I already posted a summary update on Twitter but there's only so much you can do with a series of 140 character posts.
These are my own experiences and thoughts about the convention. I've been attending since the artist convention in 2005, missing only 2012 (I needed a break for reasons). So I remember the days when it was at the factory, missed the first move to a hotel, then have been there through the remaining venue changes.
I've also got the comparison between pre-Bones and post-Bones conventions. I'll be making reference to that in my review. There will be more on that following the review.
Day 0 - Wednesday
Travel wasn't so bad. It started out not so great when I got the text that my flight was going to be delayed for an hour, then another text that it wasn't delayed, and then an unannounced gate change. The gate change was a bit of a scare since I'm using the wheelchair service at the airports so they had to push me and another person to the new gate in a hurry. But we made it.
I did have to use two pieces of luggage for the trip down due to bulky/heavy things. I had expected to need the second bag so I had the soft duffel from my GenCon trip ready. The suitcase was three pounds overweight but a quick switch of one item to the other bag fixed that easily. My airline 'gives' you two checked bags without an additional fee, which was part of why I selected that one.
I was the wheels for four other people going to the convention with about an hour's spread between our flights. Eventually we all gathered up and went to the rental car area. I'm a rewards club member and get to skip the rental desk, choosing whatever car I want from the designated aisle. I was a bit concerned about fitting five gamers and our luggage into a sedan but funny enough the only vehicle in the area was a minivan so I got to take it with no upcharge. Fate was smiling on us.
The hotel was the same as last year, if slightly more 'into' the convention now that they had a feel for what we were. Custom room keys (probably paid for by the company), colored lighting, etc. We got our room block goodie bags and dropped our things. Then a quick Walmart run for supplies and we were all set.
The check-in line was long and moved slow, which is about normal. They were having printer problems for tickets, which is about normal. But I got my badge, my class tickets, and a BUNCH of swag bags since two people had me purchase additional ones for them. All that got dumped in the room.
There's a Meet and Greet pizza dinner included in the VIP badge. They didn't get better pizza this year. It's pretty bad pizza. I resort to eating the toppings and leaving the crust behind. It makes for an interesting plate when I'm done and the servers never know whether or not to take it.
After that there's no real scheduled events so everyone breaks off into groups. I hit my room to rest.
Day 1 - Thursday
Hotel stay includes breakfast and this place is nice for having real food on it. I won't repeat this for each day but breakfast consisted of lots of scrambled eggs, a nice amount of bacon, fruit, and milk. Carbs are cheap and easy to get, protein not so much.
I set aside the entire day for shopping. Here's where ReaperCon shines for me. They have an area where all the cast parts are kept before they're packaged. Given the name of the company the area is called The Boneyard. ReaperCon is the only time of the year you can trade in old metal and get new metal ounce-for-ounce. Which means you can get figures for far less, relatively speaking, than buying them retail.
I do a lot of shopping. And I was shopping for three other people so that's even more shopping.
This year I remembered to bring a lot of plastic baggies so I could keep large multipart models together (it's a right pain to sort all that out) as well as keep things organized as I went. It helps with shopping for other people as well.
It's in Texas and there's no air conditioning in that area. It's a concrete floors with shelves six feet high. The minis are kept in those heavy yellow plastic bins so it's a day of standing, bending, stretching, reaching, and generally more exertion than I do at once. This is why I set aside the full day.
Whatever they didn't have on hand they'll cast so once I put my passengers to work on shopping for other people while I finished mine (long list this year) we filled out the casting slips and left. I would have stayed longer but one person had a class that afternoon and I didn't know that when I agreed to be his ride.
I don't like time limits on my shopping.
That night was me being tired so it was a drink at the complementary cocktail hour then a break until cheap appetizers at the attached restaurant. I was also told to try the tomato soup because it came with deep fried cheese fritters. The soup was all right, the seared tuna was overpowered by the relish, the chicken and avocado egg rolls were the best of the bunch. I ate too much.
Day 2 - Friday
I had one class on Friday. I try to take three classes per year, just to keep learning. It gets difficult at times given that I've been taking classes for so long and there's a lot that doesn't interest me. It doesn't help that there are instructors on my 'do not take classes from this person' list either. But I can generally find some classes.
The class I chose wasn't very good for me. The instructor focused on two things that I pretty much already knew how to do and didn't show any different ways for me to try. That and they both depended on dry layers and that doesn't happen quickly in Texas. So instead of nice clean lines we ended up with smeared messes. Which the instructor then tried to give suggestions on how to improve. He stopped looking at mine when I said I could have done it if the paint had time to dry.
I'm not sure if that instructor went on The List or not. I'm leaning towards it.
The rest of the day was me going through the vendors. You get a punch card in your swag bag and if you get it punched by all the vendors you get a free mini. It's a nice way to get you to visit all the booths. I like to shop, chat, and then ask for the card to be punched. I'm in the minority. This was a shopping day anyway, not a buying day.
The selection of vendors is eclectic. One big problem is that the convention is held over a holiday weekend and some of the more desired vendors won't bother. Another big problem is that a huge convention is happening at the same time so if they have to choose one it won't be this one. The last big problem is that the convention isn't that big and it's manufacturer sponsored. Until last year they only had to deal with the last problem. The other two are making themselves known.
After wandering the vendors (missing two because they hadn't arrived yet) I spent time catching up with artists and other people I knew.
I took the factory tour because I like to take the tour. I like to see what's changed, have some pleasant memories of what it used to be like, hear the history, etc. I can't do the upstairs part because of the stairs but I had a bit of shopping to do so I peeled off the tour early and did that. It's allowed. I met up near the end and still got to enjoy the last of the tour itself.
