Countdown to Halloween Day #4: Costume Inspiration

You are looking for an awesome costume idea?  I found this costume idea on Pinterest.   There is a complete tutorial and lots of pictures to help guide your building process.  I sooo want to build this.

Goodwill Outlet Store FInd- Energon Megatron

If you have never been to a Goodwill Outlet store, you are missing out.

It truly  is urban treasure hunting.   You walk into a large open area filled with different bins.  Then you dig for treasure.    It is .99 a pound and I can spend hours digging.

The closest store is about 40 miles away, so I don't get to go that often.  I have had a lot of great finds in this particular store.  this is the same store that I picked up a vintage Star Wars Rebel Transport ship.  The last trip, I came home with a 1980's Barbie swimming pool which holds like 2 gallons of water.   Needless to say, my husband just shook his head and walked out of the room.   Both the transport ship and the Barbie pool were for complete.  Which was amazing.

This trip, I was happy to find an Energon Megatron. Lately, I have been staying away from modern Transformers.  I just am not a fan.  The quality of them is just crappy. But, for some reason I just couldn't pass up this guy.  This is probably one of the biggest and bulkiest Transformer I have ever seen. But, it looks really cool.   It is difficult to display it with my other Transformers, since I have such a small space for them.  I think this will end up being something that my kids play with.

There are a few more goodies that came home with Megatron that will show up in later posts.

MonsterCon recap- autographs, toys, and more

This weekend was kind of a let down for us.  We originally planned to be in Kentucky attending Fandom Fest, but my husband's transmission had to be rebuilt and so our plans changed.    My husband was kind of moping in his wheaties.  Fandom Fest this year had an amazing line  up of  celebrity guests ( Stan Lee, William Shatner, Gene Simmons, Gillian Anderson, etc)  He had been looking forward to getting autographs from some of the main "Walking Dead" actors (Norman Reedus, John Bernthal, etc.). There were supposed to six attending this year's convention.   Earlier in the summer, we attended Fanboy Expo, where he started a "Walking Dead" autograph collection.   I personally, was looking forward to seeing the "Firefly" actors (Jewel Staite, Adam Baldwin, and Alan Tudyk)  that were there this weekend also.  So, I was kind of moping too.

There was a small silver lining, which came in the form of Monster Con.   Monster Con is a new con and it was local. Frankly,  we live in a black hole for cons and even decent toy shows.  I guess people think because Atlanta is a couple hours drive, Dragon Con is enough and to hell with the rest of the year.

We  planned to take  R2-AL out for its first con since it was just completed earlier in the month.  We were joined by his buddy R2-F4.   The two units were built together.  Together the two droids spent about 30 minutes greeting attendees at the front entrance.  Then spent the rest of the afternoon rolling around the arena.   In a way, it was good that our first outing was a small con.   Navigating crowds can sometimes be a challenge.  We also learned that our controller needs a back up battery.   It did not last the whole day like we had expected.

   For a small con, they could have used more vendors.  But, there is always next year and like any first time event, there is always room for improvement. The event did manage to get some decent celebrity signer.  The one celebrity that was billed the most was Dave Prowse (the guy in the Darth Vader suit).  Yes, it is Darth Vader, but...meh.   Not to be rude, but Mr. Prowse will show up at pretty much any convention. Being a Star Wars fan and having met him before,  he isn't the most pleasant of people to meet.  My experience with him was disappointing but, hopefully those who met him this weekend had a better experience.

   Thankfully, they did have a few more celebs. several zombies from "Walking Dead" and Chris Sarandon, " Prince Humperdink and the voice of Jack Skelington"  that made the show  more appealing.    I was kind of excited about meeting Chris Sarandon.  I have always loved "Princess Bride" and "Nightmare Before Christmas".  He was very personable and talked with everyone who got autographs.  

Of course, my husband added 3 more zombies to his Walking Dead poster.   One of the zombie actors, Michael Koske, told us that he had been 42 different zombies on the show and that his arm is visible on the poster version my husband has.  He said that was his first day on the set when the pictures were taken.

We also talked to Paul Bradford, from Ghost Hunters International.   He also builds droids.  So far, he has built a mobile K 9 and is working on finishing a Dalek.  He said he had been wanting to build an R2 but starts and stops,  which we completely understood.  We shared our R2 building experience with him.  It was cool to talk with him and he has a great accent.

bybefore paint

Normally, when attending a con we tend to skip the panels.  It is rare if we attend one.  Most of the time, we are busy getting autographs or shopping.   But, there was a hands on work shop that allowed you to make your own latex "wound".  It really was a lot of fun!  We were given some liquid latex, toilet paper, and cotton to work with.   You wouldn't think that much could be done with those materials, but you would be surprised.  The whole piece was made on wax paper, so that it could be removed easily and then applied to skin.   This is the before picture of my creation.    It really just looks like a wad of wet paper.   It did dry fairly quickly, so I was able to play with painting it when i got home.

after paint

I didn't use anything fancy as far as the paint is concerned.  I used some watercolor paints.  Color wise, I used red, purple, blue, black, brown and a little green. I tried to think of what color bruises turn.  I am kind of happy with the finished looked.  I think it looks creepy as hell.  It isn't applied to my arm, it's just laying there for the picture.  I can't wait for Halloween to get here.  I am planning to get some liquid latex and play!





