Hasbro have updated their Facebook page with the first official image of Transformers Prime HotShot. The figure, originally shown in the Argos catalogue here within the UK can be seen below.

The Official Transformers Facebook page has posted another Toy Fair preview image. This time, of the upcoming Revealer (Deluxe) Vehicon from the Transformers: Prime Robots in Disguise line.

Hasbro have updated the official Transformers Facebook page with the following announcement. "Every day from now until February 12th, we’re showing off some of the great new Transformers toys coming your way in 2012. Today, check out Transformers Prime Deluxe Knockout!"  Accompanying the announcement was the image that you can find below.

Kapow Toys have posted new images of some upcoming TakaraTomy Transformers: Prime Micron Arms figure.  The series features new toys with Minicon/Micron partners that turn into weapons.  The main new figure that is shown is a recolour of Transformers Prime Starscream toy as Skywarp! This figure is, currently, a Japanese exclusive item.  You can view the order page here.

The official Transformers Facebook page has updated with another quick Q&A, and this week, it is the turn of the voice of Bulkhead, Kevin Michael Richardson.

Transformers Prime Tuesday Q&A: Bulkhead Voice Actor Kevin Michael Richardson

Each week, we’re taking questions for the cast and crew of the hit animated series “Transformers Prime” from fans of the official Transformers Facebook page. Check out this week’s Fan Q&A with the voice of Bulkhead, Kevin Michael Richardson!

Kevin Samanta asked: Who inspired you to become a voice acting legend?

KEVIN MICHAEL RICHARDSON: I don't know about calling me a legend. But thanks for saying that Kevin! Honestly there were quite a few early influences. Flip Wilson did a character called Geraldine. Watching him hop in and out of a high-pitched sassy woman's voice and then back into his coarse tone was just phenomenal to me as a kid. Remember the guy who played the Dean in ANIMAL HOUSE? John Vernon had a serious influence on my career. Big voices like James Earl Jones and Sir Lawrence Oliver were obvious examples of guys I looked up to. Then there's the guys I get to work with on PRIME. I mean, you can't beat Peter Cullen and Frank Welker when it comes to inspirations for voice work. Frank and Peter are two legends that I'm blown away by every time I work with them.


Ben Maddison asked: Were you a Transformers fan as a kid and how do you feel about its evolution into the awesome series it is today?

KEVIN MICHAEL RICHARDSON: Yes. I loved watching the cartoon— especially the main title credits. But sadly, didn't get to watch enough of them since I was busy studying at Syracuse University. But even back then, I remember I was always fascinated by Peter Cullen's voice. And now I get to work with him! I'm blown away by this series. It's fantastic that we've been able to reach out to another generation of Transformers fans. I was a big fan of the toys growing up for sure.


Trevor Stairs asked: Do you have a favorite Transformers character outside of the ones involved in Transformers PRIME? And are there any that you could see yourself being the voice of?

KEVIN MICHAEL RICHARDSON: I can't see myself being any other voice than Bulkhead. I mean, there's so many Transformers in the Transformers universe — where do you even start to say which one I'd play? Tough question Trevor! I guess in another universe, and in another lifetime, I would love to be Optimus. But don't hold your breath for that one. Those would be some big shoes to try and fill!


Julia In-Gyong Handschin asked: Big fan of yours, Mr Richardson; I've grown attached to characters you voiced. What's it like to be part of a cast with prominent voice-actors, from legends to rising stars?

KEVIN MICHAEL RICHARDSON: First of all, many thanks to you Julia. That means so much to me. What's it like to be part of this cast with these amazing and gifted voice actors? It's so wild! It's definitely a high-powered cast and certainly one of my favorite shows to work on. But do you know what the best thing is about this cast? These guys are funny. I mean, we are always cracking jokes in between lines. I'm just thankful the producers and directors are cool because it sometimes takes a while to get us all serious about reading our lines. We definitely have a great time!


Yessie Nieves asked: Thank you for being here and let us asks some questions. How much of Bulkhead is you and how much of you is Bulkhead? And what do you think or believe separates your interpretation of Bulkhead from other roles you had done before?

KEVIN MICHAEL RICHARDSON: Well physically, Bulkhead and I are both barrel-chested. We have a similar walk. And I guess I'm a little more lucky, because I can eat and Bulkhead can't! Aside from our shared physical attributes, I do have somewhat of a soft side when it comes to protecting kids. The bond between Miko and Bulkhead is like how I feel about my nieces and nephews. The need to protect them is definitely a similarity. Another thing we definitely have in common is that sometimes I don't always get in on the joke. And sometimes Bulkhead doesn't get in on the joke. We both just shrug and move on just to get the job done.

