Wonder Festival Winter 2008

[cwmodels]

Hi, I got permission from Graham to repost (with some edits for MW) my Wonder Festival report that I wrote up for Hobbyfanatics. I would like to share the experience with everyone here. Hope you'll enjoy it.

Attending Wonder Festival this year was a last minute decision. I had no plans on going this year until I found out about it just a few days before I leave Taiwan for Japan. Because I am putting together a group trip for WF on Hobbyfanatics, I went with the mentality... "At least I'll get an idea what it's like for next year's group trip."

I've been to JAFCON 94 & JAFCON 95 over a decade ago so I based all of my expectations for WF on those previous experiences and planned around that. When I attended JAFCON I tend to leave for the show around 5:30 AM, because it was a long trip from Shinjuku. Back then there was no direct train access to Tokyo Big Site, and you had to transfer from different trains or buses to get there. I would get there around 7:00am and wait until the show opens at 10:00 am. The access into JAFCON was rather quick and I remember the entire line was able to get inside within 15 minutes. And I would be able to scout out everything by noon and be out of there around 1:30pm to 2:00pm.

I had the same plan for WF, which turned out to be a BIG mistake. Everything I learned from JAFCON was completely out of the window for WF.

First of all I wasn't able to get out of bed until 6:30am, I was just too tired from walking around Akihabara the day before. It was a long time since I was last at Tokyo Big Site, so I had to ask directions from the hotel clerk. I was told to take the JR Rinkai Line. I left my hotel around 7:00am and to my surprise the Rinkai Line was a direct train route from Shinjuku to Tokyo Big Site. It took only 25 minutes. I also knew I was on the right trains since there were no mistake I was riding in a train full of Otakus.

When I got to Tokyo Big Site it was around 7:30am. The line of people were already staggering. It took me around 25 minutes to walk from the beginning of the line to the end of the line.

This is the start of the line. It goes back and back and back and way back beyond the photo. I'm sure these people camped out all night in the freezing cold to be first.

It was also extremely windy that day. I was almost unable to stand during a few strong gusts. At that point I thought: "Screw this! I am not going to be able to get in early at this point! Most stuff will be sold out by the time I'm inside, and it's just not worth the effort to wait on line." So I went to a local cafe near by to get out of the cold and have breakfast. While I was eating, I kinda regretted coming to WF. I felt it was waste of my time and I should've gone else where today.

The line started to move around 9:00am but I didn't get into the formation until 10:00am. The line moved slowly and I didn't get into the Dealer Hall until about 10:40am.

Entrance into the Dealer's Hall. Everyone holds up the guide book as the ticket in.

At this point I didn't think I was able to get my hands on any kit. BUT I WAS WRONG!

The first dealer next to the entrance was Kaiyodo Bome's display. All of his kits were available with just a few people in line to make purchase. Every where I look there were model kits available to buy. Definitely NOT sold out in the first 30 minutes like the rumor I've heard for years. The dealer's Hall was huge, easily 3 times the size of JAFCON. It was a sea of people in every direction.

Sculptors & Dealers Hall

This area is composed of all sorts of anime and non-anime stuff, not just models. There was an entire isle for Dolfie accessories, plenty of tables for toys, PVCs, cosplay items, air guns, secondhand out-of-production kits, tools, and anything you can imagine. I've also seen several college clubs setting up to display their work and interests. There were so many different things to see it was almost dizzying.

WF also consisted of another Hall that is only for manufactures and major companies. Kotobukiya, Takara, Bandai, WAVE, Yamato, TOMY, Alter and etc. are in that section. Each display their latest & up coming products. New Video games and animes debut here too.

Manufacturers Hall

I spend my entire day at the show until closing at 5:00pm and I know I didn't get a chance to see everything. There were just too much to see. At first I had the idea of photographing every kit at the show. But I quickly gave up on that idea. I realized I would need a team of a dozen in order to do so. I ended up deciding to photo things that are most likely not to get covered by other websites or magazines. But even with that plan I ended up with 320 photos of model & stuff and that is not even 1/3 of what appeared at the show.

Here is a breakdown after sorting through the pictures. And I do think this is a good percentage representing what was in the Sculptor's Hall.

