Day 1 of Toy Con 2016: Part 2 #ToyConPopLifeFanXperience

10 June 2016


This post is a continuation of our experience during the First Day of Toy Con 2016.  The first part of our Day 1 adventures focused on the ToyCon itself, with the Toys and Collectibles booths and exhibits.  This time, it's the PopLife FanX side of the event.  Halls 3 and 4 were dedicated to this part of the event.  Read on to see what the Stan Lee Excelsior Exhibit is all about.  Look at the giant, life-sized Funko Pop figures.  Check out pictures from the press con with Kristian Nairn, Dean Cain and Daniel Logan.




The Stan Lee Excelsior exhibit contains a number of Stan Lee's personal collection of comics and memorabilia from the Marvel TV and Cinematic Universe.  Let's start with these awesome comics collection, signed by the cast of the movie or TV series.

Ant-Man
Signed and Sketched by Stan Lee himself
The Amazing Spider-Man
Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Daredevil

Here are some movie and TV memorabilia:


















The exhibit opened with the huge figure of Stan Lee and ended with this huge figure of Iron Man :) Or, it can be vice versa depending on where you went in :)


Next, Patrick and I moved around the exhibits.  This section seemed less crowded and more spacious because the exhibits weren't fully set up unlike in the other sections.  We had a comfortable time roaming the area and these are what we saw:

THE VOLTES V EXHIBIT - to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the series.  At the moment Voltes V wasn't assembled yet.  Seemed like I was waiting for the song to cue them "volting in" and when they do, Voltes V will stand 25 feet tall woohoo :)




Meanwhile, there was a miniature Voltes V figure and a Voltes V cosplayer around the area :)


The Artist Alley had booths for local artists to display their craft, like that of Vinyl on Vinyl and Six Inch Secret Fresh Gallery.




There was a spacious display of Life-Sized Funko Pop figures.








 Another interesting exhibit was that of Zombie King Anthony Suydam's artwork featuring the cast of The Walking Dead.  




There was also a section for getting a zombie makeover :) Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture because no one was brave enough to try it at that time :)

Oh and look, we saw Deadpool walking about :)  It is around these halls that the FanXperience will commence with autograph signings and photo opportunities with the guest celebrities.  Those with VIP Passes get 2 celebrity autograph chances while Legendary Pass holders get 2 autographs and 2 photo opps with any of their favorite guest celebrities.


We were still wandering around the exhibit area when we chanced upon Az, our friend and sponsor to this event, being interviewed. :) Thanks AZ!!


After his interview, we all headed to another exciting part of Toy Con - the Press con and the Guest Panels.  The host was Hilary Isaac and the panel started with the introduction of the organizers of the event.  The audience was encouraged to ask questions.

Hilary Isaac - Host
The organizers were asked why they chose to partner with Toy Con.  They answered that Toy Con has a good reputation and has quite a large fanbase of enthusiastic and varied fandoms.  When asked how they chose the celebrities to bring into the event, they answered that they choose based on the character and the attitude of the celebrity.  They chose celebrities who primarily interact well with fans.  Popularity is also a factor but it all boils down to how enthused a celebrity is when meeting with fans.

Organizers
After the organizers' Q & A, we didn't wait long for the arrival of Kristian Nairn who played Hodor in Game of Thrones. He's such a cool and witty guy :)  He said that he and Isaac (who played Bran) are friends even off screen and actually just watched the Warcraft movie together.  Kristian currently has exciting projects in the works, like for film and TV, so we can see more of him in the future.




After a break, Dean Cain, who played Superman in the TV series Lois and Clark came on the stage.  Most of the girls/women in the Press Con gave a collective, "Aaah" when he sat down :)  He was very accommodating with fan requests for pictures (for those that went up and asked him questions).




The highlight for me personally was when our friend Adrian, who I know to be an uber-fan of Superman, came to ask his questions.  It was such a Fan-boy moment! :) He asked if it was possible that we'll see him, Dean Cain, as the father of Kara Danvers (Supergirl), meet up with Brandon Routh, Ray Palmer a.k.a. The Atom, in the series.  After all, "Supergirl" is a part of the DC multiverse and it IS possible to cross-over into another show and another multiverse.  :) He shrugged his shoulders, smiled mysteriously and said, "Anything is possible."

Aids also asked him about his role in Season 2 of Supergirl, since there's news that "Superman" may be part of this world now too.  He laughingly answered "Can't say anything about that!  But definitely, Season 2 will be more exciting."



The next celebrity to grace us with their presence was Daniel Logan who played the young Boba Fett in Star Wars Episode II :  Attack of the Clones.  He was a feisty fellow entering the stage while doing cartwheels with some of the 501st Legion in the background. :)


He literally couldn't keep still on his seat, walking around the stage and at other points during the interview even went up to the audience to give the mic to whoever wanted to ask questions :) I liked the fact that despite his joviality, he was very sincere and serious with his answers.

I also learned something new about his scene in Star Wars when Jango's head was cut off.  The part where he held his father's helmet/head was shot separately, so he didn't actually "see" him getting his head chopped off.  George Lucas apparently filmed the shot as an afterthought and spliced it into the film. Daniel only saw it when he watched the movie himself!





After his panel, he paused outside of the Press Con area to accommodate fans who want pictures and autographs.  Thanks Daniel! :)


At this point, Patrick and I realized that we were hungry.  We haven't had lunch and it was already 5PM! So, we left the event area (Hall 3) and strolled over to the Dining Area near Hall 2.  We found a variety of food offerings:  Tacos, Hotdogs and Sausages, Rice Combo meals, Pizza Cones, Snow Cones, Takoyaki and different kinds of drinks. There are no tables though so you have to eat standing up.  Just make sure you throw your garbage in the Trash Cans. ;)


While eating, we heard someone performing at the Events area and when we were done, we moved closer to check it out.  It was R & B Singer/Songwriter Frankie J!  There was a moment when the other celebrities came up on stage to sing and dance with him haha It was so cool!! :) It was such a fun moment :)



At the other end, at Hall 4, those with VIP and Legendary Passes were able to get their autographs and photos with their chosen celebrities.  We saw people lining up at Kristian Nairn's booth :)

Unfortunately, we had to leave the event earlier than we wanted but we had a blast.  We can't wait to go to the other days.  Hopefully, we can :)

Thanks to Az and the organizers of Toy Con!!

For more information, please visit the ToyCon website here.

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