TFNation have kicked off the New Year by announcing their first Voice Actor / Actor guest as Venus Terzo! Venus is best known to Transformers fans for voicing Blackarachnia in Beast Wars and Beast Machines though she is also well known as the voice fo Rainbow Dash in My Little Pony, Girl-Type Ranma in Ramna 1/2, Jean Grey, the Sorceress, Jinx, Princess Lana and on-screen roles including Arrow, Minority Report, Supernatural, Stargate SG-1, Blackstone and the Da Vinici's Inquest. You can read the rull press release below. 

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Operation: Venus Terzo to attend TFNation 2017

TFNation have announced their 2nd voice actor guest will be Richard Newman! The actor is best known for voicing Rhinox in Beast Wars as well as Tankor in Beast Machines but he also voiced Vector Prime in Transformers Cybertron.

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We are honoured to announce TFNation 2016 will see the first ever UK Transformers convention appearance of Richard Newman, who will be helping us to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Beast Wars and the 10th Anniversary of Transformers: Cybertron!

To Transformers fans, Richard is best known as Rhinox – the flower-sniffing, “Chainguns of Doom”-toting, Predacon-smacking Maximal from the Beast Wars era; a role he would later revisit in the twisted form of Tankor during the Beast Machines series.
Richard’s Transformers credentials do not end there, as he was also responsible for voicing Transformers: Cybertron’s time and space guardian, Vector Prime.

Outside of Transformers, Richard has amassed a huge resume of impressive acting work both behind the mic and on screen. Some of his many roles include; Grandfather in Pingu, Governor-General Phaeton in Exosquad; Iron Klaw from G.I. Joe Extreme; Tōtōsai from InuYasha; Cranky Doodle Donkey from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic; Rattlor, The Faceless One, Lord Dactys and many others from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002); Toadborg from Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars and the unforgettable M. Bison from Street Fighter: The Animated Series (YES! YES!). In 2011 his performance as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice led to a Jessie Award nomination for “Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Large Theatre”.

Richard will be signing autographs and taking part in panels during our inaugural convention, which will run from Friday 19th and Sunday 21st August 2016.

Further transmissions to follow.

TFNation
Where All Are One
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Welcome to day 3 of our 17 day commemoration of the 16th year anniversary of Transformers At The Moon being launched. Today we shall look back at 2001 a year most commonly remembered for 9/11.

Click the headline to read this article in full as well as seeing a new gallery of the toy we chose to be our spotlight for the year 2001.

So it's the 13th of October which means that it is day 2 of our 17 day celebration for the forthcoming 16th year anniversary of Transformers At The Moon being launched.  The celebration sees us take a look back at the events of year where we will cover what was happening within the Transformers brand, this website, the wider fandom in general as well as which toys we were buying and some general world events.  We shall also be holding spotlight gallery focusing on a toy that was released within that calendar year.

Click the headline to read this article in full as well as seeing a new gallery of the toy we chose to be our spotlight for the year 2000.

Jaguarshoes Collective have put on an exhibition called Industrial Origami that is currently running in Shoreditch here in London England that features some work from Transformer designer Alex Kubalsky (Classics Mirage, Animated Black Arachnia, Real Gear High Score).  Alex will be holding a Q&A as well as a presentation this Thursday (September 24th) about transformable toys. The exhibition runs through November 1st. You can find more information below.

As part of London Design Festival and the Shoreditch design triangle 2015, Alexander Kabulsky will be showcasing an all new transformation design, a personal work for JaguarShoes.

Destined to be produced by a toy company later this year the new design will feature as part of Alex Kabulsky's product showcase and talk during design week, titled Industrial Origami at old Shoreditch and subsequently as part of an exhibition at DreamBagsJaguarShoes.

FREE FOR STUDENTS or BOOK A TICKET through Eventbrite

For more than 30 years transformation has been a staple part of the pop cultural landscape in the shape of Rransformers a toy and movie franchise, born in 1984 which grew from Japanese designed Takara toys, rebranded and distributed in the USA as Transformers.

