#TFcon 2020

[iamfabiloz]

So, how'd ya get into transformers and/or warrior cats?

basically around 2020 my dad put on the first season of transformers prime on Netflix and we was watching it together and at first I was like ‘BOOO I DONT WANNA WATCH DUMB ROBOT SHOW 😡’ but then the more we watched I ended up rlly liking it!! And bc Netflix sucks and didn’t have any more seasons I went searching on other sites and finished all of tfp :3 but then I heard there was more robots still and I was like WOAHH and so I began to watch more and MOREE I binged tfa and some of cyberverse, the bayverse movies etc and discovered/picked up lots of knowledge from tf fandom posts on tumblr and things 🤔 i read a bunch of idw comics like mtmte/ll and I even went to TFCON toronto last year :3 so that is so the story thus far of how I got sucked into robots MWAHAHA

As for my warrior cats obsession that began when I was like 9, so it’s been with me for much much longer 🫡 around 2016 ish i I remember seeing a reference to it in one of pinkbunnygirl43’s videos, a youtuber I used to watch a lot, and then my mom was like look at the cat books while I was at the library and I started to check them out!! Also I began to watch multi animator projects Abt wc too, and i gained lots of info Abt the plot and story Thru osmosis n watchinf so much fan made content till eventually I begged to get all the books and read them all. Like in 2017 I began my digital art journey and some random warrior cats ocs were the subject of the piece :3 and wc basicallt what got me into drawing and art related things and it still has its claws in me even after 8 years good lord SOMEONE HELPP!!! I have so much pre 2020 art in my files like a whole heap I am grateful I didn’t have social media back then (aside from my wattpad era) but yeas!!

Ty for asking it was fun to reminisce :3

[littlemisstfc]

EARTHSPARK IS SO GOOD, YOU GUYS. OH MY FUCKING GOD. 😩

Hello boyos, gorls, and nonbinary pals. It’s been a while since I’ve written a huge writing on this silly platform, huh? Lol.

Anyways, quick updates: I’m releasing a new video sometime this month, which is me ranting about the misogyny of the Bayverse. Fun times. Fun times. :D Also, I’ll be at TFCon LA 2023 next week for Saturday and Sunday. Feel free to come by and say hi to me. :)

Back to the review…so….the 2010s to early 2020s has been a very weird decade for Transformers. Not only for the Bayverse movies (my beloathed), but for the tv shows. While Age of Extinction is my guilty pleasure and Dark of The Moon is legitimately good, the movies are declining in popularity and quality, thus resulting in a huge reboot to fix up Bay’s mess. That resulted in Bumblebee (2018), a gem that was the light at the end of a very frustrating tunnel. Transformers Prime started strong, but then turned into a mish mash of wasted potential and became a frustrating chore to watch by the end. RID 2015 is a show that exists. Rescue Bots is great, and Academy is fine for what it is. If you read my review of BotBots before the accidental deletion, that show is pretty good. However, it’s a show where someone might gotta have to take it or leave it. In the middle of the downward spiral of the Aligned continuity and the movie universe rebuilding itself from Bayverse’s mess, Transformers Cyberverse is the true outlier. It’s so great I made an entire video about it that you can check it out in the link below. 🤭

Now, I wanted to bring this up when talking about Earthspark because ngl, I was worried about the potential likelihood of the show falling into the pittraps of the Aligned continuity in the first round. Now that I’ve watched the show, I can confidently tell you that IT’S EVEN BETTER THAN I EXPECTED. WE HAVE A FUCKING MIRACLE AT THE END OF A TURBULENT DECADE.

This show is thankfully so much amazing and cool and wholesome, JUST LIKE IT HAS NO RIGHT IN BEING THIS GOOD. True, like I always say, there is no such thing as a perfect show. This show definitely have flaws, but they’re not detriment to the show’s quality. It’s basically everything I ever want from a Transformers show, including even subversions of the Transformers formula like Cyberverse.

Let’s go on this little journey together on everything I like and dislike about the show. Spoiler warning here since this show is best experienced blind and I’m not like some people who decided it’s a good idea to not put spoilers behind a tag or filter. Don’t be like these people. Don’t spoil the show for those who cannot access it. Don’t do it. 🙂

Anyways. 3, 2, 1, Pingu.

The Good, The Bad, The Skullcruncher:

Let’s get the elephant in the room clear: the art style is…an art style that exists. It’s not for everyone and it did take me a while to warm up to it. However, over time, I’ve gotten used to it since the amazing animation and fight choreography are great enough to make up for the art style.

