Editing BotCon

[[Image:BotCon2008-FridayFloor.jpg|right|thumb|400px|I can see my money vanishing from here!]]

'''BotCon''' is Transformers Nerd Mecca.

It is the annual [[convention]] for Transformers fans and collectors. The convention has been held, in one form or another, annually since 1994, changing location from year to year. Though originally "unofficial" (wink wink), in 2002 it became the officially-official Transformers convention, openly and fully endorsed and licensed by [[Hasbro]].

The name "BotCon" comes from both "ro'''bot''' '''con'''vention", and the names "[[Autobot|Auto'''bot''']]" and "[[Decepticon|Decepti'''con''']]".



==Individual conventions==
For details of each convention, click on the appropriate link below.
{{chapters|align=left|title=BotCons:|content=
<div class="list-header">1990s:</div>
*[[BotCon 1994|1994]]
*[[BotCon 1995|1995]]
*[[BotCon 1996|1996]]
*[[BotCon 1997|1997]]
*[[BotCon Japan 1997|Japan 1997]]
*[[BotCon 1998|1998]]
*[[BotCon Japan 1998|Japan 1998]]
*[[BotCon 1999|1999]]
*[[BotCon Europe 1999|Europe 1999]]

<br/><div class="list-header">2000s:</div>
*[[BotCon 2000|2000]]
*[[BotCon Japan 2000|Japan 2000]]
*[[BotCon 2001|2001]]
*[[BotCon 2002|2002]]
*[[BotCon Europe 2002|Europe 2002]]
*[[OTFCC 2003]]
*[[OTFCC 2004]]
*[[BotCon 2004|2004]]
*[[BotCon 2005|2005]]
*[[BotCon 2006|2006]]
*[[BotCon 2007|2007]]
*[[BotCon 2008|2008]]
*[[BotCon 2009|2009]]

<br/><div class="list-header">2010s:</div>
*[[BotCon 2010|2010]]
*[[BotCon 2011|2011]]
}}

==BotCon history==
[[Image:BotCon94Program.jpg|right|thumb|200px|BotCon: Slightly less old than than the photocopier.]]
The [[BotCon 1994|first BotCon]] was held in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1994. Organized by brothers [[Jon Hartman|Jon]] and [[Karl Hartman]], the convention had 180 attendees. [[BotCon 1995]] was organized by [[Raksha]], a prominent figure in the fan community, and 1996 by [[Men in Black|Men in Black Productions]], headed up by [[Dennis Barger]]. During this time, the show took up a single space at the convention center, with the dealer room and panel space in the same area. Botcon 1996 also had a small art room just outside the main hall.

In 1997, the Hartmans took the BotCon name back (since they owned it and only licensed it out to the previous organizers) and brought fellow fan [[Glen Hallit]], into the fold, forming [[3H Productions|3H Enterprises]] (based upon the first letter of all three organizers' last names). In response to the lukewarm-at-best reception to 1996's show, 3H's [[BotCon 1997] would pile on the improvements and additions, quickly establishing multiple features that have since come to be expected as standard at any BotCon (see below). Each year's show would get bigger and bigger, taking up multiple rooms. During this era, the BotCon name was also licensed out for several conventions outside of the United States.

[[Image:OTFCC logo.jpg|right|300px|thumb|THIS... is the wave of the future! <br>What's that? Really? <br>We now return you to your regularly sceduled convention.]]
At [[BotCon 2002]], it was announced that 3H had secured the official Transformers convention license, as well as licenses to produce comic books and start a fan club. However, the Hartmans were pressured by Hallit out of planning or running the convention, leaving Glen Hallit as the sole organizer.  As a result, the BotCon name, which was owned by the Hartmans, ceased to exist for a time, as 3H's convention was called "[[The Official Transformers Collectors' Convention]]," or OTFCC for short.

In 2004, BotCon made a comeback as an [[BotCon 2004|unofficial convention]], which was held in Pasadena, California.  The history of the BotCon franchise up to that point was covered in great detail in the [[Unofficial guidebooks|BotCon Legends]] magazine.  At the end of 2004, 3H lost all its Transformer licenses, which were soon picked up by [[Fun Publications]], owned by [[Brian Savage]]. The Hartman brothers were invited onto and accepted places in an advisory board for the new convention, along with other prominent fans [[Ben Yee|Benson Yee]] and [[Rik Alvarez]], and granted use of the BotCon name once again.

Since that time, BotCon has been held once again as an annual convention, run by Fun Publications.
{{-}}
==BotCon basics==
{{stub}}

{{-}}

==Special guests==
Over the years, BotCon has featured many individuals who have worked to bring the Transformers multiverse to life, including voice actors, animation staff, comic creators, and design team members from both [[Hasbro]] and [[TakaraTomy]]. Guests usually have a question-and-answer panel (or two), and are most often openly available for autographs and general talking throughout the show. Fun Publications also sets autograph table schedules for most of its guests.