However, the art of transformation design is an ancient practice, rooted in the well documented paper folding traditions of origami.

Today this highly specialised practice is permeating the design of both purposeful and frivolous objects in society. Since metropolitan living grows increasingly dense within it's confined spaces, it is an art form that will continue to grow across all mediums.

JaguarShoes Collective believe that this design practice is long overdue some well deserved admiration and celebration. Therefore we will be hosting a talk and Q&A on 24th September alongside an exhibition of work by prop and toy designer Alexander Kubalsky.

An accomplished product designer Alex specialises in the art of Transformable design and is commissioned by numerous commercial clients inc. Hasbro, Warner Films and many other multinational toy and film franchises.

For anyone with a love of Transforming, a desire to introduce this art to their practice or to pursue and career designing transforming objects' we recommend that you book a ticket in advance.

The  Taiwanese Transformers Fan group on Facebookhave posted two photographs of the Year Of The Monkey Platinum Edition Optimus Primal on the shelves of Taiwan.

Thanks to an Autobase Aichi for the initial report

Beast Wars fans may want to make plans to travel to Canada later this year as TFCon have announed that Venus Terzo, voice of Blackarachnia, will be in attendance

TFcon is very pleased to welcome voice actor Venus Terzo the voice of Blackarachnia in Beast Wars and Beast Machines to TFcon 2013. Ms. Terzo will be taking part in Q&A panels and autograph sessions with the attendees of the world’s largest fan-run Transformers convention.

TFcon, the world's largest fan-run Transformers convention will take place July 26th to 28th, 2013 in Toronto, Ontario at the Delta Meadowvale Resort and Conference Centre. You can pre-register online for TFcon 2013 via this link for the exclusives VAN GUARDIAN and ROSWELL.

TFcon 2013 features Canada's largest dealer room for Transformers merchandise, question and answer panels and autograph sessions with many special guests including Transformers voice actors JACK ANGEL the voice of Astrotrain, Breakdown, Cyclonus, Omega Supreme, Ramjet, Smokescreen and Ultra Magnus in the Generation 1 cartoon plus DICK GAUTIER the voice of Rodimus Prime, along with Transformers comic book artist Livio Ramondelli with more to be announced. The TFcon 2013 hotel block is now available.

IDW have sent out the following previews for their July 2013 Transformers releases.

Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye #19
James Roberts (w) • Alex Milne (a) • Milne, Sean Chen (c)
BETRAYAL! The Lost Light may be occupied by enemy forces, but that’s the least of RODIMUS’ problems! As he awaits execution, the one-time Matrix holder realizes how little he knows about the people he once called friends. Is there anyone left he can trust? And where does the legendary STAR SABER fit into all this?
2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio

FC • 32 pages • $3.99


*Variant Covers:
Nick Roche variant cover!

Bullet points:
• The game-changing epic REMAIN IN LIGHT continues!
• Major revelations within!

Transformers: Robots in Disguise #19
John Barber (w) • Dheeraj Verma (a) • Verma, Casey Coller (c)
THE DEATH OF A WORLD! Gorlam Prime—the entrance to the so-called DEAD UNIVERSE—holds many secrets… and now ORION PAX—the ’bot who was once OPTIMUS PRIME—pries it’s secrets loose. But will it be too late for CYBERTRON?
*2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio

FC • 32 pages • $3.99


*Variant Covers:
Phil Jimenez variant cover!

Bullet points:
• The countdown to the biggest TRANSFORMERS comic ever continues!
• Who is WASPINATOR—and what is his secret?!

Transformers Regeneration One #93
Simon Furman (w) • Guido Guidi (a) • Andrew Wildman, Guidi (c)
BATTLETIDE! Opposing factions and forces meet head on, as the battle for
Cybertron (and indeed the future) begins in earnest. BLUDGEON, SOUNDWAVE, GALVATRON, STARSCREAM, and—caught in the middle—the Autobots, most crucially their greatest warrior ULTRA MAGNUS! And HOT ROD meets his maker. Literally.
*2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio

FC • 32 pages • $3.99


*Variant Covers:
Geoff Senior variant cover!