135 for Anime figures

26 for non-anime figures

56 for Mecha (non-Gundam related)

50 for Monsters & creatures

53 for Misc. kits & items

[cwmodels]

So after I entered into the Dealer's Hall, my first target was T's System's table since I'm a big fan of his work. I was able to locate it with the Map inside the WF Guide Book. When I got there I saw about 10 people in line to purchase his figures. At this point I still had the notion that I was not able to get my hands on anything. I saw a Izumi Konata figure from Lucky Star which I was interested in. It was only 7000yen and not expensive in my opinion. So I decided to get in line and I thought: "Not that many people here, maybe I'll be able to get it!"

But when I got to the cashier, I noticed people were handing over a check list for purchase. And I didn't have one of those. I was then redirected toward an even longer line 5 feet away from the table. It was a line of 40 people and that is where the check list was being handed out. I then got the check list, marked what I wanted and waited in that 40 people line. At this point I thought: " Maybe I'll be lucky when I get to the cashier." When I looked around people in front and behind me, most of them were checking off the pre-painted PVC figures instead of the resin kits. It took about 20 more minutes until I finally got to the front, and to my surprise I GOT THE KIT! (this is around 11:15am)

I saw Takeshi Miyagawa (T's System head sculptor and owner) on the other side of the tables. I wanted to go and speak to him but since he was occupied with other people, I decided to come back later.

I then walked around somewhat in random directions to see what was out there. I spotted this Anice Farm (Borgman) figure. It was 1/5 in scale and cost only 8000yen. I wanted to get it but decided to put it off because I saw there were several still available.

I wandered off further and saw plenty of other really nice figures available for sale all around. I then spotted 3X3X3's table. And they had these 2 Yotsuba & Fuka sets available!!!

Winter Outfit version (released at last WF)

Scuba Gear version (new release for this WF)

Each set was 12000yen. I wanted both but I had only enough money for one set. So I decided to get the Winter Outfit because I figure there will be a good chance I can get the Scuba Gear version next year.

I then wandered around further and found Cerebrus Project's table. By this time it was close to 12:00pm but I noticed every single one of their kits are still available. After that I stumbled onto S-Mists' booth, which in my opinion had the most elaborate display in the Dealer's Room. They had several huge 1/4 Dolfie modified with anime character heads displaying among their resin kits. It really was quite a sight.

[cwmodels]

I then found a table which sold 1/144 Virtual-On kits. Most of them ranged from 4000yen to 8000yen. A real bargain in my opinion. I snatched a Garayaka kit for 4000yen. And by now I've spent most of my money. I had 2000 yen left and I needed that for food and transportation later. I also had $60.00 but I wasn't able to use US dollars at the show. So these 3 kist are my only purchase at WF.

I didn't really come to WF expecting to buy anything but in about 2 hours of time I was cleaned out. And there were still plenty of stuff I would've love to get. My only regret was not coming here with 50000yen ($500.00). But it was OK because my intention was to scout out the show for next year's trip anyway. And you can bet I'll have a lot more cash in my wallet next year.

It was about 1:00pm now and I headed back toward T's system's table to see if I now have a chance to speak to Takeshi Miyagawa. But when I got there, he was gone. So I took the chance to snap photos of his work. I noticed some of his stuff is still available for sale. Here are the photos I got:

As I stared to walk away, I saw he was back behind his table. But he was eating lunch now (having a hamburger). So I figure I should not bother him and set out to get some more photos. This is when I really started to photograph stuff at the show.

[cwmodels]

As I venture out to photograph all the interesting models, this is one of the first figure that I stumbled upon. A shrine maiden. Very clean and simple work.

Then Came upon this Asakura Ryouko (Haruhi) in bunny outfit.

The most popular character at this WF: Vocaloid Miku Hatsune

A beautiful Butterfly Girl.

Action packed Samurai Cowgirl!

And of course you can't have a WF without the display of 1/1 figures by PaperMoon!

[cwmodels]

Now for some Macross stuff. Photos taken at this booth.

1/72 Hasegawa YF-19 Battroid conversion.

[cwmodels]

Every where you look there are girl figures...

Some amazingly detailed Dragon warrior girls.

Pretty Girls

Sexy Girls!

[cwmodels]

Lots of Mecha stuff as well...

Beautifully sculpted large scale ZOE (Zone Of Ender) kits!

These are about the size of 1/60 Gundams!

One of the most popular subject at this WF... Gurren Lagann!

Neo Nautilus Battle Ship from Nadia: Secret of Blue Water

As you open the wings, the fins in the front open with it!

Landmate from Apple Seed!

[cwmodels]

Insect warrior from Rean No Tsubasa (Wings of Rean)

M-66

Virtual-On. Blue Slider & Radical Launcher!

