Michael Bay has posted up information regarding the voice actors for Transformers Age of Extinction.

“I am pleased to welcome two gifted and versatile actors, John Goodman and Ken Watanabe, to the world of Transformers. And to reteam with Peter and Frank, who have brought Transformers characters alive from the beginning. I’ve been fortunate to work with some of the best voice talent in the business, and together we will introduce several exciting new robots to fans of the franchise around the world.”

Golden Globe winning actor John Goodman (The Big Lebowski) and Oscar nominated actor Ken Watanabe (Inception, Godzilla) will join the voice cast of the movie as Hound and Drift, alongside some returning voice actors, such as Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, John DiMaggio, Mark Ryan, Robert Foxworth and Reno Wilson.
DiMaggio (voice of Leadfoot from Dark of the Moon) will provide the voice of Crosshairs, while Mark Ryan (Bumblebee, Jetfire) will take the throne from Lance Henriksen as the voice of Lockdown. Welker will be the voice of Galvatron and Foxworth and Wilson will reprise their roles as Ratchet and Brains

The Auto Assembly team have sent out the following important press release regarding the news that the official hotel is about to sell out of rooms.

Dear friends,

We are sorry to inform you that the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel, home of Auto Assembly, is on the cusp of reaching a complete accommodation sell out with it's accommodation over this year's convention weekend. As such, please kindly spare a minute to read this message so we can advise you how best to enjoy the convention.

The Present Situation

At the time of writing this message, rooms at the Hilton for Saturday 9th August 2014 have completely sold out. However there is still some availability on the following dates;

* Wednesday 6th
* Thursday 7th
* Friday 8th
* Sunday 10th
* Monday 11th

Room availability on these dates is now exceptionally limited and we anticipate a total sell out in the following days.

Please note no further rooms shall be allocated to Auto Assembly, or any other event. The only way in which rooms may become available is if the hotel receives cancellations but should this happen, the newly freed rooms will go on general sale, as it would be unfair for any one event to be given priority.

Potentially there may be limited rooms on sale on third party websites but these cannot be recalled by the Hilton for convention use, as the Hilton must meet and pre-existing contractual requirements it may have with its affiliates which is understandable.

Wider Hotel Room Shortage Issues

In addition to the Hilton selling out under the weight of Auto Assembly and the Festival of Quilts, our chosen overspill hotel has limited availability, as do others in the nearby area.

This is not all because of Transformers and Quilt fans - this is due to a major touring event which is scheduled to take place in the LG arena, (just across the lake from the Hilton). That event was not announced until approximately 6 months after AA2014 was booked, so we sadly could not have taken it into consideration. To top things off, there is also now a major fashion trade show taking place at the NEC as Auto Assembly comes to a close, meaning we are suddenly faced with a very popular weekend around the Hilton.

Naturally, we hope you will all appreciate that this is an unprecedented event and that we are doing our best to make sure nobody misses out on finding a room so they can join us for this year's convention.

What to do next (yes, we have back up plans!)

If you don’t have anywhere to stay yet (or haven't booked for the convention and are worried about not being able to find a room) then please don’t worry – Team Auto Assembly has your back! This is what you need to do.

1. If you only require a room for any of the dates showing availability which we have listed above, then you should try to book with the Hilton first as you may still get in. Do this using the AA discount code found within your confirmation emails and on the ticket purchase confirmation page of our website that you will have been taken to when you originally booked.

2. For those who are unable to book a room at all at the Hilton, the Auto Assembly Committee have produced a list of nearby alternatives which are within walking distance. We have already spoken with these hotels and several of them still have availability. Some of them are very cheap too (especialoom at all at the Hilton, the Auto Assembly Committee have produced a list of nearby alternatives which are within walking distance. We have already spoken with these hotels and several of them still have availability. Some of them are very cheap too (especialy if you are coming in a group) so you will have extra money to spend over the weekend. Details of nearby hotels and hotel information generally can be found elsewhere on our website at http://www.autoassembly.org.uk/auto-assembly-2014-hotel-accommodation/

3. If you cannot find a room within walking distance, again there is information on the above page about further options which are slightly further afield, but still within a very short train or taxi ride.

