Toycon 2010 Megapost Day 2

Now we come to Day 2 of the 9th Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collectibles Convention, also known by the more popular moniker Toycon 2010. Day 1 saw people go gaga over Alodia and Ashley, Kris Bernal arm-in-arm with the Joker of all people, and toys, toys, toys. Par for the course, really.

To be honest, it feels a little bit too par for this particular course. And on this retrospective on Day 2, I'll tell you why.

I wasn't in any particular need to come in at an ungodly early time, so I went to the con around 3pm. The line wasn't so killer like yesterday, so going into the con was a breeze.

I decided to circumnavigate the convention floor again to see if anything was worth looking at, and if anybody was stocking an S.H. Figuarts Masked Rider KickHopper or a BAF Galactus that doesn't look like a survivor of a pitbull attack. No such luck. I did see some interesting things by the way of The Sculpeyman Trading, with their exhibit of custom Ganmetall Celsius designer vinyl toys that looked pretty awesome if you're into that kind of thing. Can anyone tell me what the appeal is with these little guys?

Oh, Comic Odyssey...what will I do without you? The bins of discounted comics were savagely attacked by comic book fans looking for the missing piece of their collection or the next rare gem of a story. With Comic Odyssey selling some of their comics for 50 pesos or less, wouldn't you dive in too?

While the stage had bands playing blaring guitar riffs that echoed through the hall, I ducked into this mini conference hall at the side that housed some toy and statue displays by collectors from Pinoy Toy Kollector, Otakai and others. Of course, since Toycon 2010 was celebrating DC Comics' 75th Anniversary, it was only fitting that the first things to greet you as you enter were life sized statues of Superman and Batman. Pretty awesome.

What impressed me more were this group called Halimaw! Sculptures, who had an exhibit of busts and statues that would make Randy Bowen green with envy. Some of them were really well done. No wonder they're called "halimaw" (monster)!

You could only look so much though, and even if I wanted to stay for longer (it was a bit cooler in there), my boredom took me out of the room. Which got me thinking...


Has the Toycon given anything new to the convention scene? These days, when the uneducated otaku layman thinks convention, it's all about cosplay and anime and other shit. Imagine what heights Toycon would reach if they focused on exciting toy launches from both local and overseas toylines, sneak peeks on upcoming toys, toy giveaways, collection spotlights...I could go on and on and Toycon will just sound better and better!

I'm not saying I don't want any cosplay or anime in the Toycon. It's actually more than welcome (why would I disallow impressionable young women to wear revealing clothing in the premise of cosplay?!), but next con I hope to see less emphasis on cosplay and more on the toy and hobby related events. Why would you relegate the toy photography and custom toy contests to the sidelines in a toy and hobby convention?!

But at the end of the day, despite trepidation and boredom, I found solace in the company of my buddies and fellow fans. Talking about toys you're hunting for, reminiscing old toys, squeeing with glee upon seeing a toy from your youth for sale, and crying right after you find out you ran out of cash...the experience of hanging out with fans is good enough for me.

Hope you enjoyed our post-event report on Toycon 2010. Thank you to the organizers for making a great event, and here's to a much better Toycon X! Thanks for reading!