BotCon 2007

2010-03-02T12:02:43Z

68.217.122.223:

{{officialcon|
|seriesissue=[[BotCon]] 2007
|prev=BotCon 2006
|next=BotCon 2008
|seriesissue2=
|next2=
|image=BC07logo.jpg
|caption=[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Who]] could this mysterious black figure be?
|title=
|date=[[June 27]], 2007
|city=Providence, RI
|venue=Rhode Island Convention Center
}}

[[Image:Botcon2007-lobbyoptimusprime.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Nothing says "welcome" like a giant robot about to punch your lights out.]]

'''[[BotCon]] 2007''' was the Official ''[[Transformers brand|Transformers]]'' Convention in 2007, run by [[Fun Publications]]. It was held in Providence, Rhode Island from [[June 27]] to [[July 1]], though only the last two days were open to the general public.

Fun Publications had previously held its conventions in the early fall; however, the date was moved up to coincide with the release of the [[Transformers (2007)|live-action Transfomers movie]].
{{TOCclear}}

==Venue==
[[Image:Ascending and Descending.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Providence Place mall]]
[[Image:ProvidencePlace.jpg|right|200px|thumb|No, seriously.]]

Botcon 2007 was held at the [http://www.riconvention.com/ Rhode Island Convention Center] in Providence, Rhode Island, from June 28 through July 1. The RICC is attached to a Westin hotel, the first of four downtown Providence hotels to have blocks booked for the convention by Fun Publications. Convenient sky bridges connect the hotel to the convention center, ensuring that attendees never had to actually set foot outside during the weekend. Granted, doing so risked instant death beneath the wheels of rushing cars on the freeway-like street crossed by the sky bridge.

The convention center is ''also'' attached to [http://www.providenceplace.com/ Providence Place Mall], which features a sixteen screen multiplex theatre and a Hot Topic that was ''totally'' sold out of [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] clothing by Friday morning.

The mall's slogan is "DEFINING YOU". Up yours, Providence Place Mall.

==Merchandise==
===Convention-exclusive toys===
*'''Convention Box Set''' - This set of five toys was only available to those who registered for either the 'Primus Package' or the non-attendee 'Iacon Package.' The set also included a badge, the Convention Comic, bio cards, and for the first 300 registrants, an exclusive Bug Bite pin. This set sold out (both boxed and bagged versions) well in advance of the convention.
[[Image:BotCon2007GamesofDeceptionbox.jpg|left|200px|thumb|This set will cost you your firstborn. And your secondborn as well.]]

:*'''[[Bug Bite (G1)|Bug Bite]]''' - A Black and white redeco of [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys|''Classics'' Bumblebee]] with a purple tribal tattoo-style design on it.

:*'''[[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]]''' - A white and purple redeco of [[Jetfire (G1)|''Classics'' Jetfire]] with a remolded head.

:*'''[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]''' - A redeco of [[Starscream (G1)/toys|''Classics'' Starscream]] that replicates ''Generation 1'' Thundercracker's deco.

:*'''[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]]''' - A redeco of [[Ramjet (G1)|''Classics'' Ramjet]] that replicates ''Generation 1'' Dirge's deco.

:*'''[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]]''' - A retool of both sets of wings on the ''Classics'' Seeker mold, with the rest of the mold's configuration retaining elements from both Starscream and Ramjet. The deco replicates ''Generation 1'' Thrust's deco.

*'''Attendee-Only Bonus Toy''' - [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]], an unpainted version of ''Classics'' Mirage with mostly translucent blue plastic, was provided as a bonus to those who picked up their 'Primus Package' box set in person.

*'''Convention Souvenir 2-Packs''' - Two sets of two bagged toys, with only 1,400 produced of each set.

:*'''[[Alpha Trion (SG)|Alpha Trion]] and [[Weirdwolf]]''' - A purple, red, and white redeco of ''Cybertron'' [[Vector Prime]] with a remolded head, and [[Snarl (Cybertron)|''Cybertron'' Snarl]] redecoed to look like Weirdwolf.

:*'''[[Springer (G1)|Springer]] and [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]]''' - Redecoes of [[Hot Shot (Armada)/toys|Cybertron Defense Hot Shot]] and [[Armorhide (Cybertron)|''Cybertron'' Armorhide]], done to look like Springer and Huffer, respectively. Springer was singled out by Fun Publications owner [[Brian Savage]] for having an unusually high number of paint apps, even for a convention exclusive.

===Comics===
*'''Convention Comic: ''[[Games of Deception]]''''' - A comic drawn by [[Alex Milne]] and written by [[Forest Lee]], set in the [[Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club (magazine)|Club Comic]] [[Classics (2006)|Classics]] universe. The comic was also available with an alternate cover and several pages of bonus content at the Club table.