Both Birmingham City Centre and Coventry are under 10 minutes away by train, with return tickets costing as little as £3.00. These options are especially great for people on a tight budget as there are some very cheap deals to be had in exchange for the short journey and we have managed to identify ample rooms in the immediate vicinity of the City Centre to cater for all your needs should you wish to choose there for your stay in August so we are certain that you will have no difficulty in finding anywhere to stay.

Helping hand

Please rest assured that we have no intention of leaving people out. Whilst we cannot book your rooms for you, we will help as much as we can should anybody require extra assistance; particularly our international attendees who may not be familiar with the local area.

You can contact us at roombookings@autoassembly.org.uk and we will always get back to you as soon as possible.

We are actively looking into other ways to try and help you including, but not limited to, taxi share advice, public transport routes, coaches and bag stores. Whilst we can’t confirm any of these things right now, we thought it was important to let you know that we are continuing to work hard for you.

For those of you who are currently planning on travelling to Auto Assembly 2014 alone, we have set up a dedicated area on the Auto Assembly Forum for those of you who may be interested in considering room sharing as an option as well. This may make finding accommodation even easier, more affordable and could help you find new friends for your latest trip to the convention or even for some of you, your first year with us at Auto Assembly and you can find this here:- http://www.autoassembly.org.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=22

Thank you

We do want to take a moment to thank all of our attendees. Your patience and understanding in this unprecedented time is most appreciated and your continued enthusiasm for YOUR convention is the force that drives us keep making it happen. We promise to carry on doing everything we can to support you, as you are supporting us.

We also wish to say thanks to the no-nonsense volunteers at roombookings@autoassembly.org.uk who, in their first year of operation, have successfully helped many families and attendees to make and modify their reservations at the Hilton.

Finally, we wish to place on record our sincere thanks to the staff of the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel, especially our liaison Helen Lees, who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to accommodate as many Auto Assembly attendees as possible.

When our initial block of rooms sold out within 2 hours of going live, the Hilton released another to us the very next day. And then another and another... We have been provided with literally hundreds of rooms over and above our quota even though there is another event taking place at the hotel. For this, we cannot thank the Hilton enough.

More updates and information will follow in due course. Please please please try to book your accommodation as soon as possible to avoid disappointment – we don’t want any of you missing out to people attending other shows. They don’t even have robots!

Finally, we know that some of you may not have had the chance to read it yet but we have attached a copy of the latest edition of the Auto Assembly 2014 Attendee Information Pack which contains a summary of the hotel arrangements, travel details for the convention, all the information you need about attending Auto Assembly, the convention rules and plenty of hints and tips to help you get the most out of this year's event so please try to spare a little time to read this before the convention.

Til all are One

The Auto Assembly Committee

Auto Assembly 2014 - 8th - 10th August 2014
The Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel, Birmingham, England

web - www.autoassembly.org.uk
forum - http://www.autoassembly.org.uk/forum
Youtube - www.youtube.com/autoassembly
Twitter - www.twitter.com/auto_assembly
Tumblr - http://autoassembly.tumblr.com/

Auto Assembly is sponsored by:

TF Source - www.tfsource.com
Robot Kingdom - www.robotkingdom.com
Transformers At The Moon - www.transformertoys.co.uk
Big Bad Toy Store - www.bbts.com
Benscollectables - www.youtube.com/Transformermegazord
Geek-station - www.geek-station.co.uk
Comic Toys - www.comictoys.nl

Singapore Transformers fans will be best advised to head downt o Toys R Us for a special Age of Extinction launch night where one lucky winner (well the person who spends the most amount of money) will be able to win a gold chrome Transformers: Age of Extinction Leader Class Optimus Prime who will come complete within a display case much like previous Transformers Movie "lucky draw" figures

1. "Lion City Roars for Grimlock" App
In order for the mighty Grimlock to emerge, we need to collect one million decibels worth of roars. To help in this quest, fans and their friends can submit their loudest roars via the Facebook mobile application titled The Lion City Roars for Grimlock.

