Meacha Month Week one.

Mecha Month is here everybody... 

Yes it's that time of year where we celebrate all thing GIANT ROBOT!!!

As mentioned before in an earlier posts i have gone for the more comedic Mecha anime's so things are a lot more laid back. If you remember my list for 2015 was 

 Full Metal Panic Season 001.

Godannar.

Dai-Guard.

Martian Successor Nadesico.

Dual Parallel Trouble Adventure.

Day 1-7 Sunday to Saturday 1-7/11 

The first show was the DVD of Full Metal Panic... WHAT!!!! I hear you cry... Yes I said DVD. I know i have the Blu ray Box Set and i did try a disc and the anime looks AMAZING. But I didn't know i was going to get it at the London MCM EXPO and that it is on 3 discs so it would of thrown off my day to day break down of the month... I would of have four days and nothing to fill it with... But next year i will have to put The Second Raid on the list.  

( Image found on google.com )

But getting things back on track.....

Full Metal Panic is an anime from 2002 and is based off a Light Novel. Now i don't really understand the whole Light Novel thing in Japan but i think it's very similar to the Young Adult novels here in the West. 

The show follows the adventures and or miss adventures of Sousuke Sagara a member of the anti-terrorist group called Mithril. As he is asigned to protect a young Japaneses girl call Kaname Chidori from terrorist groups who want to use the Black Technology hidden deep inside Kanames head. 

I came across this anime when i was at university back in 2002/03 when i was watching a lot of Fan Subs. ( Fan Subs were a big thing back in the very late 1990's early 2000's ) I feel in love with the Mech Designs. They were very Real Robot in nature and look like something the armies of the future would use. Also the show was funny it was light heart'd and just fun. The story moves at a fast pace and is wrapped up at the end. Though it is open enough for two more shows. I can not recommend this show enough it is a great watch and the animation is really good. I could go in to a blow by blow of the story and break each episode down but i really do want you the reader to go out and watch the show.

I know i am posting this on Monday day 9 of Mecha Month and i have said anything about day 8 but i will cover that in the net post. But as a hint...... Ok i will just come out and say it. I will be covering Dual! Parallel Adventure Trouble. Or as i like to think of it as Tenchi Muyo ripping off Evangelion. Also lets not forget i still need to work my way through that stack of Gundam kits from last year.... So still lots of fun to be had with this years Mecha Month. 

Let me know what Gunpla you are building or what Mecha anime you are watching. in the comments below or if you have any shows that i can add to my list for future Mecha Months. 

So till next time ...

KEEP IT METAL!!!!!.

London MCM Expo October 2015.

The weekend of 23-25/10/15 saw the return of the London MCM Expo at the Excel Center. I've said before in the past that i am not calling it London MCM Comic Con... But that's not the point.

The Expo this time round was pretty good. Sadly not as enjoyable as the May con but i still had a lot of fun.

The same old complainants still remain and i do hope things get better for the next con...

Cosplay photos should not be taken on the show room floor (something that will never change)

The area for the queue is not used effectively enough (something that can be easily fixed)

over crowding in the Excel Center mail corridor. (something that can be easily fixed)

Better use of space to give a better lay out of show room floor. (not so easily fixed)

Things are getting better and the MCM team are learning more and more with each con. I understand that each venue have their own unique problems and i only go to the London con... Something i really need to change. After all the other MCM cons are not that far away so travel is not a major problem. So something to look into in the coming years. But back to the point. Things were ok at this con i was not happy with the layout but was very happy with the fact that the Esports was moved to the opposite side of the main corridor. And the talks were not all on the show floor. Companies like Bandai, Tamashii Nation, Namco as well as the usual Manga Entertainment, MVM and All the Anime were there as well as others. This all feels like the MCM is growing and that is only a good thing. There was a lot of the cosplay there and it all looked amazing. There is not really a lot to say about this con. It was very by the numbers but still a good day.   

I spent a  fair amount of money this time round as well. Something i have not done in a long time. the last time i picked up this much stuff would of been the 2008 Expo. 

So i picked up..

S.H. Figuarts Super Saiyan Gokou

S.H. Figuarts Super Saiyan Gohan

S.H. Figuarts Stage Act 4 

a free 1up Mushroom

a large Superman Lego figure

Space Dandy season 2 dvd

Gundam 0079 box set 1 blu ray

Full Metal Panic Complete box set blu ray

Baccano! complete box set bluray

Real Grade 1/144  Gundam MKII

Real Grade 1/144 Gundam Astray Red Frame

What was good was that the anime box sets were on sale before the release date. So as soon as i got home i cancelled most of my pre-orders on amazon.co.uk. And i saved a few pounds getting them at the con so a win in my book. And that is what you want from a con. 

I have just gotten in to retro gaming and i have noticed over the last few con the number of stalls selling old Nintendo and Saga  games have been steady growing in number. So i was hoping to pick up a few games but this time there was may be three stalls and all the prices were a little to high. If i can get it cheaper on ebay i will. So that was disappointing. But there is the gaming mart in November so i am hoping to pick a few things up there.

So all in all a good day even though it started to rain around midday it did not dampen the mood at the con. I was very happy with the con and looking forward next years May Expo.

And that is it for 2015 as far a cons go. London Film and Comic Con Winter was cancelled and will return for a Spring con next year So my con season is over. I have the gaming mart to go to but that will be a lot smaller than the con. So 2015 has been a good year for cons and  i am looking ahead to 2016 with the big Star Wars con. 

