More news on the Auto Assembly 08 guest list, this time it is Geoff Senior, who unfortunately couldn’t make AA 2006 but is coming to next years convention.
Auto Assembly 2009 Early Bird Ticket Discounts Extended!
With only a week to go before the early bird discounts run out on tickets for Auto Assembly 2009 and tickets rise to their full prices, we can announce… [more]
Tyrese Gibson still can’t believe his luck at being cast in Transformers
Star of Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Tyrese Gibson, is naturally excited about being part of the movies, but still can’t get… [more]
Megan Fox not on the market again?
Bad news fellas, it seems the most beautiful woman in the world (after Arcee of course), Megan Fox, is not on the market and in the hunt once again for… [more]
Transformers 2 – Transformers Revenge of the Fallen – Trailer
The first trailer for Transformers Revenge of the Fallen was removed from YouTube within hours, expect this one to last just as long! It's the full trailer… [more]
Gregg Berger To Attend Auto Assembly 2009!!
We've just been sent this press released from Simon and Sven from Auto Assembly, and it's big news. Get read for some Decepto-chop munching at AA this… [more]
Auto Assembly 2008 Officially Announced + Guests (4 NOW)
Good news everyone, we have a UK Transformers convention for 2008. Simon and Sven are back with Auto Assembly 2008 on Saturday 2nd August 2008 at the Clarendon Suites in Birmingham, England. There will the usual events and goodies with only a small incrase in price, £16 for adults and £8 for children. Here is there full announcement:
Yes, it’s finally here! We are pleased to announce that Auto Assembly 2008 has been confirmed for Saturday 2nd August 2008 and will once again be taking place at the Clarendon Suites right here in Birmingham, England. After taking a much needed year off, we’re back and hoping to bring you the biggest and best Auto Assembly convention EVER with loads of activities, and what could well be our biggest guest line-up to-date…
This time we’re running the event to raise funds for Help A Local Child (formerly known as Cash For Kids) – a local children’s charity founded by BRMB radio station – through a charity auction and raffle and any excess funds left over from the convention.
Help a Local Child was launched in 1994 with a commitment to helping the children and young people of the West Midlands, who experience the negative effects of poverty, abuse, neglect, homelessness, violence, crime, illness and disability. There are many children in and around the Birmingham area who are carers for their own parents or who are indirect victims of domestic violence or suffer daily pain due to illness. In this world of glamour and gain, these are the children that BRMB want to help. Their focus is local fundraising, with all money raised being awarded locally and really benefiting our community. With the help and support of their listeners, local celebrities, corporate partners, volunteers, and their employees, the fundraising year on year will help more and more children in the area, enabling them to achieve dreams and ambitions they would never have thought possible.
Back to next year’s convention and we’re going to be having the usual mix of activities – plenty of dealers, video screenings, a bar or two(!), toy and art displays, competitions and guest talks. We’re hoping to have our usual mix of UK comic guests including all of our “regulars”, another voice actor (who we will announce as soon as possible) but this time we want to have the biggest guest line-up ever at a British Transformers convention!
In 2005 Auto Assembly was the biggest ever held in Europe with 409 fans attending and last year we had 400 attendees and we are confident that we’re going to smash the European record next year. Every year we have a fantastic amount of interest for the convention with fans booking up from across Europe and as far afield as Australia and America!
We’ll be producing another issue of our fanzine, The Cybertronian Times, producing another one of our infamous “goodie bags” with plenty of great free gifts including two more convention exclusive postcards, and much more!
Anyway, we hope to see many of you there next year and feel free to get in touch if you want to know more! There will be full information about next year’s convention going on the website over the coming days and weeks and bookings will be open in the next week or so!
Simon and Sven
Auto Assembly 2008web: www.autoassembly.org.uk
enquiries@autoassembly.org.uk
forum: http://autoassembly.proboards7.com
As well as this good news, the first THREE guests have been revealed as well. Comic artists Simon Williams, Lew Stringer and Any Wildman will all be coming. Simon and Any have both been to many Auto Assembly’s before whilst this is Lew’s first time.
There are many more guests awaiting replies so stay tuned for more news.
UPDATE: The fourth guest attending is IDW and Titan colourist Liam Shallo.
Auto Assembly 2008 is ON!
The UK Transformers convention scene has been very quiet during 2007, with both Transforce and Auto Assembly taking a year off. The good news is that Auto Assembly is back in 2008 during either July or August at the Clarendon Suites, the venue for AA 2005 (the largest Transformers convention in Europe) and 2006.
Simon Plumbe had this to say:
Just to let you all know though that even though we’ve been quiet for a while, Auto Assembly 2008 is ON and we have been saying this to those of you who have been asking us for the last few months.
Sven and I DESPERATELY needed a break this year for personal and health reasons but we’ve pretty much sorted the venue out and we should be announcing the date in the next couple of days. We’ve narrowed it down to 3 dates and we’re just waiting for confirmation on which one the Clarendon Suites is free! Yup, we’re back at the same place as AA2005 and AA2006!
