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BotCon

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BotCon
StatusActive
GenreTransformers
Inaugurated1994
Organized byFun Publications
Filing statusPrivate Company
Websitehttp://www.botcon.com/

BotCon, briefly known as "The Official Transformers Collectors' Convention" (or OTFCC), is an annual convention for Transformers fans and collectors. BotCon has been held annually since 1994. The convention's name has a double-meaning: It is short for "Robot Convention" and is derived from Autobot and Decepticon - the two main warring factions of the Transformers franchise.

Featured BotCon guests are usually involved in the creation of Transformers media in some respect, whether as voice actors from the animated series, artists or writers from the comic books, or actual Hasbro employees.

History

Display cases for upcoming Transformers at BotCon 2006
While cosplay is rare for BotCon, it occurs occasionally

The first BotCon was held in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1994. Organized by brothers Jon and Karl Hartman, the convention had 180 attendees. BotCon was organized in 1995 by Raksha, a prominent figure in the fan community, and in 1996 by Men In Black Productions, headed up by Dennis Barger. In 1997, the Hartmans brought Glen Hallit, a fellow fan, into the fold, forming 3H Enterprises (based upon the first letter of all three organizers' last names).

At BotCon 2002, Hallit announced that 3H had secured the official Transformers convention license, as well as licenses to produce comic books and start a fan club. Shortly thereafter, the Hartmans were removed from their organizational duties, leaving Glen Hallit as the sole organizer of the new company, 3H Productions, Inc.

In the winter of 2002, 3H sought to expand to Europe, holding its first ever official European convention in Cheshunt, UK. Unfortunately, the event, which was held in conjunction with the main BotCon 2002 in the USA, had much less advertising and the registration did not open until a couple of weeks before the convention. Since the attendance at the European BotCon had been much smaller than the main show that summer, 3H decided it was too much work to hold two separate conventions, and officially announced that they would never hold BotCon outside the USA again.

In 2003, the convention changed its name to "The Official Transformers Collectors' Convention", OTFCC for short, due to the Hartmans' ownership of the BotCon service mark. The fandom held dueling conventions in 2004, as 3H held OTFCC in Chicago, Illinois, while the Hartman brothers revived the BotCon name for their final convention in Pasadena, California. In the fall of that year, 3H Productions lost all of its Transformers-related licenses, leaving the convention in a state of limbo.

In early January 2005, Hasbro announced on its official Web site that Fun Publications, owned by Brian Savage, had been awarded the convention and fan club licenses. The Hartman brothers and other prominent fans Pete Sinclair, Benson Yee, and Rik Alvarez were invited to form an advisory council to help ease the transition of organizing the convention for the new owners. Once the Hartmans' service mark was transferred to Fun Publications, BotCon regained its status of being the official Transformers collectors' convention.

Locations

BotCon gets special attention from Transformers licensees, as shown by this promo for the 2007 Transformers movie indicates
Panorama of the Dealer Room at BotCon 2008

Special Guests

Over the years, BotCon has featured many individuals who have worked to bring the Transformers multiverse to life, including voice actors, animation staff, and Hasbro design team members. BotCon guests include:

Exclusive toys

One of BotCon's most popular features is an exclusive toy made available to the attendees. The toys are different every year and are not retailed anywhere in the world. The identities and designs of the toys were originally kept a close secret until the opening of the convention, but in the later years of the convention the organizers often chose to reveal one or more of the exclusives ahead of time due to repeated problems with stolen prototypes being sold on eBay. In 2008, organizer Brian Savage ordered all eBay users selling these prototypes to return them to their rightful owners.

Although the toys are always unique, financial costs prohibit the creation of entirely new molds. As such, the toys are redecos or repaints of previously used toys given new identities, occasionally switching allegiances and even gender. In the last few years, minor remolds have been made to the exclusives, such as the more feminine-looking heads given to 2003 exclusives Roulette and Shadow Striker. After the convention, exclusive toys usually become valuable collector's items in the community, particularly among fans who missed the convention.

