Monthly Archives: August 2011

BrickFair 2011 wrap up

BrickFair 2011 took place near Washington, DC this weekend. I wanted to hit up one more con before med school starts next week, so I decided to attend my first Lego convention in the Northeast and see some new people and MOCs that couldn’t make it to the other two large Lego conventions in the US: Brickworld and Brickcon.

The first thing that struck me was the enormous exhibit hall, which was about the size (and appearance) of an empty Walmart store. The next thing that struck me was the diversity of creations, including whole areas for less-commonly exhibited themes such as steampunk, post-apocalypse, even NASA. Lastly, I was amazed by the sheer number of people who showed up during the weekend public hours (above video), which turned out to be about 17,000.

Among the MOCs displayed, some of my favorites were Arthur Gugick‘s transforming mosaic, Black Baer‘s tornado vignette, the entire aquapocalypse display, and a cute Bionicle poster (not a MOC, I know). The list goes on, so I took a walkthrough video of the exhibit hall and highlighted more interesting creations along the way. Speaking of which, I’m glad people have found this video helpful. I plan on doing guided tours of the Lego conventions that I attend in the future.

I’m glad I made the decision to come to BrickFair, and I hope to do so next year as well (and perhaps have the rest of Awesometown). You can see my photos at BrickFair on Flickr or more on the BrickFair Flickr group.

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Lego Halo Pelican

Ben Caulkins (Benny Brickster) didn’t end his Halo building streak on the Master Chief suit, he continued to make the iconic Pelican dropship in minifigure scale. The challenging angles are one of the highlights of this model; you can explore more details in the gallery on Flickr.

Angel of the Dawn

This medieval keep has a rugged functional beauty to it and I like it. It has just the right amount of detail on the walls, which keeps it from suffering from “Big Grey Wall Syndrome”, but LegoLord didn’t go overboard with the fancy bits either. Everything in moderation, dear readers, and you end up with a very nicely constructed castle like this one.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Tommy Williamson built these incredible trophies for the winners of his PchLUG101 contest and they are awesome builds in their own right. The light and the camera are especially worthy.

All the pretty colors

Magnus the Great’s lineup of minifig colorsets probably won’t qualify as a “creation” to some people but it is quite mesmerizing. I find myself just staring at them.

Train and trucks on tray on trucks... in teal

Peter Norman (swoofty) has been draining BrickLink of dark turquoise parts to make this Brazillian oddity. It’s a very nice locomotive in a hard to work with colours but what I found most fun was the presentation of it shipping on flatbeds. Very fun.

Mayhem flies in on a pale horse

Don Wilson (Genghis Don, formerly ThePaleMan9) may not be a pale horse, but this D-717 Mayhem spacecraft that flew forth from his imagination certainly is awesome. The super-thin tail contrasts nicely with the chunky nacelles, and I love the checkered pattern on the side.

BrickFair 2011 walkthrough video

Here is a video I took of BrickFair 2011. I’m not the best tour guide, but hopefully this will give you a sense of what the convention looks like if you couldn’t make it.

LEGO Architecture 21011 Brandenburg Gate out now in the UK [News]

UPDATE: 21011 Brandenburg Gate is available now on LEGO.com.

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In a surprising turn of events, the first inkling LEGO fans have gotten of the newly released LEGO Architecture set 21011 Brandenburg Gate was when it showed up on the shelves of the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre in Manchester, UK.

LEGO Architecture 21011 Brandenburg Gate

As much as Frank Lloyd Wright and big American skyscrapers are indeed awesome, it’s nice to see buildings in the line continue to expand beyond the shores of the United States.

UPDATE: The September in-store calendar for LEGO retail outlets highlights this as a September release, so we should be seeing this in more stores within the next month or so.

10222 Winter Village Post Office [News]

LEGO continues to expand its holiday village with the latest addition to the lineup, 10222 Winter Village Post Office.

Click the pic for the complete photoset on Flickr.

Here are the complete details from LEGO:

10222 Winter Village Post Office

Ages 12+. 820 pieces.
US $59.99 CA $79.99 DE 59.99 € UK 49.99 £

Continuing the winter scene series, the Winter Village Post Office is the perfect snow-covered setting. In the cozy post office, the worker is hard at work sorting all the mail into containers and sacks, while upstairs, there’s just time for the postman to take a break before setting off in the traditional post car with all the letters and gifts. From the pavilion outside, musicians fill the air with music, while children take in the wintry atmosphere by the park bench before throwing snowballs at each other – the musicians had better get ready to duck!

Includes 7 minifigures: female post office worker, male postman, female, 2 kids and 2 musicians and a dog!

Post office features dark-green split roof with snow, fireplace, light brick, table, coffee mug, and lamppost and mailboxes outside!

Also features evergreen tree and assorted minifigure accessories

And look for a designer video in this space shortly!

4-wide microscale RC DAF truck runs on Power Functions

I never cease to be amazed by the ingenuity that builders use to incorporate Power Functions into their LEGO models — in ever-increasing miniaturization. Robert H. (Robiwan_Kenobi) manages to fit a PF motor, RC receiver, and battery box into this fully self-contained DAF truck.

Hard to believe? Take a close look at the cutaway in the photo above, and be sure to watch the video.

Thanks for the tip, Duane!

Brickforge uncorks some new items [News]

I haven’t gotten my hands on any of these yet, but the new jars, bottles and test tubes look pretty nifty. They borrow from the esthetic of the new LEGO bottles and flasks yet add their take on shapes and colors. I think I’m going to have to pick up some of these.

The bottles currently only come in trans-brown and clear, although I think those trans-blue bottles in the picture look cool.