The school episode is meh. It’s nothing interesting of note except the Terran parts and frankly, I find the two bullies pretty annoying. However, it does deserve points for having the amazing Daran Norris back in a Transformers show. At least it is not boring, but it’s not worth noting.

The humor sometimes doesn’t land, especially since modern humor such as the iPad environment we’re in is a delicate line these days. The humor is Yeessss tier most of the time though.

I’m glad that Hashtag didn’t keep her weird accent when she first appeared. That’s a plus. 👍🏽

Bee did come across as a bit of an asshole at first, which was admittingly something I wasn’t vibing with. However, thanks to the power of good character development, I warmed up to him. However, a counterpoint is that it’s a unique subversion of how Bee is introduced from other Transformers media.

I have no idea how to feel about Mandroid. It feels like he really doesn’t have much of a significant impact on the story, since GHOST are the main antagonist and the Decepticons being more of a morally gray chaotic neutral type characters. After the end of the first part, I only have questions of where the hell is he. It’s such a shame, since he has a lot of interesting potential and he has a banger voice actor behind him. At least he came back in the finale episode for reasons I’ll get to in the positives section of this review.

Anyways…yeah, that’s all I have to talk about in terms of critiques. Let’s move onto the good stuff: EVERYTHING ELSE. 🥳

A Night of a Thousand Bumblebees:

This show gets points for referencing the Optimist Prime and Negatron meme.

The main characters are just so charming and lovable, I WILL PROTECT THEM WITH MY LIFE. The Malto family is the main human characters done right. Dot is such a badass with such an enduring friendship with Megatron, along with being a loving mom and best wife to Alex. She’s also really great disability representation, showing that even with the prosthetic leg, she’s still a badass. Speaking of Alex…this man has no right in being such a lovable dork who loves his family and having so much swag. I want that Bumblebee suit. Mo and Robbie are very likable and adorable, especially regarding to their relationship with their Terran siblings. Speaking of the Terrans, they’re just utter darlings and a joy to watch. Twitch is hyperactive and cute, Thrash has a lot of funny moments and a likable personality, Hashtag is surprisingly enjoyable considering her powers of the Internet, I would die for Jawbreaker, AND NIGHTSHADE IS THE AUTISM CREATURE. I fucking love them, not only for being already being great nonbinary representation but also has a lot of relatable quirks such as their mechanic hyperfixation and their difficulty in having social interactions with other people. And…THE SCENE WHERE THEY SAY THEY ARE THEY/THEM HAD ME SOBBING SO HARD. It’s just amazing to see the franchise that helped me out so much throughout my life validate my existence and the existence of so many others like me. ✨😭✨

LOOK AT FLUFFY EARS. SHE’S SO ADORABLE. 🥺

ELITA IS MY PINK WIFE. I FUCKING LOVE HER. SHE CAN TOP ME. ✨😩✨

Bumblebee took a while for me to warmed up to him, but he eventually becomes the Bubblewrap we all know and love. Also, his relationship with Breakdown, although brief, is so wholesome. 🥺

Other things I love is the voice acting, including the welcomed returns of Transformers alumni such as Steven Blum and Roger Craig Smith, the animation is beautiful, the fight scenes are bonkers and well choreographed, the humor is yeesss tier, and overall, the messages such as having a good relationship with your family and good teamwork. Delicious food. ✨

I really love what this show is doing with Megatron and Optimus. Their relationship is perhaps my favorite part of the show. You can definitely feel not only how close they are as fwiends, but you can see both sides of the idea they represent: what if every bot deserve second chances? I appreciate the nuance to the Autobot vs Decepticon conflict, something that is definitely built up from Cyberverse. Here, it explores in depth about the more gray and complex areas of the conflict, where neither side is right nor wrong. However, it’s a reasonable two sides of a coin story that is explained well enough to appeal to both kids and adults. I also like how Megatron and Optimus are willing to hear each other out even through their disagreements. Optimus is also very likable and adorable, being a big ol dork you cannot help but be charmed by. Now…let’s focus on Megatron now.

