TF Nation 2023 – Birmingham

This was our first visit to a TF Nation event, and I was initially made aware of it’s existence by a worker in Smyths Toys in Middlebrook Retail Park, Horwich. I was checking out the gaming section upstairs and one of the workers noticed my t-shirt. I wasn’t wearing a Transformers T, but when I mentioned where my t-shirt was from (Qwertee, if you’re interested,) he replied saying he had bought quite a few Transformers themed Ts from them over the years, and that he was going to have to buy some new ones because he was going to a Transformers Convention in a few months. We ended up going to TF Nation entirely because of a chance conversation with a Transformers fan we met in a shop. Funny how conversations can turn out, isn’t it?

The convention itself was at the Hilton Hotel in Birmingham, just inside the grounds of Birmingham NEC. There is a huge amount of inexpensive parking and the event itself was very easy to access. You’re free to leave and return an any point if you need fresh air, and there are accessible facilities throughout the venue.

There were two main areas at TF Nation – one Talk Hall and one Traders Hall. On the day we were there the Traders Hall was still setting up. We were there for just one day, the Friday, and Trading was only open Saturday and Sunday. The photos below give a general overview of the area, but please bear in mind some stalls were still setting up. Incidentally it was great to see my friend Lucan there, from LucanTees. You should check out his Transformers t-shirts.

TF Nation 2023 – Traders Hall

Along with the Traders there was also the opportunity to view rare original items from the Transformers world, including original artwork and toys from the 80s.

TF Nation 2023 – Rare Items

For me the highlight of any convention are the talks – the opportunity to listen to professionals talk about their passion, their hobbies and generally geek-out with like-minded fans. I loved that here too! There were a few talks including composing music for fan-made stop-motion Transformers films, discussing the history of Gunpla, and Triple Takeover – a Transformers themed podcast. All were great.

TF Nation 2023 – Various Talks on Stage

But the pinnacle of our visit was the talk with Susan Blu, David Sobolov and Jeremy Levy, all voice actors from the world of Transformers. As a collector of animation cels, and a life-long fan of animation, the chance to even be in the same room as the lady who played the voice of Arcee in the original Transformers Movie from 1986 was enough to give me butterflies! Susan and David were obviously very close friends, and this became apparent towards the end of the talk when Susan thanked David by giving him a peck on the cheek and putting her hand on his knee. You could see in his face that David was a little overcome with emotion and Jeremy had to offer a tissue to him to wipe away happy tears.

Being in the same room as people I’ve listened to for years, discussing stories from their personal lives? THIS is exactly what I wanted from a convention!