BotCon/OTFCC-exclusive toys include:

  • 1994 [38]
    • Breakdown - Turquoise and lavender Transformers: Generation 2 redeco of the Stunticon Breakdown. This toy was initially intended as a mass-release toy, but was distributed as a convention exclusive instead. A total of 300 Breakdowns were produced at that time (not including earlier production samples), of which 204 were available at BotCon, 48 were available the following January at the FX 95 convention run by Whiz Bang Toys, and the remaining 48 were kept by Hasbro.
  • 1995 [39]
    • Nightracer - Black repaint of Go-Bot Highbeam / Bumblebee. Nightracer is the first official female Decepticon released in the United States. The toy itself is in the same plastic colors as Go-Bot Bumblebee without the vehicle mode's metallic gold paint deco, but with a silver faceplate in robot mode and engine in vehicle mode. The convention's organizer, Jovanka Kink, hand-applied Decepticon logo and blue racing stripe stickers on the toys. A number of these toys turned up for sale by Whiz Bang Toys without the decals, painted stripes, or packaging, possibly for their 1996 convention. A total of 294 Nightracers were produced.
  • 1996 [40]
    • Onyx Primal - Black repaint of bat Optimus Primal. A total of 1700 Onyx Primals were produced, of which 1490 were available in regular packaging, 170 were in dealer packaging, and 40 were available in VIP packaging. The unsold remainder of this toy was used as the exclusive for Men in Black's own convention Transcon II in 1997 in a fourth package variation.
  • 1997 [41]
    • Fractyl and Packrat - Metallic green and metallic blue repaints of Terrorsaur and Rattrap, respectively, packaged together. A total of 570 Fractyls and 600 Packrats were produced.
  • 1997 Japan [42]
    • Super Hybrid Model Galvatron - A non-transforming vinyl action figure. A total of 800 regular versions were produced. This toy was also available in a translucent orange "Lava Bath" version to the first 100 attendees.
  • 1998 [43]
  • 1998 Japan [44]
    • Barbearian/Grizzly-1 - Brown repaint of Polar Claw. (Barbearian was an unreleased version of the toy later sold as Polar Claw. He was originally shown on Kenner product catalogs with other 1996-97 Beast Wars figures.) A total of 600 Barbearians were produced.
    • Double Punch - Translucent red repaint of Beast Wars Scorponok (Based on early artwork contained in the same Kenner product catalog which depicted Barbearian/Grizzly-1). A total of 600 Double Punches were produced.
  • 1999 [45]
    • Windrazor - White repaint of Beast Wars Silverbolt. A total of 1200 Windrazors were produced.
    • Sandstorm - Tan repaint of Beast Wars Scorponok. A total of 1200 Sandstorms were produced.
  • 2000 [46]
  • 2000 Japan [47]
    • Choro-Q Optimus Prime, Generation 2 Megatron, and Mirage. These were non-transforming miniature vehicles repainted from Takara's Choro-Q line. A total of 1000 of each toy were produced.
  • 2001 [48]
    • Tigatron - Blue and white repaint of the Japanese-exclusive Beast Wars Metals X-9 Ravage figure which was packaged with a variant cover version of the BotCon 2001 comic. A total of 1500 Tigatrons were produced.
    • Arcee - White and pink repaint of Transmetal 2 Blackarachnia. Blackarachnia's chestplate was removed for this release; the original chrome piece shows through with the holes filled in. A total of 1500 Arcees were produced, of which 804 (those ordered by pre-registrants) had a light-activated voice chip installed in the package containing dialogue by Susan Blu (the original voice actress for G1 Arcee), and 795 did not have the voice chip. The chip was activated when the flap on the box front was opened, allowing light in through the display window.
  • 2002 [49]
    • CatSCAN - White and translucent red repaint of Night Slash Cheetor, detailed with glow-in-the-dark paint applications. A total of 1500 CatSCANs were produced.
    • Cyclonus - Purple repaint of Beast Machines Ultra Jetstorm. A total of 1500 Cyclonuses were produced.
    • Glyph - Blue repaint of Bumblebee keychain. A total of 3000 Glyphs were produced.
    • Tap-Out - Green repaint of Cliffjumper keychain. Given away free as part of registration package. A total of 3000 Tap-Outs were produced.
  • 2002 Europe [50]
    • Rook - Gray repaint of Windcharger keychain, originally a European exclusive, later sold by the OTFCC in the United States as well. A total of 3000 Rooks were produced.
  • OTFCC 2003
    • Roulette and Shadow Striker - Silver and black, and purple and golden repaints of Robots In Disguise Side Burn, packaged together. These toys had more "feminine" headsculpts than the original toy.
    • Sideswipe - Red repaint of Robots in Disguise Prowl.
