For fourteen years the Philippine Toy and Collectibles Convention or ToyCon had been regarded as the pinnacle of events of this kind in the Philippines. ToyCon had established the trend for most things and mainstream many things into the society. In fact this event was the very first in introducing cosplay to the Philippines. They were also the very first ever convention to bring together toy collectors so that they can interact and trade with one another. Such an epic event, surely deserves an epic launch.
ToyCon 2014 Epic Launch was held at the Newport Mall located at Resorts World Manila, May 31, 2014. Though the event was attended by just about a thousand people, it was understandable since the main aim of the event is to give everyone particularly the media of a taste of what will happen during the main ToyCon event this June 20-22, 2014.
Giving everyone a taste of what they will expect, a bunch of program was staged during the event. The guys at Justice League PH gave everyone a brief look of what is currently happening to the DC Universe from the New 52, to other events in the comics, movies and TV series. Well, I am particularly looking forward to Man of Steel 2 which features Batman vs Superman and also to the new US TV series, Gotham.
Jay-ar Buelos, father of one of the winnengest and most witty chibi cosplayer, Izaiah Luke Buelos conducted a talk on Costume Making 101. The talk was informative and basically gave everyone basics on what to consider in costume making.
There was also a panel discussion on Toy Collecting and the guys from Pinoy Toy Collectors, Transformers, Lego and other toy collector’s group gathered on stage and gave everyone bits and pieces of things to consider as a collector.
The highlight of the event was the official Media Launch of ToyCon 2014. Various media outfits were invited to gaze the launching and also to ask questions regarding the upcoming event. One of the biggest question was what the event is planning in order to cater to its growing supporters since according to the organizers more than 20,000 people attend the event each year.
ToyCon organizers replied that they are considering other venues besides Megatrade Hall for ToyCon 2016, one of them even confirmed that they are moving to a new venue by that time. Resorts World manager immediately offered the newly built Grand Ballroom to the event, with a floor area of around 3,000 square meters.
After the media launching, the NCR finals for the World Cosplay Summit followed with 3 competing teams and then followed by the individual open category cosplay competition participated by 14 contestants. All 3 NCR finalists advanced to the Philippine WCS Finals to be held at the ToyCon 2014 while Izaiah Luke Buelos won for the cosplay competition.
The event also assembled a wide line of toys and childhood memorabilia from collectors, cosplayers, gamers, and artists from around the country which annually draws out the most eclectic group of individuals all for the love of novelty.
Exhibitors that were present during the ToyCon 2014 Epic Launch were Toy Kingdom. Aigatoys, Big Boys Toys Store, Great Toys Online, Filbars, Pacific Licensing, and War Gaming.
There was also a toy exhibit showcased at the ground level of the Newport Mall, including one from the Pinoy Sixth Scale Collectors; Custom Transformers Toys; and Maxi Collector and Revoltech.
Coinciding with this year’s ToyCon is the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of Batman. There were lots of things happening this year for Batman as announced by Pacific Licensing during the media launch.
Meanwhile, Resorts World Manila prolongs its Epic Summer run further with more thrilling events and world-class entertainment including Pagpupugay: A Tribute to 100 Years of Filipino Sports, which will hold an exhibit of sports memorabilla from June 1-15 also at the Plaza.
Closing the experience was a delicious and complete meal at Passion Restaurant at Maxims Hotel. We simply can’t resist each plate which was served to us and I am sure that the media present at the event was full.
For more information you can visit the following ToyCon sites:
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