1. Did you know that Jetfire was originally going to be called Fireball before being changed to Skyfire and then eventually Jetfire?
2. Did you know that, when he was Fireball, Jetfire's function was Autobot Aerospace Commander which was latter changed to Autobot Air Guardian?
3. Did you know that Grimlock was originally going to be called Trapjam?  He was also known as Jawbreaker as well.
4. Did you know that the Sharkticons were originally known Sharkons before being changed to Sharticon. It was only on on reviewing the name that the k was added and they finally became the Sharkticons.
5. Did you know that Quintessa was originally known as the planet Sharkon?
6. Did you know that in one of the meetings regarding the cartoon series when the crew discussed the characters for the Transformers Megatron was described as "more like Destro - icy" and that he "doesn't make jokes".
7. Did you know that in the same meeting, they described Starscream as "more like Cobra Commander, psycho, more wild, violent.
8. Did you know that in the original plans when ever Unicron spoke in the whilst in Robot mode in Transformers: The Movie, lightning rods were suppose to slash from his eyes, while other colours flashed from various parts of his body.
9. Did you know that in the original scale of Unicron, Earth was going to be the size of one of the spheres that are on Unicron's rings.
10. Did you know that Unicron, originally referred to simply as "The Planet Entity", was designed with rings simply because Saturn has rings and is a similar word to Satur, which is synonymous with the Devil?

I was recently informed that many Chinese knock-off makers have now realised that there is good money in making high-quality knock-offs of many of the Classic / Henkei figures and to expect plenty of fakes over the next year to of not only these but other high-end Transformers figures.  Well it looks like the weight has already stopped as bot TFW2005.com and KOToys.com have images an information on the first wave of these new KO items, the Million Publishing Henkei Thundercracker and Skywarp along with Electro Disruptor Mirage and the Botcon 2007 clear Mirage.  All of the Henkei figures come in replica packaging and are proving difficult to spot.

KOToys.com  has all the images, where as TFWorld2005.com note that at the moment the Botcon Mirage appears to be a slightly different shade and comes without the rub sign.  You can view the images here, here, here, here and here.

Other new knock-offs (as you may have noticed from that last link) include a blue and white G1 Bumblebee (on card) as well as diecast HFTD Hubcap (in multiple colours).  Yes Die cast! The knock-offs are being made from better materials than the originals!

Finally there are also KO die cast Transformers Animated Activator Bumblebee in  various colour schemes including Skids and Mudflap from Transformers Revenge of the Fallen.

Genzhao comments that these items weight approximately 2.5 times as much as the originals

Remember ALL of these items are fakes

TFArchive have posted a translation of Transformers Animated The Cool chapter 8.

This chapter is Naoto Tsushima's adaptation of the second half of  the Transformers Animated cartoon episode A Bridge Too Close, Part II

MSN has posted a 1 line tag for the first five episode of Transformers Prime called Darkness Rising.

1. Darkness Rising: Part 1 - The return of the Decepticons. - 2010-11-26

2. Darkness Rising: Part 2 - The Autobots are met by Megatron - 2010-11-26

3. Darkness Rising: Part 3 - Bulkhead tries to rescue Agent Fowler. - 2010-12-01

4. Darkness Rising: Part 4 - Megatron and an army to fight against the Autobots. - 2010-12-02

5. Darkness Rising: Part 5 - The fate of the earth hangs in the balance. - 2010-12-03

Are you one of the only two Transformers fans worldwide who does not already own a Masterpiece Convoy (Optimus Prime) figure?  You are? Well you are in luck as TakaraTomy have announced the next Masterpiece figure will be .....MP-1L Masterpiece Convoy - Final Edition.  The toy will be released in March 2011, 8 years after the first Masterpiece Convoy toy was released.  The toy was first announced via TFSource.com but has since been confirmed by a listing on Bo-Ya.

There is also a rumour that the base the toy comes with will contain a voice chip with a special message by the original G1 Convoy voice actor Genda Tessho, announcing the next Masterpiece figure

Following on from yesterdays trailer, we have uploaded some high-resolution images from a previous trailer to both Transformers-Prime.com and Transformers At The Moon.  The images are from the third trailer that featured CliffJumper, voiced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.  You can view the images here.

For those using www.transformers-prime.com  to view the images, you will notice that it uses a "lightbox-esq" navigational window to view the images which allows you to use the arrow keys to browse through the images without having to close them down, as well as flicking between a zoomed and full size image by using the up and down keys.

Million Publishing have updated their website with some details, as well as a sample image of the cover, of their forthcoming Transformers Generations 2010 book.  The book, which is due for release on the 19th November 2010, will include information on the third live action Transformers Movie, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, though that its still tentative so it may be removed before the book is published. It will also cover every item that was released within Japan in 2010 as well as some of the Transformers Revenge items to be released in 2011.  If that was not enough the book will contain a special anniversary look at Transformers Headmasters (Fight 2010, Transformers Super Robot) including interviews with Ishimaru Hiroya (Rodimus Convoy), Seiz? Kat? (Galvatron) and Tashima Shiyou (the Japanese director). 