Anyway, it’s going to be July or August next year so feel free to spread the word guys and keep an eye on the boards and AA website… we’re going to start getting VERY vocal…!!
TheTransformers.net hope to get some more information from Simon very soon on next years event.
Full Animated Not At Mini-Con
We have some bad news for fans planning on attending Mini-Con in Arlöv this weekend. The anticipated showing of the first episode of Transformers: Animated will now NOT go ahead. It will now only be shown in partial form, with the full episode being held back until next year.
Now for the reason why. Hasbro Nordic tried their best to get the preview and were given the green light but at the last minute Hasbro USA have changed their mind. As usual, a lot of hard work by the international fandom is blocked by the USA branch.
Source NTFA
Furman Going to Another Planet
Simon Furman has provided a reminder, via his blog, that he will be at London’s Forbidden Planet Megastore tomorrow from 6pm.
Even though the event is headlined by Death’s Head Volume 2, he will sign any Transformers related stuff, like Devastation, Beast Wars and Titan’s UK comic but also any of his Terminator 2 work.
The most important thing to do tomorrow is buy Mr Furman a drink in the pub afterwards. He’ll be more likely to reveal some upcoming information on any of his projects.
Auto Assembly Podcast Show 2 Released!
Hi Everyone!
Just to let you know that the second Auto Assembly podcast has just been uploaded to the server this monday. This time it’s a massive show running in at just under 56 minutes and we’ve got a few surprises in store this time…
Once again, the show has all the latest news and developments on Auto Assembly Target 2006 including exclusive news on our latest guest confirmed for the convention this weekend, details on a convention exclusive being produced by Wildfur, a competition to win some Transformers DVD box sets, more great music plus a special guest appearance from RiD voice actor Wally Wingert!
You can download the show, and the first one if you haven’t already heard it, from http://www.autoassembly.org.uk/podcast.htm where it is available in high and low quality versions for downloading. Feel free to send us your comments and suggestions about it to us at podcast@autoassembly.org.uk or alternatively you can leave them on the forum at http://autoassembly.proboards7.com
Enjoy the show and we’re looking forward to seeing many of you in June at Auto Assembly Target 2006 and thanks to all of your for your support so far with the show and the convention!
Simon and Sven
Auto Assembly Target 2006
Auto Assembly 2005 Update
Auto Assembly 2005 Pre-Bookings CLOSED!!
We have now closed the pre-bookings for Auto Assembly 2005 as we are in the final packing stages and getting ready to go over to the Clarendon Suites so we can’t process any more bookings properly! If yuo have already pre-booked, your confirmation slips have been posted and should be with you in time for AA2005 if you have not already received them.
We do still have around 100 places available for those of you planning on coming along on the day, but we would advise you all to get here early to get a good place in the queue as once we hit the cut-off point, we will not be able to let anyone else in! On-the-door prices are £10 for adults and £7.50 for children, students etc.
If you have pre-registered and not received your confirmation slips by the time you leave to come along you will need to ensure that you bring the following – PayPal order confirmation (including the transaction ID), proof of personal ID including address (such as mobile phone bill). If you don’t have either of these, it could delay your admission into the event.
We’re looking forward to seeing you all this weekend!!
AA2005 Final Guest Update
Sadly Lee Sullivan won’t be able to join us at Auto Assembly this year due to unforseen family commitments. However, we do have an item for the auction signed by him and he will be back with us for Auto Assembly 2006. However, we do have a surprise….
Also, because of staff shortages, Maximum Entertainment have just informed us today that they will not be able to make it this year. However, we will be still filming Auto Assembly 2005 ourselves (and we are still looking for volunteers!) and hopefully the edited footage will be used on the RiD box set appearing later this year. They are going to be sending some items along for us to give away as prizes though.
Geoff Senior To Attend Auto Assembly 2005!!
Transformers comic legend Geoff Senior will be making his first Auto Assembly appearance this weekend! He will be around to sign autographs and will be taking part in the comic panel at 1 00 pm.
IDW Comic News
At AA2005, Simon Furman gave some updates as to the direction that the new comics would take. To sum up what he said, Simon has posted some points on TFW2005 to clear up the confusion that had been occurring on other sites
Hi everyone– some quick responses and clarifications to the AA-feedback.1) First of all, when I mentioned ‘younger age bracket,’ what I meant was we’re aiming to appeal to an age group under 30! While we definitely want the long-time fans to read and enjoy the book, we also want to make it accessible and resonant with teenagers too.
2) There’ll be a range of ages for the human characters, but the youngest will be maybe fifteen/sixteen. We’re not going ‘junior’ here.
