Hasbro Website Update Reveals Transformers 4 Character Names (Updated)

Last night Hasbro updated their website with new entries for 2014 Generations and Constructbots toys. As TFW2005 members discovered, it turns out that update included an unexpected surprise of listing many of the toys planned for Transformers: Age of Extinction that reveals many of the names of the characters that might appear in the movie.

A few caveats on this however. One, the list has a lot of strange code names. Two, Hasbro doesn't release a toy without planning for at least one repaint so really every mold has two names. So are the code names hiding a movie character name or just an undecided repaint name? Are some of the listed names already decided repaint names? As the image shows, it literally just a listing, there are no pictures so unable to verify what the alt modes are for each new character. Spoiler Warning, summary of names after the break.

Update: TFW2005 members did some further digging and discovered that the codename listings shared the same product IDs as named listing. Result is the code names do not signify a potential set of additional characters but those already listed in the summary. Revised toy listings here.

Happy Halloween With Life-Size Transformers Display

A huge Transformers fan in Cleveland, Ohio celebrates Halloween in an interesting way - with a life-size display of Transformers. The display, on its sixth year, is based on the first Transformers movie's Transformers characters with Optimus Prime (18' tall), Megatron (sitting on porch roof), Bumblebee (12' tall) and Barricade standing in his yard in robot mode. The four robots took around three months each to build and now takes about an hour and a half to assemble. Video below but if have problems can also find the news report, along with more pictures at NewsNet5. Thanks to Jeffrey M. for the link. Happy Halloween!

Michael Bay Discusses Filming TF4 in Hong Kong

Despite two failed blackmail attempts, Michael Bay has nothing but praise for Hong Kong after completing two weeks of filming in the city. In an interview with South China Morning Post, the director discussed some of the challenges filming in the city and a little bit of the story. Below is the major portions of the interview but you can find the full article, with videos, here.

As for the image, that was created by Jeffrey Marshall of Pixel Rally with inspiration from the Prime renders and the TF4 logo. His work was unintentionally highlighted by Age of Extinction's Sophia Myles in a recent tweet when the hotel she was at used his unofficial Autobot logo to dress up her food delivery.

“Hong Kong is a very visual city,” he said in an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post.

[In regards to the extortion attempts], “In the restaurants, in the hotel, I must have 30 people coming to me saying ‘I’m so sorry’. But it was such a silly incident,” Bay said. He was also surprised how the incidents got looped into international news reported on BBC and CNN.

Transformers 4 (Almost) Completes Principle Photography (Updated)

Update: It looks like a little jumping of the gun on my part as a tweet from Michael Bay indicates there is still a week to go.

Thanks #hongkong Now on to #China #Transformers4 #tf4 #transformers #michaelbay

Chances are the main cast, or at least Nicola, has wrapped but the crew still has various locations to visit to complete the look that much of the film takes place in various locations in China.
---------------------------------A tweet by Transformers: Age of Extinction's Nicola Peltz indicates that after five months of filming, principle photography on the movie is finished.

That's a wrap on Transformers 4! An amazing journey!!! #transformers4 http://instagram.com/p/f_iFW6NVis/

New Transformers 4 Clabberboard Images Shows Bumblebee

A new image found by TFW2005's Niv3k shows a new image of Bumblebee as revealed on a Transformers: Age of Extinction clapperboard. The image doesn't quite match the 'Bee render from earlier this week but to me there isn't enough detail in any of the images to reach conclusion if the renders are fake.

The Voice of Prime on Transformers 4 Hong Kong Set (Updated)

A video posted on Youtube from Transformers: Age of Extinction filming on October 25 at Hong Kong's West Kowloon Cultural District provides a look at what might be the final scene of the movie. It shows Nicola Peltz and Jack Reynor standing behind Mark Wahlberg as he talks up at a pole that represents Optimus Prime while Peter Cullen's voice booms from nearby speakers.

Below is my best guess of Cullen's lines which hint at some movie events so spoiler warning. After that moment other bits from filming at other locations are shown. This is from the same source, LF3258, that show posted video of other TF vehicles earlier in the week. The image on the left of Peltz, Tucci, and Wahlberg's stunt doubles is from a gallery of images you can find here. Great photos of mostly the vehicles on set but no clue what was being filmed.