The biggest difference about playing Bulkhead is that he's a robot. So playing him – especially his protective nature over Miko- is very different from the other roles I've played. He's a powerful Transformer who has never really dealt with humans before, so I have to play with trying to understand what humans are all about and in the meantime create a slow bond with these characters. He's always concerned about Miko the most, so I would say that's what differentiates this role from the others — his vulnerability for Miko.


BIO: Kevin Michael Richardson, known to his friends as KMR, is one of the most renowned voice of artists of our time. His deep voice and love for all things animated make him a fan favorite. But, don’t let his deep voice fool you, KMR is known for his fun-loving antics, sense of humor and devotion to his fans.

Despite being one of the most famous voices of our time, only his most devoted fans recognize this awesome king-sized actor in person. Regardless of having voiced hundreds of animated TV shows, commercials and video game characters his dedication to his craft often keeps him in disguise, not dissimilar to his character BULKHEAD. But, when he does transform you never know what voice is going to come out; some of his voices include Panthro on the new Thundercats, Cleveland JR on The Cleveland Show, Kilowog on The Green Lantern, The Shredder on Tenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Maurice in The Penguins of Madagascar, Prime 2 in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and the list goes on! His work has also been recognized with a nomination for a Daytime Emmy as the voice of The Joker in The Batman series.

If all that was not enough KMR has also sung with some of our generation’s most famous singers. He has had a rap off with Kanye West, chimed in with the cast of Glee, gotten vocal with Harry Connick, Jr and joined in a tune with Seth MacFarlane and Frank Sinatra Jr. accompanied by a 62 piece band.

So, if you cant find KMR locked inside an animation studio, he is probably singing at a karaoke bar with one of his famous friends.

Full Metal Hero admin and Kapow Toys owner Andy has reported on his sightings from the 2012 UK Toy Fair

1) Generations - returns with the Fall of Cybertron line, on display was a hard copy of Jazz who is a 4 wheeled Cybertronian sports car, the line is officially called Generations and the product packaging still depicts a nice drawn example of the character inside. 8 figures are confirmed for the line one of which might well be Grimlock.

2) Prime Weaponizers - Leader Class figures. Choose from Bumblebee or Optimus Prime who was on display, these new larger scale figures feature 4 modes of play with concealed weapons, Prime himself had a set of gattling guns which can flip out from under his hood in truck mode or mount the shoulders in robot mode. They have been simplified over previous leaders so the core audience of children can transform them more easily.

3) Optimus Maximus - bases make a return to the line with Maximus, a large scale Cyberverse Playset which doubles a fully transforming figure and base for your Cyberverse figures. Featuring light and sound features, firing rockets and launching vehicle this guy was fairly imposing standing somewhere in between Ultimate Op and a regular Leader Class figure. It looked quite bare without any Cyberverse figures locked in but you could see the gun turrets just waiting to be armed by you min faves.

4) Transformers Prime

1) Cyberverse Legion

2) Cyberverse Commander

3) Cyberverse Vehicles

4) Optimus Maximus

5) RID Revealers

6) RID Powerizers

7) RID Weaponizers

1) Battle Masks

2) Bot Shots which is actually a really cool battle game which mixes Bakugan with rock, paper scissors, aside from the single pack figures there are Launchers, Ultimate Packs and 3 packs the idea being 2 figures are thrown together in vehicle mode than collide revealing the winning symbol.

Transformers Prime First Edition will not be hitting UK shelves in anyway shape or form, Cliffjumper and Bumblebee were on display but display is as far as they appear to be going.

Kre-O

New Kre-O sets were on display including the following

1) Decepticon Ambush - 4 Kreon pack with small accessories and a base to battle on

2) Cycle Chase - Prowl and 2 of his troops face off against a Decepticon, again comes with small accessory set and base

3) Kre-O Decepticon Helicopter - the robot with no name looks a lot like Starscream in robot mode and is yellow and red, comes with 3 Kreons and quad bike

4) Kre-O Stealth Bumblebee - new mold Bumblebee comes in black with 3 Kreons and what looks like the checkpoint from DOTM

5) Transformers Prime Kre-O Race Car Showdown - Knock Out and Wheeljack face off in this 2 pack each with the standard Kreons mini figure.

6) Kre-O Optimus Vs Megatron - G1 style set featuring an all new Optimus Prime vs G1 style Megatron who changes into a tank and not a walther comes with mini building and 3 kreons.

