FACTS 2006: Made it back --two--

Ok, I admit. Today was the first time I went to a convention. Although I started this blog, and pronounced to be a total otaku, I'm a total noob at this.

The convention was FACTS, by the way, abbreviation explained by Race. In Western Europe, it is one of the most noteable conventions for anime, but even moreso for Star Wars and fantasy.

To my surprise, months of intensive googling, ebay/webshop purchasing, and visits to fellow anime blogs have rendered me quite adept at picking out merchandise. While the convention floor was pretty large, I finished a preliminary tour in 30 minutes, despite the packed crowd and accompanying parents (who have been great sports). I triaged three locations: one had a 1/60 Wing Zero plamo (technically crap like the entire GW HG series, but big and kick ass). Another had a lot of figures, some new ones (GSC's Melissa Seraphy) and a few rarer older ones (a 1/6 Yamato Mizuho in swimsuit). He was also cheap, 20-30 euro for most of the stuff. The last location had a lot of Star Wars stuff..but also a few Final Fantasy VII items. And amongst them was a Kotobukiya coldcast 1/8 Cloud.



I bought that on the spot. I mean, the box says 12000 yen. And the guy gave it away at 32 euros (5000 yen). Ok, the box was slightly dinged and clearly opened but *who the f--- cares* for *thirty freakin' euros*!! Anyway, score one.

I then decided to proceed to the Gundam guy and get that 1/60 Wing Zero. I remember being in highschool and oogling that plamo after watching Gundam Wing. Upon arrival, I had some kind of timeshift experience. I saw this guy who kinda looked like me, but 7-8 years younger. He paid up and..took the Wing Zero. Damn.

The thunderous stamping of feet interrupted my disappointment, as the stage was filled with Star Wars cosplayers. I mean, is the Stormtrooper costume thé pinnacle in cosplay, or what?



I tried catching a Stormtrooper for a pic-op, but failed due to..well..too many
scifi..otaku..people..*dizzy*

I then proceeded to the cheap figurine guy for some serious, point-blank, up-close and personal browsing through his inventory.

On my way, I came across this other guy who handpainted his resin kits. They were absolutely stunning, here's a shot from the rare Kenshin resin, masterfully crafted and finished.



At the figurine guy, after 15 minutes I realized that I didn't really need any of these figurines, despite all their Nihon-cuteness. Either I didn't like one specific element of them (the face is all wrong, the pose is all wrong, the hair is all wrong, the base is crap,..) or I just didn't know the character. With a sense of unhealthy levelheadedness I left the figurine den.

I was lucky to run into Racemaniac and the Telenet Forum gang. Race (after thoroughly bragging about his conquests) pointed out that there where Genshiken gashapons.

Hold the phone.

Genshiken gashapons? Widely appreciated and sold out? Here? Available? URYAA!!!!

With renewed otaku-powah I rushed through the stands. The only good material form of Chairman Saki was waiting..(GSC's has no nose and Yamato's face is slightly wrong and the ankles are weak, cfr. Race's post) After much elbowing and scifi-fan shoving I found it.

Then I remembered what gashapons are.

Evil..closed..boxed..things..of evil.

I must've looked quite pathetic, shaking the boxes one by one in a desperate attempt to discover Saki-chan. In fact, I must've been enormously pathetic, as the dealer went up to me and asked "hey, just tell me which one you want". It was one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me...*sniff* arigatou!!



Oh, and I also picked up Ohno, cuz she was one of the "dropouts" prior to Saki showing up.



So, FACTS was great for me. I scored bigtime three times, and it cost me less than 50 euro. All that I lacked was a Stormtrooper.



Hah. Bunny Stormtrooper. Hah. FACTS was great. Hah.

PS: In-depth reviews of Saki-chan, Ohno-san and Cloud will follow. As will some Gundam and other figurine reviews (Mizuho-sensei!!) Watch this space :p