Update Few more set images, with Walhberg carrying his sword and the cast running with their large bag can be found here.

Transformers 4 Render Art for Optimus Prime With Teases of Bumblebee and Grimlock

Render art posted on ACToys forums provides the first solid look at Optimus Prime along with bit of a tease of Grimlock's dino mode and Bumblebee. The art suggests that the designs for the robot modes maintain the movie line's complex look yet seems much more streamlined with larger plate pieces that remind me of Transformers Prime. It isn't enough detail to reach final conclusions but so far I am not hating it.

I wonder if streamlining means less complex CGI transformations resulting in budget savings. This isn't to mean the viewer would be cheated visually. For example Optimus Prime in TF1 to 3 was made up of over 10,000 fully realized CGI 3D pieces put together and rendered even those most of those parts are invisible to the viewer. If Prime were "just" made up of 7,000 pieces (or whatever the final number is), I doubt anyone would notice since most of that detail is hidden. Of course this assumes that streamlining means less when require even more parts. So what do you think of the new designs?

Image, Video of New Vehicles on Transformers 4 Hong Kong Set

Despite Triad extortion attempts, filming continues in Hong Kong for Transformers: Age of Extinction. In the video and image, it shows what has identified as an Aston Martin DBS, McLaren MP4-12C, the Pagani Huayra, Argosy Freightliner and a garbage truck rolling together down the street as extras run down a sidewalk looking up. Since rolling with other very expensive cars as Autobots, could the garbage truck be an alt mode? If so my guess would be Bulkhead. As pointed out in the comments, the vehicles could be Decepticons (Stunticons?). While I assume they are Autobots because car makers (especially US ones) tend to dislike having their vehicles be bad guys, the success of previous TF movies may have got most of them to reconsider their thinking on that.

Bay Writes About Positive Hong Kong Experience for TF4 Filming

Michael Bay has added a note to his website to "set the record straight" about his experience with shooting Transformers: Age of Extinction in Hong Kong. The note is a response to the bad press China has been getting for two failed extortion attempts.

I’m here to set the record straight again . . . my crew and I have been having a great time in Hong Kong despite what you may have read about us being “rocked by a second extortion attempt.” Totally untrue. A few bad dudes have definitely not ruined the experience. We shoot from sun up to sun down, and the local HK crew have become part of our on-set family. We’re in the middle of busy streets, in businesses, and even in people’s homes, and everyone we’ve met has been very accommodating and generous. It’s been a once in a lifetime experience we’d all consider doing again.

Michael Bay

Another Extortion Attempt Made On Transformers 4 Production

Once again Hong Kong, China shows its ugly side as a crew of four attempted to extort money from Transformers: Age of Extinction production. This sounds like a repeat of last week's attempt. One of the four involved have been arrested with police looking for the other three. No violence or injuries reported. From Hong Kong's The Standard:

Police are searching for three men in connection with a second blackmail attempt on the production crew of Transformers: Age of Extinction.

One of the suspects was arrested while three others fled when police were called on Tuesday.

A week ago several men roughed up US director Michael Bay and some crew members. There are fears the incidents may tarnish the image of Hong Kong in the movie world.

IDW January 2014 Transformers Comics

IDW Publishing has released their publishing plans for January 2014. Three issues, a trade, crossover with X-Files and one trade is part of the January slate for Transformers. The two main ongoings reach the mid-way point of the 12 part Dark Cybertron story arc. Regeneration One is in its home stretch as it reaches its final 100th issue (bit glad as the story has been moving at a glacier pace). The X-Files begins its crossover with IDW's various media licences with 1st issue of Conspiracy which introduces the concept before the one-shot issue with Transformers next month. For the full details of IDW's other books including GI Joe, Star Trek, and more click here.

Videos of Filming Transformers 4 in Hong Kong

Transformers: Age of Extinction had a productive weekend as filming continued in Kong Kong as bunch of videos found by TFormers.com show. The first video shows the entire core cast as they filmed a sequence that involved Stanley Tucci and Mark Wahlberg carrying a body bag like shape (maybe filled with those Cybertronian swords/keys?) with Sophia Myles, Nicola Peltz and Jack Reynor following close behind. The 2nd video is Bay prepping for a vehicle sequence and the actors killing time during steups. The 3rd video is the Freightliner being chased by three different colored SUVs, next is quick video of 'Bee turning a corner. Fifth video is extra's running around a corner as pyrotechnic sounds are heard and a piece of building lands in the street. After that is essentially a smoke bomb going off on top of a bus going over a curved overpass, the 7th is more of Bay prepping a scene and the last video is a slideshow of images from filming. Speaking of images, click here for another gallery images of the actors filming the body bag scene and other things.

