Images of the BotCon 2012 figures are coming in from all over the place now.

Thousands of TRANSFORMERS fans from around the world will celebrate the iconic brand from Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS - News) in Dallas as the TRANSFORMERS fan convention known as “BOTCON” serves up a Texas-sized helping of AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS from April 27-29. Hasbro and the TRANSFORMERS Collectors’ Club, will be offering opportunities to engage in and learn about the TRANSFORMERS brand that can only be experienced at BOTCON.

In 2012, the TRANSFORMERS brand continues to deliver innovative and world class entertainment experiences based on its characters and compelling storyline. In addition to the second season of the award winning animated series Transformers Prime, the brand welcomes Transformers Rescue Bots, an animated series for a younger audience. Both series are produced by Hasbro Studios and currently air on The Hub television network in the U.S. For an entirely new immersive TRANSFORMERS experience the brand sees its colossal characters “brought to life” with the introduction of Universal Studios Hollywood's^SM epic new thrill ride, “Transformers™: The Ride—3D” opening this May. Working in collaboration with Michael Bay, who served as the ride’s Creative Consultant, the visionary special effects team at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), and the innovative minds at Universal Creative, Universal Studios Hollywood’s new breakthrough mega-attraction will propel guests into the action-packed robotic world of TRANSFORMERS. As the theme park’s most ambitious ride ever built, this immersive experience is a technologically advanced motion-based, flight simulator thrill ride designed to catapult guests into an entirely new awe-inspiring 3D-HD TRANSFORMERS reality where they will be propelled along 2,000 feet of ride track and enveloped in 14 gigantic screens, many of which tower to heights of 60 feet tall.

Hasbro will also be celebrating two new major upcoming video games including the much buzzed about Transformers: Fall of Cybertron title launching August 28^th from Activision and High Moon Studios with live game demos on the show floor, as well as the Transformers: Universe MMO from Jagex Studios. The brand also celebrates the continued popularity and new stories featured in TRANSFORMERS comics from the publishing team at IDW. Attendees at this year’s BOTCON will be able to experience the wide breadth of TRANSFORMERS offerings from these licensees and Hasbro including interactive exhibits, informative panels and hands-on interaction with toy designers as well experts and creators behind video games, publishing and animation based on the brand.

Attendees will be able to preview new and yet-to-be seen TRANSFORMERS toys from Hasbro’s 2012 product line including new TRANSFORMERS BOT SHOTS toys, figures based on the popular Transformers Prime animated series as well as figures based on the Transformers: Fall of Cybertron videogame. Hasbro’s KRE-O building set brand will also be featured at BOTCON for attendees to see and play with. KRE-O TRANSFORMERS products launching this fall will focus on a new theme called the QUEST FOR ENERGON, pitting the AUTOBOTS against the DECEPTICONS on a mission to keep the ultimate ENERGON weapon from falling into the wrong hands. Each new 2012 KRE-O TRANSFORMERS set is a 2-in-1 build featuring favorite TRANSFORMERS characters in vehicle and robot modes and includes several KREON figures and exclusive ENERGON bricks. BOTCON will also feature panel discussions and interactive workshops led by TRANSFORMERS experts and fan-favorite voice actors, as well as many dealer booths where fans can purchase official TRANSFORMERS toys and merchandise.

Additionally, Hasbro will host its third annual TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame induction ceremony, celebrating both the humans and the characters that have helped to garner world renown for the brand. The ceremony will take place during BOTCON and will honor fan-favorite TRANSFORMERS comic book author Simon Furman and the legendary voice actor Chris Latta, the original voice of STARSCREAM, who will become the first person posthumously inducted into the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame. Both Furman and members of the Latta family will be on hand at the ceremony to accept the honor.

“TRANSFORMERS is one of the most iconic entertainment brands in the world,” said Jerry Jivoin, global TRANSFORMERS brand director, Hasbro, Inc. “We look forward to bringing a world-class celebration of the TRANSFORMERS brand to Dallas and sharing the excitement of the brand with its biggest fans. With Transformers Prime burning up the airwaves, a remarkable new thrill ride, new comics from IDW and several new videogames based on the brand, it’s a great time for TRANSFORMERS fans, both new and old.”

BOTCON is North America’s largest annual official gathering of TRANSFORMERS fans and is open to both diehard and casual fans alike, as well as families and children who enjoy the iconic “ROBOTS IN DISGUISE”. The convention travels to different cities in the U.S. each year and this year will be held at the Hyatt Regency Dallas, located at 300 Reunion Boulevard in Dallas, Texas. BOTCON will be open to the public on April 28 – 29. Special activities are planned on April 27 for attendees who purchase multi-day packages.

