117 Glasgow Science Centre, Science Lates 2019 – 26th October 2019

Location
Science Center, Glasgow 18:00 – 22:30

Personnel

IC-13128	Alex Dick	Imperial Crewman
SL-77314	Alan Dalgleish	Darth Vader
TB-89909	Jenn Mair	Biker Scout
TK-18910	Brian McDavid	Stormtooper ANH Stunt
TS-7240	Julie Sword	Snowtrooper
TX-6275	Mark McCreadie	Special Ops Trooper
UKG-29578	Sheraz Khwaja	Spotter
UKG-91810	Lynn McDavid	Spotter

Mission Report
And so we get to the climax of the costuming greatest hits farewell tour that’s been 2019 and it was only fitting to dig out the Special Ops outfit that all this started with years ago. Strictly speaking, I suppose I ought to have been spotting this and Stealth Troopering the previous night to properly mirror my induction weekend but I’ve already touched on the recent rekindling of my affection for the original Ghostbusters film.

Unfortunately the exciting/boring Glasgow Science Centre Event Pendulum had rather swung back the other way as compared to the previous night’s @1,700 attendance this evenings adult-only event seemed very sparsely attended. Fortunately that meant the availability of alcohol didn’t lead to too many issues as there wasn’t sufficient inebriated members of the public to cause a problem. Unfortunately it meant the night massively dragged on and it was a relief when we called it quits long before the end…

Visual Archive

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

116 Glasgow Science Centre, Halloween Party 2019 – 25th October 2019

Location
Science Center, Glasgow 18:00 – 21:30

Personnel

GB-6275	Mark McCreadie	Ghostbuster
ID-56984	Kenny Crawford	Grand Moff Tarkin
SL-77314	Alan Dalgleish	Darth Vader
TA-7240	Julie Sword	AT-AT Pilot
TB-89909	Jenn Mair	Biker Scout
TK-6084	Stuart Thompson	Stormtooper ANH Stunt
TK-19767	Douglas Mullen	Stormtooper ANH Stunt
UKG-29578	Sheraz Khwaja	Spotter

Mission Report
Having overdosed on retro-Ghostbusters in the last month or so with the 35th Anniversary cinema visit and the house at Halloween Horror Nights, I was quite excited about wearing the costume again after four years of avoiding it at the Glasgow Science Centre. Unfortunately I was on my own this time round as my fellow local GB is in the middle of an extensive pack rebuild and with a couple of the costumers dropping out in advance, I ended up the sole Reel Icons banana in the trooping bunch.

Not to say there wasn’t much fun to be had; I got into an extended conversation with two teenage girls as to the exact nature of my costume which contrary to their opinion, I kept claiming was a school janitor and there were sufficient seasonal decorations dotted around the building for kids to regularly point me in the direction of various ghosts which I could pointedly avoid. I’m not sure I believe that there was actually a 25 foot inflatable skeleton waiting to get me somewhere in the building as one boy told me, but the parents seemed amused by the concept and the jury will have to remain out on that one…

I’ve previously lamented that these GSC event are effectively over for those trooping after the first hour as our presence at the entrance means that people get all the photos they want on the way in and have no real interest in us afterwards. This time it was inadvertently mitigated by us being rather late to emerge and missing largely missing them on entry and at the end of the evening by the coincidental timing of the exodus from the Marvel Superheroes Live show on at the Hydro the same night, bringing a new audience to us.

Visual Archive

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

111 Glasgow Science Centre, Lunar Landing Family Party – 20th July 2019

Location
Science Center, Glasgow 18:00 – 21:00

Personnel

SL-77314	Alan Dalgleish	Darth Vader
TA-7240	Julie Sword	AT-AT Pilot
UK-6275	Mark McCreadie	Spotter

Mission Report
With the departure of the slackers who wimped out after the daytime session and the arrival of Rebellion reinforcements the Empires finest found itself slightly outnumbered for the family party in the evening. Having been told the GSC had sold 1000+ tickets to the event we emerged from the changing room early to find they’d started admitting the public.
This was probably fortunate though, we were the best part of 55 minutes at the front of the admission queues waiting for everyone to be admitted and get their respective opportunities for photos. It may not sound like much but keep in mind that this is approximately a third of the entire duration of the event!

I took the opportunity of the mid-troop break to switch from costuming to spotting and it was probably for the best as having ventured to the upper floors of the building beforehand (where the Science Center apparently keeps its interactive display exhibits of how heat works – IT WAS HOT, OKAY?!?) I was reaching the end of my Biker Scout tolerance.

After the short break unfortunately we found ourselves in much the same situation as the latter part of the daytime event, where the majority of attendees had already taken their photos leading once again to a rise in shenanigan levels as the representatives of the UKs leading Star Wars costuming groups collectively struggled to get to grips with exhibits designed for 8-year olds to master!

Following this humiliation we returned downstairs for a final stint near the exit doors…

Visual Archive

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

110 Glasgow Science Centre, Lunar Landing 50th Anniversary Event – 20th July 2019

Location
Science Center, Glasgow 10:00 – 16:00

Personnel

DZ-1873	Ian MacPherson	Jawa
SL-21804	John Reilly	Darth Vader
TB-6275	Mark McCreadie	Biker Scout
TX-11073	Steven Walker	Mudtrooper
UK-7240	Julie Sword	Crew

Mission Report
Looking back over my history with events at the GSC they seem to alternate between deathly quiet endurance testers and so-busy-that-blink-and-it’s-over outings. This Saturday session fell somewhere in-between. The attendance level inside was consistent though not overly massive

Starting the morning with some spotting I was in very real danger of suffering sunburnt neck but equally the fine weather meant that during the period in front of the entrance there was a regular flow of people passing after crossing the footbridge across the Clyde.

Moving inside we found that the attendance level was not overly massive, compounded by the fact that the majority of the public wandering the floors had already passed us to enter the building and availed themselves of the opportunity for a photo on the first encounter, as a result… well, idle hands and all that… the lulls leading to opportunities for mischief.

The troop taking a lids off break allowed me to kit up too, and as early afternoon rolled round we resumed position out front which coincided with a noticeable increase in foot-fall. This kept us occupied enough to take us through to the end of the event, indeed I don’t recall us re-entering the building during my time in costume, until we came to de-kit in the spacious changing facilities and avail ourselves of the wide selection of refreshments and cooked dinners which had been arranged by the EC to be provided by the venue. Though the offer of second helpings was there, we were about to get back into costume…

Visual Archive

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

97 Glasgow Science Centre, Science Lates – 1st September 2017

Location
Science Centre, Glasgow 18:00 – 22:30

Mission Report
This was something of a strange event when compared to the annual Halloween party in the same venue; nowhere near as quite as the weekday Cool Science event from 2012, but about the same level of interest in our presence from the attending public.
Positioned as we were at the entrance when people began arriving, pretty much anyone who wanted a photo with us got it within the first 30 minutes, meaning that we were left to our own devices to wander about for the rest of the night. While it allowed the opportunity for plenty of creative photos, it did rather ensure that the event dragged on.

Although the event was scheduled to run to 22:30, before the last hour our participation had completely died off and I was grateful we called it an early night.

Visual Archive

This slideshow requires JavaScript.