I thought “Decay” was my favorite episode for exploring Optimus’ and Megatron’s relationship in depth, and bitter divorce ex Soundwave…until “Warzone” came out. This Megatron manages to fix the main issue of Autobot Megatron: it makes sure that he has to work hard to earn trust in his journey of redemption. He is someone with a lot of regrets over how much destruction and devastation done to Cybertron, because of his actions. It doesn’t sugarcoat the realities of his redemption: there are people who are not gonna accept that he wants to end the war nor understand how much the war costed the Cybertronian people everything. The cherry on top of his lessons to the baby boo boos about not repeating the same mistakes the Transformers did is the presence of the flowers from the IDW. Quick summary: they represent how much lives are lost in a conflict. Just…the way it fell from the monument at the Spacebridge Memorial to Megatron gently picking it up and putting it back on it, symbolizing how much he truly changed for the better. After the fight with Shockwave, including all the heartbreaking LAYERS of the gravity of Megatron’s redemption, it concludes on a beautiful message that many people came learn from, especially in these current times. you cannot change the past, but if we learn about it, we will be able to not make those same mistakes ever again. Thus, “Warzone” is my favorite episode in the entire season. In fact, I want to dedicate an entire essay to how this series portrayed Megatron once everything is done and finished. We’ll come back to the topic soon, lads.

Also, I really love how the show is exploring the not so bright side of having bots on planet Earth. The finale episode is perhaps the episode that rivals “Warzone” for not only bringing more amazing nonbinary representation in the form of Sam (looking forward to seeing her and their relationship with Nightshade in future episodes), but for managing to tell a story of how to deal with racism (through the Terrans being treated as outsiders in the big city) without sugarcoating it and telling it in a way that kids can understand. Hashtag feels the most pain in being treated as an outsider, even with her family there to tell her that everything will be okay. Then…perhaps one of the darkest scenes of Transformers as a whole is when Mandroid took over her as an attempt to get rid of the baby boo bops and try to get Bumblebee’s parts, and feeds into her insecurities over whether or not she has the right to live on Earth. Through the use of mind tricks, he is a representation of all the disgusting ignorance and stupidity plaguing our real world right now, trying to “prove” that marginalized people, who are represented by the Terrans here, have no right to exist. However…then the Malto kids used the power of the Green Prime to reach out to Hashtag and let her know that everything will be okay. True, not everybody is going to be compassionate and understanding of people who are different from them. There are genuinely evil and hateful people who will never be negotiated with and will never understand the concept of being a decent human being. However…it doesn’t mean that you should let them get to you. You deserve the right to be yourself and live your life the way you want to live it. You are surrounded by people who love you and understand what you’re going through. You are not alone. You are good enough. In a time where we experience such amount of racism, misogyny, and homophobia in places in and out of the Transformers fandom…we need this message more than ever. We should not follow Mandroid’s hateful ideology. Instead, we should be the Maltos. Love will triumph over hate, and no matter how much the world tries to crush you, you are more than meets the eye in beautiful ways.

Conclusion: This is number three on the Transformers ranking list as of the time I am writing this. 💕

Transformers Earthspark is incredible. It has no right in getting everything so right. It’s a fantastic love letter to the Transformers franchise as a whole. Let the haters talk smack. I am confident in saying that this show is the ever rare Ultra Yesss tier 10/10.

Please check it out if you have accessibility to the show on any platform. I promise that you’ll not regret this fantastic start of a promising new future for Transformers. ❤️

[aeonmagnus]

Status Update regarding TFcon Orlando Exclusives

A message from TFcon Orlando 2020 sponsor Ages Three and Up regarding TFcon Orlando Exclusives

We hope everyone has been taking care of themselves and staying safe during an unprecedented time we are having.

TFcon Orlando was something we were all really looking forward to; a chance to reconnect with our fans and meet all of our new fans that have never been to a TFcon. However, more than that, we prefer that all of our fans stay safe. We feel that TFcon made the hard but right decision to keep this a priority and to do their part by cancelling the show to slow the potential of COVID-19.

In addition to the many guest appearances, we were particularly excited to show off what MMC and Ocular Max has planned, and offer the chance to purchase the exclusives we had arranged for the fans. We know that was something that a lot of you were excited about too.

For everyone who felt the disappointment, we still would love to be able to bring you the toys we had planned on offering at the show!

Through special arrangements we have made with Ocular Max, we’re happy to announce that we will still be able to sell our exclusive TFcon items PS-04P Azalea Protoform and RMX-14 Doccat online for the duration of what would have been TFcon. What this means is, from Friday Evening through Sunday, March 20-22, TFcon exclusives will be available for purchase on our sites, until they sell out. Shipments will follow shop policies of those who will be assisting us.

We know it’s limited, but hope that this will bring you a piece of TFcon and provide a little plastic happiness for those who were looking forward to it. Take care, stay safe, look out for each other, and we hope to see you guys next year. Peace and love.

Friendly reminder to follow official recommended procedures: wash your hands, cut out any non-essential travel and events, and stop trying to buy out every single roll of toilet paper out there!! Let’s collectively work together and we will get through this!