BOTCON general admission sessions will be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 28 and 29. (On Saturday, doors are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; on Sunday, doors are open from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.). Special multi-day packages and exclusive TRANSFORMERS products are available on a limited basis. General admission for adults (13 & up) is $20 and for children (12 & under) is $10. Children ages 4 and under will be admitted for free. Additional information can be found at www.BotCon.com or by calling 817-448-9863.

Fans can find the TRANSFORMERS brand on Facebook at www.Transformers.com/Facebook and on YouTube at www.Youtube.com/Transformers.

HAS-B

About Hasbro’s TRANSFORMERS brand

First introduced in 1984 by Hasbro and Takara Tomy, the TRANSFORMERS brand has provided kids with hours of MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE fun with their action figures that convert from robot to vehicles and back again. Legions of kids around the world grew up creating fantastic adventures and battles set on both the planet CYBERTRON and Earth that featured the “good-guy” AUTOBOTS and the “bad-guy” DECEPTICONS. Since then, more than 7500 robots have been introduced in animated TV series, comic books and three live-action feature films.

About Hasbro

Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS - News) is a branded play company providing children and families around the world with a wide-range of immersive entertainment offerings based on the Company's world class brand portfolio. From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, digital gaming and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its global customers with well-known and beloved brands such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, NERF, PLAYSKOOL, MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and MONOPOLY. The Company’s Hasbro Studios develops and produces television programming for markets around the world. The Hub TV Network is part of a multi-platform joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), in the U.S. Through the company's deep commitment to corporate social responsibility, including philanthropy, Hasbro is helping to build a safe and sustainable world for future generations and to positively impact the lives of millions of children and families every year. It has been recognized for its efforts by being named one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies.” Learn more at www.hasbro.com. © 2012 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

About Fun Publications, Inc.

For over 15 years, Fun Publications, Inc. has been a Hasbro licensee offering fans and collectors of pop culture memorabilia news, exclusive product and family events through different print offerings, websites, collector clubs and brand specific conventions such as G.I.JoeCon and BotCon. Located in Fort Worth Texas, Fun Publications reaches a large audience, serving the United States and many other countries such as Japan, Great Britain, Brazil, Australia and Canada. For more information visit TransformersClub.com, GIJoeClub.com, GIJoeCon.com, and BotCon.com. BotCon is a registered trademark of Fun Publications, Inc. (C) 2012 Fun Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.

According to ComingSoon.net DreamWorks President of Production Adam Goodman recently spoke to the The Hollywood Reporter about a couple of upcoming projects, one of which was TF4. When asked about the involvement of the previous trilogy's Shia LaBeouf he had this to say:

Ehren Kruger is writing it for us, and we're starting to engage, but I can't say anything more.

Kruger wrote Transformers: Dark of the Moon and collaborated with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

So here's the round up of the news from BotCon so far.

 The comic reveales the bagged toys will be

1. Shattered Glass Octopunch and Spinister
2. Shattered Glass Optimus and Kick-Off
3. Shattered Glass Junkions

The attendee exclusive figure is

1. Shattered Glass Darkmount (Staxus)

More images of the Customisation Class Shattered Glass Longarm / Shockwave are up on Seibertron.com

BOTCON 2012 Custom Class Exclusive: Shattered Glass Longarm w/ super secret special bonus. http://bit.ly/IRFXtz

A massive article titled Transforming Grimlock: How High Moon saved the Dinobots has been posted by theverge.com's Russ Pitts. In this extensive article you get to hear from game director Matt Tieger what it takes to create Dinobot's in the current game story arc. There a lot of great new pictures of Grimlock Slag, Snarl and Swoop.

Also included in this article is the origins of the Dinobots in Fall of Cybertron.

Matt Tieger has decided that what he wants in his next game is a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex from outer space who fights with a sword and a shield and breaths fire. And is a robot.

What he wants, in other words, is Grimlock, the Dinobot. All that stands in his way is the company who owns the Transformers, Hasbro, and they've decided that Grimlock (and the rest of the Dinobots) are being retired.

According to Hasbro, the Dinobots will not be in any Transformers movies. They will not be in any Transformers games. They will not be in any Transformers anything. They are finished.

The people at Hasbro, in other words, tell Tieger that Grimlock will be done away with.

This is the story of how he tried to change their mind.

Matt Tieger wanted to be a paleontologist when he grew up. And a marine biologist. And an artist. But mainly: Paleontologist. He loved dinosaurs. Knew all of their names. He wanted to dig their bones out of the Earth and tell their stories.

By the time he went to college, he'd changed his mind. He wanted to be a marine biologist again. He studied marine biology. Then, just shy of a Ph.D from Rutgers, he changed his mind yet again and left to make videogames.

