The Creations for Charity sale is in full swing and more custom creations have been listed for the charity fundraiser. Check out what’s for sale and don’t forget that you can contribute a creation until December 1st. We have raised over $2,700 so far, and that means a lot of Lego for the children this holiday season. Thank you for your support!
This loveable little time bot is a great idea. Like many of the creations on here, I want one. Shannon Ocean took a standard digital clock and built it into this adorably hard-core battle frame.
If you really want this little guy to wake you up every morning, it has been donated to Creations for Charity
Image from CollectSpace.com
NASA issued a press release yesterday stating that they have signed a Space Act agreement with LEGO. The partnership will focus on promoting interest in science, technology, engineering and math. At the launch event, NASA will actually be launching a shuttle built from LEGO bricks. It will be aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, on what is Discovery’s last scheduled mission.
“Partnering with The LEGO Group is a perfect fit. We have taken the excitement of NASA’s missions and coupled that with kids’ love of creating things with the iconic LEGO bricks,” said Leland Melvin, NASA’s associate administrator for Education. “These projects not only foster creativity but also instill in the young builders a real sense of the engineering and design principles that NASA uses every day. Fun learning activities like these can help inspire kids to become the next generation of explorers.”
Also our readers may be excited to hear that 4 NASA sets will be included in LEGO’s City line as a part of this partnership.
See the entire NASA press release here.
Many thanks to Vinny for the heads up!
From now until early December, you can buy a custom Lego creation made by Lego fans from around the world. All proceeds will be used to give Lego sets to underprivileged children during the holidays. This is an annual opportunity where Lego enthusiasts use their creative hobby to support a great cause. As buyers, you can own the original creations from a diverse array of builders and customizers, several of whom are among the best at what they do.
To get started, visit the store on Bricklink to purchase a creation. Many of your questions can be answered there as well. Take a look at a sample of what’s for sale below. More items will be constantly added throughout November, so check often!
We accept creations for the fundraiser until December 1st. We also accept monetary donations at the store. For either form of donation over $50, you will receive an engraved Creations for Charity 2010 keychain assembled and glued by LEGO Certified Professional Sean Kenney and topped with a real gold-plated Lego brick from ChromeBricks. I sincerely hope you’ll take part in this event and help us set a new record. You make a lot of kids happy. Merry Christmas!
The Castle layout at BrickCon is going all out this year! In support of that effort, Brickforge is contributing exclusive packs for contributors to the Castle section at the Con. Gotta love those gold helms…
Quantities are limited, so if you have something medieval, let me know about it. We can always use more Castle goodness.
BrickCon 2010 starts this Thursday (with the public exhibition on Saturday and Sunday). If you’re not ready yet — I know I’m not — you don’t have a whole lot of time left!
First, today and tomorrow are your last chance to register your MOC cards. Remember, only registered LEGO creations are eligible to win prizes.
At this point, your main concerns should probably be packing and traveling. (See our BrickCon 2009 logistics post for links to suggestions on how to pack your LEGO so it travels safely.)
As for getting to the convention location for less than five bucks, Mark Sandlin has updated his Infothingy™ to reflect the fact that our light rail now goes all the way from Sea-Tac Airport to Westlake Center. Throw in a bonus monorail ride to take you the rest of the way, and it’s not only inexpensive but down right awesome:
With nearly 400 registered attendees, BrickCon 2010 is shaping up to be the biggest yet. See you all there later this week!
In addition to the large-scale, theme-specific collaborate displays that BrickCon has become known for throughout the LEGO fan community — from sweeping Castle landscapes to Great Ball Contraptions that would make Rube Goldberg envious — BrickCon 2010 will also feature several new and returning favorites.
If you’re still thinking about attending, you only have a few days left to register and guarantee custom-engraved bricks in your registration packet. If you have registered, don’t forget to also register your LEGO creations by filling out MOC cards. MOC cards help theme organizers plan for the necessary space, and more importantly make your creations eligible to win convention prizes.
Each of BrickCon’s group builds is designed to be accessible to every registered attendee (sorry, no contributions during Public Hours), regardless of how big or small your LEGO collection is, and whether or not you’ve even started building yet!
Zombies are so last year (and the year before)… The Brothers Brick’s official collaborative display this year takes its inspiration from the history, mythology, and pop culture of Japan. In keeping with the organic way we’ve put together layouts in years past, we’re not asking you to follow any particular standard, timeline, or even scale. We’ll have life-size ninja weapons, a minifig-scale rendition of the village from Seven Samurai, Ochre Jelly’s wonderfully unique homage to Hayao Miyazaki, the return of Mecha Godzilla, and whatever else inspires you to build something that’s … Big in Japan.
If you’re trying to think of an easy way to contribute something, consider building small for Big in Japan.
A Micropolis module isn’t parts or time intensive, and it’ll bring me one step closer to my dream of a microscale LEGO map of the entire Japanese archipelago. (I’ve built seven more modules after posting Micro Tokyo there on the right.)
Please sound off in the comments with what you’re planning to bring for Big in Japan, just so we don’t end up with three Mount Fujis.
Debuted at Bricks by the Bay earlier this year, Bricks of Character is “a Lego building theme featuring brick-built models of well known characters from film, television, literature, history, politics, or even just your imagination. Anything so long as it has personality, and isn’t just posed mini-figs” (*ahem* not that there’s anything wrong with posing minifigs).
Read more about Bricks of Character in the official announcement post on The Living Brick.
BrickCon 2010 is sure to be a lot of fun, but it’s also going to be bittersweet for many of us.
