This was my first time attending this particular convention, but it surely will not be the last time!
We met up with some friends of mine from KSWCC (Kentucky Star Wars Colector's Club) in Louisville and made a caravan-of-courage (see what I did there??) down to beautiful, horse-filled, Lexington where we ran into the throngs of people already waiting to get in, get tickets, and park themselves in the swirling queue of a line that was preparing to hit the convention floor at 10AM.
Everyone attending seemed to be in a really good mood, and excited for the show! We, and everyone around us, were checking out all of the costumed folk...known to most as "cosplayers." Those in costume love this word for themselves, and it has become sort of a culture all it's own. We saw SO many great costumes, from Star Wars (501st Legion, Jedi, etc.), to Ghostbusters, to Power Rangers, the whole range from The DC and Marvel Universes, Doctor Who, Anime, and you name it. Much of pop-culture was well on display!
If you wanted autographs there were some great Star Wars guests at the show - Billy Dee Williams (Lando), and Peter Mayhew (Chewie). Both seemed in great spirits and eager to meet their fans. Their lines were long throughout the show, which is great to see!
Always great to see Star Wars actors at these conventions. It keeps the spirit of my childhood alive knowing they are still with us, especially now when the years of the original trilogy are getting behind us.
The fact that everyone seemed to be in a really great mood for the whole show was a miracle considering that this place was JAMMED wall-to-wall with humanity! I'm not kidding it was PACKED!! I don't believe a fire marshall was in sight...I mean there's no way! I even witnessed a Stormtrooper from The 501st Legion pass out and hit the floor from heat due to all of the warm bodies swaying shoulder to shoulder as they went meandering about the exhibit floor.
It was crazy, yet still very enjoyable...
(Click all images. Make 'em bigger!)
What did this Star Wars enthusiast pick up while at the show? Well, let me tell you, there was lots of cool stuff for sale at the show ranging in price from acceptable to OH, HECK NO!!
One of the things that I like to do is commission sketch cards from some of the exhibiting artists that I enjoy. If there is an artist that has a style that I like, I will ask them for their take on...who else? - R2-D2! I love to just give them the character and have them run with it.
After waiting two to three hours while I scan what the con has to offer, I head back to their exhibit tables with great excitement to see the unveiling of their sketch piece. More often than not, I feel very satisfied with what the artist has produced, and produced in a very short time!
This weekend I was able to commission R2 pieces from the artists Jamie Snell, and Tressina Bowling - both great artists with unique styles.
My R2 from Jamie is a close up of our favorite droid. His approach was one of pretty fine detail, with attention placed on the weathering. The card is very nice, and has moved to the top of the list of my favorite sketch card pieces......
My R2 from Tressina comes, as does all of her art, a place of whimsy, and I love it!
I have wanted an R2 sketch piece from Tressina (Tressa) for quite a while, but by the time I was usually able to try to obtain the commission at past shows she was either booked up, or time had run out at whatever event that she and I were attending.I feel lucky to have received this piece today.....
As you can see, I have added Jamie and Tressa's busines cards with my photos. If you get a chance, check out their web sites, and blogs. Both of them are terrific and creative people!
My last piece of Star Wars-iness for the show was an AT-AT Commander action figure that was available around the second wave of Hasbro's "Vintage Collection," or (TVC). This particular wave hit stores and vanished pretty quickly. I don't know why, but for some reason I managed to miss this figure, and have been looking for him for quite a while!
This figure is of particular importance for me in my modern (Hasbro) trilogy figure collection because AT-AT Commander was one of the figures that was released in the original Kenner line for The Empire Strikes Back, back in 1980. So, this figure represents the definitive modern equivalent/companion to the original "vintage" Kenner line.
I snagged him for the decent price of $13, haggling the dealer down from his original $16. I offered $10 but we met in the middle. He said that the figure was kind of hard to come by, and I agreed, so we "came to an arrangement that was mutually beneficial.".....
Look for a review on this guy in a post very soon!
So, that was the con. Very fun, yet very exhausting! I don't think that I have been that close to so many people in a long time, and don't mind waiting another year to do it again. ;)
I look forward to Lex-Con 2014!!
Until next time,
CON ON!!
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