Images from Transformers 4 Hong Kong Set (Updated)

Transformers: Age of Extinction continues to film in Hong Kong, China. Information remains light but TFW2005 forum members did manage to get a few pictures. It seems that Titus Welliver has joined the rest of the main cast so the only ones missing at this point is Stanley Tucci and Kelsey Grammer. A few new cars were also spotted but as usual its unclear if these are TF alt modes or serve some other purpose. The identified new vehicles are a blue Kawasaki, two Audi S6, Cadillac CTS, white Lamborghini Gallardo, black Ferrari and maybe a Bentley. As for what is being filmed, that remains unknown but Titus being on the set indicates it ties into whatever was filmed in the Lockhart, Texas back in June. The full gallery of images are at TFW2005.

Update: Another set of images have been posted that shows the actors, including Tucci, on set along with more vehicles including 'Bee. That set is here.

Halloween Costumes Tease Transformers 4 Bumblebee, Prime Look

Two images found on China's version of twitter called Weibo provides a hint on what the Transformers 4 version of Bumblebee and Optimus Prime may look like in robot mode. While the labels on the image indicate Transformers: Prime, if you look at face mask and costume details, they are clearly of the movie aesthetic. Since these are costumes, you can't really leap to a conclusion on what the final result will but it does indicate that their designs have been mostly tweaked rather than completely changed.

Michael Bay and Crew Attacked on Transformers 4 Set (Updated)

The final leg of principle photography for Transformers: Age of Extinction has begun in Hong Kong, China. Unfortunately, the first day did not go smoothly. Hong Kong newspaper, Sharp Daily, is reporting that three men attacked the crew for not receiving part of the rent fee for using the location the production was at. Seibertron's translation indicates the altercation ended up involving the three suspects, three policemen and Michael Bay. I can't say surprised Bay got involved as I suspect he has a trait that (good) bosses should have - he can berate his team but beware anyone else that does it. It ended with the three under arrest and no one injured.

Transformers 4 Arrives in China With New Alt Mode Vehicle? (Updated)

Transformers 4 production is on the verge of starting back up in China. New images show various Transformer cars, including a maybe new one, showing up in the country to prep for around a month's worth of filming. The cars spotted in China are Bumblebee (2014 Camaro), Hound, Corvette Stingray, Bugatti, Pagani Huayra and a new red vehicle identified as a 2014 Ferrari 458 Italia Speciale (left pic).

In Dark of the Moon, the Transformers called "Dino" (or Mirage) was also a 458 Italia but I would be surprised if that character returned considering his near non-existent part in the last film. Also the car looks too much like the Pagani (right pic) to a non-car aficionado like me and most movie goers. The range in vehicle colors is no accident as it is a design choice to make it so requires only a glance for viewers to know what character they are looking at regardless of the make and model of the alt mode. The addition breaks that formula so guessing it serves some other purpose than a TF alt mode. It is also possible the car arrived on the same ship (or plane) as the other vehicles but has nothing to do with TF4 production.

Linkfest - New Masterpieces, Album, Comic and More

With Transformers: Age of Extinction filming news going mostly quiet as production heads to Chian, time for another link fest. In this addition we get an update on the fantastic masterpiece line (sadly all being repaints), news of a new Transformers comic, album, commercial spook and homage video. Of course this also means lots of links to video reviews of the latest Transformers including 3rd party releases of not Blackarachnia, not Brainstorm, not Uranos along with a look at the latest Masterpiece figure with MP-17 Prowl.

