The Allspark are reporting that Transformers Masterpiece Black Rodimus is now out in Asia.

Released in Asia last week and now arriving to mail boxes in Japan is Masterpiece MP-9B Black Rodimus Convoy!  This figure is a redeco of, you guessed it, MP-9 Rodimus Convoy!  The figure features an all new 'electric' color scheme sure to please fans.  The e-Hobby version also comes with a special exclusive comic book (which, if the past has taught us anything, will not be included in the general Asian release stocked at most North American retailers).

BotCon have sent the following email notification

HEADS UP!
BotCon 2012 location and dates will be announced in the next few days!
You will be able to make your hotel reservations at that time.
Keep watching BotCon.com!
(Convention Registration will not start for several weeks)­

e-Hobby have posted a new article in the e-Hobby Magazine Transformers Museum section about the e-HOBBY Exclusive City Commander Galvatron II figure.  The article, which is available in English as well as Japanese, thanks to long time Transformers fan and e-Hobby employee Hydra discusses the figure as well as his secret 5th phrase.

The figure is one of the few e-Hobby toys we do not currently own, we did but we sold him on right away before we could photograph him, but you can still use this site to compare the toy to the original Galvatron, a testshot of the G1 toy (with different crown) and the anime coloured version.

Thanks to Full Metal Hero member Baltmatrix for posting a video review of the KO TOYS Dial and Zaur

When I first laid eyes on this set I had to have it. As a G1 fan I have been lusting after these guys for years but have never had the desire to part with the $200.00 asking price for the originals. I thought that this would be a great way to get the set for cheap. Sadly, this set is not worth the $40.00 asking price. $10.00 or $15.00 yes, but no more than that.

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We have continue our Character Model gallery updates with 12 new galleries from the Beast Wars II Japanese series.  This update also completed our Beast Wars II Character sheet updates which means the next set of character sheets will be from a different series, you'll just have to wait to see which one we've chosen to share with you next.

The new Transformers character model galleries are:

­Scissorboy

Scuba

Seacons

Spacecraft

Starscream

Takotank

Tasmanian Kid

Thrust

Thrustol

Tonbot

Tripredacus

­Weapons

The geek-fan event known as "Squirtle-con 2011" took place yesterday in the Cambridge area of England.  The one-day fan event featured your usual convention activities such as toy trading, a video games area, episode screening, social discussions and lots of food and drink.  The event also saw two exclusives per attendee that went down a storm with everyone in attendance.

When trading slowed down at the event most of the attendees could be found popping to a local Tesco's store to pick up more items.  My brother himself picked up most of the Thundercats 2011 figures in a mad collecting spread.

Final attendee figures are still be collated, but the event was universally deemed a huge success with representatives from the UKs two biggest fan sites Transformers At The Moon and Full Metal Hero both strongly supporting the event.

Pictures from the event till no doubt be doing the rounds on Facebook (other social media sites are also available).  You can read about the hauls of some of the attendees on our message board.

I'd like to thank the organisers and attendees for a great event and I look forward to the next one

Transformers Galaxy Facebook page have shared 22 images of the new Maketoys Battle Tanker, the images haev been mirrored on Full Metal Hero.

The Battle Tanker is an upgrade kit for Universe Prime to make him more like the original Transformers Generation Two Laser Rod Optimus Prime toy.  Expect a Black Battle Convoy / Scourgekit later.

View the full Q&A here.

• DA-28 Striker Optimus Prime and his store give-a-way incentive battle blades
• DD-09 Human Alliance Soundwave with Laserbeark and Dylan Gould
• CV-26 Cyberverse Legion Soundwave
• DA-34 Deluxe Leadfoot
• DA-33 Deluxe Air Raid
• Encore Devastator
• Lucky Draw Gold Chrome Plated Voyager Sentinel Prime

We are waiting on scans from TV Magazine December 2011, as the December issues include draw prizes.

Dealers tables allocations are going very quickly for Auto Assembly 2012 and bookings for them are already close to that of Auto Assembly 2011! Tables are still available for dealers who are interested but you’ll need to book sooner rather than later to get the best spots in the hall! We will need to know how many tables you are interested in booking along with prompt payment so we can make sure we can fit you in! For those of you who are regular dealers who haven’t been in touch yet, please do not assume that we have automatically reserved space for you as tables will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

If you want to book table space at the convention, you can get the form here.

Jim Sorenson, who we recently announced will be in attendance at Roll Out Roll Call 2012, has updated his blog with a new Ark Addendum entry entitled "Rumble's Transform and Cheetor's Badge".

As you van probably guess the entry contains the character model for the transformation sequence of Rumble from the Generation One cartoon, where as Cheetor's badge is his suppose to be the police badge he would use within the Transformers Animated universe

Nevermore has put together an interesting article on Starblight called From drawing board to store shelf: The development of a Transformers toy

... the first part of a multi-part article series in which I (Nevermore) will attempt to explain the development process of a Transformers toy. As my basis for this compilation, I use various materials which have made their way into the fandom one way or another over the years, for example via Japanese sourcebooks or BotCon presentations. In addition, there are various details which have come up from Q&A rounds with Hasbro at BotCon or as part of the (discontinued) Q&A program for fan sites. In some instances, I also use information gathered from conversations with (usually former) Hasbro employees.

If this article interests you then make sure you come to Roll Out Roll Call 2012, as there are several panels on this type of content.