Dark of the Moon Ratchet Spotted

Today the Transformers: Dark of the Moon Ratchet vehicle was spotted at Royal Oak, Michigan. However, the vehicle's appearance there does not seem to be part of filming for Transformers 4. Instead the truck was part of the 2013 GM Design Team Car Show that was held on Wednesday afternoon as part of run-up to the 2013 Woodward Dream Cruise on Saturday that has the "world's largest one-day classic car event." More details on the event can be found at Michigan Live. If you are interested in seeing more beautiful cars from the event, click here. The other reason pretty confident this vehicle isn't part of current TF4 filming is Bay and the cast were busy blowing up warehouses and filming vehicle chase sequences in Detroit. Thanks to KennyD for the link.

Transformers Hall of Fame Character Inductees

Hasbro has released three of the videos they put together when announcing three of the character Transformers that joined the Hall of Fame at Botcon a week ago - Soundwave, Ironhide and Ratchet. They had earlier released the videos for Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg. Not sure if fan choice Waspinator got one too. The videos are edits of the character from their various cartoon and movie incarnations over the years.

Botcon 2011 Day 1 & 2 Linkfest

The official Transformers Convention, called Botcon, is going on this weekend at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California from June 2nd to June 5th. The convention is similar to a comic book one only it is about all things Transformers with dealer rooms, panels and more. Expected panels include most of the voice cast from Transformers: Prime, Hasbro introducing their TF: Prime toys and upcoming plans and Michael Bay accepting his entry into the Transformers Hall of Fame. I wouldn't even be surprised if he shows up with exclusive clips that sadly the rest of may not get to see.

Sadly I could not afford to go but luckily other Transformers sites could and they have posted lots of pictures and videos from the first two days. Below are those that grabbed my attention especially Kre-O which is bigger and better than expected. In addition get a first look at the Transformers: Prime toys, info on the upcoming TF MMORPG, lots of galleries, look at the Hall of Fame displays, and lot more. If you see a link, probably worth clicking it.

Kre-O Transformers Gallery
Hasbro's new answer to Lego. If the large gallery at the link is any indication, the result could be pretty awesome. My favorite aspect is the TF version of the Lego mini-figs, especially the Botcon exclusive Optimus Prime. Taking a page from Lego, human size creations have also been built for display purposes. Based on the images the release date for the line is July-August 2011 and will not just be based on DOTM but also Generation One.

More DOTM Toy Galleries and Reviews

Another "linkfest" for Transformers: Dark of the Moon toys and related merchandise. This edition is heavy on toy images and bios which sadly reveal little about the movie but do have two new video reviews including one for leader class Ironhide. Most of the toys are expected to hit shevles on May 16th.

2000 Pound Bumblebee Cake
Carlo's Bake Shop in Hoboken, New Jersey created a massive cake for a General Motors display at the Javits Center. The cake will be featured on TLC's "Cake Boss" program on June 20th. The cake has the Bumblebee astride his Camaro alt mode. The 2000 pound creation is made of vanilla pound cake with butter-cream frosting and Rice Krispies treats to "bind the cake at critical flex points." (via AllSpark)

DOTM Mobile Game Coming (5x)
Electronic Arts is working on a mobile game around Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The leaked screenshots (at link) show a game that seems to be part side scroller with a bit of overhead "Spyhunter" type play style. On description says "“While Megatron is hiding after the disgraceful defeat, Decepticons Shockwave, the ruler of Cybertron, is preparing to visit the planet with absolutely no good intentions. The game takes place not only on Earth, but the dynamics Moon, a dark side which holds no less dark secrets." There is no indication on price or release date. Thanks to Sahara for the link.

Five New DOTM Toys Video Reviews

Peaugh has posted five more Transformers: Dark of the Moon toy line video reviews. Below are his reviews of deluxes Jolt (probably not in the movie), Ratchet, Sideswipe and Barricade (still unknown if in movie). Also tossed in Cyberverse Preview Optimus Prime. All four deluxes are new molds, smaller in size to account for the MechTech weapons and keep prices the same. Sideswipe is a convertible complete with seats and to my eyes is one of the best Transformers revealed yet with fantastic looking robot and vehicle modes (no surprise as he was a great toy for ROTF too). If don't like the dull gray, it is almost a guarantee a repaint is coming later. Ratchet just has never interested me but if you like the character and his toys, this one will make a solid addition. Jolt is just ok and probably a future peg warmer. Barricade remains ugly.

