Tag Archives: BrickCon

BrickCon happens the first weekend in October every year in Seattle. BrickCon is the longest continuously running LEGO fan convention in the world, and it’s also our favorite LEGO con! Learn more (and consider attending yourself) at BrickCon.org.

Alt-WW2 mech waddles into battle

Marco Marozzi has built an Alt-WW2 tripod mech which manages to look both menacing and cute at the same time. The arms and fists on this thing are wonderfully beefy, and the use of Power Miner wheels for the torso adds nice depth of texture.

If you like this sort of dieselpunk alternate-history building, be sure to check out the Brothers Brick collaborative build for BrickCon 2016 — WW2 1949. There’s some great models starting to show up in the group photo pool for the event — get building and get yours in there too.

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BrickCon 2016 registration now open [News]

Registration is now open for BrickCon 2016: MADNESS. BrickCon takes place in Seattle, Washington, running from Thursday, September 29 through Sunday, October 2, 2016.

This year’s theme is MADNESS!

Registration
Early Bird registration runs until August 1, and is $65 per attendee. If you register after August 1, registration is:

Regular Registration (August 2 – September 18): $75
Late Registration (September 19 – September 25): $100
At-The-Door Registration (September 30): $120

A couple reminders for those wishing to go:

Attendees who are 14-17 years old must be accompanied by and supervised by a registered adult
You must be registered to display

Hotel
The main hotel is The Maxwell Hotel, located one block across from the Exhibition Center. Please continue to check the BrickCon website for updates on when booking is available, in addition to other area hotels.

The Brothers Brick Display
We’ll reveal this year’s theme as we get closer to BrickCon. In the mean time, you have 179 days to build, so get busy!

A thousand minifigs in Blue & Gray assemble for the Battle of Bricksburg [News]

History is rarely accurate when written at the time. The first comprehensive History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire wasn’t published until 1776, and William L. Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich wasn’t published until 15 years after the end of World War II. And so it goes with the great Battle of Bricksburg, which took place October 1-4 at BrickCon in Seattle this year. Now, nearly three months later, thanks to the intrepid battlefield photography of Sean Edmison, we have an unprecedented view of this historic engagement between the Union and the Confederacy.

The idea for the Battle of Bricksburg was conceived during BrickCon 2014. We envisioned a realistic, historical contrast to our many years of sci-fi displays such as the original Zombie Apocafest 2008 and Numereji 2421.

In the end, about a dozen TBB readers and staff members participated in building a cohesive display that was assembled from individual segments as well as loose brick in the two days before the public exhibition hours on Saturday and Sunday. The display featured about a thousand troops, including cavalry, sharpshooters, supply trains, medical corps, and even a pair of ironclads on the nearby river.

Union troops charge forward in front of an 1800’s farmhouse built by Caylin. Another group of Union soldiers has captured some Rebels.

Our friends over at Beyond the Brick produced a video overview of the display, in which I describe some of the display’s highlights and show off details like the BrickArms stackable cannon balls that are hard to see in photos.

Particular thanks go to Will Chapman of BrickArms, who supplied huge quantities of stackable cannonballs, cannon muzzles, caplock muskets (by the thousand, in gallon bags), bayonets, cavalry sabers, and pistols. We would not have been able to achieve the level of historical realism in the display without these accessories, many of which Will custom-designed and injection molded in small batches by hand just for this display. Similarly, we relied on historical flags and unit banners printed and donated by Dave Ingraham of Cape Madness.

Click through to see more photos and details!

A. Lemur does BrickCon

Hey Folks!

It’s the Lemur here. Just got back to the compound after a great weekend in Seattle, at BrickCon. There were lots of tasty creations there and I was able to get my paws on all kinds of cool swag.

Caylin let me check out everything on the condition that I not break anything and that nothing got eaten. I took a few little nibbles here and there but was able to stay out of trouble, for the most part. I did accidentally clear the building during public hours, but that really wasn’t my fault. Who knew the shiny red “fire alarm” panels weren’t for public consumption? Anyway, the Fire Department responded quickly, nobody got hurt and I got to sit in a fire truck.

Paul Hetherington won “Best in Show” with his motorized Steampunk robot called “Unchain My Heart”. It kind of creeped me out but it was very well built. I even sat on its head and no breakage occurred.