''See also:''
*[[:Category:Convention guests]]

==Exclusive toys==
[[Image:G2-toy Breakdown.jpg|right|thumb|250px|1994 exclusive: Hasbro's leftovers.]]
One of BotCon's most popular features is the sale of [[exclusive]] toys to the guests.

BotCon 1994 would feature a single toy, ''[[Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' [[Breakdown (G1)#Generation 2 2|Breakdown]], which was originally developed for retail but canceled. 1995 saw the first toy ''specifically'' made for the convention, [[Nightracer]]. 1996 had the first (and thankfully ''only'') dealer-exclusive toy, which was just the regular exclusive [[Onyx Primal]] with gold lettering stamped on his back and a new box.

3H then upped the ante in 1997 with two toys sold in a single set. The following year had two toys again, but this time sold individually. Over the next decade the number of toys per year grew steadily (''coincidentally enough'' (wink) as the franchise's retail presence did). In [[BotCon 2005|2005]] with the changeover to Fun Publications, the number of toys made for the show took a massive jump from 2004's four exclusives to a whopping ''ten'' (if you don't count "[[army-building]]" duplicates sold in multi-packs); a main "box set" of toys, an "attendance freebie" available only to those directly attending the convention, and multiple additional souvenir sets.

[[Image:BC-toy G2Redux-Boxset.jpg|left|thumb|250px|2010 exclusive: Big box set including a loving homage to Hasbro's leftovers.]]

The identity and design of the toys were originally kept a close secret until the opening of the convention, although in the later years of the convention the organizers often chose to reveal one or more of the exclusives ahead of time, due to repeated problems with stolen prototypes being sold on eBay, plus the need to hype the convention as awareness of Transformers grew.

In the past, the toys were sold individually as part of the convention registration process, however the current convention organizers are only offering the exclusives as part of a package deal, a move that initially [[Ruined FOREVER|caused some contention in the fandom]].

Although the toys are always unique, financial costs prohibit the creation of entirely new molds. As such, the toys are [[redeco]]s of previously used toys given new identities, occasionally switching allegiances and even gender. Since 2003, various toys have had [[retool|new toolings]] added to them, most typically new heads. After the convention, exclusive toys usually become valuable collector's items in the community, particularly among fans who missed the convention. 

[[Image:BotCon2010-customclassSideswipe.jpg|right|thumb|250px|And there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.]]

Starting in 2004, a toy customizing instructional class was added to the BotCon schedule, and the first attempt to create a unique toy/character from this event was in 2005.   Since then, the customization class exclusive has been the rarest of each year's exclusive toys, limited to roughly 50 pieces.  Most of these customization class exclusives have been unpainted samples of production toys, which participants assemble themselves and apply a suggested paintjob.  In 2010, ''[[Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' [[Sideswipe (G1)#Timelines|Sideswipe]] was the first customization class exclusive to utilize plastic colors unique to other releases of the toy.


''See also:''
* [[:Category:Convention exclusives]]
* [[:Category:Customization class toys]]

{{-}}
===Proposed/Unreleased exclusives===
A number of toys were planned over the years but never produced, for various reasons.  Note that some of these entries are essentially jokes from the organizers' brainstorming sessions, which they then later mentioned to other fans:

[[Image:OTFCC05-Megatronunused.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Show me "What we need to stop asking [[Fun Publications]] about for $500," Alex.]]

