Over a year away but we're already taking bookings for Auto Assembly 2012!! We don't want any of you to miss out on what is going to be the biggest Transformers convention that Europe has ever seen! We are going to have more guests than ever including THREE voice actors for the first time ever at a European Transformers convention, more dealers than ever, more events and activities and the biggest and best ever goodie bag. Basically, more of everything that you have come to expect from Auto Assembly over the years!

Auto Assembly 2012 is taking place over the weekend of Friday 3rd - Sunday 5th August 2012 at our new venue, the four star Hilton Metropole Birmingham Hotel, Birmingham, England. It is a massive hotel with 790 bedrooms and it is one of the largest convention hotels in the UK and is large enough to hold Botcon... and with our plans, we're going to need it!! With a convention of this scale, we want to make sure you have enough time to plan, so you can book your tickets online NOW!!

To book, just choose the type of ticket that you require, enter your name and date of birth details and then add it to your shopping cart (this will open up in a new window). Please add each person to your cart separately as we need to know the names and dates of birth for each attendee so we can prepare passes for them properly. Once you have booked all of your tickets and ordered any additional items that you may want, go to the checkout to pay!

Please note that when you check out, 5% will be added at the end for PayPal handling charges as we get charged this to accept payments by PayPal and rather than increasing ticket prices for everyone to cover this cost, we have no choice but to add this surcharge. As PayPal does not have a system to add a surcharge option, it will show up on your shopping cart as "postage and packing".

We know that bookings are open early, but we are offering you all a special bonus right now... if you register before 14th August 2011 then you will get an EXTRA item in your goodie bag that will only be available for those of you who book early so hurry now to get this extra surprise!

NEW PRICE STRUCTURE

We are changing the prices slightly for 2012. It won't affect the majority of you and in many cases, you'll actually find that your passes for the convention will be cheaper. We are doing this to make things a lot easier for us to keep a track of at the convention itself, and to be fairer on everyone. First, we appreciate that many of our younger attendees are not as interested in Transformers as the older ones and are often brought along by parents because they have no-one to look after them. The younger attendees may be interested in the children's programme but certainly not the guest talks, auction etc. As such we have revised the age limit for free places and this is now rising to Under 6s from Under 5s.

Secondly, we are scrapping Student passes. In the past, we have not asked for Student ID when booking and we have taken it on good faith, but obviously retained the option of asking for proof on arrival. However, with the convention taking place in the Summer, technically no-one is a student and while many people may be students when they book, there is no guarantee that everyone will return to education after the Summer. We are therefore changing our price structure and abolishing Student Passes and altering the Child Passes at the same time. These will be replaced with a combined Youth Pass which will cover ALL attendees under the age of 18 (this will also fall in line with the British laws which are changing the legal age for school leavers). Anyone over that age will be subject to the adult ticket rate. The reduced rate for senior citizens aged 60 and over will still apply.

However, ticket prices for 2012 are being REDUCED to the levels offered in 2010 so in the majority of cases, you will save money on the price of admission to the convention anway.

WHAT HAPPENS ONCE YOU HAVE BOOKED?

We're sure that once you've made your booking you want to know what happens next! Well, if you don't know, Auto Assembly is run on a non-profit making basis by Infinite Frontiers, a science fiction fan organisation founded by Simon Plumbe in 1989. Auto Assembly is organised by a small team in our spare time (see elsewhere on this site for more information about us) so as you can understand, this means that our time can be stretched with running the convention, work and family life. For the bookings side of things are processed by committee head Simon Plumbe and his wife Trish.

Anyway, back to the bookings and once your booking comes in it's allocated a ticket number (to ensure that we don't overflow with attendees!). Within a few days, you'll be sent an email confirming your ticket numbers, the names of everyone you have booked for and some general information. After mid August, we'll also be including information on how to book discount accommodation at the Hilton itself which will have rooms for £50 a night for single rooms and £60 for twin / double rooms. Don't worry if this information isn't in your confirmation email as we'll contact everyone who has booked and let you all know the hotel booking details. After this, we may send out a few other progress report emails but the "proper" ticket that you will get from us won't arrive until closer to the convention.

