Grondeur

I wish I could because, as Sync mentioned, the exclusives are looking good so far and you can bet that due to the 10th anniversary of Beast Wars there will probably be some cool extras planned. My recommendation is to not get overwhelmed with the vendor area (don't spend the entire time there -- but it's always a cool area to visit) and make sure you visit/attend as many other things as you can. Meeting Gregg Berger, Gary Chalk, Dan Gilvezan and other Transformers voice actors was one of the things that made the conventions worth the money. Formula for not attending Botcon: new job + no vacation time = no Botcon this year @grumpy@

I pre-ordered mine from tfsource.com but I believe digital-toys.com have them available also. I've ordered from digital-toys before but tfsource has far better shipping/packing, IMO.

If Hasbro does release a MP Starscream, I hope they don't mess it up like they did with Prime's short smoke stacks. I don't want to see missiles that are not in proportion or any crap like that.

Bumblebee isn't too bad. (But he isn't great either) And I still can't get over how some of the other bots look. You know, for me, it would only take a head/face resculpt on most of them and I would probably be ok with them. I still, overall, don't like the alien look -- but I'll save final judgement until after I see them in action.

Cybertron Unicron? Nah, not rare. Peg-warmers here Not exactly a peg-warmer here yet but definitely not hard to find. Is Unicron is short supply all over Canada or just in your area?

Well, it is my opinion that the new designs/concepts are more alien than robot. The new designs do, however, sort of look like Transmetals 2 figures in robot mode. I guess I'll have to wait and see them in action (but those head designs are just ugly -- I'd be ok with Prime's head if his face plate was non-removable). And you are right about the new coke (my bad, I was only 9 or 10 at the time and only remember news stories about how people hated the new coke). @smilepunch@

I'm hoping that Hasbro has a Q&A at Botcon and that they share their views about the figures in an open venue. It's really hard for me to believe that they are moving away from the basic TF concepts that made (and are still making) them a butt-load of money. I compare this to when the Coca-Cola Company announced they were changing the Coke formula. There were a lot of people really upset before the change occured even though some people were saying "give it a chance". Coke lost a lot of money over it and changed back to the original formula. Moral of the story: Don't fix what isn't broken. @bH@

If you want a higher resolution version, click here to download Soundwave dancing to your computer then click here to download the player.

I agree. Ditch the tiny flames near his hands and this is Windcharger (maybe Sideswipe?), but not Hot Rod.

I usually don't complain about anything involving Transformers because I appreciate the fact that the line is still around. BUT... This new movie robot line is really really bad. The worst part about the new molds is that you cannot tell if they are good or evil. They all look evil. Like others have said, they look like monsters instead of robots. It is my opinion that kids that know Armada, Energon and Cybertron lines will be SO disappointed with these "robots" -- and doesn't Hasbro cater to the younger audience? Here's to hoping that these "leaked" photos are just a big prank to keep the real figures/robots secret.

I just can't believe that Hasbro would allow figures/robots that look like this. They (Hasbro/Bay/Whoever) could have done another Alternator style line and run with it. The main problem with Alternators is that there was no cartoon/comic/story to go along with them. When I first heard about the new TF movie, I thought it would be the perfect way to revive the Alternators line. I'm hoping that these supposed leaked prototypes are fake. If they aren't and if the movie tanks, maybe Hasbro will start listening to the existing fan base. If the movie is a huge success, let us all shut our collective mouths.

If it is true that the joints are extremely loose (like it was reported with Optimus and Megs), I will pass on the entire line. @grumpy@

We already know what Megatron sounds like if David Kaye gets the part (Armada) but I really want to hear what Welker would do.

Anybody know which sites they are talking about? Hell, I've been so busy lately that I didn't even know there was an "announcement" until today.

How about an updated Reflector? (Combiners can be more than just robots merging into bigger robots.) Armada somewhat tried to use this idea with the mini-cons (the blaster and the sword -- whatever they were called) but, as Synch mentioned, were poorly done in the cartoon.