    • Sunstreaker - Yellow repaint of Robots in Disguise Prowl. This toy was only made available to attendees who reserved a room at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare for the convention weekend. Both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were built with Prowl's police light bar left off. The roof on both figures was covered with a large, color-matched sticker to hide the mismatched molded color of the roof as well as the attachment holes for the light bar.
    • Heroes of Cybertron Sunstorm PVC - Repaint of Starscream PVC, given away to attendees who pre-paid for registration to the first Official Transformers Collector's Club on the spot at OTFCC 2003.
    • Heroes of Cybertron Air Cavalry 6-pack - PVC set of Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker, and 3 generic Decepticon seekers. All repaints of the same Starscream PVC mold.
  • OTFCC 2004
    • Megazarak - Black and red repaint of Armada Megatron. Originally intended as the 2004 hotel incentive, but eventually became the only exclusive available for sale at OTFCC 2004.
    • Sentinel Maximus - red and blue repaint of Armada Overload. This character is supposed to be a fusion of Beast Machines Primal Prime and BotCon exclusive Apelinq. This toy was not ready in time for OTFCC 2004, and was eventually shipped to purchasers several months later by Hasbro, packed in a new box design created by Hasbro themselves, abandoning the design created by 3H Productions. Sentinel Maximus actually had two new mold pieces, as both the large "Sentinel Maximus" robot and the smaller "Hyperlinq"/"Apelinq" partner featured remolded heads (Sentinel Maximus's head was a two-piece mold, with the smaller Mini-Con's head nesting in the back of the large robot's head when combined).
    • Energon Spears - Attendees who filled out a survey at the Hasbro booth were given a pair of redecos of Energon Skyblast's weapon set. Available in a blue "Alpha" version and a purple "Omega" version.
  • BotCon 2004 [51]
    • G2 Breakdown - While OTFCC was held this year, the Hartman brothers held their own "BotCon" convention, at which this toy was available. An Action Master likeness of the original BotCon exclusive, Generation 2 Breakdown, the figure is a redeco of the previously European-exclusive Action Master Sideswipe (as both Sideswipe and Breakdown transformed into Lamborghinis). This fan-produced toy is not a Hasbro-sanctioned product, and as such is not official. In fact, convention organizers had to very carefully check the packaging of this figure to ensure that no Hasbro trademarks were used. A total of 204 G2 Breakdowns were produced, to match the quantity of the original Breakdown from the first convention.
  • 2005 [52] [53]
    • "Descent into Evil", a seven-figure box set, including:
      • Deathsaurus - Blue redeco of Robots in Disguise Megatron with a new head sculpt.
      • Buzzclaw and Dirge - Purple, black and yellow redecos (in different schemes for each figure) of Beast Wars Buzzclaw
      • Fallback - Brown, tan, and silver redeco of Energon Strongarm, intended as a renamed version of the G1 character Outback.
      • Ironhide - Red and grey redeco of Transformers: Energon Tow-Line with a new head sculpt.
      • Ricochet - Black and red redeco of the Generation 2 Cyberjet Jetfire mold, a new character.
      • Chromia - White and green redeco of Energon Arcee with a new head sculpt. Chromia was one of the female Autobots from the Generation One series. However, many fans have pointed out that Chromia's color scheme, headsculpt, and personality profile all resemble Moonracer, a different character entirely. According to convention representatives, they could not secure the Moonracer name, so they simply dubbed the character Chromia instead.
    • Flareup - Orange redeco of Chromia, and Ratchet - a white redeco of the Energon Tow-Line mold with the new Ironhide headsculpt and a new Energon weapon, sold together in a pack.
    • Virulent Clones - A pack of two blue redecos of Beast Wars Buzzclaw.
    • Flamewar - Black redeco of Energon Arcee, given free to pre-registered attendees. Flamewar does not have the new headsculpt found on Chromia and Flareup. This figure was also included with each full sales booth reserved by a dealer, and to convention volunteers who worked their scheduled times assisting the paid staff.
    • Legends of Cybertron Ramjet - White and blue repaint of Legends of Cybertron Starscream given away at the Hasbro booth.
  • 2006 [54]
    • "Dawn of Future's Past," a five-figure box set showcasing Beast Wars characters in their "original" pre-beast modes. All figures are from Transformers: Cybertron, and are equipped with a new version of the Planet X Cyber Planet Key, redecoed to resemble the Golden Disk. The set includes:
      • Axalon Optimus Primal - Redeco of Crumplezone designed to resemble Primal's original body, with a new headsculpt in his likeness.
      • Axalon Rattrap - Redeco of Ransack designed to resemble Rattrap's original body.
      • Darksyde Dinobot - Redeco of Longrack designed to resemble Dinobot's original body, with the head of Transformers: Armada Hoist, of whom Longrack was a remold. Hoist's head is highly evocative of Dinobot. Also bears a Predacon sigil.
