The TF Expo team have issued the following release announcing the location, dates and first guest for their 2014 show

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER 8, 2013

Wichita, Kansas - TFEXPO ANNOUNCES DATES FOR 2014 SHOW AND FIRST GUEST NEIL ROSS

TFExpo is proud to announce our fourth Transformers convention in Wichita, Kansas coming next summer! TFExpo 2014 will be held at the Holiday Inn at Kellogg and Rock Road August 1st-3rd. That’s right, in celebration of thirty years of our favorite transforming robots, TFExpo 2014 will be a full weekend show!

To help us celebrate, we’re bringing in fan favorite voice actor Neil Ross as our first guest! Fans of Transformers Generation 1 (and many other 80’s cartoons) will remember Neil’s many distinctive voices. Neil performed the roles of Springer, Slag, Bonecrusher, and Hook in Transformers, as well as Dusty and Shipwreck in the original G.I.Joe cartoon. And he voiced both Keith and Pidge in Voltron! But that’s only scratching the surface of Neil’s long and varied career. For a complete list of credits, head to IMDb - Movies, TV and Celebrities.

There will be many more exciting announcements in the months ahead, so stay tuned! Our website will be renovated soon for TFExpo 2014, and then we’ll open pre-registration for the show. In the meantime, like TFExpo on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates.

We’ll see you at TFExpo 2014!

Next month the G.I-Joe / Action Force / Transformers Convention known as Roll Out Roll Call takes place in Southampton and with this year also debuting the sub-convention called Twins of Power which is dedicated to Masters of The Universe the event organiser Dave Tree has announced that, in conjunction with Mattel (who are already providing the shows first licensed exclusive Strobo), the new MOTU Classics Castle Greyskull will be on display for the first time anywhere within the UK!!

Not to be outdone, Mr Tree, via Goodleg Toys, has also revealed the first full look at the shows  second exclusive figure .... Slaughtor!! Slaughtor is made by Goodleg toys and is a homage to all three lines being featured at this years event.  The toy is designed after the 5 1/2 inch He-man (MOTU) figures from the 90s, with a head sculpt based on Sgt Slaughter (G.I-Joe / Action Force / WWF) with a robotic arm (Transformers).  You can view a preview of this figure below 

ACToys user laomaocsh has shared some photographs from the first day of the Transformers Expo 2013 which is currently taking place at the China Millennium Monument Museum of Digital Arts in Beijing China.  The Expo consist of what is probably the world largest single display of Transformers toys ever as well as dioramas and full and partial size set recreations.

The displays also include some of the prize campaign figures known as Lucky Draws including a Black Galaxy Convoy of unknown origins.

You can view a mirror of the images after the jump.

Roll Out Roll Call have announced their new guest line-up for the Transformers, G.I-Joe and Action Force show which will take place in Southampton on the 12th and 13th of October 2013.  This years show, dubbed "Meet the makers" brings together various product designers who have worked onthe lines who will share their insights into toy design and manufacturing process which is something you do not get to hear much about here in the UK.  The guest line-up includes:

Erik Arana (Hasbro Product Designer 2008-2013)

Bob Brechin (Palitoy lead Action Force designer)

Dave Proctor (Hasbro Sculpt Manager 2006-2013)

Catrina Cerise-Arana (Hasbro toy designer)

Emiliano Santalucia (artist and toy concept designer who has worked on pretty much everything in the last few years)

John Paul Bove (IDW Colourist)

Mike Collins (Marvel UK artist & writer)

Simon Gough (IDW Colourist)

We are getting closer to Roll Out Roll Call  2013, The UK Transformers, G.I. Joe & Action Force Event and tickets will be going on sale very soon from All The Cool Stuff website just as soon as Dave Tree is back from Cardiff.

There has been reasons for the delays in putting tickets up for sale for the event one of which was to make sure that the guest line-up was set in stone, but having seen the names of the guests we are looking forward to this event even more.

For everyone wondering about tickets prices here are the details:

£15.00 day ticket

£28.00 weekend

If you want to guarantee yourself a Masters Of The Universe Classic Strobo figure, add £35.00 to the ticket order.

