2007 Feedback

[Nightscrabbler]

Hi everyone

Another successful convention is in the books. Please let us know if you enjoyed yourselves and how you felt about everything. We take feedback from all of our guests very seriously and try to use their suggestions.

[New Brandon]

I enjoyed it. I was more prepared this time (second time) and knew what to expect (which made everything better for me). Everything about the convention organization was great.

Michael Bell was a great guest... but last year set the bar REALLY high with Michael McConnohie, not to mention Don Murphy was there as well. So I don't think it was able to surpass it in that department, but by no means was it a disappointment.

Also, I want to thank Colin and crew for letting me play the TFCog fan dubs once again.

Big thumbs up for the whole deal. Looking forward to next year!

[Sunstar]

I was disappointed that the pannels were not broadcast into the dealer room. Sitting there at the table I was hoping/expecting to be able to hear it.

So very disappointed in that.

otherwise, it was more organised this year. which was good.

[Decepticon Army]

Great Con.
Cool events, great guests and it was a fun time for both young and old fans.

[lambor]

Had a blast, as always. 4th time coming to the event, thanks Colin for all that you do and to every one of the volunteers that puts forth their time and effort to create such an enjoyable atmosphere.

Michael Bell was a great guest, of course it doesn't hurt that he had a hand in just about every one of the shows from my childhood (TF, Voltron, the Smurfs, GI Joe)... it was absolutely surreal to shake his hand.

BTW, I overheard a couple of times people talking about whether the Con might be moving to another city in the future. Put me down for staying with the Doubletree indefinitely, at least if it can handle the number of attendees well enough. Oh who am I kidding, I'll follow TFCon wherever it might go.

[Dave-astator]

Thanks to Colin once again!

And thanks to those volunteers who kept my ex out of the dealer room so I didn't have to deal with her until the end of the Con.;)

Another successful year!

P.S. She soooo wanted me!

[TFcon Toronto]

I was disappointed that the pannels were not broadcast into the dealer room. Sitting there at the table I was hoping/expecting to be able to hear it.
The reasoning for this is that it's very difficult for the dealers to actually make deals if the noise from the panels is broadcast into the dealer room. It was actually requested by the dealers last year that this didn't happen this year.

[Protoman]

This was my first con.... and wow, what a first impression. Met a lot of people I only knew online for years for the first time face to face (Big shout out to Toy Hell), bought some holes in my collection, had a hell of a time rooming with Guber (honestly who wouldn't =P) and hey, I won the Trivia Contest in the Hardcore Transfan category so..... yeah, time of my life to say the least

[New Brandon]

BTW, I overheard a couple of times people talking about whether the Con might be moving to another city in the future. Put me down for staying with the Doubletree indefinitely, at least if it can handle the number of attendees well enough. Oh who am I kidding, I'll follow TFCon wherever it might go.

It doesn't bother me where the convention is, as long as it's in the GTA (and I'm sure it will). I would still probably make the trip up anyway.

I like the Doubletree, although I can understand if there's a need for a building with a larger capacity.

[Protoman]

It doesn't bother me where the convention is, as long as it's in the GTA (and I'm sure it will). I would still probably make the trip up anyway.

I like the Doubletree, although I can understand if there's a need for a building with a larger capacity.

If they ever needed more space, right across the street is the Toronto Convention Center. Every year Anime North rents that out along with the hotel we stayed at (2 whole floors) for all the events and activities. If space was a issue I think it would be easy to solve without having to relocate.

[RavageX-9]

The reasoning for this is that it's very difficult for the dealers to actually make deals if the noise from the panels is broadcast into the dealer room. It was actually requested by the dealers last year that this didn't happen this year.
I'm glad, at least for the fan voice acting one. Last year the variation in volume was really jarring, and by the end of the day it just really didn't help my headache. Amateurs just can't be expected to keep their volume levels average. I don't know if you can automatically do that with software or something...
Heh. How about wireless headsets for you to listen in on? Like some kind of blind-drive-in-movie-show. ;)

I'm sure I'm some kind of rare breed, but I could have done with some psychotherapy or some kind of psychological/mental tour of how to get through the convention without going nucking futs!
Having to make decisions in the dealer room, and trying to socialize, both don't come easy to me. and mixing the two is even harder.
I ran into IronMoose at the end there and he was cool as a cucumber and I was just getting more and more frantic.
I totally lost the opportunity to socialize for the pizza party when I arrived late and then dropped my stuff off in my room. I was still wound up from being late. Never really talked to anyone at the time other than my roommate Guber.
People are like "oh there's plenty of opportunity to socialize!" but I don't find that to be true. like... waiting in line, there's just the people directly in front and behind you. in the dealer room I'm too absorbed to be able to switch gears into social mode. I'm not sure how much practice someone like me needs before I could socialize AND shop back and forth.
AND schedule things. just when I thought all the stress was over and I could relax I realized I had to pack and catch a bus. :(
Anyways... my 2nd "TFCon" / 5th "TF con". fun, but still not learning how to manage the stress from the dealer room properly. one of these years...

[purple-bot]

BEST CON YET

i actually had longer in depth conversations, with people i knew from the forums

i had a good time, and got to meet lots of new people, i went with $300, made $350 more, then came home with $16

another successful con

i had a great time

as JLvatron would say...


INCROYABLE !!!! LMAO

[Dr. Archevil]

That was my second Transformer Con. And I must say that both have been great! I've completed my 84 line and got some great vintage boxes. :D

Meeting Tracks/Cosmos last year was awesome.

Having a little fun with Don Murphy was equally a blast. (I'm the blonde fat dude in black that was worried the plot would involve Prime saving a central characters marriage!) ;)

Some dude actually put me on youtube...stumbled across that a year later...what a giggle!

And then meeting Michael Bell and actually reading out a radio play with the legend! Truly an honor! Playing the role of 'Ironhide' was funky, but to actually close my eyes and listen to Mr. Bell hammer out three ghosts from the past...

Wow.

To those folks that organized these cons, (and tolerate my hell raising- :D ) I take my hat off to ya!

Well done!

The only problem I had was those Comic panel guests. Dudes...show a little cheer in your trade...:eek:

P.S.

Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaz! :p

[Ondoher Prime]

a humble report (http://cybertronphils.proboards18.com/index.cgi?board=Announce&action=display&thread=1177818163&page=1#1177906276)...

[JLvatron]

P.S. She soooo wanted me!

Awesome, Sabrina reference!!:D

Dave, thanks so much for bringing your Guitar hero, it was enjoyed by so many. Your contribution was greatly appreciated for Friday Night's great success.:)

[JLvatron]

People are like "oh there's plenty of opportunity to socialize!" but I don't find that to be true. like... waiting in line, there's just the people directly in front and behind you. in the dealer room I'm too absorbed to be able to switch gears into social mode. I'm not sure how much practice someone like me needs before I could socialize AND shop back and forth.

Yes, balancing time to socialize with concentrated dealer room hunting is a very personal and fine act, indeed.
While the official social events are sceduled throughout the entire TransformersCon weekend, the Friday night events are very much designed to welcome everyone with group events in a friendly relaxed atmosphere, the night before the dealer room opens.

I hope next year things work out for you to have the opportunity to take full advantage. It was fun hanging out with you Saturday night!:)

[JLvatron]

BEST CON YET

i actually had longer in depth conversations, with people i knew from the forums

i had a good time, and got to meet lots of new people, i went with $300, made $350 more, then came home with $16

another successful con

i had a great time

as Jalvatron would say...


INCROYABLE !!!! LMAO

HAH! It really was inCROYable!!:)

It was awesome hanging out with you and Ernestizing songs Saturday night.:D
Dude, your enthusiasm and general cheer could lift up a room full of depressed DeadEnds; seriously dude.

Glad you enjoyed it, friend!

[tilallr1]

First transformercon and definitely not my last. Thought it was very well organized and the day flowed really well. Spent most of my time in the dealer room waiting for parts (Over an hour). Who was that guy who had all the tables along the left wall? He needed a ticket thingy. Calling number 102 ... Anyway, all around a great day. A++++

Thanks!

[tilallr1]

Also loved the location. Doubletree was great!

[Sunstar]

The reasoning for this is that it's very difficult for the dealers to actually make deals if the noise from the panels is broadcast into the dealer room. It was actually requested by the dealers last year that this didn't happen this year.


Ah... I understand. It was still very disappointing though.

[Nightscrabbler]

Next year we'll provide Sunstar with a string that has a plastic cup on both ends so she can listen in. ;)

I thought it went well, but I need to learn how to multiply like Multiple Man so I can be in many places at once.

[Protoman]

Yeah it was very fun in my hotel room having our little TFcon after party with Purplebot, JLvatron, Guber, Ravage X-9, and the others. Meesum was recording a lot of personal fan interviews there and I can't wait to see them after.

[JLvatron]

Yeah it was very fun in my hotel room having our little TFcon after party with Purplebot, JLvatron, Guber, Ravage X-9, and the others. Meesum was recording a lot of personal fan interviews there and I can't wait to see them after.

Especially Guber and I singing:cool:
...and your impersonation of Guber singing!!!:D

Sunstreaker/Sideswipe was a cool guy too, and Sandy needs a TF-name.

[Nightscrabbler]

Sunstreaker/Sideswipe was a cool guy too, and Sandy needs a TF-name.
Sandstorm or Sandtrap or Quicksand or Sandland or Sanddune or Sandy Ego. :cool:

[JLvatron]

Sandstorm or Sandtrap or Quicksand or Sandland or Sanddune or Sandy Ego. :cool:

Man, you are Quick!(sand)

[Aernaroth]

Well, I had a great time this year, and I think there was more unique and cool stuff in the dealer room than ever before. The panels were all really informative, and the guests were all fantastic!

As to your suggestion protoman, I've been to AN a couple times, and Im not really a fan of the convention centre. I mean, its a giant warehouse. Its almost impossible to hear yourself or anyone else talk over the din of the crowd, and its just really, really big, with nothing but a couple cloth dividers. I much preferred AN when it was at the hotel, and I think hotel-based cons are much better overall.

As for Dave, you ain't done unlocking on guitar hero 2. I wanted to play trogdor!

But hey, that's my opinion.

[Nerroth]

Hi!

This was my first Transformers convention (and only my second such con of any genre in North America, after 2004's Anime Evolution in Vancouver) and it was fun!

I only made it down by about 12.30pm, and I ended up missing almost all of the panel discussions - I spent too much
time in the dealer room, so I missed the interviews and the board meetups (so I still don't know anyone from here or 2005 - except Dak, who I talked to at the show's end)...

That aside, it was still fun - though I guess going by yourself when you don't know anyone already can make things a little daunting, and I only really got talking to people at booths, such as Matt Moylan (who was very generous with his time, I might add!). Alex Milne seemed a little... distant, though - I got the impression that he wasn't too keen on talking to me.

But I hope that I'll be a little more prepared for Anime North and Polaris - it'll help that I won't likely have to go alone to those.

But hey - I did get that E-hobby Dark Victory Saber, and the TF:Cybertron trade paperback, and the Japanese restaurant nearby was good!

I don't know if I'll be living in Toronto next year, but if I am I will go again - and if not I wish you luck for 2008.

[Protoman]

Sandstorm or Sandtrap or Quicksand or Sandland or Sanddune or Sandy Ego. :cool:

Lol, :p Thanks Shan, I will run some of those buy her.

[MomofTFfan]

Frist TFcon. I've been to 3 Star Trek cons in the 90s before they got overpriced:)
I took my 7 year old son and my future BIL. SIL was coming for dress shopping with her mom and brother(my hubby) in our area because of the shops. I reminded hubby that I was hoping to take Bobby to TFcon. BIL was like, I'll drive ya! And we both forgot our cameras!!! He did get a pic of Bobby in front of that big Optimus Prime on his cell phone. I hope he knows how to send it to me:). I took a picture at home afterwards of my son with used gun. It's go 1984 on it and looks like it was well played with. He paid $5 for it. My son was wearing his 20th Anniversary TF t-shirt with the Autobot symbol on it. It came free with the movie DVD last fall. So it goes down to his knees! But he looked so cute. I'll post pics later.:)
He also bought 2 Star Wars figures at $5 a piece. He had 10 to spend but I dug out some change for him. Next year we will all be going and this time with more cash. The wedding is in July so future BIL was on a budget.
We did get to hear the end of the trivia stuff because we came in for the movie (wanted my son to be able to see the screen and saw some seating up front so we sat down early). Next year with more adults going it'll be easier to get to more of that kind of stuff. I also have a 2.5 year old daughter but she went dress shopping.Also the art stuff was awesome. My son did not get the My Little Pony thing at all. I laughed my butt off.

