I’ve uploaded a few of my photos from today to Flickr. We’ll fill this post with something more than this later, but first, sleep!
Nannan has also uploaded his photos:
Tag Archives: Events
BrickCon 2008: Thursday October 2nd
Andrew, Josh, and I are at BrickCon this week (the third and last LEGO convention in North America of 2008).
As usual, Thursday is arrival and setup, and from our photo coverage you can see the 20,000 square feet of display area in the process of filling up with marvelous creations. Andrew and I have uploaded a few pictures to our respective Flickr photostreams here and here. We will keep you updated with news of the opening ceremony and other important events happening Friday.
P.S.- this blog entry was written in the comfort of Andrew’s living room. More blog fests from headquarters to come…
EDIT (AB): Lonnon Foster has also begun uploading photos to his Flickr photostream.
Announcing the Reasonably Clever Spooky Star Wars Contest [w00t!]
Having just announced winners for the Brick Science contest, Reasonably Clever is now co-hosting a new contest with TK 1420.
The Spooky Star Wars Contest challenges you to build a spookified Star Wars vehicle, a scene, an impulse-size creation, or the death of Jar-Jar Binks. (I’m sure we’ve all dreamed of ways that would go down.)
Judges include Steve Sansweet and Mary Franklin from Lucasfilm, as well as TK 1420 and Chris Doyle.
You can win some out-of-circulation LEGO Star Wars sets, so what’re you still doing reading this? Get building!
BrickCon 2008: Last-minute logistics (and more free stuff)
Apologies for boring 99% of our readers, but this is still the fastest way to communicate with the fairly large number of TBB readers who are attending BrickCon later this week.
Fill out your MOC cards now
MOC (My Own Creation) cards identify your LEGO creations for fellow attendees and the general public. They also help theme organizers like Josh and me plan for how much space is needed (more on how that relates to the zombie display later in this post).
Fill out your MOC cards on BrickCon.org. A couple quick points:
- Unless you want to spend the public hours explaining what “SNOT” and “MOC” are to kids and their parents, avoid “AFOL-speak” in your descriptions.
- Zombie creations go in “Other,” not “Train/Town” (whose organizers I suspect think they’re being invaded at this point; that doesn’t actually happen until Sunday).
Remember, only “registered” LEGO creations (ones with MOC cards) will be eligible for the various awards given out by BrickCon.
Pack your LEGO creations for travel or shipping
Before you stuff your LEGO into your carry-on luggage, consider reading the LUGNET post by Duane Hess and the Classic-Castle.com article by Lenny Hoffman about packing and shipping LEGO.
Wouldn’t you rather spend your time socializing and integrating your pristine creations into the display instead of rebuilding them?
Unload your LEGO at the venue
By now, you should’ve received a message from Daniel Brown with details on when, where, and how to unload your LEGO creations at Seattle Center. The loading dock is only available during the following times:
- Thursday 8am – noon
- Thursday 5pm – 9pm
- Friday 8am – noon
- Sunday 5pm – midnight
Please only use the loading dock if you have massive amounts to unload. For more details, please see Daniel’s e-mail. If you didn’t get that e-mail, let us know and we’ll post more information here.
(CC-licensed photo of the Space Needle by Chris Blakely.)
Get to and from the airport
I know several of you are looking to share rides between Sea-Tac Airport and the BrickCon venue at Seattle Center (301 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109). Transportation options include Shuttle Express, taxis, and rental cars — all available near baggage claim.
If you’d like to share a ride with someone to cut costs, post a comment here with your arrival time, and when two or more of you are interesting in connecting, I’ll put you in touch through e-mail.
Bringing stuff for the draft and Dirty Brickster
Drafting a LEGO set allows you to get parts in large quantities that you might otherwise have to buy individually (from, say, Bricklink). Read more about how the draft works on SEALUG.org. If you want to participate, the draft set for BrickCon 2008 is 7626 Jungle Cutter.
Dirty Brickster is a LEGO “white elephant” gift exchange. Bring something that would be worth $10-20 to the recipient, wrapped.
Help bring some order to the Great Chaos of the Zombie Apocafest
With so many last-minute, “Oh, I’m so there!” contributions (thanks in no small part to BrickArms’ generosity, I’m sure), we don’t have a very good sense of how many zombified LEGO creations to expect for the Zombie Apocafest.
