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Another year another absolutely amazing Brickworld.
As always the most amazing part of the trip is to get to spend so much quality time with friends you see once or twice a year.
Though loot is pretty cool too >.>
But I wouldn't trade those good times for anything in the world, even these goodies.
Maybe.
So much Simon-Drafting and goofing off and hanging out - but one of the big things that stuck out to me was Evan/Dan and my Moc-tograph workshop - many people were really appreciative of all the tricks and tips and help from the presentation and the hands on workshop after!
So brickworld 2015 is over but was really fun. I met a couple people, not a lot since this was the first time I was displaying at brickworld, but people none the less. So the people I met were Jared If only I remembered.... Who helped me make.....
So I usually don’t post my tokens - but why not?
It’s not that I’m trying to hide who made them - I generally try to make it pretty obvious - but incase someone’s broke or you couldn’t figure out - surprise it’s me!
I built a few different ones this years cause I’m an overachiever, and was going to spread them out between BW and BFVA -
The Classic FrogPod - but in ATLAS colour scheme to match my SHIP.
Smash Bros - (wrong) Simon character - for SBC stage guys - apparently most people didn’t think it was funny... but I did.
Chonkey Mech - ... what more can I say? it’s so cute and awesome - for cute and awesome builds and builders
Stuffed Hobbes- goes with the my replica Stuffed Hobbes - originally was going to be my only Token this year... but you know - I like making Tokens :D
Sorry for the delay - I actually got really distracted building for BFVA (cause I didn’t start till after BW) and didn’t finish up all my BW recaps.
A couple of the train enthusiasts have been talking about pulling together a special collaborative at Brickworld 2017 this June (thanks Eliot for initiating this).
The proposal is to build a 25' x 50' Classic Lego Train Layout featuring only catalogued sets, trains, and minimal scenery - just like in the classic train catalogs! This will be built on the floor with colored paper underneath and stanchions around the outside. Many individual loops of track will operate simultaneous divided into the 4 areas: 4.5v, 12v, 9v, and RC/PF with the loops for each system spelling out a letter: L-E-G-O. Trains from each vintage run on their corresponding area. Along the tracks we place the various sets: train stations, grade crossings, freight depots, etc. appropriate to each system. We can even throw in some monorails and wooden trains. Running around the entire layout are a couple loops of ME wide radius track with fan-designed trains. And on the corners we can place large informational cards describing the history of Lego trains to inform the public.
To start we are looking to socialize this and get feedback. So everyone please let us know your thoughts. Also, we need coordinators to own each area / letter. We are thinking of two people for each area who will design the loops, and coordinate assembly and disassembly of their area at the show.
Just to get an idea of the scale, the proposed layout as shown requires 2080 track elements total with each area / letter requiring between 250 and 450 sections of track. Obviously the amount of track used will depend on how many people bring what. But if we only outline each area / letter and skip all the interior loops, then the minimum track needed drops to between 125 and 175 for each area / letter. Once BW17 registration is further along we will email all registered attendees to solicit participation.
Sounds good? Well, probably not if it just winds up being a couple people. But if we can get dozens of contributors then everyone only has to bring a little bit. We will work out logistics for setup, take down, and marking track, etc. so everything gets back to its original owners. So if you plan to be at Brickworld 2017, please consider joining us!
Thoughts?
This is my entry for the Brickworld 2011 event kit. It's a mecha with five sections (this year's theme is "5") in the five Brickworld colors.
109 pieces.
The annual LEGO convention at Wisconsin State Fair Park
Ninjago City details
West Allis, Wisconsin, USA
With the premiere of the Brickworld Memorial Wall ( www.flickr.com/photos/thropots/35249711692/in/pool-brickw... ) I share the most prized MOC in my collection: the only MOC that my late wife Kathryn ever built. What this MOC lacks in NPU, it more than makes up for with composition, use of negative space, and symbolism.
