A discussion has broken out on the Facebook page of fellow former Trans-Europe Express group website NTFA (The Nordic TransFans Association) where members of the group have begun discussing organising another Nordic Transformers conventionin association the "new" Auto Assembly team.  In the past members of NTFA have worked with Auto Assembly co-founder Simon Plumbe previously to run the only previous Auto Assembly Europe back in November 2011. 

It is early days within the discussions, from what has been posted publicly, but it appears that either the NTFA convention or Auto Assembly Europe may well be set for a Summer / Autumn 2016 return.  The organisers will be hoping to build upon the 2011 event which holds the attendance record of 55 attendees.  The last event was deemed a huge success by the organisers having increased from 23 people who attended the previous years NTFA convention as well as beating the previous Nordic Transformers convention record of 29 which was set in 2007.

We at Transformers At The Moon wish the organisers good luck with the event and should the event take place we shall certainly look at attending ourselves.  We've been hoping to attend more of the European shows over recent years and are hoping that 2016 will allow us to visit more of them.

Expect more to follow on this story over the coming weeks and months

The team at TFNation have announced the fourth guest for TFNation 2016 which takes place in Birmingham UK on August 19th to August 21st 2016.

The latest guest is another Transformers comic artist, and one of the most popular artists in Transformers comic history, Guido Guidi.  Guido joins Paul Eiding (voice of G1 Perceptor), John-Paul Bove and Kei Zama in what is an ever growing lineup of great guests.  The full press release follows

Transmission_Initiated 
TransmissionID: 000009 
TFNation_2016

Operation: All Hail Guido

Fun Publications have revealed the final member of the original Tripredacus combiner team, and fifth reveal from next years Botcon set as General Seaclamp. He’ll join Cicadacon, Ramhorn, Ravage, and Tarantulas as part of the Botcon 2016 Dawn of the Predacus set.

So many 3rd party figures were on display and shown off during TFCon this  past weekend that the best thing to do if you are interested in seeing them, is to pop over to TFW2005.com where the have a list of what was shown during the 3rd party presenation along with a copy of the slides.

Botcon have updated their Twitter page with a digital reveal of the next member of the Botcon 2016 combiner figure and, as has been widely expected, the figure is Ramhorn, now General Ramhorn, of the Tripredacus Council.

General Ramhorn of the Tripredacus Council! Figure reveal later today at http://t.co/cev79J8sqK pic.twitter.com/qLUgq3HNLh

— BotCon 2016 (@BotCon) October 15, 2015

UPDATE:

A Roll Out Roll Call has finished and the UK is now without another Transformers show until TFNation next August (which gives everyone time ot save some pennies again).  RORC was a blast one again for us as we both love Transformers, G.I.Joe and Masters of the Universe so there is always something going on that we want to see.  Now this year was the first time that a representative from Fub Publications appeared at the event in person, that person being Pete Sinclair who appeared via Skype last year. Having Pete at the show was great for both the Transformers and Joe brandns in the UK as attendees got to ask him questions over the weekend as well as listen to not one but two panels.  During those panels some details were revealed directly, or indirectly regarding some of Fub Publications upcoming plans.  Below you shall find a small summary of thhe key points.

1. They hope that the trouble regarding booking from this years shows are over as they haved changed host and IT solutions contractors.

2. The theme for next years Botcon was revealed during the show prior to the Facebook/Twitter announcement as an exclusive (which was a nice touch). The theme is Beast Wars and is a homage to their own previous Botcon set which featured the Maximal team prior to arriving on Earth with next years set being DAWN OF THE PREDACUS and featuring the Predacons. The first  figure was also revealed at the show as being Ravage.  It will be a combiner was set with 5 new head sculpts (including the combined form) for the box set.  The set was going to be a Beast Wars theme but it was then changed to become a Combiner Wars theme more recently.  A mockup of the Ravage figure was on display during the show with a low quality head sculpt.

3. Next years Botcon set shall have the most amount of new heads out of any set.

4. Hasbro, currently, want Fub Pub to work closer with them and the product that they are putting out at Retail, hence the Combiner Wars theme.

