Wonderfest summer 2016

[Vig]

Thought I might mention due to work unexpectedly making me take time off end of July I have decided to use it wisely and head to Japan for two weeks. Conveniently when Wonderfest is being held. So I guess if anyone wants a favour of any kind do let me know, (goes for both wonderfest and Tokyo/Japan in general).

Also If anyone has been before and would like to offer advice I will gladly listen. According to the website it says tickets can be pre-bought at a Kaiyodo retail store so I'll assume that is the best option for entry. I google searched and found one in Akihabara, (only one of them???)

I have only ever spent 3 nights in Japan in 2007 during a stopover on the way to China. Currently looking at accommodation on Air bnb as to no surprise Tokyo is crazy expensive. Trying to decide on a good location to stay is overwhelming. And Still yet to decide what to do with the rest of the spare time, but will think of something. Shinkansen to somewhere at the very least this time. I Have been learning Japanese, so this will be quite the test, sure I'll find out how much I don't know but at least it'll be more than most tourists bother to learn I dare say.

[Maethius]

If I could drop you about a thousand dollars, that would be great! (Anyone have a thousand dollars I can have to give to Vig?)
Take lots of good pics!!!

[Vig]

lol, yea You bet I will, Heading straight for the zoids section, Hopefully will get to see the new Genobreaker in some form. And remember not to buy anything I haven't already pre-ordered, (losing track) So if I see a ZA Mugen or masterpiece saber no touchy. Last time I went to Tokyo ended up with another luggage bag just full of zoids, And.. ashamedly, pretty sure I had to pay some kind of export tax at the airport because they thought it was for commercial purposes. Like who in their right mind would have all that for themselves right....

[Hanyoutai]

Man, I'd almost want to buy something, but I haven't been seeing much about what people will displaying this time around. I hope you have fun, though!

[Vig]

Yea I haven't seen much either, Guess there's still 4 weeks to go though so surprises may be yet to come.

[Hanyoutai]

Yeah. Zoikino posted something or 'nother about their small Mad Thunder custom. Wonder if that will show up? Also saw something about preorders for a Zoids Spy Spider. Didn't save the twitter link though, oops.

This may be strange and kind of unrelated to Zoids, but any chance you could snap a few pictures of architecture/plants/etc.? It'd be interesting for drawing references~

[Vig]

Zoids spy spider, that rings a bell I may have seen it too but can't be certain.

And sure, I'll be weird Tourist taking photos of random buildings and plants just for you Han. Around Japan in General yea? Pictures in mind of people looking at some guy taking pictures of all the pot plants at wonderfest

[Hanyoutai]

Haha, I'm sure you'll blend right in! As a tourist, but hey. Yeah, just in general~

Back to Wonderfest, if there is a Trinity Liger there and you can get it for close to sale price, I'd be very interested! A couple people have been 3D printing them lately. I'm not sure if they're intended for sale or not.

After some scrolling I found the Spy Spider again. It's kinda creepy, but very cool how it bunches up like a real spider. This one may not be at WF? Looks like it might just ... be a general guide or go up for sale somewhere. Not a lot of context that I see.

[Vig]

Gotchya

I would definitely love a Trinity liger, Zoids vs III greatness (not that I used it much but still cool), I think The Trinity liger artwork by Tanakyalex on twitter brought it back into the spotlight , well for me anyway. Fingers crossed on that one.

As for spy spider, I can honestly say I had not seen that one and my first reaction was something along the lines of 'ohgodgetthatthingthehellawayfrommyhouse!' creepy as it is I do appreciate it's characteristics... from afar.

[greengai]

Vig, if you're going from the heart of Tokyo to Chiba I recommend getting a re-usable subway card and loading it with around 6000 yen for a round trip (it cost me a bit more but I was a little further out) The card saves a ton of time and some of them give you discounts at chain stores.

If you're out Zoid hunting, the Mandarake store in Shibuya is a WILD experience. Plus the Shibuya station is a pretty cool tourist location. Otherwise the one in Akihabara keeps its Zoids on the very top floor. (Imo, Sapporo's store had the best variety)

Are you only staying around Tokyo?

[Vig]

Jul 14, 2016 16:03:32 GMT -5 greengai said:

Vig, if you're going from the heart of Tokyo to Chiba I recommend getting a re-usable subway card and loading it with around 6000 yen for a round trip (it cost me a bit more but I was a little further out) The card saves a ton of time and some of them give you discounts at chain stores.