DOTM Ironhide Video Review, Official Images and More Galleries

Peaugh once again shows off his ability to get hold of the latest Transformers toys before anyone else by reviewing Transformers: Dark of the Moon deluxe Ironhide. He actually posted the review about two weeks ago but I somehow missed it. The Mech Tech weapon gimmick doesn't do anything for me. The robot mode is looks good but appears to suffer from some engineering issues. It is possible that those have since been ironed out but I doubt it since Hasbro is probably past the design phase and now mass producing the toys to make their May release date (which is why all the leaks).

Speaking of, it seems Hasbro has recognized that the cat is out of the bag and decided to go ahead and release official images of Deluxe Starscream and Ironhide to AllSpark.com. Also hit the links below for more DOTM toy leaks images with voyager Ratchet, deluxe Starscream, and voyager Optimus Prime. As for the below right, that is a life size version of Bumblebee with his Mech Tech weapon that was for Takara-Tomy's Toy Forum in Japan for retailer while the image up top is for the 2011 New York Toy Fair that will take place from February 13-18th at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center (via TFW2005).
Ratchet | Starscream | Optimus Prime

Many More DOTM Toy Pics

The members at AC Toys are on a roll as they have posted more images of Transformers: Dark of the Moon toys. The latest round of posts bring images of Skids in his new black and green paint job, a possible look at Barricade with white and blue paint scheme, leader class Bumblebee, a new Human Alliance dunebuggy sorta triple changer, voyager Ratchet, and voyager Optimus Prime. The buggy may or may not be new character in the film, too early to make that leap since the movie toy line in the past has had additional toys inspired by the movie but not characters in the movie. Below are a few samples, hit the links below to view all of them. Also thanks to an anonymous site fan, here are two new images of voyager Megatron that show off the paint job really well.

Skids | Barricade | Buggy | Bumblebee | Ratchet | Optimus Prime

Road Home, DC Video and TF Trailer Call-back

Even though current, but limited knowledge, indicates that Transformers: The Dark of the Moon is no longer filming in the states, the image taken by Denise T. shows Ironhide and Ratchet as they were transported on Monday around noon through Phoenix, Arizona in Eastbound lane. More than likely the destination is wherever the TFs are stored when no longer being used for filming or promotional use but maybe more is being done in LA.

Speaking of production, below is another video from Washington, DC filming. This one is shows more of the filming at Lincoln Memorial and what else Shia and Josh were up to after they ran across the lawn and what the flashing lights might have been for. The last video is the teaser trailer for the upcoming movie Skyline. Mostly posting it because found it amusing the use of the Transformers 1 trailer music queues and font designs complete with glowing light in the background. Thanks to Mauricio and and Jakenbocker for the links.

More Images, Video from TF3 in DC

The pictures and video continue to hit various websites and YouTube as Transformers 3 continues production around Washington, DC. Yesterday a big crowd showed up to the Lincoln Memorial as Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel and NEST members filmed.

The set of images below come thanks to Shane W. who took them while visiting the city on Tuesday. The pics where taken at the 9th Street base camp. Also below are links to additional galleries with the 1st gallery from Bryan showing the fans ringing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool while filming occurred with a break taken as Shia and Josh met fans including one fan that was able to get his ROTF 1st movie DVD signed. Bryan also reports that Tyrese was not on set but his stunt double. From comments, turns out the INOVA thingie on his uniform is a powerful flashlight.

As for videos, the first one comes from MyFox DC as they interview fans as they wait for the big Pennsylvania Avenue explosions from Monday. This is also the report that started the rumor that the Bumblebee accident would be incorporated into the scene, something that MB.com's Nelson says is untrue. Speaking of those explosions, Shane also posted five of his videos. The first three show a close look at the action from PA Ave. between 3rd and 4th Streets, the Mad Max car driving by on H Street, and the arrival of the replacement Bumblebee(s) to continue filming. Links to others show the unloading of 'Bee and Shia driving the Datsun along Pennsylvania Ave.

The fifth video is a nearly eleven minute look at some of the filming that occurred near the reflecting pool. At about that time, Bryan recorded 15 short videos from around that time that seems to include scenes with Shia, Josh and NEST. I chose a sample one, be sure to hit link below for the rest. The 7th video is from Sunday as at Constitution Hall. Not entirely sure but think Kevin Dunn (blue shirt) and Julie White (pink dress) were there. To finish things up, the last video returns us to explosion. This time from Constitution Avenue as it goes off and two cars smash into each other. Thanks to Shane, Bryan, Sideswipe, digifruitella, Katie, and Mauricio for the links, vides and images.

