Big news for London MCM and possible future UK conventions.

The London MCM (...26-28/10/2018...) will be getting it's first proper exclusive toy from a major manufacture. This will be a UK and European exclusive but it's a start.

This is big news for UK convention as this is something we have been asking for, for a very long time. Also it is about time that UK and European conventions are treated just as important as SDCC or NYCC for example.

And sorry I don't count the Mighty Mugg and Funko Pop from last year. Just putting a small sticker in the corner does not really count. even though I did pick up the Darth Vader exclusive Mugg. 

So what are we getting? and from whom?

Hasbro is giving us a Star Wars Black Series Hoth Han Solo and Princess Leia twin pack in diorama packaging. That packaging looks like Echo Base from the beginning of Empire Strikes Back.

Here's the link to the London MCM web page with the details. 

https://www.mcmcomiccon.com/london/2018/09/06/hasbro-announces-first-ever-uk-and-european-convention-exclusives/

I first saw this on Facebook and then headed straight to the MCM site. I may have stopped getting Star Wars figures from Hasbro but I will try my best to pick this up. 

I do come down on the Blue Coat Han side as that's what the toy was. I do know that the coat was originally brown but looks blue on film.

pictures from Star Wars .com Facebook  Page

These figures look good and if they sell well hopefully we will get an exclusive very year and different figures from other franchises. like the 2016 SDCC Transformers Titan Returns Fortress Maximus. Fingers crossed this leads to other companies releasing exclusive. We can only hope. 

This years Winter MCM is looking better than I thought, 

London MCM and big Darth Vader update.

Lets start by talking about the London MCM that was held the weekend of 27-29/05/16.

I have to say that it was a very mixed bag for me. I had a good time, maybe not a great time but differently a good time. I didn't leave till after 4:00 pm and normally i would of left by 1:00 pm. And there was a lot to see, I think there was more than last year. That is a good thing as it shows that the Con is growing. Down side to that is that MCM are still not using the space to their full advantage. I mean they have Halls that are practically empty and they do with them. There was a food hall that was empty and the hall where we queued was empty. With a little more thinking then the ExCel main corridor was not be constantly pack and if they moved the Japanese food stalls in to that food hall then That would free up so much space on the show floor. Also matters were not helped by the fact that the ExCel Center closed off half the Center so people could not spread out along the main corridor or leave through the back entrance. It just comes down to the fact that the way the MCM lays out it's floor plan just need changing. It hasn't really changed in years and if you have been reading this blog then you will have noticed that I have said the same thing about every MCM Expo... 

We can only live in hope that one day they will learn.

But it was not all doom and gloom. The con has grown and that is always good and there were a lot of things to see and the outside stage was playing live music that was very cool. I didn't much chance to listen to a lot but what i heard was good. So i hope that is kept up for the next con. 

I picked up two anime box-sets Rage of Bahamut Genesis and Durarara X2 Sho. Not much i know but i have to try to save for the Star Wars Celebration convention in July and that is the weekend before the London Film and Comic Con... Two cons a week apart July is not going to be kind to my wallet.....

Speaking of Star Wars Celebration, I have been working on my Darth Vader Armour and things are looking good. I have till the end of June to get things finished..... So four weeks.... This is crunch time...

I started with test fitting the metal rods on the Chest box and I am very happy with the results.

Once this is painted it going to look great. A lot of work has gone in to the face mask I had to do  a lot of work around the eye sockets. I pretty much re-sculpted the eyes I didn't want to do this but I should of realized  once I started work on the helmet that this was going to be needed to be done. 

With this done I moved on to priming everything so I can start painting. This means I am nearly at the home stretch. not much left the end is in sight. It has been a long road but almost there.

 

 

I ran out of primer so I will have to get more and by this coming weekend i hope to have everything primed and any sanding that needs doing will be done so I can then paint everything black and I need to think about the kind of grey I want the chest armour to be. So many different types. Guess i will be taking a lot more trips to Halfords.

And with that i this post comes to an end i will post an update in a week or two with the progress I have made.  

