About Nannan

Nannan became involved with the online LEGO community in late 2004. He has been a builder for as long as he can remember. Nannan builds in a variety of themes that often overlap with the science fiction universe; other times they are purely made up ones. You can see his creations on Flickr, MOCpages and Brickshelf. In real life, Nannan is a physician living in Dallas.

Posts by Nannan

BrickCon 2014 wrap up

BrickCon took place last weekend in Seattle and attracted a healthy crowd of over 400 attendees and over 13,000 public audiences. While it has been 4 years since my last BrickCon, I was happy to reconnect with a lot of people and meet new ones, however briefly, during those 4 days. Below is a summary of my experiences and my favorite displays. Our other contributors will cover some of the collaborations in more detail.

During the set-up days of Thursday and Friday I saw a constant array of new MOCs cropping up on tables as well as bumping into familiar faces. Some of my personal favorites include Breann Sledge‘s Dino Rider featuring an elaborate Rulon’s head that uses gears for teeth. Brian Cooper‘s Teknomecha v.2.0 shows modern changes over the decade-old v.1.0. Some small models also caught my attention including Brandon Walker’s sleek and sturdy space transports or the hilariously mechanized slaughterhouse by Brendan Mauro as part of the Space Vikings display.

I was impressed by the setting of the ceremonies inside a theater. The set that was unveiled at the opening ceremony was 75060 UCS Slave I. Here is my on-site video review of the set.

The public attendance at BrickCon is extremely high. Outsiders had to squeeze through shoulders to get a peek at the displays. Fortunately the balconies served as nice observation points. Not all the builders are able to stay near their display and tolerate the din from the crowd, but that’s what competitions and presentations were for. A life-sized RC R2-D2 and mouse droid by Shawn and Lara Steele entertained the crowd.

My favorite creation was Paul Hetherington‘s townhouse, which features an immaculate modern design and a fully decorated lit-up interior. Paul also won Best in Show (for the 4th time) with his Mouse Guard display.

Some other things to take a gander:

Archlug’s Laketown display
Using tread links to connect two 1×1 bricks
Simon’s alien invaders that appeared in dozens of displays on Sunday.
Details of decay in Ernest Pratt’s industrial brownfield
Miniland scale BrickCon
A detailed pirate landscape by Eli Willsea and Grant Davis
Dan Hermann’s lifesize Lego door

Of course, there are many creations worthy of your attention that simply won’t fit in a wrap up post. You can discover them in the photos from the BrickCon group on Flickr.

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Creations for Charity now accepting donations for the 2014 fundraiser

The 6th annual Creations for Charity fundraiser is now accepting donations of custom Lego creations to sell and raise money to buy Lego for underprivileged children. The store opens from October 15th to November 30th where you can buy one-of-a-kind Lego models made by builders from around the world. Check out the awesome creations sold last year and the over $20,000 worth of Lego sets that were donated.

Visit creationsforcharity.org to learn about the fundraiser and see how you can take part in the Lego community’s annual tradition of giving back.

A sacred shrine for sacred knowledge

This pagoda built by me will be displayed at Brickcon this week. I wanted to depict a subject of Chinese architecture not often seen in Lego. The pagoda is modeled after the Big Goose Pagoda from my hometown of Xi’an, China.

Ring ring ring

This antique telephone by Lee Young (edguy20) captures the ornate decorations that adorned such devices back in the day. However, it’s still quite a ways from the bending technology of the modern phone.

One legend, infinite SHIPs

Tyler (Legohaulic) built the first modular SHIP featuring interchangeable sections measuring 10×10 studs. This idea never crossed most of our minds and here we see it executed to perfection.

Crossroads of cultures

This fictional bazaar by Jonas Wide (Gideon_83) showcases beautiful Middle Eastern architecture not often depicted in Lego. At night the streets light up and the festivities continue. Check out more photos on Flickr.

6761 Bandit’s Secret Hide-Out revisited

When I saw this photo by Koen (Swan Dutchman), I thought it was 6761 Bandit’s Secret Hide-Out, which was my first Lego set. I then realized that this was a remake with newer parts and more advanced building techniques. You can see more photos on Flickr to compare to the original.

Take me to your leader

Djordje (Djokson) used parts from Hero Factory to create this alien who’s full of expression. You can just see it in his eyes!

Time to gear up

This set of mecha triplets by Izzo Yossi features a set of corresponding equipment including an aerial suit, a quadruped walker and a tank. They all look capable of dishing out a serious beating, but which one is your favorite?

The Victorian streets

I’ll enjoy a good vignette any day, and this one by Jonas O. (-Wat-) is an example of one that captures ample detail without trying to be extravagant.

Lego ‘SA-19 Grison’ Tunguska 9K22/2S6

Andy Baumgart (D-Town Cracka) is a master of military models, and this realistic 9K22 Tunguska Tracked Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft system is just proof of that. This new model is a redesign of an earlier version, and it’s interesting to note the differences between the two.

Dominating the battlefield

This heavily-armed mech by Ryuhei Kawai (kwi-chang) looks ready for combat. I like the subtle red accents and the hydraulics seen in the back view. You can see more photos in this Flickr album.