Starting from the beginning, some samples of what else we got up to this year... Ultra Marginal, Dispensor and myself.
Monday 16th June.
The ToysRUs display at the store near the airport.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z12.jpg
The NASA Jet Propulsion Labs tour...
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z13.jpg
.
Replica Voyager golden disk.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z14.jpg
.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z15.jpg
.
Flight Operations, which showed us that they have a relay station in Canberra.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z16.jpg
The hotel we stayed at this year... cheaper, with free Internet, parking and breakfast.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z21.jpg
The Convention Centre.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z17.jpg
My first-day haul from a Target, ToysRUs and Walmart. That ended up being the bulk of my toys for this year, as very little was found in the Dealer Room or in stores later.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z18.jpg
.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z20.jpg
Yes, those are mini plushies at the front.
Some of the snack food I bought on the first day to sample.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z19.jpg
Tuesday 17th June.
Warner Bros tour in the morning.
A nice clear, pollution-filled day in LA, with the CBD barely visible through the haze...
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z22.jpg
The lookout on Mulholland Drive, which we could see the City and the Hollywood sign.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z25.jpg
.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z23.jpg
.
And a building covered in Transformers banners some distance away.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z24.jpg
Afternoon - TMZ tour.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z26.jpg
Believe it or not, this is Cuba Gooding Junior trying to get our attention to say hello.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z27.jpg
After the tour, at the Chinese Theatre, which had a premiere screening of some TV show.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z28.jpg
Something I saw three times on three different tours in three days - a multi-million dollar Bugatti. (belongs to the owner of the clothing store, to attract people's attention)
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z29.jpg
Wednesday 18th June
After the Custom Class, Ultra Marginal and I checked out some stores... including a Walmart that had over 30 different flavours of Pringles.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z32.jpg
Thursday 18th June.
On the LA Pre-Con tour during our lunch break at Santa Monica... I turned my back for a second, and Dispensor runs off to the sort of place that Rattrap would hang out at...
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z98.jpg
Friday 19th June.
My small Dealer Room purchases (usually I come back with a lot more than this... this was all I could find that I wanted or willing to pay). :(
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z46.jpg
I saw a dealer with four South American Mini-bots in ziplock bags, but he wanted US$250 for each!!!
My purchases for other people... which I have to process next.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z64.jpg
Sunday 22nd June
After not finding anything to buy on Saturday in the Dealer Room, I found these few items on Sunday.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z74.jpg
Just before the packing began in the evening... this was most of what I brought back (some extra items found the next day).
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z69.jpg
My return luggage... and I only went over there with the black bag and backpack.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z75.jpg
The Sunday night Ozformers BotCon meet at IHOP that we proposed in the Meets topic a month or so ago... only ended up being Ultra Marginal and myself.
More for us to eat... :p
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z76.jpg
IHOP is "International House of Pancakes", but obviously offers a lot more than just pancakes. Very nice, and very filling.
Monday 23rd June.
Paramount Studios tour.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z77.jpg
One of the guides told us that they are setting up a Transformers Props exhibit, which will be open in a few months time (probably for the tour),
but we still managed to find some props scattered around the place...
Barricades lights and claws.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z78.jpg
The Allspark cube that Sam carries around at the end of the movie.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z79.jpg
Pieces from the TF2 Tomb of the Primes (made of styrofoam... and we were able to touch these things, carefully).
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z80.jpg
Chicago rubble from TF3.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z81.jpg
Plus there was also the motorcycle helmet that Mikaela used in TF2.
In one of their Print vaults of movies they send out to Theatres and TV stations (in many different formats), I found TF2 on cassette.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z82.jpg
Dr Phil's studio set.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z83.jpg
Dispensor sitting on Dr Phil's wife's seat (she is at every episode in this seat).
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z84.jpg
And at The Doctors studio set.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z85.jpg
Looks like Universal wasn't the only Studio backlot to lose a large part of their city sets to fire... Paramount lost their City backlot about 25 years earlier.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z86.jpg
In the afternoon, on the way back to the Airport, Ultra Marginal and I checked out a Target and the ToysRUs we visited on the first day, and now I had these toys to fit into my luggage.
Fortunately my black bag and backpack had enough room.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z87.jpg
A long week with little sleep required a bit of caffeine by the end... not that I was able to get to any...
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/bc14/z00.jpg
