For some reason I cannot think about Double Punch without mentally comparing him to Sid Vicous.
This guy.

I wish I could make more sense of it. I mean what do we really know about Double Punch? Well, he’s an arrogant prick who likes to destroy stuff and has a foul mouth. But wait, that’s pretty much Sid Vicous. Well, Sid Vicous also was a junkie and murdered his girlfriend, but let’s stop and think what a violent Decepticon like Double Punch might do when his glory days end.

Yeah, he just might become a junkie and murder his girlfriend.

What if he stole Wreck-Gars wife?

Her name was Nancy.

  These two are very similar in a lot of ways, if you think about it without breaking it down into to many details. That and if you think about it, Sid Vicous was all image and really just a moron. Double Punch might be a moron, but he gets things done. Sid was hired as a member of the Sex Pistols because he was a spectacle, they didn’t even plug in his bass. Double Punch is actually a threat. But when you put aside facts and go by urban legend, Sid was this uber badass who did what he wanted when he wanted. Which is what Double Punch actually is.

So, in my head, Double Punch is basically a competent version of Sid Vicous, who actually would have beaten up those cowboys instead of getting beat up by cowboys.

But he probably would still puke all over himself.

Etsy seller SoapLane has created a fine bar of soap featuring the sigil of our famed villians, the Decepticons. Now, what would that smell like? Oil? Metal? Weird cosmic radiation? Well, according to the order page it smells quite nice.

This deceptive surfactant cleansing compound is scented with notes of rain and ocean without forgetting hints of chaos and destruction.

Well that sounds great. So hey Transfans, let’s take off our hoodies and that old BotCon shirt (wash those too) and hop in the shower. I imagine a day where a TF fan gathering smells like rain and the ocean, instead of axe and ramen noodles.

Seriously, why do people use the term brick as a reason to dislike a G1 toy? They were all bricks for the most part. It makes as much sense as discounting a Micromaster from 1990 on the basis that it doesn’t have the articulation of Sideburn, using the basis that technically it’s release in 2004 as part of Universe would mean it would be a more recent toy than the 2001 Sideburn.

That’s the kind of stupid you’ll find on the internet.

I digress.

Now why would a blog entry with Godbomber in the subject line be about Powermaster Optimus Prime? Well unless you are extremely new to the game, you would know about the Japanese incarnation of PMOP as Ginrai. If not, then read this, and then continue.

Well, like many other TF fans, first discovering information about the various Transformers animated series and toy lines in other countries was a rite of passage. When I found out about how my beloved PMOP was handled in Japan. I admit I was pretty turned off at first, I mean WTF right? Then shortly after I accepted it and actually learned to love Masterforce for it’s uniqueness in the world of TF fiction. After all, Decepticons making zombies that wear little shorty shorts and t shirts emblazoned with the Decepticon sigil. Comic dudes love the Beyonder and his whitey fro. Me, I like zombies in 80’s jogging gear.

So of course I found out about Godbomber, and to be honest, at first I thought he sounded great. Extra trailer for PMOP that turned into both a robot and armor for PMOP. This sounds great, why wasn’t it included in the American version? For that matter, why was the Japanese version of better quality? (at the time, things like price points and the economics that go into Transformers wasn’t a well versed subject of mine) I gotta get one. At the time, the pictures I would find online made Godbomber were usually kinda small and grainy. For all I could tell, he looked pretty decent. I had reasoned that I would score a Godbomber and combine him with my PMOP. Partially to save on the cost of a complete Ginrai set, and also part of my middle finger attitude towards the whole Ginrai/PMOP situation at the time.

At BotCon, I had my chance. See, local conventions in Atlanta have pretty much ignored Transformers until the 2007 movie. Of course since then they have jumped on the bandwagon, but before then TF stuff was kinda odd to find. Dreamwave comics popularity made for more t shirts, but that was about it. So I usually had to wait until I could attend a BotCon to view some of the more hard to find stuff (you could find a million Sunstreaker fists on ebay, but no Godbomber I tells ya).

So there I was, at BotCon and there it was… Star Saber!

Man that thing was awesome, completely overshadowed this blocky looking dude that turned out to be Godbomber. I mean, wow Godbomber was a mess. I wasn’t too turned off by that, because hey… he’s an accessory. Well, that was the general feeling until every dealer wanted a little over a power bill’s worth of cash for the damn accessory. 

