The NTFA Store now accepts pre-orders for September comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 23 June 2009, 00:39

The NTFA Store is now accepting pre-orders for the September 2009 comics.

A rather average month, September mainly offers the continuation of existing titles plus a few paperbacks. On the Transformers side there is All Hail Megatron #15 (featuring a follow-up to Spotlight Kup, plus a story on Perceptor), Tales of the Fallen #2, Best of UK: Prey #2, plus the two paperbacks All Hail Megatron, vol. 2 (collecting issues #7-12) and Transformers Animated, vol. 11.
On the G.I. Joe side we have G.I. Joe #9, G.I. Joe: Origins #7, G.I. Joe: Cobra Special #1 (a one-shot concluding the G.I. Joe: Cobra series), plus the trade paperbacks G.I. Joe: Origins, vol. 1 (collecting issues #1-5) and Classic G.I. Joe, vol. 5 (collecting issues #41-50 of Marvel Comics' G.I. Joe series).

The last day to pre-order the September items is Wednesday 22 July, 2009.

ROTF - ticket sales has started in Scandinavia -- posted by Groundsplitter on 15 June 2009, 03:44

We have been notified by UIP Norway that ticket sales for the Revenge of the Fallen premiere has started in Norway (at least in Oslo). You can visit Oslo Kino to buy your tickets.

The grand opening is already on June 23; the doors open at 17:00 and the film starts at 17:45. There's a second showing at 20:40 if you miss the first one. After that you'll have to wait until the official opening date on June 24.

The NTFA Store now accepts pre-orders for August comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 23 May 2009, 11:10

The NTFA Store is now accepting pre-orders for the August 2009 comics.

August offers a number of new titles and interesting paperbacks. On the Transformers side we get IDW's and Chris Mowry's sequel to this summer's Transformers movie - a five-issue series called Tales of the Fallen. Another five-issue series is Best of UK: Prey, which collects some stories from Marvel UK's Transformers comics back in the eighties (Swedes may want to take an extra look at this one - we got four chapters of this great story in the Swedish Transformers comic, but not the conclusion!).
For those who are interested in background materials like animation models, biographies, etc. there are two collections of interest in August: Jim Sorenson and Bill Forster come out with both The Complete Transformers Ark (collecting the materials from the two previous, sold-out volumes), and Transformers Animated: The Allspark Almanac. The latter also includes episode summaries and interviews with the show's creators. And in addition to this we also get All Hail Megatron #14 and Best of UK Omnibus. The latter paperback collects Best of UK: Dinobots, Best of UK: Space Pirates and Best of UK: Time Wars.

On the G.I. Joe side there are three titles: the main series continues with G.I. Joe #8, Origins turns into an ongoing series with G.I. Joe: Origins #6, and then there's a one-shot called G.I. Joe Special: Helix, which ties in with the new movie-based G.I. Joe videogame and introduces a new character.

The last day to pre-order the August items is Monday 22 June, 2009.

NTFA staff met with Hasbro Nordic! -- posted by BigPete on 1 May 2009, 02:51

Fighbird, Groundsplitter and I had the great pleasure of going to Glostrup in Denmark and meet with Hasbro Nordic's Brand Manager, Jodi Ginever, as well as having a short talk with Hasbro's Marketing Director. We had a great time, with a lot of questions and information from both us and Hasbro. I felt that they were genuinely interested in us and the NTFA, and the things that we can do for each other.

I wish to extend my deepest thanks to them for meeting with us, and I think a great many things may come from this.

Naturally we didn't leave Hasbro's office without some news and information for you guys!

* The Transformers - The Revenge of the Fallen toyline will be available in Nordic stores (and worldwide) from around May 30th. The preview toys (deluxe Soundwave and Bumblebee) should be available a little sooner. It all depends on how the stores stock up, as some stores prefer to order all toys at once, and thus delaying the preview figures until the actual movie toys are released.

Also, the stores themselves decide what toys to carry, not Hasbro Nordic, although Hasbro does have a good relationship with buyers and can have a certain level of influence on this. In some cases these purchases are handled centrally, meaning that the whole chain will get the same supplies, while other stores handle purchases individually. This makes it difficult to say which stores will carry what toys.

