We had so much fun at the Armageddon Expo in Christchurch, held in April 2023 – and bought some fine additions for our collection. From a Star Wars Loungefly backpack, Director Krennic Pop! Vinyl figure, to getting an autograph from Katy O’Brian and more – we can’t wait for the next event!

Check our our shopping haul video –

First up, we stopped by the Appleby Games booth – they had a few Loungefly mini-backpacks, and I spotted one that has been on my wish list for a while. This classic Stormtrooper design has Rebel heroes pictured on a lenticular insert in the helmet lenses, very cool! I had seen it starting to show up on sale from a few places, so I asked the price – half off! So now I have a new Loungefly mini-backpack for my collection.

Also at the Appleby Games booth, we spotted this Funko Pop! Vinyl figure of Director Krennic from Rogue One. We don’t have many Pop! Vinyl figures from Rogue One, so we’re definitely keen to fill that gap in our collection, so this figure was a great find.

A big highlight from this Armageddon Expo was a Star Wars guest – Katy O’Brian from The Mandalorian! She plays Communications Officer Elia Kane in season 2 and 3, serving Moff Gideon. We attended her panel, and of course had to get her autograph. She was so lovely, and had some really fun stories from her time on the Star Wars set.

I always check out the range of Star Wars pins at the Kyber Forge booth, and of course I found two more to add to my collection – a fun ‘Fly Casual’ design and an ‘elegant weapon’ lightsaber pin.

Keeping up with our Armageddon Expo tradition, we stopped by the Sweet booth. Because Star Wars Day was coming up, we decided to treat ourselves – to a huge Mandalorian lollipop!

Lastly, a fun surprise from my daughter – a Mother’s Day hard candy assortment also from Sweet. I love all the little designs on the candy. I’ll be saving this to enjoy on the day, but it was a lovely gift to round out the weekend.

So a slightly smaller haul in terms of the number of items we brought home compared to previous events, but it’s been a while since I’ve bought a Loungefly bag at an Armageddon Expo. The mini-backpack is definitely the biggest single item I’ve bought at the event for a while, but it was such a good deal I wasn’t going to leave that one behind, even if I had to carry it around all day as well as all my usual shopping bags. A fabulous weekend as usual, and we can’t wait for the next Armageddon!

May the Force be with you!

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So I finally sat down and recorded my Star Wars shopping haul video from Armageddon Expo Auckland! This year, Armageddon celebrated its 100th event with a special winter edition in my hometown of Auckland. We attended all three days, and even with the occasional rain, we had an awesome time!

We were delighted at the range of booths and Star Wars items to buy this year, and we sure picked up a bit ourselves. I’m always on the look for Star Wars collectibles to pick up at our local conventions, and I found quite a few pieces that I just had to buy.

Check out my haul video below –

First up, Funko Pop! Vinyls – because what Armageddon would be complete without checking out the range of Funko collectibles? We made use of a multi-buy promotion at the Card Merchant booth to grab General Grievous and Boba Fett to fill some gaps in our collection – and I also found the chase Bo-Katan Kryze figure! I have wanted her for ages, I can’t believe I found her!

One of my first booths to visit at Armageddon Expo was Cobalt Heights – a local stockist of Loungefly. I’ve had my eye on this Loungefly x Star Wars wallet for a while, but I wanted to see the pattern placement in person, to make sure that Princess Leia was on the front. Sure enough, I finally found one I liked, so of course I had to get it! I already have the matching tote bag (a wonderful gift from my family), so now I have the set.

In my follow up visit to the Cobalt Heights booth (you know, to see if I missed any Loungefly Star Wars items on my first stop), I remembered I hadn’t looked through their pin section – and found this! A Loungefly x Star Wars 4-piece enamel pin set featuring Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca, as seen in A New Hope. I had seen this pin set online a while ago, but it had sold out before I could grab it, so I made sure to get it this time. Aren’t they so cute?

Alongside the Loungefly pin set, I spotted this fan-made Rebel/Imperial logo pin, made by Frantasy Island. It has a wonderful dark grey glittery swirl, and I just love the angled split design.

Next up, Oasis Scents. I’ve been a fan of their geek inspired candles and soaps for ages (I already own several items from their awesome range) so I always make sure to check out their booth early. For this event they had an Ahsoka Tano inspired candle! It smells divine, with a beautiful combination of fig and melon – so of course I had to grab one.

I spotted these beautiful embroidered keyrings in the Artist Alley, from ZubKitty Creates. I saw the Princess Leia design straight away, and then noticed the Ahsoka Tano keychain beside it, so I grabbed both. I think I’ll use these as bag charms – they’re too pretty to use as keychains!

Browsing the wide array of fandom inspired jewelry at the Lola & Alice booth, I found this Princess Leia earring set. I’ve always loved this classic promotional image of Princess Leia onboard her ship the Tantive IV from A New Hope, so it really caught my eye. Princess Leia and jewelry is a combination I can never resist!

The Lola & Alice booth also had a section next to it with a huge array of pins – my family and I spent ages going through all the geek themed sections and picked out a few of our favourite designs. These are the three pins I choose – May The Force Be With You, Millennium Falcon, and Princess Leia Rebel. Perfect to add to a jacket for a little touch of Star Wars flair.

So this next was a completely random find – a licensed Star Wars sewing measuring tape! I spotted this cute little find at a booth that sold geek fabric cushion covers etc, and just loved it. I’ve never seen it before – and it even features Han Solo and Princess Leia! I’m going to keep it as a collectible to display in my little sewing area where I work on my Star Wars costumes.

Check out this cute little gift from my daughter – Star Wars ‘Clan Of Two’ inspired washi tape! She spotted this in the Artist Alley, and saw it featured Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan, so she knew I would love it. She also bought me two Star Wars stickers from a nearby artist booth – Princess Leia and BB-8, lovely little gifts. The perfect final addition to my Princess Leia themed haul this year.

So there you have it, my Star Wars shopping haul from Armageddon Expo Auckland June 2022. I was really delighted at the great range of booths this year, with some really fun finds – I picked up seven Princess Leia items, I think that’s my new record for Armageddon! From Loungefly, to pins, earrings, a candle and more, I had so much fun shopping at this convention, and I can’t wait for the next event.

May the Force be with you!

The post Star Wars Shopping Haul from Armageddon Expo Auckland June 2022 appeared first on Villa Varykino.

This Loungefly x Star Wars pink Stormtrooper wristlet was a San Diego Comic Con exclusive item in 2015. Limited to 600 of each, the coin purse came with a special black box, noting their edition size. The coin purse measures approximately 13cm high, 11.5cm across and 7cm deep at the widest point, and comes with a detachable wrist strap. I love the fun use of bright pink for this fashion accessory – you can read more about the Stormtrooper wristlet here.

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