So yeah, it was a blast. Loved everything. Got the new movie posters, got one of each. BIL at the end bought a poster (we pooled our money together for $5) and the lady there asked if it was for my boy. I said it was actually for his uncle. She was kind to pick up another $5 poster (Had Grimlock on it, so he was happy) and gave it to him. Now I'm being told that the Harry Potter bedroom needs to be redone in Transformers.

[JLvatron]

That aside, it was still fun - though I guess going by yourself when you don't know anyone already can make things a little daunting, and I only really got talking to people at booths,

Glad you enjoyed it, friend!:)

As for socializing, I suggest taking advantage of the official TFCon Friday night events. It's a full party happening with a bunch of activites with many convention goers.

Since many attendees find themselves focussing Saturday on the dealer room, Friday night is an excellent opportunity to just have fun with your fellow fans.

[Black Cat]

Well, this would have been my second year attending, if I had been able to get there sooner. Alas, some things can't be helped. But at least I was able to enjoy the movie and most of the after party.
So out of the little time I was there, it was quite fun. And I loved hearing the stories that had to be told.


And thanks to those volunteers who kept my ex out of the dealer room so I didn't have to deal with her until the end of the Con.;)

And no one kept me out. I didn't go in. I had more important people to see. :cool:

[Guber]

This year the con was the freekin sweetest it has ever been in my opinion. I had a total blast! It was hard to beat last year but i think this year was totally on that level. Friday night was amazing! Bell was a wicked awesome guest! (and it made me mental to find out he was ZAN from Superfriends!!!!! :eek: ) Organization was great! Rooming with Proto, Sandy, and RavageX-9 was kick ass!!! The highlight for me was playing Hook in the script reading with Bell. That was a dream! I was super happy to see all the regulars again, and got to make some new friends too! Kudos to the whole staff for pulling off another triumphant one!!!!!!!!

[JLvatron]

(and it made me mental to find out he was ZAN from Superfriends!!!!! :eek: )

And that's only half your reaction compared to when you found out he voiced Gleek.:p

[Guber]

True dat yo! :D

[Protoman]

Also Micheal racey story about Scatman was classic. I never laughed so hard, I wish someone recorded it.

[Paradigm-Shift Prime]

For a firsttimer, I had a lot of fun. I spent almost all my time in the dealer room. I spent over $500...

I got there right as they were letting people into the dealer room. One thing I didn't enjoy was that anything that was any good (good item, good price) was GONE in 1 hour, tops. A couple of the 'big time' dealers had unique items and parts all day long, but their prices were through the roof. The guy with the full row of front tables was charging $10 + for pretty much every single part!! I saw a guy spend $8 a piece on about 8 pieces for Hot Spot (major rip off) with him. At least I got mib g1 jetfire in great shape (white, no stress marks on red pieces) off him. And to reiterate my point about good stuff going, I got the Jetfire within 5 minutes of walking in at 9:30. As I was waiting for the guy to come and take my money after agreeing to sell it to me for a few bucks under the tag price (took a while), 2, yes 2 people came up and grabbed the box. I had to practically slap their hand off of it and say 'No! That's mine!'.
Luckily I rummaged through a guy's junk boxes and got lots of great stuff right after that, and grabbed Tcracker and Swarp reissues for 2 for $60, but then after that (an hour and a bit after it opening), all good deals and interesting items seemed to be gone.
I figured doing my parts shopping in the afternoon would be the best way of planning, but by then barely anyone had parts aside from the $$$ people. So I was disappointed in that regard.
For what I did get, thanks to Unicron's Toys, from whom I got Bruticus' pieces, minus gun, defensor's right foot, metroplex knee, and blitzwing missile for reasonable prices (everything they had pieces wise that I wanted was gone quick). And thanks to the guy selling his collection to help buy a house, he hooked me up with some good deals in the afternoon with what he had left (dam that Astrotrain box is MINTY!!).

All in all a GREAT time, I probably should have done more than endlessly hawking around the dealer room, but I am still in a 'recently rebuilding' collection phase so am really into picking things up right now. I'm sad it's another year until the next one, as I ended up needing more parts rather than less. Damn my tendency towards 'I want to collect (multiples of) the combiners, but I want to do it by grabbing individual parts of them up cheap'. Now I have a Piranacon ($17) and Predaking ($65)(didn't think I was going to go after them) minus chest piece/back piece, fists, feet, and heads...

[Aernaroth]

Ah, the frenzy (be he red or blue) of the dealer room. Yep, if you dont take a certain item, someone else will. Unfortunately, that's the way of it. Its not yours until you pay for it, sadly. And as for the prices, they're high for certain items, sure, and even if they seem a ripoff to you, if people are willing to pay them, people will charge them. That's how it goes, unfortunately.

[Prime Sinister]

My first TransformersCon. Had a great time. It was well organized. Next time I have to watch my spending (I spent $90 at the registration desk alone).

[Ninjatron]

I probably won't be doing a convention report on my website this year like I've done before. I don't really do them at all nowadays. If I do it'll probably just be a copy of this post. So consider this to be my convention report. It's long!

First off, thanks to everyone involved with this convention for pulling it off, and for giving me the opportunity to contribute in some way with the comic. I'm glad that it was well received and that the printing turned out ok, which I was a little nervous about. I kinda wish that I had been given the size specs to work with. Last year I just worked on 8.5x11 paper and so there was some space at the top and bottom. This year I wanted to eliminate that, so I worked with the size of last year's comic in order to best fill up the page, figuring it was going to be the same size pages as last year. But it was bigger, so there was unused space on each page, which I didn't like.