Masterpiece
MP-12G G2 Sideswipe - Another repaint of the MP-12 figure, but in the G2 style in new head mold and accessories. Release date is February, 2014 with average import price of $80.
MP-13B Soundblaster with Ratbat - Look at the Masterpiece Soundwave repaint with new MP version of Ratbat. While Hasbro has released MP Soundwave stateside, even though finding it in Toys R Us has been difficult, it doesn't come with Ratbat. The foy is set for release in March 2014, average import price is around $160.
MP-18 Bluestreak and MP-19 Smokescreen - Repaints of MP-17 Prowl (out now and review below), these two additions to the line will becoming out in the next two months for average price of $80 each. As a G1 fan and abiding love of the MP line, despite being repaints, definitely going to get both.

First Look at Transformers 4 Optimus Prime Toy

At the New York Comic-Con going on this weekend, Hasbro provided the first public look at a figure from next year's Transformers: Age of Extinction toy line. The leader class Optimus Prime toy does seem to indicate that Hasbro is keeping with their intent to simplify the transformation sequence, similar to the recent waves of Beast Hunters and Generations toys. It also seems to show that the "new" approach to the look of the movie version of the characters is very close to the previous three films. Still one figure is not a pattern so too early to draw concrete conclusions about the movie design approach. Here are the images and description from Hasbro's press release from Hasbro while a gallery of images from the 'Con floor of the toy is here.

Transformers 4 Casting Call in Seattle

Transformers 4 may be finished in Chicago but production continues. Currently near Elma, Washington, the production had put out an "urgent casting call" for extras for filming on Wednesday and Thursday. The call was seeking 18+ male and female "clean cut, athletic, military, business types." If in the Elma area, it might not be too late to apply. Sadly not a whole lot of info to gleam from that as many of the extra notices had similar descriptions. Thanks to Wynton R. for the link.

Making of Transformers: The Ride

With Transformers 4 news going quiet as filming went to unknown locations, here is something TF related to watch. It turns out I completely missed this 22 minute making of / advertisement for Transformers: The Ride back when it opened in Universal Studios Hollywood in 2011. The length suggests it had been made as something to air on TV but guess those plans fell through. Any case you might find it interesting with a look at ILM creating the effects, interviews with Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg and more. Thanks to Feris O. for the find.

Set Visit Reveals Sources for Transformers 4 Vehicles

In a post on the Shoot For the Edit forums, Nelson wrote about his visit to the set of Transformers: Age of Extinction. Since he works for Bay he left off all the juicy story details but he did drop some information on the origin of the various vehicles in the film. Also posted the pics of Michael Bay at work on the set.

As some of you know, I visited the TF4 set in Chicago a couple of weeks ago. I won't bore you with the details, but here are some things I noticed and discovered.

Transformers 4 Final Day in Chicago Goes Out With a Boom

As promised, the final day of Transformers: Age of Extinction in Chicago went out with a large boom. Not "the mother of all bombs", but still a big boom that will look great once its slowed down and edited together. The set, not opened to the public, was the South Damen Avenue abandoned silo that was dressed as an unknown Chinese location. As the great images and video thanks to Colin Hinkle show, the site was dressed with China related items, silo itself was rigged with pyrotechnics, and the action was filmed from the air with a helicopter. His video was also used in local news report about the filming.

The second set of pictures near the site are from cmraseye that provides another angle on the explosion. He wrote, "The blast was concentrated at the front of the corrugated out building. Lots of debris blown into the air, bamboo sticks, 55 gal drums ...all kinds of things in the air, will probably look cool on film. ...you can see the pyro/dust bags ignited, blowing out the dust, and several barrels being launched into the air. Contrary to the captions on the Tribune photos online, there were no cameras mounted in the baskets of those lifts. It appears the lifts were cabled to support the frame of the outbuilding to keep it from collapsing on itself when they blew the roof panels off." You can find Chicago Tribune's pics of the boom here. Thanks Jeffrey Marshall for the link.

Transformers 4 Character Hints

Nelson, the admin for MichaelBay.com, has provided a few Transformers character tidbits. One of them suggests that the robot face photographed a few months ago might be Hound. He also wrote that after Chicago filming ends on Wednesday, next is filming in Washington state followed by China.

I like how Bumblebee looks like in robot form this time around. He looks badass and sleek.

The Stingray is one of my favorite looking robots.

So is the Bugatti. Wait til you see this guy in action. He will blow your mind!!

And Hound reminds me of the bearded chubby fellow in Braveheart. He might take the cake when it comes to personality.

Its not much to go on but better than nothing. Feel free to add what you think in the comments. (via TFW2005)