If you went to the London MCM Expo Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below.

Lets not forget 2015 is not over just yet and in a weeks time it will be November and that mean MECHA MONTH!!!! 

   

Darth Vader is getting closer to completion.

Not a huge amount of work has been done to the armour. But what i have done has moved things a long nicely and i am getting things to a point where i need to do little bits and then that will just leave me with getting new lenses and painting everything. 

I started with doing taking the Chest Box apart.

I wanted to make a few minor changes. It is ok over all and i never felt like i needed to made any major upgrades. But i never like the red button on the left. So that had to go. Also i wanted to swap red and green lights around so it will be green and red instead. Another change is i plan on changing the straps to leather ones... i say leather but its what ever material the belts are made of. (they look like leather but were really cheap. So i doubt they are real leather) Then i will change the plastic rods with metal one. The final change will be to repaint the Chest Box and change the colours  from siver to grey and the last one on the right to white.

Poping out the lights i was glad that i decided not to change the lights. I know it would be simple but i just don't thave the confidance to do that type of work. But it will be something to look at in the future. Now that the Box is in peaces i could start work.

Over the weekend i spent a few hours in the garden doing the final filling on the Vader Helmet and on the Chest Armour as well as more work on the Chest Box. There really is not much to say at the moment about this as it just involed putting a lot of filler on the helmet that will now need to be sanded and made good. Same with the box I need to get the metal rods from Ebay and once thats done i can paint and put on the straps.  

Over the next few weeks i will be getting the metal rods and and putting things in place so i can try to get the helmet and chest armour ready for painting. Sanding will hopefully be done over the next few weeks i want to be in a good place by the end of the year. 

Like i said not a huge amount of work but i am getting there.

In other news The London Expo is on the 24th and i will be going to that and i will be doing a write up on the following Sunday. November is Mecha Month so i will be busy with that... Then Star Wars Ep7 in December. A packed full end to the year. .

Just a little update.

Not a lot has happened on the Vader Armour front. With the weather not being great i have not had the chance to do more filling and sanding on the helmet and do anything with the Chest Armour.  But hoping that things change i can get back to work on it soon. I did pick up two belts so i am hoping to replace the straps on the chest box.

Doctor Who made it's return on Saturday and i was not disappointed. It was a gripping two parter and can't wait for next Saturday to found out what happens next.

On Mecha Month i can not believe i set the theme as Comedy and i forgot to include what is in my humble opinion a CLASSIC anime 

Dual Parallel Trouble Adventure

I can not believe I completely forgot about it. It is a classic from 1999/2000 and will be added to the list for this November. So as it stands and i think pretty much everything is locked in place the list looks like this.

Full Metal Panic Season 001.

Godannar.

Dai-Guard.

Martian Successor Nadesico.

Dual Parallel Trouble Adventure.

A good selection of anime so November is going to be fun. 

On a completely different subject i was saddened to hear that Bandai will not allow their Star Wars model kits to be sold outside of Japan. This is very sad as it will drive up the price of the kits on Ebay and at conventions. I was spending roughly £10-13 on each figure kit but now I will be looking at £25-30 per kit. I have the Boba Fett kit on pre-order so i hope that the per-order will be honoured. I do not know if thi has come down from Bandai or if it was from Disney but either way it is sad news for us collectors and or model builders. 

This was just a little update so let me know what you think of Dual Parallel and Bandai stopping the sales of their Star Wars kits out side of Japan in the comments below. 

Missed Force Friday... but all was not lost.

September 4th was Force Friday. The day where lots of new toys, books and everything in between was reviled. Here in the UK Toys'r'Us, Forbidden Planet, the Disney Store and many more were open at midnight and people were able to get hands on all the new toys and collectibles. This was a world wide event. Me and a few friends were thinking of going up to London but as it was on a Thursday in to a Friday and we had work in the morning we couldn't go. But that didn't stop us going online and seeing what was out and seeing the new pre-orders on Friday after work.

And that is where i began to have problems with what is coming out. More on that a little later.

So the question is what did i get or pre-order... 

To be honest..... not much.... no really.

I went to my local Toys'r'Us and did not see anything that took my fancy. They didn't have any of the 6" Black Series figures or the Star Wars Rebels Darth Vader and Asoka two pack. So i left feeling a little disappointed. when i got home i hit the net. 

My first stop was Sideshow Collectibles and I when straight for the Hot Toys Kylo Ren and then the Hot Toys First Order Stormtrooper two pack.

http://www.sideshowtoy.com/collectibles/star-wars-force-friday/

These pre-orders will hopefully be shipping in the early part of 2016. Just need to find the space to put them....

After that i went to the Forbidden Planet and Amazon as well as a few other sites didn't see anything and found myself on the Disney Store website looking at something called Elite Series... Never heard of them but they were Die-Cast... So i ordered the Kylo Ren, Stormtrooper and Captain Phasma.

http://www.disneystore.co.uk/star-wars/mn/1339001/

I am a big fan of Die-Cast and have a small collection of the Super Robot Chogokin toys so Star Wars Die-Cast figures.... I will give them a try.

And now i am waiting for HLJ.com to put up the S.H. Figuarts Star Wars figures up for pre-order.

Let me know if you took part in Force Friday in the comments below.

