Winter London Film & Comic Con 2014

by Bryony Harrison (subscribe)

Event: 18/10/2014 - 19/10/2014

For the past nine moths I was looking forward to meeting Star Trek's Diana Maulder at the London Film and Comic Convention, but then just a week before the event, she ended up cancelling. I was disappointed to say the least, but my mood improved once I found out that she has rescheduled for the Winter London Film and Comic Convention. The next show will also be at Earls Court 2 on the weekend of the 18th & 19th October. Open between 9am - 6pm, other guests will include Charlie Barrie from Red Dwarf, The Karate Kid's Ralph Macchio, and Andy Beckwith from Game of Thrones and Pirates of the Caribbean. There are also going to be lots of authors and comic artists that have yet to be announced.

Despite Maulder's cancellation, I still had reason to go, as two other guests I wanted to meet were going to be there. However, the price of tickets had risen for a second time in as many years. Early bird entry is now £15, while standard entry is £8. I expect this is because of the new features added to the show, but since I was not particularly interest in any of the new additions, I was not willing to pay extra for entry.



I therefore took my first trip to the Friday preview event instead. This was a three hour opening from 6pm - 3pm, and after being assured on the forums that it was not that busy on Fridays, I decided to go.



When my dad and I arrived at 5.40pm, we took our place in the 'pay on the day' queue. Shortly afterwards, two young women came by saying they were selling their tickets. Thinking this was good fortune, I bought the tickets and we made our way to the pre-paid line. It went on forever and then some. I have never seen the queue so long before; it stretched round all four corners of the building, and then some. We would have been better off sticking to where we were.



By the time we got inside, it had gone half past six, giving me a very short window of opportunity to meet my two guests and browse all the stalls. I made a beeline for the signing area, and was amazed to find that David Hewlitt's queue was not very long at all. I have a feeling this might have something to do with the strict new queuing rules that have been enforced. Usually Dad and I are allowed to stand in the line together; it meant that we could chat while waiting, and he could take pictures. Now, however, you are not allowed in the queue unless you are actually buying an autograph. I think this is to cut the queues down to size, but it doesn't really work out as beneficial, because it meant Dad was hovering about on his own for half an hour in the middle of the hall, getting in other people's way.



David Hewlitt plays the obnoxious brainiac, Rodney McKay in Stargate Atlantis. If you watch the show, then you'll know how funny and talkative the character is. David Hewlitt is even funnier, and talks even more. He was such a friendly guy, and had everyone laughing. He was happy to sign autographs, do personalisations, have photos taken, and even record a message to a fan who was unable to be there. When it was my turn, he took a selfie of us, which came out really well, and he said 'of course I'm really good at taking pictures of myself.'



Terry Farrell from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was doing a photoshoot at that time, so instead Dad and I wandered the back area of the exhibition centre, where there was a mock up stage set (I'm not sure from which film though), and a van making customised baseball caps.



On the other side was a new section dedicated to young adult fiction writers. Because it was the preview evening the authors were not there, but several retailers were displaying the latest releases of teen fiction. There was a cool area with beanbags where kids could sit down and read, as well as a creative zone, where over the weekend they would be holding writing workshops and author panels.



I returned to see Terry Farrell, when I was confronted by yet another queue enforcement rule. The line was not allowed to go beyond the metal floor grating. This would be fair enough if it was the case for all queues, but other guests had people line up way off into the distance. With a bit of squeezing up, we were able to sneak the last place before the cut off point.

Although friendly, Terry was not as chatty as David, and not doing posed photos. It was a quick hello and goodbye, and then onto the next one. This was somewhat beneficial, because now only had seventy minutes left to explore.



Along the first row of dealers I saw Lego characters, Japanese sweets, comic books, and some very tempting Wizard of Oz themed treats by Emerald City Cupcakes. These included Glinda red velvet cake, Scarecrow carrot cake, and Munchkin marshmallow cake. Another cake seller was Cake in a Jar. The concept was inspired by army wives who wanted to send their husbands cakes overseas. Because cakes are delicate, transporting them proved a problem. Sending them in a sterilised jar seemed like the perfect solution.



Around the corner, Pokemon fans were able to get cute beanies and sweaters. I'm more interested in the cards, and further on, I was able two find two for my collection from Card Empire.



A couple of other stalls that took my interest were some retro games dealers. I recently bought my old time favourite Playstation One console, and enjoyed looking through all the PS1 games. One dealer had scratched second disk, but the other guy's games were all new and unopened. Some of the games were very rare, such as Tombi. I played a free demo of this game years back, and very much enjoyed it, but at £60, I gave it a miss.



For those who are really serious gamers, bathroom breaks no longer need cause withdrawal symptoms, as you can buy your very own game controller soap.



If you are a Disney Princess at heart, then it is always fun to dress the part. It's never hard to find a princess dress from a costume shop, but getting matching shoes to go with it? Here is your answer: bespoke high heel shoes for all ages. Frozen fans had the best selection to choose from.



In the realm of technology, there were some amazing products on the market, such as comic book creators' software, which you could play with, a remote control micro drone that hovers in the air with a camera attached, and 3D printer. This was the first time I have ever seen one in action, and it is really cool as a model forms before your very eyes.



There were lots of chances to win and buy some awesome items, including a silent auction foe signed merchandise and on screen props, as well as a cosplay competition, in which you a guitar. At one point, Darth Vader was playing.



Not all the stallholders were selling stuff, some were charities or events groups, letting people know about festivals and fundraising. For example, The U.K. Ghostbusters appear at conventions to showcase prop items.

Because it took so long to get everybody in, the event stayed open for an extra fifteen minutes. At closing time, I made my final purchase of a Filius Flitwick Harry Potter wand before leaving. In the end there was only one row of stalls that I did not have time to see, but in the future I will probably stick with the full day opening, especially since that comes with talks and workshops.

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Why? Meet you favourite actors

When: 18th & 19th Oct

Phone: 01908 671138

Website: www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com/winter

Where: Earls Court Exhibition Centre

Cost: £8 standard, £15 early bird, £195 gold pass