      • Axalon Cheetor - Redeco of Clocker, designed to resemble Cheetor's original body (including cheetah-spotted seat covers), with a new headsculpt in his likeness.
      • Axalon Rhinox - Redeco of Landmine, designed to resemble Rhinox's original body.
    • Darksyde Megatron - Redeco of Cybertron Defense Red Alert with a new headsculpt in his likeness, and Darksyde Waspinator - A green and yellow redeco of the Machine Wars Skywarp mold, sold together in a pack.
    • Buzzsaw and Laserbeak - Redecos of the Energon Divebomb mold done in gold and red color schemes respectively, sold together in a pack.
    • Unit-2 (Tigatron) - Redeco of the above mentioned Axalon Cheetor as Tigatron. Given away free to pre-registered attendees, convention volunteer staff, and with each dealer booth as in 2005.
    • This year was the first to offer the Customizing Transformers classes, taught by Shawn Tessman. Participants built and painted Inferno and Rumble, based on the Cybertron Scrapmetal mold.
  • 2007 [55] [56]
    • "Games of Deception!", a five-figure box set in the fictional universe of the Transformers: Classics comic strip published in the club's newsletter. The characters included are as follows.
      • Bugbite - Redeco of Classics Bumblebee in white and black, based upon the eHobby exclusive Gobot of the same name, who was in turn a redeco of the 2004 Takara reissue Bumblebee toy.
      • Dirge - Redeco of Classics Ramjet to resemble the G1 version.
      • Dreadwind - Redeco of Classics Jetfire, with a new head to resemble the G1 version.
      • Thrust - Redeco and remold of Classics Ramjet, with new wings to resemble the G1 version.
      • Thundercracker - Redeco of Classics Starscream (itself previously redecoed as Skywarp) to resemble the G1 version.
    • A clear version of Classics Mirage, representing the character's power of invisibility. Available only to pre-registered attendees as a bonus for coming to the convention, and distributed with dealer booths as in previous years.
    • Two two-packs, available for purchase at the convention only:
  • 2008 [57] [58]
    • "Shattered Glass", a six-figure box set in an alternate universe where the Autobots are evil and the Decepticons are good.
      • Optimus Prime - Purple and black redeco of Classics Optimus Prime.
      • Grimlock - Dark gray redeco of Classics Grimlock.
      • Autobot Jazz - White redeco of Cybertron Crosswise with a remolded head to resemble the G1 version.
      • Goldbug - Black and yellow redeco of Cybertron Hot Shot with a remolded head to resemble the G1 version.
      • Starscream - White and red redeco of Galaxy Force Voyager class Starscream to resemble G1 Jetfire.
      • Razorclaw - Yellow redeco of Classics Mini-Con Overbite from the Predator Attack Team.
    • Ricochet - Red and white redeco of Autobot Jazz. Available only to attendees who registered for the convention, as well as with the purchase of a dealer booth.
    • Two bagged sets, available for purchase at the convention only:
      • Megatron, Rodimus and Divebomb: Megatron is a redeco of Energon Megatron with a new head mold resembling his Generation 1 version, while Rodimus is a redeco of Classics Rodimus, featuring a new headmold with a goatee; Divebomb is a redeco of Classic Mini-Con Dreadwing.
      • Blurr, Sideswipe, Whisper and Rampage: Blurr is redeco of Cybertron Blurr, featuring a new head mold with an eye-patch; Sideswipe is a redeco of Armada Wheeljack paired with Whisper, a redeco of Armada Mini-Con Windsheer; and Rampage is a redeco of Classic Mini-Con Snarl.
    • Nightbeat - Customizing class project, based on the Fun Publications Official Transformers Collector's Club exclusive Nightbeat figure.
  • 2009 [59] [60]
    • "Wings of Honor", a five-figure box showcasing a Generation 1 version of the Autobot Elite Guard:
    • Leozack - A redeco of Energon Deluxe Starscream. Available only to attendees who registered for the convention, as well as with the purchase of a dealer booth.
    • Three bagged sets, available for purchase at the convention only:
      • Banzai-Tron and Skyquake - Banzai-Tron is a redeco of Energon Mirage, and Skyquake is a redeco of Energon Starscream.
      • Sweeps Pack - A "troop-builder" set of three toys modelled after the Scourge exclusive. Includes Sweeps Two, Six, and Seven.
      • Razorclaw and Elita-1 - Razorclaw is a remold of Cybertron Leobreaker and Elita-1 is a redeco of Cybertron Thunderblast.
  • 2010
    • "Generation 2 Redux", a five-figure box showcasing a Generation 2:
      • Autobot Spark, a redeco of Universe Generation 2 Series Voyager Inferno.
      • Breakdown - a remold of Universe Sunstreaker in the colors of the Generation 2 Stunticon.
      • Clench-a remold of Universe Classics Onslaught.
      • Sky-Byte-a remold of the Energon Sharkticon.
      • Streetwise

