Imagineers and AFOLs: Finding Creative Community at BrickCon 2023

Imagineers and AFOLs: Finding Creative Community at BrickCon 2023

What do Imagineers and AFOLs have in common? Guest contributor Joe Meno from BrickJournal Magazine shares his experience bringing Disney Imagineer Terri Hardin to BrickCon 2023 to celebrate creative expression using LEGO.

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It's a Small World After All

It's a Small World After All

In honor of the 55th anniversary of the opening of “It’s a Small World” at Disneyland, Bill Vollbrecht shares with us the story behind his stunning LEGO replica of the iconic ride, where his inspiration comes from, and the risks of carrying a large MOC down a staircase...

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The Library From Beauty And The Beast

BrickCon 2019 is over, and I had a blast. Among the many notable events this year were: My wife came with me (her first BrickCon), I walked just about 20 miles over the four days, I was given a Nerdly 10-Doh (thanks Mike!) and I was co-coordinator for the Pop Culture theme (with the great Brandon Griffith). Of course there were a great number of fantastic MOCs in our theme, but this incredible library from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast by builder ssential was a stand out. So much so that me and Brandon awarded it “Best Picture”, and I’m pleased to announce it went on to earn “Best in Show” for BrickCon 2019. Sarah meticulously documented its construction, posting loads of pictures on Flickr, click through to see how this stunning build was accomplished.

Jack's House

Tim Burton’s design for The Nightmare Before Christmas is as iconic as the film itself. Everywhere you look in the film there’s things so wonderfully off kilter they defy logic but draw you in. It’s so charming your brain just automatically forgives any gap in reality. Builder monstrophonic captures this aesthetic perfectly with this rendition of Jack Skellington’s house, and the same rules apply here.

Mickey And The Roadster Racers

Everyone knows what a Disney fan I am, so naturally this brilliant little pair of cars from Ianying616 caught my eye. While I’ve never seen the show they’re based on (what do you want? There’s no young children at my house these days), I can see right away that a lot of care went into recreating these. I just want to zoom zoom them.

Uncle Scrooge

Here we see the species Anas platyrhynchos dives nimis in his natural habitat, the bank vault. While the origins of this species are well known (he’s from Disney) the origins of his fortune are shrouded in mystery. There are many rumors but we won’t speculate here. What we will do is tip our hat to Swan Dutchman for this outstanding rendition of him.

Mickey!

Mickey Mouse is a pretty popular subject for LEGO artists, I myself took a crack at him almost 10 years ago. And I can tell you from first hand experience he’s not easy, especially at small scale. But thanks to some much needed parts, namely the 1x1 round black tile and 1x1 half round white tile, everyone’s favorite mouse has never looked better than this rendition by the great Bruce Lowell.

Oswald

Meet Oswald, Mickey Mouse’s predecessor. Way back when Walt Disney was making cartoons with this little guy, 27 of them to be exact. But then Walt lost the rights to him and was suddenly without a lead character. Well that was then and this is now and Oswald is proudly back at home with Disney. Builder Alex Kelly brought this little version to life, and he looks ready for some antics.

Gargoyles!

I have many a fond memories of Gargoyles both in its original run in the mid-nineties and then catching reruns on the Disney Channel in college. The characters were fun, the voice acting was enjoyable and includes many Star Trek actors (TNG and Voyager), and had a great urban fantasy / Sci-Fi combo going. The third season did lose its way a bit, (that is covered in-depth elsewhere), but overall a very fun show. Daniel Jackson re-watched the series a few years back and built Goliath as he awakes in 2017 and is just now sharing it with us.  He’s captured the charter well, Goliath is instantly recognizable, and the 1x1 stone flecks are a nice touch. He also built Goliath’s once love interest and often foil Demona. The choice of skyscraper backdrop for these pictures really sells the picture. They are just cartoony enough and match the series aesthetic nicely.

Little Helper

Having never watched DuckTales (sorry, came along a little late for me) or read a Donald Duck comic I had no idea who this character by builder lummerlander was, but I was intrigued. One google search later and now I know, and he’s pretty cool. I could use this little guy in the workshop of Nerds&Makers, where I get into my non-LEGO mischief.

Aurora

Confession time, I’ve never seen Sleeping Beauty. Yes, as big a Disney nerd as I am, I’ve never seen it, at least in it’s entirety. I know the whole story, mostly I think, but I’ve never watched it. Despite that I have a genuine appreciation for this lovely interpretation of it’s title character Aurora (aka Briar Rose) by builder retinence. By the way, why doesn’t Aurora have a last name?

Jack Jack Has Powers!

One of the great things about cruising on the Disney Wonder is there’s two beautiful theaters on the boat, running current and classic movies all the time. Me and my wife finally got a chance to see Incredibles 2 during our cruise a couple weeks ago and enjoyed it very much. One of the sub plots is the discovery of Jack Jack’s powers, which was fun because it was revealed to the audience at the end of the first film. Since the sequel starts pretty much where the last one left off, we get to see the rest of the family learn he’s a super too. Speaking of super, check out this outstanding caricature of Mr. Incredible. Just trying to be a good stay-at-home dad and, you know, keep the baby from destroying the house.

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So Peculiar

Have you ever really listened to the first song of Disney's Beauty and the Beast? It has always struck me as odd that the entire town is put off by Belle because she's both, get this, pretty and well-read. They're really upset that this little lady is not only attractive, but has the gall to read! Builder retinence is not put off by this though, and celebrates Belle's beauty and favorite activity in this wonderful creation.  

Belle

Tink

She's an absolute icon, and synonymous with all things Disney. She started every TV show and ends the fireworks show at Disneyland. She is if course Tinkerbell. This rendition by reticence is instantly recognizable and absolutely magical. Fun fact: the first lady to make the flight as Tinkerbell was the legendary Tiny Kline, a 70 year old circus performer. The best part is how she ended every flight, by slamming into a mattress held by two dudes.

Tinkerbell