BotCon 2006
From Transformers Wiki
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 Red Alert wasn't at the convention! It must be a plot! | |||||||
| Date | September 28, 2006 | ||||||
| City | Lexington, KY | ||||||
| Venue | Lexington Center | ||||||
BotCon 2006: Generations was the Official Transformers Convention in 2006, run by Fun Publications. It was held in Lexington, Kentucky, from September 28 to October 1st, though only the last two days were open to the general public.
Contents |
Venue
BotCon 2006 was held at Lexington Center, a convention and hotel complex in the center of downtown.
Merchandise
BotCon 2006's exclusive merchandise included:
Convention-exclusive toys
| Convention Box Set ($249, bagged $129) | Attendee-Only Bonus Toy | Convention Souvenir 2-Packs | Customization Class Toy |  |
Fiction
- Convention Comic: "Dawn of Future's Past" - A prequel comic to Beast Wars.
- IDW Preview Comic: Transformers: Spotlight - "Nightbeat" - A preview of the second issue of the IDW Spotlight series, with no ads, a sketch variant cover, the two normal covers included inside at full size, and a preview of the movie adaptation comic at the back of the book.
Free copies of the then-current issue of Master Collector and small teaser posters for the Transformers movie were also distributed for free near the entrance to the dealer room. Both pre-registrants and walk-in attendees received these.
In addition to handing out Autobot and Decepticon magnets, the Hasbro Team also provided fans with complimentary rub-on tattoos. Like the magnets, these were available in both factions although Hasbro ran out of Autobot tattoos come Sunday.
Guests
Hasbro employees
Along with standbys Aaron Archer and Eric Siebenaler of the design team, Forest Lee (writer of the biographical information for the large majority of the Cybertron line) was in attendance, as were a number of Hasbro marketing and administrative persons, such as Greg Lombardo.
Voice actors
BotCon regular, veteran voice actor, and all-around-crazy-guy Scott McNeil was once again in attendance at the convention. Fellow Beast Wars voice actors Richard Newman, Blu Mankuma, and Pauline Newstone attended for their first BotCon.
Last, but most certainly not least (in fact, maybe greatest), was Peter Cullen, voice of characters including Optimus Prime & Ironhide in the G1 cartoon, and the Optimus of the 2007 film.
Comics and art
Chris Ryall and Dan Taylor attended to represent IDW Publishing. Simon Furman, writer of a vast portion of the Transformers mythos, was also present to discuss his past projects as well as his current projects with IDW.
A majority of the artists who were currently working on Transformers art in an official capacity, including Don Figueroa, Alex Milne, Dan Khanna, Jake Isenberg, Drew Eiden, and Marcelo Matere were in attendance as well.
Events
Wednesday and Thursday
Wednesday and Thursday were the slowest days of the convention, primarily for the benefit of pre-registrants. However, there were a few panels on those days, including the classic "MSTF" spoofing of Transformers cartoon episodes on Thursday night and a Transformer customization seminar on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. The customization panel cost $30 extra, but the attendees got two hand-painted Cybertron Scrapmetals out of it (plus a second unassembled set to keep sealed if desired) with the option of giving one the Cobybot head.
Friday
Friday was the first day the convention began in earnest, though it was open to preregistrants only. A local high school marching band performed the G1 Transformers theme as fans entered the ballroom containing the dealer's room, registration tables, and Club Store when the doors first opened at 2 pm.
Major events included...
- A voice actor panel with Blu Mankuma, Scott McNeil, Richard Newman, and Pauline Newstone.
- A panel with the Hasbro design team, where the design process was explained and the shelved design sketches of Classics Cosmos (G1) were shown.
- A panel with Simon Furman.
- Autograph sessions with the Beast Wars voice actors.
- A midnight screening of the then-newly remastered Sony 20th Anniversary edition of The Transformers: The Movie.
- The first round of "Faction Feud/Board Wars" a trivia competition whose rules bore no resemblance to Family Feud whatsoever.
In addition, the dealer room was open from 2PM to 5PM.
Saturday
Saturday was the first day in which walk-in attendees were allowed. Though the doors opened at 10am, a huge, slow-moving line wrapping around much of the convention center meant that most walk-in attendees waited nearly an hour to enter.
Major events included...
- A panel on cartoon creation with David McDermott and Aaron Archer.
- A panel on the Collectors' Club newsletter hosted by Pete Sinclair.
- Autograph sessions with Peter Cullen, as well as the Beast Wars actors.
- The Hasbro New Product Unveiling, the major panel of the year. Attendance was standing-room-only for walk-ins. The majority of the Classics line was shown, as well as a preview of the special features for the Sony The Transformers: The Movie DVD, and a "sizzle reel" for the 2007 Transformers movie ("I'm Michael Bay." "I'm Michael Bay." "I'm Michael Bay." "I'm Michael Bay!") It was during this panel that the design team professed that they were huge fans of the Cincinnati Bengals.
- Another Voice Actor panel.
- A roundtable on the Transformers Fan Club run by Brian Savage.
- A Q&A panel featuring Peter Cullen.
- The annual dinner.
A children's playpit in the dealer room featured dozens of King Starscream toys.
Hasbro's display cases featured the upcoming Classics toyline, including Bumblebee, Hot Rod, Mirage, Jetfire, Optimus Prime, and Megatron, the reissue of the original Soundwave toy, and the new-mold Mini-Cons.
Sunday
Sunday was the day when the show wound down. Most of the panels were repeats, and the dealer room opened late and closed early, but most attendees still managed to enjoy themselves.
Major events included...
- More autograph time with the Beast Wars voice actors.
- The final round of Faction Feud Board Wars.
- A panel with the IDW comic creators.
- A repeat of the Simon Furman panel.
