Snakas has updated his website with some more images from the Tokyo Toy Show which includes a very nice look at all of the Arms Micron figures and upcoming Japanese Transformers Prime releases.  Check them out here.

If you are attending Auto Assembly 2012 and planning on taking part in our Kitbash Workshop this year, you can’t have failed to see all of the excitement surrounding the exclusive head kit that has been designed for us this year by Calloway Customs to accompany the workshop. Designed to customise Generations Wheeljack, this forms the central part of the Workshop where you’ll be taken through a step-by-step tutorial on how to modify this toy into a brand new toy complete with a new paint scheme, new sticker set and a new custom-made head.

There are four different custom kits being made available as convention exclusives this year. The Gold Kit, costing £35, includes a painted head, sticker set AND a Generations Wheeljack toy and there are only a few of these left! We do have supplies of the Silver Kit (containing the painted head and sticker set) and the Bronze Kit (the painted head only) as well as the Basic unpainted head but you need to hurry as they are selling FAST!

You need to be registered for the convention to get these and once you have pre-ordered them, you can pick them up at the convention. If you are not able to make it, you can order our Non-Attendee Package and purchase limited quantities of the Silver, Bronze or Basic Kits but don’t leave it too late or you could be disappointed! If you’re not able to make it to the Workshop itself, the entire session will be available to view on our Youtube Channel after the convention FREE of charge!

To find out more about ordering the head, read here. To get your Non-Attendee Pack, click here and if you’re not already booked for the convention and want to attend, visit our Bookings Page.

Simon Plumbe

Auto Assembly Committee Head

WikiAlpha has been updated with images and information on Shafter, the TFCon IGear Erector inspired Not-Huffer repaint.

When his teammates need something special built, they call SHAFTER. After a stunning defeat and exile from the Savage Land, SHAFTER was determined to redeem himself. Called on by Stronghold to completely redesign all fortifications after the breakout of Toxin and his companions, SHAFTER is hard at work making sure every possible hole is plugged tight. His small size allows him to access many areas others can’t, but belies a strength that allows him to accomplish even the hardest jobs. SHAFTER’s mastery of civil engineering allows him to construct a solution from the ground up, drawing inspiration from the monuments of his home world and the wonders he’s found on Earth. SHAFTER’s abilities at design aren’t just limited to blueprints, either, and his cunning strategies have turned defeat into victory numerous times. Even with all his defensive skills, SHAFTER is no stranger to the front lines. SHAFTER is durable enough for the most toughest jobsite, and can shrug off enemy fire while “giving as good as he gets” with his powerful hydraulic arms or his induction rivet-guns. SHAFTER intends to make sure that the next enemy spy looking for trouble finds a lot more than they bargain for, and to prove once and for all that great things can come from small packages.

 Auto Assembly 2012 Kitbash Workshop Details Release

We have had a kitbash workshop at Auto Assembly for the last few years but as we are moving the convention to a new home for 2012, we wanted to do something special this year and bring all of you a brand new, improved workshop as part of Europe's Largest Transformers Convention so we've teamed up with Calloway Customs to do something brand new which we think you'll all love...

This “Blue Peter” style presentation will last approximately one hour, and will focus on how to change a stock Hasbro toy into a different character, using all the tools and tricks of the trade available. Discussing paint removal, disassembly and cleaning, spray / paint preparation and application, wheel removal, head replacement, decal application and much more.

Presented by Nick Calloway, the designer behind the popular Calloway Customs Shapeway store, and Botcon award winner Sid Beckett.  This workshop will be backed up by a full “how to...” bullet-point refresher guide on the Auto Assembly website and a video of the presentation so you can follow along at home.

“We wanted to do something similar to the custom workshops other conventions offer,” said Nick Calloway, “without the practical difficulties of sixty people fighting over two soldering irons, against the clock. In this workshop you will learn all the skills you need so you can attempt a true custom in the comfort of your own home at your own pace.”

The limited edition convention exclusive upgrade kits themselves will be available to purchase at the convention and will be available to pre-order shortly from Calloway Custom Designs exclusively for convention attendees!
 