I mentioned above i had a problem with what i saw for Force Friday. Now let me explain. I have been collecting Star Wars since the early 80's.... During the Good times and the Dark times. 

I remember when Kenner brought back Star Wars toys in the mid 90's just before the Special Editions came out in cinemas in 1997. These figures looked like they had all hit the gym and were going to enter the MR Universe Competition.. 

But in more resent years.

In the last year or so i have become more and more disappointed with the fit and finish of the Hasbro figures. And when they are compared to the toys coming from Japan from the Likes of Bandai, they are just a let down. But that does come at a price, These figures are a little bit more expensive and can be a lot more once you include import duty's. It really hits home when you compare the Hasbro 6" Jedi Luke Skywalker with the S.H Figuarts Jedi Luke Skywalker. It is night and day. Then the Hasbro 6" Stormptrooper and Darth Vader  next to 1/12th Bandai model kits Darth Vader and the Stormtrooper...

On the Left the Hasbro 6" figure on the right the Bandai 1/12th model kit

On the Left the Hasbro 6" figure on the right the Bandai 1/12th model kit.

Hasbro 6" Darth Vader flanked by Hasbro 6" Stormtoopers 

Bandai 1/12th Darth Vader flanked by Bandai 1/12th Stormtroopers

Ok tell me what looks better?

You can really see the difference in the Vader's. And the cloth capes just don't work for me.

So i have come to the dissension that i will stop getting the Hasbro figures. After many years it's time to move on. Now i wont abandon Hasbro completely when i see something that i really like then i will get it. But i wont be per-ordering any new ones I wont be going out of my way to look for new 6" figures. So moving forward i am going to focus my buying on the Japanese figures. This will benefit me long term as they release less figures a year so in theory it will be easier on the wallet.

In other news.... I got the replacement tusks for Vader Helmet.and they look amazing. with the weather being pretty bad over the last two weeks i was unable to do any work on it, but i hear the weather should be very good next week if so i will try and do more to and hopefully get to the stage where it just needs priming and painting...

    

  

Darth Vader Helmet Project part Three: One step closer to being complete.

Darth Vader moves one step closer to being complete. Things are moving forward I spent most of Saturday in the garden enjoying the sun and working on the Helmet. I Think i made some good progress and i don't think there is much left to do. 

I got out the Sandpaper (dry & wet 800 and 1500 grit paper), Automotive filler, Scrappers,  Rubber gloves, Paper towel and some water 

I started with cleaning and then moved on to sanding and filingthe rough spots left over from when I cut out the parts around the eyes. I was very surprised with how much it changes the look of the face once it was done

Once both eyes were sanded down a cleaned I decided to do a little work on the Nose. I never liked the way Rubies did the bridge of  the nose. The groves were never deep enough and looked very gummy. I can't do to much as i don't have the skill but i did file the groves so they become deeper and helps with the overall definition of the face. I am hoping once it is painted and the dome is on the roughness is hidden or at least not as noticeable.... well fingers crossed....

with this done i turned to the dome... Back in 2008 or 2009 I went to the London Expo and as I was leaving i dropped my Dome and it skidded along the pavement. This resulted in a few minor scratches on the top. 

With this now sanded and filed i cleaned everything again and started to prep for the filler.

I filled in the small scratches on top of the dome. Then started on the eyes. This was a little bit harder as i wanted to remold the eye sockets where i had taken to much plastic off or made deep groves, when i cut away the parts the held the old lenses in place. Once all this had been filled in i left it to dry. 

once i had finished and i had used all my filler and left everything to dry. Then i realized that i had missed a spot.

After an hour or two.... This was suppose to be dry in 20 minutes automotive filler!!! don't know what happened but it over an hour none the less....

I started to cut away and sand down all the filler. This was quicker than i thought but i do need to go back and add a little filler behind the nose and on the dome and finish off the eye sockets. That wont take long and i will hopefully have that done in the next couple of weeks.

Once i get some more filler i can finish off the helmet and then make a start on finishing off the shoulder bells. They have been cut and now in to be sanded and filling done. Once that is done then i guess everything will be ready for the next phase of the costume. That will be attching a lift t the top of the face mask to make the dome sit a little higher. Then i might find a way to drill a then nut and bolt the dome to the face mask. Then i can move on to priming and then painting. But that is for the future. 

If you have any suggestions, comments or ideas then let me know. 

    

    

   

  

Mecha Month is just around the corner..... YAY....

It's August and that means we are only a few short months away from Mecha Month 2015... 

As you will remember 2014 Mecha Month was pretty good with some great shows.

Robotech (...all three seasons...)

Robotech The Shadow Chronicles 

Star Fleet (...Xbomber...)

Gurren Lagann (...I hope this is out in Blu-ray by then...)

RahXephon The Movie

GunBuster The Movie

Die Buster The Movie

Not bad at all. A good month. So now i must start to think about this years month. What to watch be it TV, OVA's or Movies.... But i was thinking about a theme for this years month of Mecha. And the theme for 2015 is Comedy... Yep comedy. So with that said i started to go throught my DVD's and pulled out some really good ones to watch. So here is the list of anime for November.

Full Metal Panic. Season 01

Godannar

Dai-Guard

Martian Successor Nadesico

 A Shorter list than last year but this time there is no movies or OVA's just TV shows. I would of watched the other Full Metal Panic seasons but the Fumoffu has no Mecha in it and Season 02 has no real comedy in it same goes for the Nadesico Movie. So they don't count for this years theme... 

