Botcon 2021 announced

[BigTransformerTrev]

As a fan that has never been to Botcon, this is very welcome news. If they manage to pull this off and the timing works, I might actually be able to go!

Yeah I’ve never been either.

Here here! I'm most interested in the timing and location. If I can make it work where it lines up with other family interests (NBA season, Disneyworld etc) then it's an easier sell.

I’d like to go solo but now my kids are older and my son is so into TFs there is no way I could go without taking the family

[Bladestorm]

I always wanted to go to a Botcon but never got the chance so this is exciting and welcome news.

Depending on the guests, timing and location of this I may very well be interested in trying to fly across. I hope they are able to release dates and location sooner rather than later so planning can be easier for those having to travel longer distances.

[Raider]

I’d like to go solo but now my kids are older and my son is so into TFs there is no way I could go without taking the family

We are doing the whole Disneyland trip with the kids next year and visiting a friend in Missouri so with a bit of luck the location and time will fall into those plans. My eldest wouldn't speak to me if I went without him!

[UltraMarginal]

So far, according to the seibertron article is unofficial. Which makes sense given how it's been announced. I really do hope that changes.

[Deonasis]

Good. Hopefully this is a better version that has risen from Botcon ashes.


Generation Selects has done some nifty items but nothing that resembles ‘a set’. It would be nice if Botcon can work with GS to nail the production of exclusives.

[reillyd]

If they have convention exclusive toys I'm in. I'm already itching for an excuse to visit Star Wars Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland, and another Botcon would do it. Don't see how they could do this without Hasbro's or Takara's support though...... and unless it was given their blessing before the announcement was made, I think it would probably burn bridges rather than build them with Hasbro.

[griffin]

Finally some first-hand info has come out, and I'm not as excited now...

Bret Lovell answers some peoples questions about the new Botcon at about the 1 hour 8 minute mark of the Stasis Lock Podcast.
#1 Pete Sinclair is a stock holder in the BC Productions Company, but not a majority shareholder
#2 Bret Lovell is the Manager of BC Productions
#3 Karl Hartman is involved in the process of planning and running the show
#4 Bret wants Botcon to be AFFORDABLE and to bring it back to the Pre-2001 days
#5 Night Shining is a Licensee to sell Botcon Product. They are a separate show.
#6 Bret is open to Licensing out the name to others for other products.
#7 This is a continuation of Botcon, not a start over.
#8 Night Shining was the first company to approach them to sell product, so that 's why they have Botcon merchandise for sale.
#9 BC Productions started within the last month, so everything is happening fast.
#10 Primal Sabbath is involved in making the Botcon Product Guide.
#11 The name of the main author of the Product Guide is currently being withheld.
#12 Bret's goal is avoid previous mistakes made by previous Botcon companies.

So it sounds like a group of fans (I still have no idea who Bret Lovell is, as I've never heard of him before), put together enough money to buy the rights to the BotCon trademark from FunPublications & register a new BotCon company, and plan to use the name for merchandising, not just conventions... which means we could see the BotCon brand be licensed out around the world on events and products.
The first licensed "BotCon" merchandise will be a guidebook of past BotCon products, to be sold at Pete's Robocon in a few months time. (as noted above, Pete is one of the shareholders of the new BotCon company, with his existing company "Night Shining" (which does the RoboCon event) being the one first using the name).

As a fan of BotCon, I'm not too excited about the name being a money-maker, being slapped onto all sorts of things for a fee... particularly if they aren't being sold at a BotCon event as BotCon merchandise.
It's still very early, so I'll wait a little longer to see, and hope that this is something that Hasbro get involved with, if it really is a "continuation of BotCon".

[griffin]

The first of the official BotCon merchandise comes out this year, which includes....
- the first volume of the BotCon product guide (two cover versions - Pete's Robocon version and regular version),
- 4 different Tshirts (each has "BotCon Est 1994" on the front - blue one with first BotCon logo for the regular pack, red one with first logo sold by Pete's RoboCon, blue/grey one with 3H era Logo sold by Pete's RoboCon, black one with FunPub era logo for the RoboCon pack)
- a convention badge similar to what they had at BotCon 1994 (part of the regular pack)
- a lanyard with BotCon on it (part of the RoboCon pack)

With the 2021 BotCon now being noted as being during our Winter (mid-year), a little over a year away from a convention full of expensive limited BotCon souvenirs, we are already being bombarded with limited expensive BotCon souviners, as if there is a demand for them without a convention to commemorate them with.

