The latest issue of the Japanese  hobby magazine Hyper Hobby include the first image of the Kiara Hobby 2009 exclusive recolour of Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Soundwave.  The toy is simply dubbed Soundwave Black Version and will be on sale at the event which takes places on August the 29th and 30th in Japan.

Not to be out done by IGN, Rotten Tomatoes have also interviews Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura regarding the franchise and third movie.

Update I've fixed the link, that'll teach me from doing to many things at once.

As is the case every July Hamleys have published their prediction of the top 10 ten toys this Christmas and here it is

1.   Battle Strikers Tournament Set – Mega Brands
2.   Transformers Bumblebee Helmet - Hasbro
3.   Transformers Movie Leaders - Hasbro
4.   V Motion - VTech
5.   Kidizoom Camera - VTech
6.   Barbie & the Three Musketeers Doll – Mattel
7.   Barbie & the Three Musketeers Miette Kitten – Mattel
8.   Rubik’s 360 – Drumond Park
9.   Bop It – Hasbro
10. Lego Minotaurus Game - Lego

“From the traditional classics like Lego, Barbie and Slinky, to dressing up dreams and the latest in electronic wizardry, we have one of our best ranges in years wrapped up for a bumper Christmas this year.” comments Hamleys head of retail Nigel Wheatley.

IGN has sat down with one of the producers of Transformers and Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Lorenzo di Bonaventura. In the sit down they discuss Transformers 3, which Lorenzo says they are trying to work out a date for, the negative press received for the Mudflap and Skids characters within the US as well as negative press reviews for the 2nd film, Michael Bay's involment in TF3 and Unicron. ­You can r­ead the interview here.

­Hasbro and GM have issued the following press release regarding the 2010 Camaro Transformers Special Edition.  You can view the images here.

Chevrolet announces the 2010 Camaro TRANSFORMERS Special Edition

"When the first TRANSFORMERS movie was setting box office records, we had countless customers asking to purchase the 'BUMBLEBEE' Camaro," said Karen Rafferty, product marketing director, Chevrolet. "Now, they can buy one with the new Camaro TRANSFORMERS Special Edition. Streets all over North America will be buzzing in no time."

Features such as an EPA-rated 29 highway mpg on the V6-powered Camaro, Bluetooth phone connectivity, USB connectivity, XM Satellite Radio and OnStar combined with TRANSFORMERS design cues add to the car’s status as a 21st century sports car.

“Hasbro is thrilled to team up with Chevrolet and excited to see the Camaro TRANSFORMERS Special Edition come to market for our fans to enjoy,” said Samantha Lomow, Global Brand Leader for TRANSFORMERS at Hasbro. “The yellow Camaro with the black stripes has become so iconic and closely associated with the BUMBLEBEE character that this edition was a natural fit for both companies.”

While the aggressive styling of the Camaro is unmistakable, true TRANSFORMERS fans will notice some of the unique, but subtle features of the Camaro TRANSFORMERS Special Edition.

The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro TRANSFORMERS Special Edition includes the following:

* AUTOBOT® shield on the driver and passenger side panels
* AUTOBOT® shield on each of the four wheel's center cap
* AUTOBOT® shield embroidered on interior center console
* "TRANSFORMERS" logo on driver and passenger doors' sill plates
* "TRANSFORMERS" logo embedded into the hood rally stripes
* High-gloss black center rally stripe package
* Manufacturer’s suggested retail price of package: $995

Dealers are now taking orders for this car. Customers can order the TRANSFORMERS Special Edition as either a Rally Yellow LT or SS model. The optional RS appearance package can also be added.

The V6-powered Camaro uses a 3.6L engine with variable valve timing to optimize performance and fuel economy. It is SAE-certified at 304 horsepower (227 kW) and 273 lb.-ft. of torque (370 Nm). A six-speed manual transmission is standard with the 3.6L engine; a Hydra-Matic 6L50 electronically controlled six-speed automatic, with TAPshift control, is available.

