Thanks to Ebay (and Allsparker LordCryotek) we now have plenty of pictures showcasing what appears to be the Lawson exclusive Blackout and Scorponok decked out in a scheme evoking his appearance in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

You can check out the auction here and discuss the figures in LordCryotek's thread.

Allspark poster Defensis Prime has finally provided us with details about the "exclusive footage" Circuit City offers with purchase of the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen DVD. A card provides a link and passcode to a small site featuring mobile ringtones and background images, plus four short videos. The videos complement the 2-disc DVD's "Our World/Their War" featurettes, and seem almost like outtakes from those films. 

-The Voices - Shows several of the voice actors as they record their lines, including more footage of Cullen and Weaving as well as Darius McCray, Jess Harnell, and more.
-Metal In Motion - Early test footage of robots running, fighting, and transforming.
-Stunts - A look at the live-action stunts from the movie.
-Gearing Up - Michael Bay shops in the prop department for army gear. 

For more information and discussion, check out this thread. 

The second series of the Transformers Customizable Card Game has apparently hit stores. TFW2005 poster Hooper_X reports finding the new "Energon Wars" expansion packs in his local Target store. The so-called 3-D Battle Card Game features punch-out cardboard "transforming" versions of characters from all Transformers generations, from G1 right up through the movie. This second set includes some odd character choices, such as Beast Wars Quickstrike and a pink redeco movie Megatron named Sky Lynx!

For a look at the new cards, check out the official web site. Thanks to Hooper_X of TFW2005 for the news. 

It's time for another BigBadToyStore Newsletter! Today's entry announces a new 20% sale through Saturday on all older items, and also a bit of potentially welcome news for us Transformers fans:

We've also just learned that they plan to update the paint versions of the [Japanese Classics] figures to better reflect how they looked in G1 animations.  We are digging for details... but there is not anything concrete available yet.

Interesting news indeed, and we'll certainly follow that as it develops. In the meantime, check out these great Transformers items at BBTS, and click "Read More" for the full email.

PREORDERS 

• Encore Sky Lynx & Jazz
  
• Japanese Classics
  
• Shockwave Bust
  
• Lawson's Exclusive Blackout & Scorponok
  

NEW ARRIVALS

• Ultimate Bumblebee
  
• Transformers Movie DVD

Squawk ident! As previously reported, the Japanese chain store Lawson's will be getting an exclusive Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Voyager Blackout figure with more a realistic color-scheme. Now TFormers supplies us with a larger scan of the toy, so you can see just what makes this Vers. 4500x different than the regular version! Although not pictured, the Scorponok that he comes with will also more closely match the colors in the movie. This figure will retail at 8990 yen and will come with the"Transformers" DVD.

You can see the original article and the scan here. 

ComicNewsI has posted a list of IDW Transformers comic books expected in January 2008. Among the list is a Transformers: Animated comic book! However, it's just still-frames from the show with the episodes' dialog added in comic book style.

The list:

• Transformers: The Animated Series Vol. 1 
• Transformers: The Animated Series Vol. 2
• Transformers Spotlight: Blaster
• Transformers: Devastation #5
• Transformers Best of the UK: Dinotbots #5 (of 6)
• Classic Transformers Vol. 1 TPB
• Transformers Target 2006 TPB

You can see the original article that has a description of each title here.  

Did the listings of a black Arcee and Trans-Scanning figures interest you? Well, now you can get a glimpse at what these figures look like! TFW2005 has posted scans of the figures, or concept art in the case of the Trans-Scanning toys. It looks as though the Trans-Scanning figures are skeletal representations of the characters that then get additional vehicle-parts armor, and the Arcee black version appears to be modeled on the motorcycle that Lennox used in the movie to get closer to Blackout!

Click here to see the original post, and here to discuss the images on the Allspark.

We've also mirrored the images here. 

iF Magazine has posted the second part of their interview with Mark Ryan, who provided the voice for Bumblebee in the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. But did he know that? He reveals that he had originally been hired just to do fill-in voices while the movie was still filming, and he had no expectations of being in the final piece. While recording several lines, he performed a couple of hand-written lines for Bumblebee that Michael Bay had handed him. These lines would then eventually find themselves into the final cut!

Also included in the interview is a look at some of his other work, including Evita and Robin of Sherwood. 

You can see part two of the interview here. 

Just a quick reminder if you haven't voted, there's still time to voice your support for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as Movie of the Year!  Yahoo Movies has a poll up for the Hollywood Film Festival Awards, and right now Transformers is a distant third.  The top rankings are as follows:

#1 - 300, 37517 votes
#2 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 32016 votes
#3 - Transformers the Movie, 24417 votes