Geek-gasm at the Avenue K Collectors Festival

Attention fellow Geek guys & gals!

Avenue K shopping mall in downtown Kuala Lumpur is now hosting a Collectors Festival on their ground floor concourse until 10 May 2017. The Avenue K Collectors Festival (AKCF) is showcasing premium collectibles by Prime 1 Studio. This Japanese company founded in 2012 manufacturers limited edition statues from pop culture franchises such as DC, Marvel, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and more. Products by Prime 1 Studio is distributed locally by Shioktoys Collectibles who have brought out some of their best works to showcase at AKCF.

AK Collectors Festival on now at the ground floor concourse of Avenue K shopping mall.

Here's a sampling of the awesome statues to be seen at AKCF:

DC Comics superhero Trinity: Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman altogether in last year's BvS.

Prime 1 Studio statue of Batman The Dark Knight Returns version 

Prime 1 Studio Limited Edition Venom statue.

Marvel's Anti-Venom by Prime 1 Studio.

Prime 1 Studio's licenses includes Transformers with this Optimus Prime statue.

Decepticon leader Megatron looks ready to bring the pain.

1:6 scale figurines in custom environments also showcased. 

 Geeky loot available to bring home instantly (since Prime 1 Studio products are generally by pre-order only)

  Marvel apparel also on sale by Superheroes United.

Here's a walkthrough video of AKCF:

Here's a lil walk-through of AK Collectors Festival at Avenue K! Remember to drop by and snap photos with your favorite pop cultures characters from now till 10 May 2017. #AvenueKMY #makefriendscreatetrends #AKCollectorsFest
Posted by Avenue K on Friday, 28 April 2017

AKCF also offers activities for mall shoppers with the Super-Agent Challenge. Shoppers with minimum spend of RM50 from any shops in Avenue K will be entitled to take the NERF blaster test in attempt to qualify. The top 8 high scorers from these qualifying attempts will be invited to compete at the Super-Agent Challenge this Sunday 7 May, 1pm. Those with the best skills with NERF and the Injustice video game stand a chance to win these prizes:

• 1st Prize: Limited Edition Batman bust by Prime1 Studio & other prizes worth RM3,000
• 2nd Prize: Limited Edition Jor-El figurine by Hot Toys & other prizes worth RM2,000
• 3rd Prize: Iron Make Mk42 collectible figurine by Egg Attack and other prizes worth RM1,000
• Consolation prizes (5): Superheroes United Marvel t-shirt & other prizes worth RM400 each

It may be just worth your while practicing in advance at the NERF blaster range!

Other more geek-oriented activities include toy sculpting and demo by local artist Blackz GBC plus talks on Customised Costumes & Props by Jon Dei Goon of Helios E.

Especially for cosplayers, AKCF's Cosplay Competition will take place this Sunday 7 May from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. The competition is open for ALL cosplay, be it superhero, anime, video games, etc. These are the prizes up for grabs:

• 1st Prize: AK Cash Voucher worth RM800 & Hot Toys 1:6 scale ELECTRO & other prizes worth RM2, 000
• 2nd Prize: AK Cash Voucher worth RM500 & Mafex die-cast BATMOBILE & other prizes worth RM1, 500
• 3rd Prize: AK Cash Voucher worth RM300 & Autographed artworks by comic artist Jimbo Salgado & other prizes worth RM1, 000
• Consolation Prizes (5): Superheroes United MARVEL apparel & other prizes worth RM400

Online Pre-Registration is now open until this Friday 5 May 2017, 11.59pm. Submit your details online here: https://goo.gl/ZuVSyM

Then email self-photo in full costume and reference visuals of origin character to avenuekmarketing@gmail.com.

The first 10 qualified online pre-registrations will receive a goodie bag with Marvel T-shirts and vouchers!

If competition slots are still available, on-site registration will open on event day until from 11am to 1pm at the Information Counter, Ground Floor.

Terms and Conditions for participation available for download from Avenue K's official website.

As Outpost Productions will be assisting with the Cosplay Competition, we wish to highlight on the following participation criteria:

• Each contestant will be required to showcase themselves in 3 cosplay poses and offered up to 2 minutes to perform a skit. Each contestant may be assisted by up to 2 helpers in their skit. The skits should not contain elements potentially offensive to local society and refrain from issues relating to race, religion or politics.
• Judges will score contestants based on costume quality and cosplay performance (not skit, no score. Cosplay representative of any character displayed by Prime 1 Studio at AKCF may be awarded bonus score.
• Props resembling weapons need to be submitted for inspection during check-in. Real-world guns are not encouraged and if used nozzle must be capped off.
• No cosplayer changing rooms are provided by the venue. Kindly prepare to be in costume before arriving at the mall or make use of the public restrooms as necessary (upper levels less trafficked).