2. Transformers Toy Madness @ 2200
Kicking off the festivities is the TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION Toy Madness @ 2200 event. Starting from 10pm on Friday, 16th May, fans of all walks can join in the excitement at Toys’R’Us Forum and be the first to own the figures from the TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION movie. Fans can also revel in fun-filled activities such as putting their skills to the test in a race against fellow fans to convert TRANSFORMERS figurines; and have their photos taken with their favourite Transformers characters. What’s more, the top spender of the night will win a Gold-Chrome Transformers 4 Optimus Prime Leader (with display case), limited to Toys’R’Us Star Card members only.

The Transformers 4 Platinum Edition Optimus Prime and Grimlock, available only at Toys’R’Us, will be launched at this event. Fans who purchase this item during the event will stand a chance to receive a pair of TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION movie tickets, a Transformers paper bag and movie poster, along with Miniature 2-inch Optimus Prime Then & Now metal figures.

Hasbro have now sent out the first official image of Generations Leader Class Jetfire in packaging. So what are you waiting for, here's the image.

We have found some new Transformers related trademarks filed with the USPTO by Hasbro Inc. The trademarks are:

1. STRONGARM
2. ROOK
3. SUNSTREAKER
4. OVERLOAD
5. NIGHTBEAT

You can view all of the details of these and other trademarks within our exclusive Trademark Application area of the website which features trademark applications from 1984 through until the present day.

Argos have launched a Transformers Age of Extinction promo page with a count down until a launch of the line which, it's suggested, will contain Argos exclusives.  The count down is currently set to expire on the Monday 12th May at midnight. You can check it out by visiting The Argos Website

Auto Assembly have announced their latest guest for the August 2014 show as Jim Sorenson. It will be Jim's 3rd Auto Assembly and his latest book with Bill Forster, Transformers Legacy: The Art of Transformers Packaging, is due out in May of this year so be sure to bring it along and Ask Jim and questions you may have regarding this ands his other work.

We are thrilled to announce that in 2014, Auto Assembly will once again be graced by renowned Transformers Author, Jim Sorenson! Jim has worked with IDW since 2006 and has been the pen behind many pieces of great Transformers literature such as, The Ark (1 and 2), The AllSpark Almanac (1 and 2), The Art of Transformers Prime and The Transformers 30th Anniversary Collection. He has also leant his talents to several projects outside of the Transformers Universe (debatably!) such as the much lauded GI:Joe Field Manuals. Jim’s latest offering, Transformers Legacy: The Art of Transformers Packaging (compiled with longtime co-creator, Bill Forster) is scheduled for a May 2014 release. Be sure to pre-order a copy and bring it with you to Auto Assembly to be signed by the man himself! We have attached the link below.

The Japanese model festival known as SuperFest is taking place with weekend had has included displays of the Fewture Models product lines as well as the Unimetal Optimus Prime.  The products, which have been seen before, including the large Unicron head, though this time in full colour, the PVC G1 Grimlock, Optimus Prime and Alpha Trion figures as well as some super-deformed Convoy and Rodimus figures.

TemptingToys have posted some images from the event which you can view below with more images available over on TFW2005.com

Anime News Network are reporting that it appears as if Takara Tomy are going to run a crossover series between Transformers and Evangelion with the Japanese company taking out adverts in this months hobby magazines which feature a preview of the story that the cross-over will be based on.

The idea is so obvious, it's amazing it took this long. Toy maker Takara Tomy has taken out ads in this month's hobby magazines showing Optimus Prime with a very familiar color scheme. The details of the Evangelion cross-over is still underwraps at this point, but the ad even includes its own "story":

The Angels are invading. Breaking a long silence, the mysterious life-forms known as the Angels suddenly appear. The weapons the UN forces gather together in retaliation can't even scratch them. In the end, they turn to the secret agency, NERV, to manage the anti-Angel strategy. With Neo-Tokyo 3 in their sights, the Angels slowly advance upon the city...but suddenly a spaceship comes hurtling down from the sky above the Angels: the Autobot Sky Lynx! Out of the ship emerges warriors of the far-off planet Cybertron. They've come to investigate after noticing an unusual energy reading.