Last but certainly not least, the burning question, what kind of toys did I bring home?   I was really hoping to find some vintage Star Wars figures.   I have been working on collecting the last few that I need to finish my vintage collection.  Sadly, there was a lot of modern Star Wars figures and only about 8 vintage figures.  The lack of vintage toys of any kind was disturbing.    I did manage to get some pretty decent G1 Transformers. I picked up 2 Insecticons, Cosmo, Seaspray, and one of the transforming tapes. I got all 5 for $22.   My Transformer collection is growing again!  Since January, I am up to 27.

Overall, we had a great day at Monster Con.  It wasn't Fandom Fest, but there is always next year that. Certainly, Monster Con has a lot of potential to become a great event.  The organizers seem to be enthusiastic and are already working to improve the event for next year.   Plus, it is always nice to have a con local instead of all the traveling.

Hasbro's Fan Built Bot

For all you Transformer fans, if you haven't heard about this. Hasbro just recently 

announced that it will be giving kids and 

Transformer fans the opportunity to make the 

"Fan Built Bot".   

Votes will determine everything from the character being an Autobot or Decepticon to its vehicle or other mode, color, personality and more.  Fans will also be given the opportunity to have a say in the naming of the new character.   So, if you are a Transformer fan, vote daily.   

The results will be announced by Hasbro at 

this year's San Diego Comic Con as part of 

the official kick-off to Hasbro's 

Transformer's Thrilling 30 Anniversary.  

The "fan built bot" will be available for purchase as toy and will see the new character

 appear in the Transformers comic book.  

Picture Post- My Transformer Tribe

Thought I would share a picture of my Goodwill Transformer tribe.  They range from generation 1 to newer movie release bots.  Plus there are a couple of Go-Bots thrown in the mix.
  They aren't perfect, but they look really cool all displayed together.  Not pictured are 2 Beast Wars Transformers (B'Boom and Ironhide).   I think I am going to need a bigger shelf though.   :)

Thrift Find: Transformers G2 Scrapper Constructicon

For the last couple of weeks, I have been making a weekly trip to our local Goodwill store.  This store just recently opened, which I am not sure if it's good or bad.   It is really close to home and work.  So whenever I get a free minute, I go check it out.

They have really been keeping it stocked with some great merchandise, compared to the other GW in town.  I picked up a generation 2 Constructicon.   It is missing some stickers and its accessory pieces.   This is the third Transformer I have picked up at this store.   All have been priced .50.    You can read about the other Transformers I purchased here.

When I was younger, my mom hated buying me toys.   She desperately wanted me to play with baby dolls but I just wasn't into that.  I loved my Barbie dolls, but I couldn't stand baby dolls.  Not to mention, that I also  loved all the Star Wars, GI Joes, and Transformers I could get my hands on.    She hated buying "boy toys".    One Christmas, I got the Autobot Blaster.  That was the only one that I ever had.  I have been slowly picking up vintage Transformers.

On this trip, I also picked up a really cool pair of Woodies sandals.   I googled them and found out that they retail for about $40 and are hand painted.    I scoped these out for weeks.  As a general rule, I don't buy shoes at the Goodwill.  But, for some bizarre reason, I just couldn't resist these.

I would look at them and put them back.  This went on for several weeks.  I would try to hide them, but at the Goodwill that is virtually impossible.  I am surprised they were still there.  Finally, green was the color of the day and I got them half price.    I don't really think they have been worn.  They have been properly Lysoled and sanitized.   Now, if the weather will just warm up.

Thrift Find: It's raining vintage Transformers (G1 Metroplex & Onslaught)

The weather today wasn't the greatest for thrift treasure hunting.    We have been blessed with sleet and freezing rain today.  But, the Goodwill has been raining vintage Transformers.    This is the second time in about 2 weeks that I have found some generation 1 Transformers.      Today's grand total for the pair was $1. 

These two are in played with condition.   Onslaught especially has a lot of sticker wear and missing accessory pieces.    A side from the Transformers featured in the cartoon, my knowledge of them is greatly lacking.   I had to Google information on both of these robots.

Metroplex when transformed is actually a city.  This is surprisingly one of the easier to transform.   There is a helipad for a helicopter, parking spaces.  The city scale is more suited to the mini-bots.  I need to find some mini-bots.   He is missing Six Guns, Slammer, and Scamper.


From what I have read, this Metroplex is the second version.  In order to cut costs, Hasbro replaced chrome thighs and rubber wheels with stickers with plastic wheels.

Onslaught is a Combaticon.   I love his motto, " The mind is the greatest weapon".   He has 3 modes, robot, vehicle, and battle station mode.     Onslaught is the leader of the Combaticons and when together they form Bruticus.   Like I said, I am missing the accessory pieces.   There is a chest plate that completes him in robot mode.   For the price, I am not going to complain.  I think they are awesome.

Despite the weather, I scored a great find today.