In a follow-up to the news we broke yesterday regarding the release of volume 1 of Transformers Animated on DVD in Japan, Paramount have now updated their website with more information including news that they will be holding a campaign to give away 1000 gold chrome Optimus Prime dexlue figures.  Yes that's right a DVD Lucky Draw prize much like Black Fire Convoy.  A gold deluxe Optimus Prime figure, as well as a gold Voyager were two of our predicted three lucky draw toys that TV Magazine will announce at the end of the year.  This could still be the case as DVD figures have been re-used in subsequent campaigns in the past, though it does make the inclusion of the deluxe figure in a magazine competition less likely.

To qualify for the prize draw you need to send in 1 x barcode from a Transformers Animated Toy box (or 4 barcodes from EZ collection toys vol.3 and 4), 5x Sega cards and the token from Transformers Animated DVD.

Genzaho of KOToys.com has publicly announced the release of the first KOLD figure (Knock-Off Lucky Draw for those wondering what the name means).  The figure is a gold chromed knock-off Henkei Convoy and is 100% non-official (I.E no parts of this toy are made by TakaraTomy or Hasbro Inc).  The figure is, for now, being sold exclusively through KOToys.com with an original run of 250 items.  If you look quickly you may be fooled into thinking that this is an actual TV Magazine Gold Henkei Convoy or one of the fakes that was around last year, neither is the case.  Here are some of the things to look out for on this figure to know that it is a fake and not an original, official item.

1. The plastic joints are a darker brown that any official lucky draw figure that has been seen.
2. The figure has no copyright markings.  This is because it is using the KO mold.
3. The Autobot insignia are larger than they should be.

One thing to be careful of though is that this figure was chromed whilst on the spruce and not afterwards.  This means that it will have the "snap" marks on the gold chrome which have, in the past, be used to try to help identify some of the fakes.  From speaking to Genzhao we known that between 25 and 50 of these have be sold to one or two people in China so we urge everyone that if you are offered a gold Henkei Convoy to look very carefully at the figure, ask to see the copyright markings.  Compare any images to images of this toy and the ones features in our fake Gold Henkei Convoy gallery.  If the toy you are offered looks like either of these then there is a good chance that it is a fake or knock-off item so ensure that you know before you part with your cash.  KOToys is selling these for $59.99 so if you do wish to get one you can buy them direct from them.

We will create a gallery soon mirroring the images of this figure to help people compare as well as showing images of a sample of the KOLD figure that has no Autobot symbols and different coloured plastic.

Again, this toy is 100% non-official.  If you see a figure looking like one of these for sale as a real item you are being conned.

This is a quick warning to those who may think the ­Gold Beast Convoy­ on ebay, sold by eToysHunter/HeerosToyMaker, is one of the original, and extremely hard to find, Gold Beast Convoy figures which featured in a Prize Campaign by TV Magazine, it isn't.

This is the third of the fake Gold Beast Convoy's which has been seen, out of a probably 5 to 15 of them.  Please bear this in mind if you decide to bid on the item.

Thanks to Genzhao for pointing out that we have become somewhat lazy and have not updated all of the galleries and news story on both Transformers At The Moon and Lucky Draw Transformers which are related to chrome figures to clearly state which are official items and which are fake.  We are sorry for this, any of you that spoke to us at Auto Assembly last year regarding the figures that we had on display would have learnt about some of the fakes as well as how to spot them.  We have posted various comments on a few message boards around the globe over the last year on fake chrome items as well as making some references to them in news stories on our own websites.  We are going to try to run through all of our own news stories and galleries to try to ensure that it is much easier for you to tell whether the items are genuine or not.

We originally planned to have three dedicated toy gallery section on the last revamp of www.luckydrwatransformers.com one to official items, a second for known fakes and a third for unconfirmed items.  Unfortunately due to time this did not happen, but it is something we will look into introducing in the future.

For quick reference there are known fake lucky draws of the following figures:

Gold Henkei Convoy (the most common).  There are at least three variants of the fakes including the one that we own.

Gold Henkei Galvatron (loose variant) - The loose toy with the orange parts is assumed to be a fake.  you can compare it to our carded version within that gallery

Gold Beast Convoy - We do not own this toy but at least two fakes are known to have been produced and sold last year.  They had no weapons, were chromed in the same darker chrome as the fake Henkei figures (a much darker chrome than the chrome Takara were using in the 90s when the Beast Wars Lucky Draws were released).  The toy is a chromed over reissued and not the original Primal / Beast Convoy figure.

Gold Encore and 25th Anniversary Convoy - There are boxed and un-boxed, long and short smokestack variations of this toy.  It was produced in 2008 / 2009 by HeerosToyMaker / TinTinHappy.  The toy is a custom chrome figure.  Again much like the above toys, the chrome is the darker "orange" and distributed by the same sellers.

Silver Henkei Convoy - Again made by Heero.  You can see through the silver to the base figure.

Silver Protoform Optimus Prime - Also made by Heero, this toy is one of the better fakes

Silver G1 Convoy - We purchased this toy back in 2004/2005, showing it off to the public for the first time in 2006 and then later on this website.  Its a fake.

Silver Binaltech Smokescreen - We do not own this toy but found the pictures online.  It is another custom

Silver Chrome Soundwave - From the same source as all of these figures.  This tyo was produced back in the early 2000s and is believed to be fake.

Silver G1 Starscream - Though the source of this toy is unknown and there was talk about official chrome figure during one of the BotCon rarities panel, we believe this figure is a fake.  What is for sure is that it is not a Lucky Draw item

The Jan 2010 issue of TV Magazine is now out and thanks to ModXToys it has been revealed that the Lucky Draw prize draw was indeed just delayed one months issue (ie the Jan issue rather than the December one) and that in this years draw the Transformers toy will be the expected gold leader class Transformers Revenge Optimus Prime.  The toy will be limited to 3 official items, though no doubt fakes will be produced and distributed by HeeroToyMaker.

The image below shows a mock-up and is not the final version that will be released in March / April 2010

Big news for fellow collectors of the "Lucky Draw Transformers" as the December issue of TV Magazine is now out in Japan and it is normally this end of year issue that features the mass prize competition for the gold chrome figures from various toy lines.  Well mark this year down as TV Magazine do not appear to do holding such a draw this time. Yes the issue is out and there is no sign of the photo-shopped gold toys on the background of the cover that normally happens.  So does this mean that we have seen the end of these highly limited and prized toys?  Perhaps.  Its possible that they have delayed the draw until the January issue that is out next month.  We'll have to all wait and see on that, though it could be that the competition has been dropped for various reasons from fakes being made, to some draws being rigged so that certain figures are not actually draw at random, to the recession meaning that TV Magazine and/or the toy manufactures have decided that it is just too expensive to produce figures this year.

We will have more on this story as it unfolds, and as we say it could be that they have simple pushed the draw back to the Jan 2010 issue, as they seem to be releasing the issues earlier this year.

We have updated the Magazine section of LuckyDrawTransformers.com, the worlds only dedicated website to the "Lucky Draw" competition prize Transformers, with sixty nine new galleries.  The galleries include each months TV-Boy and Hyper Hobby from November 2007 through to the October 2009 issues as well as the January 2008 through October 2009 issues of TV Magazine.

Our thanks go to modxtoy.com for the original scans which have allowed us to fill in the gaps for this period.

The galleries can also be found within the Magazine section of Transformers At The Moon.

For more magazine scans, you may wish to check out the Magazine areaa on Transformers At The Moon which contains scans from not only the Japanese Hobby Magaines but also various UK and US sources as well.

Whilst putting on our Lucky Draw Transformers toy gallery at Auto Assembly 2009 we were asked by a few people "where can I buy one of those".  Well the easiest place to start is eBay, of cause, but you can often find Lucky Draws on Yahoo Japan as well as via some online stores.