7) Kre-O Devastator - 9 in 1 playset - a mix of G1 style robots and movie tradition means you get 4 standard robots in movie Devy colours building seperate vehicles or the might Devastator - for those worried no he doesn't look anything like the hulking movie character. Comes with a slew of Kreons and construction environment.

GI Joe:- No UK toys this year - in a year with the second GI-Joe Movie being released, this is a shocking move by Hasbro for fans of the line.

Zap2It have posted the title and a short description for the first episode Transformers Prime season 2:

"Orion Pax, Part I"
Megatron manipulates the impared Optimus into joining the Decepticons

The air date is set for 18th February - in the US and Canada

Kapow Toys have provided details of the new main line RID Prime figures to be released this coming April - June 2012.

1) Autobots

Voyager Optimus Prime ( Powerizer Version )
Voyager Bulkhead ( Unknown Version )
RID Bumblebee
RID Arcee
RID Ratchet

2) Decepticons

Voyager Megatron ( Powerizer Version )
RID Starscream
RID Vehicon
RID Soundwave
RID Arachnid - alt mode confirmed as an helicopter.

3) Micron Weapons

Moonbug has posted a new review and image gallery of the just released Transformers Prime Soundwave figure which he purchased this morning from Argos.  He picked up the figure along with Cliffjumper and Bumblebee but we thought since the UK is the first country to have Soundwave be released, we would start our Transformers Prime image gallery with him.

The image gallery also contains a full review of the figure, Moonbugs thoughts as well details of all the markings / copyright stamps etc.

If you like the toy rememeber that you can get him from Argos right now.  You may need to reserve him though, as there are only a few at the moment.  We got ours from an Argos Extra

With the Transformers Prime figures hitting the UK today we are interested to find out which figures have been sighted in which areas of the country. We picked up Deluxe Cliffjumper, Bumblebee and Soundwave! You have you found? Let us known on our Forum, via Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

For those wondering where the CE marking is on Soundwave, as the sticket / paint app can often spoil the figures, will be pleased to hear that the marking is actually molded onto the toy underneath the right arm and is un-painted, like the rest of the figure, but it does mean it is not as obtrusive as normal.

A quick reminder that if you want to buy the figures from Argos then its probably best to reserve or order them online as there is a very limited stock.  Here are those very important links, remember that the Voyager Class figures are due in on Tuesday to most stores so order them now to avoid disappointment

Transformers Optimus Prime Revealers (Deluxe). 904/7291
Transformers Cyberverse Vehicle. 904/7363
Transformers Optimus Prime Powerizer (Voyager). 904/7301
Transformers Cyberverse Commander. 904/7284
Transformers Cyberverse Legion Figures. 904/7277

Although the official launch of the Transformers Prime toys within the UK is not until March 2012, Argos are currently stocking some of the figures as of today.  Most stores are already sold out of the few stock they received with fresh orders due to be delivered on Tuesday.  So far we have received reports of Deluxe Wheeljack, Deluxe CliffJumper, Soundwave, Bumblebee as well as Voyager Optimus Prime being available though you need to be quick and should look to reserve your items online.  You can find some handy links below:

Transformers Optimus Prime Revealers (Deluxe). 904/7291
Transformers Cyberverse Vehicle. 904/7363
Transformers Optimus Prime Powerizer (Voyager). 904/7301
Transformers Cyberverse Commander. 904/7284
Transformers Cyberverse Legion Figures. 904/7277

One of the interesting reveals from the Argos website is a better looked at the blue and red recolour of Transformers Prime - Bumblebee whos is shown as having a new head sculpt.  Click the image below to view a larger version of the reveal.

We have also received reports that other stores are expecting to start to receive cases of the Wave 1 figures around mid-Feb so we will all be able to pick up some of the other toys then.

In related news two images of a previously unseen Transformers Prime Megatron figure have been posted on a Chinese newsgroup. The images, mirrored below, appear to be of a different Megatron figure to the one shown in the Argos Catalogue.

YouTuber BM8709 has posted a video review of the Transformers Prime Cliffjumper figure that he picked up in Argos yesterday.  You can view the video below.

Finally, FullMetalHero.com board member GamOfStreak, has posted some nice images of the just released Transformers Prime Wheeljack figure in both robot and vehicle modes which you can find here.

The Transformers facebook page has posted their Tuesday Transformers Prime cast and crew Q&A session. This week we hear from Character Designer Augusto Barranco.

Anja Pejakovic asks: How on earth did you come up with these many designs and were you assisted in this task in any way? Where did you get some of the ideas for the designs: Starscream with high heels, Soundwave having those thin but wide arms?