===Other items===
* A pitcher bearing the BotCon 2007 logo with a light-up (red) base.
* A mug bearing the same logo and light-up base.
* A ball cap bearing the same logo.
* A T-shirt with the "Games of Deception" box graphics.
* A Classics-themed lithograph by [[Don Figueroa]].
* A fan-produced [[Vector Sigma]] set including stand and Key by the Lukis Bros at Unicron.com
* Four different keycards were given out to those staying in one of the four official hotels. Each bore an image of a different Movie character: Optimus Prime (Biltmore), Megatron (Marriot Courtyard), Starscream (Hilton), or Bumblebee (Westin). Although not sold at the convention itself, each card was available as a "bonus" with specific convention packages available through the Club Store. Remaining cards were sold as a set for $5 at [[Botcon 2008]] at the Club table.

==Guests==
===Hasbro employees===
Because of the convention's intentional proximity to [[Hasbro]]'s corporate headquarters in Pawtucket, RI, almost all current Hasbro employees that work on the ''Transformers'' brand made an appearance at the convention.

* [[Brian Goldner]], Chief Operating Officer
* [[Vickie Stratford]], Sr. Design Project Manager (Boy's Toys)
* [[Joe Kyde]], Designer (Boy's Toys, Exclusive Division)

====''Transformers'' brand====
* [[Greg Lombardo]], Sr.Director of Marketing
* [[Aaron Archer]], Sr. Design Director
* [[Eric Siebenaler]], Lead Designer
* [[Jared Wade]], Design Director
* [[William Rawley]], Sr. Designer

===Movie staff===
*[[Peter Cullen]], voice of [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] both in the [[Generation 1|''Generation 1'' Cartoon]] and the upcoming film, made an appearance at the convention, signing autographs and hosting a panel.
*[[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]], the writers of the screenplay for the movie, had several panels over the course of the weekend.
*[[Rachael Taylor]] and [[Tyrese Gibson]] made an appearance at the [[BotCon 2007#Thursday|movie screening]]. They and Brian Goldner were actually attending a charity screening of the movie next door to benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, the Autism Project of Rhode Island, Adoption Rhode Island, and Hasbro Children's Hospital.<ref>[http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/index.jsp?epi-content=NEWS_VIEW_POPUP_TYPE&newsId=20070501005912&ndmHsc=v2*A1175425200000*B1178059402000*DgroupByDate*J2*L1*N1000837*Ztransformers&newsLang=en&beanID=202776713&viewID=news_view_popup (subscription required). Business Wire. 2007-05-01]</ref>

===Other actors===
* [[David Kaye]], recently announced as the voice of [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] for ''[[Transformers Animated]]''. [[Megatron (BW)|Yessss...]]
* [[Daniel Ross]], voice of [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] in all version of ''[[Transformers The Game]]'' and [[Mixmaster (Movie)|Mixmaster]] and [[Hound (Movie)|Hound]] in [[Transformers The Game (PSP)|the PSP version of ''Transformers The Game'']].

===Musicians===
*[[Stan Bush]], performer of 'Dare', 'The Touch', 'Ground Zero', and 'Till All Are One', attended the con, performing a concert at the Saturday dinner, giving a panel, and playing [[Wikipedia:Guitar Hero|Guitar Hero]] for the first time at an attendee's party.

*[[Ernie Petrangelo]], lead songwriter of [[N.R.G.]] (the performers of 'Instruments of Destruction' from the [[The Transformers: The Movie|1986 animated film]]'s soundtrack. Petrangelo was scheduled to be at the convention to sign autographs, but did not show as he was informed of the wrong day and actually turned up on the wednesday pre-registration, spending the day trying to find Brian Savage).

===Comics and art===
* [[IDW Publishing]] editor [[Dan Taylor]]
* IDW artist/writer [[Nick Roche]]
* IDW artist [[Alex Milne]]
* IDW artist [[Robby Musso]]

{{stub}}

===Government===
[[Image:Botcon2007-sectorseven.jpg|right|200px|thumb|You were never here and neither was this trailer]]
Some representatives of [[Sector Seven]] were in attendance at the convention, attempting to dispel the notion of the existence of [[NBE|NBEs]] through presentations in the [[Sector Seven Mobile Command Unit]].

==Events==
===Wednesday===
[[Image:overkills.jpg|right|200px|thumb|If you were in Wednesday's class, you made the Overkill on the ''right''.]]
The only two events on Wednesday were open to a limited (first come, first serve) number of pre-registrants only.