Please stay tuned for links to the product page which will be available Friday, March 20 starting at 6pm EST.

[netbug009]

TFCon is cancelled. I still wanna buy fanmerch. Please do not hesitate to slide into my DMs with your store link if you were set to have an artist alley table!

[allspark]

TFcon Orlando Exclusives Still to go on Sale This Weekend - 2nd Exclusive Revealed!

TFcon Orlando Exclusives Still to go on Sale This Weekend - 2nd Exclusive Revealed! @TFconTweets #Transformers #TFCON

While TFcon Orlando 2020 may have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the convention exclusives will still be available this weekend as planned. Read on for more info! Don’t forget to create an account or you can join our Discord Server by clicking this invite link: https://discord.gg/ZnUQxya

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[morethanmeetstheass]

just a little something i wanted to say as the new year rings in:

thank you. all of you, so much. ive made so many friends this year, improved on so many things, met so many people, and had so many experiences. its been a rollercoaster of emotion and stress and confusion, but as i look back, all i remember is the unending love and support ive gotten from my friends, mutuals, and followers. you've all been here for me through thick and thin, and its made 2019 one of the craziest and best years ive ever had

id shout out everyone who has made this year so amazing, but i worry about missing out on someone because this year has just been overflowing with love and support from so many of you. for my art, my writing, my mental health, my feelings, my growth-- ive never felt so much love. i just hit the 1400 milestone a few days ago and i still feel like every single one of you deserves a wholehearted "thank you."

so yeah. thank you all. 2020, come at me: im gonna make you even better, whether you like it or not.

[patchthemedic]

Workin on print sketches for TFC Toronto, so far so good! On our way to see William Shatner tonight for a screenin of “Wrath of Khan” so it’ll be trad sketches for tonight yeeee

[bilonic]

Art print of Blurr for TFcon Toronto 2020, assuming the pandemic doesn’t cancel that too.

[plasticsparkphotos]

Ocular Max RMX-01CO Jaguar (Covert Operations) TFCon 2020 Exclusive. Thanks to Ages Three and Up Full gallery here: http://plasticspark.ca/toyphotos/rmx01cogallery

[jimclassicstoycollection]

RMX-14

Doccat

TFcon exclusive

Unfortunately due to covid-19 TFcon 2020 had to be cancelled, however the con exclusive still exists, and ended up on Ebay; so I bought it.

This was definitely an impulse purchase but I don’t regret it.

Packaging:

For starters I have to say how much I love the packaging on this toy. I’m not talking about the outer cardboard box, I’m talking about the plastic cassette tape case, that me as a child of the 80′s and 90′s am all too familiar with.

It’s literally an old tape cassette case which holds Doccat while in tape more. The tape sleeve of the case unfolds to reveal the instructions, and I thought that was a really clever decision; it brought a little bit of immersion to this toy.

Packaged within the cassette case is also the collector’s card which we’ll get into next.  

Collector’s card:

Much like the official Masterpiece Transformers Doccat comes with his own collector’s card. 

The art work is pretty much on par with that of an official Masterpiece card, while on the back you get a brief blub, and stats on the bottom.

Cassette Mode:

Cassette mode...looks like a folded up robot, however it does make the right shape, and it does fit into any cassette case. So, close enough.

However as soon as you get this figure in your hands you can just feel the weight of this thing, it is heavier than it looks. 

Transformation:

Transformation take a little bit of getting used to but it’s not very difficult, but it gets easier with time.

The most difficult part is, is remembering which direction to rotate certain peices. 

Robot Mode:

This is a really nice looking figure. 

Once you get this guy into robot m---er...jaguar mode, it’s a white and blue Ravage, obviously based on either the Shattered Glass version of the heroic Decepticon, or (I think) an obscure Autobot medic...but I’m a little iffy on that one.

This figure looks great from every angle, and it’s got a decent range of motion. The blue leg pieces are di cast metal; it helps gives the figure the weight, and it’s nice and shimmery.

My one issue is that the head has a really limited range of motion, I would like to see more mobility, but

I will say this much, Doccat wouldn’t exactly pass the shake test; though I do like the beast mode; many of the moving parts aren’t exactly locked into place or anything, so the figure so parts of the inner core of the body tend to shift around a bit once it’s being handled.

Final Thoughts:

For $60 I don’t regret buying this.

I’ve stated several times that I’m a fan of the Shattered Glass universe of Transformers, and Ravage is usually depicted (in toy form) as really small and you can’t always do much with that. 

