BotCon 2012
From Transformers Wiki
| |||||||
Date | April 26, 2012 | ||||||
City | Dallas, TX | ||||||
Venue | Hyatt Regency Dallas |
BotCon 2012 was held in the Hyatt Regency Dallas in Dallas, Texas, from April 26 to April 29, 2012.
Contents |
Run-up
- September 7, 2011, BotCon's Twitter feed started hinting at BotCon 2012's exclusive toys.[1]
- The Diamond-exclusive version of "The Stunti-Con Job" had a full page ad advertising BotCon 2012, and hinted at the mold of one of its box set toys.[2]
- On December 5, 2011, the date, location, and hotel for BotCon 2012 were announced.
- On December 24, 2011, the brochure went live.
- On December 27, 2011, "BotCon 2012: Figure Reveal!" revealed the first images of Gigatron.
- On December 30, 2011, Shattered Glass Tracks was revealed.
- On January 3, 2012, Shattered Glass Soundwave was revealed.
- On January 5, 2012, registration was intended to go up, but required more testing. Instead, Shattered Glass Treadshot was revealed.
- On January 6, 2012, at 6:22pm EST, registration for attending packages went live. Both (larger) customization classes were sold out within minutes, Primus sets were 50% sold and "Golden Tickets" 70% sold by 10pm.[3] To apologize for the registration's lateness, art turnarounds of Metalhawk's new head were posted online. Those numbers were at 60% and 80% by the following day.[4]
- On January 18, 2012, Iacon Packages were available for purchase. A few hours later, BotCon's Twitter status stated that 50% of the Iacon Packages were sold. Primus Packages were 85% sold.
Venue
The Convention Center of the Hyatt Regency Dallas is home to BotCon 2012. It's "one of the city’s most consistent AAA Four Diamond Dallas luxury hotels," full of restaurants and shopping opportunities, and it's smack dab in the middle of downtown Dallas, Texas. This 28-floor hotel is three blocks from the JFK Memorial and across a parking lot from a giant PlayStation Move controller. In the summer, they have AnimeFest there, host to overpriced Pocky, Scott McNeil, and all manner of unwashed webcartoonists. But unlike AnimeFest, BotCon 2012's dealer room wasn't partially out in the hallways.
The hallways are very extravagant.
Merchandise
Convention-exclusive toys
Transformers: Invasion box set ($340, bagged $250)
- Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus, a retool of Reveal the Shield Optimus Prime
- Shattered Glass Turbo Tracks, a redeco of Reveal the Shield Turbo Tracks
- Shattered Glass Soundwave, a retool of Universe Ironhide
- Shattered Glass Treadshot, a retool of Reveal the Shield Special Ops Jazz
- Classics Gigatron, a retool of Revenge of the Fallen Bludgeon
- Classics Metalhawk, a retool of Generations Thunderwing
At show souvenir packages
- Shattered Glass Optimus Prime and Classics Kick-Over, the former being a redeco of Reveal the Shield Optimus Prime and the latter being a retool of Reveal the Shield Special Ops Jazz
- Shattered Glass Octopunch and Classics Spinister, redecos of Hunt for the Decepticons Sea Spray and Dark of the Moon Vortex
- Shattered Glass Junkions (Wreck-Gar, Scrap Iron, Junkheap)
Customization Exclusive
Attendee-Only Bonus Exclusive
- The Bard of Darkmount, a redeco of Generations Darkmount
Hasbro
Other merchandise
- Shattered Glass Soundwave headband accessory & card set
Fiction
- "Invasion" comic
Guests
Hall of Fame inductees
- Simon Furman
- Chris Latta (posthumously)
Voice actors
Writers
Fun Publications
Hasbro employees
- Rik Alvarez (IP development)
- Aaron Archer (IP development)
- Clint Chapman (marketing)
- Chris Hicks (design)
- Mark Maher (model artist)
- Bill Rawley (design)
- Mike Verret (marketing)
Hasbro Studios employees
IDW Publishing comics
High Moon Studios & Activision
Jagex
- Eddy Dew (community manager, Transformers Universe)
- Steve Huckle (art director, Transformers Universe)
- Kelly Vero (lead writer, Transformers Universe)
Events
Wednesday
8:45 AM | Dallas Tour |
9:00 AM–5:00 PM | Transformers Customizing Class |
8:30 PM | Golden Ticket Package Pick-Up |
9:30 - 10:30 PM | Tour and Class Package Pick-Up |
Thursday
6:45 AM | Fort Worth Tour |