For more details on Auto Assembly 2012 which is taking place over the weekend of 3rd - 5th August 2012 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel or to book your tickets or find out information about booking dealers tables, visit the website at www.autoassembly.org.uk
 
Hope to see you there!
 
The Auto Assembly Team
 
Web: www.autoassembly.org.uk / www.transformersvideogames.co.uk / www.ct-alpha.com
Auto Assembly Europe: www.autoassemblyeurope.eu
Youtube: www.youtube.com/autoassembly
Twitter: www.twitter.com/auto_assembly
Forum: http://www.autoassembly.org.uk/forum
Email: contact@autoassembly.org.uk
Tel: +44 (0)7860 948296
 
Auto Assembly is sponsored by
 
Calloway Custom Designs - www.shapeways.com/shops/callowaycustomdesigns
Toyz And Gamez - www.toyzandgamez.co.uk
TF Source - www.tfsource.com
Robot Kingdom - www.robotkingdom.com
Transformers @ The Moon - www.transformertoys.co.uk
TransformersAnimated.com - www.transformersanimated.com
TheTransformers.net - www.thetransformers.net
Titan Books - www.titanbooks.com
3 Darths Comics - www.3darthscomics.co.uk
Science Fiction Collectables - www.sf-collectables.co.uk
Big Bad Toy Store - www.bbts.com
Xyber Toys - www.xybertoys.com

The C.O.N.S. 4 trailer is online to germanys Transformers convention.

C.O.N.S. 4 "2012" Trailer English Version from Lucy Cons on Vimeo.

Dealer tables are now sold out!

Germanys Transformers Convention this year bigger than ever befor!

Source: NTF-CONS.DE

Eight Weeks Until Auto Assembly 2012

It's hard to believe that we are now just eight weeks away from Auto Assembly 2012, Europe's Largest Transformers Convention. It feels as if Auto Assembly 2011 has barely been behind us, but with the convention nearly upon us we wanted to give everyone a reminder that the convention is fast approaching and that tickets are selling faster than ever this year and that we are on target for a total sell out!

We're now entering our "rush period" for ticket sales - the time of the year where we traditionally sell over 50% of our tickets for Auto Assembly - so if you haven't already booked up, now is the time so you don't miss out. If you still haven't made up your mind, check out the website for all of the details about this year's event or watch the first part of our recap video on our youtube channel here:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nign7-lENd0 and you can see our current trailer video here:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWy4HPlZT80

With seventeen guests, our biggest ever line-up of dealers, a massive new four-star venue, great free gifts for attendees including a magazine, lithograph and comic, what more could you ask for?

Auto Assembly 2012 is located in Birmingham in the centre of the UK so it's easy to get to from all parts of the country. If you are travelling from anywhere in Europe, there are affordable flights from most of Europe to Birmingham International Airport (which is on the same site as the convention hotel) and for those of you who are travelling from further afield, flights to the UK are a lot more affordable than you might think...

Registration for the full weekend (which includes access to EVERY part of the convention including all our workshops, panels and free autographs with no additional charges) is just £45 for adults and hotel accommodation is just £50 a night for a single room or £60 for a twin or double making the convention affordable for everyone!

We'll be bringing you a lot more updates over the next few weeks as the convention draws closer including great news about our displays, dealers, the cosplay competition and we'll be announcing the return of our Non-Attendee Package for those of you who can't make it. We may even be bringing you some news about Auto Assembly 2013...

For more details on Auto Assembly 2012 which is taking place over the weekend of 3rd - 5th August 2012 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel or to book your tickets or find out information about booking dealers tables, visit the website at http://www.autoassembly.org.uk

Hope to see you there!

The Auto Assembly Team

Web: http://www.autoassembly.org.uk / http://www.transformersvideogames.co.uk / http://www.ct-alpha.com
Auto Assembly Europe: http://www.autoassemblyeurope.eu
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/autoassembly
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/auto_assembly
Forum: http://www.autoassembly.org.uk/forum
Email: contact@autoassembly.org.uk
Tel: +44 (0)7860 948296

