PAX Unplugged 2023 Report

Another year and another con in the books.

Day 0: I met Joshua in the mid-morning and we drove down together.  Arriving mid-afternoon, we ended up waiting in line with all the other vendors looking to get into the conference center and set up.  After getting through the line we set up, found out hotel rooms, then had dinner -- Megumi Ramen & Sushi.  Afterwards I did some exploring and bargain shopping.  A little later I met Dom, one of my booth-mates, and gave him his badge.  I then settled in for the night.

Day 1: I managed to get into the con sort of early, after a quick breakfast we reset the booth layout a bit.  After the con opened I ran multiple demos -- in the booth -- before lunch, which was a new experience for me.  I had lunch at Oishii Poke again, then did some shopping at Ebisu.  Came back and ran more demos until the Vendor Hall closed.  I sat outside the Vendor Hall for a while and decompressed, met Dom and Joshua for dinner at Ocean City, went to Target for a few things I forgot to pack, then called it a night.  I gave out 13 participation packs and ran seven or eight demos.

Hotel view.

Hotel view.

A different House of Dragons.

Day 2: I slept in by accident -- always check your alarm boys and girls -- had leftovers for breakfast, and still managed to make it in to the con early-ish.  I demoed for two hours which seemed to go by in an eyeblink.  Ed and his niece showed up so we went over to the Miniatures section in the main hall and started setting up for a full scale game.  I wasn't expecting anyone to show so this was a nice surprise.  We played until 4pm or so -- that's set-up to tear-down -- as there were a lot of people asking questions and we had a new player.  Then I went back to the booth for the final two vendor hours.  After hall close I tried to visit Fat Jack Comics but got blocked by a parade.  I managed to make it to Pho Mi Rittenhouse for dinner, then limped back to the hotel on tired, aching legs.  I only gave out 4 participation packs and I'm not sure how many demos I ran.

Day 3: Got up on time, packed up, then went to the con.  Found the "Fantastic Knickknackery" booth that I was looking for last year.  Con opened.  Had an excellent conversation with one of the creators of an "Infinity of Ships".  The rest of the day was kind of a blur.  I know I ran a few demos and talked about MFZ a fair amount.  Lunch was Crown Fried Chicken.  The con closed, we broke down the booth, loaded the car, had dinner at Terakawa Ramen -- which is always pretty busy -- then headed home.  I gave out 5 participation packs.

Con loot (pictures taken at home).

In Con purchases.

Snowy Owlbear from Metal Weave Games.

d20 from Fantastic Knickknackery.

Out of Con Purchases.

The Lazer Blocks and Mega Bloks sets are from

Burlington.  The others I bought at Ebisu.

Post Con Thoughts:

• The lead up to this con was stressful, and I know that I was not the only one that felt that way.
• It was nice to meet Dom from the Xenophilia discord for the first time.
• I sold 11 Rulers, 8 copies of Dinosaur Planet, 5 Starter Kits, and 4 Dice Kits.
• I gave out 22 participation packs.
• I quickly lost track of the number of demos I ran.
• I didn't see much of the con, I spent most of my time in the booth.

Review: Miniso 103280 Steel Acier Blue

I found these at my local Miniso store.  I haven't been able to track down any information about these sets online though.  This is a series of four sets that can combine and transform.

Box.  MSRP is $9.99, for a $0.05 Price per Piece.

Instructions & Stickers.

Back of the box.

Parts 1.  Studless Slopes, Wedge Plate, Wedge Tile, Corner Tiles,

Plates, Inverted Rounded Tile, Ingots, Wedge Studless Slope, Bar

Plates, Transparent Cheese Slope, Stadium Tiles, Tiles, Round Tiles,

Pins, Axles, Bar Clip, U Clips, Double Ball Joint Plates, Hinge Plates,

Minifig Binoculars, Exo Force Arms, Travis Brick, and Slope w/Cutout.

Parts 2.  Studless Slopes, Plates, Ball Joint Plates, Inverted Tile, Inverted

Round Tile, Double Sided Round Plate, Bar Plates (closed ends), Bar Plate

(open ends), Octagon Tiles, Round Plates, Tiles, Hinge Brick Tops, Tile w/Studs,

Double Slopes, Wedge Plates, Corner Tiles, Bricks w/Pinhole, Bricks, Hinge

Brick Base, Large Ingot, Wedge Studless Slope, Clip Plate (vertical) Clip

Plates, Hinge Plates, Wedge Tile, and Axle Connector w/Ball Joint Socket.

 

Parts 3.  Plates, Windscreen, Tiles w/Pin, Ball Joint Socket Bricks, Click

Hinge Bricks, Bricks w/Pinhole and Dual Liftarms, Ball Joint Brick, Printed

Transparent Studless Slope, Brackets, Tires, Rims, Slopes w/Cutout,

Minifig Bucket Handle, 10L Propellor Blades, and Technic Ball Joint.

Build.  Two Frames (2Rh/1B/1Gd8/1Y)

and a Station.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  Two Frames and a Station with tons of leftover parts for $10 is a great deal.  The 1x4 Hinge Plates are a little fragile but the two different Ball Joint Plates make up for that.

PAX Unplugged 2023

For the next three days I'll be helping demonstrate Mobile Frame Zero at PAX Unplugged.  I'll also be selling Rulers, Starter Kits, Dice Kits, and something else.  We'll be at booth # 4054 under the Glyphpress banner.  The booth is by the Northeast corner of the Vendor's Hall.

I'm trying to get a big game of Mobile Frame Zero: Rapid Attack scheduled for Saturday, starting some time between Noon and 1pm.  I'll try to get us a table in the Miniatures area or near it.  I brought two sets of terrain so if we get any more interest I'll be able to cover a second table.  I'll even have a spare squad!

If you're going to be at the con, please stop by. It's been too long since I've had the chance to meet MoF0s from outside my gaming group in person.  Let's talk Lego, mecha, and gaming!

Review: Block Tech 24-2260 Anime Block Figure

These sets have been at 5 Below for a while.  I just decided to purchase this one and review it because I finally noticed it had White Banana pieces.  Let's see what else is in there.

Box.  MSRP is $5.00, for a $0.04 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Door Rail Plates, Large Cheese Slopes, Studless Slopes, Double Slope, Plates, Grille Tile, Jumper, Vertical Clip Plates, Tooth Plates, Clip Tiles, Tiles, Round Tiles, Cheese Slopes, Round Plates, Apollo Stud. Quarter Circle Tiles, Minifig Telescope, Round Bricks, Horns, Branch, Barbs, and Clip Plates.

Parts 2.  Plates, Ball Joint Plates, Large Curved Bricks w/Cutout, Wedge

Plates, 2x2x2/3 Plate w/Studs on Side, Double Slope, Corner Plates,

Studless Slopes, 1x2x1.6 Bricks w/Studs on Side, Panels, Brackets, Tiles,

Double Studless Slopes, Curved Bricks w/Cutout, and Minifig Bananas.

 

Build.  IO Frigate with plenty of room for Systems.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  Like Lego Brick Headz, which this is the Block Tech version of, this is a useful starter kit for IO ships.

Review: Hello Kitty US72-0700/FB Ice Cream Truck

I found these at one of my somewhat local 5 Below stores while I was looking for other sets.  As far as I know, these are discontinued.  I bought them because of that and due to a recent, short discussion of using Hello Kitty themed items in Mobile Frame Zero: Rapid Attack.

Box.  MSRP is $5.00, for a $0.04 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts 1.  Plates, Bar Studs (I haven't seen that version for a while.),

 Clip Plates, Round Plates, Swirl Tiles, Grille Tile, Transparent

Round Tiles, Transparent Tiles, Hubcaps, and Bar Claw.

 

 Parts 2.  These were inside the largest parts

 bag.  Windscreen, and Transparent Panel.

 

Parts 3.  Plates, Round Plate, Half Oval Plate, Tiles, Axle Plates, Bracket, Minifig Chairs, Cone, Printed Arches, Printed Bricks (Those 1x4s that look blank are printed on the ends.), Dome, Printed Slope, Printed Panel, and Transparent Panels. 
 

Parts 4.  Plates, Studless Slopes, Large Round Jumpers, Corner

Tiles, Bar Plate, Tiles, Curved Slope w/Cutout, Round Bricks,

Round Bricks (Old Style), Printed Tile, Bracket, Double Sided

Round Plate, Steering Wheel Base, Steering Wheel, and Wheels.

Build.  Two Soldier frames, a Station, and a 2 Hit piece of Cover.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  This turned out to be a decent set in terms of parts and colors.

Review: 30635 Friends Beach Cleanup Polybag

I found this in the Seasonal section at Target.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.10 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minidoll.

Parts.  Plates, Quarter Circle Plate, Fern Leaves, Arches, Minifig Surfboard,

Tile w/Studs, Wedge Plate, 1x4x2 Bar, Wedge Brick, Minifig Flippers, Minifig

Camera, Travis Brick, Printed Brick, Otter, Star Tile, Double Jumpers, Grille

Tile, Connector w/Axle, Apollo Studs, Swirl Tiles, Printed Round Tiles,

Transparent Studless Slope, Clip Bar Holder, Bar Clips, Bars, Tail/Plant Limb

w/Pin, Minifig Trash Can, Technic Brick, and Transparent Minifig Bottle.

 

Build.  1 Hit piece of Cover, Mini-Bot, Terrain.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  At.  (0)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +15 (A).  There are some neat pieces in this set but I'd say it's more of a parts pack.

Sales Alert: Black Friday

I had an inkling a few weeks ago that there might be some interesting Lego items on sale this Black Friday.  It looks like I wasn't wrong.  Here's a few sneak peaks.

Walmart

Iron Man Armory 76216 -- $45.00 ($0.09 Price per Piece)

Belle and the Beast’s Castle 43196 -- $45.00 ($0.09 Price per Piece)

Target

Mega Construx Pokemon Motion Pikachu -- $44.99 ($0.04 Price per Piece)

Fire Rescue & Police Chase 60319 -- $24.99 ($0.08 Price per Piece)

Friends Hair Salon 41743 -- $24.99 ($0.06 Price per Piece)

Star Wars Republic Fighter Tank 75342 -- $24.99 ($0.10 Price per Piece)

Lunar Roving Vehicle 60348 -- $24.99 ($0.09 Price per Piece)

plus

Up to 40% off select Lego sets.

Kohls

20% off select Lego sets.

If you want to take a deep dive, go to BlackFriday.Com.  Good hunting.