The show is primarily a Transformers / G.I.Joe / Action Force event but this year a sub-show dedicated to Masters of the Universe is also taking place.

For everyone who will be, or already is, attending Auto Assembly 2013 this weekend in Birmingham England, lets get the show trending so make use the convention hashtags #AutoAssembly and #AA2013

 Simon Plumbe, head of the Auto Assembly Committee, has posted a personal apology over the confusion caused by a recent press release. You can find a copy below

Dear friends,

Over the weekend, I posted a press release offering a 20% discount to any person who opted to buy an entrance ticket to Auto Assembly 2013 between now and the convention.  It has since come to my attention that quite a few of our loyal attendees are understandably less than pleased with this, feeling they have missed out through no fault of their own.

Please accept this post as my full and unreserved apology.

The discount was purely intended to be a bonus incentive for those people who were on the fence about coming to the convention or not for the first time; but with hindsight, I now realise that this sadly may have left some of our attendees feeling alienated.  This was absolutely not my intention and, having now spoken to the AA committee and numerous attendees, I realise that I jumped the gun a little this time.

As we have said all along, late bookings hurt the convention. They really do, because so many of our costs need to be paid in advance – more than ever this year.  But I now realise that my attempts to try and avoid this situation by encouraging bookings now, rather than in the last week, were counterproductive.  Sadly, I unintentionally added to the very problem I tried to address!  I hold my hands up completely for that. In the words of Optimus; “Sorry, my bad” :(

So, how do we move forwards? Having now spoken to the AA committee (who I wish to thank for their help and honesty at this time), I have decided that the following action is the most appropriate;

    I am hereby formally retracting the discounted ticket offer. It was, I now realise, unhelpful and has caused some upset. So I firmly believe that removing the offer is the right thing to do.
    For anyone who has booked a ticket whilst that offer was live, I will honour the price you paid. It is not your fault that this has happened.
    I will make everyone a personal assurance right now that there will not be any repeat of this situation in 2014. All year, my committee work hard to encourage people to book early for the good of the convention – I do not want to undermine their exceptional work and I do not want to appear ungrateful to those who support us so fantastically well with their early bookings.
    In lieu of rising costs, we were reluctantly in the position of having to raise ticket prices by £10 for 2014. However,by way of an apology to each and every one of our attendees, I have decided to FREEZE ticket prices at their current levels until 31st December 2013 and beyond that point, a continued reduced level of £55. Once you have all seen the reveals we will be making at this year’s Saturday night show you will truly understand why Auto Assembly 2014 is going to be our most expensive event ever. I guarantee that these reduced prices will not have any adverse impact on the convention although this will mean that the team and I will have to shoulder some extra work, and indeed, work harder than ever, but I think it is the right thing to do to show everybody just how sincere I am with this post.

At the end of the day, Auto Assembly is YOUR convention. Its continued growth and success is down to YOU and YOUR feedback. Bar discount… Swerve’s diner… the fantastic new hotel… my team and I have worked hard to make all of these things a reality because of YOUR excellent feedback over the years. Sometimes, very rarely, we do get things wrong. Because we are human and because we try as many different things as possible to improve the show for you. But we will never try to hide behind a mistake. The special offer, whilst made with the very best of intentions, was misguided and I hope you will accept my full apology and then, join me to help make Auto Assembly 2013 the best darn Transformers convention on that planet. The convention which each and every one of your DESERVE for your tremendous support over the years.

Thanks for your understanding. I really appreciate it and truly value your continued support of the show.

Til all are one

Simon Plumbe
Auto Assembly Committee Head

Auto Assembly have sent out the following press release:

Auto Assembly 2013 Pre-Registrations Close In Two Weeks
 
It's hard to believe that Auto Assembly 2013 is only three weeks away! We're still working hard to bring everyone our best convention ever and we STILL have a lot more surprises in store... we have a fantastic free gift giveaway to announce in conjunction with one of this year's sponsors and we may even have one last surprise guest up our sleeves.
 
