Anime Expo 2011

This past weekend was July 4, and the annual Anime Expo four days of fun. This year was different from the past several in that I wasn’t staffing the event full time; I only had one workshop presentation, and I was only at the event for two of the four days. I did continue my work with the AX Model contest, making sure the event was set up as well as judging the event. This year I took a much needed break from being a full time staffer. I think this is one of those things that volunteers should consider, especially if they are in the managerial positions of the show; but more about that later. This year I participated in the Gunpla Builder’s World Cup event.

(more…)

Continue ReadingAnime Expo 2011

Anime Expo 2011 – precon post

So this week, Friday through Monday, July 1 – 4 will be the annual Anime Expo. I’ve been a bit out of the loop due to work and life (having one that is…). Between Memorial day weekend and now, the group of us have been to Arizona, Vegas, hosted a build gathering, done the tango classes, and just gathered at the house to hang out and munch on food. The rest of my waking hours have been spent with work as my project has continued to downsize and I’ve taken up more and more responsibilities. I can’t even go in and study for some certification exams I have coming up that are for work without spending about half the day working on the day to day things. But by this time the last few years, I would have had one more day of work before throwing myself into the fury that is AX. Heh, I actually took vacation time to work, for free, at the con. But it was fun and interesting work and I got to meet some great young folks.

(more…)

Continue ReadingAnime Expo 2011 – precon post

Those Gundam Guys

Those Gundam Guys is the official group name for the random collection of gunpla, mecha, and anime figure modelers that gather once a month in Southern California to build, laugh at one another, and sometimes drink copious amounts of alcohol all the while trying to sing and play rockband without failing. This group has been gathering since July 2007. When asked if we had a name to our “club” the usual response was a shrug, we were just a bunch of modelers that liked to build plastic robots, why make anything official. Almost like some creepy underground movement.

The idea for naming the group came about again last year when we were asked to sponsor a trophy for the 2010 IPMS OC OrangeCon event. Still we half-assed a name to use on the trophy placard. We spent all of 10 minutes trying to come up with stupid witty acronyms for our group, but still wasn’t able to find something good enough. And nothing stuck. Fast forward a few months later when the idea of naming the group had long vacated our memories; a group of us come up with the brilliant idea of hosting our own competition. Tired of griping and whining at the end of every model competition we attend where we’re just looked at and talked to as little more than glorified toy painters; it’s time we shut the hell up and just see if we could do something.

(more…)

Continue ReadingThose Gundam Guys