Please feel welcome to address questions at Avenue K's official Facebook Page post.

Excellent view of KLCC Twin Towers from Avenue K's rooftop terrace.

Shoppers who frequent Avenue K may also be aware there is a rooftop terrace with spectacular view of KLCC Twin Towers. Specially for cosplayers this Sunday 7 May, the rooftop terrace will be open between 12pm noon to 6pm for photo shoot opportunities with these icons of Kuala Lumpur. Great of heroic posing but no superhero landings please!

Great photo shoot locations for cosplayers at level 4 roof of Avenue K.

Here's a summary of this coming weekend's activities at AKCF:

Saturday 6 May

3pm  Sculpting Talks by Blackz GBC

5pm  Customized Costume and Props Talks by Jon Dei Goon of Helios E

Sunday 7 May

12-6pm Rooftop open for cosplay photo shoots

1pm         AK Super-Agent Challenge Finals

2pm         Talk on "Tips for Competitive Cosplay" by Jon Dei Goon of Helios E

2.30pm Cosplay Competition

3pm         Sculpting Demo by Blackz GBC

4pm         Panel discussion "Statues & Collectibles: Why We Collect"

5pm         Customized Costume and Props Talks by Jon Dei Goon of Helios E

As well as NERF Blaster Corner and Injustice video game all day from 10am to 10pm.

Note: Schedule based on information at time of posting and may vary without prior notice (don't blame us for changes!)

See you this weekend at AK Collector's Festival!

Disclaimer: Trademarks named in this article are copyright to their respective owners, referenced here for fan service purposes only without intent to infringe.

Supanova Brisbane 2016, Recon Report Part 2 - Creative Arts at Imagineer's Playground

Continuing Part 2 of our convention intel from recent trip by the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.) to Supanova Brisbane last month. Supanova includes educational activities for creative arts conducted at the Imagineer's Playground. Although it sounds rather fancy, the actual playground comprised of a cordoned area on the main expo floor with about 30 seats setup for presentations by industry players, experienced cosplayers and fan communities. Topics covered in Imagineer's Playground include cosplay design, script writing, sewing, and more. Here's the lowdown on just a few of the presentations:

Introducing your Cosplay Ambassadors: Echoing Artemis and A.K. Wirru

So what is a cosplay ambassador? A cosplay ambassador is the voice of the cosplay community to event organisers. The cosplay ambassadors' objective at Supanova is to be able to give back to the community in whatever way possible. In Echoing Artemis's case, she is a clinical psychologist and helped create anti-harassment rules at Supanova to ensure that cosplayers and guests alike do not cross a certain line. A.K. Wirru on the other hand was nominated due to his informative tutorials on crafting cosplay props. The cosplay ambassadors will rotate after a year of service and anyone can be a cosplay ambassador as long as they are able to put something on the table to give back to the community. Unfortunately A.K. Wirru was unable to attend as he was occupied with judging the preliminary Madmen cosplay competition.

Echoing Artemis (left)

Workshop #1: Picking up Patterns: A Beginners Guide to Sewing with Echoing Artemis

Do not let the title fool you. In actual fact some basic knowledge in sewing is needed before patterns could be created. A sewing pattern is essentially a recipe for making an item of clothing that could either be store bought or drafted by hand. What is typically included in a sewing pattern is the information on what you will need to compete the garment, pattern pieces (strips of paper to be used as templates when cutting fabric) and instructions for sewing the pieces together.

Echoing Artemis cosplaying as Supergirl speaking about sewing patterns

"Do we really need sewing patterns?"

Guideline on where to purchase patterns. Spotlight is available in Malaysia.

Tip on Choosing Patterns

Easy & Tricky Alterations

The Envelope Pattern

Important notes regarding The Envelope Pattern

Echoing Artemis' Choice of Weapons When Sewing

Sizing Is Important

Getting Started on Sewing

Layout & Cutting Fabric 

Example of a Finished Cutout

Workshop #2: Hackerspace - Electronics For Props

Hackerspace is a community-operated "Not For Profit" work space for people with common interests to socialise and collaborate. These interests include computers, machining, technology, science, digital art or electronic art. In this workshop,  representatives from Hackerspace shared about using electronics to light up props. The most commonly used lights are LED lights. For more elaborate lighting, there are NeoPixels, programmable LEDs. By using an Arduino circuit board (micro controller) it is possible to program LEDs for use in cosplay. For instance, NeoPixels can be programmed to write words or draw patterns. A switch may be added to start/stop programs for more control or just conserve battery power. Devices like a ball chamber can function as a switch in the weapon prop to trigger light and/or sound effects with each swing.