Some kind of Motorcycle robot.

[cwmodels]

Then there are Monsters...

Dragon!

Godzilla!

Some sort of Mecha Warrior creature thing...

Don't know what it is but I thought it's awesome!

I also saw this table that sold large scale Godzilla puppets.

This man was demonstrating to me...

...how the puppet can actually shot compressed air out of it's mouth!

How kick ass is that!

[cwmodels]

Now come the wonderfully weird stuff... These are the things you generally don't see on other sites or magazines.

Paper craft!

More paper models!

Wood Carvings

Evangelion Gloves?!

Mecha Creatures

Birds...

Kitties...

And Pandas too!

[cwmodels]

Crazy high tech stuff were at the show too...

A college club displaying their flying machine.

A Mechanical Maid!

Another Mechanical Maid!!

This was the mascot for this table that sold Anime air guns.

She was able to speak and hand you their flyers.

She can also shuffle around...

...and able to sit down on her little bench!

I wish that was for sale!

[cwmodels]

The rest of the photos are here uploaded onto Flickr! All 320 including ones you see above. The photos are filed into separate categories. You should be able to view full size version for each.

Go here to see them:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24276058@N04/

This is the first time I am using Flickr, so please let me know if you encounter any problems.

It was around 3:45pm after getting all these photos. I decided to go back and talk to Takeshi Miyagawa again. As I was heading toward T's system tables, I noticed there were still many sculptors that had kits for sale. When I got there he now has a line of people waiting to talk to him. I was really tired at this point and my feet were in pain. I also had nothing to drink since breakfast so I really wanted to leave, eat, and go back to the hotel and sleep. I thought to myself: "Maybe I should just take off and talk to him next year...", but I then thought: "I made it all the way here in Japan, I might as well say something." So I waited in line until it was my turn. That was about another 30 minutes waiting.

So when I finally met him I said in my horrible Japanese: "Mr. Miyagawa, nice to meet you. I am an American. My Japanese is not good." And this was partially done with hand gestures. He gave me a polite smile.

I then said "I emailed before about the getting a kit from you." (this was from several years ago) I named the kit and his eyes widened a bit and he said "Ohhh!"

I told him in English with hand gestures toward myself "First time! Wonda Fes!" He smiled back and he pointed at me and asked "Card?"

I don't usually carry business cards on me. But just so happen I have a few in my coat pocket. So I pulled it out and handed to him. He also pulled out his business card and exchanged it with me. When he saw my name on the card, he gestures to me that he remembers me.

I then said: "T's System kit Dai-Suki!" "Subalashi!" And he kinda laughed and made gestures like he's embarrassed by the comment.

In English I then said: "I was here in JAFCON 94 & JAFCON 95. But this is first time Wonder Fest." But I can tell he wasn't able to understand too much of it.

I then said: "I''ll be back Next year!" And he said "Okay and laughed." I said "Can I e-mail you?" And he nodded.

I then pulled out the Lucky Star kit to let him know I got something from him this year. And he smiled back.

I bowed and said "Arigato" and parted with him after that. As I was walking away I felt really good that I talked to him. And I was surprised he remembered me.

Now I started to make my way out of the Dealer's Hall. And up to this point I had not even gotten a chance to see the Manufacturer's Hall. With 30 minutes left till the show closes, I decided to go in there and get a quick look. The Macross 25th Anniversary booth was my first stop. As I was taking some photos of it I saw this foreigner taking photos next to me. So I went up to him and asked in English: "Excuse me, are you an American?" "Yes I am!" he replied. I then asked: "Have you ever been on Macrossworld Forum?" and he said " Yes, I am actually taking photos for Macrossworld!"

I found out he's actually SaveRobotech who ended up provided the photos for this page here:

http://www.macrossworld.com/macross/events...f2008winter.htm

Then two of his friends show up. One turned out to be TokyoHunter who works for HLJ. We chatted a bit and I asked about coming to Japan next year and maybe visiting HLJ's warehouse. He replied: "Let me know!"

SaveRobotech asked if I would like to have dinner with them and I decided why not! So we left Wonder Festival and had dinner together that night. It was a simple supper at a mall. During the conversation over dinner, I realized that most attendees for WF now goes for the pre-paints, PVC, and toys, instead of resin kits. That's why I was able to see so many models available.

After Dinner, we got onto the train and parted as we each got off at our own stop. By the time I got back to Shinjuku it was close to 8:00pm. I was exhausted, tired, drained, and my feet hurt like someone took a hammer to it. But I felt like I was on top of the world. And I knew I had a great day!