Transformers 3 DC Parking Lot Gallery

Thanks to Allison, here are images of the Washington, DC parking lot that is essentially base camp for Transformers 3 production complete with make-up, costume trailers and so forth. It is located near the Old Convention Center Parking Lot on 9th Street, between New York Street and H Street. The crew, once again showing their friendliness to fans, allowed picture to be taken as long as didn't touch anything and treated the property with respect. Sadly the Wreckers remained in their trailers so no pics of them. I believe the pictures were taken before the Bumblebee car accident which is why get a look at all of them including a peak of 'Bee next to the Ferrari. Still Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Ironhide, the Decepticon Suburbans and more are on site.

TF3 Florida: Autobots at the VAB (Updated)

Transformers 3 production continues in at the Kennedy Space Center. A source provided a report including identifying the person in the wheelchair and a video they found of most of the Transformer car as they drove away from NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The TF vehicles on site include Optimus Prime with trailer, Bumblebee, Ratchet, the Ferrari, and Mercedes, the 3 Wreckers, and Sideswipe.

I was pretty close to the filming in the VAB yesterday as were about 150 extras. The guy in the wheelchair was John Turturro. I didn't snap any photos while they were filming because they are pretty strict about photos and I didn't want to get in trouble.

Many KSC employees and all the extras were able to witness some street filming last evening at KSC about an hour before sunset. A long convoy that included OP, bumblebee, a silver topless stingray (sideswipe), a red Ferrari, and three or four NASCAR based autobots, and I think Ratchet all sped down the street in front of the VAB and into the front gate of the VAB for numerous shots that were shot from different directions using the Camera chase car.

As for images, Florida Today reported about yesterday's filming along with a gallery of images here of the Wreckers. The article describes a little bit of the casting and costume process for extras cast for the shoot. It was noted that filming at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, "where the Atlas and Delta unmanned rocket programs are housed -- to the filming schedule apparently was a last-minute decision by Bay." Thanks to Sideswipe, Ray, and Richard for the links.

Update: Thanks again to Sideswipe, below are three additional videos that show off the Autobots as they drive in front of the VAB.

TF3 Detroit: Detroit Goes Boom

Day 2 of filming of Transformers 3 continues along the "Griswold stretch" near the Farwell Building in Detroit. J1000 and Surge29 once again provides us with images from the set. The first set of photos is thanks to Surge29 which includes a close look at the blue Wrecker that shows how it is rigged so the roof weaponry can be fired. He also wanted to give a "Big Thanks to Tyrese Gibson for giving my kids an autograph poster." The last picture in the set shows off the poster. The second set of pictures and two HD videos is thanks to J1000 including the below set report. The videos show a practice take then the real take with lots of Bayhem boom.

What a night! Earlier in the evening, at the Deli/bar set on Clifford, Prime and Sideswipe were around the Jet prop, as Shia and Rosie were filming around/on/in front of them all; there was a soldier on the fire escape behind the building, aiming his weapon around. Down the street, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Ratchet, and the two new Autobots and Wreckers were on set for some other shots at the Farwell set. Later in the evening, they moved the jet prop away from the front of the deli/bar building, then filmed several takes of a bunch of extras running and screaming from the building and surrounding streets, then blew the set! It was quite a series of explosions; awesome to see in person! As my son and I made our way back to my truck, we were crossing one of the blocked side streets, and had to wait for a black SUV that was coming from the set, flashing it's headlights for the PAs to move the barricades. As it got through and slowly drove past us and around the corner, I realized it was Bay in the passenger seat right in front of us. I yelled "Michael!" and waved; he turned and waved back as they rounded the corner. My son was excited to finally see him up close. Great night on set! I overheard a PA tell another onlooker that they've got one more day of filming here (at this set, I believe).

J1000

TF3 Detroit: Downtown with the Big Gun and Bayhem

The area around the Farwell Building in Detroit and the Clifford and Woodward area was invaded today by Transformers 3 production. Most of the Autobot vehicles showed up along with the gigantic gun/jet prop, and the cast. Part of the filming appears to be a continuation of the scene from last week with Shia and Rosie on the prop sharing a hug then later that night which brought some more Bayhem boom to the set (video below). Thanks to J1000 and Surge29 we have two galleries of pictures and videos to enjoy from the day. The set report, first set of pics and last videos are from J1000. The second set of pics and 1st video is from Surge29.