Bullet points:
• Shock follows shock as total catastrophe looms large!
• The entire universe holds its collective breath!

Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters #3
Mairghread Scott & Mike Johnson (w) • Agustin Padilla (a) • Ken Christiansen (c)
THE BEAST WITHIN! After the Fall of CYBERTRON, GRIMLOCK and his DINOBOT allies are tasked with protecting the last remaining Cybertronians from the dangers of the demolished planet. But as time passes, GRIMLOCK grows more and more uneasy with the rage and power that he’s forced to hold back. Can the AUTOBOT leader learn to control his power or will the beast take over?

FC • 32 pages • $3.99


*Variant Covers:
animation art variant cover!

Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters #3—Subscription Variant
Mairghread Scott & Mike Johnson (w) • Agustin Padilla (a) • Michael Lark (c)
For subscription customers only… enlist up at your local comic shop! A variant cover by artist Michael Lark! Only for loyal subscription box customers!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye, Vol. 4
James Roberts (w) • Alex Milne, Guido Guidi (a) • Alex Milne (c)
The journey continues as the crew of the Lost Light confronts a band of rogue DECEPTICONS—with terrible consequences. Plus, a visit to the planet Hedonia—and a chance to put recent events behind them. But all the while, locked in a secret cell underneath the Lost Light, hidden from the crew, a DECEPTICON psychopath is talking...without opening his mouth. And, Rodimus and his crew are confronted by the enemy within—and not everyone will survive the encounter.
TPB • FC • $19.99 • 128 pages • ISBN 978-1-61377-691-9

Bullet points:
• Collects issues #12–15.

Transformers Classics Vol. 5
Bob Budiansky & Simon Furman (w) • Jose Delbo, Jim Fern, Geoff Senior (a) • Guido Guidi (c)
The historic comic book roots of THE TRANSFORMERS are re-presented for maximum Cybertronian enjoyment. Rejoin The AUTOBOTS and The DECEPTICONS as their war stretches across the cosmos. Freshly re-mastered and re-colored, these stories are accompanied by an in-depth introduction as well as select issue notes by Mark W. Bellomo.
TPB • FC • $24.99 • 276 pages • ISBN 978-1-61377-633-9

Bullet points:
• Collects issues #51-62 of the Marvel series.

Transformers: Monstrosity #2 (of 4)
Chris Metzen & Flint Dille (w) • Livio Ramondelli (a) • Ramondelli x 3 (c)
MEGATRON—DEFEATED? Never! The DECEPTICON leader battles through SHARKTICON hordes, while on CYBERTRON, OPTIMUS PRIME struggles to unite his people—and GRIMLOCK and his rogue DINOBOTS go on a rampage!
*3 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1-to-1 ratio
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
• In print for the first time!

Fub Publications have updated the Botcon website with two new images of their Obsidian exclusive figure from this years set.  When the toy was first shown off, the figure's colour scheme was based upon the original toy, however it seems, from this photoshopped mock-up, that fan reaction has caused them to re-think the colour scheme so that the toy will now be decoed to look much closer to the CGI animated show.  You can view the new images below and all of the Botcon 2013 images after the jump.

Botcon.com have updated their website with the fourth figure from this years Machine Wars themed set.  Continuing on from the Beast Machines character inclusions of Strika's, this week the reveal is of her partner Obsidian with the figure being based on the original Beast Machines Obsidian toy.  You can view the images of all of the announced figures by following the jump.

Two new trademark applications have been made by Hasbro, one for a cartoon series and another for a toyline. The name of this new thing is Beast Hunters!

Those with long memories will recognise this as the same name that was originally proposed for the series and line that became Beast Machines.

The toy trademark is the most interesting one, as it lists the category as a Class 28 (toy action figures, toy vehicles and toy robots convertible into other visual toy forms.)

