Interesting Tidbits of TF History

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Sat Jun 26, 2010 12:05 am

From Botcon:

http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/ ... sky/19027/

Always interested in finding out how this passion started decades ago. Ultar? Ugh.

The Last Autobot · Post by **The Last Autobot** » Sat Jun 26, 2010 12:10 am

Nothing new

And is Ulchtar

http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Image:Ulchtar.jpg

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Sat Jun 26, 2010 12:37 am

Ulchtar?

BWAHAHAHAH!!!!

I think that name, by itself, would have killed my interest in TF long ago.

Ulchtar....

Post by **Best First** » Sat Jun 26, 2010 3:37 pm

Its amazing the influence he had - i think the tech specs and indeed the names are one of the things that fueled so much of my young imaginiation and are one of the reasons TF's popularity are so enduring.

IronHide · Post by **IronHide** » Sat Jun 26, 2010 4:57 pm

Im surprised your not upset that he almost nixed your favorite character name for 'Trailbreaker'.

Post by **Best First** » Sat Jun 26, 2010 8:50 pm

yeah i would have been a bit gutted if he had wasted the Glorious Guzz-moniker on anyone with more than 2 transformation steps.

Some thing sjust aren't done ya know.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Sat Jun 26, 2010 10:22 pm

So I just got back from Botcon, since it's in my neighborhood.

Booooorrrrring. The IDW panel was absolutely useless. The guy running the panel, Guzman, couldn't answer a single question. His answer was always "I don't have access to that information". Nothing new that was of any relevance was revealed.

Unless you want to buy and trade TF's, or you like costume contests, or you want an autograph, pass.

Well, at least I can mark "Go to Botcon" off my lifetime list of "Things to Do".

Post by **Best First** » Sat Jun 26, 2010 10:52 pm

hmm. That's a bit of a let down.

No amazing toy displays to gawk at?

saysadie · Post by **saysadie** » Sun Jun 27, 2010 1:24 am

Booo.

I now have no reason to ever go to Botcon, like, ever.

I guess I should have done it when I was younger. It probably would have been exciting to me then :/

LeSighhhh.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Sun Jun 27, 2010 1:57 am

Best First wrote:hmm. That's a bit of a let down.

No amazing toy displays to gawk at?

Booo.

I now have no reason to ever go to Botcon, like, ever.

I guess I should have done it when I was younger. It probably would have been exciting to me then :/

LeSighhhh.

Well, in fairness it's probably not best to take my opinion on this if you're still really into the toys. You're right, as a kid, I would have been in awe.

There were tons of TF toys and interesting displays, more than you'd find anywhere else in all likelihood, but it just didn't seem worth the price of admission to me. I mean, I felt like I've seen all of them before and still own a good number of them. There were some nice customs entered into a contest, like an IDW Thunderwing and Masterpiece Jazz. The only thing that got a "cool" out of me was the Straxus figure. Looks better than expected.

Somehow though, the overwhelming geekiness of overly zealous fans paying pretty pennies for a loose accessory of some obscure bot was a put off to me.

Guess I'm not the collector I used to be.

If anything, I think I came to appreciate how the comics made most of the toys look far, far better than they actually were. For example, I saw the actual Battlechargers for the first time, and wow, they just look awful. And that was the case with many of the toys. In that sense, the comics were key in lending a certain 'coolness' factor to even the ridiculous looking toys.

Perhaps my biggest gripe with the convention was the lack of personal hygiene. I mean, come on, you can like your toys and watch your cartoons and bash your comic writers, but for the love of God, put on your deodorant too. Transforming a toy isn't that labor intensive that the merchants floor has to smell that way.

Post by **Best First** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 9:50 am

Oh and Dear.

saysadie · Post by **saysadie** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 6:32 pm

What you had right there was a roomful of people who have given up on life.

Seriously, I've been to events where we've run into the occasional stinky person, but not an entire room full of stinky people.

One more reason to never attend convention anything in the US, I guess... though I've never been to TFCon, and since Toronto is basically US-Lite, they might be just as bad. Who knows.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Mon Jun 28, 2010 8:29 pm

saysadie wrote: Seriously, I've been to events where we've run into the occasional stinky person, but not an entire room full of stinky people.

I kid you not, when I entered the entrance to the show room, I almost gagged. It was the same in the IDW panel, almost intolerable. Strangely, it didn't seem to bother anyone else.

I'm not asking for Estee Lauder or Drakkar Noir here. Just a Right Guard deodorant stick.

For being a critical fanbase, we sure smell bad.

Anyway, I caught myself laughing this morning when I thought about the IDW panel and how lame it was. This Guzman guy went through pointless slides of things we already knew, and it took the whole of two minutes, after which he announced "that's all I've got guys". And the fans laughed. They laughed because they thought the guy was being sarcastic. Then he said, "no, I mean, that's really all I got" as he looked down to the other panelist who shook their heads in agreement and then decided to take questions. Hilarious.

inflatable dalek · Post by **inflatable dalek** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 8:35 am

So the smell was basically everywhere Yaya went? Hmmmmm.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 10:02 am

Sorry you didn't have a good time, Yaya.