What do you think. If you can name some Comedy Mecha Anime let me know in the comments below....

In other news, preparation for Star Wars Celebration 2016 are moving along quickly. Last week with the news that all the 3 day tickets are sold out i finally booked my hotel. That was a major pain as i was trying on and off for the last few months to book a hotel room around the Excel Center. But i was unable to, All was not lost got a room in a hotel a few stops away on the DLR ( Docklands Light Railway ) line and the station is a very short walk from the hotel, so not bad. Going to try really hard to do some work on the Varder Helmet or Chest Armour next weekend. 

  

London Film and Comic Con 2015 = AWESOME!!!!

The weekend of 17-19/07/15 was the Summer London Film and Comic Con ( LFCC ). I will come out and say it straight off the bat. This was one of the BEST cons I've been to in a long time. I really enjoyed myself. It had it's problems but nothing that detracted form my enjoyment.

This year is the 30th anniversary of Back to the Future and they had a big presence there. Stars from the films there like Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd and a host of co-starts. They had props mock ups of the clock tower for photo's and a fan made Delorean time machine. And this brought a lot of people to the convention the tickets and photos with the actors sold out very quickly. Also Sigourney Weaver and Bill Paxton were there and this probably brought a lot more people to the convention. The turn out was massive i have never been to a LFCC this crowded before. 

This years LFCC was at London Olympia. This looks to be the new home for the con as Earls Court was taken down and turned in to flats or something. I am not sure how i feel about that. I have been going to Earls Court for a decade and a half now and i always looked forward to it. But i am sure i will get used to the new place. It felt bigger as the con was spread over multiple floors the ground floor was the main dealer area and prop photos were done there the first floor was a secondary dealer areas and the main stage and signing area. the Second floor was a gaming area and artist ally. Finally the third floor was the second stage and smaller signing area. It was also an area where you could find a space and sit on the floor and get a rest. And it was this that i think helped make this a more enjoyable con. normally i would walk round see a few things then get a bite to eat then walk round again then go home. But this time i was able to sit and rest for ten to twenty minutes before heading off to a talk or photo and so on. This really helps to brake up the day and before i knew it the con was closing. I have only been to two cons till closing before this. So i am taking that as a good sign for the future of this convention.

I meet up with a friend in the morning and made our way to the con. once there we got in to the queue and we became very surprised by the number of people in line. The line ran from the train station up the side of the Olympia building and went up to the high street.... We were not prepared for what we saw when the line started to move. Once we started to move round the corner and started to head to the main entrance we saw a second line just as long going from the station to the high street in the opposite direction. Normally there would be two lines one shorter for the VIP/Gold ticket holder and the other for everyone else. But this was two lines for normal ticket holders... SO that was a LOT of people attending. When we got in it was already crowded and we were meeting a friend of a friend who had come over from Japan for her first international convention. We came to the con at different times so we were in different queues and agreed to meet once she came in. So we knew we had a few minutes to kill so we decided to buy a program and find out where we had to go for a Jeremy Bulloch in his Boba Fett costume photo..... Problem was because it was so crowed and the con was split over three floors we got lost in the push of the crowd and the lay out was not very well thought out. But we eventually gave up trying to found where had to go for the photo and our friend had finally got in to the con. so we when to meet her on the third floor... We got lost again. we got stuck on the first floor and could not find the stairs or lift. These were not well sign posted. But we finally found our way to the third floor. meet up and came up with a game plan of what we need to do and when we need to do it. With at all sorted we started to enjoy ourselves. 

As i have said above it was very crowded a little too crowded maybe. Not as bad as the October 2013 London Expo, but bad enough. I hope the show runners learn from this con and improve the next one. spreading it over the three floors is great i really liked that. So high hopes and with the caliber of guest stars like Sigourney Weaver and Bill Paxton not to mention actors like Hayley Atwell attending our conventions it just shows that the UK conventions are becoming bigger and more important. So hopefully we get more guest of that caliber... Also There were a lot of wrestlers there such as Kurt Angle and Rey Misterio. I have not watched wrestling in years i mean the last time i watched it was the early 2000's but their big names and that is great that they came. 

I had mention above that i had a photo with Jeremy Bulloch in his Boba Fett Costume. This was great and the first Star Wars costumed photo i have got take. The others have all been Star Trek one taken at the big Star Trek cons held in London a few year ago.  

There was a lot of sellers and i had a great time walking round and seeing so many thing to buy or put on the list of things to pick up in the future. So of cause i spent a little money on a few thing.... 

Got two cushions and cool Transformers and a Voltron one. as soon as i saw Voltron i had to have it. My friend has said that i am starting a collection and i am now making it a thing to go to a con just to look at cushions.... 

He's not wrong... 

That can't be a good sign...

We were there till closing and i saw something that i was looking at on line last month. 

http://www.steamsailor.co.uk/#!etsy-shop/c1tfe/en/product/id/236442776

I was the companys banner as i was walking around and remembered they sold the Lightsaber form Star Wars Ep7 The Force Awakens. I had a look at the stall and saw it there. I thought the price was a little high so i left and carried on looking around. Then as the con was closing i decided to get it. 