This is clearly a heart. But like her own real heart, it's not perfect. The natural curves are interrupted ... precariously held together by unexpected elements. For Kathryn had a heart transplant which both gave her a few more years in this world, and hastened her passing into the next.
I know a lot of people don't like digital printed minifigures, but I don't mind them. They're cheap, fun, and awesome!
So yesterday and today in my hometown of Fort Wayne, was Brickworld! And of course I came home to go to it because, screw my education! I spent about $220 yesterday and I don't regret it at all. I mean, I probably will later but not today.
Punisher is from Eclipse Grafx and the rest are from BigKidBrix.
Enchantress (Suicide Squad)
Mera
Ghost Rider (AOS) and El Diablo
Punisher
Simon Baz Green Lantern
Hawkgirl
Rahm Kota (Force Unleashed)
I also got 17 bucks worth of brickarms.
Brickworld 2014, part of VirtuaLUG’s Odyssey collaboration, built with Betsy Glickman. Last set up before shipping it from Oregon to Chicago.
New Brickforge prototypes that Armothe showed me at BrickWorld. You can check out the post about it on my Model Building Secrets blog
I've been to 6 LEGO conventions in the United States before and this event was by far the best experience I've ever had. (Even if I caught the Brickworld Plague that was going around!)
I try not to post loot pictures everywhere, but this one is special because it's focused on the friends, memories, and fun times that were had last weekend. The people I got to interact with while there really made it what it is.
I thought I would mention a few of them here with a small message why.
Simon Liu,
Be careful man, you're really becoming the heart and soul of this community. We're at the point now that we literally couldn't make it without you. Thank you for your hard work, leadership skills, and boundless generosity. :D
#notmycastle
Sean Mayo,
I feel I am extremely blessed to get the chance to hang out with you twice this year. Your sense of humor and undaunted attitude always put a smile on my face. And your sword was frick'n awesome. Get better soon! (Cough)
Tyler Clites,
Such an example of humility when you're one of the most gifted builders on the planet. it was really fascinating to watch you work with your medium during your BotB matches. And thank you for bringing us along for the best breakfast I've ever had!
Nannan Z,
It was amazing to finally meet you in person and go get pizza together! You don't know how much it means to have you spend the time to inspect our work. And thank you for introducing me to bubble tea! I'll have to find a local one.
Jonas Wide,
It was great to connect with a genuine Northman and discuss all the things we have in common and all the things that are different on the two sides of the Atlantic. I'm glad you found some of those sand green tiles at the LEGO store in Chicago and I hope you do eventually find time to sort down your castle too!
Chris Maddison,
Another Flickr friend I was truly hoping to meet one day. Your kindness, building skill, and epic beard were all a huge inspiration to me! I still feel bad I didn't think of a corn joke while we were there.
The RebelLUG guys,
You are a really talented group of guys and your prank on us was hilarious. It was great to chat and joke with most of you and beat you senseless at building. And hopefully one day we can do a dual LUG collab together or something crazy!
The InnovaLUG peeps,
You're the best bunch of people ever, I will never forget the nerf battles and building challenges. I still can't believe we beat LEGO designers and the best LUGs in the world in the Simon Games! Hopefully next time we do this years from now I can actually bring more than a single boat!
There should be more people listed here but I'm a poor writer with no time. :)
If you were there and weren't mentioned don't feel bad, you helped make this dude's year. ;)
Keep raising the bar you guys!
~Mark
Thank you to everyone who helped me get to BrickWorld and all those who helped at the show to setup and teardown! You guys are awesome!
I had a great time at this show and it was really fantastic to meet new and old builders. It was an absolute honour to receive a lawn flag nomination for Best Air Ship and to display with such high calibre models, such the impressive castle just to the left or the awesome caricature builds just to the top. I saw some really talented new builds including some ground support equipment much better than Derek or I could ever do, and quite a few awesome airports too!