Now Tieger works as Game Director for High Moon Studios, the company behind 2010's Transformers: War for Cybertron. For Matt, it is the best job in the world. Particularly because he is now in charge.

His new game is the sequel to War for Cybertron, Fall of Cybertron, and what Tieger wants more than anything is to let players be the leader of the Dinobots.

"As a fan of Transformers," Tieger told Polygon, by phone. "Grimlock is, if not my favorite, in my top three favorite Transformers of all time.

Another quote

As Tieger explains it, it goes like this: "It's all about loyalty in the Decepticon.

"Megatron is obviously in charge of the Decepticons, [and has] three lieutenants: Shockwave, Soundwave and Starscream (which by the way is very confusing to people who are not big Transformers fans because they're all Ss), but it's all about loyalty.

"Soundwave is loyal to Megatron above all things.

"Starscream is loyal to Starscream above all things.

"Shockwave is loyal to Cybertron above all things.

"So Shockwave's plan is:

"'We're not going to leave Cybertron. I'm going to save it. I'm going to search the cosmos, find a world that is teeming with what I can covert into Energon (the Transformers energy source). And I'm going to suck that planet dry and ... use it to reboot my home.'"

TFW2005 member Ricochet lets us know about the upcoming Shadow Arms Microns Giveaway Campaign. Figure names are "Shadow Ciel", "Shadow Arue", "Shadow Gora", "Shadow Baro", all in clear black plastic. The molds used are from current AM partners Cliffjumper, Ratchet, Megatron and Skywarp.

Transformers Prime Voyager Wave 2 has been released at US retail! You can now look forward to being able to add the Voyager class versions of Starscream and Bulkhead to your Transformers Prime collections! This pair was sighted at a Target in Lodi, CA by 2005 Boards member Rubicon

Thanks to Robot Kingdom for posting up the following image of Transformers Prime Arms Gaia Unicron, showing an interesting image of what appear to be Unicron combined with Optimus Prime - or it could just be some odd scale drawing

Livio Ramondelli To Attend Auto Assembly 2012

With Auto Assembly 2012 just over 100 days away, we're proud to bring you news of the SEVENTEENTH guest to be joining us for this year's convention...

We can now confirm that IDW artist Livio Ramondelli will be making his Auto Assembly debut this year! Livio is the artist of the superb new digital comic Transformers: Autocracy for IDW Publishing. In addition, his credits include Chaos, The Best of Optimus Prime / Best of Megatron trade paperback covers, as well as covers for IDW's Infestation II event series. He previously worked for WildStorm Productions, doing design work for the DC Universe Online game... and he also really loves movies!

Livio will be joining our other comic artists and writers in our extensive guest area signing autographs and sketching for fans throughout the weekend and he will be taking to the stage on Sunday afternoon alongside Nick Roche and James Roberts for a dedicated IDW Panel.

We'd like to thank everyone at the Underbase Podcast for their support in making this possible and putting us in touch with Livio. We're sure everyone will make Livio welcome at the convention.

For more details on Auto Assembly 2012 which is taking place over the weekend of 3rd - 5th August 2012 in Birmingham, England or to book your tickets or find out information about booking dealers tables, visit the website at http://www.autoassembly.org.uk and for all the latest news on Auto Assembly Europe, visit http://www.autoassemblyeurope.eu

Livio's website can be found at http://www.livioramondelli.com

The Auto Assembly Team

Web: http://www.autoassembly.org.uk / http://www.transformersvideogames.co.uk / http://www.ct-alpha.com
Auto Assembly Europe: http://www.autoassemblyeurope.eu
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/autoassembly
Twitter: http://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

Toyz And Gamez - http://www.toyzandgamez.co.uk
TF Source - http://www.tfsource.com
Robot Kingdom - http://www.robotkingdom.com
Transformers @ The Moon - http://www.transformertoys.co.uk
TransformersAnimated.com - http://www.transformersanimated.com
TheTransformers.net - http://www.thetransformers.net
Titan Books - http://www.titanbooks.com
3 Darths Comics - http://www.3darthscomics.co.uk
Science Fiction Collectables - http://www.sf-collectables.co.uk
Big Bad Toy Store - http://www.bbts.com
Xyber Toys - http://www.xybertoys.com

After recently moving, and having no internet line - both of which have drammatically affected our work on the site (2 months of work on Steve's house) we should finally be getting the Internet back in around 2 to 3 weeks time.

The good news is that with the extra space we've got easier access to the toys, so hopefully we can get back to filling up the blanks in our toy gallery section.

Guido Guidi has stopped by the Allspark forums to comment on the upcoming "Beast Saga" line of Battle Beast-like figures from Takara Tomy:

Since they has been finally revealed, I can now say I did some work for this line, mostly on the sea creatures assortment.