Well I decided to pass on Godbomber for a few years based on what reality had presented me with. Not very long afterwards the whole God Ginrai gift set was reissued. Man, timing was perfect and thanks to timing I got it for $14 at Hobby Link Japan’s clearance sale. Man, Ginrai is really nice, man… Godbomber really sucks. Why did I want this so much? A little later Hasbro reissued Powermaster Optimus Prime and I jumped on it. The reissue was in fact just the God Ginrai gift set in American packaging. So now I had two God Ginrai gift sets, just one was Optimus with some blocky dude now named Apex Bomber. Man this PMOP was really nice, Apex Bomber really sucked.

So now I have two Godbombers, something that I once would have been ecstatic to say, now I’m just reluctant to point too. I still think I like my old PMOP better than the Ginrai set though. Not because of Godbomber, he is a kinda cool accessory that wasn’t executed well. Not because of the nice die cast metal and other features Ginrai offers. No, but because my old PMOP will always be the toy I had on my bookshelf next to my stereo. The classic PMOP will always be the robot I doodled on my Mead notebook instead of taking notes. Ginrai is just another dude, and the Apex Armor is just a new addition. PMOP will always be classic, and Godbomber is just a foot note I took a few minutes to blog about while stuck inside during a winter storm.

Guys, the new Transformers Happy Meal starts Nov. 28th and the Transformers Prime miniseries starts on the 29th.

So there is so much damn opportunity RIGHT THERE!

Record some episodes, arrange a meet up at McDonald’s, everybody get Happy Damn Meals. Watch the episodes on a laptop or something. Follow up with some conversation about the new series, maybe some toy trading or buying. Somebody might bring their customs. Or hey, if anybody has WFC for DS, there could be a few multilayer matches.

Or hell, you could have some folks over at your house and everybody brings Happy Meals. But I figure a public place might work better. 

Hey, could be a damn fun time.

They only happen once a year.

You wait all year, the anticipation rises, you save your money, you pre register, you work out lodging and travel plans. You prepare your art contest entries, get together your hand printed pamphlets on Cybertronian language,  you print up fliers for your site, you gather up stuff to trade and whatever. You might even work on your costume to wear, if you so choose to wear one. The convention finally comes, you go, you have a damn blast, you see friends you might not get to see very often, your swarmed by something you enjoy so very much. It’s EVERYWHERE and then… it’s over.

It’s going to be another long year till you get to relive that fun you love to have. Even longer if for some reason you can’t make the next one. It sucks and it’s a major bummer. You spend the following few days with a post con depression and your normal friends think your insane.

So where am I going with this?

Do I have a solution for our particular brand of crazy?

Kinda.

Hold your own damn con.

No, not one to replace the ones you go to. And no, not some giant undertaking that the organizers of those cons put in an amazing amount of backbreaking work to accomplish (and seriously, make sure to thank them for their efforts). No, I’m saying organize your own fan get together. A way to have fun with fans during that long wait for the next big con. We’re going to do this DIY style. 

Now this could work for any other fandom, but I know nothing of them, so I’m talking TF.

Now there are several ways to work something out, but let’s start small. We got TF3 coming out this summer. Meaning come spring, TF is going to be everywhere.  Organize a way for fans to get together. Your reading this on a website, so chances are you got this internet thing figured out. Use that figuring out to reach out to folks in your local area. Work out a schedule and places to hook up. If you have a shopping area with an attached movie theater, you’re in the good. 

Organize a place for everyone to meet at, if a fast food place is doing a TF promotion, organize a meal there with everyone. Check out the TF stuff in the local stores and finish it off with a viewing of TF3. Or hey, some restaurants rent out party rooms with a tv. Have everybody come there, enjoy a viewing of TF and participate in trading and stuff. Meetup.com used to be great for this kind of thing, but now it wants to charge for use. So, start a local group somewhere else and advertise on forums. 

Here’s a real kicker. Find a local small convention, rent a room at the hotel, hold a TF party. Or hell, those small cons are so starved for events, you can usually work out a deal for convention space. At Dragon Con (not small, but hey… whatever), it isn’t to unheard of to throw fandom parties for stuff not on the schedule. You can even find rooms not being used and take them over.

With the local TF fan list I started years back, we had meetings that consisted of meeting at a place and then group roaming stores. It’s just that easy, hell, go to your local library, they usually have space you can use for community events. Small mini fan events are nothing new for any fandom and can be held easily. 