Lots of great stuff going on today; Shia and Rosie were filming on the TF Jet prop (which now appears to definitely not be an "arm" or anything like that, as it was sitting street-level as they climbed on and off of it in front of the deli/liquor store set on Clifford. They were also shooting at the Farwell building with probably close to 100 (maybe more) extras running to the center of the intersection, as they were preparing to blow out a store front there. Towards the end of the evening, as the guys that haul the Autobots around were packing them up for the night, they were very cool and gave me a chance to get some pics of my son with Bumblebee and Sideswipe; then, one of the guys gave my son a NEST logo sticker that they actually us on the vehicles! What a cool souvenir! As you can see in the pic, he's super excited about that! I also noticed the classic silver Mercedes in the hauler that has been seen on other sets. I had my wife and kids with me, and we even got a mention in the local paper (Detroit Free Press), who was there covering some of the goings-on.

J1000

TF3 Detroit: Transformers at Central Station

J1000 returns with more pictures and video of Transformers 3 production in Detroit. Today brought cast and crew, along with basically all of the Autobot Transformers vehicles including the Wreckers, Twins, Ironhide, Prime (with trailer), etc to Michigan Central Station. At same time the crew was putting the finishing touches on the Clifford and Woodward faked store front set while adding the huge Transformers jet thingy prop from last week. J1000's report, pictures and 9 videos below speak for themselves.

Things are full speed ahead in Detroit now! They were filming at Michigan Central Station most of the day, followed by a quick trip over to the Packard Plant in the late evening for some other shots. The downtown sets should be shooting tomorrow; the Deli/Liquor store they've been setting up at Clifford and Woodward now has the Transformer Jet prop assembled in front of it; they were putting it together around lunch time (the engines were still at Packard at that point), and had it assembled when I came back by around 5PM. At Central Station, they were filming Shia, and I think Duhamel and Tyrese and possibly Hardcore Eddie, as well.

The Wreckers were being filmed racing across the front of the Station, while Ratchet was positioned at the left side door, and tires could be heard squealing inside the station. They were shooting closeups of the NEST squad and Shia on the right side of the station. After they wrapped at Central for the day, I heard a crew member's radio say they had to rush over to Packard; I got some great HD video shots of them leaving, and then arriving at Packard. I caught a glimpse (and pic) of a second Optimus cab inside the gates (I've seen doubles of the other cars, but not Optimus yet). As they were filming at Packard, there were a few small explosions. Tyrese's Chevelle drove by, and a bit later, Ironhide and the Twins finally arrived on a car hauler! Exciting day here in Detroit! Stay Tuned!

J1000

TF3 Detroit: Set Prep and Transformers

J1000 is back on the case with information, pictures and video of the various shooting locations being used as production continues its possible final week in Detroit. It seems the Transformers 3 performed more infrastructure repair as several abandoned locations have been spruced up to look like stores fronts for filming. If missing a look at your favorite Autobot, he also has that covered with a few pictures of Prime, Bumblebee, and few others.

Today, I got to "Roll out" with Optimus and Ratchet, as I followed them from the Packard Plant to a new location [video below] (The Connor Creek Detroit Edison Plant; nothing really to be seen here, as it's fairly well isolated from the surrounding area. It's the large plant with two smoke stacks in the pics). I got a chance to get some great pics of all the Autobots that were present as well. There were two Bumblebees, two Sideswipes, two Ferraris, and two of the Benzs. They were being washed and prepped for shooting. They were also filming at the Fisher Building downtown today.

There's a set being finished up at Clifford and Woodward, where they've built what looks like a fake subway entrance/stairwell type thing in the street, and have been decorating a building for a few days. Today they painted "Park in Rear" and some arrows on it. Right next door to it, they have decorated the vacant former Michigan National Bank building to look like a lingerie store window front (presumably something that matches Chicago). The building is vacant/empty if you look in through the front doors. I'm not sure if the "Cobras Club - Gentleman's club" is part of the set or not, though it may be, as the name is spelled wrong on one side of the sign). Also, Central Station was getting A/V/Power cable wrapped all around it as they prepped it for shooting on the outside (they've been doing interior work for at least a week now). Filming will be taking place in several areas over the rest of the week.

J1000

TF3 Detroit: Fire and Transformers (Updated)

Transformers 3 production continues in Detroit and here are pictures and two videos to go with it. The Transformers spotted on set include Ironhide, Ratchet, Prime with Trailer, Decepticon truck, the Wreckers, Sideswipe and more. That doesn't necessarily mean they are all being used as part of the whatever is being filmed at the Packard Plant as this is roving filming caravan that brings everything they need for the duration of the entire schedule, not necessarily what they need at one particular location.

Below are pictures from J1000 (thanks) and a few images and pictures that Unicron.com posted. The rest of their huge gallery can be found here. The two short videos from the site show the crew working at the nearby Packard Hotel including a friendly wave from Tyrese Gibson.

Update: Added five more pictures from J1000 with his son of Decepticon armored car and a Chicago police car, corrected a typo on his name (sorry), and added his video of some of the sizable smoke cloud being generated by the set.