(if someone obsessed with BotCon like me who attended 16 of them and has almost every BotCon toy and non-toy item ever produced, has almost no interest in non-convention items (I'll get the product guide, as it covers the toys that I collected), what chance do they have at selling these to Transformers fans who have been to less BotCons, or none at all - even FunPublications had the sense to only sell exclusive toys outside of the annual convention, and if they didn't sell at the event, they didn't sell out on their website later)

Pete's RoboCon is in June, at the same hotel as the final BotCon in 2016 (Louisville Kentucky), for that exclusive version of the product guide along with three different t-shirts and a lanyard.... while the regular edition of the product guide comes as a pack with the t-shirt and convention badge have been listed on BBTS, for a very hefty US$75.
Judging by the description of the 144 page soft cover book, it is only covering the 180-odd toy exclusives... but maybe a planned 2nd volume will cover non-toy exclusive items, like t-shirts, posters, comics, trading cards, etc.

This special "1994" edition of BotCon Beyond The Convention: The Ultimate Product Guide, is only available at BigBadToyStore! The 144-page, softcover book has an exclusive cover featuring Generation 2 Breakdown and is limited to only 300 copies.
Each book will be bundled with a limited edition BotCon 1994 throwback T-shirt, and a limited edition BotCon 1994 inspired attendee pin. The t-shirt is based on the original purple t-shirt design. The attendee pin is like the original design and will feature the number 127 because the very first BotCon had 126 total attendees. The t-shirt and pin will only be available in this BBTS Exclusive bundle.
Every year during its tenure from 1994 to 2016, the BotCon conventions offered fans the chance to purchase new and exciting exclusive action figures to add to their collections or take home as extra special souvenirs. Over 180 of these exclusives were produced during those 22 years, ranging from repainted figures to full redecos to re-sculpted parts to fully new accessories and action figures only available at the events!
BotCon Beyond The Convention: The Ultimate Product Guide Volume 1 is set to be the first publication to collect and catalog every single exclusive and provide a comprehensive guide to every figure sold by 3H, Men In Black, OTFCC, and Fun Publications. Volume 1 showcases the figures, accessories, and convention memorabilia with clear and clean photography letting these amazing collectors’ pieces have the perfect display to dazzle. In addition to that, there will be over 16 pages of behind the scenes and in progress images of the various levels of production of a BotCon exclusive.

Whether reliving nostalgia or fawning over what collectors may deem as “a grail”, BotCon Beyond The Convention Volume 1 will be a remarkable reference for toy fanatics everywhere!

Product Features

• Softcover book
• 144 Pages
• Limited edition of 300
• By James M. Kavanaugh, Jr. and Dakota Rabörn
• Throwback T-Shirt based on the original 1994 design (Sizes Small to 3X)
• Limited edition 1994 Attendee Pin #127
• BBTS exclusive bundle

The products being sold by Pete's RoboCon...
- The pre-BotCon party registration pack (US$98), Admission and Friday night party, with exclusive version of the BotCon book (also limited to 300 copies - a total of 600 being sold), exclusive t-shirt (black version) and exclusive lanyard (different to any that were used at the different BotCons).
- red version t-shirt (US$19)
- blue/grey version t-shirt (US$20)

[reillyd]

I realise that setting convention dates and locations probably isn't high on everyone's priority right now given the number of comic and toy conventions being cancelled in the last month, but I really hope that this is set sufficiently far in the future that it doesn't get canned too. I have only been to one Botcon, but it was a magical experience. After such a epic fail that was 2020, I think we can all use a little hope and dream right now.

[griffin]

The virtual version of this year's Robocon has revealed the first of next year's BotCon exclusives... and it is not something I was expecting.

The Robocon conventions have had their own exclusive toys in the past, with their custom classes using current retail toys (which I think they go around to stores to buy up), to then custom paint.... but it was always going to be a wait and see on if the new BotCon was going to be selling exclusive toys, and if they did, would they be officially produced toys from Hasbro, or something unlicensed/unauthorised (like 3rd party redecos that other conventions like TFCon has).

The new company producing BotCon appears to be an official distributor/source of some other toys, and this first BotCon exclusive is using one of those toys (a futuristic soldier) done in Waspinator colours and calling it Wasp Raider.


Unless they have managed to get some exclusive toys from Hasbro, I'm not sure how I feel about this sort of thing... having non-Transformers toy moulds done in Transformers colourings. The "Only Human" toys were okay because they were based on something in the cartoon, but this just doesn't look right.
I know that the 2004 Actionmaster Breakdown toy was not official or authorised, and I don't count it as part of my official collection count, but I just don't know how I would feel having a lot more BotCon toys that don't count as Transformers (if they didn't get anything produced by Hasbro).
And if they did get toys done by Hasbro for the convention (which should be possible, as any business entity can ask for a promotional exclusive, as long as they can pay for them), why not show them off first, to generate more excitement than this sort of non-Transformers toy.

Opinions seem mixed on TFW, so it could have been more positive if they started off with something more "traditional".