Drawing the comic itself was quite the ordeal. I was sick when I first got the script so I had less time to work with then I would have liked. Towards the end of the deadline I was really in a rush to finish. I could go into greater detail on the creation process in another post if people are interested, but needless to say I put a lot of pressure on myself just to finish on time, and I did. My wrist was very sore (I've had a lot of problems with that over the years) but it gave me a sense of accomplishment. I'm wondering if perhaps next year, provided I am again able to illustrate the comic, JL and I could do some kind of panel presentation about making the comics so that people know what goes into them. Or I can even just talk about it here. Is this interesting to anyone?

The Friday pizza party was a great idea. Thank you Stormy for going through with it for us. That was a totally cool thing to do. I liked being able to arrive, and then sit down and shoot the breeze right away.

TransGenerations trivia was excellent and I hope it becomes a permanent fixture. Though I must admit that I pretty much knew I was going to win weeks ago. Heh heh. It was fun, and pretty amazing to be in the finals with DKN, who I had met 8 years ago at Botcon 99, and actually bought a toy from back then that was one of the answers for this trivia contest! However, not to sound ungrateful, but this is where I have a complaint. A few years back I placed second in Beast Wars trivia and my prize was a comic with Shockwave on the cover. That was a great prize. This year I placed first in trivia and my prize was... a piece of paper with my name written on it. What's up with that? I know you guys can only work with what you've got, but still, it's pretty disappointing.

I didn't stay much longer because I had a surprise in store for the next day, but it wasn't finished yet. So I went home to work on my art contest entry: the digital painting of Vector Prime, the kids, and the Minicons from Cybertron/Galaxy Force. I ended up working on it all night long, barely getting any sleep, and then having a hard time printing it when the larger paper I wanted to use didn't hold the ink very well, and then I ran out of yellow ink, and then I got a paper cut. But I finished it and was happy enough with it. Unfortunately I showed up later to the con than I wanted to, but I think it was worth it. That painting took me about a year to finish, and lots of reference went into it. Nobody ever really draws the human characters or Minicons, and I'm just so bored of the G1 stuff, so I thought my entry was going to be something different and refreshing, and I believe it was. I'm glad that people liked it, and you can see a slightly improved version now on my deviantART account right here (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/54375049/)

Ah, but here is where I have to tell the only major negative thing I've ever experienced at TFCon in all the years I've gone. I was hanging around the art table and overheard another artist badmouthing the other art to his friend. He was saying things like how this was copied, that was cheating, his was better, and so on, all with a very whiny tone of voice. Then he looked at mine and said "Oh, look at this anime! That's copied from a poster!" (or something to that effect, I forget exactly). So I questioned him on it, not letting on at first that I was, in fact, the artist he was talking about. When I finally clued him in that this was my artwork, that it was most assuredly NOT copied from anything, and that I didn't appreciate the insinuation that it was, he continued to insist that he had seen it before and that he had no reason to lie to his friend who was listening to him ragging on the other art on the table. Of course, he wouldn't look me in the eye and say any of that. Probably because he was scared. And rightly so!

Anyway, I'll just take it as a backhanded compliment that he thought the art was so good that it had to have been copied. But it wasn't copied, and no such image exists to copy from. My art is always 100% original. And if this particular individual happens to be reading this, allow me to impart some advice. You want to be an artist? Act like one. Don't insult your peers, try to behave like a professional, and don't say nonsense that's obviously not true just to make yourself appear better than you are. I'm not going to say that my piece was perfect, but his... well, let's just say he had no business saying anything bad about anyone else's art, because it had a lot of issues from what I saw of it. Since I am a professional, however, that's all I'm going to say about that.

Speaking of the art contest though, despite entering, I have no idea who won. Maybe that's my own fault if there was an announcement made and I wasn't around to hear it. But still, if that were the case then one would think that somebody would have told me what was going on. Perhaps for next year a list of winners could be posted on the art table after being announced, so that everyone knows.

The script reading was a lot of fun as usual, and this year it seemed a little more plot driven than gag driven. I can't say I'm a hardcore Geewunner so none of the characters really appealed to me enough to audition for any, except for Hook. I considered sneaking in at the very end like a ninja and stealing that part away, but Guber knocked it out of the part with his audition, so I decided not to. I probably would have lost anyway! Everyone was awesome.

Then came the movie and a chance to be rowdy. Sorry to anyone in the room who was expecting to watch the movie quietly, but I just can't help it! Years ago at Anime North there was a midnight showing of the Transformers movie, and earlier that day at the Transformers panel I moderated, I encouraged everyone there to go and yell and have a good time. It was the most fun I ever had watching that movie, so now whenever I see it again with a room full of fans, I always do the same thing. It's just hilarious to go all Rocky Horror with that movie and yell things at the screen. The little boy at the very front seemed to find Guber and I amusing when we did that, so it was nice to have an audience... from within the audience!

Finally, hanging out when it was over with Michael Bell and several convention folks and listening to him talk story is definitely a moment I will not soon forget. Thanks for the pizza!

Colin gave me a Cybertron Quickmix before I left. That was nice. I will just assume that this is the prize for winning the trivia on Friday. But, he did not have his Minicon! I am quite certain that I will descend into madness trying to find one. Oh well.

So that's the con from my perspective. There are some minor complaints that didn't really deter from anything, so all in all I had an awesome time. But I knew I was going to have an awesome time. And I probably will again next year too. Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Sayonara.

[Stormrave]

First up, I must say I was very pleased by the pizza party and I'm hoping to do it again next year :) Thanks for all those who came and made it so much fun.

I was happy that the con took some of my suggestions from last year. It was really helpful to have that list of events on the Megatron standee for me to refer to during the day Saturday. I also liked the way things were announced on Friday night so people could choose to attend or not, rather than miss things because we didn't know about them.

My big suggestion for next year is to advertise the art contest more in advance, and to put up a list of what the prizes are. Get people excited with enough time to do good art! Maybe that way we could get more people participating in it. As others have said, I seem to have missed the announcement about the contest winner. Were there labels/ribbons/rosettes put on the winning pieces?

I don't think broadcasting events into the dealer room is a good idea...too much noise and headache inducing. however, would it be possible to announce the start of things, like "Michael Bell's panel is starting now in the *** Room" the way the door prize winners are announced?

