HasCon Transformers Panel and Display Cases

[Brainstorm]

Looks good to me. I have to say I'm on board - I like the new aesthetic for the Dinobots and I especially like the Orion Pax/Optimus Power Armour. Not sold on the Micromasters/Prime Masters/Whatever they're called but then I wasn't huge on the Titan Masters either - the saving grace for me was that you could ignore them in bot mode and hide them in robot mode, so I wasn't too bothered.

Any sniff of a proper release schedule?

[FatalityPitt]

Man, I'm so pumped! I have my neo-G1 Classics Insecticons, Constructicons, Headmasters, etc; and now I can finally have a proper set of updated Dinobots AND Rodimus Prime! I can't think of anyone else we might be missing... Ratbat maybe? A Ratbat retool from Laserbeak/Buzzsaw could be good, if not a new mould.

The Optimus Prime looks good too! We've had some excellent Megatrons (CW, WFC, RtS, etc) but I feel like we're still waiting for the neo-G1 Classics Optimus Prime with that 'X factor'. 2006 Classics Optimus had it during its time, but it's getting a bit dated.

Also, I wonder when Hasbro are going to start showing off the 'Evergreen' G1 figures. I think they might be new Legends scale versions of G1 characters

[reillyd]

There seems to be some new toys in the protos section, but not sure if these are abandoned designs that were unproduced or are yet to be announced

[doublespy]

Both the Dinobots and Prime look good!

Love the transparent plastic over gold paint on the Dinobots. So G1 it hurts.

I always say the one thing that 3P companies absolutely haven't been able to beat HasTak on, is the head sculpt. Prime and Orion Pax's head sculpts are probably the best cartoon-inspired head sculpt on a mass-market figure I've ever seen. And I could've sworn they re-used part of MP-10's CAD model for the head sculpt. It has that Masterpiece-esque vibe to it.

[FatalityPitt]

More reveals (Rippersnapper, Hun-grrr, Moonracer, and Optimus Primal)

https://www.seibertron.com/transform...-hascon/39484/

[griffin]

Some additional details from the VIP Dinner/reveals at BWTF.com...

Moonracer
Based on the G1 character and is also a Combiner Wars limb.


Rippersnapper
Deluxe sized team member for Abominus. Appears to have a standard "Combiner Wars" limb/port.


Hun-Gurrr
Don't let the Decepticon symbol over the face throw you (I believe this is because the face sculpt is still in the works). The pieces mounted on the arms are the foot pieces with ankles that can tilt.


Optimus Primal
A Leader Class figure with the "original" Optimus Primal as a Deluxe Class figure that then "evolves" into Optimal Optimus! As an added bonus, part of the figure will become a surf board, referring to Optimus Primal's Transmetal form!

And some photos of the grey prototype Dinbot Combiner Volcanicus.

[griffin]

Also, a youtube video of the Friday Transformers panel.

[griffin]

This slide on the Transformers panel, of the Allspark Tech Cube gimmick toys, shows that they were originally intending to have several more figures released... but with the cutting back of the movie line, some probably won't (unless Hasbro are planning to keep releasing them over the next few months, as it isn't part of the Premier Edition line).

In addition to the (expected or released) Bumblebee, Barricade, Hound, Drift, Megatron, Optimus, Shadow Spark Optimus and Sqweeks, there is also included on the list, Dragonstorm, Berzerker and Crosshairs.

[griffin]

I can take a pretty good guess right now as to what people will say...

"Botcon was way better!!!"

I will be asking someone who went, when the event is over (they are probably too busy to be answering such trivial queries at this time)... but I've been trying to look for photos that included audience, or seating, and this one from the Saturday Night VIP event for the Hall of Fame has a lot of empty seats (the photo looks to be at least several rows back).

I thought the HOF was part of the VIP Dinner... or maybe the dinner was in the same auditorium, but a little back from the stage, which could be why so few seats were filled, as most people might have stayed at their table.
(unlikely though, because as soon as the presentations would have started, and the new toy reveals, people would have been up the front in an instant)

This is worse than BotCon, with such little peripheral information and specific details being given out. If it isn't a new toy reveal slideshow or display case, the major fansites just don't seem to care about covering it, or covering it properly.
It's no wonder people really liked my BotCon reports (despite often being later than the American fansites), because I go to the trouble of making sure people get the full "picture" at these events and panels.
As it is, I have got no idea on what the Saturday night schedule included, as different people are posting up different things that may or may not have been all in the one event. There's been almost no coverage of the non-toy panels, and if Ben Yee wasn't attending, we wouldn't get anything from those ones (which I transcribed in the other HasCon news topic). I'm still yet to see a report on the IDW panel, and the Hasbro tour... or even the Optimus Battery Pack toy.
I know that for most people who go to a convention, the point is to have fun and be entertained without any sense of obligations to others, but when the admins and news staff of fansites attend an event to get hits on their websites, they should do a complete job of it. Ben Yee is just one person on a not-for-profit website, but he's managed to cover more of the convention so far than the major fansites combined.

Yes... I miss BotCon. Rant over...

[shockNwave]

I was thinking of finishing up the TR series by buying Trypticon but after seeing the Volcanicus and Predaking combiners, I'll pass on Trypticon because at the end of the day I prefer complexity over simplicity regardless of size.

By the way, the prototype image of Rippersnapper's alt. mode reminds me of a xenomorph.