Following fly-ins at BrickWorld and BrickFair, the Vic Viper Fly-in at BrickCon will be the last fly-in to memorialize the influence and legacy of Nate Nielson, who died in a car accident earlier this year.
Though Nate lived here in the Pacific Northwest, nobody in the LEGO fan community had ever met him in person (or even knew his real name), but we all said that this was the year we were going to convince him to attend BrickCon. That can’t happen now, but members of Nate’s family will be in attendance, taking in our tribute to this legendary builder.
I’ll be coordinating the fly-in, but Keith Goldman — who was so instrumental in organizing the earlier tributes to Nate — will also be attending BrickCon, and I’m sure I’ll be leaning heavily on his experience.
I’ve personally invested a great deal of my own building energies lately in preparing an invasion force for Operation Bricklord: Europe at War.
“The setting is a battle-torn town with a canal running through it – much like the fictional town of Ramelle at the end of Saving Private Ryan, for those of you who are familiar with that film – in mid-late 1944, almost immediately post D-Day. Therefore, little details like planes with invasion stripes and such would be extra accurate!”
Photograph by Adam Hally
BrickCon is a scant thirty-five days away–but who’s counting? Not me, I assure you. As time for BrickCon (and the close of registration!) draws near, I wanted to point out one of the latest additions to the BrickCon line-up:
We are pleased to announce the return of the BrickCon Film Festival.
Awards and prizes will be given for the best films submitted, and the claim to fame till next year.
Films will be shown to attendees and voted on to determine the best.
They will also be shown during public hours exhibition if possible.
Submission guidelines:
1. BrickCon Film Festival reserves the right accept or not accept film submissions at its sole descretion.
2. Films must be your own original work.
3. You must be registered as an attendee to submit an entry.
4. 1-4 minutes is a good length, longer films may be rejected unless they are incredibly awesome.
5. Recommended file types are *.mov or *.mp4
6. The last day we can receive your submission is September 23,20082010.
7. Contact Dave Ingraham (pull down) on our Contact Us page for information on how to submit your film.
8. You must be present to win prize (else prize will go to film with the next most votes).Filmmakers agree that their film and/or clips from it and all other material related to their project may be used and/or published in the event program, the BrickCon Film Festival screening, the BrickCon website, rescreened at BrickCon and for any promotional purposes which the BrickCon Film Festival deems appropriate.
Submission of your film confirms that you have read, understand, and agree to the BrickCon Film Festival Submission Guidelines as stated above.
Good luck and happy filming!
I know there are some great filmmakers out there, and I’m pretty sure at least some of you are attending BrickCon. So show us your stuff!
Photograph by Adam Hally
We are getting excited about BrickCon 2010 here and, while we were busy getting our bricks in a row, we received the following press release from the BrickCon staff.
Now is the time to register for BrickCon 2010, September 30th through October 3rd. This year’s Theme is “Tales of the Brick!” Build your Tale and tell (and show) it to the world!
We return to the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall and have added the Rainier Room (Northwest Rooms) to our venue space. We’ll be using the Rainier Room (6,000 sq ft) for all of our Convention Activities including the Thursday Meet and Greet and our General Assemblies, seminars and contests.
Registering now will guarantee you’ll receive a customized engraved name badge you can wear proudly to the entire three day (four if you count Thursday – and we do!) event. Included with your registration will be a great Goody Bag, a Free Luncheon on Friday. And, if you’re old enough, you can attend our Thursday Meet and Greet get together where mixed drinks, beer and wine will be available ($4 per drink – cash only) along with free Mexican fare (snacks).
If you procrastinate too long, September 15th is the “deadline”, we cannot guarantee the terrific Goody Bag and custom badge. Registration will close September 28th. Then registration will only be at the door at the Exhibition Hall.
Visit www.brickcon.org now for details and Register Now!
Prices:
Adult Registration (21+) $65
Young Adult Registration (18-21) $60
Under 18 (Teen) Registration (must include an Adult (21+) as a package) $60
T-Shirts $15 – $17.50
Convention Model $20Wayne Hussey
BrickCon
So get your rear in gear and be there! By the way, if you are attending, and you see some of us, make sure you say ‘hi’. See you there!
Star Wars Celebration V took place last weekend. The video below has an incredible time-lapse footage of the public assembling a 15-foot wide Lego mural along with a good coverage of LEGO’s presence at the event.
Via FBTB
BrickFair 2010 took place last weekend, and I’ve now finally had a little bit of time to recover. Like any LEGO convention, it was a blast! There were a lot of fun times to be had hanging out with other LEGO builders. There were also some great sessions, including a presentation by LEGO designer Jamie Berard (which culminated with the unveiling of the Tower Bridge set).
People have also had some time to put their photos online. This works out well, as my wife had both of our cameras in the Galapagos, while I was at BrickFair. You’ll all have to wait for more photos of the latest award-winning display from my compatriot Nick and I of 3LUG. In the meantime, I’d like to highlight some of my favorites from the con.
The above is part of a diorama depicting the battle of Fort McHenry, the inspiration for the Star Spangled Banner. This diorama incorporated some great detail techniques, including smoke from the cannons, and wall-shrapnel. The builder chose to depict the ship in cross-section, which was a fascinating bit of extra detail. The most amazing thing about this creation, though, was that, according to the MOC card, it was built by a thirteen year old!
I also quite enjoyed the display above, by Jordan Schwartz. There’s some lovely detail work in the railing, and the columns are nice as well.
HKLUG has posted a ton of excellent pictures from the 2010 Anime Festival on their Facebook page.
You should definitely take the time to check them out. The pictures posted here really caught me eye, but there are many, many more.
If any of our readers have information on the actual builders, please let us know so that we can give credit where credit is due. Thanks!