I've been to three BotCons (well, 2 OTFCCs and a real BotCon) and enjoyed myself every time. I didn't do much buying and bought the exclusives only as a way to offset the costs of the trips, but still had a great time. There are some real trogs out there. The angry smelly gigantic fanboys are there in full-effect. But I was lucky to meet and hang with some genuinely cool people at every one of the shows.

Had a couple of people yell at/threaten me for the old Seibertron thing, but that just makes the highs higher, ya know?

Fun shortened conversation:
Dude: I'm a lifelong hardcore Christian Republican.
Me: I'm pretty much the opposite of that.
Dude: Transformers kick ass, don't they?
Me: Indeed, they do!
*clink glasses*

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:28 pm

Professor Smooth wrote:The angry smelly gigantic fanboys are there in full-effect.

That description is spot on. For some reason, they are gigantic. And for some reason, they are angry.

And of course, smelly.

Post by **snarl** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 4:04 pm

And of course, virgins.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:13 pm

I absolutely guarantee that it could not smell worse than ACEN (Anime Central). My interest in anime never recovered after visiting that show. Even after moving to the land of anime. The slogan was "stink no more in 2004," so they were aware of the problem. ADV handed out a figurine inside a bar of soap. You had to use the soap to get the figure.

A stick of Old Spice's High Endurance costs like 3 bucks, takes 3 seconds to apply, and lasts all day, is good for several months. How hard is that?

Then again, perhaps BotCon's funk was due to several rooms full of people who'd been unprepared for the climate in Florida.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:39 pm

Professor Smooth wrote:The slogan was "stink no more in 2004," so they were aware of the problem. ADV handed out a figurine inside a bar of soap. You had to use the soap to get the figure.

You're being sarcastic, right?

If not, I think that's an excellent idea for the next Botcon.

Y'know, have convention exclusive soaps and scents:

Irish Springer.
AXEr body spray.
Right Guardian.
Optimus Dial.
Zegna Supreme.

And it would work, simply because it's a convention exclusive and they'd just have to have it.

Hot Shot · Post by **Hot Shot** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 10:04 pm

Professor Smooth wrote:Then again, perhaps BotCon's funk was due to several rooms full of people who'd been unprepared for the climate in Florida.

That's probably it. I went to Botcon 2008 in Ohio and the only person I met who smelled bad was the molding class instructor.

saysadie · Post by **saysadie** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 3:53 am

Professor Smooth wrote:Then again, perhaps BotCon's funk was due to several rooms full of people who'd been unprepared for the climate in Florida.

That could be it. But then again, why in the world were they unprepared? It's Florida.

That's like going to Texas in the winter with a parka. Still, I prefer to think that that was the reason rather than that they've all just given up.

Warcry · Post by **Warcry** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 4:43 am

Yaya wrote:And it would work, simply because it's a convention exclusive and they'd just have to have it.

No, they'd have to keep the soap MISB so they could scalp it on eBay later...

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 11:44 am

Good point.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 12:14 pm

Yaya wrote:
Professor Smooth wrote:The slogan was "stink no more in 2004," so they were aware of the problem. ADV handed out a figurine inside a bar of soap. You had to use the soap to get the figure.
You're being sarcastic, right?

Dead serious.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Wed Jun 30, 2010 12:45 pm

Professor Smooth wrote:
Yaya wrote:
Professor Smooth wrote:The slogan was "stink no more in 2004," so they were aware of the problem. ADV handed out a figurine inside a bar of soap. You had to use the soap to get the figure.
You're being sarcastic, right?

Dead serious.

I respect the fact that they addressed the issue. Would love to see more of this kind of thing.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:40 am

Yaya wrote:
Professor Smooth wrote:
Yaya wrote: You're being sarcastic, right?

Dead serious.
I respect the fact that they addressed the issue. Would love to see more of this kind of thing.

Think about this for a moment. You know how much it sucks having to smell some of these people? Imagine if you'd never smelled overwhelming BO before. That's what the Japanese guests have to deal with. You'd put your foot down pretty quick.

Post by **Best First** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:49 am

They should just hose the ****ers down on the way in.

If you want to avoid the sheep dip wash before you turn up motherlover. And that includes your t-shirt.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:34 pm

Hmmm. Suddenly a Carwash of Doom ain't such a bad idea after all, is it?

Post by **Best First** » Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:52 pm

Sheepdip of doom!

veritech · Post by **veritech** » Sun Jul 04, 2010 1:17 pm

This is exactly the reason I don't ever go to convention for any type of fandom. If I went, I would be so appalled at at the persons who share the fandom I would lose all interest . . .