If you're out Zoid hunting, the Mandarake store in Shibuya is a WILD experience. Plus the Shibuya station is a pretty cool tourist location. Otherwise the one in Akihabara keeps its Zoids on the very top floor. (Imo, Sapporo's store had the best variety)

Are you only staying around Tokyo?

Thanks for the tips! I'll keep them in mind. And I will definitely be zoid hunting.

Also Nope I wont be just staying in Tokyo, Heading down to Osaka, then Fukuoka to see A Godzilla Exhibition, (So lucky that the movie is coming out now because Godzilla stuff will be everywhere!) Then flying up north to Miyagi where I will be Going to visit that fox village place and on the way back down to Tokyo Hope to stop by that Mibu Toy Museum and see that Giant Molga first hand.

[Vig]

OK well I went to Wonderfest today so just a quick run through before my laptop runs out of battery because I'm not sure if it's safe to plug a 3 metal piece plug into a two hole Japanese- Aus adaptor??? And yes Wonderfest is fantastic, zoids are easily found Tomy stand had the Masterpiece Shield and saber tigers there constantly walking and roaring on their stands with their older era versions by their side. There was no catwalk this time to my dissapointment. Many Various old zoids were to be found, and one store had some crates of zoid spare parts and broken zoids , I was happy to snap up a Lord Gale, As well as an EPZ- Sabre tiger before leaving. I really really wanted either the Bloody Death saurer or the Gilvy sitting there too but the boxes are so huge they would be a massive burden during my travels I decided. Lord Gale is a nice size, And Hellbound Crew sorry I haven't found any of the zoids you were looking for yet!
And much to my dissapointment the WF kits sold out VERY VERY Quickly, I was in line when WF opened and what must have been not half an hour after opening they were already gone so I had no chance, And tonight some have already been spotted on line for re-sale. Bastards. There was the Trinity Liger, Sturm Tyrann, Killer dome and Dark spiner from memory, All very beautiful.

Kotobukiya had the Newer Agressive range on display, Mugen, Blade Liger , Iron Kong and an uncoloured Genobreaker, And The new HMM creamy Brown coloured Golulas Giga! Photos were not allowed I'm sorry but the digital picture can be seen in the catalogue. It really looked amazing.

Here Are my Photos from Wonderfest, I've made the album public let me know if it doesn't work. And I do apologise for The lack of quality photos, It was very busy there and My phone Camera FAILED to focus in many pictures so I deleted the rubbish, Sure you'll be able to find quality photos elsewhere anyways.

The last page is especially for you Hanyoutai, Random plants and architecture is that sort of what you meant? I must say I was fascinated by how in the middle of some high density Tokyo suburbs there are vacant blocks of land with crop fields and massive greenhouses growing various vegetables.

[Hanyoutai]

Thanks a bunch for the photos! Shame they didn't allow photography in certain areas, but at least you were able to find some stuff! I kinda wondered how fast those kits always sold out. It sounds about right!

That Godzilla bust is amazing~ Love the scale and detail.

Out of curiosity, was the Buster Head for sale, or just on display? The one next to Sea Panther. I know they sold out but I always wondered if they had reproduced any.

The Touristy photos are also great~ Exactly what I was looking for! I live in Washington and you have to go pretty far from my area to get to any kind of real city. There is a lot more vegetation than I was expecting, and mixed in with some pretty nice landscaping stuff!

Thanks for all the effort put into this stuff! It's great to see some Wonderfest stuff from the perspective of an English speaking fan so we can really hear the opinions of the event. I didn't even know stores tended to sell older Zoids there, too.

[Vig]

Was there a buster head somewhere? As in Buster eagle head? Next to seapanther is that that red thing? I think that was for sale.

If I were to note one dislike about wonderfest is that those perverted overly robust and sexual figurine characters were everywhere! As in they made up half of the convention, and with it were wierdos taking an uncomfortable amount of photos from every angle, and then there were the sectioned off over 18 areas, I didn't bother. Even in Akiba etc they seem to be more popular than gundam. I swear it wasn't like that when i visited 10 years ago. They should have their own convention.

[LoveGame]

Lmao. There's a stupid amount of those at every con I go to. They made up most of the merch in the dealer room at AKon when I was getting my Leena Gun Sniper. The price are always insane and they never even make any of characters I actually like, so it appeals to me even less. I'm so used to seeing them now though.