More Video from Chicago and Sentinel Prime?

As Transformers 3 production winds down in Chicago, new video and images from the production have popped up online. The first set of images, including this rather odd choice in pajamas for Sam's father aka Kevin Dunn, were taken around Wednesday or so, at about the same times as the photos with John Turturro and Rosie's tight blue dress. The rest can be found here. Speaking of that, the first three videos below are from that same time period. The first is a look at John Turturro along with Alan Tudyk as they follow Shia and Rosie for a scene. The second video is the same moment but looking straight down, while the third video show Sam's parent in green outfits (at least I think its them). Thanks to Mike G. for the links.

After those videos are more from zztopeurope from a few weeks ago as the Transformers parking lot was packing up. Of note is the two black Decepeticon SUVs have been identified as Suburbans (but modified judging by the wheels). Also the security guard at the site (4th video) said the name of the Autobot fire truck is not Rodimus Prime but Sentinel Prime, as the father of Optimus. Sentinel Prime was a creation of the TF comics as the predecessor of Optimus Prime as leader of the Autobots. In War for Cybertron, he was leader when the Cybertronian civil war started and killed by Megatron leading to Prime's ascension. Like most of the TF names, this one will probably not be confirmed until next year. Thanks to zztopeurope and DJ BigTymeBeats for the links.

Chicago Warehouse Set Pics and Report

It seems that Transformers 3 production in Chicago has moved away from the public eye and into a warehouse location. In a set report with pictures and two brief videos from "big ander" at the NeoGAF boards, a scene is being filmed involving several Autobots and Decepticons as part of the overall sequence of event being filmed for the movie's Chicago finale.

The warehouse itself seems more like a storage location for all the vehicles, not just TFs, used for the last few weeks including the Datsuns and the Mad Max truck. As for the two videos, one shows a camera rig resetting while the second shows two SUV's driving quickly down South Indiana Avenue near East Cermak Road. As the images show, they seem to look like the Decepticon SUVs spotted in TF3's first week in Chicago. The pic to the right is the location before TF3 production dressed it up as an auto body shop.

Below is the report with sample pics but the full hi-def gallery and videos can be found here (password: anderbay). Thanks to David for the pics, links and location.

They filmed a shot over and over with Ironhide, Bumblebee, and the new Ferrari driving down a street being chased by two Decepticons. For most of the shots, Ironhide was just waiting at one end of the street while Ferrari and Bee drove toward him, and then other shots were just the Ferrari. We were told that it's a scene near the end of the movie where they're in a climactic fight. Optimus was not on set, so I guess he's fighting somewhere else.

The warehouse was more fun. We ended up not being able to take pictures, but I still grabbed a few. We saw the duplicates of Ironhide, we saw Ratchet, we saw the car version of the hair robot, we saw both Optimuses (I touched one), we saw that new firetruck, we saw the armored car decepticon, we saw the nascar autobots, and we saw one of the twins. ...We also saw the three warehouse-spanning rows of wrecked cars. That was cool. Oh, and we saw a white Maybach outside of the warehouse that looked like it was being moved. I don't really know if it's even being used in the movie, but it was still sweet. Other random stuff:

- saw the sort of 3D storyboarding of the action sequences.
- Saw a bus being put together in one part, and an exploded version of it in another area.
- Saw a cool big long white Benz that looked like it had been shot up. I'll be sure to look for that in the movie.
- Saw an earlier version of a school bus, and then a second version being moved. The second version had braces and stuff inside; I'm guessing it'll be destroyed.

I just remembered one more thing: The warehouse had two old models of Bumblebee. I'm guessing he goes back to his old car form just for a bit for some reason. Dunno why.

"Arise, Rodimus Prime"?

A new theory for the name of the Autobot fire truck suggests that he is Rodimus Prime. This rumor provided was by crew around the Transformers 3 parking lot. The rumor even goes so far to suggest he is Prime's father. Considering Megatron was called Prime's brother in the 1st movie the idea of family connections is not too far fetched. Of course that could be figurative "brother" as that thread has yet to be followed up on. This does make me look at the red TF head more closely though. As usual time will tell if this and other theorized names (Ultra Magnus) are accurate or not.

In the meantime, thanks to Chris R. for his gallery of 60 pictures from the Transformers 3 lot with the core "cast" of Transformers vehicles and also another look at the Twins vehicles that Bay says isn't in the movie (yet got moved from LA to Chicago). The set includes Prime with Trailer, Ratchet, Sideswipe, both Twins, Bumblebee, and more. A few sample pics are below, the rest can be found here.