I don't know if i am disappointed or not. It's a cool looking prop from afar but up close it looks very plasticly. I am happy that i got it after all its a Ep 7 lightsaber and it will do till i see the officially licensed one prop from a company like EFX. But it just feels very cheap in the hand. As long as it keep it on the top shelf then it looks ok for the time being. 

All in all a really good day we all had fun and saw some actors Like Tim Russ and Jason David Frank walking around. Reading the program it looks like there is a new con being added to next years line up. A LFCC Spring con in February 27-28/02/16 and from the ad it looks like it will be a Star Wars heavy con. So i will defiantly be going to that. And the dates for the LFCC Winter con has been set 07-08/11/15. I hope they do another costume photo shoot. I guess i will need to do work on Vader then for the next con.    

    

       

   

That was a waste of a good Saturday...

This weekend saw Hyper Japan take over the O2 arena in London. This is a new venue,  I have been to it when it was at Earls Court and London Olympia. I have always come away from this Convention/Festival with an empty feeling or out right disappointment. So Last year i decided to give it a miss after last summers one. i didn't go to the one held in the winter as I had given up on it, it was just as disappointing as ever. So i was ok with taking it off the Con Calendar for 2015. Then i heard it had change venue and so i had hoped this would of improved thing.  

The O2 is a big place and they had divided in to separate areas and in theory makes senses as it will make moving around easier. But alas it was not meant to be. When it was at Earls Court it was a big con with lots of sellers, stages with music and talks and the stalls with Japanese tours and learn Japanese type of things. No not all the sellers there last time were from the UK a lot of them were from Japan. This years the stages were smaller and Most of the sellers i saw were not from Japan. Unless they come over to the UK every few months as i have seen them at other conventions through out the year. Also there was a lot fewer of them here this time. The Nintendo had a decent present showing the new Mario Maker, the new Star Fox game as well as a few others. Namco was there and they have started to become a bigger part of the UK convention scene over the last Two years. So apart from the gaming everything felt like a Car Boot sale. With a poor lay out and it made the whole thing feel very small. And that is never a good thing.

I got there just as it opened so there was not a crazy amount of people there so i was able to get a good look around and....

How can i put this.... 

we saw everything and was back at the station to head home in less than an hour. 

So even waiting to go to one of the stages for a talk or something was not really an option as there was or is nothing to keep your interest while you wait. Also a lot of the restaurants at the O2 didn't open till 11 am and i was there from 9 am. When we got there the ques was small so moving around was nice a easy. But when we left the que stretched from the ticket booths at the entrance all the way to North Greenwich Station.

It wasn't a complete waste of time i know i sound very disappointed ( nothing new i know ) but i did pick up a few bits. I finally gave in and GOT a Japanese Kitkat.... £4.50 for a KitKat... really that was the cheapest i saw them at... i got three for £10 but still £4.50 other stalls had them at between £5-6.... Not good not good at all.  But i can finally cross that off my list of things to try at a con. 

The Raspberry KitKat was very nice as well as the Green tea one. The third one was also green and i have no idea what flavor it was but it was different not saying i liked it nor am i saying i hated it but it was very different. But if you don't try new things you will never learn.

I so got an LED Optimus Prime and Grimlock.

This could be a start of an SD transformer collection... I got the Nemesis Prime at the last MCM Expo so now i have three i guess i need to pick up some of the others and at around £7 each i can't complain to much. hopefully i will get a couple at the LFCC next weekend. If not i have booked my tickets to the October Expo.

So in all not a good day. I have decided to cross off the Hyper Japan event from my 2016/future calendar. I don't see a point in going if i am constantly disappointed with the event. And the money i save can be put to better things. 

Next weekend id the LFCC and i am looking forward to it. i know i will have a better time there. 

If you did go to Hyper Japan let me know your thoughts on it in the comments below. 

A sad time that puts everything on hold.

I feel like i must apologize for not doing anything in the month of June. No updates or posts but it had been a hard month for me and my family. My aunt passed way and we had the funeral ten days later. So very thing was put on hold and i did not attend Collectomaina in Milton Keynes. Most of my free time was spent at the hospital and so on. After all family must come first.

But That is now over so lets look to the future. I am going to Hyper Japan and the London Film and Comic Con in July and have a weeks holiday so i am hoping to get s fair bit done and i will keep you this blog updated.

Just a little edit to this post
I have just started the It's all down hill from here Facebook page.
Go to
https://www.facebook.com/geadun7

Not much on it yet soon i will be posting stuff as and when things come up. 

What's coming up in the future.

It's Sunday the 31/05/15 and tomorrow is the 01/06/15. And that means the we are nearly half way through the year. It has gone by very quickly and a lot has happened in the last couple of months. A few conventions some big movies. But it is of the future and the convention that are coming up that i wanted to write about. And remember all the links for these cons can be found on the Convention Link page of this blog. So going in order....

June 13-14/05/15. Collectormania 23 - Milton Keynes. 

Never been to any of the Collectormania conventions though it has been one i have wanted to go to but i never had the opportunity. So this should be good, if anything it will be something new. Also a lot of Superman 4 The Quest for Peace was filmed in Milton Keynes in 1986. So i might if i can get a chance go and see some of the filming locations used in the movie. This is a good read and was the inspiration for trying to see the locations while i was in Milton Keynes

http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/superman-iv/33015/a-pilgrimage-to-the-filming-locations-of-superman-iv

July 10-12/07/15. Hyper Japan - The O2 Arena.