Excited yet? No? Okay well the book does not end there.  It will also contain a special historic piece on Rodimus Convoy which will build up to a detailed look at the Masterpiece figure.  If you are a Transformers Animated fan, the book will contain pictures of every figure released in Japan in 2010 as well as toys that will be released in 2011, yes there are more Transformers Animated toys coming to Japan in 2011.

Finally the book will cover Transformers United! including publishing a new comic called "A New Battle" by Tsushima Naoto and a look at all the figures.  Here is a preview of the cover.

All this will be covered in 96 pages.  The books ISBN is 978-4-8130-2130-8

I have updated ­Transformers-Prime.com with a high-resolution image gallery of stills from the Transformers Prime TV trailer that aired over night on Facebook.  The gallery contains 47 images at 1920x1080 pixel taken from the HD stream of the trai­ler.

When navigating the gallery you can use the cursor (arrow) keys to browse between images as well as jumping from a scaled to the full size image.  Simply follow the on screen instructions on Transformers-Prime.com for more.

The image gallery is also available Transformers At The Moon, though without the nice navigational controls.

Transformers-Prime.com is a dedicated fan-site to the new Transformers series from the brothers that bought you Transformers At The Moon and TransformersAnimated.com

The Hub have published a new preview video for Transformers Prime on their official Facebook page.  You can view the video below.­

Don't forgot to check out our own Transformers Prime website www.transformers-prime.com­

The Hub to Premiere New Original Series ‘G.I. Joe Renegades’ During Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend

Coming this Thanksgiving holiday weekend to The Hub, a cable network for kids and their families, is a special two-part premiere of the new half-hour, action-adventure animated series “G.I. Joe Renegades,” Friday, November 26. The Hub is a joint venture of Discovery Communications and Hasbro, Inc., and is available to 60 million U.S. cable and satellite households.

The new animated series, a re-imagining of the popular, original series “G.I. Joe A Real American Hero,” takes viewers back to the origins of the G.I. Joe storyline, in which the world’s most elite renegade force of highly trained specialists are forced to band together to prevent their nemesis, the evil forces of Cobra Industries, from achieving global domination.

“G.I. Joe Renegades” is produced for The Hub by Hasbro Studios. The series is executive produced by Jeff Kline, whose television credits include “Transformers: Prime” and “Jackie Chan Adventures.”

Preceding the series debut, The Hub will present a half-hour behind-the-scenes special, “Hub Exclusive: ‘G.I. Joe Renegades’ and ‘Transformers: Prime’” (3:30 p.m. ET), showcasing two original series on The Hub. The special is followed by the world premiere of the first two half-hour episodes (5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET) of “G.I. Joe Renegades.” The series will continue in its regular time period, Friday, December 3, with an encore presentation at 5 p.m. ET and a new episode premiere at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Starring in the series premiere are Lee Majors (“The Six Million Dollar Man”) as “General Abernathy,” and Charlie Adler, the original Cobra Commander from the animated series “G.I. Joe: Resolute,” who reprises his role in the new series. “G.I. Joe Renegades” also includes an all-star lineup of story editors, including Marty Isenberg (“Ben 10,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “Batman the Animated Series”) and Henry Gilroy (“Star Wars: Clone Wars,” “The Tick” and “Batman the Animated Series.”)

A full schedule of the “G.I. Joe Renegades” and related programming follows. (All times ET).

“Hub Exclusive: ‘G.I. Joe Renegades” (Premiere: Friday, November 26, 3:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.. Encore presentations: Monday, November 29, 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Friday, December 3; 4:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.; and Saturday, December 4, 12 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.)

“G.I. Joe Renegades” - Part 1 of “The Descent”(Premiere: Friday, November 26, 5 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.. Encore presentations: 11 p.m. – 11:30 p.m.; Sunday, November 28, 1 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.; Friday, December 3, 7 a.m. – 7:30 a.m.)

“G.I. Joe Renegades” -Part 2 of “The Descent”(Premiere: Friday, November 26, 5:30 p.m. - 6 p.m.. Encore presentations: 11:30 p.m. – 12 a.m.; Sunday, November 28, 1:30 p.m. – 2 p.m.; Friday, December 3, 7:30 a.m. – 8 a.m.)

About The Hub:

The Hub is a multi-platform joint venture between Discovery Communications (NASDAQ:DISCA - News) (NASDAQ:DISCB - News) (NASDAQ:DISCK - News) and Hasbro, Inc., (NYSE:HAS - News) with a goal of entertaining, enlightening, empowering and educating children and their families. The cable and satellite television network features original programming as well as content from Discovery's library of award-winning children's educational programming; from Hasbro's rich portfolio of entertainment and educational properties built during the past 90 years; and from leading third-party producers worldwide. The Hub lineup includes animated and live-action series, specials and game shows, and the network extends its content through a robust and engaging online presence at www.hubworld.com. The Hub rebranded from Discovery Kids on October 10, 2010, and reaches approximately 60 million U.S. households. The Hub logo and name are trademarks of Hub Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Hyper Hobby Magazine December issue is now out in Japan and includes more images of the Transformers Masterpiece Rodimus Convoy, Transformers Gum, Transformers Animated and Transformers United toys.Gold Animated Megatronis also shown off once again.

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Click for larger images