Continue reading →

Reminder: “Battle of Bricksburg” American Civil War display at BrickCon 2015

Each year except 2013 (we needed a break!), The Brothers Brick organizes a collaborative display at BrickCon in Seattle, the first weekend in October. We’ve mentioned this a few times and set up the official group on Flickr a while back, but with just under two months left until BrickCon, it’s time to share more details!

“Picket’s Charge” by Sean Edmison

After zombie outbreaks, space colonization, and time-traveling dinosaurs, “The Battle of Bricksburg” will be TBB’s first historically themed collaborative display. All TBB readers who attend BrickCon are welcome to participate. (Please note that we cannot accept drop-offs during the public hours on Saturday and Sunday.)

Following the custom sonic screwdrivers he made for ChronoCon last year, we’re incredibly grateful to Will Chapman from BrickArms for collaborating with us on a number of specially designed custom accessories for our display. Planned accessories (pending finalization) include:

Stackable cannonballs
Caplock musket
Cavalry saber

To start getting your minifigs properly equipped, you can pick up the BrickArms Caplock Musket from Brickmania (where you can also buy a really excellent M1857 cannon used by both sides during the war). Both US and Confederate flags are available from our friend Dave Ingraham over at Cape Madness (along with other cloth accessories, like great coats).

Even though we’re targeting a certain level of historical accuracy, the display isn’t trying to reproduce a specific battle or a specific location. To help make this a success for everyone, we’ve designed the layout so that it can be as large or as small as it needs to be, and can accommodate nearly whatever you build. Whether you bring just a few infantry, a squadron of cavalry, big hulking ironclads, houses for the town, or a full section of landscaping, we’ll do our best to incorporate your hard work.

Nevertheless, BrickCon organizers need to have a sense of how much space the display will need, so please register your MOC(s) — after you register yourself, of course! — and please also let us know in the Flickr group and/or here in the comments on this post.

BrickCon 2015 Registration and Hotel Info [News]

Registration is open for BrickCon 2015, and the countdown helpfully reminds me I have 85 days to build something. BrickCon is taking place Oct. 1 – Oct. 4, 2015, in Seattle, Washington.

As a reminder, there’s a tiered approach to registering: the earlier the better. If you are participating in any games, you will need to sign up either at the time of registration (recommended) or prior to 9:00 am Friday morning.

1. Early Bird Registration is $60, and is available until Aug. 1.
2. Regular Registration is $75, available Aug. 1 – Sep. 18.
3. Late Registration is $100, after Sept. 18.
4. Door Registration is $120, during the event.

Hotel Info is now up on BrickCon‘s website. All prices below do not include additional charges such as occupancy taxes and parking. Here’s a quick breakdown:

Maxwell Hotel – $149
Quality Inn & Suites – $119
Hampton Inn & Suites – $159

Other hotels, as well as booking instructions for those above, can be found here.

Registration now open for BrickCon 2015 [News]

It’s time! Registration is now open for BrickCon 2015. The convention is set for Oct. 1 – Oct. 4, 2015, in Seattle, Washington at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. This year’s theme is MOCking History.

Cost to register depends on how early you do it:

For those of you who wish to sign up for Games, you can now do so during the registration process.

137 days in counting!

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.

LEGO Star Wars 75060 UCS Slave I unveiled at BrickCon in Seattle [News]

Earlier this evening here in Seattle at BrickCon, LEGO officially unveiled the new 75060 Slave I. Unlike every other incarnation of this set, the UCS version is truly minifig-scale, and includes Boba Fett, Han Solo (with carbonite), a Bespin guard, and Stormtooper. With nearly 2,000 pieces, the set will be released in January 2015 for $200 in the US (full pricing details in the press release later in the post).

We had a chance to take a close look at the new set at BrickCon. Play features include everything you’d expect — pop-out blasters, revolving cannon, rotating wings, etc. See nearly 20 official photos in the photoset on Flickr.

Slave I is quite swooshable, as I demonstrate with my Hadouken! pose.

Here’s the full press release from LEGO.

75060 Slave I™

Ages 14+. 1,996 pieces.
US $199.99 – CA $229.99 – DE 199.99€ – UK £169.99 – DK 1699.00 DKK
*Euro pricing varies by country. Please visit shop.LEGO.com for regional pricing.

Lift off for bounty-hunting adventures in the Slave I!

Search the galaxy for fugitives with Boba Fett and his Slave I with rotating cockpit and wings, dual shooters and a display stand.