Proposed/Unreleased Exclusives

A number of toys were planned over the years, but were never produced for various reasons:

  • Cataclysm, a green and purple redeco of Transmetal Cheetor. This character actually appeared in the convention storyline and was thought to be the lower-priced exclusive in 2000 until Apelinq was revealed instead. Cataclysm was never intended to be an exclusive and was featured solely as a red herring.
  • Optimal Rodimus Primal, mentioned at the BotCon 2000 organizer's panel, this would have been an updated version of Rodimus Prime made from the Optimal Optimus mold. Plans were nixed very early on as Primal Prime was going into its limited production run and Hasbro didn't give licensees the leeway they now enjoy. Optimal Rodimus Primal's events in the Wreckers storyline were revised for Primal Prime and Rodimus instead.
  • Blue Balls Attack Team, from an anecdote shared by Karl Hartman on the now defunct BotCon Beyond message board: A planning session for BotCon had run much later than anticipated and an exhausted Hartman proposed a pair of blue repaints of Beast Wars Retrax. Obviously not a serious proposal.
  • OTFCC 2005 Proposals [61]
    • Hot Spot, a blue redeco of Robots in Disguise Optimus Prime as the Generation One character. The toy would have featured a new headsculpt for the robot's larger "Defensor" mode. This toy was originally solicited for OTFCC 2004, then pushed back for OTFCC 2005. When the license was removed from 3H Productions, all plans for this figure evaporated. A hand painted example was made and pictures can be found at Allspark.com.
    • Megatron, a red redeco of Robots in Disguise Megatron as an upgraded (and resurrected) Beast Wars Megatron. This toy would have featured a new headsculpt, and is rumored to also include his legendary rubber duck bath toy from the Beast Wars cartoon. Designs of this toy were part of 3H Productions' OTFCC 2005 proposal, which never happened.
    • Devcon, a blue redeco of Energon Slugslinger as the Generation One character. This toy would have featured a new headsculpt. Designs of this toy were part of 3H Productions' OTFCC 2005 proposal, which never happened.
    • Brawn, a green redeco of Energon Strongarm as the Generation One character. This toy would have featured a new headsculpt and snap on Energon gauntlets. Designs of this toy were part of 3H Productions' OTFCC 2005 proposal, which never happened.
    • Roadbuster, an orange and green redeco of Energon Strongarm as the Generation One character. This toy would have featured a new headsculpt and Energon rifle. Designs of this toy were part of 3H Productions' OTFCC 2005 proposal, which never happened.

