Charticon 2013 Transformers Panel

Back in 2013, I helped some friends of mine put on the very first un-official Transformers convention to be held in my home state of North Carolina, Charlotte to be exact. August 9th through the 11th, 2013...a time I'll never forget!

While my role in helping plan and staff the show was smaller than some of my friends and cohorts, the lead honcho of the show, Arkvander, asked me if I'd put together a panel for the convention. I immediately was flattered that he'd ask me to do something such as that, but what on earth would I begin to talk about? In the grand scheme of Transformers and the collecting community, I was/am a nobody!

I went back and forth trying to figure out what the topic of my panel would be. Would I talk about unreleased G1 transformer toys? Would I go into the related series such as Beastformers in Japan? I remember being at a crossroads for so long that I began to get really nervous as August was quickly approaching and I had to get something nailed down.

I eventually decided to do a brief history lesson if you will on the Transformers toy line in Japan. Granted I'm not an expert and I probably left some key stuff out, I created a Powerpoint presentation for Charticon. I was really nervous about presenting it, but thankfully my good friend in attendance, Allen Greenwood, stepped up and volunteered to sit at the table on that big stage with me.

I can't remember how many people were in the room for my panel. I know a lot of people couldn't bare to pull themselves away from the awesome dealer room, but for those that never got a chance to witness the panel, you're in luck! I recently found my presentation buried on an old SD memory card and after some fancying Googling and I found a way to share this presentation online.

The slide show is below, of course there is no commentary however so you're only getting part of the experience. Anyhow, the slides will change after 15 seconds or so, but you should be able to follow along. Enjoy!

So, what did you think? I know, I know...it's not professional in any way and I'm sure I left out some key points. In the end however I had a blast putting it together and presenting it. After I got into it, I really felt comfortable on stage. Thanks to my friend Arkvander, Allen Greenwood and the rest of the guys (you know who you are) for helping put together such an eventful and memory filled weekend. Until the next Charticon?