3H BotCon 2002 Universe Glyph

(Femme-Bot Friday #45)

While Hasbro were historically reluctant to properly acknowledge Femme-Bots in the toyline over the earlier years, of the franchise the fans - and the Collectors' Clubs - seem to have been keen to embrace them, with early (pre-FunPub) BotCons offering exclusive Femme-Bots in both 2002 and 2003. While Shadow Striker and Roulette had the dubious benefit of having slender - if not convincingly 'feminine' - robot modes to complement their larger, better-proportioned vehicle modes, BotCon 2002 started things off small and simple with a couple of G1 Mini Autobot repaints and no remolded parts (albeit the keyring version of each, rather than the Hasbro mass release).

I picked up Tap Out a good few years ago as he seemed to be fairly commonly available, even now... Glyph took a little bit more time, but I eventually tracked her down at a decent price... and bought her along with BotCon Europe 2002's Rook... So let's take a look at this Femme-Bot repaint of G1 Bumblebee.

MAAS Toys/TFNation CT001TFN Rune

(Femme-Bot Friday #43)

One of the best things about BotCon - the TransFormers convention I never managed to attend over its 11 year history of being operated by Fun Publications, let alone its earlier days, when I wasn't even aware of its existance - was the range of exclusives they made available. Starting out with one or two small ones, and developing into their lavish boxed sets. Some have been contentious, some have been mediocre, some have been awesome, but all of them got the attention of the fandom.

As someone who attends conventions for the merchandise more than the panels or the 'community' aspect, event exclusives are especially piquant, so I've made a point of encouraging everything from badges and clothing to toys whenever I've given feedback on a UK show, and I'm clearly not alone... Because TFNation have really delivered, in only their second year, partnering up with MAAS Toys to create an event exclusive version of their first model, Skiff (aka G1 Cybertronian Bumblebee) as a new take on a BotCon exclusive toy from 2002, Glyph (itself a repaint of the G1 Bumblebee toy).

Make sense? OK, let's take a closer look...