Track down fugitives with legendary bounty hunter, Boba Fett aboard the powerful Slave I! This exclusive LEGO® Star Wars model features a rotating cockpit and wings for flight and landing mode, plus dual shooters and hidden blasters to repel attackers. Reenact the capture of Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and take off from Bespin with the carbonite-imprisoned Rebel hero in the cargo hold. Attach the stand to display this iconic ship in characteristic upright flight. Includes 4 minifigures with weapons: Boba Fett, Bespin Guard, Stormtrooper and Han Solo.

Includes 4 minifigures with weapons: Boba Fett, Bespin Guard, Stormtrooper and Han Solo

Also includes Han Solo in carbonite!

Features a rotating cockpit and wings, opening side hatches with hidden guns and missiles, 2 rotating dual shooters, cargo hold and a display stand with data sheet

Weapons include special blaster pistol for Boba Fett, blaster pistol for Bespin Guard and a blaster rifle for the Stormtrooper

Boba Fett and Bespin Guard minifigures are unique to this set

Rotate the cockpit and wings for flight and landing mode

Place carbonite-imprisoned Han Solo in the cargo hold

Open the side hatches to unleash missiles from the hidden guns

Showcase the huge Slave I in upright flight on the display stand

Recreate classic scenes from Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back

Measures over 7” (20cm) high, 17” (45cm) long and 14” (37cm) wide in landing mode

Available for sale directly through LEGO® beginning January 2015

Finally, here’s the designer video. Be sure to watch it to catch a pretty hilarious play feature.

Nannan will also have a walk-around video, unless I was talking too much in the background…

Three days to BrickCon 2014 in Seattle

In less than 72 hours, LEGO builders from all over the world will gather in Seattle to kick off BrickCon 2014. Eight of us from The Brothers Brick will be there, and we’ll of course be running our ChronoCon 10,000 BC collaborative display, handing out a bit of swag, and generally making BrickCon that much more awesome.

“A Sound of Thunder” by TBB’s own Simon

If you haven’t left yet and want to throw together a last-minute build for us, we’ve made things easy — just build a convention booth, celebrity signing desk, or fighting dinosaur.

And finally, if you won’t be making it to the full, four-day private convention starting on Thursday, be sure to swing by during the public hours on Saturday or Sunday. You can buy tickets on BrickCon.org.

BrickCon is going to be awesome, but it’ll be even more awesome with you there!

Let’s carve some meat!

Well as long as we’re having a slow news day, I’ll use the opportunity to share the latest bit of rubbish that I threw together… Before Halo, before Unreal, before Quake, before them all, there was DOOM – the first person shooter that started it all. DOOM is now more than 20 years old, and still going strong! This is my homage to game:

Click here for tons of close-up shots. Or if you’re in the Seattle area next weekend, come see it on display – alongside a million other incredible fan-built LEGO creations – at BrickCon. But if you can’t make BrickCon, don’t worry, I created a little “fly-through” video for you:

BrickCon 2014 less than 4 weeks away [News]

Builders, get building – because it’s time to get your Con on!

BrickCon starts October 2nd in Seattle. This is the longest running LEGO convention in the US, and also the ancestral home of The Brothers Brick. If you haven’t done so already, register before September 18th to secure your goody bag and avoid paying the late registration fee of $100. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. As well as all the usual fun and games, this year’s BrickCon includes a couple of special attractions that we’d like to draw your attention to…

Invasion!

The overarching theme of this year’s convention is “Invasion!“. Builders from different specialties are encouraged to collaborate to create mash-ups of traditionally separate themes. Aliens crash-landing in medieval times? Dragons roaming through World War II Europe? Pirates sailing down main street? The more anachronistic the better!

ChronoCon 10,000 BC

The Brothers Brick is also sponsoring a collaborative display (in the same vein as our Zombie Apocafest, Big in Japan, and Numereji displays from previous years). This year the theme is time travel. Imagine if time travelers held conventions, and this one was being hosted by the stone age (…yes, a stone age that features dinosaurs!). Our previous post explains everything in detail, and there’s also a Flickr group for inspiration and help. But essentially you just need to build something to add to the display – we’ll work out the rest. There’ll be swag for participants, and of course trophies for the best contributions.

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75060 Slave I™

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Invasion!

ChronoCon 10,000 BC

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