This was the first run of the "Reduced Airport" layout which will go forward after BrickFete 2017. I think it worked pretty well, it was much easier to set up than the giant table and had a nice focus.
I hope to see you all in a few years or at BrickFete next month!
Who else is going?
Credit to Daniel Siskind on the original truck design. I modified it and entered the contest. An actual model of this is in Brinckmania's Fury display at the Chicago retail store.
Obligatory "loot" shot from Brickworld, because I can't post what a heaping pile of memories looks like.
Out of all the cons that I've had the pleasure to attend, Brickworld has got to be my favorite.
BrickCon has that intimate feel, Brickfair is massive and chaotic, Brickworld however, has the best people.
The weekend is already fading into a blur of no sleep, epic builds, and an obscene amount of laughter, but there are a few people that I want to thank.
The first (and most obvious), is Simon Liu.
If it weren't for everybody's favorite Canadian, I wouldn't have even gone to Brickworld in the first place. So thank you for convincing me to fly 3000 miles, and immerse myself in Lego for five days with the most awesome group of nerds I've met.
And of course, thank you for gifting me with Hobbes (as well as the spaceship, and drone), he'll sit on my build shelf till the end of time!
Dan Church.
If I have to say who I spent the most time with over the weekend, it would have to be this guy.
Thank you for the laughs, camaraderie, and of course, for helping create one of the most memorable parts drafts ever by turning it into a Guardians of the Galaxy sing-along.
When I get back out there, I'm totally gonna come crash your build space!
I'm not ashamed to say that I had a bit of a fanboy moment when I finally got the chance to meet the Implug guys, as they're quite possibly my favorite trio of builders out there.
Not only that, but they're also really, REALLY nice guys, who took the time to make me feel welcomed to a Con where I knew very few people.
Much appreciated gents!
Tim Shwalf, John Moffat, you guys are legends.
I had really only passed by you guys in the online world, but I'm glad to say that now that I've met you, I'm very much looking forward to collaborating with you guys on stuff in the future! *Cough* SHIPtember *Cough*
Also, that convention hall swoosh was the best thing ever. Your SHIP is/was HEAVY! (Thanks for the bombardier Tim!)
Victor/Eclipsegrafx
Even though I didn't get to see you and your family much this time, I'm glad I got to talk with you during teardown!
And the Iron Grid figure is rad!
Can't wait to build a vignette for him to go in!
GamerLUG.
Well played sirs.
That's really all I can say.
Congrats to Nick for winning Judges choice, and for Imagine for being voted Master Builder!
Can't wait to see what you guys come up with for next year!
Last but not least, Torolug.
Not limited to, but including, Adam, Isaac, Nick, Jared, Rolf, Graeme, Eric, etc, etc, etc.
Thank you all for allowing me to crash your space for the majority of the weekend, and for being the group that made the Green Stud happen.
Never will brickworld be the same without everybody's favorite Duplo bar!
Though next time Adam, you should finish your build before the con, rather than during it.
;)
As much as I would LOVE to do a write-up for everyone who made the weekend special, it would be nearly impossible, due to the amount of awesome people I met/hung out with.
Know that if I didn't mention your name here, I probably forgot it due to sleep deprivation, and can't be held responsible for anything I say or do right now.
Thanks for a beautiful weekend everyone!
Till next year!
More pictures of the builds and con on Friday!
This was my second year at BrickWorld and I can definitely say it surpassed my expectations. I had a great time, and one of my creations actually got nominated (plus I one a random set in a raffle).
It was awesome to see friends from last year again, as well as make new ones. Hope to see you all next year!
Felt kewl, might delete this later.
Here is a picture of me and the RebelLUG boys at BrickWorld Chicago this past weekend. We had a blast showing our latest collaboration which comes out tomorrow. Be sure to follow the people tagged and I hope to see you, my RebelLUG friends at future conventions.
Another year. Another post where we struggle to properly annotate my feelings towards this convention in particular. It’s hard to write how much it means to me to see everyone and see them all grow as builders, and friends.