5. Pete once  again stated that there will probably be no Animated themed Botcon Box sets again in the future however TFCC and show-exclusive twin pack figures may be an option

6, Hasbro want to try to engage more with their non-US fans as well as US fans in general.  Fun Pub are also looking at ways to try to improve "things" for non-US based fans.  Europe and Japan were specifically mentioned but Pete was referring to spreading their global fan-base / membership

7. Subs for the new Collectors Club figures are up on the previous year

8. There will be more Pretenders coming in the future. He was kinda tricked into revealing this through some clever questioning

9. Pete mentioned that the 2018 Botcon theme is alreadty set and that they were still finalising the 2017 theme. This seemed  to be missed by most of the audience.

10. More Joe/TF cross-overs will be coming. One of the characters from the "90s themes comic set" was revealed at the show which was not planned.

11. Pete showed off some more plans that did not make it, so different ones to the Botcon panel as these had a more European Centric feel. There were lots of groans but it did give him feedback on how differences between the US and European collectors regarding cerrtain characters.

12. Joecon information shall be announced soon, though they are in full Botcon mode at the moment. The location wasn not revealed but hints included that it was somewhere new, where Pete had never been before, and that landmarks would  give it away.

Roll Out Roll Call have revealed, via Faceboo, that Pete Sinclair wil be offering new product revealed regarding both Transformers and G.I.Joe during his Saturday and Sunday panels this  weekend in Southampton England!

Saturday, Transformers Collectors' Club Panel at 16:00

Join Pete Sinclair from the Transformers Collectors' Club as he gives you an insight into the Club, offers up NEW PRODUCT REVEALS and discusses the 2016 official Collectors’ Convention, BotCon.

Sunday, Transformers & G.I. Joe Collectors' Clubs Q&A Panel at 15:00

Once again join Pete Sinclair from Fun Publications who will field your questions relating to both Collectors’ Clubs, with A SPECIAL FIRST LOOK AT UPCOMING ITEMS for the G.I. Collectors’ Club.

Does this mean more information about Botcon and Joecon are going to be announced shortly? Just what will be shown? Find out this weekend At RollOutRollCall.

RollOutRollCall have announced that artist Guido Guidi will be flying in from Italy to attend the UK Transformers and G.I.Joe show which takes place in Southampton England on the 3rd and 4th October 2015.  Guido has contribute to many Transformers projects over the years with some of his more recent work including the awesome Transformers: Devastation game from Activision!

Fun Publications have announced the dates and location of BotCon 2016

BotCon 2016 to be held in the beautiful waterfront city of Louisville, Kentucky April 7-April 10

BotCon, the officially licensed Collectors’ Convention for Hasbro’s legendary TRANSFORMERS brand, announced today that next year’s award-winning convention will be held at the historic Galt House, a waterfront hotel right in the heart of downtown Louisville, April 7 thru April 10. In 2016, fans from across the world will be able to celebrate another exciting year of the TRANSFORMERS brand at North America’s largest TRANSFORMERS fan convention! You can make your hotel reservations now at BotCon.com.

In the coming weeks, fans and collectors will be able to register for BotCon 2016 through the BotCon.com online registration system. Fans and collectors who register for BotCon as a Primus package holder will receive a five-figure TRANSFORMERS convention set, admission to the Friday private sales room experience, priority seating at all panels and seminars throughout the weekend and admittance to the Saturday night Casino Night and Awards party. Finally, Primus package attendees will also receive a special bonus TRANSFORMERS figure to go along with their convention box set. General Admission for non-registered guests will be available on Saturday and Sunday only.

For all the information regarding the BotCon show activities, hotel updates and the exclusive figure offerings, remember to stay tuned to BotCon.com.

TFCon have announced the dates of their main show (in Toronto) for 2016

Save the dates! TFcon Toronto – The world’s largest fan-run Transformers convention will take place July 15th to 17th, 2016. TFcon Toronto will return to the Hilton Mississauga/Meadowvale hotel. Discounted hotel block information and dealer bookings will be available in the near future. We hope you can join us for what is going to be another amazing event.

The teaser picture is of Megatron leading to speculation that they may be trying to get Frank Welker (if their budget can cover the huge cost) and / or David Kaye.  Of cause it may also just be a place holder, so we'd rather not speculate.

