Killing Kenny at the Stars of Time 2010 Convention
For some reason, it always seems that my Con Season falls in late April to early May, from old Terris meets (being the one where I actually met people, as opposed to the ones where I turn up and am the only one) and the Bristol International Comic Expo to going to Fanime 2009 in San Jose last year.
This year saw the return to my hometown of the Stars of Time science fiction convention. The convention started several years ago by the owners of a toy/memorabilia shop in town which has since closed. In its first few years it always saw a happy gaggle of geeks – or a happy google of geeks? – and a regular appearance of UK sci-fi con tourers like David “Darth Vader” Prowse and Colin “Doctor Who” Baker.
However, the convention had been on a slight hiatus for a few years, so it was good to walk through town one morning and see a banner proclaiming “Stars of Time – Saturday 1st May 2010 – Winter Gardens”.
For a while I was unsure of whether to go to the event, as although I really wanted to get some autographs and look around the dealers room, I felt that I was spoilt from last year and didn’t want to be a grouch about it.
In the end I worked out that it would be at least interesting and good to support events happening locally. I knew that there was a chance to blow some money to find some nostalgic pieces in the dealers room and could get autographs from the likes of Colin Baker, Kenny “R2D2″ Baker and Jeremy “Boba Fett” Bulloch.
I had wanted to use my video sunglasses, but I found as soon as I arrived that they actually had run out of charge – I am rather frustrated by how hard those glasses are to operate. So, I was rather limited to what I could do with hands full and only my normal camera on me.
For a glimpse around the convention check out the the video I posted on YouTube, and then Read More for a bit more of my ramblings and my new claim to fame.
So, my Con Story begins on the Saturday morning, where after a week of my brother deciding whether or not we should bother with the con, I made up my mind to head on out and at least kill a few hours. I ended up killing the day. I also ended up nearly killing a celebrity, but more on that in a bit. I was rather lucky to bump in to an old friend, fellow geek and my former Comic Book Dealer, Dave, and his two sons (and infant granddaughter, and later his son’s partner).
We met up near the entrance to the Winter Gardens hall, just opposite where shiny Stormtroopers posed alongside the famous Lotus Esprit from James Bond. I still kick myself that I didn’t take that photo.
It was quite good having someone to tour the con with, especially when you don’t have to worry about stopping at a dealer table to check out old toys because they’ve already spotted it and directed you over.
Convention Loot
The Dealers Room was bustling with activity and choice ranges from toys and figures to serious memorabilia and the odd stop off to posters and DVDs. There was also a great selection of metal sculptures from various sci-fi series’, the Predator was incredibly beautiful but there was also a brilliant Gremlin that I loved.
While Dave was on a scout out for his own interests, I found a nice selection of old Thundercats and He-Man figures amongst the prevailing masses of Star Wars and Doctor Who related merchandise – they also had a load of old Turtles stuff, but given my limited budget, I knew I had to be discerning. I was fairly careful in my choices of souvenirs, a lot of the figures were severely lacking in accessories which for He-Man figures comes close to them being nearly completely featureless. I ended up walking away with Thundercats’ Tygra (sadly there was no Wilykit, Cheetara or Bengali) and from Masters of the Universe Buzz-Off (sans wings), Clawful (sans armour and club) and Mantena.
I also found a very cheap table with cut price DVDs, which was quite rare seeing as other tables were changing rather stupidly high amounts for recent release DVDs that were already being sold cut price in supermarkets. Using my savvy of being a cheap fisted bastard towards myself, I managed to only buy myself the Robocop Trilogy (only £5) and the complete first series of Inhumanoids (only £4 and definite blog fodder).
Convention Cosplayers
Wandering around the con was great. As you may remember, I love cosplay, and seeing so many people dressed up and playing the part – both young and old – filled me with a deep glee. There’s several people that I wish I’d had the guts to get a photo with or from, who were absolutely amazing.
A few of my top choices, who if they ever read this need to send me photos to publish: the Amy Pond in police gear; the kid dressed as the dead spaceman from the episode of Dr Who in the library; the Scarecrow from Family of Blood; the most amazing Tennant lookalike (you can see him in the corner of a photo).
My altogether favourites from the con though were the Royal Imperial Guardsmen (the red hood) and the old school Cyberman.
I wish I’d had time to prepare a costume, but those are the breaks. Hopefully I’ll be in a better position the next time around.
There were also some wonderful toys around, including a radio controlled Star Wars droid unit and several different styles of Daleks – one of which was my absolute love, the Bronze/Brass almost steampunkish Dalek which you’ll see several photos of.
One photo I really wanted to get as soon as I saw the Stormtroopers with the droid was to get one with a Dalek. It wasn’t until much later, as I was waiting for Dave and chilling out by an empty Dalek shell that the Stormtrooper trio wandered by. They paused close to where I was and I tapped one on the armour and asked if they’d pose, they nodded and assumed a shooting position perfectly levelled with the Dalek. Several other people got in on the act, taking photos thanks to this awesome cosplayer, when they finished they gave a thumbs up and wandered off. It wasn’t until later that I realised I was in video mode and not camera, but still, I am so happy to have seen that.
Convention Guests
The convention had a few guests tightly packed in to the first room. If there was any real problem with the con it was down to poor space management, stalls had too much space behind them narrowing aisles and the gues hall was too tightly packed at times.
I really wanted to see Bulloch and the Bakers – which sounds like a soft rock group from the late 70s/early 80s, but also in attendance was Britt Eckland, Shirley Eaton, Caroline Munro, and Katy Manning. Had it not been that everyone was charging about £15 an autograph, I would have gone full pelt.
It took some prompting by Dave for me to steal the courage to ask for autographs. First from Jeremy Bulloch, who was really nice and down to Earth, he made time to chat to everyone around him even if only briefly, I then went over to where Colin Baker was – and stopped a few feet short so as not to interrupt as he was using his iPhone. He signed a photo for me and we spoke about his editorial section on a website, which was nice. Then, I went and almost killed Kenny Baker.
In fairness, it wasn’t like I grabbed him by the throat and started to throttle him mercilessly while he dangled helpless several feet from the ground. I just walked up to the table and squeaked a quiet hello and asked if I could have an autograph, handed my money over, he took a sip of coffee and then started coughing violently and wheezing in front of me.
Now, I need to point out, I’m used to people sipping something and coughing, but when it’s continuous for about five minutes (which feels like an hour), and results in the person going red, tearing up and getting bloodshot eyes and gasping for air, then the thought of “must have gone down the wrong hole” changes to “OMG, I’ve killed Artoo! In a Convention! Surrounded by Geeks!” and the realisation “The Internet Is Going To KILL ME!!!”
Eventually, reality snapped back and Baker didn’t go the way of Admiral Motti to my Force hands-free strangulation, but for a while I was more than a little stunned. Clutching my signed photo, I wandered away like the survivor of a nuclear holocaust.
Backstage
After the con, before doing our final tour of duty, we gathered in a nearby cafe and settled down. We still had a nice view as Daleks roamed the back halls of the centre. We decided to do a trip back when Dave’s son’s partner pointed out a small side hallway where the disassembled body of a Dalek was resting. We happily took a few shots of the guts of a Dalek.