I brought the fewest builds ever to Brickworld, yet I still didn’t have enough time as I would have wanted to spend with so many amazing people. RebelLUG and EmpireLUG in particular - such a wonderful group of builders that are already building better than most. Keep up the awesome work boys. Forget about the trophies and concentrate on builds!
One thing that persists is the manifestation of friendships via gifts, and this year is no exception. One of the oddest, yet heartwarming items given to me was an actual Father’s Day card from chatLUG. With one of the best messages ever written in the English language:
“We are your babies, and you are our Sewer.”
Thank you all for gifts, company, conversations, friendships, and giving me tired feet from walking around seeing your incredible builds.
I promise to be better next year. Specifically the return of Simon Games.
Also Fin Lego was also pretty cool too, I guess. Please come back.
A last minute notification! I'll bring stuff to trade if anyone's interested! I'M SO EXCITED!
ADD ANYONE WHO WILL BE THERE!
John and I are attending Brickworld this year! Let us know if you plan on attending, and where would be the best spot to find you, so that we can say hello! It's always fun meeting members of the LEGO community that we had only known online before.
We'll be at the InnovaLUG area primarily, so you can probably find us there.
Hope to see you there!
Tutorials | Creations | Featured Tutorials | Build Logs | Commissions
My 5th Brickworld has come to an end, and as always, I had a blast, thanks to all the awesome people I got to hang out with, both familiar faces, and new faces.
I'd also like to thank my anonymous donors of little micro builds that I found on my builds: a little hammerhead micro ship, and a cute bug in a white brick box. I have an idea on the hammerhead builder, but mystery is still out on the white trophy brick...
My stack of red trophy bricks this year looks strangely familiar to last year's... Seems like I managed to score the exact same ones again for a second year in a row. Being most proud of the Best Group Layout one this year, having been the coordinator (aka cat herder) for the Eurobricks layout 2017 (and it did have a name and a MOC card!! It was even right next to where the nomination card and flag were put up!)
Things learned this year:
- Don't start packing MOCs at 4am after spending the night finishing builds. The pile of red bricks that my mushroom head turned into, as well as the absolute mess in another suitcase (and complete disintegration of a certain SHIPtember SHIP that never made its way to the convention hall) are proof of that.
- I am hard to find... Thus I was late to the Simon draft, and only got to invoke the Adrian rule, although my hastily built spaceship did not meet the required standard.
- I have awesome friends who bring me candy! Think I have enough to last me through some sorting sessions the next month now :D
- Fortune cookies are bullshit. I did not have a productive day, I spent it on a plane to Norway, loosing 7 hours of time difference in the process, and the rest of the day was spent trying to stay awake on the couch until normal bedtime, and then I slept 12 hours the following night, and thus overslept...
- I am too ambitious when it comes to adding functions to my builds, which always ends up with nothing working at all. Next year: no function in my builds. Instead, I am considering giving a talk about how not to succeed with overambitious builds... I have some experience with that over the years :P
Now I must sort for a month, then it's back to building!
Looking forward to next year already!
After two years of planning and preparation, we were finally able to make it to Brickworld! And boy was it worth it!
Isaac and I got to meet loads of people we had only known online before, and reconnect with others we had only met a few times.
Chris Maddison, Random Vector, Tyler Clites, Nannan Z, Gabe Umland, Kristel, Tim Lydy, Mark Larson, Jonas Wide, ZCerberus, Rogue Angel, MKJoshA, KevinyWu, BricksmithPhilip, Phred, Mark of Falworth, Brother Steven, Andrew JN, David FNJ, Paul Vermeesch, Ian Spacek, Lee Muzzy, Matthew Oh, Noel Peterson, Paul Wolfe, Cody Purviance, Michael the Juggler, Garmadon, Kai NRG, Nick Jensen, BrickinNick, Graeme Diamond, Dan Church, Rocco, Markus Rollbuhler, Micah Beiderman, Grant Davis, Barbara Hoel, Simon Liu, Ty S, Kingdomviewbricks, -carrier lost, thropots, Detroitika, Ben Ellermann, Guy Himber; and inevitably we will have missed some people we got to hang out with.