Vaders gloves and May 4th sales

Star Wars Celebration Europe is now less that two months away and i still have a lot to do. The Vader Helmet is ready for final sanding and painting. I am on holiday at the end of the month and so the plan is to get pretty much 90% done and then that will leave me a month left to finish it off. I was hoping to have more done by now but work has kept me very busy lately. and with the MCM Expo on the 28th of May my free time is getting short. i need to double my efforts. Now I know I have said that before.... Ok I keep saying it.... But now it's pretty much crunch time and if I want this ready I will have to put the work in. Also it became clear that i needed to upgrade my gloves. With there not being much time left I finally ordered Some Ep IV A New Hope gloves. These should be with me by mid-June.

As mentioned above work has kept me busy but I did make some time to see Captain America Civil War. Which was an awesome movie and is in my top 5 Marvel movies.

And then there was May the 4th. A lot of places had Star Wars sales. The Forbidden Planet had a big sale and i picked up a Super7 Shadow Trooper Super Shogun Jumbo. It was a huge saving so i had to pick it up. So now i have a two foot tall rocket firing fist black Stormtrooper. 

And from the Disney Store i picked up a Darth Maul and a Boba Fett Tsum Tsum... I will admit i have no idea what a Tsum Tsum is. But they are cute.

Anyway this is a quick update. I will hopefully be posting again when i'm on holiday and once the MCM Expo is over.

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!!!! 

   

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. 

          

Star Wars, Conventions and Christmas is just around the corner....

Just a little update.

So by now i think everyone would of seen the Star Wars Awakens teaser trailer. And if not 

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!!!! GO... GO NOW!!!

Got to say it may only be a teaser trailer but what we got was fantastic. It was a lot of rough shots with very little in the backgrounds but there is still plenty of time to fill out the worlds but the overall feeling i got was. Back to Basics. They had real sets and the Stormtroopers were guys in armour. Not like the CGI Clonetroopers from Episode I-III. It looked like you could touch it and i have high hopes for this. Now it should be obverse that i am a Star Trek fan and i really liked the 2009 Star Trek movies that was done by JJ Abrams. For really the same reason i like this teaser... Real sets and what could be done on screen was done on set. And that is what i think was missing from the prequel trilogy. It felt to clean and unreal. So for the moment until i see the full trailer i have high hopes and think things will turn out for the better.  

But the trailer did make me think about my Vader armour. I was originally going to do the chest armour them move on to the helmet.... This was not a good idea, reading online i realized that if i paint the chest armour now then six months later paint the helmet the paint will not match due to different batch's of paint and variances in the mix. So to avoid all the hassel i will paint the all armour at the same time. This means i really need to start thinking of what and how i am going to do my helmet. I will probably do a post next week with my ideas on how i will do what i want. But just remember i am not going for Movie Accurate 501st quality. It's more a case of how i remembered Darth Vader or the picture i have in my head if i think about Vader. 

Why can't things ever be easy... 

But that's half the fun of things like this right... learning new things... riiiiiiight!!! 

Ok so now to the Cons of 2015... 

First up will be the London Super Comic Con (.LSCC.) on March 14-15th. At the Excel Center.

Secondly there's the London Comic Con (. MCM Expo.) on May 22-24th  At the Excel Center.

And then London Film and Comic Con (.LFCC.) 17-19th July at Olympia   

There will be more but so far this should be all for the first half of 2015.

But i am very tempted to get Jeremy Bulloch Costume Photo ticket. A photo with Fett in the Fett Costume... Hmmm something to think about. I think i know what i will be doing a the LFCC.

And finally Christmas is just two weeks away and 2015 is looking like a great year to be a Geek! With Star Wars, Marvel Movies and a whole host of things coming our way. There is a lot to look forward to. 

     

MCM London Comic Con October 2014.

The weekend of the 24-26th October was the MCM London Comic Con. Or as i have always known it as... The MCM Expo. But i'm just old school and have been going to this con for ten year or more. so it will always be the MCM Expo or just Expo.

Anyway back to the point.

