Transformer Cybertron Con 2012 Day 1

The entrance!

So I really didn't know what to expect despite having a schedule of all 4 days (11th to 14th) of the Con.

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.

Well as it happened, it's never really what you think it is.  And I was glad tat I was presently surprised.

He's happy with the Con as long as the pass tastes good.

Resorts World Sentosa turned out to be a great place to hold Cybertron Con with people of all sorts attending--collectors, families, couples, even tourists.  So we made a family day out of it and with the wife and kid went forth expecting nothing other than a good time out.  Here's a pictorial journey of what went down! (with commentary from yours truly, of course. :P):



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!

The first thing that we stopped to look at was the TF toy display.  With Tfs that spanned almost 30 years, right from the first G1 toys all the way to TF Prime swag, it's quite a lesson in TF toy history

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'!

First up, the Asian Exclusive redecoes.

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.

Megatron - New head on existing Voager Bludgeon 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!

Well, Singaporeans are known to be good at one thing: queueing up or getting in line!  We see a line, we can't resist.  Doesn't matter if we don't know what we're queueing for.  The line is so long and mysterious that whatever is at the end has got to be worth it! ;P


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!

Though we'd been seeing it since stepping into the convention hall, we hadn't quite had the chance to stop and admire the 22-foot tall Optimus Prime.  It had nice lighted eyes and all but I wished they'd had it in some sort of pose.  Then again, that may just be the toy fan in me wanting to see this huge toy played with!

The 22-foot tall Kre-O Optimus

They even had a large scaffolding structure built in front of Optimus so that you could climb up and take a picture from there.  And despite my wife being super game to hike up the metal structure with baby in tow, two things turned me off it: that there looked to be admission fees, and yes, you guessed it--there was a long line.  But no worries at all--the shots from ground level were equally breath-taking!

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

So I missed out on the TF Prime Season 2 Preview and the GI Joe: Renegade preview.  There was also something about a My Little Pony preview which for some reason piqued my interest.  Ah, well. Maybe when it's less crowded on Day 4.  Or I could just wait for Youtube. ;P

My 22-foot tall family

There was also a Kre-O section displaying almost all of the Kre-O sets out in retail so far.  There were three glass cases and I have to say the 'bots look a lot better than the renderings on their boxes. Why'd they use renderings on the packaging instead of actual pics?  I don't know.  But I bet they'd would've sold more Kre-Os if they'd gone that way.  Just look at the photography on lego packaging!  ;P

Look at the Kre-Ons zipping right by people!

I may consider adding Kre-set Optimus to my Optimus Prime collection.  But I'll definitely buy-in when they come up with an Omega Supreme or some such mega playset.  Yeah, just think about it: Mega Omega Supreme...cheese pizza with extra sausage and pepperoni....MmmMm!

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. ;)

All in all it was a great day of TF fun.  I'm glad I got to share it with the family.  The only down sides were not being able to sneak a peek at the Animated previews and the overcrowded merchandising area, which is usually the largest part of a Con.  Hey, more stuff for Con-goers to browse at and more money made for the organizers, right? ;)

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

It even had all new reveals for the upcoming waves of toys and the animated series.  But I wished there was a stronger toy presence (why wouldn't I, eh? Lol) and more TF themed merchandise.  And I'm not just talking about T-Shirts, key-chains and all the other touristy stuff.  I'm talking dice, books, comics, costumes, car decals, replica laser cannons (ha!), movie memorabilia, artists taking commissions, and all the other unique stuff you won't find anywhere else other than at a Con.  I am glad that Singapore was chosen as the location for the bi-annual event.  Let's hope it gets the chance to come round again and bigger and better !