Filling out a MOC card will help, but could we also get a quick roll-call from readers planning on bringing a building? (Vehicles will be easy enough to incorporate into the display.) I’ll be at the venue nearly all day Thursday to help with setup — Castle and the zombie display in particular.
Build your GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest entries
If you haven’t entered our GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest yet, you can do so right there at BrickCon.
Just swing by The LEGO Group’s table, dig through the bricks, build a vig or dio, have it photographed, and fill out the entry form. Oh, and you get to keep what you build.
Get your Brothers Brick LEGO brick
Last but not least, the first 100 people who come up to Josh, Nannan, or me and say “It’s a brick-built world out there” will get a custom-engraved brick — your choice of “The Brothers Brick” or “Brothers-Brick.com”.
Oh yes, this is gonna be the best BrickCon yet! See everybody in a couple of days!
Let us know what you want to see from BrickCon 2008
For those of you who can’t make it to BrickCon 2008, Josh, Nannan, and I will be covering the con starting this Thursday.
We want to know what you’re most interested in seeing from us. By voting in the new poll and leaving a comment here, you can help shape our coverage of BrickCon 2008. Our coverage of BrickCon 2008 is in your hands.
(Photo by Adam Hally.)
So, do you want to get to know some of the people behind the creations featured here on The Brothers Brick? Are you most interested in product announcements from LEGO, BrickArms, and other companies? Maybe you want to see more pictures of people’s creations and group displays. Let us know!
Note: If you see an error when you try to vote, rest assured that your vote is still being counted. It’s a conflict between two WordPress plug-ins.
[poll id=”14″]
Welt der Steine fan event in Vienna, Austria on October 4-5, 2008 [News]
Austrian LEGO fan group LGOE (not a typo — it stands for LEGO Gemeinschaft Österreich) will be hosting an event next weekend in Vienna.
Here are the details in German (courtesy Verena Schaden):
Die LEGO® Gemeinschaft Österreich lädt euch ein zur
Welt der Steine – taucht ein in das bunte Reich der LEGO® Fans
4. – 5. Oktober, 10 – 17 Uhr
Veranstaltungszentrum Simmering
Simmeringer Hauptstr. 96a, 1110 Wien
Kontakt: info@lgoe.at
And in English:
Name of the show: Welt der Steine (means: World of Stones)
Date: October 4 – 5, 2008
Time: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Location: Veranstaltungszentrum Simmering, Simmeringer Hauptstr. 96a, 1110 Vienna, Austria
Contact: info@lgoe.at
New BrickArms Zombie Defense Weapons Pack at BrickCon 2008 [News]
BrickCon 2008 begins this Thursday! When I announced prizes and giveaways for the Zombie Apocafest, I realized we needed a good way to repel the zombie menace.
What better way to fend of that flesh-eating horde than with a special set of weapons designed for just that purpose from BrickArms?
In addition to the other prizes and giveaways, BrickArms and The Brothers Brick will be handing out new Zombie Defense Weapons Packs to everyone who contributes a building or vehicle to the Zombie Apocafest display. That’s right: BrickArms for free!
The weapons pack is full of the tools of the zombie-hunting trade:
- SW500 Magnum Revolver (for stopping power; x2)
- M21 Sniper Rifle (for keeping your distance)
- Mk48 Mod 0 Machine Gun
- AK Assault Rifle (doesn’t jam as easily as the M4/M16)
- Uzi Submachine Gun (x2)
- Bipod (x2) and Monopod (x3)
- Combat Shotgun (brand-new prototype)
- M1 Garand Rifle (in black)
- M1 1911 .45 Pistol (backup weapon #1)
- Baseball Bat (backup weapon #2)
- Glow-in-the-dark Zombie Head
If you don’t have time to build something for the display, you’ll be able to buy your very own Zombie Defense Weapons Pack at the BrickArms table. And if you can’t make it in person, BrickArms will be making these available through the re-launched BrickArms.com.
Well, I’m off to finish up my final building for the display and begin creating the horde itself… :D
Get your entries in for the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest!