A couple of people I know were arriving this evening so I kept an eye out for them. I had brought stuff for them and I rarely get to watch people open presents. I was able to meet up with one of them, the other hadn't arrived.
Solo cocktail hour but free drinks are free drinks.
I made the mistake of ordering a pizza for dinner. It was a mistake because the tiny fridge in the room would in no way hold pizza leftovers even if I had a way to wrap them up. I really didn't think that one out. So I was back to eating pizza toppings and ignoring the crusts.
Day 3 - Saturday
Two classes today, separated out. I spent my day hanging out, going to a class, hanging out, going to a class, hanging out, etc. It's odd to have that break between classes because I didn't want to start anything with the short time I had. So it was kind of a wandering time.
The first class of the day was great. It was a demo on airbrush usage and I've taken classes from that instructor before. It's been agreed that this one is an inconsistent teacher - on point for some classes, not so much on others. This time there was an assistant of sorts to keep them on track and it helped a lot. I'll bring up my airbrush at the end after the review.
The second class of the day was me giving the instructor another chance. They didn't do well, in my opinion, teaching a class the previous year. But I liked the topic of this one and they had already taught it at GenCon so I hoped it would be better. My hopes were in vain. This one was another wasted class. And this teacher is on the 'do not take their classes' list going forward.
Cocktail hour again. The hotel had some special con-themed drinks so that was fun. I had the Dragon Tears blue thing and it was tasty. Actually I had two of them this time. I only had one the night before.
I socialized a bit and then had dinner at the attached restaurant. I just realized I had a coupon for that place I could have used, maybe, but oh well. Dinner was all right and far more than I'm used to eating.
The painting contest awards are held on Saturday evening and there's nothing of interest for me there. Everyone I know puts entries in the contest so I'm on my own during that time. I hung out in my room and read.
Day 4 - Sunday
I leave early on Sunday now because I have no interest in the auction and that's the big event of the convention after the painting contest. It's kind of bigger because there's free stuff. It's free because you can only bid using convention money you get from participating in convention events. There's nothing I want or need so there's no reason for me to stay.
Once again an unannounced gate change at the airport but that was the only hiccup in my travel. My suitcase was lighter than when I brought it because I left a lot of things there and had all my shopping shipped home. It was worth the cost.
Home
It seems like my cat suffers from separation anxiety. She's been a perfectly trained cat until this weekend when she did unspeakable things to the pet bed and my bathroom floor. According to the person watching her that happened on Saturday some time. So it was after I was gone for a few days and she was left alone more than I would like. They could only visit once per day during the week and I think it was more of a 'food-water-litter box' situation than spending time with the cat.
I think she's better because I spent Sunday and Monday making sure she could find me and get attention any time she wanted. I did have to unpack the suitcase and I've made sure she has no ability to do unspeakable things to it. I hadn't planned on going into the office this week so she'll have me around more than just that time. That plan was made to give my knees some time to recover.
Summary
I didn't do any of the fun painting stuff I had planned and I'm not exactly sure why I didn't. I walked by the area any number of times. There were open spaces. But for whatever reason I didn't sit down to paint the free minis. I'm going to have to think about that one.
I'm never quite sure why I keep going to this convention. I don't socialize much and every year there's fewer and fewer people I know. I take a few classes. I don't enter the painting competition. I think it's the shopping that keeps me going and habit. If I didn't go to this one I wouldn't go to anything. It's a sobering thought.
Bones
What the heck are Bones you may be asking? Until several years ago everything Reaper put out was in metal. Then they used Kickstarter to start their plastic injection molded line. They call those Bones. That was a turning point for the company and their customer base.
The Kickstarter got a lot of attention and a lot of people who had never been a part of the hobby dove in. The site forum exploded with new people and everything was Bones, Bones, Bones. Then there was the second Kickstarter. And the third, And the fourth. The fifth is starting in a month. Plastic is the thing for the bulk of the attendees. I'm a metal snob so I don't bother with the plastic stuff at all.
The vast majority of the convention attendees have never painted metal minis. They're all about the plastics. I don't really blame them. The cost difference is significant and most of the new stuff is in plastic. It's the old timers who have more affection for metal. And the competition painters but resin is good enough for that as well. Metal is becoming sidelined.
Airbrush
I almost forgot I was going to put in something about my airbrush.
I have four Badger airbrushes. I really only need one but anyone who knows me knows I go big when I go into something. One thing I did during a sale was buy replacement triggers for them that are taller so there's less hand strain when using the airbrushes. That means taking them apart and replacing triggers.
It wasn't bad to do that. It's always good to know how to disassemble and reassemble your tools.
Except for one of them. That one didn't slide like it should, didn't move like it should, and there were air bubbles around the cap. Fine. I set it aside and didn't think much about it. Then the convention started getting closer and I had two chances at having professionals look at the thing to find out what I did wrong and learn how not to do that again.
The owner of the company was there. He looked at it briefly and told me to send it to the factor for service.
The instructor for the class looked at it and said "Sure. I can take care of that." and started it soaking in a cup of isopropyl alcohol. He also showed me why part of it was sticking ("Just ram it back and forth a few times until it moves smoothly. It gets junked up with whatever they put on it at the factory."). Once he cleaned it out it was working perfectly. Turns out I did reassemble it correctly or when they were mucking around with it the piece went back into place.
The final thing was the kicker. The bubbles that were coming out around the cap? "Those just happen. Ignore them."
So the only thing truly 'wrong' with it was needing to have the factory lube worked off the needle due to the very tight tolerances of that model. Which means nothing was wrong with it.
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