Hartmans selling more BotCon prototypes.

[griffin]

The creators of the BotCon convention have put up on ebay more rare stuff, including some one-off paint-samples relating to BotCon.

Defensor (redeco of RiD Optimus (even has a broken tyre) with a new head) paint sample.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=220329599396

Was originally planned to be for the Official Convention in 2004, and then pushed back to 2005, but the license was lost to the current owners, who had different plans.

It looks it went through a couple of colour scheme tests, as the TFwiki has two shown, but calls the black version 'Midnight Shield Defensor'. The Hartmans call it 'Chaos Armor Defensor'.

This auction is for the original paint sample of "Chaos Armor" Defensor, a variation of the regular Defensor exclusive that was planned for OTFCC 2005. Defensor was to be a repainted version of the Robots in Disguise Super-class Optimus Prime toy. Had the convention not been cancelled, this "Chaos Armor" version would have been a split-lot variation done on a limited-run basis. This example was hand-painted by a former lead deco artist from Hasbro and also includes a custom-sculpted head for the larger robot form. There are some light spots where the paint has flaked away on contact points and the toy is a little loose in spots because of having to be disassembled during the painting process. One of the main rubber tires has split and separated a bit, but otherwise the toy is complete and in excellent condition overall. This is an incredible opportunity to own a one-of-a-kind example of OTFCC history.

Wreckers Rotorbolt (redeco of BMac Obsidian) paint sample.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=220329588829

This auction is for the original paint sample of Rotorbolt from the BotCon Wreckers story line. Rotorbolt was a repaint of the Beast Machines Vehicon Obsidian toy, but was never intended to be issued as a convention exclusive. This was handpainted by a former lead deco artist from Hasbro and is the exact toy pictured on the BotCon Web site

BotCon Devcon (redeco of BMac Mirage) paint sample.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=220329589964

This auction is for the original paint sample of Devcon from the BotCon Wreckers story line. Devcon was a repaint of the Beast Machines Vehicon Mirage toy, but was never intended to be issued as a convention exclusive. This was handpainted by a former lead deco artist from Hasbro and is the exact toy pictured on the BotCon Web site

BotCon Alpha Trion (redeco of BMac Snarl) paint sample.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=220329591364

This auction is for the original paint sample of Alpha Trion from the BotCon Wreckers story line. Alpha Trion was a repaint of the Beast Machines Maximal Snarl toy, but was never intended to be issued as a convention exclusive. This was handpainted by a former lead deco artist from Hasbro and is the exact toy pictured on the BotCon Web site

BotCon Windrazor (redeco of BW Silverbolt) paint sample.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=220329595323

This auction is for a pre-production sample of Windrazor from BotCon 1999. This was a test sample that was done before the regular convention production was made. As such, you can see that the color coverage is a bit different from the regular convention version.

Handsculpted Torca prototype
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=220329607180

This is a very interesting figure, giving insight to the development process of TFs toys. It is an over-sized handsculpted beast mode, for reference when sculpting the outer panelling of the finished figure.

This auction is for a rare hand-sculpted hardcopy prototype of the Torca Fuzor toy from Beast Wars. This is a larger-than-normal sculpt that was used to determine the amount of detail desired in the final model that would be sent to Takara for conversion to a produceable toy. As such, the level of detail present here is greater than that of the finished retail toy, and shows part of the rarely-seen process of how a toy is designed.

This is a great 'picture' that details the Wreckers comic cast, detailing which have been released in stores, at a BotCon, or not at all. Three of the four that have never been produced, are listed above. The entire set was on display at BotCon (2002 or 2003?), but we will never see them together as a set again (unless the one person buys all the items above).

And check out the rest of the stuff they have just listed - there is some rare stuff, including the movie on Laserdisk, the soundtrack on LP, plus other limited edition convention and JP items.
I'm wondering if this cleaning out of the really rare stuff, means he/they aren't keeping anything anymore, as if it just brings to mind too many bad memories perhaps? Their collection was like a Hasbro/Takara vault, with countless rarities and one-off items together in the one place. Now they are spread out all over the world, so it's less likely we will ever see many of them on public display now. It was bound to happen eventually, but I didn't think it would happen before I gave up collecting TFs. Their collection was the bench-mark most serious collectors aspired to, but now there would be no collection that is undisputedly the biggest and best TFs collection in the world (outside of Takara's vault).

[roller]

how did they get those prototypes?

Anyone here going to be a man and purchase them all?

[griffin]

how did they get those prototypes?

They created BotCon, so the BotCon prototypes probably stayed in their possesion. The Torca prototype (and many other rare things) was probably something they acquired from their close relationship with Hasbro at the time.

[roller]

man

i wish i had a close relationship with Hasbro

i would rather have prototypes then every Beastwar toy, i wouldnt make the same promise for G1 though

This isnt the first time they have thrown super rare stuff out in the public, why are they doing it? Are they married? Does anyone go through the Hartmans bins? Imagine the rare packaing you'd find in there recycling