KevinyWu, Micah Beiderman, Kingdomviewbricks, Ty S, Markus Rollbuhler, Nick Jensen, Barbara Hoel, Carrier Lost, Thropots, Detroitika:
It was great getting to see some of yours builds in person, and being able to talk with all of you.
Kristel, Tim, Mark, Jonas, Kevin, Josh, Philip, Ben, and the rest of the Eurobricks team:
Thank you so much for letting us contribute to the Eurobricks display this year, and for putting up with our inexperience when it comes to attaching the underside to a floating build! It was an enormous amount of fun hanging out with all of you, and admiring your outstanding builds. I look forward to getting to know all of you better in the future.
Simon:
The Simon Games were definitely one of the highlights of the convention for me, not only did they provide a great challenge for the LUGs competing, it also was a fabulous way to get to know and talk with lots of other builders. So I just want to say thank you for all you do for the LEGO community, and hopefully we’ll see you again in 2020!
BrickinNick and Graeme:
You guys are just nuts. Really. Building an entire broadcasting studio on site (not to mention the little playhouse!), and then using it for 3 whole BotB episodes?! I’m very glad you did though, it was so much fun watching the builders live, and you did a fantastic job, as always, being host. The carnival game was a blast as well, I can’t wait to see what you come up with next!
Chris, Sean, Tyler, and Nannan:
First off, I just want to say thank you again for taking us all out to breakfast, it was delicious! Besides the food though, it was wonderful getting to talk and hangout with some of the best builders out there (cough, and beat some of them in a building competition, cough). Whether it was playing soccer and Frisbee in the scorching sun, competing in the Simon Games, or just hanging out, I had a blast. I look forward to BW 2020 so we can do it all over again! (okay, we don’t have to do it all over again. I could do without the 90 degree weather…)
Mark, Steven, Andrew, David, Jason, Ian, Paul V., Lee, Noel, Paul W., Cody, Michael, Mr. Gomez, Isaiah, Geneva:
I’m so glad we had the opportunity to interact with all of you as much as we did. Whether it was being double crossed in a Nerf fight, driving to the convention hall, enjoying the delicious cooking, shopping at Walmart at midnight, or just chilling out and talking, it was so incredible getting to build relationships with each of you. I sincerely hope we are able to have just as much fun in 2020.
Kevin, Ben, Philip, Geneva, Isaiah, Jonas:
Great to be able to meet quite a few fellow Guild members in person, and we’re looking forward to Book III! And also to seeing some Castle builds from Ben again :D
Go to Brickbuilt for some pictures from our trip, as well as Isaac's recap.
So I went to some "thing" called Brickworld. Dunno, you may have heard of it, you may not. Don't know. Whatever. I guess.
No seriously, I have never had that much fun in my entire life. Now it's time for the thank yous.
Ian, Max, Paul, Matthew, Lee, you guys are amazing. Your children's book layout was some of the most inspiring work I've ever seen and I really hope to be part of your stuff next year!
Dan Church, Arisa Kirkpatrick, Ben M., Arisa's mom and the rest of Chilug.... you guys are amazing. No seriously. Your builds rock. All I can say is.... Cardcaptors 2016 ;)
Evan the junkie, it was a pleasure to meet you, thanks for the gladwrap. Again.
Nick Haro and Mr. Herobricks, rock on guys, rock on.
Tetris.... I'm sorry, but I'm always going to remember you as tetris. Force of habit, don't take it seriously.
