This year’s Transworld Trip was fun. We traveled over with 6 people and pulled a small cargo trailer with high hopes of finding bargains. The floor show was filled with many of the usual suspects and maybe a 10 percent loss from the previous year (lost in vendors). Many of the same sorts of products were on display.
Pictures can be found at link below
http://jseiler.smugmug.com/Halloween/TransWorld-2014
Some highlights
Steampunk – is it catching on? There was a pretty authentic booth with steampunk clothing, pretty elaborate accessories. I ended up talking to a gentleman that just started a Steampunk festival in Las Vegas (http://www.piratefestlv.com/steampunk.html). He was explaining to me that Steampunk is here to stay, like Pirates. Costumes and accessories are far more elaborate than normal off the shelf costumes and they people are willing to put $300-1000 dollars into their costumes and that the Steampunk costume will be a staple like the pirate costume for years to come.
I saw a large selection of vintage control panel vacuum tubes, switches, lights, gauges, etc. Some vendors were selling synthetic stuff (man made with resins and LEDs) and others build Steampunk control, Telsa type device panels using nixie tubes, specialty bulbs, LED strips, etc.
The “Dark Zone” (area where the floor show is in the dark) was pretty typical. Scare Factory had a pretty good cavern (20 foot long) with skeleton arms (20 of them) reaching for you in an automated fashion. It was pretty touchy. I thought about going through it again to get a better, more precise massage.
There was an interesting cadaver that was displayed on a hospital gurney. Dana was taking video and eventually noticed that the cadaver had a full size, exposed penis. I was a little envious. It was quit bold and in your face. I tried to explain to the girls that it “was bigger” than average. Later days, we saw the gurney wheeled around the floor show by some distressed “sexy costume” zombie girls (3 to be exact).
I was able to get additional autographs using pictures I took the year prior. Ed, Marsha, Mike, Ryan from Making Monsters. They told me that the travel channel is not renewing their show (sad face).
I got an autograph from Kyle Thompson. I thought about buying another piece from him this year, but decided I had spent too much and split before the impulse overwhelmed me.
There were several products that covered ideas we have had in the group.
We saw the leaning/falling barrels that Jose created in his haunt.
We saw the foam cinder block on a pole that we talked about creating.
We saw several resin casts of gears, vacuum tubes, gauges that we wanted to create.
We saw a version of the hand held scare noise maker with the model A car ooga horn.
We saw talking steampunk skulls.
Pumpkin vine feet were popular. Proof, if you supply a reasonable priced product, people will buy.
The interactive Haunted House on the show floor was very dark and it was hard to make out the rooms. I was able to take some pictures using flash photography.
The Nazi mannequin displays with gas masks were very popular.
We noticed there were more vendors doing cash and carry, but also notice many items were purchase as early as Thursday. The entire Morris Costume booth was purchased sometime on Thursday.
We visited the Darkness Haunted House Saturday night and had some fun.
Funny Video of the Darkness – warning: PG-13 Language (click link below)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vvzw1080sbyqflc/Darkness-Haunt-Clip.mp4
Synopsis – I wore a GoPro POV video camera through the haunt. Basically we were on the upper floor in the tail end of the haunt where the 3D backlight part of the haunt starts. There was a large puppet (I’m guessing a Gore Galore prop) that was manned by a human. One of our group members was ahead of me and got hit in the “nuts” as the hands of the puppet came out. I proceed to taunt the guy behind the “curtain” to come get me, unknown to me, he or someone else was circling around to my position for a scare. As I exit the room you hear a pretty good series of words from me as I’m startled several times.