"We can't let a disaster like the Second Impact occur on this planet."
"What?! What are these monsters?!"

Optimus Prime sets his sights on an enemy much bigger than himself.

The company opened a 30th anniversary site for Transformers last week and Nippon Television Network will hold the Transformers Expo in August.

Some new official images have been released of the grey prototype of Masterpiece Ultra Magnus.

TFW2005 Board member jru42287 has learned of some interesting new entries in the Toys R Us computer system within the US and has taken some photos for TFW2005.

"The first of these entries, with a retail value listed of $129.99, is a "Transformers MV4 Optimus Trailer Platinum Edition" which by the sounds of it is a Platinum Edition version of Age of Extinction Optimus Prime complete with trailer. An image is shown with the listing, showing a more detailed truck mode than we have seen so far with a Generation 1 inspired trailer, although the image might be a placeholder.

Second is another Platinum Series set, titled "Breakout Scene". This set curiously has a Generations Skids pictured with it in spite of being explicitly labelled as "TRA MV4", or Transformers Movie 4. The Skids is colored to look like the Sonic rally car, though may be a placeholder since he's a non-movie toy. The set is listed as $59.99 which implies there may be more to it than just this one Deluxe - although we may never know, since it is in "D" status, suggesting the set has been discontinued. This may mean it is not happening, or just that it is not yet fully confirmed.

Lastly there are two more sets of listings, one set for Transformers Age of Extinction Leaders and one set for Transformers Generations Leader class toys. Both sets of listings feature three toys listed - which in both cases covers the two known Leaders (Grimlock and Optimus Prime for Age of Extinction, Megatron and Jetfire for Generations). There's no information on who the third Leader for either line is, though, but rumors are that the third Age of Extinction Leader may be a reworked Dark of the Moon Leader Bumblebee."

The Facebook group Transformers Colombia has shared official images of the "Toys R Us exclusive" Dinobot Strafe and Slug "Evolution two packs" known as the "then and now" sets.  The sets feature Deluxe class Dinobots from Age of Extinction with Minicon Transformers: Dark of the Moon Dinobot. Rav is packed with Strafe whlst and Triceradon is packed with Slug

The same website has also posted images of the Cybersmasher Grimlock　and Strafe with Bumblebee sets.

Hi everyone. You may have noticed a recent lack of updates for the last two weeks, that we because we were both in Phuket Thailand taking part in the Asian Cricket Sixes tournament and were unable to update the website with news whilst we were competing.  Now that we are back we will look to catch up on the world of Transformers ourselves over the next 24 hours and will start to then bring you more news service as well as more content and a website facelift

If you are in the US and want to get the Transformers: Age of Extinction figures, then you should head on down to your local Wal*Mart and check to see whether they have put the toys out onto the shelves early.  Yes as is the case with almost every product launch someone was going to break the "street date" of May 17th 2014 and it appears that Wal*Mart have started the trend by breaking it by over a month!  Toy companies do not look always well on this sort of thing as they often receive complaints from competitors, but Hasbro Inc will not do anything as it's Wal*Mart and will, instead, sit back and watch the toys sells as scalpers hunt down the toys to place them on eBay and try to make some quick money.

Thanks to the AmiAmi Facebook page we can bring you a selection of images from the Miyazawa Mokei Spring Exhibition. Whilst Transformers related products were limited a there were some that are worth while looking at.  First up, Kotobukiya were showing off their licensed Transformers silicone ice trays.  Artstorm showed of their G1 Alpha Trion figure whilst Prime 1 Studios displayed their expensive high-end Dark of the Moon Optimus Prime.  Finally, TakaraTomy were showing off their "TakaraArts" Mega Drive Megatron prototype figure.