Virtual-lug.... you guys are the funniest and most rowdy but hilarious group of mature immature adults I've ever met. From Matt to Chris to Tyler to Heath to Dr. Jones to Dennis teaching me the best way to get kids off my lawn, you guys are the funniest group of people I met. Congrats on the amazing "Around the World" victory.
Jacob, it was awesome seeing you. Glad I didn't bore you out of your skull and talk your ear off with inane chatter.
Chris Rozek, you sir are pure awesomeness incarnate, and I thank you for everything we got to do. Also, will send some friends stuff soon. Keep an eye out!
Will, love your brickfilms, so here's a shoutout. Readout? I don't know...
Dave and stacey.... anybody who hasn't met you or was too shy to at the convention don't know what they're missing. The fools. ;)
Eurobricks people.... it was awesome to meet you. Sort of. Next year I should probably introduce myself properly-ly to you Swedes (*Edit: Swedes, Norwegians, Germans, what's the difference? It's like how people think Canadians are Americans.... we're all one people man.... universe power bro... *puff* XD), since you kept hanging around the Torolug table for some weird reason, especially you Cecile... I mean, it's not like you were playing Starcraft or anything.... ;)
Tim Schwalf and John (whom I keep thinking is Eliott?), you guys rule. Seriously. You're the best. Better than Simon. Don't tell him I said that though. Let's just let him pretend to have his way.... ;)
spiderkitty's will hopefully come soon...
Guy Himber, you're an artist of the brick and a true gentleman.The cover alone of my brickjournal has enough inspirational art on it to motivate me to produce epic steampunk stuff! Yes, you may keep me to that promise ;)
Also back the kickstarters and play munchkin!! /free advertisement
Matt "Pepa Quin" De Lanoy, thanks so much for coming over to see Ridley and complimenting him. It means so much to get the "Pepa Seal of Approval(TM)" ding
Monsieur et Madame Trotta, you guys are such lovely people. Enjoy the Cybermen. Also, I will do my best to build more Doctor Who. Just for you guys.... and ONLY for you guys! ;)
Peter Mowry.... dude, you are A-to-the-W-to-the-E-to-th- ran out of breath.... you're amazingly awesome Peter, plain and simple. Solacium was so beautiful and was too hard to decide on best ship. Congrats on a WELL-deserved win.
To my torolug homies (and Mr. Gale, preferably Mike, and Adrian the engineer), you guys suck. Seriously. You suck so hard in a dimension where suck actually means "f***in' awesome people of awesomeness!"
wuv u all *torohug*
Finally, the people I cannot thank enough and whom words fail me...
Tim Lydy.... where do I begin? When I read your comment a few weeks ago about "having something for me" I was really excited because I never really receive stuff from builders. If someone had told me not two weeks ago that I would be the proud owner of 2 incredible Sentinels, I would've called he/she a liar and proceeded to promptly shove them out a 60 story window for trying to get my hopes up. You're amazing Tim. I know you get that a lot, but you really are. Now I have to find a way to top that next year for our Batman display. ;)
Finally, Imagine, Nick, Alec, mini simon and Alex (and Gaben, but who's that guy? ;D).... you guys are like my extended family. Although I missed Ben and Mel terribly, if there's ever a person I could trust with my most soul-shattering secrets and darkest anxieties, it would be you guys. And I made that mistake, and I did, and mini Simon crushed every ounce of hope I had at having a decent life. No matter. I guess it's fair to say you're cursed with me for the next few brickworlds to come! Hah! I win!! HAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! >:D
If I met you and didn't mention you here, just copy and paste the following: "Dear Jared, you forgot me. I said [insert dialogue here] and you said [insert dialogue here]. Now, please add me and mention how cool I am you idiot. Also, you should be sorry.... you Canadian...."
I had a great time at Brickworld Chicago 2019, meeting new and old faces! Hanging with my fellow RebelLUG members for my first time in the US was an experience I will treasure forever, many good memories were made! Thanks to everyone who made it such a good week!
If you want to see my BW loot, go to my Instagram @norlego.
