Mostly Transformers Redux: Botcon 2001...How does one begin an Obsession?

To say that Botcon 2001 was the beginning would be misleading at best. I mean, I still to this day vividly recall obtaining my very first Transformer when I was still only five years old and carrying it with pride through my father's restaurant.

Now whether that is a real memory or something that has been conglomerated over the years I can't say. But while that might have been the beginning of my relationship with these little plastic toys, Botcon 2001 was the event that changed that relationship forever.

Even though I was around when the internet first came into being and was even a member of alt.toys.transformers from the very beginning, the only Transformer fans I ever met in person were people who lived in my hometown. And for the most part, they weren't nearly as interested in little plastic robots as I was.

So when I learned there was an actual convention for nothing but Transformers I was absolutely elated. I don't recall when I first learned of Botcon, but I believe it was prior to the '97 show, as I remember it was a big deal because Peter Cullen was making his first appearance at a Transformers show.

Unfortunately, as I was only 16 at the time, going to NY from Virginia wasn't much of an option. Not to mention I had little to no money. The same was true for Anaheim in 1998 (yeah, right!), St. Paul in 1999 and even Fort Wayne, IN in 2000. The practicality of taking off enough time and having the funds to actually go just wasn't in the cards for me.

But when I learned that Botcon 2001 would be taking place in Durham, NC, a mere 3 hours from my hometown, I knew I couldn't miss it. By then I was two years into college and working a summer job to help pay for my expenses. I figured if I worked nonstop from when school was out in May until mid-July when the conference would be held, I could make enough money to pay for a hotel, travel and even build up some spending cash for the show itself.

And man did I work. Waiting tables for tips, I saved every penny I could. I ate next to nothing. And by the time the show rolled around, I'd pulled together about $1200, which was more cash than I'd ever had at one time in my life at that point.

I also convinced my girlfriend to come, along with three other friends. And all of us would split one hotel room. I didn't want to spend extra money on a hotel, so instead of booking the con hotel, we booked a cheaper place about 20 minutes outside of town.

(These photos were scanned in from actual film pictures)

Thankfully it was an easy and quick drive and I remember being so excited I could barely contain myself. I'd done all the things: registered online, signed up for the two exclusives, downloaded the schedule and memorized a map of the area.

Unfortunately we missed the Friday night events as we were still driving in (I'd worked that Friday morning) so we didn't get in until late. But we were up bright and early the following morning to be there in time to get in the door as soon as they opened.

Bunch of nerds.

Never before had I been in a place where so many people celebrated and loved Transformers. And it made me realize that not only was I not unique, but that I wasn't even the most extreme or hardened fan. There I saw costumes of Megatron and Optimus that towered over us, saw people drop thousands of dollars on individual figures, and witnessed customs and art that must have taken years to create.

Seemingly prophetic?

It opened my eyes to just how large and diverse this fandom really was. And it showed me how amazing it could be to be in the presence of other fans, all of us enjoying the very same things.

This had to be my favorite custom from the show.

Having twenty+ years to look back on conventions as a whole, I now realize that they don't mean the same thing to everyone. For me, it was all about the toys. Sure I was thrilled to see some of the voice actors I'd grown up with, and seeing all the costumes and custom figures was amazing. But what really drew me in were the figures.

I had been collecting G1 and everything after ever since I was a kid. And here I finally spotted every single figure I'd ever missed, or had never even laid eyes on before. One of the first things I saw in the dealer room was a MIB Omega Supreme. I'd never owned him before. And I'd certainly never seen a boxed one. After confirming it was complete and the only box damage was the tech spec had been cut out of the back, I immediately dropped $160 on him and carted him back to my car before going in for another round.

Over the course of the weekend I picked up so many figures I had wanted for so long. Kup, Scourge, Hoist, Swoop, Sandstorm, Doublecross, Landfill, Quickmix, Scoop, Skywarp and a few others. It by no means completed my collection, but it filled some big holes.

But I think the biggest surprise was finding the original 1986 Unicron Prototype sitting at one of the tables in the "second" dealer room (for some reason the room had been split between two and it seemed like more international stuff was in the smaller of the two rooms). I recall the price tag on it was somewhere around $12,500 and as we were looking at the figure, someone came along and bought it! I couldn't even imagine such a thing happening today, nor what it would cost. With inflation we're already looking at more than $20k, but I can easily see something like that going today for over $100k.

Boy...don't I wish I'd taken a picture of that.

Another HUGE highlight of the show was a movie-theater showing of The Transformers: The Movie on Sunday morning. We were running only slightly late, so arrived just about the time the opening credits were going across the screen. From what I recall, this was being shown from an actual film print of the movie owned by the Hartmans, and seeing it in theaters (something I'd missed as a kid as I only caught it on tape) was magical. One Hundred Percent Amazing. To hear people cheer and respond to the movie, to get to love it with so many like-minded fans was something I'll never forget.

I gotta find that shirt.

But really, what I think I came away with the most about the show was just how much fun it was. I loved the anticipation of it, getting a couple of exclusive figures that couldn't be purchased anywhere else, getting the opportunity to see so many amazing things in one room and to meet some of the original voice actors. While I didn't reach out and meet very many people there (I was and remain to this day a big introvert), just being in the space was a thrill.

So when I began germinating the idea of running my own show, immediately my mind went back to this one. While I'd been to other Transformer shows and even three other Botcons, this one always stood out to me as the gold standard. Not too large, not too small, but just right, fitting into that middle space. I knew I wanted people to come away from my show feeling the same way I did about this one, so I used it as a template of sorts. And while we were no means official, I feel like we managed to capture just a little bit of that magic.

Unfortunately, when I sold off my collection, I also sold the original Tigatron and Arcee figures I'd bought at that show. I think if I'd sat and thought about it a little longer I would have held onto them. Thankfully, I managed to find a local collector willing to sell his to me for a very reasonable price. And bonus, neither were opened! AND the Arcee had the pre-registration sound chip (no longer working of course) that only came with figures that were purchased before the show. So while they may not be mine, they are as close as I believe I'll ever get. Thankfully I did keep my original comics, program, CDs and other media I bought at the show. And I'm sure my badge is around here somewhere, I just need to dig it out.

In the end, Botcon 2001 had a profound effect on me. It showed me what community around Transformers really meant, and it influenced my Transformers life for years to come. I've been to a lot of shows over the years, but it will always remain my favorite. It's strange to think now that it's been longer between now and when I went to that show as it was between that show and when Transformers first aired, but I suppose that's the curse of time. Thankfully, I still have my memories which will always remain the most important souvenir of all.