Dinner Exclusive

The first exclusive for the convention was given away at the Botcon '97 dinner. This was the semi-formal dinner on Friday night where only the pre-paid ($50) may attend. As part of the dinner (although late registrants didn't receive one) there was a "Dinner Exclusive". This year it was in a small white box. I saw them stacked up as I was waiting to get to the front of the line. What could be in those boxes? Well.....what we found was a bit of a surprise. Inside the box was a handpainted "decoy". You know the decoys...those little purple/pink things given away with some of the figures in Generation 1 as a promotion. Well.....this one was hand painted by Dave Van Domelen. He did a hell of a job. I don't know exactly how many different decoys there were but mine was a Wheeljack and he has a D97 written on his foot. At the dinner table with us I saw a Bonecrusher, another Wheeljack, a Smokescreen, and a Jazz. Also included was a plaque that says "Botcon '97 Dinner Exclusive". It also works as a stand for the decoy since it has a mirror on the top where you can display it. And that's not all!!! Also included was a cutout from the storyboards of Transformers: The Movie. The cutout was individually lamanated. It's a cute touch!! I was quite surprised by this exclusive. In fact....so was everyone at the table. I don't think anyone expected it. This was a very unique idea. Definitely a worthy exclusive!!

The figure exclusive was a bit of a surprise. It was unveiled at the dinner and was a Beast Wars two-pack (Fractyl/Packrat). The first thing that you notice is the packaging. This year it was done by Andrew Wildman and Simon Furman (the comic book guys.....duh). They did a spectacular job. It was mentioned that their original intent was to cross Beast Wars packaging with that of Generation 1. Let me say that they pulled it off nicely. The first thing you'll notice is the "see through" windows where you can view each of the two figures. The overall design leans toward the Generation 1 blockiness. It also has the "Start, Change, Change, Finish" diagram at the top. Nice touch! On the bottom are the instructions for both figures. On the back are the specs, wonderful action scene, and the fact that the figure is worth 3 Botcon points (tee hee). Of course it has Botcon '97 exclusive splattered all over the front and back so not to confuse anyone.
Okay.....I mentioned how wonderful the packaging is....what about the figures? Well...they're nice too! Fractyl is a recolor of Terrorsaur (who is now a metallic green/gold). Packrat is a recolor of Rattrap (who is now a metallic blue). They both have nice new paint jobs!! Their transformations and look are identical to their original molds.
And that's not all!!! The figure also comes with an exclusive Beast Wars comic book. This has also been done by Wildman and Furman. It's about a search for robot form invincibility. Quite interesting. Especially if you consider them doing a series (hint hint). It also came with comic book backing and bag.
The figure was well worth the $40 ($30 for pre-registrants). The beautiful packaging and wonderful recolors make it a unique exclusive worthy on any Transformers shelf!!!

CD Exclusive

The CD Exclusive came as quite a shock. It is a CD 2-pack (what's with the 2 packs this year) and has new recordings by Stan Bush and Vince DiCola. According to the demonstration at the dinner, Bush and DiCola actually went into a recording studio and recorded the entire CD set exclusively for Botcon. WOW. That's cool!!!
The first CD is Stan Bush. It has a total of 10 songs. "Dare" and "Touch" are there with a slight difference in sound from it's original recording. Sort of a '97 remix. Sort of....anyway....the other 8 are from Bush's collection of excellent works. A couple really stand out including Never Surrender, Ground Zero (the Botcon Theme), Capture the Dream, and Highest Calling. It's a nice CD!!!!
Then it's DiCola's turn. He takes up 31 tracks on the second CD. Twenty-nine of those tracks are from Transformers: The Movie. Obviously DiCola wrote the score (background music). Therefore, this is the full "unreleased" CD of the movie score. What a wonderful Disc. Yes folks....that includes many versions of the Unicron theme. Plus others. The other two tracks include one mix with Stan Bush called TF:TM Main Title (a remix of the original Movie TF theme) and the other called Legacy (which was the piece written by DiCola for the audition that got him the TF: TM gig!!!). The CD set is wonderful!! Very impressive and very surprising!!!

T-Shirt Exclusive

There were a few different colors to choose from. However, they all were designed the same. The T-shirts came in black, white, and a greyish color. The black, of which, was a little more expensive than the others. Each one had a "Matrix" Botcon '97 logo in the top left corner. And on the back was a wonderful drawing of Rodimus Prime with the Matrix unleashing it around ghosts of previous leaders. It also has this year's slogan "Beyond good....beyond evil....beyond your greatest expectation". Very nice T-shirts!! I love mine!! Should take it off one of these days for a washing huh??

Concert Video Exclusive

If you've read my Botcon journal from Saturday, you know that Stan Bush and Vince DiCola put on one hell of a show. This wonderful occasion was captured on video cassette and brings back lots of memories (even though the concert didn't occur that long ago). It's a worthy addition to any exclusive library....especially if you're a Trans fan!!
The video runs the length of the concert....about 1 1/2 hours. The picture is nice (although the lighting at the actual concert doesn't always allow for a clear shot). Most of the time it is nice and does capture a lot of the light effects that were shown off throughout. The sound seems like it's been remastered in MONO. It is pretty sharp and clear!! I'm very impressed with it! Every excellent moment is captured in full detail and was worth every penny!! "Till all are one" definitely describes the conert we attended......people from different places, of different shapes, sizes, and nationalities, gathered together to worship something they feel strongly about!!

Highlights Video Exclusive

The highlights video is basically exactly what it says it is. It highlights all the major happenings at Botcon '97. While it covers some of the material more than others.....it is a worthy purchase.
It's professionally edited (so it's not sloppy) and the quality is nice. It mainly shows large segments from each panel (from Peter Cullen to the Stan Bush/DiCola). Therefore, if you missed one or two (or more) panels....you will be able to see the bulk of them. In between the panels (as sort of a transition) are little segments. These include shots from the video room, art display room, quiz show, etc. A few areas were not covered hardly or at all which include the Auction (quick shots of the auction pieces at the end during a slide show) and closing ceremonies. It seems late Sunday is left out. But otherswise it's a nice tape to have. It will allow you to replay the memories all you want. Long live Botcon!!!