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DAY 1: ONE LONE SANDTROOPER INVADES THE EXPO
 The
fourth mission for me to the
Chicagoland Entertainment
Collectors Expo was pretty interesting for this being a smaller
show with a lot of bang. The Wingate Inn was a bit smaller vs. the
venue last year but the room was filled up pretty nice for a day
when most people can’t take off work. Agent Tweeny who has been a
loyal supporter of Sandtroopers over the years accompanied me. We
decided to go over the dealer room in case there was anything we
decided we needed to add to our vast collections. I stopped in and
visited with our friend Jim from
Federation Toys and
dropped off some of my gear to lighten the load. The trip through
the room provided just another ride down memory lane with such
vintage treasures like a B-Wing Fighter, AT-AT, Ewok Village and a
variety of other carded figures. One of which was a 12-back R2-D2
that was priced at 80, but had a pretty vicious wound to the bubble
so I was forced to pass. There were also many G.I. Joe, Thunder
Cats, Masters of the Universe and so many of the other toy lines I
loved and grew up with. There was even a couple of old Six Million
Dollar Man figures and a playset I clearly remember my older brother
owning. It was my living room floor in 1978 all over again!
 After
that it was time to walk around and mingle with some of the guests.
I met Dean Mitchell for the first time and what a gentleman he was.
We are looking forward to an interview with him this weekend that
will be a part of our Saturday coverage. I also stopped and said
hello to Felix Silla who vaguely seemed to remember our interview a
couple years ago. Felix also mentioned something about an interview
that is supposed to be hitting
StarWars.com in the very near future so be on the lookout for
that. I promised to mention it to the Troops and he vowed not to
call any of his furry friends! By this time I had donned my
Sandtrooper armor and I thought it was pretty funny of him to crack
a joke like that. Mercedes Ngoh had caught a late flight and was not
there yet and C. Andrew Nelson had to cancel due to personal
reasons. Bob May was also there with an exact replica of the robot
from Lost in Space the TV series. Mr. May was only in for Friday
only and wouldn’t let me get a shot of the Robot without purchasing
a photo for $40. There was a voice in the back of my wallet
screaming “Danger, Danger”! While I do have a big heart for charity,
I just couldn’t part with that kind of money so early in the day.
Whatever I’d spend would have to say Kenner on it! After a couple of
more laps around the room, it was time to suit down and try to beat
out traffic. There were sure to be many Dewbacks on the highway!
Overall I have to say I do like the smaller shows just as much as
the larger events. They aren’t as expensive, you don’t get as tired
walking all over and you get a chance to actually speak to the
guests and do feel the need to move along! If any of you Troops are
in the immediate area, please stop by and visit this weekend! United
We Find!
PHOTO GALLERY
To see the photo gallery
containing 23 photos click
here.
EXTRA
COVERAGE
Check out day 2 coverage
here
and Boba Binks' bonus coverage
here.
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