A Modest Haul

So, yes, the London Expo. On a Sunday, for a change.

It all got off to a rather slow start, thanks to traffic, but my usual partner in crime and I got there in the end. And, as seems to be the case every time we head to one of these things on a Sunday, it was a vastly more civilised affair than the Saturdays tend to be.

So here's the thing, London Expo: I can see you're trying. I can see that you're changing things around, improving the layouts, actually using more of the hall, rather than cordoning off half of it so the place seems more densely packed with cool stuff. I can see that you're altering the ratio of "what's on show" to "what's on sale" every time... but you're still not quite getting it right.

I really appreciated that the walkways were far wider than they have been, and that the retail section was basically clubbed together along the front, so that the tenderhearted newbie can stay near the exit while they shop and, perchance, explore the heady worlds of videogames, tabletop RPGs, CCGs, anime, cosplay, and celebrity guests. The programme was well formatted, rather than the frequently jumbled efforts of the past.

Perhaps, though, there should have been a bit more on the retail side? There was just barely enough variety, but really not the quantity or quality that I would expect from an end-of-year show. The usual suspects were there - Gundam Nation, Genki Gear, Retro GT, the folks with all the swords - and a good few stalls had a selection of TransFormers in their miscellany. TokyoToys seem to occupy more floorspace every time they appear, but they do have plenty to offer.

The cosplay was a mixed bag, as it always is... Some of the costumes are excellent, others would benefit from a little more time and attention... Some of the cosplayers could do with learning to sew their own costumes, rather than making do with the off-the-rack stuff.

Celebrities were there, and panels were being run throughout the day for the likes of Eureka and Warehouse 13... and the stages were placed logically enough that - hopefully - the impact of the queues was not as heavy and intrusive as the last time I tried to get into one of the panels at a London Expo.

But, let's face it, I was there for the retail element and, while there wasn't a great deal of particular interest to me, I did get some TransFormers - Human Alliance Jazz, Deluxe-sized Darkmount, Elita-1 and Hailstorm - a couple of Genki T-shirts (one for my baby niece), and an artbook for Capcom's Monster Hunter games, from Otaku Publishing (putting in a very rare but very welcome appearance). Quite a modest haul, by my standards, and I was genuinely tempted by the repainted/remolded Armada Unicron and Cybertron Primus, both very reasonably priced on one stall (£120 and £100, respectively, if I remember correctly), but I do have the originals of both... and I didn't have the cash on me.

Or the space at home, frankly.

Still, it was good fun... quieter than a Saturday, with much more room to walk around and browse property... Maybe Sunday is the better day, on average... but I do always wonder what I missed out on buying on the preceding day/days.