Hackerspace speakers demonstrating their programmed LED word strip

Power Supply

Micro Controller Board Used to Program Lights

Workshop #3: Costuming for Conventions - A User Guide with Reverend Armageddon T Cosplay

This talk focused mainly on the planning out of a costume and the considerations needed when choosing, making and maintaining your costume. An emergency repair kit is also really important to carry around as it would save you a ton of time if something goes wrong with your costume.

Starting A Costume

Here are some questions to ponder about before making a costume:

• How often will I wear this?
• Will it be heavy? If yes, can I use any substitutes to reduce the weight?
• Will it be bulky? If yes, conventions tend to be very packed and wearing a bulky costume might cause you to have a wardrobe malfunction or leave you stuck outside the convention.
• Will it rip off or break easily? Choose the material wisely to ensure that pieces will not break or rip.

Using Worbla

Worbla is a type of thermoplastic that can be molded and shaped after applying heat. Since Worbla is very expensive, the most efficient method is to first apply layers of foam then place Worbla as the final layer. Another tricky part to using Worbla is that if you make a mistake, it can be glaring and easily seen. Therefore, shaping the Worbla to the shape of your choice is important before setting it on a piece.

Essential Items That Makes The All-Important Emergency Repair Kit

Cosplay Can Be Impractical In Certain Aspects. Choose Your Build Wisely.

Workshop #4: Balancing Cosplay - Making Quality Costumes on Budget with A.K Wirru

Instead of talking about making props on a limited budget, Ameno Kitarou Wirru, or simply known as A.K. Wirru / Wirru switched around the perspective in making use of the budget available. Wirru suggested to separate types of cosplay into a big budget major cosplay, where costs is “no limit” , or a small budget casual cosplay to work with limited resources / time and money.

A.K. Wirru Cosplaying As A Team Instinct PokemonGo! Trainer.
Not forgetting his Dabdos lurking in the background

Goals Of Cosplay

Approaching Cosplay With A Budget

Defining "Budget" in Your Personal Context Is Important

Major Project Vs. Casual Project

Standard Procedure Cosplay Vs. Experimental Cosplay

When proceeding with a major project, try to stick to the standard procedure (know what you are doing) to ensure that the quality is maintained. The experimentation procedure is coming up with alternative more cost saving measures to get the results that you want (be prepared to waste materials)

Planning Is Essential!

A.K. Wirru was a cosplay guest at AniManGaki Malaysia 2016 held in Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre so aspects of his presentation may be familiar to some Malaysian readers.

Previously:
Supanova Brisbane 2016, Recon Report Part 1 - Event Hall & Cosplay Sightings

Coming Soon:
Part 3 - Celebrity Guests.

NERDTASTIC Convention Roadtrip Report (Part 1) - Gen Con 2015

Back in May, Outpost Expeditions announced a NERDTASTIC Convention Roadtrip to the United States from late-July to August this year. Our Away Team is now pleased to present our Convention Recon Reports for Gen Con, Star Trek Vegas, D23 Expo and Disneyland progressively over the next few days.

Gen Con, the largest gathering of gamers in North America, is hosted annually in Indianapolis, capital of Indiana state in midwest / northern central region of United States. Gen Con dates back to 1968 as a wargames convention by Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons. “The Best Four Days of Gaming” took place this year from 30 July to 2 August 2015 at the Indiana Convention Centre (ICC) with a record attendance of 61,423 people from all over the world.

Eve before the gaming Gen Con swarm at the Indiana Convention Centre (ICC).

To appreciate the scale of this convention, the exhibit hall alone covers 283,000 sqft for game publishers and retail vendors. In comparison with local Malaysian conventions, the entire ground level of Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre hosting Comic Fiesta's 40,000++ attendees in 2014 is only about 104,500 sqft. The larger MINES International Exhibition & Convention Centre (MIECC) hosting Big Bad Wolf sales and this year's Comic Fiesta measures about 180,000 sqft. Yet Gen Con's exhibit halls G to K only comprises half of the ICC's ground level while other halls and function rooms have also been occupied for gaming activities; refer to graphic below comparing relative size of the convention centres. Plus the ICC has a 2^nd upper level and connects to 8 adjacent hotel all fully utilised to host Gen Con's 14,000+ events. Yes, Gen Con is a mega-convention!

