There was a table in the Botcon dealer room, to which, I kept going back. They had very reasonable prices on domestic hasbro releases and some third party items that were not outrageous. One of the third party items I kept eyeing were a couple recently released headmaster figures in the likeness of Soundwave and Optimus Prime. Not only did these figures become heads for headmaster-compatible figures, but they also had an alternate mode.

Robot mode. Alternate Mode. Headmaster Mode. But wait, there is more! These figures come with a small plate that allows one to form the head of the other figure’s robot mode. Its a pretty crazy and neat concept, but does it work well?

Read on to find out!
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MattyCollector.com updated their news page with some news that there will be a Voltron line coming to MattyCollector.com in 2012. It will be based on the classic 80’s series. A subscription to the line will be made available in the same fashion as the Ghostbusters (Club Ecto) and MOTU (Club Eternia) subscriptions. The new subscription will be called Club Lion Force and will include an exclusive figure for subscribers.

The update also mentioned that all subscriptions ordered at the same time, no matter the combination of lines, will all be able to have their shipping charges combined. Additional announcements and details will be made at SDCC 2012 later this summer.
Read the full news update from MattyCollector.com after the jump.
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When I purchased Top Spin and Twin Twist in the dealer room on Friday, I also noted a bag filled with translucent and clear knock-offs of the Laserbeak and Rumble/Frenzy cassette molds. The bag was labeled five dollars each and contained seven different cassettes. Four Laserbeaks and three Rumbles. I took a mental note of the bag and decided if I was still thinking about it Saturday, I would go back and see if they were still there and sure enough they were. I decided to just pick up the whole bag since they were small and my purchasing has been limited so far.

Read on for more pictures and details of these interesting knock-offs.
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The first table I walked up to on Friday had these two figures sitting on it in plastic bags. Top Spin came with his chrome weapon and was marked $3, while Twin Twist included his chrome weapon, instruction booklet and tech spec. Twin Twist was marked $5. Both figures seemed to be in pretty good shape. I picked them both up and handed the dealer exact change.

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The theme of Botcon 2011 was Transformers Animated and as a huge fan of the series, I made sure I picked up all the convention exclusives. This year’s attendee exclusive was an Animated version of IronFist using the Animated Ironhide/Ratchet mold with a brand new head. IronFist was never in Transformers Animated, but his big claim to fame was his starring role in IDW’s recent Last Stand of the Wreckers comic. I’m sure due to naming rights, most likely with Marvel, the tech spec does not actually use the name IronFist (though the comic book does), it actually uses Fisitron, the pseudonym, under which, IronFist wrote his chronicles of the Wreckers’ adventures.

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I figured that it would be fun to do some mini-reviews on some of the items I picked up at Botcon this year.

Grapple was an interesting item that I picked up mid way through Saturday. My intent was to purchase the Transformers Reveal the Shield (RtS) Solar Storm Grapple. I have a policy of sticking with the American versions for the most part. I am not much of a stickler about variations in color schemes so the cheaper choice has been my traditional choice. The biggest variance between the two version is the United (Japanese) version has an orange head while the RtS (American) release had a black head. The orange head is ‘anime-accurate’, as the kids say these days. It also differentiates him a bit more standing next to Universe Inferno. The RtS version’s black head is actually faithful to the original toy, so that version does have a basis in “reality”.

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We talk about the new KRE-O Tranformers with brand manager Colleen Doody.

We’ve already had plenty of coverage for the main set of exclusives, the Animated Stunticons. Motormaster. Dead End. Breakdown. Wildrider. Dragstrip.

The convention attendee exclusive is Animated Fisitron (think IronFist from IDW’s Last Stand of the Wreckers). He uses the Ratchet/Ironhide mold featuring a new head sculpt.

More exclusives and pictures after the break!

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