Auto Assembly is sponsored by

Toyz And Gamez - http://www.toyzandgamez.co.uk
TF Source - http://www.tfsource.com
Robot Kingdom - http://www.robotkingdom.com
Transformers @ The Moon - http://www.transformertoys.co.uk
TransformersAnimated.com - http://www.transformersanimated.com
TheTransformers.net - http://www.thetransformers.net
Titan Books - http://www.titanbooks.com
3 Darths Comics - http://www.3darthscomics.co.uk
Science Fiction Collectables - http://www.sf-collectables.co.uk
Big Bad Toy Store - http://www.bbts.com
Xyber Toys - http://www.xybertoys.com

With less than 70 days to go until Auto Assembly 2012, we are now looking for more people who want to help out as volunteers at the convention this year to help the weekend run as smoothly as possible and hopefully be the best Transformers convention that Europe has ever seen! We have been working hard over the last couple of months to revamp our volunteer system to be able to offer all of our volunteers a great rewards package for helping out this year including exclusive t-shirts, early access to the convention and – for those of you who put enough time in over the weekend – half price or even FREE admission to Auto Assembly 2013!

We are looking for people to apply to become volunteers NOW and you can find out full details on what you will be asked to do over the weekend and all of the rewards we can offer in our Volunteer Information Pack. The Pack also contains the application form and we will need these returned to us by no later than 30th June 2012. We will go through all of the applications and contact all of the successful applicants and then start to assign everyone to their duty shifts over the weekend and send out your duty rotas prior to the convention.

Depending on the response, we may not be able to accept every application but the more volunteers who come forward, the better we will be able to cover the convention and ensure that no volunteers are overloaded with work over the weekend. You can download the Pack in Word and PDF format now.

Thanks,

The Auto Assembly 2012 Team

The Auto Assembly website has been updated with the following important news story.

Here at Auto Assembly, we have been asked for some time about whether or not we would be able to offer Press Passes to the convention for representatives from various magazines and websites. We have been looking at this for some time, and we are now able to offer a very limited number of complimentary passes to members of the press for this year’s convention. These will be available to members of the “traditional” print-based press, online media and other press but because of the size of the convention, we only have a small number of passes available.

To get yours, download our Press Pass Request Form and email it back to us as soon as possible. We will look at your request and get back to you as quickly as we can. Please note that places are limited and will be offered on merit and on a first come, first served basis. Passes are restricted to a maximum of two per publication / organisation and we hope to be able to work closely with everyone who receives a complimentary pass so please get in touch as soon as possible if you are interested.

Regards,

The Auto Assembly Team

Part One Limited have updated the e-Hobby Shop with a listing of the BotCon 2012 Invasion boxset, the first move in the new partnership with Fun Publications.

????????????????2012????e-HOBBY?????????1??1??????????????????????2012?6 ????????????????????????e-HOBBY SHOP???????????????????????????????????

They have 150 sets available

C.O.N.S. 4 has a fourth special guest.
He is one of the few German comic artists, who is working on Transformers comics for IDW. Klaus Schwerwinski wants to spend the day at the German Transformers Convention together with us. At the moment he is working on the cover for the G.I. Joe - Transformers Crossover Anthology for IDW. He is known for his cover-art for All Hail Megatron, Infiltration, Escalation and several spotlights (Ultra Magnus, Wheelie, Best of Grimlock, Best of Starscream). He will bring comics, original pages and also postcards with Transformers motives to the C.O.N.S.. We can ask him questions about his work in an interview.
Here is a short video in which Klaus Scherwinski introduces himself.

Klaus Scherwinskis: Comic Con 2008:

Source: NTF-CONS.DE

Hi everyone,

Auto Assembly 2012 is less than three months away and we thought that it was time that we stepped up a gear to let everyone know about the convention! We’ve been making announcements about the event steadily over the last few months and the response and support that we have had from everyone has been phenomenal so far, but we want to make this the biggest and best Auto Assembly ever and – with your help and support – we know that we can!

We wanted to do something different to let everyone know about the convention and to share some more news and updates about the convention and we thought long and hard about what the best way to do it was and decided that there was no better way than the internet! Social Media has become an incredible part of our lives over the last few years and there isn’t anyone out there in the Transformers community that either isn’t a member of a forum, doesn’t use Facebook, Twitter, Youtube or some other part of the internet as part of their everyday life so we’re running this week-long campaign starting today to let the whole world know about Auto Assembly and what we are doing with the convention this year and we want everyone out there to play a part in this and share your excitement and enthusiasm about this year’s convention!

