Virtual LUG Game of Thrones Display

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Brickworld 2017!  This year, the VLUG crew conspired to produce a LEGO version of the hit TV series Game of Thrones, or, as we call it, Brick of Thrones.  I was informed that there are also books.  Anyway, the basic inspiration for the collaboration came from the map of Westeros, featured during the introduction to each episode.  As you scroll through the pictures, you'll see various landmarks, characters, and even the famous Battle of Blackwater Bay.  From the Red Keep, to Castle Black, to white walkers, there's a lot to enjoy for fans of the show, and even for those who've never seen it.  And no, for the umpteenth time, that's not Elsa.

Brickworld 2017

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Another year of Brickworld has come and gone, but the memories and photos remain for us to share with you. The BrickNerd crew had another showing this year at what is one of the largest if not the largest LEGO convention in North America.

There was a little something for everyone at this year's convention including a massive WWII battleship, an abandoned amusement park, some very cool life-sized video game replicas, and even a mecha Duplo bunny.

If you ever have the chance to attend I highly recommend you do so, because you will have the chance to meet some truly friendly and, quirky LEGO fans from around the world who really make the event what it is, fun.

Wrath Of Vaal

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One of the real crowd pleasers at BrickWorld Chicago was VirtuaLUG's Miniland Putt Putt collaboration, and one of the contributors was BrickNerd's own El Barto. This is his Star Trek inspired segment of the course, inspired by the episode The Apple. I haven't played miniature golf in ages, but if the courses where more like this, I think I'd be more inclined to go...because Vaal calls to me. Let us go to him. He hungers...for balls.

Wrath of Vaal !
Wrath of Vaal !

Borderlands 2 Collaborative

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Collaborative builds, especially on this scale, are hard to cover and do justice to the MOCs. After months of work, the builder group GamerLUG (Nick Brick, Lego Junkie, Si-MOCs, DR.Church, Masked Builder, Alec_D, EdgelessAbyss) combined forces to present a show stopping and trophy winning Borderlands 2 display. As much as I'd like to feature every individual MOC, there's just not enough time, so I'll invite you to visit all these builders' individual Flickr streams and check out the video.

Psycho, Mechromancer class Gaige & Deathtrap, Mr. Torgue, and Angel - Borderlands 2
Borderlands 2: Return to Pandora, hero shot.
Borderlands2: Return to Pandora

BrickWorld 2016: Mel's Picks!

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BrickWorld Chicago has come and gone, and for those who missed out here are my favorites from the show: 

Timothy Lydy is master at character building. His Classic Joker Bust is a favorite within the LEGO Community and this year at BrickWorld he displayed an array of Gotham characters. His Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, A.K.A The Penguin, is just fantastic. The use of a minifigure magnifying glass for a monocle, the fur and tooth piece for his crooked nose makes this Gentleman of Crime come to life. 

The Penguin

Another favorite of mine by Timothy is his Mad Hatter. There's just so much good stuff going on here I cant even pick which I like more. I will say though that he found a way to use the printed blue slopes that I would not have thought of! Timothy's setup was nominated for Best Individual Layout! 

The Mad Hatter

I think everyone at the event this weekend would agree that this creation by Amanda Feuk, titled Imagine made everyone stop to check out. 

Amanda uses piece placement to create a projection of a girl. This creation took home Best Artwork award! 

Builder CheeseyStudios displayed this year an awesome layout titled "Fantastic Beasts". This creation is based of the JK Rowling textbook and upcoming spinoff movie in the Harry Potter universe.  Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is about a wizard, Newt Scamander, and his adventures on finding and capturing these creatures. Builder Caleb shows us some of these creatures, along with quotes that describe the dangers of the beast. Click through to see the full layout:

Caleb's Hogwarts Train was nominated for the Best Train award!

If you're thinking of checking out a convention next year, BrickWorld Chicago is definitely not one to miss! 

Brickworld 2016

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Another Brickworld is in the bag, and boy was it a brick-tastic few days! We saw a phenomenal amount of new and creative MOCs, and are continually impressed with how the community pushes the medium forward.
If you've never attended a convention before and live in the U.S. Midwest (or anywhere in the world really) I highly recommend that you visit this convention at least once in your lifetime. Brickworld is traditionally held over a long Father's day weekend in June. The convention offers multiple ways to attend including public viewing days however, we do suggest going as a registered attendee for the full experience.

-Bart, Mel, and Philip

Around the World in Eighty Days!

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Okay folks, hold onto your bowler hats, and tighten your corsets!  It's VirtuaLUG's award-winning rendition of Jules Verne's classic adventure tale!  Beneath the massive globe in the center, the epic story begins with Mr. Phileas Fogg's bet at the Reform Club, and circumnavigates all the way back to London.  In between you'll find multiple modes of transportation: trains, steamships, a balloon, the Nautilus, even an elephant!  The layout consists of a contiguous topographical map featuring scenes from the movie, plus various landmarks along the way.  The collab is flush with Easter Eggs:  Gandolf and the crew in the Himalayas, a micro Mount Olympus, and Dorothy and Toto (in India?); all to pay homage to past VLUG collabs.  There were over 20 members who contributed to the project, including myself.  The Man In Charge, Heath Flor, writes, "With contributors from 5 countries and nearly a dozen states, it's a collaboration that truly is from Around the World." 

Check out  VirtuaLUG's Flickr group for all of the scenes and their builders.  

Beyond the Brick was on location at Brickworld with Heath's guided tour! 

VirtuaLUG's Around the World in 80 Days

Around the World in 80 Days - VirtuaLUG

Chicago Brickworld 2015 Part 1

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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!

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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.

 

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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...

brickworld_2014_180

 

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.