Below you will find some links to various auctions.

Gold Henkei Convoy­
Black Tracks
Perfect Choice Cheetas
BW Blue Convoy
Black Fire Convoy
BW2 Silver Galvatron
Green Unicron
Metals Pioneer Silver Convoy
Gold ML Convoy
Gold Magmatron
Fire Kicker
White Moon
Brave Maximus­
SL Gold Grand Convoy
Gold Metals Convoy
­

Well after showing off the toy exclusively at Auto Assembly 2009, you can now find full size images of the incredible Car Robots Black God Magnus (Black Ultra Magnus) along with the first ever images of Black God Fire Convoy (Black Omega Prime).

The gallery also contains image of Sams Club Optimus Prime combined with Black God Magnus.

You will need to check back later for images of Black God Magnus in vehicle mode and more images of this extremely rate Transformers figure.

You will now find 184 ima­ges from Auto Assembly 2009, Europe's largest Transformers convention and the­ first Transformers convention in Europe to break the 500 attendees mark.

The pictures include the dealers, guests, displays and of cause the attendees.

It truly was a fantastic event, so take a look to see if you can spot yourself in there.

­

To wet your appetites even further, we thougth we'd giv you a run down of the Lucky Draw toys you can expect to see at Auto Assembly 2009

Beast Wars
Gold Megatron
Blue Convoy

Beast Wars II
Gold Lio Convoy
Galva Lio Convoy
Silver Galvatron
White Moon

Beast Wars Neo
Blue Big Convoy
Gold Big Convoy
Black Magmatron
Gold Magmatron

Beast Wars Metals
Silver Convoy
Gold Convoy
Silver Megatron

Beast Wars Returns
Perfect Choice Cheetas

Collectors Edition
Secret Starscream
Primus
Black Sixshot
Clear Sixshot

Car Robots
Black Super Fire Convoy
Black God Magnus

Micron Legend
Gold Super Convoy
Gold Jetfire
Black Megatron
Green Unicron

Superlink
Gold Grand Convoy
Custom Colour Grand Convoy
Gold Std Convoy
Gold Rodimus
Silver Rodimus
Black Megatron
Fire Kicker
Gold Omega Supreme

Galaxy Force
Gold Galaxy Convoy
Gold Master Galvatron
Gold Megalo Convoy

RobotMasters
Custom Colour G1 Convoy

Movie
Gold Leader Optimus Prime statue
Gold Voyager Optimus Prime (loose and boxed)
Gold Protoform Starscream

Henkei
Gold Convoy
Gold Galvatron

Hopefully I've not missed anyone off the list.  If there is space we may also display a few "Fake Lucky Draws" to help you know which toys are not official.

With Auto Assembly 2009 starting Friday evening here within the UK we thought we'd give you another incentive to come along if you have not already made up your mind.  As you probably know by now at the event we will be showcasing our Lucky Draw collection the majority of which can be photographed for this website.  However there are two Lucky Draw items that we own that we have not yet photographed for the website. 

One of the items is the 2004 TV Magazine Colouring Contest figure Robotmaster G1 Convoy.  The only images of this figure that have previously been seen were from a Yahoo Japan auction and a few images taken by Ultra Convoy who won that auction.  Of the 10 figures that were produced, only Ultra Convoy's and our own are the only ones known to be in collectors hands.

The second item is even rarer and we believe only four photographs of this toy exist as well as a scan of the magazine from which it was originally offered.  We have only seen this figure for sale once since it was produced.  Who is the figure?  None other than the second half of Black Super God Fire Convoy ... Black God Magnus!

We will not be publishing images of the toy on the internet until after Auto Assembly 2009, so if you want to see the figure you will have to come along to the event and have a look at the display.  The figure will be shown on both days, but remember that only Sunday visitors will be able to see our entire Lucky Draw collection.

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