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Thread: Botcon 2021 announced

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trent View Post
    That is just sad.

    TFCon is the official unofficial convention now. It’s run by people that are actually competent and have numerous shows in the US and Canada.

    I ask you, as a legitimate question, what can Botcon offer? All I can think is that he’s trying his best to get the licence back.
    I have been interested in trying out a TFCon in recent years, and the one that was meant to be in Florida a few months ago was one I was keen to go to... it was just it's heavy focus on unauthorised 3rd party toys that kept putting me off the event. It seemed to have more events at the "Transformers" convention that were covering non-Transformers than actual Transformers. It really should be called TPCon (3rd Party Con).

    If BotCon doesn't end up having any Hasbro involvement (exclusive toys or presentations), then the only thing that would really be doing it for me is seeing people I know from previous BotCons... which I doubt too many will attend if this new version of BotCon is too much different to what it used to be.
    If they can draw in a lot of the regular dealers, and a good line up of guests, along with the more social events from previous years, it would make it more worthwhile going regardless of the name. Things like the Saturday night dinner, local tours, art contest, and the custom class.

  2. #22
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    I was looking at heading over to a TFCon a little while ago (I’ve since given up on that idea) and the guest line ups are actually pretty good. It had actually gotten to the stage where Hasbro endorsement was the only way in which it appeared that Botcon was leading. In all other respects TFCon would be a bigger show.

    It’s such a shame that we are on the other side of the world from them. As much as I think they were incompetently run, a Botcon would have been a great item to tick off the bucket list. But I just can’t see it being worth it anymore and will be surprised if this new one survives more than 2 or so years without Hasbro coming back onboard.
    Dovie'andi se tovya sagain

  3. #23
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    That really is a sad looking action figure to begin with.

    Just to clarify for those who haven?t studied their pop culture toy history and have ?real lives? to spend time in,
    Hasbro didn?t own Action Force.

    UK toy manufacturer Palitoy started Action Force as their own brand / own IP, and produced original figures and vehicles. They also licensed G.I. Joe toys and manufacturered them, usually recolouring /repainting them. They even had their own comics (not the Marvel UK one, but something that predates it). They eventually decided to just do straight re-releases as there were no design costs then, and G.I. Joe?s team became part of Action Force. Then the Marvel UK strip in the TF magazine, then Action Force comic, etc.

    Neither Palitoy nor Hasbro maintained the trademark, so the people behind Valaverse decided to trademark it. It?s a new line of toys, aimed at 6? collectors, and again PREDATES the Hasbro move into G.I. Joe 6 inch. Valaverse/Action Force is *why* we now see Gi Joe 6 inch toys, because Hasbro saw a competitor moving into this scale.

    I don?t thing he really looks that much like a transforming wasp, and its more an homage. Just like other toy companies often do repaint nods (4Horsemen have MOTU coloured figures sometimes). It?s no more different than Hasbro doing an homage on a Studio Series figure they couldn?t get a vehicle license deal for.
    On the lookout for MISB Headmaster Highbrow, Takara or Hasbro. I'm sure I could make you a sweet deal!

  4. #24
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    BotCon 2021 has been officially postponed (cancelled) until 2022.

    Some of the team that now owns the BotCon trademark, have done a podcast (up on youtube here), that goes for about an hour and a half... noting that they are not the ones doing the convention next year, as they are just licensing out the name to some unnamed entity that apparently hasn't been involved in running a BotCon before. It sounds like the trademark owners would still be there to approve or veto elements of the convention though, just like Hasbro would with any of their licenses.

    A rundown of the podcast from here....

    **4 minutes in = News Talk and explanation, featuring BotCon this week! Chatter about what Podcasts they will be doing together soon.

    **6 minutes in = Q: Who is NOT involved with BotCon?
    Bret Lovell: BC Productions was approached by another “company” to organize and host a BotCon. This company is NOT associated with anyone who has EVER organized and hosted BotCon in the past. Pete has own company doing his own thing. Is 100% NOT apart of. Night Shinning is Pete’s company. 8 mins in explains what Pete/Night Shinning does. 11 mins in, BotCon can’t be used by just ANYONE. BC Productions owns it now.

    Q: Who are the people involved in BotCon now?
    Can’t say, no reason given!! BL: Expresses love of the BotCon convention, etc. Connecting with friends and fans, across international lines.

