I have made it to JoeCon in Chattanooga, Tennessee. While I haven't before mentioned here that I'd be attending and the whole thing just came together in the last few weeks, there isn't much of a story involved besides the fact that the issues of money, time off, and drive sharing became settled with my significant other. The Wife agreed it would be a good idea for me to attend the Con while she spent those days in a classy hotel room equipped with a Jacuzzi with us both of us spending a few other days together absorbing the sites and history of the area. All it took was diverting funds from paying down a few debts. In the end, it was a decision well worth it for the experiences it provided.
I'd never been to any sort of convention before and didn't know what to expect. Right off, I was surprised by the sheer number of those attending as well as the number of couples attending with their children. It made me feel old, but it also made me feel validated since, at times, this hobby makes me wonder if I don't suffer from Peter Pan syndrome.
After waiting in line for the better part of an hour, the time spent passing my eyes over others who waited also for their turn to buy entry, I arrived at the place where the lady who was directing the queue moved me over to a counter where entry was purchased. During the wait, I saw a lot of people who dressed in some pretty amazing costumes or who had very interesting printed shirts wait in line with me. The Line was long enough to have folded back along itself, so I got to see a lot of people further ahead in the line passing before me.
Twenty five dollars bought me entry into the convention. I didn't elect to purchase entry into the autograph line because I'm not an autograph hound and didn't have anything appropriate for autograph. The most prominent figures providing autographs this day was Kirk Bozigian and Larry Hama. I'm sure if given the opportunity, I would have asked them a dumb question.....like, how did Larry get an acting gig in the 4th season M*A*S*H episode, The Korean Surgeon?
Seriously, I wanna know!
The first place they usher you to is the exhibitor's hall. There they take your ticket and stamp your hand for re-entry. Thereafter you pass into a giant room of chaos and bliss where you can write your name and email address on a piece of paper given to you at the admission desk, then place it into a big, golden raffle wheel for some drawing for what, I cannot remember...
I forgot to put my name in the first time around the hall because I was a bit bamboozled by the chaos number of tables and presentations positioned about. It was loud and crowded, though no one mobbed or shoved. I had luckily taken the advise of bringing along a backpack, ready to place my purchases in, but after roaming around for awhile, I elected to not make any for the time being. I just couldn't get my head into it because there was so much. I had assembled a few priorities in my mind days ago, but couldn't get a proper feel for them. I left the exhibitor hall and continued down the large corridor towards where other events were happening.
Working my way down the corridor, I passed two other conventions that were happening before spotting signs for where the GI Joe panels were taking place. The first one I arrived at was the last half of "GI Joe: Behind the Scenes of Live Action Commercials". It was conducted by Kirk, and you can see it here.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tlzzdn4gYrs
After this panel, it was my extreme fortune to find the three face-men of GI Joburg: Steven, Rob, and Paul. I sat down by Steven as the next panel came on and stayed until about half way through before the itch to go back to the sales floor got me. I met up several times with one or more of this trio over the course of those last two days granted to those who payed only General Admissions. It was a blast that I will never forget.
I don't know how descriptive I want to get of my encounters with others whom I was familiar with at Con......well, I only knew of them from their channels and media and none of them knew who I was. I will say that the JoeBurg team is as real as it gets. While I treated this more like a vacation, they saw it as a pilgrimage and their enjoyment of the event was infectious. I'll be honest, my interest in GI Joe as a hobby can rank as rather tepid at times and I have a lot of varied interests. It as very good to talk with people about GI Joe.
As for the sales floor, my take was...eh, mediocre. I went in without
enough of a plan and left paying a bit too much for one or two things,
and bought something I'm not sure I really need. It wasn't even Joe..
Some highlights though:
There were quite a few Tactical Battle Platforms around. Paul was looking for one and I joked that Joburg's video series may have boosted their prices. A sad irony! I saw Stephen nab his Mauler in the closing hour from a dealer back in the corner next to Larry Hama's table. He's quiet the operator and talked a tough vendor down on a Mauler, but wouldn't cinch the deal until he raced on a side-mission for some batteries to make sure all the electronics worked.
I was surprised by the lack of vintage Sky Strikers, I only saw one or two and I thought the asking price was too much for the condition they were in. There were a few vendors who never got to get all their stuff out, I regret not knowing that before the end or else I might have inquired about something more on the complete end of the scale. I suspect there were Sky Strikers available earlier in the 'con, and I guess I spent too much time spectating rather than scoping out targets of opportunity.
One thing I was looking for and didn't find were loose aircraft from the Saratoga playset. Other than that I did score a bunch of things from the loose, discount bins, helping me build my vintage collection up considerably. Most of them lacked any accessories, but for the most part I'm happy just matching them with random weapons I happen to have, etc.
Yo Joe!
PS. Another recollection. I did look over the table of custom vacuum-chromed Joe Vehicles. One of the customs was an X-19 that I believe eventually found its way into the collection of Micheal French of Retroblasting.
PPS. I reflect on the Con as both a list of undying experiences and disappointing missed opportunity. I did buy some figure, especially vintage figures that I really enjoyed, but I neglected to purchase some vehicles I really wish I would have pursued, like the aforementioned SkyStriker, a Moray, a Mauler, or a WHALE. I'm sure if there is another Con, I'll plan out my targets better because I didn't do any pre-sales floor at all.