References

Note: Many unreferenced details in this article originated from the organizers' discussion panels during the conventions, which are currently unavailable in a publicly-viewable format.

  1. ^ BotCon 1994 Overview
  2. ^ BotCon 1995 Overview
  3. ^ BotCon 1996 Overview
  4. ^ BotCon 1997 Overview
  5. ^ BotCon Japan 1997 Overview
  6. ^ BotCon 1998 Overview
  7. ^ BotCon Japan 1998 Overview
  8. ^ BotCon 1999 Overview
  9. ^ BotCon Europe 1999 Overview
  10. ^ BotCon 2000 Overview
  11. ^ BotCon Japan 2000 Overview
  12. ^ BotCon 2001 Overview
  13. ^ BotCon 2002 Overview
  14. ^ BotCon Europe 2002 Overview
  15. ^ BotCon 2004 Overview
  16. ^ BotCon 2005 Overview
  17. ^ BotCon 2006 Overview
  18. ^ BotCon 2007 Overview
  19. ^ BotCon 2008 Overview
  20. ^ BotCon 2009 Overview
  21. ^ BotCon 1994 Guest List
  22. ^ BotCon 1996 Guest List
  23. ^ BotCon 1997 Guest List
  24. ^ BotCon 1998 Guest List
  25. ^ BotCon Japan 1998 Guest List
  26. ^ BotCon 1999 Guest List
  27. ^ BotCon 2000 Guest List
  28. ^ BotCon Japan 2000 Guest List
  29. ^ BotCon 2001 Guest List
  30. ^ BotCon 2002 Guest List
  31. ^ BotCon Europe 2002 Guest List
  32. ^ BotCon 2004 Guest List
  33. ^ BotCon 2005 Guest Preview
  34. ^ Roberto Orci at IMDb
  35. ^ Alex Kurtzman at IMDb
  36. ^ BotCon 2008 Guest List
  37. ^ BotCon 2009 Guest List
  38. ^ BotCon 1994 Merchandise List
  39. ^ BotCon 1995 Merchandise List
  40. ^ BotCon 1996 Merchandise List
  41. ^ BotCon 1997 Merchandise List
  42. ^ BotCon Japan 1997 Merchandise List
  43. ^ BotCon 1998 Merchandise List
  44. ^ BotCon Japan 1998 Merchandise List
  45. ^ BotCon 1999 Merchandise List
  46. ^ BotCon 2000 Merchandise List
  47. ^ BotCon Japan 2000 Merchandise List
  48. ^ BotCon 2001 Merchandise List
  49. ^ BotCon 2002 Merchandise List
  50. ^ BotCon Europe 2002 Merchandise List
  51. ^ BotCon 2004 Merchandise List
  52. ^ BotCon 2005 Exclusives Preview
  53. ^ BotCon 2005 Souvenir List
  54. ^ BotCon 2006 Exclusives Preview
  55. ^ BotCon 2007 Exclusives Preview
  56. ^ BotCon 2007 Souvenir List
  57. ^ BotCon 2008 Exclusives Preview
  58. ^ BotCon 2008 Souvenir List
  59. ^ BotCon 2009 Exclusives Preview
  60. ^ BotCon 2009 Souvenir List
  61. ^ OTFCC 2005 Concept Artwork and Samples

External Links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to BotCon.
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