Well, yesterday was the first day of Baltimore Comic Con 2011, my first con ever, and my first time wearing my Chief suit in public....
IT WAS AWESOME!!
It was probably the closest I'll ever be to being a celebrity and having paparazzi following you around. I posed with dozens of people (at least), and probably had my photo taken hundreds of times! It was so cool to walk into a room and have people turn around and gasp, and stare at you with a smile on their face. I heard at least a few people say "That's the best costume here", people were calling out "Hey Master Chief!", and overall the reaction was phenomenal. Even outside on the streets walking to the convention center from the car, my crew was worried that cars were going to crash because they were staring at me as they drove by!
After a few hours of roaming the convention floor, it was time to head to the costume contest at 3:00 PM. They divided all the costumes into groups, and I was in the "Male, Over 13, Non-Superhero" group. When they called me up, I walked down the aisle, got up on stage and "performed" a bit for the crowd and the judges, strutting my stuff. The applause and cheering from the crowd was the loudest it had been so far! When all the contestants had presented, the winners were announced. I'm pleased to say that I was
WINNER
MALE, OVER 13, NON-SUPERHERO CATEGORY
Prizes:
-One $100 gift certificate to Cards, Comics, and Collectibles of Reisterstown Maryland
-Two free passes to Baltimore Comic Con 2012
-Free passes for a sneak preview of the upcoming Avengers movie.
-Various hats, T-shirts, and random other swag for participating.
Baltimore Comic Con 2011 Costume Contest
Unfortunately, I did not win the overall Best Costume and the $1000 grand prize. However, I'm fairly sure I would have won if it were not for the incredible 9 ft tall Optimus Prime costume that did win! Honestly, he deserved it, and I'm glad I lost to such a spectacular costume.
I'd like to thank my sister Aline, her bf Dennis, and my friends Luis and Rebecca for being my awesome costume crew and helping me throughout the day. Couldn't have done it without them!
Suit malfunctions:
To my pleasant surprise, very little.
Right when I got in, I had a thigh-codpiece strap come loose. This was quickly repaired with the hot glue gun I brought in my emergency repair kit. Then, over the course of the day, 2 more thigh-codpiece straps came loose. This happens when I sit down, as it puts too much stress on those straps. But I had to sit down, I was just too tired sometimes.
Walking to the convention center from the car. Hadn't put the neck guard on yet.
First group of amazed admirers. Note the magnetic Magnum in action, working perfectly!
Ready to hit the convention floor (and to get swamped by photographers).
The children were great. They had awesome costumes themselves, and kept telling me "I play your game!" lol!
Met up with an ODST. Sorry I didn't get your name or screenname. I believe he told me he saw my build on here and he'd post pics on the 405th, if I heard correctly in all the chaos. Awesome suit though! And this photo really shows that I don't really have the proper height to pull off the Chief correctly.
Link (who ended up winning the Male, Under 13, non-superhero category later in the day)
Awesome posing with these guys. At the contest, they got a standing ovation for stating that they were here representing those that couldn't.
All the category winners, including yours truly.
And me with Optimus. You HAVE to admit, it is an incredible costume.
To anyone who has never been to a con in your Halo costume, I highly recommend it! It was incredibly fun, and it's nice to enjoy your 15 minutes of fame. For the time you're in costume, you take on a completely different persona, and it's great.
Thanks for stopping by!