2013 is set to be the biggest year yet for Europe's Largest Transformers Convention. We have more dealers attending the convention than ever and not only is our dealers area a total sell-out but we have a large waiting list of dealers wanting table space. Tables are in such high demand now at the convention that spaces for AUTO ASSEMBLY 2014 are now over 50% sold!
 
We have a stunning guest line up - we have three voice actors joining us - Steve Blum (TF: Prime Starscream), Dan Gilvezan (G1 Bumblebee) and Neil Kaplan (RiD Optimus Prime) supported by a plethora of comic talent headlined by Simon Furman, Andrew Wildman, Nick Roche, James Roberts, Alex Milne, Andrew Griffith, Jim Sorenson and many more...
 
Over the three days we have guest Q&A Panels, a special themed Bumblebee night with an exclusive reading from Bumblebee And Me by Dan Gilvezan, special panels with IDW creative talent and a panel dedicated to Regeneration One, two charity auctions, free workshops, a script reading featuring all our voice actors on stage together in a brand new original story, a cosplay competition, and much more. And if you get hungry or thirsty during the day, why not pop into our themed bar / restaurant... SWERVE'S DINER!
 
If you haven't already got a copy of Bumblebee And Me, Dan will be bringing copies with him for sale but these will be limited so if you want to get this before the convention to get signed, you can get your copy before the convention here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1467929565/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1467929565&linkCode=as2&tag=vitpla-21
 
If you've never been to Auto Assembly before everything taking place at the convention is included in the ticket price! Once you have paid for your tickets, all you will need to pay for after that is your travel, accommodation, food and drink and for anything that you buy from our dealers. We don’t charge for workshops, autographs (our artists will sell original artwork, prints and sketches and some of our voice actors may bring items with them for sale, but none of them will charge to sign any items that you bring with you to the event), Q&A panels or for our "Premium" Friday and Saturday night events - all you need for these is a full weekend pass!
 
The full Schedule for the convention, including a map of all our function rooms, is available to download from the Auto Assembly website so you can see for yourself what a packed weekend we have on offer. If you've already booked for one of the days but now want to upgrade for the full weekend so you don't miss out on anything, email us at contact@autoassembly.org.uk to take advantage of our great upgrade offer!
 
Tickets for Auto Assembly 2013 are selling quickly and once again we are on target to set a new European attendance record. If you want to be a part of the convention this year, pre-registrations close in TWO WEEKS on 1st AUGUST 2013. We may have on-the-door places available, but if you want a personalised pass for the convention and to guarantee early admission for the weekend then you will need to book in advance.
 
Auto Assembly 2013 is Europe's largest Transformers convention and is taking place over the weekend of 9th - 11th August 2013 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel. To book your tickets or find out more including details of all the dealers attending, all of our guests and a full schedule for the weekend, visit the website at www.autoassembly.org.uk
 
Hope to see you all in August!
 
The Auto Assembly Team
 
Web: www.autoassembly.org.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
 
TF Source - www.tfsource.com
Robot Kingdom - www.robotkingdom.com
Transformers @ The Moon - www.transformertoys.co.uk
Big Bad Toy Store - www.bbts.com
Benscollectables - www.youtube.com/Transformermegazord
Geek-station - www.geek-station.co.uk
Comic Toys - www.comictoys.nl

Since we are in the UK and are simply two brothers maintaining this site whilst working, we have no means to be able to be out at SDCC in person, sadly, so instead here are some links to Seibertron.com, TFW2005.com and TheAllspark.com's coverage of the event.

Seibertron.com - Preview Night (Masterpieces, Platinum Edition, Linkin Park Soundwave)

TFW2005.com - Generations and 30th Anniversary figures including Whirl and Rhinox.

The Allspark - Preview Night

We need to bring you this important Auto Assembly message:

So just visit www.autoassembly.org.uk to do so.