I have been to a couple of the Hyper Japans but always left feeling a little disappointed. But the con has moved to a new venue and it will be interesting to see how they have used the space. And it will be a day out. 

July 17-19/07/15 London Film and Comic Con - London Olympia.

 The London Film and Comic Con is like an old friend. I have been going to this since the early 2000's. I normally prefer this con being held at Earls Court but the London Olympia is just as good. and me and a friend have got tickets to get a photo with Jeremy Bulloch in his Boba Fett costume. I am looking forward to this all the other costume photo shoots i have been to have been star trek ones This will be my first Star Wars one.

23-25/10/15. London MCM Expo - London Excel

I have been going twice a year for a while now and tho i have mixed feelings about the Expo i do look forward to it every time. I really should learn to control my enthusiasm. 

TBA. Winter London Film ans Comic Con - TBA

This is held every year around October or November and i will be going to this.

So that's pretty much it. That's my convention scheduled for the rest of the year. And it all ends with Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. In December... In all 2015 hasn't been a bad year so far So still a lot to do and thing to look forward to. Plus i still have a lot of work to do on my Vader Armour  and i still have plans for my brothers Batman costume. I don't where i will find all the time i need... But any way this was meant to be a little update post with what is coming up. Let me know if you are going to any or all the cons i have listed above or if i have missed one let me know in the comments below.

London MCM Expo May 2015... Different.

This weekend 22-24/5/2015 was the weekend of the London MCM Comic Con or the London Expo as the old timers call it. I will not call it Comic Con as there hardly to no comic at this Comic Con... But as a Media, Comic and Movie Expo (...MCM Expo...) It does what it always has, it covered Games, Movies and so on. It was interesting, different but interesting. I mean the lay out of the show floor and the over crowding has always been an issue. But to the credit of the people running the convention they are trying different things and they learn from it. each year there are changes some work some don't but each convention grows and normally for the better.

This years Con was no exception i really liked the fact that they limited the number of tickets. So if you didn't have a ticket you couldn't get in or be on the premises. So congestion was not as bad as it was in years gone by. Also there was an area that had food stalls opposite the show floor... I just wish they had put all the hot Japanese food stalls in the same area. It would of freed up a little space. And may of helped with easing some of the crowd in the Excel corridor. It was looking very empty and the space just looked wasted. I should of gone in there for a hot dog or burger instead of the burger van down the road from the Excel Center.... that was not a good burger... though the chicken burger i had at the October 2014 con was really nice.... oh well next time i will try the food in the food court. But it was the lay out of the show floor that completely confused me. I am used to the ales going up and down but it felt like the first part ran left to right and then behind that they ran up and down. So trying to find stalls was not easy. Heck i couldn't find the Batmobile  till the end and it was very near the fount. Don't know how the hell i missed it!!! The map in the show guide didn't really help. But now that i've seen this on i think i should be more comfortable with the next one in October. I have nothing to complain about it was a good day and i am looking forward to watching the cosplay youtube videos online in the next couple of days. 

I was happy to see Bandai back and Tamashi nation were showing some very cool Dragon Ball Z figures. Namco were there as well and Tales Of Zestiria is looking good. I am really looking forward to playing that. Been a fan of the Tales Of games for a long time.   

I did pick up two figures a S.H. Figuarts Stormtrooper and a SD Nemesis Prime mini figure. The Stormtrooper is very cool and I must get the Darth Vader figure. I must say that the Vader looks a lot better than the Hasbro Vader. So i will be adding him to the list of things to pick up. I saw a few Gundam model kits there but were just over what i would be willing to pay.  

The cosplayer were great and i saw some amazing costumes the 501st were there as always and looking great. I was a little disappointed that none of them had the new Trooper armour from The Force Awakens. 

The day overall was good i enjoyed myself and hopefully the next one will have a few talks i would want to go to but that's in October. Till then there is the Collectormania convention in June at Milton Keynes. Not been to that one before so it should be good. If anything it is something new. 

          

Ok i have nothing... I mean it nothing

Ok i have nothing... I mean it nothing has happened in the last week since the last post. I've done a little work on my Vader Helmet. Nothing major just a little sanding and filing down so it's ready for adding the putty and then re-sanding and finally painting. I was hoping to have it ready for 23rd for the London Expo but that wont be happening. Still to much work needs doing. I am hoping to have the work on the neck line done by next weekend and then i can get it ready for the next stage. I should really mix things up a little as just working on one part constantly can get boring so i might leave the helmet for a little bit and go back to the Chest Armour the shoulder bells still need to be worked on. This mean the the project is always moving forward. I should of done a wall chart so i could track the progress. Next time i do something like this i will be more prepared. This is a learning experience. But the fact is i have gone to work, come home, slept and then back to work. Have haven't really had as much time to set aide for this but i will try harder in the coming weeks and months. I would of like to have it ready for the Expo or the London Film and Comic Con. Me and a friend have tickets for  a Jeremy Bulloch photo with him in his Boba Fett Armour. With Star Wars Celebration in July next year in London i have no real reason for it not to be ready for that... I have a rough plan to have Jeans and T-shirt on Friday, Vader on Saturday and Jedi on Sunday It's just an idea but i have over a year to sort that out. As for the here and now. Well not much to say.I played a little on the playstaion  and today on Sunday i made Megatron...

I still have Optimus Prime to do as well as a load of the Bandai Star Wars kits to do. But i have some time off in August and maybe if i am lucky a week off in July so i will hopefully i will get lots done with my time off work... 

If i don't get a chance to do a post next week i will do one the following week for the Expo.   

Star Wars Celebration Is Back in London.

I called it. I was right... not often the happens.

Ok i was hoping and i thought it was going to be in the UK. But i was right none the less. The next Star Wars Celebration is going to be in the UK and it's back in London at the Excel Center. Last time it was in London was in 2007. So Star Wars Celebration Europe ( SWCE ) 2016 here we come.

The first SWCE was a very good convention and i went with my farther. We had a great time and it was a very different kind of convention than the ones we have in the UK. Our ones tend to be or like large markets with talks and panels off to one side. They have started to get better and with the  Destination Star Trek cons showing us that there is more to a con than just stalls & talks and that Bandai and Namco were at the last Expo i went to i have hopes the convention scene in this country will get better and maybe fall more in line with the cons in the US. 

As soon as i heard the news that the next one was in London I book my tickets. Normally i would of just gone on the Saturday but this time i decided to attend all 3 days. Friday - Sunday 15-17. I am in two minds about this i have already brought the tickets and i am so excited and looking forward to it. But on the other hand i am not 100% about how i am going to go about doing all three days. I mean i want to go in costume of cause. I am working on my Darth Vader amour and then i have a Jedi's robes so that's fine but i need a hotel. I haven't book a hotel or need to for a very long time i look in to booking when i got my tickets but i couldn't book that far in advance not that i am to worried as i am sure i will be able to near the time. but it is playing in the back of my mind. Also i will need to try to book the two weeks off in July.... 

Ok  this is going to take a little more organizing than i am used to... But hay it's all part of the fun. All this is nit picking and can and will be sorted very quickly so no big worries and problems. Heck i have over a year to think about it... 

If you want to get tickets  for SWCE the link is here

http://www.starwarscelebration.com/Tickets/Buy-Tickets/

The Jedi Master VIP tickets Sold out in 20 minutes on the first day they went up. But i am sure there will be more than enough tickets for everyone. So if you are thinking about going then i would highly recommend you do and if you are going let me know in the comments below. 

       

Star Wars Celebration and Trailers. ....

It is day 3 of Star Wars Celebration Anaheim. Star Wars Celebration is the Super large Star Wars Convention held every few years, mostly in america but there was one in the UK, Japan and a few years ago Germany. I was unable to go to this year event but i am hoping to get the chance in the future. And i really hope that there is another one in the UK after all most of the new films will be shot in the UK. So it is not a big jump to say there might be another Celebration in London. I went to the first Celebration Europe in London back in 2007 and it was AMAZING!!!! one of the best cons i have been to. And all the coverage i have seen from Anaheim looks great from the reveals and panels. I wish i was there. But there are plenty of updates and videos online.

For me the two biggest reveals was the Star Wars Episode 7 The Force Awakens trailer and the Star Wars Rebels Season 2 trailer. Both look fantastic and i I am so excited for both as well as being inspired to work on my Vader Armour... ( More on that in a near future post )

Star Wars Episode 7 The Force Awakens 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngElkyQ6Rhs

Star Wars Rebels Season 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av8GjpGK98A

The Force Awakens look like its going to be the movie we all wanted something new but at the same time feels like Star Wars. This is something that is missing from the Prequels but the Clone Wars cartoon by the 3rd season started to feel just like Star Wars and that feeling has carried on through with Star Wars Rebels. The first season was great and i enjoyed every episode and season two looks like it will be fantastic. 2015 is looking to be a great year for Star Wars fans.

This is a small post more or less to keep in the habit of doing these. But with Avengers Age of Ultron is out in cinemas next week and i hope to do a little more work on my Vader Helmet next weekend.

Really.. you're charging how much?

After the last post all about How much is to much That can be read here How much is TO MUCH??? And not going to see The Empire Strikes Back at the Secret Cinema, I was looking forward to the release of the Star Wars The Digital Collection. The idea of Star Wars on the go is great. On a long train ride or standing in line at a con i can just whip out the tablet or phone and start watching... Great idea, we would all agree and i normally use all the ultraviolet digital codes that come with some Blu-Ray movies. So having the stuff on the go is great and they are free so all the better. And then comes the Star Wars movies. Now i have these film on VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray and multiple copies on each format. So getting the movies again was not a big deal what was a deal breaker was the price.... 

£59.99 on Amazon, Google Play store and Itunes. 

Or £9.99 per movie with A New Hope being £11.99. Don't know why that one is more expensive. I paid £59.99 for the Blu-Ray boxset a few years ago and i am not going to pay that much for a digital copy. If it was half that or so. Say £30-35 i probably wouldn't of said anything and just brought them but at a penny off £60 I can not justify the cost. 

And i was really looking forward to this weekend, i had it all planned. I was going to get the Digital Collection and watch them in the Machete Order... Something i have wanted to do for a while now. And i had a Box from hlj.com full of the new Star Wars models from Bandai turn up a few days before. I was going to spend two days going through the movies while making the models. Something i have not done in a very long time.  And the Machete Order is very interesting. I came across it a little while ago on the net and then on a rerun of The Big Bang Theory. You Watch Episodes 4,5,2,3 and finally 6. And you drop Episode 1 altogether. It means that the prequels become a flashback and no big reviles are given away. Also nothing is really lost by not watching Episode 1 as it does not really impact anything as the characters are reintroduced in Episode 2. And Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn don't appear in any of the other movies. A real pity as they were the best things in Episode 1.