Oh man did I have fun at Wonder Festival. I've been to many model shows and comic cons before but Wonder Festival was unlike any of them. I went with no expectations for it (and even a bit annoyed in the beginning), but it exceeded my wildest imagination. How can I not have fun when I saw and experienced all of the things described above? It was a blast to talked to my favorite sculptor, had dinner with two complete strangers, and on top of it bought a few nice kits.

Everything I've ever read or heard about WF never truly captured what it''s really like over there. The reason I wrote up such a detail report is because I wanted to express that kind of atmosphere and excitement I felt there. I wanted all the photos to show the variety of stuff you find at the place. I can honestly say the photos don't come close to doing the show justice. What I caught on camera is only a small percentage of WF. The experiences keeps playing in my head over and over even after a week has gone by and I'm still floating on that high. And I can say I want to go back again. That is how much fun to attend Wonder Festival!

And I'll tell everyone here, if you are able to come with us on the group trip next year, you are not gonna regret it!!! And even if you can't come with us, you need to go to WF at least once in your life time. It is just unbelievable!

SO THAT'S THAT!

Thanks for reading!

[Vegas]

wow i wish i was there, thanks for posting

[CAIN MKII]

Thank you CWmodels for your review. Finally somebody who shot something else than nude girls models and godzilla at WF08.

I'm more interested in mechas and Ijust love the ZOE and Appleseed figures. AWESOME.

From the bottom of my heart thank you.

[Dante74]

Gawd, I wish I could attend WF someday.

[eugimon]

thanks for the photos. those wood carvings of the tadpoles and frogs and everything in between looked fantastic. And while I'm not an airsoft kinda guy, I love that big anime airsoft gun.

[Golden Arms]

Awesome Post. Thanks for sharing all of the pics.

[Necron_99]

Thank you for writing up this wonderful report and the photos.

[EXO]

Beautiful Report CWM! Can't wait for next years!

This is my favorite version of the landmate:

[baronv]

Great report and photos, thanks.

[Ignacio Ocamica]

Thank you for the report!!!

[cwmodels]

Just like to point out All 320 are posted into Flickr here:

Go here to see them:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24276058@N04/

This is the first time I am using Flickr, so please let me know if you encounter any problems.

BTW, we are organizing a group trip on Hobbyfanatics to Wonder Festival Winter 2009, people from Macrossworld are invited to join us as well!

[azrael]

I like the grey paint scheme on that Hasagawa YF-19 and the T's Facto Godzilla.

[wolfx]

Just like to point out All 320 are posted into Flickr here:

Go here to see them:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24276058@N04/

This is the first time I am using Flickr, so please let me know if you encounter any problems.

BTW, we are organizing a group trip on Hobbyfanatics to Wonder Festival Winter 2009, people from Macrossworld are invited to join us as well!

I plan to go for Winter 2009. It'll be my 2nd WF trip. What's HobbyFanatics btw? (excuse my ignorance)

Really nice coincidence that you get to meet Tokyohunter and SaveRobotech. They're swell chums.

[cwmodels]

Hobbyfanatics is the message board I'm usually on. It is an anime modeling forum:

http://www.hobbyfanatics.com/

Edited March 4, 2008 by cwmodels

[Knight26]

I love that YF-19 custom engine, very nicely done.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Thanks for sharing, CW-awesome pics! I am really drawn to the samurai pandas...

[Ivan]

Does anyone know what the difference is between Wonderfest Winter and Summer? Would love to attend one of these some day. Thx.

[cwmodels]

Does anyone know what the difference is between Wonderfest Winter and Summer? Would love to attend one of these some day. Thx.

No difference, the show is simply twice a year. Only difference is the weather.

[GogDog]

Great Flickr gallery, but it would be even more awesome if you could add titles and/or descriptions to the pics. Otherwise, great shots. Do you have any info about that new Lagann figure?

[yellowlightman]

No difference, the show is simply twice a year. Only difference is the weather.

And the body odor, no doubt. Japan gets disgusting in the summer.

[cwmodels]

Do you have any info about that new Lagann figure?

Which one? The head?

[GogDog]

Yeah.

[chrono]

Gods this thread is soooooooo cruel!!!

*weeps*

I've sooooooo got to save up and go one of this decades....

[Vermillion21]

Thanks for the report and sharing the great pics cwmodels!!!

Much appreciated mate for letting us sorta experience the event ...