Auto Assembly

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 2007 when it took "gap years". 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 as far afield as America and Australia and currently holds the European attendance record with 423 fans attending Auto Assembly 2008 from the UK and Europe.

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), David Kaye (Megatron from Beast Wars, Beast Machines, Transformers: Armada, Transformers: Energon, Transformers: Cybertron and Optimus Prime in Transformers: Animated) and G1 actor Dan Gilvezan in 2008 (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 [http://www.autoassembly.org.uk/podcast.htm 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.

Auto Assembly 2008 was notable by having it's first display from Hasbro featuring the unveiling of handmade resin versions of Transformers: Animated Optimus Prime, Megatron and Bulkhead being given away through a prize draw from an online competition. It also saw the world debut of the trailer for the Transformers: Animated game for the Nintendo DS from Activision. The convention also attracted a great deal of media attention and was attended by a television camera crew from Central News who filmed for a news broadcast, a radio broadcaster from BBC Radio WM attended, and a live interview for BBC Radio 5 Live took place early in the day.

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), Auto Assembly lanyard
*2008 - The Cybertronian Times Issue 9, MiniCT Issue 3, Bumblebee/Spiderman postcard (Simon Williams artwork), TF Animated Jazz postcard (Kat Nicholson artwork), G1 Optimus Prime postcard (Lee Sullivan artwork), Bumblebee/Spiderman keyring (Simon Williams artwork), TF Animated Jazz keyring (Kat Nicholson artwork), G1 Optimus Prime keyring (Lee Sullivan artwork)

Convention Dates

Seven 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)
*2006: 3rd June 2006 - Clarendon Suites, Birmingham, England (400)
*2007: No convention
*2008: 2nd August 2008 - Clarendon Suites, Birmingham, England (423 - current European attendance record)
*2009: August 2009 (exact date TBA) - Holiday Inn, Smallbrook Queensway, Birmingham, England

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:
*Lee Bradley - 2008
*Jason Cardy - 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008
*Mike Collins - 2006
*Simon Furman - 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008
*Dan Gilvezan - 2008
*Martin Griffiths - 2008
*Guido Guidi - 2006
*Neil Kaplan - 2005
*David Kaye - 2006
*Jane Lawson - 2003, 2004, 2008
*Staz Johnson - 2008
*John McCrea - 2008
*Kat Nicholson - 2006, 2008
*Geoff Senior - 2005, 2008
*Liam Shalloo - 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. He was also due to be a guest at the 2008 event, but had to pull out due to work commitments.

Note: Guests of honour are indicated in bold.

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.

External links

* [http://www.autoassembly.org.uk/ Auto Assembly] - The official website of Auto Assembly
* [http://autoassembly.proboards7.com/ Auto Assembly Forum] - The official Auto Assembly forum
* [http://www.thetransformers.net/review.asp?MenuID=487 TheTransformers.Net] - Gallery of Auto Assembly 2003 photos
* [http://www.transformertoys.co.uk/content.php?/transformers-gallery/convention-photographs/72/convention-photographs/Auto+Assembly+2005+%28UK%29.html Transformers At The Moon] - Gallery and report from Auto Assembly 2005
* [http://www.transformertoys.co.uk/content.php?/transformers-gallery/convention-photographs/73/convention-photographs/Auto+Assembly+2006+%28UK%29.html Transformers At The Moon] - Gallery and report from Auto Assembly 2006
* [http://www.transformers-universe.com/include.php?path=galerie/sub.php&cid=93 Transformers-Universe.com] - Gallery of Auto Assembly: Target 2006 photos
* [http://www.transformertoys.co.uk/content.php?/transformers-gallery/convention-photographs/341/convention-photographs/Auto+Assembly+2008.html Auto Assembly 2008 Gallery] - Featured on Transformers At The Moon
* [http://www.transformers-universe.com/include.php?path=content/articles.php&contentid=1454 Transformers-Universe.com] - Auto Assembly 2008 Pictures and Report

Sources

* Attendance figures - Official Auto Assembly attendance figures from 2000-2008 updated to this article by the convention organisers, 4th August 2008.
* Article content expanded by co-organisers (last update, 29th September 2008)
* All current article contents continually reviewed and monitored by convention founder and co-organisers