Now this hasn't really effected much I can still watch the movies in the Machete Order but i will just have to use the disc instead of the digital copies. Though i think i will be watching the Adywan Star Wars A New Hope Revisited. This is an incredible fan edit of the movie and is the special edition we should of gotten in 1997 and on DVD and Blu-Ray. 

You can read more here  Star Wars Revisited News 

Adywan is currently working on The Empire Strikes Back Revisited and that is looking even better than A New Hope Revisited. 

Let me know If you picked up the Star Wars The Digital Collection and if it was worth the £59.99 in the comments below.

How much is TO MUCH???

How much is to much?

It's a real question. How much are you will to spend on something or on tickets to some event that is coming up. Does it come down to value of the item or value vs time spent at the event. I am no stranger to spending large or what would be considered a large amount of money on both but recently i was presented with an opportunity to see Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back on a big screen. Something i and a friend would normally jump at but i just can not justify the cost of the tickets...

The Secret Cinema is showing The Empire Strikes Back and is charging £78 per-person. Now i don't really know what The Secret Cinema is apart from a very basic understanding that it's an event held around the country and show movies in secret locations. But i have a problem. They have not said where the locations are nor what is involved apart from there is smaller events around London leading up to the screening. But without knowing what will happen i can't mentally break down the cost of seeing the film. £78 is not a lot of money when i compare it to other events i have been to. Star Trek Destination London cost Well over £300 But once you break down the cost vs the amount of time spent there and cost vs what i was seeing and who i was meeting the £300+ was reasonable. And i have done two of those conventions. So £78 is not a lot in relation to what i have spent in the past. But i don't know what i am getting for my £78 I have seen the movie countless times and have seen it three or four times on the big screen and i know i should be jumping at any chance to see a Star Wars movie on the big screen but i would not spend that much for it. I saw Return of the Jedi at the Prince Charles Cinema for the 30th anniversary and that cost £17. 

So what am i getting for 78 POUNDS!!!...

I get the whole secret in Secret Cinema... It's meant to be a mystery so fun and only a few people would be there but without more information and in turn lifting the vile of mystery i don't know how i can spend that much money... If it was anywhere between £20-30 i would of been all over this and got my tickets on day one but this... i just can't bring myself to spend the money. I know i am trying to save and clear my debts and all but this is the kind of thing i did this blog to cover. And i just can't bring myself to go.... If you are interested in going here is the link for the tickets

http://www.secretcinema.org/tickets/

Now if you do go let me know how it went and what i missed out on in the comments below. or if you have been to a Secret Cinema screening before let me know what you saw and how it went. I might just change my mind and go.

Well on a completely different note it's Easter in a few days and i have the week off. So a long weekend that leads to the rest of the week off... Hell YEAH!!!!

I don't know what i will be doing with that time off. I still have all the Mecha model kits i got for Mecha Month last year and never got round to building them so i might do a few of them. I still have a massive backlog of games i need to get through on the Xbox and Playstation. Or i could do some DIY around the house... got to paint the hall and the bedrooms.... And then there is my Vader Helmet that needs to be worked on.... 

With all that i wont have anytime to relax...                 

...What Happened London Super Comic Con!!!!...

Ok I have no idea what to say or how to put what I am thinking in to words my feelings about this years London Super Comic Con (.LSCC.)... 

To put things simply... 

I was disappointed. I thought I was negative about last years convention and i thought i was positive about this years one in my last post....

Oh Lord was i wrong... 

Now i went there with hopes of having a good start to my convention season and i was hoping things would start with a bang... But everything was, was....was disappointing. It felt smaller than last years con. There was not as many sellers and for a Super Comic Con There nothing special there. Yes there was lots of comics but nothing to do and see. Me and my friend got there at 10:30 got onto the show floor by 10:45 and by 11:30 we were done and having lunch. 

We saw everything that was there!!!

We spend longer having lunch than we did walking around. When we went to lunch and we were leaving the show floor we overheard a guy with his son asking one of the staff there. 

"Is that it! Is there anything else?" 

The staff replied

"No. That's everything"

I really don't know what to say. If you did go and you had a good time then that's great i am happy for you. I on the other hand was very, very disappointed... It was a Convention but it felt more like a small comic mart in a really big hall. There was nothing super in this years Super Comic Con. And i know i could of gone to the panels and that but even the panels were uninspiring.

After Lunch we went back  to see if we missed anything and to buy the very few bits we saw. I brought the Power Ranger Legacy DragonZord  and my friend got a Deadpool Vinyl. Then we headed home. In all we must of spent around 1 hour and 35 minutes if that on the show floor. With about 1 hour for lunch this was not worth the £20 i paid for my ticket. 

But... and not to end on a negative... The cosplay was very cool and with the London Expo coming up in May, Collectormania in June and the London Film and Comic Con in July. Things can only get better.... But lets see how next years con goes...

This is short as was my time at the LSCC. Fingers crossed for next year.

With that out of the way it is with sad news that on Thursday the author Terry Pratchett died. This is very sad and he will be missed. I always enjoyed the Discworld books.

Terry Pratchett

          1948-2015