Botcon 2015 - Chicago June 18-21

[CHILENO20]

I'll buy extras for whoever wants it, just US dollars up front

Very tempting

[Krayt]

Reveal 2 (youtube video) is up...

THE MUSCLE - Battletrap from Generations 2013 Voyager Springer

[CHILENO20]

Reveal 2 is up...

THE MUSCLE

very very tempting!

[Paulbot]

I wanted to get a Battletrap made from Springer (for those who can't watch YouTube at work, that's what it is) but now it's a BotCon toy so that aint gonna happen. Oh well. It's still a good idea.

[UltimateGalvatron]

I really wanna get that Botcon Pack but I can't really afford it

[Akky82]

I would grab battletrap straight up, but not interested in anything else at all. Didn't like springer, or cloud rodimus, had hasbro sandstorm but never opened him before passing it on, been meaning to get sandstorm since but this Battletrap looks ace. The original battletrap was one of the only transformers my older brother had so ofc it was always something i wanted and was just out of reach... Colours are good, head's good, weapon is good, all good imo

[griffin]

I wanted to get a Battletrap made from Springer (for those who can't watch YouTube at work, that's what it is) but now it's a BotCon toy so that aint gonna happen. Oh well. It's still a good idea.

At least not for at least 18-24 months... and while the focus is on Combiner Wars with that size class, the chances are slim after that. But never say never with Hasbro, TakaraTomy, or even Hasbro HK, when they have some creative ideas as an exclusive. (like the 2012 HK Generations and TakaraTomy Cloud toys)
But like the 2007 Seekers, it's best to jump on them just in case, and at the very least, the more popular BotCon toys like this one is likely to be, will be worth more than the purchase price, even if Hasbro/TT do one later.

I would grab battletrap straight up, but not interested in anything else at all.

That's the problem with FunPub BotCons - most years are a hit & miss set of toys, that have one or two high-demand toys being sold with low-demand or unwanted toys. As such, people wanting a particular figure often have to be stuck with buying other toys with it (four extra toys in the boxset, or one extra toy from the at-show sets) that they have to sell off cheap if no one else wants it either (making the one they keep really expensive). It's also a risk for people going, who want to help out fellow Australians, but don't want to be stuck with unsold toys.

At least with pre-FunPub BotCons, there were only one or two toys, which were sold separately, and it made it easier for people to get attached to each one (their attention was divided by two instead of 20).

[Lord_Zed]

Battletrap is one of those rare Botcon toys that interests me. Don't think I will be able to get him though.

Also, I like him but is it just me or does his head seem really small? Springer and Sandstorm's heads never looked that small did they?

[griffin]

Now would be a good time to book flights... even if pre-registration is still a month away and you aren't sure how long you will be in Chicago. Because some sales have just started from QANTAS and V-Australia.

I was just at the travel agent on Wednesday, asking how likely they thought there might be a sale on soon, because I saw on the airline website that there were heaps of seats still available for June. With the exchange rate stopping a lot of people going overseas at the moment, I figured that the airlines had to be looking at some discounts soon.
And sure enough, two days later... QANTAS knocks off $400 from their return tickets to Los Angeles, and V-Australia is apparently the same.

Two days ago I was looking at $1965 just for Brisbane to LA and back... but today it is $1564, and if I fly out two days earlier because of the peak/offpeak cut-off, I'm now paying $1205 for the international flight.
(the 12th June is the peak period, so flying before then is cheaper for both to and from America - if you look at the QANTAS site and change the "to" date, it changes the "from" prices, so that you can still fly back on the same date, but leaving a day or two earlier saves me $350... to spend on the extra two days of travelling and accommodation)

Also, if you book through Flight Centre (I always do my international travel through a travel agent, so that if anything goes wrong, they can help fix it, or will fix it if it was their error), look at the "Captain's Premium Value Package". It is a $99 add-on, that gives you a 30-day price-drop guarantee (you have to keep an eye on prices and sales, not them... but they will refund the difference if there is a sale within 30 days, like if I'd booked two days ago I would have been refunded $400), plus a $150 credit to accommodation if you spend $500 through them (so unfortunately if you are just going to BotCon and staying at the convention hotel, it won't apply).
It isn't for everyone, but something to consider if you buy outside of a sale, and spend over $500 on hotels (which I did, so the $99 add-on saved me $51).


I'll post up my plans in the meet topic, for fatbot and anyone else going this year, to coordinate where possible, if interested.

[griffin]

Since the GIJoe convention is currently on this weekend in America, I looked up how late they were for opening pre-registration... and it was just 13 days before the Convention events started. Pre-registration started Thursday 26th March, and the first events starting Wednesday 8th April.
That's the second time that's happened, and if it is Hasbro holding up things, they really need to look at dropping the license. They still get official toys and Hasbro involvement & presentations, without the red-tape approvals on every teeny tiny detail. And if it is not Hasbro holding things up, then they need to drop whatever element keeps slowing them up, as they should be so streamlined by now after 10-20 years of fan conventions, it should just take a couple months to prepare, and then promote for the rest of the year.