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.

LEGO Gollum reminds us that there are only a few more days to register for BrickCon 2013!

BrickCon 2013 is less than a month away and registration will be closing in two weeks! If you are planning on attending the longest-running LEGO fan convention in North America, you had better get registered. There will be prizes, games, seminars, round-table talks, food, new friends and, of course, tons and tons of cool LEGO creations to drool over. This will be my eighth BrickCon and every one has been fun and unique. You definitely don’t want to miss the party! Iain Heath posted this video gem to remind all of us how precious registration really is…

If you plan to attend the whole convention, register through the BrickCon Builder’s site.

If you plan to only view the displays during the public hours, buy tickets in advance at the Public BrickCon sit.

BrickCon 2013 registration now open [News]

BrickCon 2013 is now open for registration! As we’ve said before, BrickCon is our favorite LEGO convention in the increasingly busy North American LEGO convention circuit.

BrickCon 2013

The official theme for BrickCon 2013 is “Pigs vs. Cows” (as I’m sure everyone gathered from the Kickstarter project we highlighted earlier this year). What does that craziness mean? Well, that’s really up to you — LEGO is, after all, a creative medium. I’m not sure how town and train builders will manifest the theme in their layout, or whether we can expect cows storming the pig-defended beaches of a LEGO Normandy, but I do know that the castle builders have something spectacular planned.

Speaking of collaborations, watch this space for more info on the various themes that will give you the opportunity to contribute to a group build.

If you haven’t been to BrickCon before, check out BrickCon photos on Flickr and our own BrickCon coverage here on The Brothers Brick.

Be sure to go to BrickCon.org/Builders/ to register for the full, four-day private convention.

The exclusive “Pigs vs. Cows” BrickArms crate has been unveiled

Guy Himber’s Pigs vs. Cows project is well underway, but still needs pledges! An exciting part of some the pledges is an exclusive PvC BrickArms crate that will be included with the Pig and Cow heads.

Pledge now!

Also one of the $1000 pledges has been picked up so everyone will be receiving cat heads as well! As the picture states, the cat is still a work-in-progress.

Cat Warrior Work In Progress for Pigs vs Cows on Kickstarter

Pledge now!

PIGS vs. COWS!!!

In preparation for the Pigs vs. Cows theme at BrickCon 2013, Guy Himber (V&A Steamworks) has launched a Kickstarter campaign to produce minifig-compatible pig and cow heads!

Head over to Kickstater and pledge to get some of these great heads to spice up your Pigs vs Cows creations! Keep watch here on The Brothers Brick for more news on the Pigs vs. Cows theme and BrickCon 2013!!!

Hillel Cooperman’s BrickCon keynote video now online

Since BrickCon 2010, we’ve been treated to Hillel Cooperman‘s hilarious opinions about the world of LEGO fandom. This year’s keynote address is now online, and gives you a flavor of what it’s like to get in a room and laugh together with 500 of your closest friends. This year, Hillel shares a lovely retrospective of the first 10 years of the longest-running LEGO convention.

Warning: This is an uncensored video at a convention for adult LEGO fans. Expect the occasional four-letter word…

Pixel-by-pixel map of Zelda’s Hyrule built from LEGO

No, we’re not done yet featuring all the great LEGO creations debuted at BrickCon 2012 last month! Michael Kuroda (madoruk) just posted his massive map of Hyrule from the original Legend of Zelda.

The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule

Each LEGO stud represents 16×16 pixels on the in-game map, and the overall LEGO map is 256 studs wide by 88 studs tall!

One of the things I really like about Michael’s work is that he builds in a lot of different genres, so be sure to check out his photostream for lots more good stuff.

LEGO Rialto Bridge

Anupehr has been creating some incredible LEGO versions of famous landmarks from around the world. One of her most recent, the Rialto bridge, won ‘Best Architectural Style’ at BrickCon earlier this month. This is one builder to keep an eye on. She has managed to fly under the radar for some time but she has some incredible skills.

The Rialto Bridge, Venice.

Check out the whole set of pictures for more details.

Enter the FUN HAUS! A celebration of life ... through death!

Continuing our coverage of great LEGO models debuted at BrickCon 2012, Paul Hetherington just posted his FUN HAUS! building, which won “Best in Town.” (Paul has a serious winning streak going — he also won Town trophies in 2010 and 2011, and won our “Best Apocafied Building” prize during Zombie Apocafest 2009 for his Turns at Midnight carousel.)

FUN HAUS!

Paul’s funhouse was inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) celebrations, as well as the work of artist Pooch. The building features moving cars as well as letters, so the video is well worth a watch.

Catsy’s micro Halo Ringworld in LEGO is still 5 feet across!

We’re not even close to being done featuring all the awesome LEGO models debuted at BrickCon 2012 earlier this month. I had the privilege of hanging out with Catsy as he assembled his LEGO Halo ringworld for the first time right there at the con — it was simply too huge to fully assemble at home!

Nearly three years in the making, Catsy’s ring is built from more than 11,000 bricks and spans just under 5 feet. Catsy tells us that it’s 1,467 mm wide, to be precise.

Halo Ringworld

The construction techniques Catsy used to build this took some serious engineering prowess. Here’s Catsy in his own words:

The outer ring (hull) consists of eight more or less identical segments (with minor variations in texture or the use of old gray for contrast), each 72 studs long. The inner ring (landscape) floats freely within the outer ring and stays in place purely by friction and tension.

The photo above shows off the overall detail really nicely, but I just love this next view.

Halo Ringworld scene

Because there can never be too many clowns

Guy Himber, aka V&A Steamworks, has created a mind-blowing, mouth-watering, magnificent, and majestic Mold-A-Rama machine. I saw it at BrickCon and even got to breathe the same air as the builder. Let me tell you, it was a pleasure and the machine definitely deserved the “Best Use of NXT” award that it received. I didn’t get to observe the effects in person, but I understand that many paying members of the LEGO-viewing public were reduced to quivering pools of confusion while trying to figure out how Guy’s contraption worked. And that, dear readers, is the sign of a great LEGO build.

LEGO - MOLD-A-RAMA by V&A Steamworks

I insist you watch the video:

Kingdom of Halthus

David Frank (aka Fraslund) has been working on a medieval Castle layout for most of the last year and he finally unveiled it at BrickCon. His work was nothing short of breath-taking. The level of detail was stunning and I discovered incredible new details everytime I looked it over. David is definitely a builder to be reckoned with. Take time to examine all of his pictures of this creation, both wide-angle and closeups. You won’t be disappointed.

hal08

Fear the reaper

As people upload their BrickCon photos and pics of the LEGO models they waited to premier in person at the con, we’ll be highlighting the ones that caught our eye.

The only thing more impressive than Blair Amos‘s mustache at BrickCon this weekend was his mecha. His “Reaper” multiped mech incorporates a truly unique canopy. Blair says the canopy is a “windshield from inside [an] airplane cockpit — the first piece of the whole build. [It] has three oddly placed stud-size holes where the screws go in.” Nice!

REAPER2