3) Character (alt-mode) updates will be by necessity only. If we can get away with using a ‘classic’ car in the 2005/2006 setting, we will. I have no burning urge to reinvent the wheel here, I just want to make stuff fresh and believable in a modern setting. These guys want to blend in, so they’re hardly going to pick a make of car or whatever from 1984.
4) BUT, and I stress this, we are taking pains to update, not reimagine. All of us (me, EJ, Hasbro, Chris and Dan at IDW) are looking for the most natural fits, those that won’t require major tweaks to the robot modes. We want you to look at any given vehicle on a page and know right off it’s Wheelie (just kidding!).
5) Megatron. Honestly, I always thought the gun was a bad idea. You’ve got the most powerful, feared being in the known galaxy and he turns into a handgun (and mostly he needs someone else to hold and point him!). Gimme a break. No, when Megatron transforms, it should be epic, grandiose. Hardened battle veterans should feel their exhaust ports loosen.
6) And finally, trust me that I won’t take everything you know and love throw it out the window. I won’t. Why? Because I know and love it too. It just don’t want to tell exactly the same story. Again.
Cheers– Simon Furman (honest!)
Auto Assembly Press Release
Auto Assembly has now added yet another great item to it’s charity auction for
it’s next UK Transformers convention in May 2004…
The latest item being auctioned off for our two charities next year the NSPCC
and Cancer Research) is a MISB Beast Wars Depth Charge figure… signed by David
Sobolov, the actor who voices Depth Charge in the series.
We were originally expecting a signed photo from David, but he went out and
purchased the toy for us to auction instead and you can imagine our surprise
when it arrived. As David explains
“I thought this might fetch a higher price for your charity auction than
a signed photo. Please let me know how well it does. Regards, David Sobolov.”
As well as his work on Beast Wars, David has also voiced number computer and
video games as well as countless characters in other animated shows, most notably
playing the lead role in the Robocop Alpha Command series.
The auction will form part of Saturday’s programme at Auto Assembly 2004 and
it will have a mix of charity and non-charity items (personal sales from fans
and dealers with a 10% commission to charity) and we now have a lot of great
items covering all TF eras from G1 right up to Energon with everything in between!
As an added bonus, we will be working closely with many of these actors and
companies to bring you even more for Auto Assembly! McDonalds have donated a
number of gift vouchers which will be used for competitions during the Auto
Assembly weekend, and in addition to donating an autograph, Wally Wingert (Sideburn
in RiD) has kindly recorded some EXCLUSIVE dialogue for us as SideBurn that
has been uploaded to the Auto Assembly website talking about AA2004!! We are
already in talks with other actors who are donating items to the auction to
get even more exclusive sound clips and other surprises!
We are also still hoping to be able to announce our voice actor for Auto Assembly
in the near future as well, although this will be dependent on the number of
pre-bookings we get and dealers who book up so if you want to see an exclusive
voice actor, and have a chance to bid on these great items, book for Auto Assembly
2004 NOW!! We will be limiting places based on the capacity of the venue, so
we would advise that you do book in advance.
If you book for AA2004 before the end of January 2004, you will also qualify
for a 10% “early bird” discount!
We’re also starting to take bookings for dealers tables with 15 tables already
taken so if you want to be at AA2004, it’s time to get your bookings in so you
don’t miss out!
For further information, see the Auto Assembly website at www.autoassembly.org.uk
or join the discussion on our forum at http://autoassembly.proboards7.com
and active members of the forum will qualify for a 10% discount on ticket prices.
We can be contacted by email at enquiries@autoassembly.org.uk or by telephone
on 07860 948296. If there are any dealers or individuals who would like to donate
items for these, please get in touch.
Simon and Sven
Auto Assembly 2004
Neil Kaplan confirmed for AA 2005
Wreck and Rule. of the forums has reported that Neil Kaplan, the voice of RID Optimus Prime, is coming to Auto Assembly 2005! Here’s what Simon Plumbe had to say on the announcement
Okay, we’ve just confirmed our latest guest for AA2005… and it’s a voice actor!
Making his first appearance at Auto Assembly is RiD’s Neil Kaplan, the voice of Optimus Prime and Ro-Tor!!
We had been in talks with another voice actor for some time which was 100% dependent on sponsorship. That sponsor started making very unreasonable demands of the actor, to the point that they wanted to by-pass Auto Assembly completely and go directly to the actor in question! As you can imagine, that resulted in that deal falling apart.
Neil stepped in about two weeks ago and asked if he could come along. He made us an absolutely fantastic offer regarding his appearance and combining the offer Neil made, plus the wonderful support we have had from all of you booking early and through funds raised from our online auctions and fundraising through the adverts on our website we have been able to make Neil’s appearance happen without the need for sponsorship!!
Neil will be involved quite extensively with the Auto Assembly 2005, and he is also going to be helping us with the auction and as we write this, is arranging for some rather special items to be signed from many of his fellow RiD cast members in the States…!
Simon