So what’s it all about? Well for the next seven days we want everyone to tell as many people as possible about Auto Assembly 2012! Whether this means posting comments on Facebook, sharing stories and news updates that we post here on the website, re-tweeting our comments on Twitter… anything you can think of really and we want you all to be as creative as you can! Just have fun with it and we’d love to hear what you all get up to! For those of you on Facebook, why not join all of us here at Auto Assembly and change your profile image for the next seven days to our QR code image that we have included here:

Talking of Facebook, why not like our page? If you’re not already doing it you can find it here and while you’re there, go to the Auto Assembly 2012 Event Page on Facebook and let us know whether you’re attending this year. Don’t forget it’s an open group so invite all your friends to come along too! Still with online sites and we’d love to have more of you following us on Twitter so why not pop along to our Twitter page at www.twitter.com/auto_assembly and let’s see if we can get up to 500 followers by the end of the week!

We’re not just on Facebook and Twitter though… we’ve got an active channel on Youtube with video footage from the convention from previous years and we’ll be uploading some more news announcements about 2012 shortly. We’ve just released a new photo montage video today for Auto Assembly 2012 so feel free to share this on your own Youtube channels, Facebook, Twitter and everywhere else too! Check out our Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/autoassembly

Anything else? Well, for those of you who shop with some of our dealers, you may have seen our latest flyer for Auto Assembly 2012 but if you want to distribute this yourself or post copies on forums, Facebook or your own website, feel free to post the artwork which we are now making available to all of you now

If you’re on any Transformers forums, feel free to talk to any of our team who will no doubt be online on all of the major Transformers forums including our own joining in in most of the discussions that will be taking place about the convention and we’ll be on hand to answer any questions you might have. We’ll also be making some announcements about the convention through the website over the coming week so if you want to get this news as it breaks, don’t forget that you can sign up for updates free of charge by subscribing to the site!

We’re really excited about what this week is going to hold and we’re really looking forward to hearing what you’ve all got to say about the convention and what you’re all looking forward to!

Simon Plumbe

Auto Assembly Committee Head

I'm sorry fo report that NTFA have announced that the next Auto Assembly Europe, whihc was planned for November has been put back until 2013.  In an update on their website the group posted the following update

"We regret to inform you that we must move the next Auto Assembly Europe to autumn 2013.

Since the convention in November all the members of the organizer team has had to deal with various personal and health concerns, and we simply haven’t been able to invest nearly as much effort in the convention as we would have liked and needed.
With six months left until the intended date we feel that maybe we could still pull off presenting a so-so convention this autumn, but we don’t want to settle for merely ”acceptable” - we want to surpass and go beyond! And by taking a gap year in 2012 and postponing Auto Assembly Europe to autumn 2013 instead, we ensure that we can do just that.

The planning for AAE 2013 starts right away, and with almost 1,5 year to go we should be able to announce a date and venue well in advance of the convention this time.

So that you won't be completely bereft of AAEurope goodness this year, we intend to renew our efforts to put together the Auto Assembly Europe magazine, originally intended as a post-convention magazine but put on ice for quite some time because of the aforementioned health problems. Work on the magazine will resume soon!

Another piece of AAE goodness has also just been sent out to the AAEurope 2011 attendees - those of you who hadn't already reserved a copy from the NTFA Store, will receive a copy of the Free Comic Book Day comic, Transformers Regeneration One #80.5, as a gift from the Auto Assembly Europe committee! The issue should be delivered to all the Swedish attendees today, and to the non-Swedish attendees tomorrow.

We hope to see you in autumn 2013!