The team behind TFNation has been revealed via Social Media and a press release. You can read the full release below.

Transmission_Initiated

TransmissionID: 000005

TFNation_2016

Operation: Team Deployment

With construction of your 2016 convention under way, TFNation is thrilled to welcome aboard its first five crew members.

Billy

Best known as the stripe-wearing, former deputy head of Auto Assembly, Billy helped to keep Europe’s largest Transformers convention running smoothly over the past 6 years.

We are pleased to have Billy turn his Magnus-style eye for organisation in TFNation's direction. Duly appointed enforcer of the TFN Accord, we know Billy will keep the convention on course for the benefit of all attendees, whilst ensuring they know EXACTLY where the fire escapes are.

David R

If the TFNation team has learned one thing from its collective experiences, it's that details matter! This is where David comes in, as the convention's embodiment of operations, compliance and logistics.

David is already hard at work proposing and developing exciting segments for our convention next summer, as well as keeping a watchful eye over all paperwork and checking the finer details to ensure everything is... logical.

TFNation can depend on David to get the job done efficiently and effectively with zero fuss. Best of all, he will be doing all of this with a pleasing lack of stripes!

Tori

During her time at Auto Assembly, Tori was the chief guest liaison, maintaining relationships with the voice acting community throughout the year to ensure the actors and their families were taken care of in the run up to the conventions. In addition, Tori also served as head first-aider for several years, always on hand to assist.

An exceptional cosplayer, she can always be depended on to liven up any event with her incredible creations. A skilled and creative member of team TFNation, for sure!

Nick

TFNation is delighted to welcome its very own Reflector to the team!

Conventions, concerts, weddings, sporting events and artistic projects – there really is much more to Nick than meets the lens!

Be sure to view Nick’s online portfolios for a flavour of the breathtaking art he will be bringing to TFNation. If you want to get involved in future projects, let him know! (http://www.nickhardyphotography.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/NickHardyPhotography)

Wait for it!… David W

In his role as Master of Ceremonies, David was undeniably the face and voice of Auto Assembly in recent years. We are thrilled to have him join team TFNation.

Even if you never had the opportunity to visit AA, the likelihood is you will still recognise David's dulcet tones, be it from the Moonbase 2 and Underbase podcasts, or from the fan-favourite youtube channel under the handle of KalelPrime.

If Billy is the ‘straight man’ of the TFNation 2016 stage, then expect Dave to provide the laughter, conversation and more than a little audience participation!

You can find out more about the TFNation crew on the website at http://tfnation.com/the-crew.html

Team TFNation is assembling. We look forward to meeting you from Friday 19th until Sunday 21st August 2016 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel at TFNation 2016.

Twitter: @tfnationltd
Tumblr: www.tf-nation.tumblr.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/tfnation


Further broadcasts to follow.

TFNation
Where all are one
End_Transmission

 

So yesterday saw the curtain close on the Auto Assembly convention, for now, after 15 years (but not 15 shows).  For many fans this is a strange and unknown moment. For those of us "older" fans we remember other UK conventions including Transforce, Botcon Europe, OFTCC Europe, as well as the two that never were, Decepti-con and Transformations.  Show's come and go but no UK show has has the longevity, scale and success of Auto Assembly.  Yesterday the show ended with an official figure of 1061 tickets, the first time thhat any European dedicate show has passed the 1000 mark.  For those who claim that the true attendance figure was below 1000 as someone who was on the registration desk through out the weekend I checked the list numerous times and whislt just over 40 passes were not collected over 1000 different people did attende the event over the weekend.  Not all could be there for the end, which is a shame, but you just have to look at the photographs and videos from the opening ceremony to see that the new hall was packed.

Several of the panels in the alternative rooms were full to the brim over the weekend as well which was great to see.

Whilst no future Auto Assembly conventions have been announced the brand will continue with a new YouTube channel starting soon which will host vidoes from the event, and we assume previous events as well, it will continue to produce a fanzine as well as organise meets in Cardiff and, as was announced yesterday, probably Birmingham as well.