Ninjatron: I think the comic looked great :)

[JLvatron]

Champion of the 2007 TransGenerations Trivia, and thus the Universe

Hi Ninjatron!
Great report! Some comments:
-Sorry about the comic dimensions, totally my bad.:( Larry had told me from the start, but I didn't put 2 & 2 together until much later. I shall definitely specify it next year!

-Thanks again for drawing the comic, and impressively so. Your efforts were greatly appreciated, and I know what wrist ligament problems are like. Ironically, my wrist got fixed by breaking it snowboarding! (seemed isolating it in a cast for 7 weeks did the trick). Michael Bell really liked your art in the comic and he said so in his 2nd panel. 8)

-I like the idea of a comic panel. Several possibilities from joining Alex Milne's panel, to having our own 15 minute "Prelude Premier" on Friday night, perhaps even in conjunction with another event, like the Pizza Party.

-With the lower Friday turnouts, the prizes are now concentrated for most Saturday contests. But we hope you liked the beautiful and professional looking certificates designed by our very own Dak & Gord (I think). They were general enjoyed with many winners wanting to frame theirs.

-Loved your Vector Prime pic, it was awesome! It was 1 of my favorite art entries. :)

-An artist knocking other artists? :? Clearly that guy is lacking the spirit of Transformers being enjoyed and drawn by everyone. If it were to get out of hand, be sure to inform us staff about it.

-Ninjatron, I truly expected you to audition for Ironhide and Wheeljack, as I thought you'd enjoy them. Either way, the voices we got were great.

and lastly,
-winning the TransGenerations Trivia really does entitle you to be Chamion of the Universe!:)

[JLvatron]

My big suggestion for next year is to advertise the art contest more in advance, and to put up a list of what the prizes are.

A pre-list of prizes is not do-able for several reasons, but we encourage all artists to take the opportunity to display their creations before appreciative fans.

The art contest and rules were linked on the main site. But for suggestions, please tell us what kind of advertising you have in mind that would get the message out to more artists.:)

And MANY thank yous Stormrave for organizing the Pizza Party. Honestly, you did a great service for all of us attending, by not needing to leave TransformersCon in order to eat.
And your ID stickers were great, I conveniently left mine on the next day!:D

I truly hope:
1- the leftover Pizza was put to good use
2- Your finances balanced out
3- You will do it again next year!:)

Merci beaucoup!:cool:

[dak]

My big suggestion for next year is to advertise the art contest more in advance, and to put up a list of what the prizes are. Get people excited with enough time to do good art! Maybe that way we could get more people participating in it. As others have said, I seem to have missed the announcement about the contest winner. Were there labels/ribbons/rosettes put on the winning pieces?

I did announce the winner in the dealer room, and I found it difficult to announce it elsewhere because of events going on that I did not want to disturb. But the suggestion about posting the winners is a great idea, and I think I shall use it next year.

What did you think about how this years Art contest was organised? Minus the announcement part, did you feel judging was better than having attendees vote?

[Stormrave]

With regards to art...you wanted my comments, here you go:

1. I was looking back in December already for guidelines about what the categories would be, whether there would be prizes, etc. This information should be up a lot earlier so artists have time to think of and plan what they want to do. If there are a lot of categories (like diorama and custom figure being separate, and B&W, colour, and computer-assisted being separate) that gives more opportunities to win, but also means the prizes have to be smaller.

2. I understand how it's not practical to have prizes on hand that early, you don't want to give out something everyone already has or few people like. Still, a rough outline (winner gets a toy size Voyageur or above, runner up gets a Deluxe) gives a rough idea. Another idea is to use store/dealer credit. I won a BBTS voucher for $50 once and it was great to be able to "pick my own prize."

3. The benefit of having congoers vote for the winning entries is that it gives non-artists an opportunity to "do something" in the art contest, to participate instead of just watch. The drawback is the time it takes to count the ballots and the problem if not enough people vote. So, while I prefer the fan ballot, I understand that the team of judges approach might be more practical.

4. I really like the idea of ribbons on the prizes--even if that's all the runners-up get, for example...so everyone can see what won.

5. Lots of sites, like the Allspark, have devoted art forums. Was info about the art contest posted regularly to the art forums?

6. I think the art contest was run a bit more "Tightly" this year (good work!) and I got a lot of help setting up, though I almost missed take-down because nothing was posted or said when I set up about having to take my display down at any given time (I wasn't intending to come back for it until after TF: TM). I would suggest putting set-up and take-down times in the con program so artists would know, and it would lessen late submissions.

***

Pizza:

Yes, I did break even...a few people who said they were coming never showed. (Forgiveness to those who were seriously ill.) Thankfully I found hungry dealers in the dealer room who helped buy up the leftovers. In the end, I made my money back, and was even able to offer my faithful henchman Phalanx a free dinner (and free breakfast) for helping me out.

So I'm doing it again next time :)

[JLvatron]

Great feedback Stormrave. And gerat to hear you'll do it again. :)

[dak]

Thank you very much for your feed back. there are alot of things said that I totally agree with and I will use for next year.

The reasoning for the team of judges is that way you avoid having fan favourite artists win. It lets those that are not known or up comming artists to have a chance at taking the prize. when you have attendees vote, one can easally show their work to their friends and say "vote for me", making it unfair to someone who may have done better, but doesn't have the crowd. It's something that I've wanted in this for years, since my first years of attending the Con.

A marking of winners is a good idea, and I shall think of something to show that in the future. Awesome idea.

For now I would like to stick to the 2 catagories, for the reason of small amount of entries. If in the future we have many more ppl entering work, and the con becomes much larger, then I'll look into setting up more catagories.

Telling the prizes are a little difficult, for at the moment, I don't know the prizes untill the day of. alot of our prizes are donated to us by the dealers and thus we don't know what we will get. A cash prize is a great idea, and I have thought of that. but I will most likely not use that untill the con has grown to support that. Dealer credits are made by the convention putting out credits, and after your purchace, the dealer takes the credit to the organisers to recieve their cash. Our convention is big, and it does carry alot of expenses, I don't want to put another expence on it yet. As we grow, I can then add that in. But for now I'd like to keep with the other prizes.

and a schedual sounds great. Noted for next year.