For those of your rightfully envious of all our great prizes and giveaways for Zombie Apocafest 2008 at BrickCon next month, there are even better prizes to be won for our GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest. Remember, the contest is open to everyone over the age of 18 worldwide.
Here are just a few of the great entries readers have submitted so far to the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest pool on Flickr.
Entries from Alex Eylar (left) and Alan Chia (right).
Entries from Peter Edwards (left) and Aaron Andrews (right).
I’m seeing quite a few submissions that skip one or more of the requirements, so here are a few key points from the contest rules. ;)
- Tag your photo “GO MINIMAN GO” on Flickr.
- Identify which category your entry is for — 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s.
- Add your photo (only one per entry) to the group pool.
- Let us know about your entry with a link to the creation and which category it’s for.
- If you can, please add one of the GO MINIMAN GO logos to your photo. (If you can’t, let us know in your submission and we’ll hook you up.)
For those of you who prefer your pictures moving, Gizmodo is also hosting the GO MINIMAN GO Video Contest, in which you can win amazing classic sets like 928 Galaxy Explorer and 375 Yellow Castle.
To get you inspired for Gizmodo’s contest, be sure to check out the videos by our very own Nathan Wells, David Pagano, and Nate Burr.
Here’s Nathan’s gorgeous salute to 30 years of the LEGO minifig:
By the way, did you know that the various minifig parts LEGO has released over the past 30 years can be combined in over 8 quadrillion possible combinations? Find out more fun facts like that on GoMinimanGo.com.
If you have a question about our GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest, just leave a comment here. Happy building, and good luck!
Counting down to BrickCon 2008 and the Zombie Apocafest
Update: Zombie Apocafest 2008 is now over, and it was awesome. Don’t miss our full coverage here on The Brothers Brick:
BrickCon 2008 is less than a month away. The list of attendees is growing, and it’s starting to look like this will be the first 200-attendee BrickCon!
Today and tomorrow are your very last chance to register at the $50 price (registration goes up to $60 on Tuesday, September 8), and the last window of opportunity to guarantee your personalized brick badge engraved by Brick Engraver.
Plans for group projects at BrickCon 2008 are well underway, with lots of progress on the Zombie Apocafest and ChiefLUG Initiation.
To sweeten the deal, The Brothers Brick will be handing out some cool prizes and giveaways:
- Custom-engraved bricks to add to your badge for everyone who contributes a vehicle or building to the LEGO Zombie Apocafest
- 10190 Market Street
for the best building in the zombie layout
- 10200 Custom Car Garage
for the best vehicle in the zombie layout
If you’re worried that you don’t have any LEGO zombies — don’t sweat it. We’ve got you covered with a horde of at least 80 zombies. :twisted:
And for those of you who can’t make it in person this year, there’s still the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest with even more prizes! The contest is open to everyone over 18 worldwide, and entries are already stacking up in the GO MINIMAN GO photo pool, so take a look at the rules and try your hand at a scene inspired by the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, or 2000s.
They are coming...
The darkness is coming to BrickCon, bringing with it a massive invasion of my signature Black Fantasy creature, the Cyclopean Virtue. There’s only less than one month left before the showdown, so register now before it’s too late. You can contribute to the invasion by making one or more of your own to add to the army (instructions).
Meanwhile, you can support my BrickCon projects by purchasing a custom model. I am selling a very limited quantity of the Tripod Droid and Andante (click on links for details).
Above art by Greg Hyland
Pictures are finally leaking out of BrickFair!
If you’ve been wondering where all the Lego fans have gone, they’re at Brickfair! Here are a few galleries of pics, to satisfy your Lego craving. If, like me, you didn’t get to go….
There is also a Flickr Brickfair pool, if you need more…
Taking back our streets from the LEGO zombie horde
BrickCon is just around the corner. In fact, if you don’t register before September 8th, the price goes up to $60 and you won’t be guaranteed personalized stuff like engraved brick badges.
My contribution to the LEGO Zombie Apocafest display we’re organizing is an auto repair shop and a fire station in a diorama that I’m currently calling “The Outbreak”:
Zombies converge on the residents of my modular buildings as they attempt to fight back. The architecture may have been the focus of my building energies for once, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t neglected some good, old-fashioned minifig action:
Please see my Outbreak photoset on Flickr for a ton of pictures.