* Hasbro Nordic has agreed to the possibility of a Q'n'A session much like in the veins of what most major US sites are offering. The details are yet to be finalized, but on a (perhaps) monthly basis the NTFA members will be able to ask any question they desire about their favourite toyline! More on this as it develops!

* We discussed the pricing of toys in the Nordic region compared to the US and why, in some cases, toys are cheaper in the US. What you have to be aware of is that a lot of factors differ between the US and Nordic/ Europe when it comes to pricing:

- US have much bigger purchases: bigger country + larger customers = heavier product turnaround.
- US have a lot lower retail margins.
- VAT is lower in the US and they do not include it in the stated price. That is why the prices in the US always seem, in some cases, cheaper.

* The Nordic version of Hasbro's website (including Transformers) will be getting a major overhaul soon. This was something Jodi was very much looking forward to as it will be more up to date, with more content and localized materials.

* No current plans for a Hasbro Nordic on-line toy store.

* Transformers: Animated has been bought by Denmark's TV2 and should be on the air soon! We'll keep you posted!

* Animated will not be aired in Norway, nor in Sweden. Future DVD releases perhaps? We'll just have to wait and see!

* We briefly talked about the upcoming G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra movie. It opens in Scandinavia on August 14th, and in Finland two weeks later, on August 28th, with a projected on-shelf date for the accompanying toyline around July 10th.

* Jodi mentioned that the amount of knock-offs have increased rapidly in the Nordic countries, and will continue to increase in the near future. Hasbro takes this very seriously. If you see ANY product that uses the same logo, packaging, toys, catchphrases, and so on (basically anything that makes you think of Transformers), Hasbro Nordic would really appreciate it if you can post a description of where you found it on the forums, possibly with a picture of the item as well, so they can send out one of their representatives to gather evidence and discuss the matter with the store. This goes for old G1 molds and such as well! See pinned topics in the forum for further information on how to help!

* As mentioned further up, the Nordic warehouse is located in Germany. This is a shared warehouse together with other countries like Germany & Holland among others. This of course logistically limits the amount of products Hasbro Nordic can carry in a line and assortment splits.

* We learned that it actually matters whether the figure is packaged in robot mode or in vehicle mode. Hasbro has got a lot of feedback from retailers on this, and found that they are generally more positive to buying figures where they can see the robot mode rather than the vehicle mode as they look bigger & cooler.

* Looking back at what types of toys sold well from the last movie line-up 2007, we learned that the Fast Action Battlers with their simplified transformations had done very well, surpassing Hasbro Nordic's expectations. In the Role Play assortment the Optimus Prime voice changing Helmet also did very well.

* Many fans have long wondered about Hasbro's heavy use of twist-ties. The main reason to consider is that before hitting the shelves in a store, the toys have to go through a long journey, starting in China. The twist ties prevent the toy from moving around in the boxes/ blister cards and becoming dislodged. No one will want to buy a toy if it doesn’t look esthetically nice in pack. But these twist ties also have another use: potential thieves in stores will have a harder time releasing a toy from it's packaging (which in itself can be easily torn apart), and are less prone to stick all of the insides in to their pockets what with the big and noisy trays.


Ok, that's it for now! Enjoy, and feel free to comment!

The NTFA Store now accepts pre-orders for July comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 27 April 2009, 01:41

The NTFA Store is now accepting pre-orders for the July 2009 comics.

This order period is quite weak Transformers-wise, mostly due to IDW Publishing focusing on G.I. Joe and the Rise of Cobra movie opening in July. The two Transformers comics aren't without interest though. All Hail Megatron #13 is the start of a four-issue continuation of the long maxi-series. If you've heard the name All Hail Megatron: Coda before, this is that sequel. Each issue features two stories which will help weave Simon Furman's and Shawn McCarthy's two storylines together.
Spotlight: Metroplex introduces one of the largest Transformers to the IDW universe. It's a story so large that the panels need to spread across both pages for the entirety of the issue...
Other Transformers merchandise from IDW in July are three trade paperbacks: Maximum Dinobots, Transformers: Animated, vol. 10, and Transformers: Energon, vol. 1. The latter deserves a special mention: it collects issues #19-22 of Dreamwave's series from 2004, but where the previous trade paperback (out of print since a long time) was pocketbook-sized, this version is apparently full-size, 17×26 cm!