Thanks

DAK

[Ninjatron]

-Thanks again for drawing the comic, and impressively so.
I'd say "no problem" but that's not entirely true. Heh. But it was fun. I know when I saw you last summer at FanExpo I said that it would be 10 times better than the 2006 comic. I think the final product is probably closer to around 7 times better though. I do admit that I had more fun drawing it with the multiple generations in 2006 than this year being only G1, if it makes a difference. But that's mostly because I got to draw TAI last time, and anime babes are my specialty. :D

Michael Bell really liked your art in the comic and he said so in his 2nd panel. 8)
Well that's great to know! Wish I had gotten more of a chance to talk with him.

-I like the idea of a comic panel. Several possibilities from joining Alex Milne's panel, to having our own 15 minute "Prelude Premier" on Friday night, perhaps even in conjunction with another event, like the Pizza Party.
I could see it happening on Friday or early Saturday. I wouldn't want it to have anything to do with the "real" comic panel though, because that's not the same. But I could do things like bring in preliminary artwork and talk about each page, why things are drawn and laid out a certain way, and so on.

-With the lower Friday turnouts, the prizes are now concentrated for most Saturday contests.
Well that I can understand, though it's a little sad that this decision was made just before I finally won. Esspecially since the G1 trivia winners got something, and the contest that I won covered G1 and more. But I'm not getting into a spitting contest over that, just stating my opinion.

I did announce the winner in the dealer room, and I found it difficult to announce it elsewhere because of events going on that I did not want to disturb.
I think there was opprotunity to announce the winners before or after either the comic book panel and/or the script reading. That's what I was kind of expecting. People who are interested in art are most likely at the comic book panel anyway, and pretty much everyone who participates beyond just going to the dealer room goes to the script reading.

What did you think about how this years Art contest was organised? Minus the announcement part, did you feel judging was better than having attendees vote?
I think it was great that the judging was handled by the staff. I have never entered the art contest before this year because I couldn't ever be sure that I'd be there at the very begining of the show. This year I arrived and submitted my art just before the cut off time, because I wasn't done until just before then. Since I knew when judging was going to happen, it's not like I was going to miss out on any votes by not having it in early enough.

That said, having the attendees vote makes it more interactive and gives people more of a reason to look at the artwork. There isn't really an easy solution. Maybe allowing for a few random attendees to vote along with the staff? Or perhaps have seperate winners for staff's choice and fan's choice? Or a combination of those 2 ideas.

Sayonara.

[Protoman]

Well that I can understand, though it's a little sad that this decision was made just before I finally won. Esspecially since the G1 trivia winners got something, and the contest that I won covered G1 and more.

Whoa wait, they didn't give you anything? That is silly, I mean sure it was partly team related but you DID win in the end...... but then again DecepticonArmy didn't get anything either (He won the Transfan part), I guess maybe cause it was just for Hardcore..... I dunno.

[dak]

if you want to have a fan winner, then the only prize I can provide is a certificate. If everyone is cool with that, then I can see that happining in the future. Now I know we are not Botcon, but so ya know, Botcon only has judges judge the art.

[Ninjatron]

Whoa wait, they didn't give you anything? That is silly, I mean sure it was partly team related but you DID win in the end...... but then again DecepticonArmy didn't get anything either (He won the Transfan part), I guess maybe cause it was just for Hardcore..... I dunno.Yeah, all I got was the piece of paper. Colin gave me a Cybertron Quickmix on Saturday, so I'm not complaining, but I think that was just him being nice and not as a prize. All of the trivia contests used to be team based in prior years, and there were always cool prizes, so it's kinda disapointing. I mean, I know there are door prizes and things like that which are given away randomly, and that's great, but is it really all that fair when somebody gets something for no reason while somebody else participates and wins but doesn't get anything?

If it's a lack of donations from dealers (or whoever) that is the problem then it should be addressed in such a way that doesn't take away from the attendees' chances of winning something.

if you want to have a fan winner, then the only prize I can provide is a certificate. If everyone is cool with that, then I can see that happining in the future. Now I know we are not Botcon, but so ya know, Botcon only has judges judge the art.If that's actually doable, then it's not such a bad idea. Anything to make a bigger deal out of the art contest and draw more attention to it is a good thing, in my book. Recognition is all any decent fan artist really wants.

Sayonara.

[Protoman]

Well when he gave me Archadis for the singles Trivia, I just assumed it was cause I won the hardcore part and was sorta not planned originally.

[Code of Honor]

If that's actually doable, then it's not such a bad idea. Anything to make a bigger deal out of the art contest and draw more attention to it is a good thing, in my book. Recognition is all any decent fan artist really wants.

Sayonara.

I was standing near the art table for most of the day, and found that people were going to the art table before going into the dealer room, and people coming out of the far exit would often stop to look.

[Edwin]

I for one, had a great time while I was there and the show seemed way more structured and on-time with the schedule as opposed to last year.
To Colin and the whole staff for TFsCon, top notch job! Thanks for putting on a great convention! :)
Stormrave, i'm really sorry I missed the Friday night pizza party. It couldn't be helped.
JLvatron, I'm glad I got to see you there and thanks for all your effort in making the convention what it is.
Guber, great job as Hook, dude! I was tempted to try to audition for Ironhide, but the guy who eventually won the part was really good, so I passed this time.
Ninjatron, could you please contact me as to help me get a copy of the program guide? They were all gone by the time I got there. I'd be happy to pay you to ship it.

I just hope I can make it to next year's show. Again, great convention! No complaints here! :) :) :)
Mike "E"

[Ajnin]

Hi guys,

First time attendee and I had a great time. Hopefully I'll be able to make it out to future TFCons as well.

I missed out on the Friday night activities, so next year I'll have to plan ahead to attend.

Stuff I liked: VA panel(and autograph session..Michael Bell was very gracious), script reading (unfortunately I didn't have time to see the other panels, but I'm sure they rocked too), Messageboard meetup, the cartoons playing in the lobby(even if I didn't get to watch much of them). Overall, I found things well organised and it was nice that there were event schedules posted in various areas around the 'Con.

Stuff I would like to see:
-In the dealer room, more dealers with novelty items (TF related clothing, watches, pins, decals, keychains, lunchboxes etc..) for the people like me who collect stuff I can use and wear instead of toys. There were a few, but each vendor I found had only a couple of items, not a lot of choice (and some Decepticon symbols in red or black instead of purple?!? :confused:).