I can’t believe I’m about to advocate anime stores or clubs (joking, I swear) but contact a local one. Chances are they have resources you can use. Make up a zine with others to commemorate the event or some neat custom thing. Check out the great Transformers party supplies at any Party City or Walmart. Hell, give everybody a TF Silly Band. Make the most of it. Have it your way, right away.

Have your own damn con. 

*If you do have your own damn con, send some damn info to RFC. We love to hear about this damn kind of thing*

You already know where I’m going with this huh?

So while looking for Hello Kitty silly bands with the girlfriend, we see Skelanimals (another of her favorites) bands and then… Garbage Pail Kids silly bands. So… hey… I kinda want those. Well, I held off for the time being (rest assured, I’ll eventually get some… I mean dude… GPK!). Recently my attention has been drawn to something else in band form.

Yeah…

So it’s no big suprise that Transformers silly bands have been made. With the movies being hotter than fried lava right now, eager mechandisers are slapping that TF logo on anything they can. This delights me to a fault, you see, not only am I being supplied with cheap TF stuff, but it’s cheap TF stuff from a fad. I’ve always been a fan of TF artifacts/merchandise, and I’m a sucker for the more collectible items in TF. Those blind packed pvcs, the trading cards from Armada as well as the card game from a few years back. Now these? This is great!

I’m a 32 year old man who is excited for silly bands. Let that sink in for a second.

Those are some cool rubber bands.

So I see these TF bands, and the dork in me see’s fans at BotCon/Auto Assembly/TFcon/insert a TF convention here happily giving them to their friends. I can see all sorts of stuff on etsy being made from these. I see potential for fans to have fun with these. It’s a very cool thing, for a very nerdy thing.

Oh yeah, some kids would probably like them also.

It’s awesome.

However, like any transfan whose been around long enough, I can’t help but to sense a dark sinister something lurking in that convention. I’m not going to go into detail, but I know just by saying the name Starscream, some of you smile in a pretty darned creepy way while picturing NSFW in your heads.

Now I’m not going to tell somebody how to enjoy Transformers, but I am going to beg of you (the NSFW thinking smile’s out there) to keep it behind curtains. Contain it to adults only panels or room parties. If not for the fans who don’t like it, think of the children.

Will somebody please think of the children?

Imagine a child, who thinks Transformers are the coolest thing ever. This convention is the coolest thing ever and hey look… there the child is… his/her parents saw this in the newspaper and thought she would have fun at this convention. There he/she is walking around, clutching a Starscream toy. The child’s eyes are open wide, excited and totally happy to see that other people like Transformers just as much if not more than they do.

Do you remember that moment, when you first learned you were not alone?

Now imagine that child, looking in the dealers room, discovering zines and fan made items. Seeing cosplayers and all sorts of stuff we take for granted, and then… they see a pic of Starscream and Megatron doing … stuff (including Kiss, hell the only Kiss thing they would see is a toy with a weird girl toy in the box).

Yeah… 

So attendees of the Starscream convention, those of you who are full of NSFW smiles now that I just said Starscream. Please keep that adult stuff out of the potential sight or grasp of that child, and we all know that local kids always find their way to a Transformers convention. Thank you.

Just to clear the air, and enjoy Transformers with you, here is a pleasant picture.

Not replacement teams, but new versions that are also that team. You see, the original Aerialbots are still around. Skyburst leads his own team of Aerialbots as well. In fact, there could be more Aerialbot teams as well as the classic team and Skyburst’s team.

Same with Combaticons, Dinobots, and hell… multiple new teams as well. 

See, I’ve been this way since Beast Machines. When the BM Dinobots came out, at first I was confused as to why this was a different set of characters. I read the bios and hey, it was a new team of Dinobots. A team I liked. But wait… Grimlock was in Beast Wars. Swoop was too. Somewhere in the logic that there was two Dinobot teams…

I have no real description of what happened in my mind. Let’s just say it was like a thousand Kool-Aid Men breaking down a thousand walls and saying “OH YEAH!” in unison.

Since then, the idea of multiple teams has always been a great idea to me. Why does Superion have to be the only Aerialbot combiner? What if an army of Aerialbots came to the battle?

The BW Dinobots are my favorite sub team ever, partially because I like the idea of multiple Dinobot teams. Now we have a sub line of toys that features multiple sub teams, and we have an idea I totally am all about.

Multiple Rallybots… whoah.