Comparing the ICC to KL Convention Centre and MINES Exhibition Centre.

Spend many hours wandering the massive Gen Con Exhibit Hall.

Preceding the official first day of the convention is a Trade Day of panels / presentations for gaming industry participants and educators at the hotel meeting rooms. Some of these sessions involve previews by game publishers as well as discussions on the state of certain game genres and/or the industry. Any actual gaming on this day would be demonstrations by the publishers themselves or playtest sessions of upcoming games.

Prototype for the Conan Rise of Monsters boardgame showcased on Trade Day.

For a “dead” series, Firefly games keep on rolling... literally in this case with the new Shiny Dice game being demostrated on Trade Day by Upper Deck.

Day 1 of Gen Con started from 8am on Thursday morning as numerous events kick off such as RPG campaigns, miniatures wargames, and trading card game tournaments. Those few thousand attendees not involved in these events were on standy to swarm into the exhibition hall as soon as it opens at 10am to find out about the latest game reveals and/or snag exclusive convention merchandise. Many of the renown game publishers were exhibiting, such as Mayfair, Paizo, Fantasy Flight Games, Asmodee, Rio Grande, Upper Deck, and more.

Gamer hordes ready to swarm into the Exhibit Hall.

Follow the “red carpet” to “game heaven”.

Exhibits by Fantasy Flight Games showcased major products and preview of upcoming releases.

Privateer Press with Warcraft gaming miniatures.

Sample of convention exclusive loot, these being special miniatures from Privateer Press.

Demo for the upcoming Attack on Titan boardgame.

Fantasy Flight Game preview of upcoming Star Wars Armada starships.

Proposed Kickstarter games also featured at Gen Con, like this Battletech PC game.

Gamers will to roll a lot of “save vs. willpower” as there are too many opportunities to drain your wallet from retail vendors. Bargains were plenty as game distributors and retailers were throwing out games at huge discounts. Even if you had $$$ to spare for these bargains, luggage space may dampen your spirits as many boardgames are bulky and heavy. Fedex provided on-site shipping services for those with too much loot to carry. Unfortunately while Fedex rates for domestic shipping within U.S. are almost reasonable, international shipping charges are so ridiculously expensive that it may be better off buying a return flight ticket for a friend to fly over and lug back upto 45kg of check-in luggage!

Lots of retail vendors offering hundreds of games at bargain prices.

Magic TCG cards aplenty on the secondary market.

Customised TCG cards are also offered, some of which by the actual artists for MTG artwork.

Browsing the vendors also reveal the shear number of accessories to enhance the game experience, from dice rings, DBG card organiser systems to gaming table furniture. T-shirts are a big sell in U.S. so they come in all manner of gaming goodness with clever quotes and/or fan art. Other means to show your geekdom include D6-handbags, horny headgear, bumper stickers, etc.

  

Many gaming enhancements are also offered, like these generic buildings and structures for miniature wargaming.

Even dice have accessories like trays, towers and special containers.

Geek apparel aplenty to mix & match so as not to look the “generic” geek.

Steampunk and medieval cosplay are popular in U.S., so entire aisles of vendors are devoted for this hobby. There are many leather products here to accessorise for period wear plus make-up, wigs and even prosthetics. Game of Thrones enthusiasts could purchase replica metal swords and other weapons. Gen Con itself offers official convention souvenir merchandise comprising tshirts, hoodies, caps, backpacks, shot glasses, etc.

Fantasy, steampunk, and goth costumes are readily available that a cosplayer could easily pick-up everything needed to cosplay on-the-spot.

Many authors of the fantasy and sci-fi genre were present, offering book signing sessions for fans. Professional artists are also present selling prints of their artworks. However comic books do not have a significant vendor presence. For those, head over to one of the comic cons instead.

Margaret Weis (left) of Dragonlance acclaim signs books for the Firefly RPG. Kevin Sembieda (right) of Palladium Books signs for the Robotech RPG.

Plenty of original art available at Gen Con, although more skewed towards fantasy visuals compared to superheroes & sci-fi at the comic cons.

Eventhough this seems like a lot happening, the majority of Gen Con's 14,000+ scheduled events take place outside the exhibit hall. Major games and/or sponsors like MTG, Pathfinder, Dungeons & Dragons, Settlers of Catan, etc. have entire halls dedicated for their games. These scheduled events include numerous tournaments and popular games which are often booked out months in advance through the Gen Con online event registration system. In addition to your Gen Con attendance fee, set aside some funds to participate in gaming events, which cost between a nominal entry fee from USD$2-4 upwards to USD$52 for True Dungeon, an immersive live fantasy adventure. With over 14,000+ events, there is simply too much going on to try “seeing everything”; the Gen Con Program Book itself is 1cm thick trying to list every event! So best prepare by shortlisting “must attend” events and register in advance online.