- a coat check, or for those of us who weren't staying in the same hotel as the convention, a locker area where we could stow our haul instead of having to carry bags for the whole day.

-I realize that most of the social stuff takes place on Friday, but an after-Con party on the Saturday night would be cool (they organise a dance after the masquerade at Con*Cept in Montreal http://www.conceptsff.ca/2007/events07.html )

[Stormrave]

I think ribbons/certificates for fans' choice would be nice, cheap, and allow for lots of categories, whereas the broader categories (2D/3D) could have prizes awarded by judges. That's a nice compromise, actually.

[JLvatron]

Yeah, all I got was the piece of paper. Colin gave me a Cybertron Quickmix on Saturday, so I'm not complaining, but I think that was just him being nice and not as a prize. All of the trivia contests used to be team based in prior years, and there were always cool prizes, so it's kinda disapointing. I mean, I know there are door prizes and things like that which are given away randomly, and that's great, but is it really all that fair when somebody gets something for no reason while somebody else participates and wins but doesn't get anything?

If it's a lack of donations from dealers (or whoever) that is the problem then it should be addressed in such a way that doesn't take away from the attendees' chances of winning something.


Prizes are donated by dealers; and fewer of them in past years. As such, the decision was made for TFCon 2006 to not have Friday prizes, since the majority of attendees are present on Saturday, and not every Saturday contest has prize awards either.
Basically, we try to have prize awards but the actual gameplay is the bigger part of the event. In other words, if we had no prizes, we wouldn't cancel the events.

As for door prizes, the big truth is that the majority of attendees are primarily there for the dealer room.
Think of it as getting awards based on participation.

Flapjacks= 5 entries
TransGen Trivia= 8 players
G1 Trivia= 12 (i think) and this is due to the maximum cutoff.
Dealer room= close to 1000 participants

Based on the above math, 95% of prizes should go towards the dealer room. We actually try to make that number smaller so the most popular contests can get prizes.:cool:

[Nightscrabbler]

The other thing is that Friday is not an official part of the convention. As the event schedule indicates, on Friday are just pre-con festivities. And imagine if someone got a prize on Friday, but did not attend on Saturday. Effectively, everyone who attends on Saturday would be paying for his/her prize.

[Ninjatron]

Ninjatron, could you please contact me as to help me get a copy of the program guide? They were all gone by the time I got there. I'd be happy to pay you to ship it.
Oh man, they were all gone by the time I got there too! I got there late because of my art contest entry. If it were not for Guber coincidentally snagging an extra and giving it to me, I wouldn't have gotten one at all. Wish I could help ya buddy!

Prizes are donated by dealers; and fewer of them in past years. As such, the decision was made for TFCon 2006 to not have Friday prizes, since the majority of attendees are present on Saturday, and not every Saturday contest has prize awards either.
Well I figured it was something like that, and I get it. Still, I think that if the problem is that there are less prizes being donated, then that is the area of the issue that should be addressed in the future, instead of simply addressing what to do with the few prizes there are.

Don't missunderstand, the lack of prize doesn't deter from my enjoyment of anything. But I wasn't the only one disapointed in the lack of prizes. People asked me what I won and were also pretty disapointed for me when I showed them.

Sayonara.

[Stryder Wolfe]

Hey all, first time poster and convention goer here...although some of you might know me from tfw2005 back in like, the year 2000....anyway, I just thought I'd join up and say how much I liked the convention this year...I've been wanting to go for years but this was the first time I had a saturday off work in ages.

So yeah, the dealer room was great and the panels were all great with the exception of one...Michael Bell rocked! I didn't expect him to be so funny and interesting...definitely a big highlight of the con and something I'll remember fondly for a long while. Also fun to see my buddy Wil/Dr. Archevil as Ironhide doing the script reading - good times!

Oh so how did everyone do at the trivia contest? I took off before the results were announced. I do know that if I had joined the contest I would have gotten 6 wrong, which wasn't too shabby IMO...

anyway, so that's about it for my report. A good time had by all and well worth the 20 bucks admission :)

[Phalanx]

Hey there... Second year attending, and overall it was great and there's nothing to complain about. As for suggestions, I think most of mine have been brought up by others... but just to reinforce them...

1. Announce when panels are beginning in the dealer room. I noticed a lot of people trickling in as the panels were in progress. Might help to give everyone a heads up before they begin. It's easy to get carried away in the dealer room and forget the time.

2. Maybe make the Friday night activities a bit longer, or combine a couple of them? The pizza party was a great opportunity to sit down and get to know people, but a lot of people couldn't make it on time due to traffic, other obligations, etc etc. Maybe move the games into the same room and bump it up to 2 hours instead of just one. Better chance to socialize and get to know some fellow Transformer fans.

Anyway, here's hoping I can make it three years in a row next year.

-X

[Oasis]

"Also Micheal racey story about Scatman was classic. I never laughed so hard, I wish someone recorded it."

Protoman, what was the story? I know more than one interested individual...

This was my second Con and I have to say, I had a total blast. I kind of wish the person who registered me told me more about what was going on, though. She didn't tell me about the drawing or where to buy T-shirts and I was in such a hurry to get in line I kind of didn't notice until later.

[Dr. Archevil]

Maybe I was just too starstruck to remember, but I thought his amusing story was about Frank Welker, not Scatman Cruthers. The one where Frank had special privilages where he could leave Sunbow studios for other gigs in between...Michael Bell jokingly pulled out his wallet with his family pics and joked about telling his family that he was still alive in prison...:D

[JLvatron]

Maybe I was just too starstruck to remember, but I thought his amusing story was about Frank Welker, not Scatman Cruthers. The one where Frank had special privilages where he could leave Sunbow studios for other gigs in between...Michael Bell jokingly pulled out his wallet with his family pics and joked about telling his family that he was still alive in prison...:D

Michael recited the Scatman tale after the convention had ended.

[JLvatron]

JLvatron, I'm glad I got to see you there and thanks for all your effort in making the convention what it is.

