Mego Meet 2018 Recap

[darklord1967]

Darklord's Gotham City: Dude, there are no adjectives left to describe your display and passion for your work. Words continue to fail us all every time you show us something new. And I am humbled to have played any small roll in it. But next year, just bring the figures, the search light & the Batmobile and save yourself so much stress.

Sage and wise advice, my friend. Yes, the stress (during Friday set up) was... considerable for me. I mean, there I was, faced with the very real possibility that the LARGEST (and arguably most impressive) diorama that i built... the one intended to highlight my Custom Batman and Robin Figures themselves... was misplaced by UPS in transit to Columbus, and likely would not arrive in time for Saturday's meet.

Upsetting? You betcha. And, yes, I already have a strategy in place for ensuring that i NEVER be a victim of such a screw-up ever again. From now on, I will bring my displays to ANY future meets ONLY by renting a UHAUL and safely transporting the items MYSELF! Problem solved! No more stress about late deliveries. No more time wasted repairing items DAMAGED by careless UPS Freight transportation brutality.

But, you know... truth be told, in some ways, UPS having failed to deliver my display in time for the meet was something of a blessing. You see, once the REALITY of the missing diorama sunk in, I was able to LET GO of my ego-driven "vision" of a sprawling Gotham City, 4-diorama display, and instead focus on just hanging out and chatting with my friends (old and new) a little more.

I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself just chatting with other collectors/customizers about our various creative processes and doing demos of my stuff that DID arrive to the meet. It was a lot if fun just seeing people's faces everytime i lit the Batsignal I built. That alone was totally worth my trip! LOL!

And of course hanging out with, you, Scott, AND Charlee Flatt to boot... Scott Metzger... John Farley... David Lee... all of the legends who so generously ushered me into this hobby so long ago... well... the inadequacy of my words to express my full gratitude are shameful indeed.

Yes, it was disappointing to not have my biggest diorama for this meet, but you're never to old to learn something... and what I came to realize last weekend was that MEGO MEET (for me) has NEVER really been about showing off stuff Ive built.

For me, its about spending TIME with a group of people whom I have grown to love as family. Its about unabashedly sharing our mutual love for this universe of 8 inch tall plastic people, and celebrating a community that is uniquely OURS.

Once those basic truths about MEGO MEET had a chance to sink in last weekend, the disapointment of my absent diorama melted away pretty quickly, and I dared to actually enjoy myself.

At one point during the show on Saturday, i even heard somebody laughing heartily like a child surrounded by his favorite friends and his favorite toys. And when i turned around to look... i realized it was me.

[Flynne]

Man, we are so white you could show movies on us. :D Seriously though, I need a digital copy of this picture for the home office.

It was good to see you too, sir. The people in this pic are the main reason I make the yearly trek to wherever this show is located. No family like Mego family!

[noelani72]

great seing you and the family bro. Ready for next year already.

[scott metzger]

The Customs Hall of Fame dinner and awards: Fantastic. Well done Austin, well done. I don't think it could have gone any better and I look forward to it next year. Seeing Charlee and Scott M was just great. The three of us have come a long way since our days at the old FX Show.]

Ah, the good old days. eh? It was great seeing you again, as well. Like I've said, it felt more like a family reunion than a show.

[batmanmc]

Nice seeing you scott

[VintageMike]

Great to see to see as always, my friend.

[Bronxboykev]

Always a pleasure my Man, till June!!!

[samurainoir]

So great that almost your entire family made the trek down this year. Can't believe how much your boys have grown, and absolutely delighted to finally meet Elaine.

Great job on the official custom this year as well. Another home run .

[TRDouble]

Thanks for the recap! Maybe I will decide to go one day. Scared of what I might find and buy!

[ScottA]

So after taking an extra day of vacation and stopping at King's Island on the way home Sunday I'm finally home and back in the daily routine. Work, cutting grass and all that fun stuff.

I'm now able to process the week and weekend. Like every Mego Meet it flies by way too fast. But I did want to say a couple of things.

The New Venue: A+++ thanks to the efforts of Mr. Steve Moore. There are always hiccups being in a new place and while the hotel didn't do Steve any favors sometimes it seems nothing was so bad it couldn't be dealt with. I'm sure there were things behind the scenes but Steve never let it show. He always had a smile. Thank you sir for your efforts pulling this together.

The Dealers Room: I won't lie, I love the dealers room. Always full of Mego (and vintage) goodness. But having us all in one room was just awesome. No running from room to room looking for people, you just had to look up. I didn't feel as if I was missing anything. And there was some serious Mego swag this year.

The Customs Hall of Fame dinner and awards: Fantastic. Well done Austin, well done. I don't think it could have gone any better and I look forward to it next year. Seeing Charlee and Scott M was just great. The three of us have come a long way since our days at the old FX Show.

Darklord's Gotham City: Dude, there are no adjectives left to describe your display and passion for your work. Words continue to fail us all every time you show us something new. And I am humbled to have played any small roll in it. But next year, just bring the figures, the search light & the Batmobile and save yourself so much stress!

The Exclusives Display: Thanks again to everyone who brought something to display. It couldn't have happeded otherwise. It's also nice to know I could have still sold some of them, lol.

New Friends: You are what keeps the Mego Meet fresh and exciting. Your enthusiasm if just infectious.

And Finally Old Friends: What can I say. Seeing all of you (and you know who you are) is the REAL reason I love Mego Meet and make the drive every year. We don't see each other for a year but the second we are together in the hotel lobby it's as if we just spoke in person the day before. There is no place like the Mego Suite, weither a room or just the lobby. And thank you for making my wife feel so welcome. I love you all dearly.

Final Notes: As I said earlier it always goes by so fast. I know on FB others have said they would love to see it go to a 3 day show (Thurs, Fri, Sat since most travel on Sunday). I am 100% for it and would gladly burn another vacation day. I did miss some dealers who set up on Saturday with everything that was going on with the HOF dinner, Marty and the customs auction. Maybe it will happen down the road after we get settled in our new home. But for now I treasure the memories created over the past week with all of you and can't wait to see you all again next June.