Thoughts on the Singapore Toy and Comic Convention 2008

The Singapore Toy and Comic Con 2008  (STCC 2008) ended yesterday evening and it was even featured in the news on TV.  According to the one of the local newspapers, the surprise turnout was about 140,000 people , much more than the 10,000 online pre-registered visitors estimated to attend.  There were also casual collectors like me who are attracted to such events and conventions.  It was basically a busy and hectic weekend for me because I was there as a visitor for almost 2 full days. 

Actually, I don’t find the eventual turnout numbers a surprise because the size of the toy collecting community here and in the region have been grossly under-estimated.  Whoever thought that toy collectors here are far and few, might had been living in a cave all these years.  You don’t expect toy collectors and manga fans to walk around with the words “toy collector” and “manga fan” on their foreheads right?  One just needs to visit the Toy Market at China Square Central on Sundays to realise how deeply entrenched the toy collecting hobby here in Singapore is now.  And don’t discount the far-reaching powers of the internet that can spearhead such hobbies within days or even within hours!

The convention was overall a success because of the variety of activities and events there to satisfy the different types of collectors and fans.  There were various autograph sessions by comic artists and creators, competitions for photography, animation and cosplay; free gifts redemptions, and not to mention, free exclusive toys (a pair of limited special-edition red and white Bearbrick figures seen above) given out to the first 1,000 visitors of each day. 

However, a main regret I had was that the ‘big names’ booths like Hasbro were just there to display someone’s toy collections.  It would had been great if they sold some toys or at least had a preview of the upcoming toys for the rest of 2008 for collectors to admire.  Luckily some of the nearby toy collectors booths brought in the toys to sell and their cash registers rang non-stop.  Although Bandai mainly had a toy collection display, there were at least different types of toys there like Gundam, Saint Seiya, Masked Rider, Power Rangers etc.  Poor Hasbro only had Star Wars toys there, as if that was the only product they had.

As for McDonalds, many if us wondered what was it doing there if it wasn’t selling food or toys.  I think it was selling its children’s party package.  The toy and comic convention is clearly not targeted at little kids and their parents.  McDonalds should had been selling food and drinks (which is what it is good at) because most of us were very hungry and thirsty, having spent such long hours there.  The nearest food venues were very far away from the convention hall.  We hope that the organisers will remember to have a food and drinks section next year. 

It was too crowded and too noisy for me to enjoy anything that was happening on stage so I didn’t get to see any stage events.  All  I heard was background ‘noise’.  It was like attending a mini version of the quarterly PC and IT Show.  Basically it was super crowded everywhere along the aisles while I was there. 

I love the cosplay characters who were walking about and making heads turn.  Many people took photos with them.  Unfortunately I didn’t manage to spot my friend who was doing cosplay there on Sunday, because of the super crowd.

I spent a lot of time taking turns with my friends to queue for the free gifts redemption.  The first redemption process was quite an ‘adventure’.  Fortunately the organisers quickly resolved the situation by the second redemption session on the first day.

I’ll leave the details about the free gift redemptions for another post. 

Be back for more posts on the STCC 2008!