- Lars, Martin, Peter and Dennis"

Here's a round up of Botcon 2012's sunday panels

Transformers: Prime Game

• They're hoping for a holiday release date
• Brawler style game play
• All the voice actors from the show are on board
• Based largely on the events of seasons one and some of two
• A trailer of cut scenes was show, but no actual game play

Transformers Fall of Cybertron

• They feel it surpasses it's predecessor in everyway
• 18 upgradeable weapons
• Cliffjumper(voiced by Nolan North) and Jazz have "buddy" vibe, they wanted to explore Cliffjumper's history due to his role in Transformers Prime
• They feel they nailed Grimlock's appearance (Matt really, really likes Grimlock!)
• Looked to the comics to establish the connection between the Dinobots and Shockwave
• The Generations Fall of Cybertron toys have been a joint collaboration between HMS and Hasbro with the figures designed in-step with the game models
• Multiplayer Customization - Unprecedented ability to craft your own Trasformer
• Head, torso, upper/lower arms and legs, wings, etc are all customizable
• Transformation will look natural no matter what design you choose
• Still no plans for a PC version

Transformers Universe MMO

• Free to play on any browser with Java, should look and play like a console game
• Based in the Transformers Prime continuity, but independent of the show
• Third person POV, with some camera adjustment
• There will be multiple character classes to revealed later with 5 classes available at the launch
• Probably no class changing, though you can create multiple characters of varying classes
• Trailer was shown, but did not feature game play
• No beast modes or flight modes will be available for the launch, though they hope to add flight modes soon
• Character appearance will change with modes and upgrades
• Possible Beta version by the end of the year
• Humans are in the game, but only as part of the environment

Lots of reports, as usual, are over the web covering the Transformers Convention BotCon.  Whether you follow Twitter, Facebook or Google Plus or on the usual big Transformers websites TFW2005, Seibertron and The Allspark.

Here is a basic summary in no particular order.

Transformers 2012 Hall of Fame Winner - Wheeljack.

During the promotional video a tease for Transformers Prime Shockwave was shown.

Transformers Prime Cyberverse figures were shown off in the toy display

here's a gallery from Seibertron

San Diego Comic Con Exclusives will be Rust in Piece Terrorcon Cliffjumper (packaged in a giant Cliffjumper head) and a Fall of Cybertron Bruticus.

Hasbro Debuts Transformers SDCC Exclusives - Comics News at IGN to check out Rust In Piece Cliffjumper and the game colour FoC Bruticus!

Seiberton images of Terrorcon Cliffjumper

Transformers Prime figures- including a nice looking Airachnid, Razorclaw coloured Dead End and some other nice pieces

TFW2005have a gallery of these

Hasbro Talk

The highlights from today's Hasbro panel:

Masterpiece:

* US release for MP-10 - with the trailer!. Long smokestacks. TRU exclusive.

Fall of Cybertron:
* Kickback - G1/IDW-esque.
* Starscream.
* Sideswipe.
* Ultra Magnus - Optimus redeco with new head.
* Fireflight - Shockwave remould (new head).
* Voyager-class coming to Generations!
* Soundwave is the first one! Includes data disks, one of which is Laserbeak.
* Will be recoloured into Soundblaster.
* More of Soundwave's minions will be released in Legion-class.
* Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage and Ratbat will be among them.

Prime:

* Deluxe: Wave 4: Dead End, Shadow Strike Bumblebee, Airachnid. Wave 5: Kup, Rumble
* Thundertron (from the Exiles novel) is getting a toy! Voyager Wave 4. Has a beast mode.
* Cyberverse Wave 3: Wheeljack, Flamewar and a stealth Bumblebee.
* CV Commander: Ultra Magnus, Optimus Prime with swords. Vehicle Wave 2 is the alread-seen Battle Suit BB.
* To come in 2013... Legion Airachnid. Drawings shown in the presentation.

Bot Shots:

* Showing existing toys.
* Launchers: Optimus, Megatron and Ironhide.
* 3-pack: Skyquake, Jetfire, Powerglide.

SDCC exclusives:

* Bruticus - actually based on the game demo this time. Yup.
* The box is book-style (think Takara G1 reissues). Looks fantastic, by all accounts.
* Terrorcon Cliffjumper is the other exclusive. Includes a dark energon shard.
* Packaging concepts include a CR chamber, tombstone, and his own head.

That's all for the presentation, now onto the Q&A. We'll bring you any interesting tidbits that arise.