This mailing usually goes out about 6-8 weeks before the convention takes place and contains your personalised convention pass and lanyard and a CD-ROM which will contain our Convention Information Pack. This will have the information magazine with all the important details you need to know about the convention, along with a selection of original articles and fiction, entry forms for all our competitions, volunteering forms, plus some bonus PC software!!

Please make sure that you keep these passes safe as you will need these to gain access to the convention all weekend.

Hope that clarifies everything!

WHAT YOU RECEIVE

Your ticket will gain you admission to the convention and all of the activities for your chosen day(s). You will only be able to enter the Friday and Saturday evening programme if you have a full weekend pass but apart from that, everything is included in the ticket price - guest talks, workshops, autographs etc. All you need to pay for is your travel, accommodation, food and drink and whatever you want to spend!

All attendees will also receive our convention goodie bag which will contain a selection of free gifts. This will include at least four convention exclusive postcards, an Auto Assembly 2012 Litho Print (for attendees booking a room in the convention hotel) and for attendees booking full weekend passes, an IDW comic with a convention exclusive cover, a copy of The Cybertronian Times Issue 13 and our own convention exclusive comic! More gifts will be announced nearer the convention!

REFUNDS AND OTHER QUESTIONS

We have had people ask if they have already booked but then can't make it whether they can then get a refund. In the past, we have not been able to offer refunds but we are looking at developing a cancellation policy for Auto Assembly 2012 and more details on this will be posted on the website shortly but this will be subject to an administrative charge. This will also apply if you wish to transfer your ticket to another person.

Also, please note that if you purchase a single day pass, it is only for use on the day that it is intended and is non-transferrable. Saturday tickets can only be used on a Saturday, and Sunday passes can only be used on a Sunday so please choose carefully. There will be different activities and guest panels taking place on each day so choose which is the best day for you to attend.

AGE LIMITS

Unlike previous years, we are introducing an age policy for the convention, and we insist that all unaccompanied attendees of Auto Assembly 2012 are 16 or over. Anyone attending Auto Assembly 2012 who is under 16 must be accompanied by a parent / guardian or other adult aged 16 or above. Anyone booking tickets not adhering to this policy will have their booking cancelled and a full refund issued.

ATTENDEE LIMIT

Fans have often said that they love the atmostphere at Auto Assembly compared with Botcon and love the fact that the convention isn't too crowded and that they have plenty of time to socialise with their friends and meet the guests. Because of this we are setting a maximum limit on the number of attendees for Auto Assembly 2012 just 1,000 fans. The hotel can hold a LOT more than this, but for 2012 we want to keep things friendly and cosy so book early to avoid disappointment!

SECURE ONLINE BOOKING

Adult Weekend Ticket - £45.00

Standard admission for all adults, aged 18 or over.

Youth Weekend Ticket - £35.00

This is for anyone under the age of 18 at the time of the event

Elderly Weekend Tickets - £35.00

For over 60s at the time of Auto Assembly 2012.

Under 6s Weekend Ticket - FREE

Any child under 6 at the time of Auto Assembly 2012. There is a nominal 1p charge for online tickets.

Family Weekend Tickets - £145.00

To book a family ticket, enter the names of ALL four of the people attending in the box along with the four dates of birth in the same order. The family ticket covers two adults and two children. A child is classified as someone who is under 18 at the time of the convention. Under 5s are free and should be added separately.

SATURDAY SINGLE DAY PASSES

Adult Saturday Ticket - £25.00

Standard Saturday admission for all adults, aged 18 or over.

Youth Saturday Ticket - £18.00

This is for anyone aged under 18 at the time of the event

Elderly Saturday Ticket - £18.00

For over 60s at the time of Auto Assembly 2012.

Under 6s Saturday Ticket - FREE

Any child under 6 at the time of Auto Assembly 2012. There is a nominal 1p charge for online tickets.

SUNDAY SINGLE DAY PASSES

Adult Sunday Ticket - £25.00

Standard Sunday admission for all adults, aged 18 or over.

Youth Sunday Ticket - £18.00

This is for anyone aged under 18 at the time of the event

Elderly Sunday Ticket - £18.00

For over 60s at the time of Auto Assembly 2012.

Under 6s Sunday Ticket - FREE

Any child under 6 at the time of Auto Assembly 2012. There is a nominal 1p charge for online tickets.

Check Out

To go to the check out and buy your tickets...