* A customization class featuring the creation of [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]] from the [[Grimlock (G1)/toys|Classics Grimlock]] mold.

* A tour of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Cape Cod followed by a whale-watching cruise in Hyannis, MA.

===Thursday===
Thursday was the day when the majority of preregistrants arrived. Events on Thursday included...

* A second customization class nearly identical to the Wednesday class.

* A 3D Display class.

* The Newport Tour.

* A special early screening of the [[Transformers (2007)|''Transformers'' 2007 movie]]. Hasbro alpha dog and executive producer [[Brian Goldner]] brought two stars of the film, but was unable to introduce Rachel Taylor before the audience started screaming for Tyrese to bring something.
[[Image:Mstf2007.jpg|right|200px|thumb|In the not too distant future, somewhere in Providence.]]

===Friday===
Friday was the first full day of the convention for most participants.

Major events included...

* [[BotCon 2007 Hasbro Tour|Hasbro Tour]].

* Several David Kaye panels.

* A Stan Bush panel.

* A panel with the screenwriters of the movie.

* The [[Board Wars]] preliminary round.

* Autograph sessions.

* [[MSTF]].

In addition, the sales room was open from 4 to 7 PM.

===Saturday===
[[Image:Botcon2007-dealerroomoptimusprime.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The dealer room, featuring Optimus Prime.]]
[[Image:Botcon2007-optimusprimetruck.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The auxiliary display room, featuring Optimus Pr-- hey waaaait a second... anybody starting to suspect one of these might not be the real guy??]]
A big day. Events included...

* An ''[[Attacktix]]'' Tournament.

* The Board Wars finals, which Team Transformers Wiki won.

* Autograph sessions, including Peter Cullen this time.

* Another panel with the movie screenwriters.

* A panel where Hasbro discussed their involvement with the development of the movie and accompanying merchandise.

* Lessons on how to draw Transformers.

* A panel with [[Activision]], publishers of ''[[Transformers: The Game]]''.

* A panel with [[IDW Publishing]].

* A panel with Peter Cullen.

* Another panel with David Kaye.

* A collector's club roundtable.

* An awards show dinner/Stan Bush concert.

* [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] showed up and hung out next to the [[BotCon 2007|Sector Seven Mobile Command Unit]].

Additionally, the dealer's room was open until 5PM.

===Sunday===
All of the panels on this final day of BotCon were repeats of those held earlier in the weekend, with one significant exception:

* Hasbro upcoming product panel, which premiered both the [[AllSpark Power]] wave of movie toys, and the character designs, animation clips, and toys of the ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' series.

The dealer room was open until 3:30PM.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.botcon.com/07index.cfm BotCon.com's archive for BotCon 2007]

[[Category:Conventions]]

BotCon 2001

2010-03-02T11:55:43Z

68.217.122.223:

{{officialcon|
|seriesissue=[[BotCon]] 2001
|prev=BotCon 2000
|next=BotCon 2002
|seriesissue2=
|next2=
|image=BC01adv.jpg
|caption=The [[Wrecker]]s take [[Verity Carlo|anybody]] these days...
|title=
|date=[[July 13]], 2001
|city=Durham, NC
|venue=Durham Marriot Civic Center
}}

'''BotCon 2001''' was held on July 13-15, 2001 in Durham, North Carolina.
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==Venue==
[[Image:durhamcenter.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Oh sure, it ''looks'' great...until you walk a few blocks.]]

BotCon 2001 was held at the Durham Mariott Civic Center.
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==Merchandise==
===Convention-exclusive toys===
*'''[[Tigatron]]''', a redeco of ''[[Beast Wars Metals]]'' [[Ravage (G1)/toys#Metals|Ravage]], which is itself a [[retool]] of Transmetal [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]]
*'''[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]''', a redeco and minor retool of ''[[Beast Wars (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'' [[Transmetal 2]] [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]

==Guests==
===Hasbro representatives===
*[[Joe Mattiko]]

===Voice actors===
*[[Michael Bell]]
*[[Gregg Berger]] (unannounced)
*[[Garry Chalk]]
*[[Scott McNeil]]
*[[John Stephenson]]

===Writers===
*[[Paul Davids]]
*[[Simon Furman]]

===Musicians===
*[[Ernie Burns]]
*[[Vince DiCola]]
*[[Gary Falcone]]

==Events==
{{stub}}
===Friday===
*Dinner night/opening ceremonies

===Saturday===
*Saturday night concert

===Sunday===

==External links==
* [http://www.botcon.com/archive/2001/index.html BotCon 2001 in the BotCon archives]

[[Category:Conventions]]

MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

BotCon 2007

BotCon 2001