The entrance! |
Would it really be more like an exhibition and less like a convention? If so, would there be deals to be had on Transformers toys? Would there be a greater focus on the movie versions of Transformers rather than other forms to attract the kids?
We thought this was the 22-foot tall Optimus Prime. |
He's happy with the Con as long as the pass tastes good. |
Past the entrance, there was still some ways to go before we actually hi the ballroom proper. And first I had to pick up our media passes. A shout out to the nice PR people from SPRG, Faith and Alvin, who not only provided the wife with an extra pass but also handed me a goodie bag with a free Kre-O Mirage! Free stuff FTW!
And this was the sight that greeted our eyes once we stepped into the exhibition hall:
Panorama shot FTW...except that's just 2/3 the width of the hall. Har. (So maybe ftw in lower case would be more suitable...)
The TFs down the years exhibit had a beautiful display with art like this. Classic! |
Toys were from local fan collections, some were unopened, while others were loose and displayed.
I also loved that they had video screenings of that particular generation's cartoons/animated series next to the toy displays. Nice touch!
A section of the afore-mentioned display. |
Toys + brilliant art + screenings of animated/cartoons = impressive.
The display snaked through almost half the entire hall!
There were tons of people taking photos and I couldn't really figure out why. Then I realized that not everyone loves their TFs so much that they would fork out the money even for a small collection. I guess then the next best thing was a photo of someone else's mastodonic mix of TFs!
Just then I'd realized I'd been gawking at the display for so long I missed the start of the main panel where they were going to be revealing new toys. So we made our way through the crowd and got close enough to the back of the main stage. I missed the pictures of the toys they revealed for the new War for Cybertron video game.
I did catch a few new reveals though:
Asia Exclusives = Asian Lovin'! |
Sandstorm (redeco of Dune Runner)
Brawl (redeco of Breacher)
Deadend (redeco of Breakdown)
Laserbeak (redeco of Skystalker)
I'm not too excited by these except maybe Laserbeak. But just maybe.
More Asian Lovin'! |
But there was more exciting stuff to come:
Springer - New head sculpt on existing Deluxe Tomohawk body. (Finally, a Springer that isn't Jerry! :P)
Swerve - Existing alternate head on Deluxe Kup body. (interesting, seeing as how Kup turned out great.)
Cliffjumper - New head sculpt on existing Prime Cliffjumper body.
Wheelie - New head sculpt on existing Deluxe Jazz body. (I'm worried he's too big. But ya can't argue with an orange car.)
OMG HOTSPOTHOTSPOTHOTSPOT!!! |
Now this reveal photo got me excited!
Why? Because of Hotspot - New head on existing Voyager Inferno body. Hell yeah!
Hotspot is like my second fave Transformer behind Optimus Prime. He was always my 2nd in command and too cool for school since he was the leader of the Protectobots, who form Defensor. And Defensor is supreme! ;P
Brawn - New head sculpt on existing Voyager Bulkhead body.
Power Dive - Existing alternate head on Voyager Highbrow's body.
And check out the sculpt on this Starscream! Lordy!
I'll definitely get this badboy once he hits shelves. It's too cool to ignore!
Thereafter, we hit the merchandising area, which had a massively long line that meandered quite a ways. We also saw a Con volunteer/worker guy holding a sign that said the wait for entry to buy stuff was 45 minutes. 45 minutes!
The Line! |
The worse part of the merchandising area wasn't the line but was that the prices were not at all good deals. You coud get Deluxe TFs for S$20-25,which is only a couple of bucks less than retail. Still, Con fever was in full force and there were tons of people buying!
I'm also planning to head down on the last day. If my Con instinct serve me, then there'll be a deal or two to be had on Day 4! (Figners crossed)
Bust a move with KreO Bumblebee! |
The 22-foot tall Kre-O Optimus |
Moving along to our next stop, we went to the 3D mini cinema were they were showing previews. On a sad note, the cinema was all booked up 630pm though I was there at 3. And yes, you guessed it again--there was a looooong line. Not even the power of a media pass could sneak me in!
The 22-foot tall Kre-O Bumblebee |
My 22-foot tall family |
Look at the Kre-Ons zipping right by people! |
On the way out, we checked out the Fastest Fingers First contest, which was all about who could transform TF Movie Deluxe Bumblebee from robot to vehicle and back (or vice versa) in the fastest time.
There were two counters, both manned by staff who had a time sheet and two or three movie Bumblebees. It was then that my wife Mel said, "I think you should give it a shot. You'd be quite fast."
Me: "Umm...No."
Mel: (Sneaking a peak at one of the time sheets) "Excuse me, is that 8.25 seconds?"
Dude at the counter: "Yep."
Mel: "Is that the fastest ever?"
Me: "Probably not..."
Dude at the counter: "For today, yes. But I've seen faster."
Mel: (Looking at me, silent, with 'Dear, you're screwed' written all over here face.)
Me: (Nodding, with 'I know, Dear, I know.' written all over my own face.)
"8.25 seconds? 8.25? Seconds?..." |
Mom and the AllSpark Cub...and Cube. ;) |
So was Cybertron Con 2012 all I expected? Yes, in terms of wowing the kids and the average person on the street it was spectacular. Even some of the art for the displays were really impressive, to say nothing of the physical decorations like the giant Prime and the AllSpark Cube.
We had to forcibly remove the bubs from the premises |
Looks like it was a pretty good show all in all.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great time and those passes must taste great!lol.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
ReplyDeleteMan I love your blog. :)
Wow! Awesome family there, rare for women to be in toy hobby too, while though i'm 15 , gonna get a wifey that's into toy hobby too! while not really a transformer fan, considering only owning a deluxe iron hide and a few legend class, but those pictures are awesome!!! NEARLY cant resist the temptation
ReplyDelete@flywheels - I guess you could say that! ;)
ReplyDelete@jboypacman - Yeah, everything seems to taste great--he licks everything and chews nothing! Lol.
@As Fall LI - Thanks!
@TPS - Resist! But seriously, get the one you only really, really want. As for TFs, ya don't have to quite be as picky! ;P
Hello mate great blog
ReplyDelete