It was the weekend of the Expo and i went of cause and i had a good time. I mean it was a hell of a lot better than the last October convention. Just read the post London MCM Expo... High hopes and little return. A rant post!!! dated 27/10/2013 for my thoughts on last October convention. But i don't want to go into that here cause this was a better con all round. It still had its problems but better than last time none the less.

So the plan was simple head to the Expo then if there was time go to the O2 Arena to see the X-Men Experience. Not sure if Experience is the right word it had something to do with the Sky Store and the release of X-Men the Days of Future Past....

The Expo was good it still has its problems with over crowding and layout is getting better but it still need some work. But with each con the MCM team learn new things and will make little changes that hopefully will make the next con even better. I say that but THEY MUST start thinking about who they have invited and given tables to at these cons. Because having a person who will draw a large crowd SHOULD NOT be placed near the entrance and try to have stages and talk areas as far away as possible from dealer areas theses get crowed and not only block but brings everything to a complete stop. Also have a Information Desk where you can get a Program and ask questions in both halls. If it was me i would of but one in every hall the con took place in. Apart from that i think it was mostly all good. A well run weekend. 

I was very impressed that companies are starting to take notice of this convention. Bandai had a stall showing off the new Sprukits models The batman looks very cool. I may have to get one and try building one. They were also showing the  Power Ranger Legacy Dragon Megazord and Dragon Dagger... Which i must get as soon as they come out over here.... I'm waiting ToysRus... And lets be honest who doesn't want a Metal Dragon Megazord. I hope the MCM team can attract more big name companies and then maybe just maybe we can start getting proper Con Exclusives like st San Diego Comic Con or SDCC for short. Also Playstation and Xbox were there with playable demos of new games just out or coming out soon as well as Namco. Game and CEX were there selling games and having con discounts. I am Taking this as a good sign of the con growing and that can not be a bad thing.

Manga Entertainment, MVM and Anime LTD where there with lots and dvds and blurays for sale. and with a lot of stuff avaliabe to buy a few days early in in one case a month early and with a small discount. very happy with that. That brings me to what i picked up.

When i was at the Anime LTD tables i saw Space Dandy season one for sale now this wont be out till mid/end of November so i picked that up then at the Manga stall i spend most of my hard earned cash and got Code Geass Seasons One and Two as well as Attack on Titan parts One and Two. Not brought a load of anime at a con for a long time. It's not a great load but i'm happy with what i got. I would of got a few Gundam kits for Mecha Month (..That starts next week..) but for the price they were asking i could buy two or three at hlj.com. 

What eles can i say. The cosplayers were all amazing saw some great Warhammer 40K cosplayers as well as the usual anime and manga charters. The 501st are always cool to see to. I have to say i saw a guy with the same Darth Vader costume as i have and it really made me want to pull my finger out and start on the next phase of upgrading it. 

That was the Expo in a nut shell. 

After we left the con my mate and i headed to the O2 to see this X-men thing i had heard about. We were not really sure what it was or how to even get there but whats a little adventure with out a touch of the UNKNOWN! 

Once we got to inside the 02 arena we were meet by a live size Sentinel for the X-Men the Days of Future Past. I have to be honest i was expecting some thing more when we got there we saw a cool Sentinel but the rest was very disappointing. All that was there was six costumes used in the film a pair of Cyclops glasses and his visor and Professor X's Wheelchair... not really an experience.... Still nice to see but not what we were hoping for.... SO with that we decided we still had some time left so we went back into London and headed for the Forbidden Planet. Then it was time to head home and get some rest.

It was a really good day out talked to some cool people and saw a lot of cool things and i am glade that the only thing left is Hyper Japan in mid November. It's getting a little expensive going to all these cons... Which reminds me i need to start thing about ordering the tickets to the London Super Comic Con in early 2015. 

But first Lets look to the coming weeks with Mecha Month starting this Saturday 1/11/14 and remember my list for the month will be 

Robotech all three seasons. 

Robotech The Shadow Chronicles. 

Star Fleet (...Xbomber...)

Gurren Lagann .

RahXephon The Movie.

GunBuster The Movie.

Die Buster The Movie.

And that brings this post to a closes if you went to the expo let me know what you thought of it and if your taking part in Mecha Month let me know what your watching in the comments below.