Chicago Tardis - 2012

[Cyber Leader]

Chicago Tardis chicagotardis.com/ is just around the corner. It takes place Thanksgiving weekend which some don't like I know, but it is a good Doctor Who only convention that is not over crowded.

I plan to have a rough version of my Cyber Leader there and hope more Cybermen will show up of ANY era. Nicholas Briggs is there pretty much every year, so a good chance to get information from the voice we all know.

[cybermanguy]

Im still chugging away at my suit. I'm really hoping i can finish by the time October gets here, but if i dont then i doubt my presence at Chicago Tardis this year. If everythings falls the way i want it to, i will be there but i may need someone to help me put on my helemet as i have dangerously designed it to be screwed on....(i must be nuts).

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[Cyber Leader]

Oh, I may need to see how you did that. I have a room reserved at hotel thurs-sun, and already have reserved tickets so I will be there one way or another. I can say we really need a cyberman presence there as there are plans to have more then 10 Daleks there. I plan to get a few shirts or hoodie and advertise this site there as I just walk around. I want to build our numbers as much as possible there.

I really hope you can make it! I plan to be there with my suit even though I doubt highly I will have time to fix imperfections. That is one think I like about foam, it looks much better even on a bad day since no sanding is needed. I only have 2 pieces left to build then going to have a long weekend bondo party with all the unfinished pieces lol.

[cybermanguy]

Im looking into checking in on the 23rd and checking out on the 25th... Did you buy the weekend pass for $85.00 or pay $160.00 so that you can have reserved seating with your name on it in rows 2-7?
Looks like i will have to settle for the weekend pass.
Im trying to keep my cost down to under $300.00 for the event
and still have to shell out another $120.00 in gasoline to get there from southern indiana. Im lookin at about $420
to get me through two solid days/nights and be able to eat at the con..

[Cyber Leader]

I got the reserved seats. As a repeat reserved seat person I get my same seats again if I pay before the end of the year last year and at a decent price. So I did it again because I was row 2 and pretty close to center stage. Really hoping I can get the hotel to give me the same room I had last year. I really liked the room and it was on the same floor as the gym and pool so I can get in some swimming or a workout in early and not have to go far.

I am kinda worried about money with this one because now my fiancee and I are in two different locations and paying two rents/utilities, etc is killing us. We are getting by okay right now, but really don't have extra money to save for the con and she will have to fly there this time. I will dip into savings if I need to just because this is the one con we go to every year. Last year I ended up eating McDonalds a lot more then I wanted because it was cheap and close. I will do it again this year to I think. My body will hate me, but my wallet won't lol. I also have to get my once a year deep dish pizza. We can never eat it all, so if you want a few pieces we will share.

Guess I will see how my money situation looks closer to end of October. Right now i am still having to purchase somethings for the suit, so that is affecting finances.

[Cyber Leader]

I have been added to a panel on prop building due to my pepakura builds and also my Sycarax from a few years ago. I was told that if it ends up just being the two of us scheduled for that panel it will most likely be changed to something about building the the foes of the doctor. That would be even better in my opinion since the only other person I know on that panel is a really good friend of mine who build Daleks and is excited to see my Cyberman in person.

Will be wearing my 13th Cyber Legion shirt in that panel for sure and have a handout about pepakura which includes the address here. Hopefully we can get some future upgrades out of it. I may add a disk with the pattern for the cyberman, cyberslave helmet and dalek. Think that would give them some motivation to try it maybe. But it would be a chore to finish if they have never seen the program before. But never know, there may be some willing to give it a shot.

[Subcommander Steff]

I caution you about handing out a disk with the Pepakura build on it. I worry that you will be violating possible copyrighted BBC ideas/characters. I guess if it is already out there in the public arena, then it might be okay, but you know how I worry about the details.

[Cyber Leader]

As long as I am not selling anything then BBC can't say I am making money off their work/designs. They should be excited to see people even tried to build these suits lol. I just looked at schedule and the panel is on Sunday and after lunch, so looks like it may be a low turn out just based on day/time. Going to make more hand outs then disk, but still make both available. Will be me, Dave and one other person on the panel so guess it won't be about bad guys.... oh well.... I at least volunteered.

[Cyber Leader]

Despite having a few problems, the convention went pretty well for me.
The suit problems: Strap/Harness combo was good, but some of the connections need to be redone with stronger attachments. Upper leg pieces will need to be rebuilt 1-1.5x smaller. They were too big and looked kinda weird...

Plus side: Met some new folks, Sat on a panel and got to explain some of how the cyberman was made and most of the room saw the suit which was cool and got to at least go to the lobby in the suit for about 45 minutes I would guess it was before straps started to have problems. About 10 seconds after exiting the elevator I felt like a celebrity. I had cameras all around me and a few hugs from people and 1-2 asking if they can touch the suit. Very polite they all were, and glad I could make them happy. Some even got a kick out of the voice sounding authentic.

The very best part of the convention.... Despite how hard I am on myself and the flaws I see and know are there... one young lady I would say about 13 or so walked up to me after talking to her friends for a few minutes (which I could hear the conversation and them debating on if I was part of the BBC) and asked if I worked for the BBC!

I really hope more of us Cybermen can be there next year because it really made a difference and having a new series cyberman there was a great hit since they had not seen one in Chicago before. When myself and a classic style were together, it was pretty great moment. People really loved it.

Here is a pic of us and the Sontaran suit I made with Stefani.

[cybermanguy]

Sounds like you had a excellent time, Its so nice to bring smiles and excitement to everyone around you when a suit comes out so well as yours obviously has, that you have people wondering if you work at BBC. I wish i could have been there with you..

[Cyber Leader]

I really hope you can be there next year for the 50th Anniversary. I plan to be there for sure with a cyberman suit of some sort. Going to be working on a classic now too since I don't know if I can afford to ship this full suit to Chicago. Also, they put out that the prices will jump up a bit starting in Jan. for next year's passes, so if you can afford it, try to get tickets before the new year once the prices are posted. I think they are raising the prices for the anniversary and also because they may have to change hotels because of some contract problems they are working out. Should know the hotel that will host it in a few weeks according to the CT folks. Think they are trying to keep in at the Westin, but depends on the contract issues I guess.

If you saw any of the Chicago Tardis photos from the panel I was on, one of my friends ended up sitting next to me and the Earthshock helmet on the table is his and he will be planning to have a suit there for the con plus a dalek he has been working on. He should be joining the site here soon too. Great guy and super excited.