The NTFA Store now accepts pre-orders for June comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 26 March 2009, 05:53

The NTFA Store is now accepting pre-orders for the June 2009 comics.

This time the NTFA Store mostly offers the conclusions to a lot of titles. The one notable exception on the Transformers side is the Spotlight: Cliffjumper one-shot. Other than that, All Hail Megatron #12 ends the long maxi-series and sets up the stage for an upcoming monthly Transformers comic book(!); Revenge of the Fallen #3 and #4 completes the movie adaptation, and City of Fear #5 concludes that UK reprint mini-series. On the G.I. Joe side three mini-series reach their respective ends, with G.I. Joe: Origins #5, G.I. Joe: Cobra #4 and G.I. Joe: Movie Prequel #4, while the ongoing series continues with G.I. Joe #6.

There is a large number of trade paperbacks in June. On the Transformers side there is a large focus on the movie titles, as both the two prequel series, Alliance and Defiance, as well as the movie adaptation itself, Revenge of the Fallen are collected in trade paperbacks. June also offers Classic Transformers, vol. 4 (reprinting Marvel's Transformers #47-61), and two G.I. Joe collections, Best of Duke and Best of Destro.

The last day to pre-order the June items is Wednesday 22 April, 2009.

Winners, Transformers 25th anniversary competition -- posted by Groundsplitter on 25 March 2009, 04:37

The jury has inspected the entries to our Transformers 25th anniversary competition, and drawn ten winners. The winners are:

• 1st prize: Henric Joneskär, Sweden (who wins Universe Onslaught, Universe Heavy Load, Universe Acid Storm, Universe Prowl, and Universe Sunstreaker)
• 2nd prize: Petri Särkelä, Finland (Universe Powerglide, Universe Blaster, Universe Sunstreaker, and Universe Tankor)
• 3rd prize: Knut Ingar Nyseth, Norway (Universe Heavy Load, Universe Sunstreaker, and Universe Prowl)
• 4th prize: Harri Jokinen, Finland (Universe Prowl and Universe Tankor)
• 5th prize: Anton Lindholm, Finland (Universe Acid Storm)
• 6th prize: Kristian Høvik, Norway (Universe Acid Storm)
• 7th prize: Filip J Hansen, Norway (Universe Acid Storm)
• 8th prize: Jimmy Rosenquist, Sweden (Universe Acid Storm)
• 9th prize: Petteri Jokinen, Finland (Universe Acid Storm)
• 10th prize: Kristofer Holmqvist, Sweden (Universe Acid Storm)

Congratulations! We aim to start sending out the prices at the end of this week.
Check out the competition page for the correct answers.

Transformers 25th anniversary competition -- posted by Groundsplitter on 8 March 2009, 06:34

2009 marks the 25th anniversary of the Transformers brand, and to celebrate this the Nordic TransFans Association arranges a competition for all Transformers fans in the Nordic countries!

We have received 20 Transformers Universe toys from Hasbro Nordic, which we will give out to 10 lucky winners... after they have proven their knowledge about Transformers by answering a number of questions, of course.

Head over to the Transformers 25th anniversary competition form, and see if you know the answers.
The competition will remain open until Sunday March 22

The competition is now closed, and the winners will be drawn by the jury in a couple of days. The winners will be announced here on the website during the last week of March.


More competitions will be arranged throughout 2009!

First look at ROTF Legends Springer! -- posted by Fighbird on 23 February 2009, 21:36

Thanks to the fine folks at Hasbro Nordic, the NTFA is proud to be able to present some of the first official reviews of a select handful toys from the upcoming movie sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

UPDATE (24/02/2008): At the request of Hasbro US we have had to remove the pictures and review again. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

Official look at ROTF line-up at Hasbro's US site -- posted by Fighbird on 20 February 2009, 11:19

Hasbro's official Transformers site has been updated with a press release concerning this summers' highly anticipated sequel in the Transformers movie franchise. Check out some nice hi-res pictures of the some of the initial toys for the movie. Please note that some thumbnails may not work, but their links do!

The NTFA Store accepts pre-orders for May comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 16 February 2009, 16:28

Starting a bit early again, the NTFA Store is now accepting pre-orders for the May 2009 comics.

