Auto Assembly
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Founded in 2000 by Sven Harvey, Auto Assembly is a TransFormers event that is held in Birmingham, UK and run by the science-fiction fan organisation Infinite Frontiers. The first convention was held in October 2000 and has been held annually, except in 2002 and is again taking a "gap year" in 2007. Sven organises the convention primarily with Simon Plumbe but with a great deal of assistance from others.
The convention started life as a small-scale event, intended to be an occasional TransFormers equivalent of the meetings held by the Star Trek fan club Alpha Quadrant. The first event was expected to have a relatively small number of fans attending - smaller than the Star Trek meetings - although this figure was exceeded. From there the event grew rapidly and by the time the convention reached 2003, it had expanded to a full-scale convention.
The convention attracts fans from all over the UK and Europe and in 2005 broke the European attendance record with 409 fans attending from the UK, Europe and as far afield as America and Australia.
The convention has a range of activities including dealers tables, guest talks, autograph sessions, toy and art displays, video screenings, competitions, charity auctions and more. In association with sponsors every year, the convention also gives all of its attendees a "goodie bag" with complimentary gifts which have included a range of varied items including postcards, comics, magazines, stickers, Playstation 2 discs, posters, and even snacks!
Regular guests at the convention have included Transformers comic writer Simon Furman, artists Andrew Wildman, Lee Sullivan, Geoff Senior, Simon Williams, and colourist Jason Cardy. Past voice actor guests have included Wally Wingert (Sideburn and Mirage from Transformers: Robots In Disguise) and Neil Kaplan (Optimus Prime and Ro-Tor, Transformers: Robots In Disguise) and 2008 will see the debut of G1 actor Dan Gilvezan (Bumblebee).
Auto Assembly: Target 2006, the 2006 convention inspired by the Marvel UK comic story of the same name, had the Auto Assembly debut appearances of artists Guido Guidi and Mike Collins, and the first UK appearance by its guest of honour voice actor David Kaye along with its regular comic guests.
In March 2006, the convention expanded its activities further with the launch of the Auto Assembly Podcast which featured the normally expected chat and news updates, but also included interviews, competitions and - in a departure from other TransFormers podcasts - music.
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[edit] Convention Exclusives
Each year the convention produces a full colour fanzine, The Cybertronian Times, which features articles, artwork, fiction and reviews covering all eras of TransFormers. In previous years, this fanzine has featured contributions from Simon Furman, Lee Sullivan and Simon Williams. Additional convention exclusives have been produced including postcards from 2003 onwards and pin badges for 2005 and 2006.
- 2003 - The Cybertronian Times Issue 5, Optimus Prime postcard (Lee Sullivan artwork), Megatron postcard (Lee Sullivan artwork)
- 2004 - The Cybertronian Times Issue 6, Devastator postcard (Andrew Wildman artwork), Sideburn/Mirage postcard (Lee Sullivan artwork), Transformers: The Ultimate Guide (Wildfur / Auto Assembly Bookplated Edition)
- 2005 - The Cybertronian Times Issue 7, RiD Optimus Prime postcard (Simon Williams artwork), Pin badge (1 of 2)
- 2006 - The Cybertronian Times Issue 8, Beast Wars Megatron postcard (Simon Williams artwork), Cougar postcard (Guido Guidi artwork), Pin badge (2 of 2)
- 2008 - The Cybertronian Times Issue 9, postcard (Simon Williams artwork)
[edit] Convention Dates
Six Auto Assembly events have been held to-date, relocating as new venues have been needed to accommodate the growing attendance figures. Attendance figures are listed in brackets after the venue.
- 2000: 22nd October 2000 - Ibis Hotel, Birmingham, England (30)
- 2001: 4th March 2001 - Ibis Hotel, Birmingham, England (61)
- 2002: No convention
- 2003: 2nd August 2003 - Britannia Hotel, Birmingham, England (233)
- 2004: 8-9th May 2004 - Britannia Hotel, Birmingham, England (320)
- 2005: 4th June 2005 - Clarendon Suites, Birmingham, England (409 - current European attendance record)
- 2006: 3rd June 2006 - Clarendon Suites, Birmingham, England (400)
- 2007: No convention
- 2008: 2nd August 2008 - Clarendon Suites, Birmingham, England
[edit] Convention Guests
The convention has been joined by a number of guests over the years. To date, the following have attended or are scheduled to attend:
- Jason Cardy - 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008
- Mike Collins - 2006
- Simon Furman - 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008
- Dan Gilvezan - 2008
- Guido Guidi - 2006
- Neil Kaplan - 2005
- David Kaye - 2006
- Jane Lawson - 2003
- Staz Johnson - 2008
- Kat Nicholson - 2006, 2008
- Geoff Senior - 2005, 2008
- Liam Shalloo - 2008
- Lew Stringer - 2008
- Lee Sullivan - 2004, 2005, 2006
- Andrew Wildman - 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008
- Simon Williams - 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008
- Wally Wingert - 2004
Note: Lew Stringer was scheduled to attend as the convention's first ever guest in 2001 but was unable to attend at the last minute due to transport difficulties.
Note: Guests of honour are indicated in bold.
[edit] The Auto Assembly Forum
The Auto Assembly Forum is run by convention organisers Simon Plumbe and Sven Harvey, with the help of the moderators. The forum is not as busy as many of the larger TransFormers forums, but is still a vibrant fan community. It was founded on 19th August 2003 following Auto Assembly 2003 to act as a support forum for the conventions, but it quickly developed into a thriving community all of its own.
[edit] External links
- Auto Assembly - The official website of Auto Assembly
- Auto Assembly Forum - The official Auto Assembly forum
- TheTransformers.Net - Gallery of Auto Assembly 2003 photos
- Transformers At The Moon - Gallery and report from Auto Assembly 2005
- Transformers At The Moon - Gallery and report from Auto Assembly 2006
- Transformers-Universe.com - Gallery of Auto Assembly: Target 2006 photos
[edit] Sources
- Attendance figures - Official Auto Assembly attendance figures from 2000-2006 added to this article by the convention organisers, 7th February 2007.
- Article content expanded by co-organisers (last update, 23rd May 2008)
- All current article contents continually reviewed and monitored by convention founder and co-organisers