Well Brickworld Chicago 2014 has ended, and it was a blast. Time flew by (Well except for the last hour or so of the public days, at that point I just wanted the day to end!) and I met a lot of my contacts and friends from Flickr and Eurobricks. I also scored some sweet loot over the course of the four days.
I started building my brick-badge at Brickworld (This being my first convention and first time displaying). I ordered the personalized four black engraved bricks (Name, location, etc), and was given the other ones from my friends. The GARC and Brothers Brick engraved bricks were given to me my Simon, and the two Eurobricks engraved bricks (Color/Monochrome) by Cecilie for contributing to the Euorbricks collab. On day two, I discovered a Nightwing figure standing on my badge. I have suspicions that it was from Nick, since he’s the only person who has enough of those things to just give out—but he didn’t admit to it; next time I’ll have to use more inquisitive techniques! I also discovered a gumball machine standing on my Arkham build; these were secretly hidden on everyone’s creations friday night and were built by last year’s Master Brickworld Builder; based on this year’s theme Candy: Sweet Escapes.
Other freebies include the custom printed Brickworld Ice Cream man given to the Full Attendees, some train wheels given out by the Michigan Lego User’s Group, some bricks that represent the Brickworld logo, and a castle polybag. Simon also gave me one of his cute monochrome creatures built for the Eurobricks display; for helping out with the collab (Thanks again Simon! He’s one generous person!). On Friday I installed all the sidewalks and foliage in Fabuland; which while a lot of work, some 3 1/2 hours or so, turned out beautifully. I only feel bad for Hinck now since during clean-up he stopped us from removing all the tiles saying he’d do it himself later! Foolish! He’ll be at it for days! ;)
In terms of things I bought myself, I snagged mostly older sets and parts. I bought an old Adventurers set and a small Pharaoh's Quest set both new in box, some parrots, two old Adventurers dark grey Crocodiles, two islander canoes, and 80 Azure clips—I have no idea what I’ll use them for, but they're my favorite color!
I’ll also presumably be getting some prizes shipped to me in the new few weeks. My largest build, Arkham Asylum: Relative Insanity was nominated for and won the Lego Batman Contest; a special contest this year in honor of 75 years of Batman (Sponsored by DC/Lego I think). I believe I’ve won a wave of Batman sets or something, not entirely sure on that—but if I don’t have to pay for the Joker’s Steamroller set with my own money I consider that a win! Speaking of Arkham, it’s now being parsed out and will soon be no more. This year of Brickworld is over, but it’s time to look ahead to the future with new builds and an already forming Brickworld 2015 layout plan.
It was my great pleasure at Brickworld Chicago 2022 to meet Andreas Eggen, fellow Indiana Jones Enthusiast, and designer of the outstanding Brickmania Truck Chase set: www.brickmania.com/saturday-afternoon-matinee-playset-pt-...
I started attending the Lego convention Brickworld Chicago in 2011 at age 15 and after 11 consecutive shows I became the 2023 Brickworld Master. I got everything I could have asked for - a static-display category nomination and win, a world-historical group layout nomination and win, and the lifetime achievement award. This truly means the world (there was a lot of ugly crying). I am so deeply grateful to all my friends and family who have pushed and grown me in all areas of life to where I am today. Childhood Dream come true. To God be the glory.
Some Special Thank You's (too many to thank so I'll be brief):
My Mom - the best, most supportive mom anyone could ask for. Supported the New Hashima Project as well!
Simon Liu - my AFOL mentor and #accountabuildibuddy who has encouraged me since day 1, inspired me with all his incredible builds, and provided critical feedback when necessary #bleybrother
Nick Jensen - a legend, so supportive, and inspires me as he continues to crank out unbrickinbelievable builds. Happy to join these dear friends in the ranks of BW Masters.
OrphanLUG Friends - so many to list, of whom I've known for over or close to a decade and have been long-term collaborators. So welcoming and extremely creative - I lucked out.
