30.07.2010 · by Adrian A. Lozano
Boldly go where no Wonder Festival has gone before!
For the first time in Wonder Festival’s history Kaiyodo was able to distribute Star Trek one-day amateur licenses. A good number of resin kit makers displayed and sold a wide selection of kits that ranged from the original series to Star Trek Nemesis of all things. Japan’s Star Trek Fandom has been around for years and Japan’s Official Fan Club is working hard to keep the franchise in the public eye since the J.J. Abrams reboot was released. Bringing Star Trek to Wonder Festival is one of the best things to come out of the event in the past few years; overseas Star Trek collectors will want to keep an eye out for what’s to come this winter.
A nice surprise was that Gainax’s booth was sporting an old face us old timers are sure to remember GENERAL PODUCTS. Primarily a sales kiosk filled with present day Gainax goods the booth also had event only GENERAL PRODUCTS and DAICON III & IV t-shirts. There just isn’t enough time in the day to see all of the resin kits and PVC figures being sold and exhibited not to mention getting time in over at the Cosplay area. Won Fes is hands down the event of events to attend in Tokyo and usually hell a fun as long as escalators aren’t collapsing above you.
Tags: Figure Wonder Festival 0 Comments
18.03.2009 · by Adrian A. Lozano
Beagle Fuke, Rei Ride Armor and MPC Grimlock.............OH MY!!!!!
The Tokyo International Anime Fair Business Day is back and Beagle Toys was there showing off a very early 1/10 scale prototype Fuke (Rook) Ride Armor. Impressive to say the least. Mospeada fans, we never had it so good.
Mospeada Ride Armors have been coming out of woodwork over the last two years, and next in line is Rei (Rand).
Now it has been years since a Transformer has knocked my socks off. The Masterpiece Transformer line is kind of hit or miss, but the MPC Grimlock goes above and beyond Takara Tomy's previous efforts. Must have!!!!
Tags: Figures Wonder Festival Toys 3 Comments
25.08.2008 · by Adrian A. Lozano
Wonder Festival 2009 Postponed Indefinitely
Due to the escalator incident at this months Summer Wonder Festival next years Winter Wonder Festival will not be taking place as scheduled. Currently there are many agencies investigating what caused the escalator to break which lead to 10 attendees being injured in the opening rush of the show. Kaiyodo the company that runs Wonder Festival expects investigations to continue in the upcoming months which will prevent them from obtaining licenses for vendors in time for their scheduled date of February 15th 2009. As of now Wonder Festival activity is suspended until things clear up.
Source: From Our Friends at Over-Drive-Inc
Tags: figures garage kit cosplay wonder festival wonfes 1 Comment
03.08.2008 · by Adrian A. Lozano
Wonder Festival 2008 Summer Escalator Accident ワンダーフェスティバル エスカレーター
Today at Tokyo Big Sight, the bi-annual figure and hobby event known as "Summer Wonder Festival," opened its doors at 10:00a.m. to thousands of attendees. Once inside, attendees scattered in an uncontrolled frenzy to purchase event-exclusive merchandise. At about 10:06a.m, some of those attendees charged to West Hall's side-by-side four story escalators. One led to the popular non-retail sale and cosplay area and the other led back to the first floor. All of a sudden a thunderous crash followed by grinding metal came from the ascending escalator. The weight of all the people made the speed the escalator descend in reverse twice as fast giving people no time to react, and within seconds people ended up piled up on top of each other in front of the base of the escalator.
A Wonder Festival staffer used the emergency stop button to slowly bring the escalator to a complete stop. The escalator buckled under the weight of more than 100 people being on the escalator at the time same. Ten people suffered light injuries and were transported to the hospital. The four story escalator remained closed for the entire show, leaving only one elevator and multiple non-connecting stairways as the only access to the fourth floor. Incidents like this are usually followed by an investigation for any negligence, and will definitely bring both Tokyo Big Sight and Kaiyodo's crowd control and safety measures under scrutiny. This month's Comiket, which will also be held at Tokyo Big Sight will most certainly be affected by some new safety precautions.
Tags: Wonder Festival Wonfes Wonder Fest 0 Comments