So far I recognize Pirazon (the piranha) and Coelence (the coelacanthus) - other may have been re-drawn or revised (like with the swordfish guy, they changed the design quite a bit, but kept my weapons designs).

Great to see the toyline coming to (plastic) life! 

CyberGundam Blog has shared a scan of this month's Figure Oh! Magazine. It shows capsuel Arms Microns, Artfire, and a concept image of MP-12 Lambor (Sideswipe).

Wednesday, April 25, 2012
9 AM-5 PM Transformers Customizing Class Shawnee Trail
8:30 PM Golden Ticket Package Pick-Up Reunion Ballroom
9:30-10:30 Tour and Class Package Pick-Up Reunion Ballroom

Thursday, April 26, 2012
9 AM-5 PM Transformers Customizing Class Shawnee Trail
4:00 PM Golden Ticket Pick-up Reunion Ballroom
5:00 Golden Ticket Store Opens Marsalis Hall
6:00 Registration Pick-up Store Opens Reunion Ballroom
6:00 Store Opens Marsalis Hall
8:00-9:30 Exhibitor Unload and Drop Off Marsalis Hall

Friday, April 27, 2012
7:30AM -2PM Exhibitor Setup Marsalis Hall
8:30-9:30 Club Store opens for Exhibitors Only Marsalis Hall
9:30-11:30 Club Store opens for all Registered Guests Marsalis Hall
9:30 Walk-up Late Registration Marsalis Prefunction
9:00-12:00 Contest Setup Marsalis Hall
9:00-10:50 Panel: MSTF! Reunion Ballroom
11:00-11:50 Panel: Transformers Filmfest Reunion Ballroom
Noon Contest Judging Marsalis Hall
Noon-1:00 Lunch
1:00-1:50 Panel: TCC Comic Panel Reunion Ballroom
2:00 Private Sales Room Experience Marsalis Hall
2:00-3:30 Autographs: David Kaye, Garry Chalk, Simon Furman
3:30-5:00 Autographs: Dan Gilvezan, Buster Jones
5:00 PM Private Sales Room Experience ends
7:00 PM Golden Ticket Reception Reunion Ballroom

Saturday, April 28, 2012
7:30 AM Exhibitor Set-up Marsalis Hall
8:30 Registered Guests Private Preview Marsalis Hall
9:00 Early Bird Entry Marsalis Hall
10:00 General Admission Marsalis Hall
10:00-10:50 Panel: Dan Gilvezan, Buster Jones Reunion Ballroom
10:00-11:30 Autographs: David Kaye, Garry Chalk
11:00-11:50 Panel: Transformers Comics: IDW Reunion Ballroom
Noon-12:50 Panel: Animated Talk with Derrick Wyatt Reunion Ballroom
Noon-1:30 Autographs: Dan Gilvezan, Buster Jones, Simon Furman
1:00-1:50 Panel: David Kaye, Garry Chalk Reunion Ballroom
1:30-3:00 Autographs: Peter Cullen
2:00-2:50 Panel: Transformers Collectors’ Club Roundtable TCC Staff Reunion Ballroom
3:00-3:50 Panel: Hasbro Transformers Brand Team Reunion Ballroom
4:00-4:50 Panel: Peter Cullen Reunion Ballroom
5:00 PM Show Closes
6:30 PM Cocktail Reception Reunion Prefunction
7:00 PM Hall of Fame Party and Casino Night Dinner Reunion Ballroom

Sunday, April 29, 2012
9:00 AM Exhibitor Set-up Reunion Ballroom
9:30 Registered Guests and General Admission Marsalis Hall
10:00-10:50 Panel: Bee in the City 2! David Kaye,
Garry Chalk, Dan Gilvezan, Buster Jones Reunion Ballroom
11:30-1:00 Autographs: David Kaye, Garry Chalk, Simon Furman
11:00-11:50 Panel: Activision: Fall of Cybertron Reunion Ballroom
Noon-12:50 Panel: Simon Furman Reunion Ballroom
1:00-2:30 Autographs: Dan Gilvezan, Buster Jones
1:00-1:50 Panel: JAGEX: Transformers Universe Reunion Ballroom
2:00-2:50 Panel: Transformers Costuming: Design Your
Own Costume! Rosemary Ward Reunion Ballroom
3:15 Draw for Trips to 2013 Convention Marsalis Hall
3:30 PM Show Closes

Million Hero have posted preview images of Trnasformers Geneations Volume 2012 including images of their exclusive Transformers Henkei Artfire figure.

Artfire is a recolour of Transformers Classics Inferno, in the original Artfire colour schemes (one of the very few original G1 Transformers we do not own).