We are pleased to announced that bookings are now OPEN for Auto Assembly 2009, Europe's largest Transformers convention! Taking place over the weekend of 15th-16th August 2009 in Birmingham, England, Auto Assembly is set to be bigger and better than ever! This time it is going to be a packed weekend celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Transformers filled with activities, dealers, guests and so much much!

The convention will be held on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th August 2009, with a bonus mini programme of activities on the evening of Friday 14th August for those who book for the full weekend. Because we expect the convention to be a complete sell-ouy, initially only weekend passes will be available, but single day tickets will be on sale closer to the convention should spaces still be left. There will be an extra special programme of activities running on Saturday evening until the early hours of Sunday, which will include a party and a live script reading featuring our TWO voice actors as well as other activities, but these will be EXCLUSIVE to weekend attendees!

The convention will be held at the Holiday Inn Birmingham City Centre, which is on Smallbrook Queensway, Birmingham, right in the heart of Birmingham City Centre, England. It is an ideal location for anyone travelling to Birmingham from anywhere in the UK and is just 2 minutes walk from Birmingham New Street Station!

As many of you will know, We have run a number of surveys to find out exactly what you want from Auto Assembly 2009 and we will be tailoring the activities and events to suit YOU the attendees. There will be so much going on that you won't have time to rest - from guest talks to video screenings, workshops to toy and art displays, dealers and competitions, a charity auction and games area, quizzes and much more besides. And for the first time ever at Auto Assembly, TWO voice actors!

We already have our first EIGHT guests confirmed - TF artists Andrew Wildman making his sixth appearance at Auto Assembly, Simon Williams, John McCrea, Staz Johnson, and colourists Jason Cardy, Kat Nicholson and Liam Shalloo. Finally is our first guest of honour, Ian James Corlett, the voice of Cheetor from Beast Wars and Beast Machines. More guests will be announced soon along with our second voice actor!

Ticket prices for the weekend are just �45 for adults and �35 for concessions with under 5s being FREE. However, ticket prices are being reduced to just �40 and �30 for a limited period until 31st March 2009 as a thankyou for those of you who register early. We will also be offering reduced rates for families (2 adults and 2 children) with early discounts again.

We have also managed to negotiate for reduced accommodation rates in the Holiday Inn hotel for their superb bedrooms and details of these will be posted on the website and sent out to all of you with confirmations of your bookings along with details of a few extra surprises we will be sending to all of you!

We've also got one of our usual goodie bags and we believe that 2009 will see this being our best yet with no less than six gifts being confirmed already including DVDs, keyrings, postcards, stickers and more! As always, the earlier you book the more goodies you will get and the DVDs will be limited to the first 49 pre-registrants so if you want these you will need to hurry!

Finally, we're also looking at ways of improving our pre-registration system to make things smoother and faster than ever for all of you attending including the return of the fast-track quick check-in from Auto Assembly 2008 and email booking confirmations that will be sent out within a few days for all pre-registrants.

Anyway, bookings are open NOW through the Auto Assembly website and postal bookings will be open shortly so check out the website now for all the latest news and developments. We hope to see all of you there for what we think will be the biggest and best Auto Assembly ever!

Simon and Sven
Auto Assembly

web: www.autoassembly.org.uk
forum: http://autoassembly.proboards7.com
email: autoassembly@aol.com
tel: +44 (0)7804 951406

Tim Bradley is a freelance designer, illustrator and author who worked full time for Hasbro in 1998 as well as freelancing for them in 2004. Tim worked on various Hasbro properties (Transformers, Star Wars, Jurassic Park), including Beast Wars, Beast Machines and Transformers Cybertron. Tim recently agreed answer a few questions regarding not only his work as a toy designer, but also as an illustrator and published author. You can read our exclusive interview here.

• Transformers: Beast Machines Vol.2 - Revelations - £5.99 Delivered, RRP (Stock: Pre-order Due for release on 16/07/2007)
• Transformers: Beast Machines - Vol.1 Reformatting - £5.99 Delivered, RRP (Stock: Pre-order Due for release on 16/07/2007)