Time for the adaptation of this year's Transformers movie, Revenge of the Fallen. IDW is publishing a weekly series in four issues, and I'm taking orders for issues #1 and #2 now. Other comics in May are All Hail Megatron #11, Best of UK: City of Fear #4, G.I. Joe #5, G.I. Joe: Origins #4, G.I. Joe: Cobra #3 and G.I. Joe: Movie Prequel #3.

There is also a large number of trade paperbacks and hardcovers in May. On the Transformers side, there is Transformers: The Premiere Edition vol. 2 (collecting Devastation #1-6, Spotlight series 2, series 3, and series 4 [a.k.a. Revelation] is one huge hardcover volume), Transformers Animated, vol. 9, and Robot Heroes: I am Optimus Prime - a hardcover picture book aimed at young readers. On the G.I. Joe side IDW will publish Classic G.I. Joe, vol. 3 (collecting issues #21-30 of Marvel's G.I. Joe series), a collection called Best of Hawk and a collection called Best of Cobra Commander.

The last day to pre-order the May items is Sunday 22 March, 2009.

New info on the upcoming movie! -- posted by Fighbird on 29 January 2009, 11:06

The danish movie site Filmz has a listing on the upcoming Transformer: Revenge of the Fallen movie, which includes an official danish translation of the movie title with some very revealing details, plus a short plot synopsis of the movie itself!

Click on this link to read an english translation. Spoiler warning!

UPDATE: Seems the plot synopsis may be fake (as it apparently originated from IMDB and not an official source), BUT the title has been confirmed by Paramount DK as being correctly translated into danish (see link above)!

New Boys' Toys Brand Manager at Hasbro Nordic -- posted by Fighbird on 28 January 2009, 18:05

The NTFA is happy and proud to welcome Jodi Ginever to the recently-vacated position of Boys' Toys Brand Manager at the Hasbro Nordic offices, where she - amongst other brands - will oversee Star Wars, G.I.Joe and Transformers for the nordic region.

We extend our warmest congratulations to Jodi, and are looking forward to a continued close and warm relationship between the NTFA and Hasbro Nordic.

The NTFA Store now accepts pre-orders for April comics -- posted by Groundsplitter on 24 January 2009, 03:37

The NTFA Store is now accepting pre-orders for the April 2009 comics.

There's a large assortment of comics in April, plus a few trade paperbacks as well. On the Transformers side IDW's new Transformers character receives a Spotlight of his own in Spotlight: Drift. Transformers Animated: Arrival is collected in a digest-sized trade paperback featuring a full-length bonus story featuring Jetfire and Jetstorm (the story originally intended for Arrival #6, which has been cancelled). And the reprint of Dreamwave's Armada series is concluded with the trade paperback Transformers: Armada, volume 3. Other Transformers material include Maximum Dinobots #5 (conclusion), All Hail Megatron #10, the Transformers 2 Movie prequel Defiance #4 (conclusion), plus Best of UK: City of Fear #3.

On the G.I. Joe side the comics continue with G.I. Joe #4, G.I. Joe: Origins #3, G.I. Joe: Cobra #2 and G.I. Joe: Movie Prequel #2. In addition to this, IDW will also publish a hardcover volume featuring The Best of Larry Hama - 10 stories from the original G.I. Joe run from Marvel Comics.

The last day to pre-order these items is Sunday 22 February.

Belated NTFA Anniversary competition... a few more days... -- posted by Groundsplitter on 31 December 2008, 21:54

We have reached the last day of December, and as many of you have noticed the advertised NTFA 10th Anniversary competition hasn't started yet. We're almost ready to go, but to my embarrassment I need just a few more days.

As so often recently, the delay is due to my own poor health. Fighbird and BigPete had the details for the competition ready in good time, but since it is dependent on some new pages being added to the website I decided to hold the compeition off until I have a new framework installed on the website, a new framework that will help simplify future work on the website. And that has taken longer than planned, especially since I was put out of commission for 10 days due to high fever.

I'm working on the last few bits now though, and think we should be able to start in the next three days. It seems a bit silly to celebrate our 2008 anniversary in January 2009 though, so maybe we'll make it a joint event - celebrating not only NTFA.net's 10th anniversary, but the start of Transformers' 25th anniversary as well!