This weekend we finally went to our first local science-fiction convention, AggieCon. We had checked out one convention when we first arrived here. We did not realize that Armadillocon was a writing convention, not a science fiction convention. Neither of these conventions have what I would call extremely informative websites. Most of Armadillocon’s website seems to be under construction. It has the traditional science fiction convention items: art show, dealer’s room, gaming schedule. But no costuming. Very little panel discussion that does not deal with writing. We paid too much and stayed only a short time. The hallways were cramped and not well suited for convention traffic. And I was extremely disappointed in the general atmosphere and presentation of the convention.
We have hopes for AggieCon, despite the shortcomings of the website. It is only two hours away, which did not seem that long going there. One the way back, we missed a turn, which made the trip about 20 minutes longer.
Even staying only one day, it was fun. It’s a smaller con, so there were not that many people. The cosplay contest dominated Saturday, which made the later panels a bit empty.
Our first panel was an instructional on how to steam punk your nerf gun. Unfortunately, the instructions forgot to mention to prime your gun, so we did not do anything to ours. But I took furious notes (still need to transcribe those scribbles) and learned some good techniques. The panel was put on by the Captain of the Airship Isabella and other members of his crew.
I had never had the opportunity to use Rub ‘N Buff, and they had plenty there and let us try some on their primed weapons. They also gave plenty of tips for making the guns realistic, along with other costume tips. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to find a steam punk group in Austin, so I will just continue working on costume ideas for next year. If all goes as planned (for instance, I have a full-time, non-contract job), we will get a hotel room and stay for the weekend.
In the meantime, I found two conventions that occur here in Austin. They are anime conventions, not sci fi, but we should have fun none-the-less. I ordered fabric for the kidlet’s costume last night. She wants to have a Princess Mononoke costume, which is not that difficult to make. For hubby and myself, we are going to wear state uniforms from Full Metal Alchemist. There are some great websites created by others who have made these costumes, so at least I will have some guidance. I only have until July to create them, in my vast quantities of spare time.