With this sized version of a Ravage it could perhaps scale in with 6in figures, such as the new GI Joe line, or Marvel Legends.

This toy brings Ravage to a whole new level of playability I haven’t see since the ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ deluxe figure in 2009.

[squeemcsquee]

Convention/Event Review Master List

Because now that I can, I am definitely going to gather these all in one place. It’s a good excuse to go back and edit things. I’ll be adding reviews as I find them in my archives or as I add them in the future. 

Anime Central 2017

SoyCon 2017

Anime Zap 2018

UChi-Con 2018

Free Comic Book Day 2018

Anime Central 2018

Cogs & Corsets: A Steampunk Happening 2018

Bloomington Normal Video Game Convention 2018

HPLD Nerd Con 2018

Olde English Faire 2018

Anime Midwest 2018

Peoria Geekfest 2018

Ignite Peoria 2018

Springfield Micro Con 2018

Peoria Comic Book Convention October 2018

TFCon Chicago 2018

Anime Zap 2019

UChi-Con 2019

PeoriaCon 2019

QuadCon Peoria Spring 2019

Anime Central 2019

Anime Expo 2019 (Virtual Attendance)

Anime Iowa 2019

Springfield Comic Expo 2019

QuadCon Peoria Halloween 2019

Anime Zap 2020

Sixty-Six Games Expo/BN Video Game Convention 2020

Peoria Comic Book Convention Jan 2020

UChi-Con 2020

PeoriaCon 2020

Cogs & Corsets: A Steampunk Happening 2021

QuadCon Peoria, June 2021

Anime Iowa 2021

Anime Magic 2021

QuadCon Peoria, September 2021

PeoriaCon 2021

QuadCon Peoria, December 2021

Anime Zap 2022

PeoriaCon 2022

Anime Central 2022

Cogs & Corsets A Steampunk Happening 2022

Anime Iowa 2022

Anime Magic 2022

TFCon Chicago 2022

PeoriaCon 2023

Anime Central 2023

Illinois Game Con 2023

Game On Peoria High School Gaming Expo 2023

Otakon 2023

Anime Magic 2023

QuadCon Peoria November 2023

PeoriaCon 2024

[soundwavereporting]

Right?! I’ve only gotten to do that once and it was pretty awesome. Hoping to do it again next year or so.

I’m...reasonably certain one of the people I met up with was you? Only because I had it in the back of my mind that there were two of us looking for soundwave merch :O

But yeah i can picture all of that happening so easily.

[primeconvoy1]

In action today is the MB-12B Wheel Blade, which is a TFcon 2020 exclusive item, developed by The Chosen Prime , GetRightRobot & Fans Hobby.

Only 800 pieces were produced, and each figure has an individual laser engraved number. Mine is number 64 out of 800.

The figure utilizes the Fans Hobby Athena mold with special new parts including a new helmet, face plate, sword, & scabbard. The figure also has a semi-gloss transparent spray painting applied, which allow the colors to pop!

This is my first endeavor with a Fans Hobby product, and I'm enjoying the figure! It's a fun take on the Windblade character, and I don't believe we ever had a Masterpiece version of her.

Transformation is pretty easy, and tolerances are pretty solid. I understand their Athena figure had some issues, but seem to be corrected with Wheel Blade.

I'm throwing the link down as The Chosen Prime still has some stock left in case anyone still needs it.

https://www.thechosenprime.com/fhmb12bwheelblade

On to pics, Primers!

[lush-specimen]

TFcon Toronto 2020!

Exciting news!

I’m going to share a table at TFcon Toronto in July with the awesome @bilonic​!

I’ll be bringing my Rodimus Star patches, bookmarks, and plenty of stickers!

I received my weatherproof white poly laser printer sheets and finally figured out my formatting issues. I started making 3″ stickers of my vintage tattoo inspired designs! They are coming out great!!

[netbug009]

HEY IF YOU WERE SET TO ARTIST ALLEY @ TFCON AND DECIDED TO CANCEL BECAUSE OF CORONAVIRUS LINK ME TO YOUR SHOP I WANNA SEE ALL THAT COOL MERCH YOU WERE GONNA SELL

i don’t know if i’ll be going either at this point or if the con will even still happen and my favorite part of cons is buying tons of pretty fanart ;u; please plug your shops and neat merch/zines/whatever

[edbydawn]

so tfcon is gonna be in orlando in 2020, so NATURALLY i have to go! 

however i am ONLY producing rosanna merchandise to the con, it’s rosannacon now