Windy City LUG - my awesome group of local builders who are so giving of their time to share knowledge & experience, serve our local community, and promote this crazy community.
Further Brickworld Recap to come! Back to building
I have a lot to display at Brickworld this year alongside the badass builders in GamerLUG and [ ]! I can't reveal what's in green or red or orange because they're not complete just yet, or blue or black because those are surprises ;)
www.flickr.com/photos/nickjensen/26371832394/ I can #HYPE too.
also 1 MONTH TO GO
#HYPEEEEEEEEEEE
So who else is going to Brickworld Chicago?
Brickworld Chicago 2018 has now come and gone. This was my 3rd straight Brickworld attended. Having already thanked all of my collab contributors, I am a bit overdue in also thanking all of the generous friends (both known and anonymous) who had me coming home with more than I had brought with me, in both MOCs and memories. Like Simon, I was a bit in disarray (didn’t get the conflu, but did spend too much time getting that coaster to work) and it feels like I didn't give away nearly as much as I had planned to… but all the more reason to shoot for 4 Brickworlds in a row to rebalance the scales.
I'm calling this photo "Brickworld Blessed" as I came home with quite an embarrassment of LEGO riches; The door-prize I received during registration was the LEGO Ideas Caterham, so right out of the gate, I re-cooped the registration fee. Then during the opening ceremonies, I also won the Technic “Heavy Lift Helicopter”… If I had won any of the other big raffles, I think I would have been run out on a rail.
The two butterfly kits placed between those sets are the design I created for Brickloot’s Insect Themed monthly subscription box. It was a fun project to participate in, and they gave me two kits to take home for my personal collection (and I also signed two for their collection). The 1x5 Games swag in the front-left was from my pal Rowntree, who was demo-ing their latest games (along with helping Heath demo Malort to the masses). The blue hover-truck and pride badge-bricks were from Adam Myers, and the Planet Express ship was made out of Adam’s bricks by Matt DeLanoy (who else?). The small game controller is from Nick Jensen (who else?) as reigning Brickworld Master 2017 – a very clever design. In the front-right, are two “NEO-Natal” Classic Space ships made by Si-Mocs Liu, and a couple brick badges too. On the right edge is the spectacular steampunk speederbike made by Sean Mayo, as well as a figure I built out of the LOZ bricks he brought along. The boxes of “tic toc” originated from Cecilie – a subtle reminder to us all to keep building “minty fresh” builds for cons. Not pictured are the parts I received from the “Pseudo Simon-Draft” that occurred Saturday night (while Simon was resting), and that someone covered the cost for my participation. Thank you!!!
Lastly, a HUGE THANK YOU to the anonymous person who placed the “White Brick” trophy on “The Race at Shadowlands” collab display. The award nominations at Brickworld are largely defined by predetermined categories, and many times there are deserving builds that fall through the cracks. They either don’t fit well into any category, get lost in the sheer number of displayers, or perhaps for other reasons?... The “White Brick” started appearing last year on such un-nominated builds, and I am truly honored to have received one for “The Shadowlands” collaboration (and one with a cool Portal MOC inside!!!). Above all else, I really wanted to put on a great show this year, and I appreciate the recognition we received for all our efforts, creativity, and innovation. Thank you!!!
---EDIT: Learning who else received "White Bricks" this year, they are more about giving recognition to the various ways that people make/made the Brickworld experience special, either through their displays or their engagement with the community (or both!)---
I intend to write another one of my con-round-up articles on the Manifesto at some point, so will end this here. Overall, I really didn’t get to socialize with everyone nearly as much as I had wanted to, due to how much time I spent working on getting the speeder-coaster going (and keeping it running during public hours). It was worth the effort, but I definitely feel like I had less time to appreciate everyone else’s creativity than at past Brickworlds. Sorry to all of you that I didn’t get to meet up with, or the chance to talk with more.
Thanks again.