A Transformers-themed pub is in the running to be crowned Britain’s Best Home Bar, in a competition being run by Liberty Games. The winning bar, chosen… [more]
This last weekend saw yet another Transformers convention take over the Metropole Hilton, in Birmingham. These weekends have become a staple of my summer… [more]
Every year, since 2011, the nerds from TheTF.Net forum (now a Facebook group, because running a forum proved too much like hard work) have met for a weekend… [more]
This weekend saw our annual forum meet being held in the Welsh capital of Cardiff. Each year we meet in a different town or city in the UK, alternating… [more]
Almost 18 years ago (crikey, has it been that long?) we wrote a review of our visit to Transforce in August 2001. It was a seriously hot day, but a great… [more]
Can all of the news posters for TheTransformers.Net email me to get your new passwords for the admin? Some of you already have them but most of you don’t as of yet, in particular I’m reffering to Convoy and protoformX.
Also if anyone else would like to become a member of TheTransformers.Net drop me a mail and give me an example of your writing style.
’till are one!
ActionFigureExpress have just told us that they’ve got the Armada Jetfire in stock. Check out Jetfire here.
Small Blue Planet emailed us to say that they’ve got the Micron Legend figures from Japan, including that Super Base Prime, Hot Shot comes with Star Saber, Cyclonus comes with the demolition team, and Demolisher comes with the military team. Check out Small Blue Planet here.
Maybang’s Collectibles emailed us to let you guys know that they now have the
Myclone figures in stock. Check them out here,
they cost just $30 for a crate of six.
EACH SET OF 6 INCLUDES OPTIMUS PRIME, MEGATRON, STARSCREAM, ARCEE, ULTRA
MAGNUS, OPTIMUS PRIME (TRAILER MODE). EACH FIGURE MEASURES ABOUT 2.5��,
WITH 14 POINTS OF ARTICULATION, AND 15 INDIVIDUAL PARTS. INCLUDES A STAND
FOR EACH FIGURE AND MINI-BOOK. MADE BY TAKARA.
You may have noticed that the site has been down the last 36 hours, that was due to our new redesign being implemented and uploaded… and here it is!
Rumours were flying round that we’d been shut down after what has happened over at TFarchive, but we can assure you that this isn’t the case. We took the site down ourselves in order to get this new version up. The bad timing did cause some speculation though. Rest assured that TheTransformers.Net is here to stay.
There are still some bugs to this new site, and some content has yet to be uploaded (for instance the character profiles aren’t online yet) but over the next few weeks we’ll get all of that sorted. Enjoy the site, and let us know what you think in the forums.
’til all are one!
We headed down to ExCel in London for the annual toy fair, hopeful of getting a glimpse of some of the latest Transformers. It’s safe to say that we weren’t disappointed.
Naturally our first port of call was the massive Hasbro stand, but to our dismay it was a closed stand. Unlike almost all of the others we couldn’t just walk in and start playing, we had to make an appointment. Ah well, this gives us a few hours to explore elsewhere.
Sifting through the enormous wealth of toys in front of us we came across a company called Cards Inc, as a massive standee of Optimus Prime and Generation One. Ooh. We gazed in awe at the sticker book and stickers, throwing only a passing glance towards the Buffy the Vampire and Star Wars merchandise that surrounded it. We spoke to a chap from Cards Inc about the sticker album and found that it is due for release here in the UK in March/April time and will be available from all newsagents. This was what we wanted to hear as we’d feared it would be only available on import. Not so.
Another stall we found had the Optimus and Megatron head knockers, together with a few others non TF related. We spoke to them about our frustration in finding a UK seller of these items. Toys R Us don’t stock them, neither do the Entertainer. We were told that Epic Heroes were regular stockists, and that if they prove successful we can expect more Transformers head knockers soon. We were also shown some Matrix Reloaded statues which looked really cool, and some concept art for the still to be confirmed HR Giger range.
Finally it was time to head back to Hasbro for our 2 o’clock. We were shown round in a group of about eight, through the Action Man section and into the Transformers. We went no further! The room was like my bedroom, it was adorned with Transformers logos and cut-outs, there were Armada toys stacked up to the ceiling and there were even some G1 reissues. This was interesting; we had to ask if the G1 reissues were going to be released here in the UK. The chap said that all of what we saw would be available for Christmas 2003, but the reissues would be limited. Despite me trying to convince him that it was the reissues that we all wanted he didn’t really understand. He wasn’t a Transformers fan, just a Hasbro rep that had been stood in the Transformers room all week. He said that Hasbro wasn’t interested in giving a full release to a twenty year old toy. I didn’t think at the time but I could have pointed out that the Star Wars range reissued all of the ships such as the Millennium Falcon and the X-Wing and they did very well. Classic toys never die, they just get collectible. Still we were told that Prime, Magnus, Hot Rod and Starscream would be out for Christmas, so it’s a start.