*Lickme, a redeco of [[Spittor (BW)|Spittor]] as a Poison Arrow Frog. Function: Psychological Warfare. Mentioned at the BotCon '99 Organizers Panel.
*Jai-Alai, a black redeco of [[Manterror]]. Function: Ninja. Mentioned at the BotCon '99 Organizers Panel.
*[[Cataclysm (BW)|Cataclysm]], a green and purple redeco of Transmetal [[Cheetor (BW)/toys|Cheetor]]. This character actually appeared in the convention storyline and was thought to be the lower priced exclusive in 2000 until Apelinq was revealed instead. It is unclear whether or not Cataclysm was ever truly intended to be released, however.
*Optimal Rodimus Primal, mentioned by the Hartmans at the organizer's panel at Botcon 2000, this would have been an updated version of Rodimus Prime made from the Optimal Optimus mold. Plans were nixed very early on as Primal Prime was going into its limited production run and Hasbro didn't give licensees the leeway they now enjoy. Optimal Rodimus Primal's events in the Wreckers storyline were revised for Primal Prime and Rodimus instead
*Blue Balls Attack Team, from an anecdote shared by Karl Hartman on the now defunct BotCon Beyond message board, a planning session for BotCon had run much later than anticipated and an exhausted Hartman proposed a pair of blue repaints of Beast Wars [[Retrax]]. Obviously not a serious proposal.
*[[Defensor (OTFCC)|Hot Spot]], a blue redeco of [[Optimus Prime (RID)|''Robots in Disguise'' Optimus Prime]] as a new Autobot leader modelled after the Generation One character. The toy would have featured a new headsculpt for the robot's larger "[[Defensor (OTFCC)|Defensor]]" mode. This toy was originally solicited for OTFCC 2004, then pushed back for OTFCC 2005. When the license was removed from 3H Productions, this figure was cancelled.
*Several toys were proposed for the 2005 Official Transformers Collectors' Convention. Due to 3H's loss of the Transformers license these plans never came to fruition.
**[[Megatron (BW)/toys|Megatron]], a red redeco of [[Megatron (RID)|''Robots in Disguise'' Megatron]] as an upgraded (and resurrected) ''Beast Wars'' Megatron with a new headsculpt. 
**[[Devcon (G1)|Devcon]], a blue redeco of [[Slugslinger (Energon)|''Energon'' Slugslinger]] as the Generation One character with a new headsculpt. 
**[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]], a green redeco of [[Strongarm (Energon)|''Energon'' Strongarm]] as the Generation One character with a new headsculpt and snap on Energon gauntlets. 
**[[Roadbuster]], an orange and green redeco of ''Energon'' Strongarm as the Generation One character with a new headsculpt and Energon rifle. 
*[[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]], originally conceived as the ''Cybertron Defense'' Hot Shot redeco for 2007. He was dropped in favor of Springer, who fit the mold and the story/theme better.

==Exclusive fiction==
[[Image:Beastwarscriticalmass.jpg|right|thumb|200px|It all starts here.]]
Fiction did not really play into the first few years of BotCon. While attendees of [[BotCon 1995]] did get an exclusive fanzine, it was just that; a magazine full of fan-written stories and fan-drawn art, none of which was approved by Hasbro.

When 3H took the convention back for [[BotCon 1997|1997]], one of the many ways they set out to make the show a real mother of a blowout was by adding an [[Ground Zero|exclusive comic story]] to accompany the toys, penned by "the" Transformers scribe [[Simon Furman]], with art by Marvel comics artist [[Andrew Wildman]]. The hugely positive response to this story (even though it was a stand-alone tale that was irreconcilable with the then-running [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'' cartoon]] that it used as a setting<ref>3H members indicated that the story of how the various non-show characters from later storylines arrived on ancient Earth and why they weren't seen in the show would be later told, but this never happened.</ref>) cemented the need for fiction to bring the exclusive toy characters to life, though it would take some time to settle on a format. [[BotCon 1998|1998]] started the multi-year "[[Reaching the Omega Point]]" story, which was kicked off with a [[Visitations|tongue-in-cheek live script reading]], followed up by a series of text stories released online, and ultimately ended in [[BotCon 2000|2000]] with a full-color comic that assembled the prior text stories before jumping into the final battle.

[[Image:Timelines v2n3ce.jpg|left|thumb|200px|2007 also marked an increased influx of robo-[[facial hair]].]]

From then on, each convention had at least one new comic book featuring its exclusive toy characters in action, with a few pieces of ancillary fiction told in other formats. However, in short order there were ''three'' different stories running concurrently across two different books (with a few pieces of online prose and a live script reading in 2004), and the problems from prior years with having stories that were told in installments with nearly year-long gaps between them were amplified to a ridiculous degree. With Hasbro pulling the license from 3H after [[BotCon 2004|2004's convention]], all three storylines were left uncompleted. The next convention license-holder, [[Fun Publications]], would later go on to provide conclusions to two of them in their [[Transformers Collectors' Club|online fan club subscription]], but the final, "[[Primeval Dawn]]", remains open-ended to this day.

When Fun Publications took control of BotCon, the use of a yearly comic continued under the "[[Timelines (fiction)|Timelines]]" banner, but with a very important change. Instead of following a single multi-year-spanning story arc, each issue is meant to stand on its own as a single story with a conclusive ending, typically set in a different universe every year. Starting in 2006, each year's comic is made available through Diamond at comic shops a few months after the convention. Some shows would also feature live script readings, plus [[BotCon 2007]] would reveal [[Theft of the Golden Disk|a CGI-animated short film]] serving as a prequel to [[Dawn of Future's Past|the prior year's story]].

Some of the BotCon the storylines have been later continued through the Collectors' Club web site and magazine, primarily in the form of prose stories.
{{-}}

''See also:''
*[[:Category:3H issues]]
*[[:Category:Timelines issues]]

==Footnotes/References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.botcon.com Official site]
*[http://www.transformersclub.com/ Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club]
*[http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~sstoneb/tf/faq/fandom/conventions.php Convention info from the Transformers FAQ]

[[Category:Conventions]]
[[Category:Fandom]]
[[Category:Fun Publications]]
[[Category:Exclusives]]