Dude, you are so welcome! Glad you had a nice time.:)
Surprised you didn't audition for the script after your amazing performance last year. Hope you still enjoyed it.

[Oasis]

"Michael recited the Scatman tale after the convention had ended."


What was the story?

[Edwin]

Dude, you are so welcome! Glad you had a nice time.:)
Surprised you didn't audition for the script after your amazing performance last year. Hope you still enjoyed it.

Yes, I did. I presume you wrote this one again? Excellent job, man.

After a bit of a tussle at the border that morning and not making it in time for Friday, I was just content to sit back and enjoy the reading with the rest of the audience, given the little time I had away from my table. The folks who got the parts did really great. Thumbs up to 'em!

And thanks or the props from last year. I hope to return next year, and then, we shall see.

*Evil laughter*
Mike "E"

[Oreobot]

I thought I signed up for this message board to register for the pizza party, but it turns out I had to register again...weird.

Anyway - I flew all the way across the country from Vancouver just to go to the convention. It was great! I'd never been to one before. I had way more fun than I would have imagined. Too bad the jet lag was brutal. :( Next year I'll have to arrive earlier to get used to the 3 hour time difference.

I'm looking forward to going again next year. My husband would have come with me, but the convention landed on the last weekend of the Canadian tax year, so he was stuck working. Next year, please put it on a different weekend - like later.

Michael Bell and the opportunity to meet real people that I'd talked to online brought me out to the convention. The pizza party was a great social event and the TF Pictionary was hilarious! It must be done again!

[Nightscrabbler]

"Michael recited the Scatman tale after the convention had ended."


What was the story?
It's pretty hard to describe, you had to be there. Not to make you feel left out.

[Aernaroth]

It is not appropriate to be posted anywhere. Or even thought about. The authorities are coming to arrest me as we speak.

[Protoman]

But it was without a doubt his best story in my opinion.

[Oasis]

You're killing me here, guys. Can somebody PM me, or send an e-mail? Please? (Bats long eyelashes.)

sashap04 at hotmail dot com

[Fussion]

This is my first post :D

OK, I wanted to say something here on this board regarding Transformerscon, this is the reason I finally registered (2 years later) :).

My first Transformer convention was last year at Transformerscon and I have to say why the hell didn't I go before!?! I don't visit this site and I found out about Transformerscon through Seibertron.com . But after attending 2 Transformerscon conventions I have to register.

Last years convention was an eye opener for me, I used to collect Transformers and quit for many years but after attending last convention got me right back in it. I spent about $600 bucks last year just a figures. I met and had my picture with Tracks/Cosmos and Don Murphy and I had a great time.

This year was even better, I spent $1000 bucks and getting closer in completing my G1 collection. I met some people that I have been talking to over the boards and made a couple of new friends. I see how much work that the staff of Cybertron.ca has put into this and Colin running around.

I can't wait till next year and I just want to say thanks for all your hard work for putting this thing together.

[ubnyan]

I've been a Transformers Fan since highschool. It was my second time at the Convention and I have to say it was great to be among other fellow "Transformers Fans". Thank you to all those who made this excellent 2007 TFCon possible.

[GMfan]

This is my first post :D

OK, I wanted to say something here on this board regarding Transformerscon, this is the reason I finally registered (2 years later) :).

My first Transformer convention was last year at Transformerscon and I have to say why the hell didn't I go before!?! I don't visit this site and I found out about Transformerscon through Seibertron.com . But after attending 2 Transformerscon conventions I have to register.

Last years convention was an eye opener for me, I used to collect Transformers and quit for many years but after attending last convention got me right back in it. I spent about $600 bucks last year just a figures. I met and had my picture with Tracks/Cosmos and Don Murphy and I had a great time.

This year was even better, I spent $1000 bucks and getting closer in completing my G1 collection. I met some people that I have been talking to over the boards and made a couple of new friends. I see how much work that the staff of Cybertron.ca has put into this and Colin running around.

I can't wait till next year and I just want to say thanks for all your hard work for putting this thing together.

OMG your sig rocks, everytime I think OP I think of that John Wayne style he has...I was even hoping that in the movie he would whack Megatron with the butt of his gun (ala Wanye stylez) but since the gun seems attched to his arm look like it won't happen...would have been sweet though

[Leozak]

I better get my post in here before I forget to..

the con is still fresh in my mind partly because I really enjoyed my time there..

Friday night was organized a lot better than last year... too bad Dwayne could not attend, it would have been awesome to see him again.

Saturday rocked.. don't change a thing.. :)

It was nice to chat with you guys.. something that I don't do too often because I'm always in the dealer room.. but I hope to meet more of ya next year (which I'm already looking forward to!)

[JLvatron]

I better get my post in here before I forget to..

the con is still fresh in my mind partly because I really enjoyed my time there..

Friday night was organized a lot better than last year... too bad Dwayne could not attend, it would have been awesome to see him again.

Saturday rocked.. don't change a thing.. :)

It was nice to chat with you guys.. something that I don't do too often because I'm always in the dealer room.. but I hope to meet more of ya next year (which I'm already looking forward to!)

Glad you enjoyed it!:) Friday participation was much better this year, and that helped immensely.
Alot of people who only came Saturday mentioned stuff they woulda enjoyed doing, that were actully run on Friday.

Any news on Dwayne? Will he be attending BotCon?

[Leozak]

Glad you enjoyed it!:) Friday participation was much better this year, and that helped immensely.
Alot of people who only came Saturday mentioned stuff they woulda enjoyed doing, that were actully run on Friday.

Any news on Dwayne? Will he be attending BotCon?

I'd keep things the way they are.. no sense in making Saturday any busier :P

I haven't seen nor heard from Dwayne in a long time.. he hasn't been to TFW2005 since February... I hope things are ok with him.

[Edwin]

I haven't seen nor heard from Dwayne in a long time.. he hasn't been to TFW2005 since February... I hope things are ok with him.

I filled Colin in when I arrived late on Saturday about Dwayne. To make a long story short, Dwayne and his daughter are doing fine the last time I saw him, however, I wouldn't bet on seeing him at BotCon this year. He has personal matters to take care of.

That's all I will say here.

Thanks to all involved in making TFsCon a great show. Through some miracle I just might make it to next year's show! :)

Mike "E"