Auto Assembly's head, Simon Plumbe, has updated the website of Europe's largest Transformers Convention with the "Attendee Information Pack" which contains some extremely useful information for attendees of the show.  Here's Simon to tell you more:

"Regular attendees of Auto Assembly know that we produce an Information Pack every year to help everyone make the most out of the convention and to give all of you who are attending or planning on attending all of the essential information that you need before you set out on your journey to Birmingham in August. Not only does the pack contain essential travel information, but also includes details on some of the things you can expect at the convention, as well as all of our convention rules and regulations, other important information you will need, as well as plenty of tips and advice to help you make the most out of Europe’s largest Transformers convention.

Well, we have now finished producing the first edition of this year’s guide and it is now available for all of you to download as a PDF file, so whether you have already registered, or are considering booking for the event, feel free to download your copy of the Auto Assembly 2013 Attendee Information Pack right now."

Auto Assembly have announced their first Bot Shot Tournament will take place at this years Auto Assembly event.

"We wanted to do something a little different this year, so as part of our range of games and competitions that will be running throughout the weekend in our re-vamped Games Room, we will be running a Bot Shots Tournament at the convention all weekend! It is open to all attendees and we will be offering prizes at the end of the convention for the top three competitors!" says committee head Simon "Simes" Plumbe.

You can find out the rules and details of how the tournament will work by reading the Auto Assembly 2013 Bot Shot Tournament Details.

We have created a new image gallery containing the photos which we took whilst at Auto Assembly 2012 last weekend in Birmingham England.  The convention smashed it's own previously helpd European attendance record for a Transformers show with the total attendance increasing by over 1/3rd on the previous record to 773.

We would like to thank everyone for supporting the show from the attendees, through the volenteers (who's tireless efforts did not go un-noticed), through the committee members, the hotel staff, the dealers (who cover every line you could think off) and, of course, the guests.

So thank you everyone for making 2012 a record breaking year for Auto Assembly and we hope to see you all next year for Auto Assembly 2013 and, before that, for Roll Out Roll Call 2013.

Hasbro Prize Giveaway At Auto Assembly 2012
 
Auto Assembly 2012 is now only FOUR DAYS away but that doesn't mean we still don't have things to announce! We've kept a few things back until the last minute as we wanted to make sure we still had things to tell you right until you were all getting ready to leave for Birmingham and this is one that certainly put a smile on our faces here at Auto Assembly headquarters today...
 
We're please to announce that Hasbro UK are once again supporting the convention and our charity fundraising efforts and have very generously donated a great selection of Transformers Prime toys that we will be giving away in our charity raffle this year. After some great deluxe toys? No problem! How about a few of the Cyberverse Commander class figures? They've sent us some of those as well. They've even donated some of the new Weaponiser figures so some of our lucky raffle prize winners will be going home with some great prizes this year!
 
Tickets for our charity raffle will be on sale all weekend for just 20p each and draws will be taking place all weekend so if you don't win anything first time around keep your tickets safe. Remember the more tickets you buy, not only do you have more chances to win in each draw but the more you help us raise for three worthy charities. And with these great prizes and more besides including signed photos of various Transformers voice actors (did someone say Peter Cullen and Frank Welker?), it's going to be a fantastic charity raffle!
 
If you haven’t already booked up for the convention or ordered a Non-Attendee Pack which gets you our stunning goodie bag with autographs from our guests, pre-registrations close in just TWO DAYS. After that time, you’ll still be able to come along to the convention and pay on the day but Non-Attendee Packs will no longer be available. Attendees will not get a personalised pass and will not be entered into any of our free prize draws (which are also open to Non-Attendees) so pre-registration is well worth it.
 
So what are you waiting for? There’s no better time to book your tickets while you can to be a part of Europe’s largest Transformers convention!
 
Auto Assembly 2012 is Europe's largest EVER Transformers convention and is taking place over the weekend of 3rd - 5th August 2012 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel. To book your tickets or find out more including details of all the dealers present and a full schedule for the weekend, visit the website at www.autoassembly.org.uk
 
If you can't make it to the convention this year don't forget that tickets are now on sale for Auto Assembly 2013 which is set to be another stunning weekend!
 
Hope to see you on 3rd - 5th August.
 
