To the readers of Unicron.com,
Having gone to TFcon, I volunteered to take some pictures and write about the convention. Unfortunately, I was unable to update anything live, but to be honest, I was having too much fun just processing and taking everything in! This is my first time going to any Transformer convention. I’d wanted to go to Botcon before, but when I had the means it was always out of suitable range for me (hasn’t been anywhere near Western NY in years). So this year, after several failed attempts in the past due to finances and even issues with my car, I finally made it. Since I live ~100 miles of Missisauga, I decided to drive there Saturday and only attend that days’ activities.
After getting up earlier than I’m used to, and leaving my home at 6 AM for the 2 hour drive, I finally arrived for the 8 AM registration. Mind you, being a sci-fi geek in general, I am at least used to having a few friends who are into some of my other interests (StarWars, Firefly, ect..). But I’m not used to being around Transformer fans. My friends at least know about them, but mostly the very basic stuff most fans know. It was quite a change to be around others who actually knew all this stuff. To be honest, I may have been out of my league; I’m unfamiliar with the Japanese stuff, most of the Unicron trilogy, and I’m still trying to catch up with the comics (both current day IDW and the old Marvel ones).
But as I got in line there, I could see I’m not alone in the fandom. Just wish I had a friend or two who was similarly interested in it to come along. I watched several cosplayers go by, some of familiar characters, some unknown to me (does anyone know about a female human character who wears a green trench coat with an Autobot symbol in the back on the neck of the coat?)
Finally, the time came, and we were given early entry to the dealer room. Wow! I’d never seen so many Transformer figures/merchandise for sale. I’ve watched some videos of people who attended saying they were as impressed as previous years, but for a first timer, it was a sight.
Thankfully, I had budgeted this past year for this, but my budget was actually pretty small compared to what seemed like most others. I found what I considered some pretty good deals, like Classics Voyager Megatron for $20, and Generations Wheeljack for $10 (both in sealed packages). To try and finish my Classics Seeker trio, I bought a Thundercracker and AcidStorm (since Skywarp were out of my budget). I intend to strip Acidstorm of his paint and paint him as Skywarp, and top it off with some Reprolabels.
Actually, it was a very good idea for Reprolabels to have a booth there; after buying a figure, if it’s loose you stand a good chance of finding the needed labels right there. After hunting through the dealer room, I went into the Havel McCallion hall and caught the very end of the costume contest. Some fans really do put a lot of work, time and love into their costumes! Best quote I heard: from the contest winner (dressed as what I guess is Alternator Prowl) “I didn’t die in the movie, I just went into Stasis-Lock!”. Following that came a panel of experienced TF customizers. I found this interesting (as you may gather, I’m a bit of a costomizer myself.)
Next came the Q & A with Sue Blu and Gregg Berger, and that followed by another session with Garry Chalk and Neil Kaplan. Fun was had with all, but one of the most interesting stories to me was Sues’ struggle to get into voice directing… she kept getting turned down until back in the late 80’s she took on a project no one else seemed to want… called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
A point that was made by just about all was that with voice acting, it’s not about making a funny voice… you need to create a character. Anyone can make a voice, but it’s the life the voice actor gives to the characters that gives that character personality and believability.
After yet another brief intermission (and maybe another quick trip to the dealer room) came the 3rd Party Product Preview. There were a number of new items in the works, and some of them close to being released. One of the impressive sets featured (and on display out in the dealer room) is Quantron by Maketoys, a Technobot inspired combining team. There also was on display Utopia, another Maketoys figure (their version of Metronplex).
And final reveals were of Pandinus and Guardia, new versions of Scorponock and Defensor. During this presentation, I spied TF reviewer Peaugh off by the side watching the show, along with who I’m guessing is Vangilous (not sure, but I do regularly watch Peaugh’s videos). Unfortunately, by the time the show was over, he had disapeared before I got a chance to say hi.
It was not too long after this that I was getting pretty tired and decided to head back home, so I missed out on some of the other stuff (I also wasn’t compelled to stay and watch the 86 movie, since I already own it anyway). So I headed off for home after a day I won’t forget anytime soon!
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