    **15 minutes in = talk about the group who IS organizing the Convention but no names, just declaring they are fans.

    **16 minutes in = Andrew Hall confirmed member of BC Productions. What he does for BC Productions. What the Convention long goals are. NO PEZ dispensers here!

    **19 minutes in = Q: Plans for next years Convention?
    BL: yes. He does not want the first show to be limited. Everyone should be able to come not just locals. Anyone from anywhere. Without long lasting consequences or quarantines afterwards. Waiting for that. Wants it to be better than it was, above and beyond.

    BotCon memory chatter.

    **26 minutes in = BL: talks about what BotCons he went to. Convention talk.

    **29 minutes in = Q: Is the new incarnation going to be a lot like what we had? Exclusives, guests, structure?
    BL: Does not want to dilute by over doing. Not wanting to reinvent the wheel. Want to cater to a verity of fans. Questions he asked Brian Savage. Doesn’t want to exclude anyone for any reason. Trying to find the happy medium to make most people happy. Not everyone but majority of people happy.

    **33 minutes in = BL: confirms was the person responsible to postpone show for 2021 after Covid-19 lockdown. Did NOT want to do a virtual show. Returned any money that was given? Talks about responsibility and postponing event.

    **37 minutes in = Working hard to get INFORMATION out there. ASAP!! Want people to be able to plan ASAP. Announcements as soon as its reasonably possible, will publish dates and such. Expressing intention to learn from PAST iterations mistakes!

    **40 minutes in = Podcast Host relays calling Hotel to get info before the info was released.

    **44 minutes in = Convention memories, debate over details of which convention had “such and such?”

    **45 minutes in = What Bret wants to do is put up a survey, When and Where would you like to have the next BotCon for 2022??! What time of year and what place? Decent sized city, big hotel, nearby Airport accessibility, possibly attractions for the family, all important points they will consider.

    Convention memories chatter.

    **51 minutes in = Ask questions in the show comments below. Bret is asking to go for it, ask away on where you want to go and what time of the year.

    *Chatter and interaction with the live chat on potential places.
    *More convention memories chatter, lasts for a bit but great details of fun times. Talk on convention pins. Rest of show is all the chatter details of memories, pins, figures, of mostly FunPub era of BotCon.

    **1 hr 24 minutes in = Podcast wrap. Details on what is next and where you can follow hosts and guests.

  5. #25
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    Pete Sinclair has been (arguably deservedly) copping a flogging on Twitter because it has come out that he’s still heavily involved behind the scenes and given his apparently history with how he and his crew treated certain members of the fandom at BotCons. A Twitter search of his name made for very interesting reading.
    Dovie'andi se tovya sagain

  6. #26
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    I think if the fandom, and more importantly the Hartmans, was able to get over what Glen Hallit did back in 2003 (according to a meet up at a recent Robocon), the fandom should just try to put the last chapter behind us, and look towards the future... particularly if Pete isn't the primary person involved in the next chapter. Besides, he's the one who has the most on-hand experience at the moment of the current people, with time on the bigger FunPub events and keeping up his experience with Robocon since BotCon ended. We need some element of reliability to the hosting of a new event to risk spending a lot of money to attend it.

    I've seen how Pete had turned on fans in the later years of FunPub, but I saw a lot of it being a result of online targeting of FunPub, and he was the main fan contact and promoter to fansites... some of it was deserved (directed at the main FunPub guys who weren't Transformers fans), but Pete would be the one who had to defend a lot of what the main FunPub guys were doing (oblivious of what Transformers fans wanted), so you can only take so much hate and criticism (meant for someone else who doesn't interact with the fandom) before you start taking it personally and fight back... and end up in a downward spiral of escalating issues.

    I'm not justifying what he may or may not have done in recent years, but as a long time member of the BotCon community, I remember how he was in the early years of his involvement with BotCon... he was a really nice guy, and I would have missed out on several things
    thanks to his personal involvement or intervention.

  7. #27
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    Still no word on if there and when there will be a 2022 event (that I can see), but at the end of November they announced more BotCon labelled merchandise, for fans of the BotCon Brand.
    It includes a couple of us$180 jackets... which seems like an expensive extravagant item for a fairly niche audience.
    Probably of note is an exclusive (unlicensed) bonus item for some items, of Vok floating heads from Beast Wars, done in cloudy translucent plastic.
    (looking on their news page, it was something from the 2021 Robocon event)

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