AUGUSTO BARRANCO:On this show we are lucky to have a team of five very talented character and prop designers. In the process of creating the character package we all pieced in portions of the design, which range from character rough design, clean 3/4 angle design, orthographic plan views, mouth charts, weapon designs, weapon effect design, transformation breakdowns, color flats, color renders and texture reference. Then comes the vehicle with the same process. When it comes to specifics on character designs, the initial concepts are inspired by the personas and specifics created by the writers along with the history of Transformers lore. It's very important to visualize a diverse line-up of characters, so that the characters have a very unique silhouette and feel very different from every other character. The biggest part of character design is to capture the character’s personality in the design. The viewer should have a quick understanding of what kind of character you're looking at on first glance.


Emilie Beaulieu asks: When it come to character design, do you work from the robot form or the alternate mode first?

AUGUSTO BARRANCO:First idea comes from the script. The script will state the kind of vehicle we'll be dealing with along with the kind of character that needs to be designed. From there we'll jump into rough sketches trying to capture the character's personality in bot mode. Since the characters are in bot mode most of the time, this is the most important in terms of aesthetics. It's like choosing the best actors for your TV show. While that's being done, a vehicle will be designed simultaneously. In the overall process there's a lot of back and forth between bot and vehicle to make sure both have a balanced, agreeable design. When it comes down to it, the bot is started first and is also the last one to be completed.


Brent William Taylor asks: Were you given any specific guidelines as to which previous character versions/styles you were to incorporate?

AUGUSTO BARRANCO:When dealing with the Transformers franchise, everyone has a wish list. When new characters come down the pipeline, it comes with a specific kind of personality (i.e. sneaky, bully, arrogant), which influences design. From the script, the character comes with a certain kind of vehicle and weapon, and from Hasbro we receive a page of designs highlighting iconic items the character is known for having.


Cassidy Klassen asks: Every character in TFP has a very unique eye design: no two are alike. Can you speak to that at all?

AUGUSTO BARRANCO:Cassidy,A lot of the acting happens in the face and within the eyes. We enjoyed making each character very unique. As an artist, we hate getting bored with doing the same thing over and over.


Belinda Nieminen asks: Who is your favorite character and why? What has been the most exciting experience when you've designed Transformers characters? How did you end up to design Transformers Prime's characters and how long you've been fan of Transformers? Are you doing more Transformers designs in future?- Love from Finland

AUGUSTO BARRANCO:My favorite character would have to be Breakdown. He's one character that I handled 100% solo, which also makes him my least favorite. As an artist you always want to improve your work and when it's all done by you, there's a LOT of things you'd like to change and perfect. The most exciting part for me was the day when animation came back after lighting was done. That's when you know for sure you've made the right decisions with color, texture and design. I got started on "Transformers Prime" two years after my involvement with the movie franchise, and with that experience the art director felt like I might have some insight into the process of Transformers, along with some of my other film and animation experience. Being friends with the art director doesn't hurt either. In terms of my future with the Transformers world I'm not sure—only the head Primes know that one.

Augusto Barranco is a Conceptual illustrator and designer in the Los Angeles area. He has been working in the entertainment industry for 6 years since graduating from Art Center College of Design, where he worked closely with many directors to produce short films and commercials as a production designer. After graduating college with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, he jumped into the film industry as a conceptual artist for many studios including Sony, Dreamworks, ILM, Paramount, NBC, Warner Bros, Imagi, Rhythm and Hues, Titmouse Animation, Obsidian Entertainment and now finally Hasbro Studios.

The World Hobby Fair 2012 recently took place in Japan which showed of some upcoming Transformers Prime figures as well as some new campaign Microns. The Optimus Prime figure that was shown appears to be a slightly recoloured version of the First Edition toy and is showned "powered-up" with the new Microns. which can be held by the figure or attached to points on his body.  The first Micron to be named is Firebolt "Clear Version", who is a re-release of Pinpointer from the Power Core Combiners line, and was given away at the event.  You can view the images from the show below.

TFW2005 member bigspenders76 has shared some in-hand images of upcoming Transformers Prime toys in package. These toys include Deluxe Wheeljack, Cyberverse Commander Bulkhead, and Cyberverse Legion Bumblebee and Vehicon. These packages show that the European multilingual packaging will include bios on the packaging.

FullMetalHero.com have posted an image gallery and short review of the TakaraTomy release of Transformers Prime Vehicon.  The figure, which is painted as oppose to being plain plastic like the Hasbro release, is out now in Japan.