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Transformers Customizing Class |
4:00 PM | Golden Ticket Package Pick-Up |
5:00 PM | Golden Ticket Store Opens |
6:00 PM | Registration Pick-up Store Opens |
6:00 PM | Club Store Opens |
8:00 - 9:30 PM | Exhibitor Unload and Drop Off |
Friday
7:30AM – 2:00 PM | Exhibitor Set-up |
8:30 - 9:30 AM | Club Store opens for Exhibitors Only |
9:30 - 11:30 AM | Club Store opens for all Registered Guests |
9:30 AM | Walk-up Late Registration |
9:00 - 12:00 PM | Contest Setup |
9:00 - 10:50 AM | Panel: MSTF! |
11:00 - 11:50 AM | Panel: Transformers Filmfest |
Noon | Contest Judging |
Noon - 1:00 PM | Lunch |
1:00 - 1:50 PM | Panel: TCC Comic Panel |
2:00 PM | Private Sales Room Experience |
2:00 - 3:30 PM | Autographs: David Kaye, Garry Chalk, Simon Furman |
3:30 - 5:00 PM | Autographs: Dan Gilvezan, Buster Jones |
5:00 PM | Private Sales Room Experience ends |
7:00 PM | Golden Ticket Reception |
Saturday
7:30 AM | Exhibitor Set-up |
8:30 AM | Registered Guests Private Preview |
9:00 AM | Early Bird Entry |
10:00 AM | General Admission |
10:00 - 10:50 AM | Panel: Dan Gilvezan, Buster Jones |
10:00 - 11:30 AM | Autographs: David Kaye, Garry Chalk |
11:00 - 11:50 AM | Panel: Transformers Comics: IDW Publishing |
Noon - 12:50 PM | Panel: Animated Talk with Derrick Wyatt |
Noon - 1:30 PM | Autographs: Dan Gilvezan, Buster Jones, Simon Furman |
1:00 - 1:50 PM | Panel: David Kaye, Garry Chalk |
1:30 - 3:00 PM | Autographs: Peter Cullen |
2:00 - 2:50 PM | Panel: Transformers Collectors' Club Roundtable TCC Staff |
3:00 - 3:50 PM | Panel: Hasbro Transformers Brand Team |
4:00 - 4:50 PM | Panel: Peter Cullen |
5:00 PM | Show Closes |
6:30 PM | Cocktail Reception |
7:00 PM | Transformers Hall of Fame Party and Casino Night Dinner |
Sunday
9:00 AM | Exhibitor Set-up |
9:30 AM | Registered Guests and General Admission |
10:00 - 10:50 AM | Panel: Bee in the City 2! David Kaye, Garry Chalk, Dan Gilvezan, Buster Jones |
11:30 - 1:00 PM | Autographs: David Kaye, Garry Chalk, Simon Furman |
11:00 - 11:50 AM | Panel: Activision: Fall of Cybertron |
Noon - 12:50 PM | Panel: Simon Furman |
1:00 - 2:30 PM | Autographs: Dan Gilvezan, Buster Jones |
1:00 - 1:50 PM | Panel: Jagex: Transformers Universe |
2:00 - 2:50 PM | Panel: Transformers Costuming: Design Your Own Costume! Rosemary Ward |
3:15 PM | Draw for Trips to 2013 Convention |
3:30 PM | Show Closes |
Notes
- BotCon 2012 is the first year to offer the "Golden Ticket" level of registration. For an additional $300, a Primus-level attendee can pick up his box set early, buy souvenirs early (and up to three each), sit in the front row in panels, attend an exclusive meet-and-greet with the convention's invited guests, and receive an additional $2000 in fake money for the Casino Night. These were limited to 75, and yes, they sold out.
- For the first time, any unlicensed material touching on Hasbro's IP was officially banned from sale at the convention. This included not only all third-party unlicensed toys but also all fan art of Hasbro characters. As Botcon had specifically advertised tables for fan art sale in a special "artists' alley," this was likely a last minute change in policy by Hasbro legal. After an outcry from the community, Hasbro revised their policy to allow the sale of fan art and non-"toy" products.[5]
- No TakaraTomy employees attended BotCon 2012 due to the convention directly preceding Japan's celebration of Golden Week.
References
- ↑ http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=82117
- ↑ http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/484645-teaser-botcon-2012-rid-more-classics.html
- ↑ "We are now 50% sold thru on Primus and 70% sold through on Golden Ticket packages. We doubled class size this year and still sold out fast!"—BotCon, 2012/01/06 (archive link)
- ↑ "We are over 60% sold thru on the Primus and about 80% on the Golden Ticket. Appreciate all the awesome fans out there!"—BotCon, 2012/01/07 (archive link)
- ↑ http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/conventions-15/botcon-2012-fan-art-ban-reversed-174744/