A little wrap-up here on the Steel City Con from this past weekend...
First, as always the show was a good time. The local PSWCS crew didn't have a really firm get-together though, as the location + 3-day-weekend + everyone's schedule conflicts pretty much put the kabosh on a really solid way we could all gather. Still though I got to see/hang out with a couple of the gang, and that's always a good thing! [/end Martha]
I went Friday afternoon to get sort of a feel as to what was available and if any of it was at a fair price... As per usual the show had a LOT of modern, and some of it was pretty good prices. Some newer items were fairly priced too, like the Joker Squad sets, but I didn't see anything BRAND new at any table... That's good since it means they hadn't gotten it to hock yet.
I didn't see much vintage though, and that was a bummer... A couple of the regular vintage dealers weren't there unfortunately it seemed, so there wasn't much for the old school collector to enjoy, but I suspect the next show will be different.
More on that later.
There were a number of GI Joe items, both vintage and new, but no DVD packs. I was looking for the last one for my brother but couldn't find it. Bummer.
There was a cool "ghost" picture booth... This was towards the back rows, and what it was, was this guy makes pictures that, as you walk past them, they change from a normal photo to the characters in it being dead or something. It's very cool! I actually have something similar from Big Lots this past Halloween, and the ones this couple did and had on display were similar but much higher quality. Very neat stuff.
There were some talented sketch artists in attendance as well, though sketch art and comics aren't my cup of tea really.
The R2 Builders Club was there and had their astromechs and mouse droids all on display and running. They hit my foot/shin with a mouse droid after losing control of him though.
Not sure if any of them stop by JD's forums to read this but I sorta laughed. It rolled over then and fell apart. I never saw a MD do that in Star Wars ever, but it was funny when it happened at my feet.
The PSWCS crew didn't have a table, and that's another reason it was a little hard to gather, as we always use the table as a meeting spot at the show, but it's also tough to staff the table as we don't have a huge crew out here in the West like they do in the East, plus we're all always busy on the weekends it seems so time is sparse.
I got to run into Bob, Mike, Bill F., Dave... I'm hoping Scott/Nikki are better!
Dave, Bill, and myself all headed down to Primanti's Friday night after the show for dinner and my gf came down as well. As always, Primanti's rocks. I ran into Bob and Mike on Sunday, the other day I attened, and it's always good to see you guys... Hopefully soon we can ALL get together maybe this Summer.
Orli Shoshan was there signing, and man is she a beautiful girl... I truly wouldn't have guessed what she looked like under the make-up. I hope she had a good time signing. I didn't actually get her autograph and only spoke with her as Mike was sitting with her, but she seemed pretty nice.
I did get Anthony Daniels to sign for me, as I would've forever regretted it, had I not. I told him to have a good time in Pittsburgh and he surprised me by saying he's actually here quite often. I heard later he maybe teaches a drama class at Pitt, so that's neat. He said he always enjoys his time here... he strikes me as a pretty cultured and traveled guy, so I was curious where he's found here that he enjoys dining at the most. I'm a big dining out guy, and so I always like people's opinions when they travel and experience a lot. He asked what name I'd like on the auto, and I asked him just for his, and he obliged. I got it on a photo of him in the Tantive IV corridor... It's the first scene, so how could you not?
Again though, Anthony Daniels was an incredibly cool guy who seemed like you could easily engage him in a conversation if you wanted to for a while.
I didn't buy a TON at this show, but I did score 3 separate "5 for $20" deals... Two were with the same dealer different times, and one was Sunday with another dealer's table. I got a bunch of Honor Guards, Death Star Troopers (30AC), Death Star Gunners, ROTS Royal and Senate Guard, and a Capt. Antilles (Saga) figure. All good deals.
Dave ordered a bunch of Joker Squad sets too, so I got one of those off him for a cool $36... I spent more than enough. Mr. Daniels' autograph was only $25 though, so that was a steal for a photo and signature from the only guy in all 6 films. Very cool.
OK, so the good news... As much as I enjoy the new location since it's in my basically back yard, I'll be happy to announce that in December the show RETURNS to Monroeville, PA. While I like having the convenience of it here, the area is just not suited to conventions. I think Monroeville is such a big suburb with much more to do outside the show at it, that the show will be best there for growth and attracting people further away.
The new convention center in Monroeville will be right near the old Expo Mart. The old Wickes Furniture is bieng renovated into a con center now, and that's awesome. It'll be by the famed Monroeville Mall again (Dawn of the Dead fans rejoice at that), and I'll just enjoy having more places to dine at and things... t hough I'm cool if we always go to Primanti's now!
If any of you guys from out of town come into Pitt for a future show, LET ME KNOW! You're more than welcome to come grab lunch with the locals. Seriously I like hanging out with new folks, so just PM me or whatever... It was a great show, and I'm sure it'll get growing again in Monroeville as I think the new (now old) location stunted it slightly on growth.
(And as always a thanks to the show's staff for giving me the "in" for the weekend! Dom and the gang rock!!!!)