* Movie toys - still trying to find ways to distribute the remaining toys, though they acknowledge that was the problem they had in the first place. Sounds like they're moving away from the movie line for a while.
* The Thirteen - they want to introduce the characters to the public. A slow process, overall.
* Universal exclusives - only available at the parks that have the rides.
* Generations - initially this will cover Fall of Cybertron but they will move onto other media, including novels and IDW comics (yay!)
* Rumble/Frenzy - no plans for a Hasbro release, but never say never.
* FoC Dinobots - everyone will want a Grimlock. Getting all five characters into toy form might be tricky.
* Cryptic answer to the question of army builders, when asked why only the club do them. "Why just the club?"
* Classics Springer is possible, being considered for the future! No immediate plans for Arcee.
* Prime Ironhide is a non-show character. May show up in other media.
* No plans for future Animated toys. Again, never say never, but no immediate plans.
* No plans for Classics Devastator. Combiners may be considered if Bruticus is successful.
* Fun fact - repaints still have to go through quality control and other approval processes, not as cheap/straightforward as people think!
* Prime First Editions - situation was outside Hasbro's control (retailers, basically). Getting them back out there is their top priority (yay).
* Why not put them Hasbro Toy Shop? Apparently this depends on various partnerships around the world (retailers), and Hasbro don't want to jeopardise those partnerships (despite HTS being North America-only?).

In other news...

* Aaron Archer, Rik Alvarez, Bill Rawley, Jonathan Newkirk are on the panel, among others.
* Some toys will be going in the display cases afterward, so there will be pics shortly afterward.
* Brief list of things to come - theme park ride, Fall of Cybertron
* Talking about Evac, showing the Universal Studios exclusive versions.
* Other Universal exclusives: Deluxe Bumblebee, Deluxe Prime with new decos. Also Voyager Prime & Megs redecos.
* Box window is shaped like a Decepticon symbol.

Collectors Club Exclusives / Subscription Figures

* Apologies for the credit card issues.
* Presentation beginning. Promise of exciting things.
* Discussion of Invasion box set art. Idea was to make it like the original 2008 SG set.
* The full lithograph as 30+ characters; everyone that's involved in the SG vs Classics story.
* Discussing the processes involved in making the souvenir sets. Runners and the like.
* METALHAWK: Really wanted to pay homage to Pretenders' human forms, hence the human head.
* GIGATRON: Best possible with what they had to work with.
* Displaying original colour mockups now.
* Original concepts of Spinister and Octopunch now.
* On Octopunch's chest: "They're not ducks" and "This crowd knows what tentacles look like".
* Moving on to Junkions...
* Originally they were to be painted as Sharkticons. Makes more sense in-story for them to be like Insecticons though, apparently.
* "SPRAXUS", the Bard of Darkmount now.
* Figure subscription service coming!
* They had hoped for it to up and running now, but wanted to double-check security.
* No price points yet.
* Announcing figures now.
* Sign up in 3-4 weeks. Payment all up front or in three installments.
* 2 or 3 figures a month.
* Intended to replace current problems.
* Figures built to order. And they are:
* Breakdown - Classics, G1 colours based on 2010 G2 Botcon figure.
* Animated Jackpot - from Animated Jazz. Black with red windows, yellow arms, orange hood w/ orange stripes. New head.
* Scourge! G2 Prime with red windows and sword. Upside down G2 Autobot symbol
* Prime Slipstream! FE Starscream in purple and teal. New head! Prime-Animated hybrid.
* Circuit! Yes, the Euro Action Master! Yellow repaint of HFTD Axor. Red limbs, grey hood.
* Last one: Ultra Mammoth. BW Neo Bog Convoy in Laser Ultra Magnus colours! White head, blue mouthplate; mammoth is purple w/ white fur.
* Membership Figure: DEPTH CHARGE from HFTD Terradive. Blue jet, yellow hands and lower legs, purple upper arms and upper legs, yellow face on a blue head. Supposed to be pre-BW.
* All were planned from middle of last year.
* Looking at possibilities for future -- including stocking FE. Sustainability is issue -- must be able to keep doing it.
* Figures will come in better packaging. But not fancy collector boxes, unfortunately. 2-3 figures at a time. Break in between, then next batch. Will make shipping cheaper.
* Pricing will be consistent for all -- inc. shipping. One figure per subscription with a chance to order more. Service begins in next four weeks; shipping in November.