For those looking to the future for shows to try to fill the gap, there is the Transformers / G.I.Joe / Action Force / Masters of the Universe show Roll Out Roll Call coming up in October this year in Southampton, various pub meets across the country and TFNation 2016 next Summer (dates to be announced shortly).  Whilst neither of these events are expected to simply take over from Auto Assembly, they are other chances for simliar experiences and we encourage everyone to go and also to look to organise meets in your own areas. They are great ways to make new friends.

Our first Auto Assembly was over a decade ago and whilst we have helped out the convention over that  time with displays, financing guests, organising volunteers, marketing, running stands etc, watching the show grow from 200-300 people to over 1000 has been a pleasure.  We have always maintained that UK shows could have over 1000 people and still maintain an friendly, intimate. Many doubted it including organisers, it was nice to finally see that be true.

Much like Auto Assembly for Simon and Trish, the pressures of "real life" have taken its toll on my brother and myself. For us it has  manifested itself in this website being horrible out-dates visually, as well as us falling way behind in terns of fresh content and news.  We hope to correct this though as we still have plenty of content to share with you all including things you have not seen before. But that is for another time.

Right now we would like to thank Sven, Simon, the committee members (from all periods), the wonderful voluenteers, the guests, the artists, the dealers, the hotel staff and, of course, the attendees.  Everyone has helped the UK create one of the global showcase Transformers events of the year and it has been an most enjoyable ride, we hope that you have all enjoyed it too.

Simon Plumbe has updated the Auto Assembly website with the following release announcing that the Transformers movie replica Optimus Prime truck will be at Auto Assemby for the first, and last, time!

Optimus Prime Rolls Out For Auto Assembly 2015

Calling all Autobots!  Do not grieve… for Optimus Prime will be on hand to light our darkest hour at Auto Assembly 2015! At Auto Assembly 2015, the legendary Autobot leader will be joining Bumblebee and Beaterbee in an epic stand-off against the Decepticon Police cruiser, Barricade.

This 31 feet long, replica movie truck is joining us courtesy of our amazing friends at http://www.transformerscarhire.co.uk – these huge Transformers fans are happy to bring their range of Cybertronian vehicles to any events you have planned, so be sure to check out their website!

Of course, there would be no Transformers without HASBRO – and we want to send out an Optimus-sized thank you to HASBRO UK for helping us to make this official appearance a reality.

Last but by no means least, we wish to show our appreciation to the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel who have graciously agreed to reconfigure their parking facilities to accommodate our Transforming friends.

All four replica vehicles will be on hand for photographs with attendees free of charge all weekend, but a small surcharge will apply if you wish to sit inside (and honestly, who wouldn’t?). Please remember that you MUST be an Auto Assembly 2015 ticket holder  for this so no trying to sneak along for freebies – the Autobot scouts will be hiding somehwere in plain sight and keeping an eye on you…!

Auto Assembly 2015 is taking place over the weekend of Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd August 2015 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel. Order your tickets now to join us at what is set once again to be the biggest Auto Assembly EVER!

Roll Out Roll Calll have announced that they are teaming up with the Transformers Collectors Club to sell some of the Botcon 2015 exclusives at Auto Assembly here within the UK!! Yes that is another UK show working directly with the Official Club to sell the Official Shows exclusives at another UK event!  The figure are very competitively priced as well

You can find the announcement below

Attending Auto Assembly but never before been to Roll Out Roll Call, The UK Transformers, G.I. Joe & Action Force Show???
As a little taster on what is available at Roll Out Roll Call we have organised a range of BotCon (Official) show exclusives to be available at Auto Assembly. Roll Out Roll Call would like to thank the Transformers Collectors' Club (Official).in helping make this available to Auto Assembly attendees.

Accessaa UK report that Hasbro UK Inc, in partnership with i2i Marketing, have announced their 2016 Transformers Roadshow which will focus on the Transformers Robots In Disguise show for this years  family event:

The pop-up trailer, which is branded in line with the new Transformers: Robots in Disguise animation airing on Cartoon Network, also invites people inside to scan an exclusive app code and earn points to play on the new Robots in Disguise digital game.

Delivered in partnership with experiential agency i2i Marketing, the roadshow will head to Carfest North (31 July –2 August), Bristol International Balloon Fiesta (6-9 August), Birmingham Rotunda Square (14-16 August) and Carfest South (28-30 August).