He even demonstrated the new Armada Prime for us, it transforming by itself of course helped him immeasurably.
Our hearts’ filled with happiness that we would at last get G1 reissues in the UK we headed home, stopping only briefly to play with some Daleks on the way.
This is just a quick note to keep you abreast of things; we’ll have a full feature article up on the site as soon as the photos are developed.
I popped down to the UK Toy Fair in ExCel (London) today to see what Transformers we can expect to see in our shores this year. I spoke to Hasbro about Armada and G1 reissues and the news is surprisingly bright. They had reissues of Optimus Prime, Starscream, Ultra Magnus and Hot Rod, all of which we can expect to see in the UK at some point before Christmas.
Most of their Transformers display was centred around Armada though. The Armada Optimus Prime looks superb, and actually transforms himself. Now that’s lazy.
I spoke to CardsInc about the Generation One sticker album, and that will be out this year in all good newsagents around March/April time.
There are more surprises to come, and loads of great photos so stay tuned. The Toy Fair is now moving on to Germany, and then to New York so our American cousins can catch up on what we’ve already experienced.
Ha!
Those of you that saw the first part of Mr. T versus Unicron will be excited to hear that part II is now on NewsGrounds. Check it out here
Now you can find out if Optimus survives, what happens to the Smurfs and whether George Bush really is that stupid.
Starscream has arrived at Amazon and can be bought now for $34.99. Check it out here
Our hob nobbing with the famous continues as we present our latest interview, this time we talk to Dick Gautier of Rodimus Prime fame.
Could you start by introducing yourself and tell us a few of your voice work credits?
My voice credits are extensive, you’d best look on my web site under RESUME. I can’t list them here. Bad typist.
What character are you most proud of that you have given life to in your career and why?
The original Conrad Birdie in BYE BYE BIRDIE on Broadway (Tony nomination) and HYMIE on Get Smart.
How did you get started in the business and who were your greatest influences?
I sang with a band when I was 17 and then did stand up for about four or five years before doing Broadway and becoming an actor. Sid Caesar and Danny Kaye were big influences on me. As were other odd, weird and bizarre comics that you’ve never heard of — Theodore and Lord Buckley.
Rodimus Prime was despised by some Transformers fans for replacing Optimus Prime, and this was something that was even written into the script with Rodimus living in Optimus’ shadow. How was it for you replacing Peter Cullen as the lead on the show?
It wasn’t Peter Cullen, it was Ted Schwartz and all I know is that Wally Burr, the director, said “Okay- you’re Rodimus Prime. I had never worked with Ted nor met him.
How much of the voice of Rodimus Prime was yours, and how much was influenced by Judd Nelson’s portrayal in Transformers the Movie?
It was all mine. I never saw the movie, the series and didn’t even know who Judd Nelson was. I’ve seen him in the interim as an actor, he’s not imitatable because his voice and personality are not clearly defined.
Are you aware of the revival in the Transformers toy line, comics and TV series – largely generated and supported by the online community?
Yes – I attended a convention last year in Indiana.
Which do you prefer, acting on stage, acting for television, voice over or drawing?
All of it. Why not? If you can do all of it — do it. Why inhibit yourself? Although I prefer stage to TV and movies. more challenging, better writing.
The world of film and television is filled with big egos and bad attitudes, is there anyone you’ve worked with that you wish you hadn’t?
Egos? Hollywood? What on earth do you mean?
Have you any tips or advice for anyone wanting to become a voice artist?
It’s best to develop ORIGINAL voices, not Bugs Bunny, Etc. they’re covered. Be unusual and creative, that’s the strongest weapon you have. I taught VO for awhile and one of my best bits of advice was IF YOU DO A BAD IMPRESSION OF A FAMOUS PERSON SO IT’S UNRECOGNIZABLE MAYBE YOU’VE CREATED A NEW VOICE!
Who are the most talented people that you’ve worked with?
Frank Welker is very talented, so is Peter Cullen, Maurice LaMarche, there’s a mess of ’em. Jack Angel, too. Charlie Adler is great. And me. I’m not too bad.
Is there anything that you’ve done career wise that you’d like to forget?
I’ve done some bad movies. I’ve been miscast – the Doris Day show I was a Mideastern terrorist. Bad! I was the Governor in a Billy Jack movie. Not good. I’m sure there’s more.
What projects are you working on right now?
I just finished a new book (number 15) a compendium, of humorous poetry dealing with contemporary issues large and small. with illustrations by moi of course.
Is there anyone who you have not yet worked with but would like to?
Oh too many to name. I’ve been lucky to work with some greats – Barbra Streisand, Jimmy Stewart, Dick Van Dyke, Chita Rivera, Paul Lynde, Nicholson, Jane Fonda, Jason Robards, ETC. ETC. ETC.
We want to say a big thanks to Dick for the interview, you were great. Best of luck in the future and we hope your latest book does well. Don’t forget you can check out Dick’s website here.
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