The high-performance Camaro SS is equipped with a powerful 6.2L V-8, with a choice of a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. Manual transmission-equipped models receive the LS3 engine, SAE-certified at 426 horsepower (318 kW) and 420 lb.-ft. of torque (569 Nm). It is paired with a TR6060 six-speed transmission.

A new, L99 V-8 engine is used on automatic transmission-equipped SS models. It is based on the LS3, but also includes GM’s fuel-saving Active Fuel Management feature. It is SAE-certified at 400 horsepower (298 kW) and 410 lb.-ft. of torque (556 Nm). It is matched with a Hydra-Matic 6L80 six-speed transmission that helps delivers an EPA-estimated 25 mpg on the highway.

About Chevrolet
Chevrolet is one of America's best-known and best-selling automotive brands, and one of the fastest growing brands in the world. With fuel solutions that go from "gas-friendly to gas-free," Chevy has nine models that get 30 miles per gallon or more on the highway, and offers three hybrid models. More than 2.5 million Chevrolets that run on E85 biofuel have been sold. Next year, Chevrolet will offer the Chevy Volt, an extended range electric vehicle that will travel up to 40 miles without using any gas at all. Chevy delivers expressive design, spirited performance and provides the best value in every segment in which it competes. More information on Chevrolet can be found athttp://www.chevrolet.com.

About HASBRO
Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS) is a worldwide leader in children’s and family leisure time products and services with a rich portfolio of brands and entertainment properties that provides some of the highest quality and most recognizable play and recreational experiences in the world. As a brand-driven, consumer-focused global company, Hasbro brings to market a range of toys, games and licensed products, from traditional to high-tech and digital, under such powerful brand names as TRANSFORMERS, PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, CRANIUM and WIZARDS OF THE COAST. Come see how we inspire play through our brands athttp://www.hasbro.com. © 2009 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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TF08.net have posted the first image of Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Bludgeon in vehicle mode which you can view on their website or by clicking the thumbnail below.

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Both TFormers and TFW2005 have already started their coverage of his weekends SDCC.  You can view their images thus far by visiting their sites. TFW2005, TFormers

As the date for Auto Assembly 2009 draws nearer, we are still adding to our extensive list of activities throughout the weekend and we are now pleased to announce that we are now being joined by our FIFTEENTH guest for the convention...

Joining us for the SUNDAY ONLY is comic artist Jon Davis-Hunt. Jon has recently joined the team working on Titan Magazine's Transformers comic as their new regular artist for their UK-originated strip, although he has produced cover artwork for them previously. He has also worked for IDW on the adaptation of Revenge Of The Fallen and was one of the artists for 2000 AD. Prior to switching to the comic industry, Jon previously worked in the video games industry.

Jon will be taking to the stage along with some of our other comic guests on Sunday
 (our comic panels will be split throughout the weekend) and he will be joining the rest of our comic guests in our guest area to sign autographs and meet fans.

Jon is joining what is the biggest ever line-up of guests seen at a European Transformers event which currently includes our two guests of honour Gregg Berger (G1 Grimlock), Ian James Corlett (Cheetor), and our comic guests - Andrew Wildman (Saturday only), Simon Williams, Staz Johnson, Nick Roche, Liam Shalloo, Lew Stringer (Saturday only), Jason Cardy, Kat Nicholson, Lee Bradley, Lee Sullivan, Mike Collins, and Kris Carter. As we have three guests who will only be able to attend for a single day, the ONLY way you will get to meet all of our guests this year is to attend for the FULL weekend!

We have a very limited number of single tickets available for the Sunday, but plenty of weekend tickets available. More single day passes for Saturday may be released soon but with the convention being less than four weeks away, you need to hurry to pre-register for what will be the biggest ever Transformers convention that Europe has ever seen!