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
Big Ds Toy Chest - www.bigdstoychest.co.uk
Toyz And Gamez - www.toyzandgamez.co.uk
Kapow Toys - www.kapowtoys.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

Full Auto Assembly 2012 Goodie Bag Contents Revealed
 
As you all know, everyone who has a full pass for Auto Assembly 2012 this year will receive one of our now-traditional “Goodie Bags”. We have been producing these giveaway packages of free gifts to all of our attendees since 2003 as a token of our appreciation for attendees to thank them for coming along to the convention. We have always believed that there is nothing worse than going along to any convention and going home empty handed. Whether you go along and don’t find any toys that grab your attention or not, or whether money is tight and you are struggling to afford anything, at least you will know that you’ll go home with something.
 
We firmly believe that by doing this, we can ensure that even if our attendees can only afford their travel costs and tickets, they will have something that they can get signed by our guests and will have something to take home to remember the day / weekend and we think that 2012 is our best ever goodie bag. We’ve been talking recently about some of the things we have been producing for this year, but now we can reveal all of them to you…
 
Goodie Bag Preview
 
So what is there exactly? There are two A2 litho prints. One features G1 Galvatron and is a re-imagining of the final panel from the first chapter of the Marvel UK story Target 2006 and has been illustrated by Jeff Anderson with colours by Kris Carter. The second features characters played by our three guests of honour including Sentinel Prime, Prowl, Perceptor and many more and has been illustrated by our in-house artist Ed Pirrie with colours by Liam Shalloo.
 
Next we have our four latest postcards to our ongoing collection featuring artwork from Ed Pirrie, Kat Nicholson and Jeff Anderson plus an artcard from Jagex featuring concept art from their Transformers Universe game.
 
Moving away from artwork, we have two publications for everyone. First is the official convention magazine, The Cybertronian Times. This is our thirteenth issue this year, and it’s a full colour glossy A4 magazine with 40 pages packed with articles, features and comic strips as well as profiles on our guests. The we have a brand new title this year – Iacon Independent. This is our convention exclusive comic and is a 24 page A5 full colour comic full of original comic strips by a wide range of writers and artists. With stories covering G1, Beast Wars and Transformers Animated, there’s something here for everyone!
 
We do have a limited supply of extra bonus items and these are being inserted at random into the goodie bags that will be handed out at the convention but we’re not saying what they are and it could be anyone who will receive them! will be That’s not all though… if you have ordered our Non-Attendee Package, there are even MORE gifts including additional postcards and an audio CD! And you will also have an equal chance of getting these bonus random items that all our other attendees could end up getting so you could end up with as many as 17-20 items heading your way!
 
If you haven’t already booked up for the convention or ordered a Non-Attendee Pack, pre-registrations close in just SIX DAYS. After that time, you’ll still be able to come along and pay on the day but Non-Attendee Packs will no longer be available, and you won’t get a personalised pass if you want to attend the convention, nor will you be entered into any of our free prize draws (which are also open to Non-Attendees). If you’re not sure about attending or whether you can afford to come along and have enough money to cover your ticket, travel costs and have spending money left over if you can at least get your ticket and get to Birmingham, with this goodie bag you know you won’t go home empty handed and you’ll have something that you’ll be able to get signed by all our guests!
 
So what are you waiting for? There’s no better time to book your tickets while you can to be a part of Europe’s largest Transformers convention!
 
Auto Assembly 2012 is Europe's largest EVER Transformers convention and is taking place over the weekend of 3rd - 5th August 2012 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel. To book your tickets or find out more including details of all the dealers present and information on all our other guests including voice actors Paul Eiding, Michael Bell and Townsend Coleman, visit the website at www.autoassembly.org.uk
 
If you can't make it to the convention this year don't forget that tickets are now on sale for Auto Assembly 2013!
 
Hope to see you on 3rd - 5th August.
 
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
Big Ds Toy Chest - www.bigdstoychest.co.uk
Toyz And Gamez - www.toyzandgamez.co.uk
Kapow Toys - www.kapowtoys.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