On 22nd-23rd March was the Birmingham NEC Comic Con / Memorabilia Expo weekend and I actually bought the early entry ticket in advance this time. I do recommend the early entry ticket as it is much easier to get to stalls and generally walk around the show, rather than being crushed and shoved and trampled.
However, pre-booking does not mean no waiting line to get in. There was an extensive waiting line but, to the credit of the staff, I did get to the front of the queue within around 20 minutes; so it is still much, much better than the usual 40 minute wait to get your ticket.
Once my ticket was scanned and my wrist stamped, I did just waltz straight into the Expo room which was very refreshing. Overall I would say pre-booking tickets is the way to go with these events; waiting queues were shorter and faster and getting through the door was no trouble at all.
Inside were the usual stalls and I have to say the selection there this year was amazing! I had to actually restrain myself from spending any more than I did (I actually spent ~£80).
This year we see that the Vinyl POP! figures are extremely popular, ranging from around £10-£15, depending on which stall you bought from.
I actually ended buying four of these because I LOVE the Vinyl POP! figures!
Also, over at Gundam Mad's stall (manned by G-Man from the Gundam Nation forum) we saw Studio Ghibli model kits. Apparently, rather rare they priced from around £25-£60 but they do look amazing.
I actually ended up buying the Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Möwe model kit because I just couldn't resist such a wonderful looking model kit. This kit will be the subject of my next video.
Of course, Darth Vader and his Imperials / Sith were out in force, delighting and terrorising the fans of the day; along with an AT-AT. They looked fantastic; as per usual.
Now, the best part of the day for me, the movie/TV guests. I had the immense pleasure of meeting and chatting with James Cosmo, most notably playing Lord Commander Jeor Mormont in Game of Thrones, and getting his signature and a picture with him. I managed to catch him at a quiet time and had a small chat with him and I have to say, despite his scary demeanour in such programmes as Game of Thrones and Castle, he is a wonderfully lovely person and a true gent!
So overall, it was a fantastic day. I was there for around 3 hours and got to look at everything a few times over and in the end I came away with some epic loot.