For full details on Auto Assembly 2009 and to book your tickets, visit the website at www.autoassembly.org.uk

Simon Plumbe
Auto Assembly 2009

Auto Assembly 2009 is a non-profit making convention for fans of Transformers and is being held on 15th - 16th August 2009 at the Holiday Inn Birmingham City Centre, Birmingham, England.

web: www.autoassembly.org.uk
forum: http://autoassembly.proboards.com
email: autoassembly@aol.com
tel: +44 (0)7860 948296

Josh Nizzi has updated his website with several concept and design images that he produced for Transformers Revenge of the Fallen.  The images include concepts for Jetfire, Optimus Prime and a Burger King sponsored character.  You may also note that many of the "leaked" images that appeared before Revenge of the Fallen was released were in fact artwork created by Josh.

Credit to TFW2005 for the link.

Hasbro have announced their Q2 profits and they are higher than expected.  Sales rose by one per cent to $792.2 million, compared to $784.3 million a year ago (excluding the negative $44.5 million impact of foreign exchange, net sales increased seven per cent) with net profits for the Q2 period increasing from $37.5 million (25 cents per share) to $39.3 million (26 cents per share).

US and Canadian sales rose to $490.9 million, compared to $467.7 million in 2008. The results reflect growth in Transformers, GI Joe, Littlest Pet Shop, Nerf, Play-Doh, Furreal Friends and Tonka. The segment reported an operating profit of $56.3 million, compared to $43.7 million in 2008.  On the International side things were not as good with sales falling to $276.2 million, compared to $293.7 million in 2008. The revenues include a negative foreign exchange impact of approximately $42.8 million. The results reflect growth in Transformers, G.I. Joe, Littlest Pet Shop, Nerf, Play-Doh and Star Wars. The International segment reported an operating profit of $16.5 million, up from $14 million in 2008.

Entertainment and Licensing segment net revenues rose to $24.2 million, from $21.3 million in 2008. The results reflect increases in Transformers, GI Joe and Nerf.

On 19 July for the first time in Germany, finaly it was there, the C.O.N.S. "Cybertrons Opend New Spaceport" the first german Transformers Fan Convention !

Fan Convention cause it was just from Fans for Fans, we had no big Sponsor this year and did it all with only the help from our Fans!

Thanks to our Dealers, Fan Dealers, Fans and Guests that was there we earned so much fun and happy faces that all the work before was payed, cause just the fun is what counts in the end.

We had 18 different tables with dealers and 153 peoples there and that was so cool for the very first time of a Convention that we are really happy to say we have to bring it on and next year can come, we do it again for sure on 11 July 2010 in Germany.

There was Costum Contest, Fan Art Contest, Attacktix Tournament plus Catering in rooms and Barbecue outside.

Also there was a special Dealer we orderd with exclusive Transformers Costums Jewellery. Also Raymond T. was there with Crew, for us special guests cause he managed each year the netherlands Transformers Convention "TF-ConVersions" and we stay Partners now.

Please take a look in our Galleries here and you see how we have transformed germany for the first time:

Building up and down

C.O.N.S. Life

The Crew from NTF-Archive and the C.O.N.S. Team who made it possible can only say big thanks to all ! And see all back next year on C.O.N.S. 2010.

We made it also to a big german papers:

Simon Furman has posted a new update to his blog regarding the release of issue 13 of IDW's Transformers All Hail Megatron series.

"The Earth-shaking, 12-issue All Hail Megatron maxi-series spills over into a thirteenth issue this week, which was certainly lucky for me, as I got to tell a decidedly different Transformers tale in which Ironhide and Optimus Prime regroup/reassess in the light of the tumultuous events of Megatron’s all-conquering spree. I also lucked out in the shape of fan-favourite artist Don Figueroa, who returned to the fold to draw this special 11-page story (each of these ‘Coda’ issue features two stories per issue). Can’t tell you too much about the story itself, but rest assured that as well as providing something of a retrospective on the intertwined life and times of Prime and Ironhide it sets the scene for more momentous twists and turns to come. All Hail Megatron #13 hits stores this week, July 22nd in the US (nicely in time for my appearance at the San Diego Comicon) and July 23rd in the UK." blogs Simon as well as posting an image of the cover