about double the price they were at BotCon.
Even though the UK convention is scalping them off at double the price, I looked on ebay and saw that the Megatron toys are SELLING for US$500-800.
Finally after many years, a BotCon toy has become an investment again, costing just US$89 (plus tax) to buy, and most are making at least $500 profit.
If only we had a crystal ball to know that there would be a BotCon toy worth buying spares of again, as all the spares I ended up with since 2010 required heavy discounting and losses just to sell them.

(not sure where this UK stock has come from though, as Megatron and Airazor were the only ones to sell out at BotCon so FuNPub must have set aside some for the UK convention... instead of sending over the two toys they didn't sell out)

Hmmmmm. Just looked this convention up out of minor interest and it turns out I'm in the UK when it's on. Spanner in the ointment.....