Layout of ICC for various gaming zones and event rooms, not including level 2 and adjacent hotels.

Entry to the Dungeons & Dragons playing hall.

DnD RPGs run all day & night.

Pathfinder games are popular.

Mayfair Game's hit Settlers of Catan as a giant-scale floor game.

Tournaments usually run during daylight hours while more casual activities like RPG sessions and friendly table-top gaming may take place well past midnight until 3-4am. Sleep at Gen Con is optional, though highly recommended!

Star Wars The Card Game tournaments.

Star Trek Attack Wing tournaments run by the community supported by WizKids although not official present at Gen Con.

Upper Deck running Legendary and VS mini-contests whereby winner of a timed game takes home the game.

Community run Star Wars Miniatures Battle of Hoth campaign is great eye-candy.

Star Wars Miniatures battle it out.

Pilot Battlemechs in these cockpit simulators.

Events also take place outside the ICC with panels and live-action role-play (LARP) events often held at the adjacent hotels. Panels mostly relate to the gaming industry with presentations by publishers as well as discussions with community experts. There are also educational panels on book writing and cosplay. On-hands activities include painting miniatures, making LARP weapons, and starship command simulator, to name only a few. Plus there are auctions of pre-loved games.

Paint miniatures.

Make LARP weapons.

Fantasy Flight Games presentation was packed.

Discussion panel by fiction book authors sharing their experiences.

Cosplay 101 panel.

Film, documentary and anime screenings.

Lelong, lelong! Auction of games, books and other parapherniaia.

Check out more sights of Gen Con from this video by The Dice Tower:

Gen Con hosts the highly popular TrueDungeon experience. Players form a party adventurers to undergo a live quest into a 3D dungeon environment with puzzles to solve and monsters to kill. Different character classes comprise each adventuring party such as Wizard, Ranger, Monk, Paladin, etc. Players can customise their character at the start of each adventure by assigning weapons and equipment represented by tokens to enhance their abilities and the party's survivability. A bunch of these tokens come with purchase of the adventure but also found as treasure, especially the more powerful ones. An official True Dungeon shop sells tokens but a secondary market has also evolved with traders buying & selling tokens. Certainly True Dungeon veterans returning year-on-year will level up!

Sample True Dungeon “Monk” character partially equipped. Upper right insert: A substantial secondary market is available for treasure and equipment tokens.  

Dungeon Crawl offers an alternative role-play adventure experience with hands-on combat using foam weapons.

Of course cosplay is aplenty at Gen Con. The official Costume Parade took place on Day 3, Saturday afternoon with cosplayers marching through the convention centre concourse by the hundreds. It was immediately followed by the Costume Contest in the Ballroom of the best cosplay in Gen Con. Some contestants were outstanding, like the 9ft tall Sauron and even a huge dragon!

Costume Parade includes all manner of cosplayers.

Marvel cosplayers.

Dark elves.

Spider-man's nemesis, Doctor Octopus in both comtemporary outfit and Steampunk inspired.

Left to right: Kanan from Star Wars Rebels, Captain America, & mythical Goatman.

Cinderella & her Prince. Game of Thrones inspired Iron Throne cosplay (right).

Finalists of the Costume Contest (top). Female DC superheroes and villains in Victorian era garb.

Check out more cosplay from videos by Cosplayer Nation:

Roam the convention corridors to find some quirky activities taking place, like signing Klingons or building a “city” from trading cards under Cardhalla: Build Donate Destroy. And for those autograph collectors, guests of honor include Terry Brooks, Marina Sirtis (Star Trek), and Summer Glau (Firefly).

Klingon opera perhaps? No actualy it sounded like country music!

What do you do with millions of excess trading cards? Build a “city” out of it then smash them out like Godzilla for a charitable cause!

There is so much to do at Gen Con that our report is unable to cover everything. For hardcore gamers, certainly include Gen Con in your bucket list. Better yet work your way over on 4-7 August 2016 or any of the subsequent dates scheduled upto 2020. Gen Con is certainly “the best 4 days of gaming”!

To close, here's a video review of Gen Con by The Dice Tower:

Find more photos on our Facebook photo album and stay tuned for Part 2 of this NERDTASTIC Convention Roadtrip when our Away Team headed to Star Trek Vegas.