This weekend: WIZARD WORLD PHILLY!

June 18, 2009 on 2:06 pm | In Shameless Plugging | No Comments

It’s Wizard World Philadelphia this Friday-Sunday, and ToyFare is all over it like a motherlover!!!

Philly is our big toy show, so ToyFare is going to be running programming all weekend long (like the Hall of Fame Awards, seen above!). Me and my new semi-smart QWERTY phone are going to be Tweeting all the news and panels, all weekend long, so make sure to follow me for all the updates.

Here are the panels we’ll be involved in:

Friday

1pm – 2pm
Toys: Room 201C
The Four Horsemen: What’s Up With The Four Horsemen?
Join the sculptors extraordinaire as they take a journey through their amazing work for Mattel and on their own Fantastic Exclusives line, give hints to aspiring sculptors and debut brand-new toy images for the first time!

2pm – 3pm
Toys: Room 201C
Ask Diamond Select Toys – Live!
Join the company behind Ultimate Quarter-Scale Star Wars figures, classic Trek toys and a bevy of MiniMates, from Marvel to the Godfather, to see what they’ve got coming down the pike! Join DST’s Chuck Terceira as he answers your questions and shows off upcoming products.

3pm – 4pm
Toys: Room 201C
How a NECA Figure is Made
Join the sculpting team behind toys like Cult Classics, Street Fighter IV and Twilight as they share tips and tricks for turning clay into works of art!
Showcase: Room 202B
Tom Savini Q&A
Learn the secrets of Special Effects from the King of Splatter! (Hosted by my man TJ Dietsch!)

4pm – 5pm
Toys: Room 201C
A Look Ahead w/ Tonner
Join the makers of the incredible Tonner Character Figures as they share the latest news on their exciting lines, from the DC Stars collection to Doctor Who and Torchwood, and beyond!

5pm – 6pm
Toys: Room 201C
Big Toy Industry Panel
Got a question about anything going on right now in the toy industry? These guys have all the answers! Join nearly every toy industry guest who’s going to be at Wizard World Philly, from Jesse Falcon to the Four Horsemen, as they appear onstage together to talk shop and answer your questions!
Moderated by Justin Aclin

Saturday

11am – 12pm
Toys: Room 201C
How to Sculpt w/ Tonner
Join world-renowned sculptor Robert Tonner, CEO of Tonner Inc., for his “Sculpting from Clay to the Finished Product” panel. Learn how the process works from beginning to end, get sculpting tips and tricks, and learn about the artistry he puts into each Tonner Character Figure. Participate in a Q&A with the sculptor himself and, of course, there will be giveaways at the end!

12pm – 1pm
Toys: Room 201C
NECA – A Look Ahead
Makers of some of the finest movie and video game toys in existence, join NECA’s Director of Product Development Randy Falk and the NECA team as they share some secrets about what’s next for the exciting company!

1pm – 2pm
Toys: Room 201C
Marvel Toys: Legends and Beyond!
Join Marvel Legends mastermind Jesse Falcon as he takes a look back at the legendary Marvel Legends line, including some figures that never made it to store shelves. Jesse, Legends sculptor Phil Ramirez, and David Vonner and Scott George from Hasbro’s Marvel team will be on hand to take your questions about your favorite Marvel figures!

2pm – 3pm
Toys: Room 201C
How to Sculpt w/ Tim Bruckner
Take advantage of this unique experience to learn about toy and statue sculpting from one of the masters of the form – this year’s ToyFare Hall of Fame inductee Tim Bruckner, the man behind many of your favorite DC Direct collectibles and more!

3pm – 4pm
Toys: Room 201C
Toy Customizing 101
The hit ToyFare magazine section comes to life on stage! Whether you’re new to the world of customizing action figures or you’re a seasoned pro looking for expert knowledge, our panel of noted customizers and toy industry pros will be able to shed some light on this fast-growing hobby. Stick around afterward for the custom toy contest!
Featuring Justin Aclin (ToyFare Magazine), T.J. Dietsch (ToyFare Magazine), Matt “Iron Cow” Cauley (DST’s MiniMates), Robert Torres (Art Asylum) and Pierre “Airmax” Kalenzaga.

4pm – 5pm
Toys: Room 201C
Custom Toy Contest
Presented by ToyFare magazine! Think you’ve got what it takes to be an award winning action figure customizer? Enter your figures in the 3.75-5 inch, 6-7 inch, and 8-12-inch cloth costumed categories for a chance to win prizes, including custom figures that have been featured in ToyFare, and a chance for your figure to appear in the magazine!
For more info on our contest rules and submission guidelines, please check the Contests Page.

5pm – 6pm
Toys: Room 201C
Second Annual ToyFare Hall of Fame Awards
It’s like the Kennedy Center Honors, but with more build-a-figures! Join the ToyFare staff and toy industry luminaries as we salute this year’s inductees: Jesse Falcon (Marvel Legends), Tim Bruckner (DC Direct), Randy Bowen (Bowen Designs) and Hasbro’s Transformers (represented by product manager Aaron Archer). Randy Bowen will have a special video acceptance, and the rest of the honorees will be on hand to be presented with this year’s amazing statuettes, designed by the dream team of the Four Horsemen and Clayburn Moore!

Sunday

12pm – 1pm
Toys: Room 201C
Twisted ToyFare Theatre: Behind the Stupidity
Join the creative team behind ToyFare Magazine’s award-winning satirical comic strip Twisted ToyFare Theatre to find out what sort of magic they employ to produce their patented brand of satirical goodness (hint: it’s voodoo!). Get an exclusive peek at the next Twisted ToyFare strip, and answer TTT trivia to win crap! In this case, crap refers to TTT collected editions.

1pm – 2pm
Toys: Room 201C
Shocker Toys – What’s To Come
Come meet the crew of Shocker Toys and find out what they have in store for you this year!

3pm – 4pm
Comics: Room 204A
Humor in Superhero Comics
Join ToyFare’s own Justin Aclin as he explores the ways that comics make you laugh. Not all comics are 100% dark and serious, there’s a reason why they’re called “Funny Books”.
Hosted by Justin Aclin with awesome guest panelists Kevin Maguire, Dan Slott, Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente!