Chicago Brickworld 2015 Part 2

Another year of Brickworld is in the books and so goes with it one of the largest LEGO conventions in the United States (until next year of course). This year we saw some amazing creations from a wide spectrum of official themes and unique ideas never seen before. I am always impressed at how quickly the community embraces every new piece that LEGO releases to come up with more and more detailed builds each year. So if you attended Brickworld this year and submitted a build, please pat yourself on the back for your creativity.

One of the coolest things at Brickworld is the "World of Lights" event that takes place on Saturday night. Late at night, well after the public has gone home, the conference hall's overhead lights are turned off and the only source of light is the glow from the lit-up displays. It is an amazing sight to see for sure and one that must be witnessed in person to fully appreciate. I've included some "before and after" shots in some of the photos of the event below.

Part 3 of our Brickworld series will be posted soon and will include some of the small details that can easily be missed in the proverbial sea of LEGO bricks that is the Brickworld display floor.

Research And Development

Let's face it, the future isn't going to invent itself. It's going to take creative minds, deep thinkers, tinkerers and dreamers to make it happen. And no matter how far in the future you go, there's always going to be new trails to blaze, new ideas to realize and and new dreams to strive for. Like these intrepid researchers in space, making the next generation of robots happen thanks to the creative mind of Legoloverman. 

Chicago Brickworld 2015 Part 1

Brickworld 2015 is now well underway in Chicago. The first two and half days are dedicated to the setup of displays, competitions, expert panels, and other various sessions. If you live in the mid-west (or anywhere in the world really!) you should at least make a point to attend once in your lifetime. Besides the all-access only days there are also two public days Saturday 10AM - 4PM and Sunday 10AM - 3PM. Also, if you can track me down during the public hours I will award you with a BrickNerd sticker or brick (hint, I am with WisLUG)

Here are just a few of the many many things that you will see at Brickworld:

Brickworld 2015 Exclusive Interview!

It's that time of year again, boys and girls--Brickworld 2015 is this weekend! I had the chance to sit down with Executive Director and Cofounder Bryan Bonahoom. Actually, we just spoke on the phone. He was driving his fully loaded rig to Chicago, obeying all local traffic laws, and using his hands free mobile device, of course.

But before I got into all the 'what's new' questions about Brickworld this year, I had a few other pressing issues to go over first. "So, Bryan, why no pics of any of the VLUG collaborations on the BW homepage? I mean, all the work we put into those displays, and not even a..." He knew where I was going with this question, seemingly prepared for it, in fact. "We've actually been using pics of the Odyssey for our promotional materials this year, not only for the Chicago event, but for our other venues as well." Nice.

I had another one for him. "I was reading through your list of the Brickworld Team, and noticed that Simon Liu is your SciFi Coordinator. Did you know he's a Canadian citizen? Is that even legal?" Turns out he did know. "Actually, the staff are all volunteers. They get free registration, special goodies, and a private forum where they can communicate ideas about BW. They also keep me in line." I always thought that was his wife Kathie's job...

Okay, so let's get to the nitty gritty. "What can we expect new and exciting at Brickworld Chicago 2015?" "Now, I got special permission from Kyle Peterson at BrickForge to tell you this. I can't say exactly what it is, but it's a new custom minifig that ties into this year's theme of Brick to the Future." Okay, folks, that's a Bricknerd exclusive!

"We've also got a screening of a soon-to-be-released Brickumentary.  The film was commissioned two years ago, narrated by Jason Bateman. It follows several AFOLs at various fan events, from start to finish, what they go through to create and display their work. I haven't even seen it myself, so, should be great. It's a big score to have this at BW." Awesome!

That just about covers it, gang, other than what you'll discover in the massive 66,000 square foot convention center, filled with mind blowing creations, large and small, from LEGO fans around the world.

M20 Killjoy

With a name like Killjoy, you know this thing means business. I really dig the style of this mech, it feels more like a functional subframe with armored panels than the usual "action figure frame with stuff stuck on" that's so common these days. And the mechanics of it seem totally feasible, with excellent weight shift and stability.

A master class in SHIP building.

This is how it's done, ladies and gentlemen. I've been following this one for a long time, patiently awaiting its completion. The end results, I must say, have been more than worth it. Peter Mowry has been hard at work on The Solacium for nearly a year. I remember seeing the first concept sketch on Flickr in 2014, and wondered how he was going to pull it off. Well, here it is, in all its glory. Words fail me. One of the finest examples of SHIP building that has ever graced the ABS brick. Bravo, Pete.

Wall•E

Pictures of Angus MacLane's forthcoming LEGO Ideas set surfaced a few days ago. And you didn't see them here because I have a strict policy on leaks and rumors, namely that we don't go there. But I will say I'm every bit (if not more) excited for that set as I ever was. It looks like the inevitable modifications by TLG actually improved the set, which is sadly usually not the case (for necessary or at least arguable, if not heartbreaking reasons). Builder Miro78 is excited too, and built this wonderful logo.

NCS Y-Wing

Now here's a mashup I can get behind, Star Wars and neo classic space. Builder Billyburg has brought together the form factor of an all time classic ship from a galaxy far, far away with the modernized aesthetic but classic color combinations of LEGO classic space and the results are pretty sweet. This thing looks ready to take on the Empire.

What doesn't Barbie Have?

Barbie is the quintessential girl's doll that has just about everything. The Barbie Dream House is of course the ultimate dwelling, and it may have an elevator but the rooms are a bit much (there's only so much pink you can take you know). But now thanks to the mad building chops of {YVD} she's got a gorgeous new LEGO room. 

Gargamel

I know nearly nothing about the Smurfs. I was too old to care about them when they burst onto the American saturday morning cartoon scene in 1981. Interestingly enough, builder Deathly Halliwell also doesn't know much about them either according to his description of this stunning MOC of the main bad guy Gargamel. Lucky for us you don't have to be a Smurf fan to enjoy this marvelous sculpture.

Nadja The Lamia

Part woman, part sea creature, check. Charming features, check. Red hair, check. Likes to collect artifacts of the human world and sing...not so much. Nope, this isn't the Little Mermaid, and she doesn't want to be part of your world (she wouldn't mind eating your children though).This is Nadja the lamia by lingonkart and she's terrifyingly beautiful.

FERX 4.3

Meet "The Mad Deity", at least that's what builder Chokolat Shadow calls this rather intimidating mech with a slew of functionality. You'll have to click through for the full story, but there's some clues in the bottom image of how well this beast is thought out. There's also an intriguing back story involving a dog and a rabbit, just sayin'.

Roads? Where We're Going We Don't Need...Roads

This is stunning, at first glance you don't realize it's LEGO. At second glance you see that that's not photoshop, it's fully lit with LEDs and EL wire. At third glance you see it's minfig scale, and that you might just be drooling on your save the clock tower t-shirt. And this isn't just a modified official kit (but some tiles were borrowed) it's a ground up MOC built with some serious skill by builder BMW_Indy. I just want to mount it to a motion control rig and start shooting!

Feast Of Fools

It's a Disney type day here at BrickNerd. While The Hunchback of Notre Dame is not one of my favorites (in fact, it's well at the bottom of the list, along with Hercules, ew) but I do love a cool micro build, and I'm a fan of NPU (nice part use) and this MOC by iridescent nohow is both.

Lumière

I'm a big Disney nerd, so when you combine the bricks with the magic, you've got my attention. I'm also a fan of secondary characters in Disney animated features. I always think they have the best lines and get up to the most mischief. Sure Simba is the star, but Timon and Pumba are way more interesting. And Belle and Beast had a nice story to tell, but my favorite characters are Lumière and Cogsworth. Speaking of Lumière, check out this amazing MOC by Koen, perfect!

DBG Gunship

This thing looks like something out of a James Cameron movie. This is the DBG Gunship from builder Horcik Designs, and it's a beast. It's a little oddly scaled for figures though, according to the builder a minifig is too small, Technic fig is too big and Jack Stone is too ugly (on this point I have to agree).

Hotten Imperator Mark II

With the sheer number of LEGO Mechs being made, it's hard to stand out. This one by Benjamin Cheh caught my eye with the effective color use, detail and especially the photography. It's got great proportions as well, it works both as a silhouette and in light, with a balanced weight of broad strokes and details.

Basement Workshop

If you think about the vast number of basements in the world dedicated to letting people use their creative energy, it's really quite awe inspiring. Think about it, hundreds of thousands of little subterranean spaces where people make stuff, it's an awesome thought. I don't know if this excellent MOC by Miro78 was built in a basement, but it certainly has the spirit of creativity that prevails in those wonderful rooms.

It's Nerf Or Nothing

Fans of bricks and foam projectiles rejoice! Builder Proudlove has recreated my favorite all-time Nerf gun with my favorite bricks. It's so well done I almost passed it over thinking it was real. No creative cubicle environment is complete without proper dart warfare, and this pistol was always my weapon of choice, simple, effective, reliable and stylish.