Becoming an AFOL: My LEGO Journey to BrickFair Virginia 2021
/Best of BrickNerd: Weekend Highlight — Article originally published August 13, 2021.
Today we feature a guest article from one of BrickNerd’s patrons Liz Puleo. She recently attended the LEGO convention Brick Fair Virginia 2021 and shares her experience from becoming an AFOL to displaying a stunning Frozen Ice Castle MOC.
This was supposed to be an article about me, a newly minted COVID AFOL, attending my first convention—a tale of learning about the convention world and dipping my toes into the water of large events. I wanted to include anecdotes about meeting LEGO celebrities and online friends in person for the first time, and how I hoped to be like them someday. In actuality, what happened is beyond my wildest dreams and the words that follow will only express a small fraction of the emotional roller coaster that was and forever will be BrickFair Virginia 2021.
Do You Want to Build A Snowman?
Growing up, I never played with LEGO. We had an entire basement filled with LEGO, don’t get me wrong, but I never played with it. My older brother Bryan was obsessed with it. He’d get new polybags and have them built in the bag before we even got home from the store. When I was in elementary school he made a model of our town grocery store that was displayed there for weeks.
Personally, the few LEGO I had were in a hard, blue Samsonite case, and they mostly stayed there except for a few occasions they were built into simple pyramids. LEGO was his thing, not mine. The instructions for me were overwhelming—nowadays I refer to them as “rest of the owl” instructions, and the sets I liked were off-limits to me.
The few times I snuck down to play with his LEGO town I would be yelled at for fear of me ruining his setups. The first time I watched the LEGO movie my jaw dropped to the floor because there was my life up on the big screen! I was stuck in Cloud Cuckoo Land with Lord Business for an older brother.
Everything changed when I moved on with my life and eventually married and had children. My daughter, Juju (10) and my son Benny (8) enjoyed LEGO so we started getting some sets. But that had a side effect: I started realizing how much fun they were—and therapeutic. My son was diagnosed with autism when he was 5, and LEGO became our family hobby. When we’d be struggling to function with school and outside life, we could come home and build and play together. It was the one thing that bonded us more than anything. We celebrated every life event with LEGO and embraced the TV shows, the movies, and of course the music. Everything was awesome! We even planned our Disney trip around a trip to LEGOLAND, which honestly I liked even more than Disney because of how much more my children were engaged there.
When COVID hit, we were more than happy to use the home time to convert our basement into a family LEGO haven. It had more space, more room for sets, and more area to build. Quickly, I spearheaded organizing our ever-growing collection that had started from neighbors, friends, and family giving us their LEGO along with the sets we purchased.
It was during this organization that I stumbled into the adult world of AFOLs—or Adult Fans of LEGO. It started with an online Facebook group called SortLUG (short for a Sorting LEGO User Group—a LUG is like a fan club) that met on a Zoom call once a week on Friday nights to chat while people sort LEGO. Never hearing of LUGs or LEGO User Groups before (or even the AFOL community), I happily joined the group and got loads of help with drawer systems, part names, and even LEGO history.
Unbeknownst at the time, the friends I made in that group were some of the most involved people in the entire LEGO community I had ever met—and it was even more mind-blowing that they’re from all over the globe. They’ve worked in LEGO design, development, merchandising, reporting, and many other aspects of the company—and their knowledge is priceless! This twelve-hour Zoom call became my weekly highlight, and I was thirsty for knowledge. But I no idea where to begin with the thousands of online resources.
That’s when I found a poignant article about sorting from a site called BrickNerd. The article was named “Sorting LEGO: Peanut Butter Lover’s Edition” and that led me to read almost everything else on the site and fall in love with the LEGO BrickNerd community. Little did I realize that Dave Schefcik, the Nerd in Chief of BrickNerd, was actually on those weekly SortLUG calls! One article led to another and then I also met The Brick Architect, Tom Alphin, on the call as well! Of course, I had already printed his sorting labels, and now he was personally giving me tips on how to use them effectively and which drawer systems worked the best (Akro-Mills and Really Useful for those of you who might need something).
At this point, I realized I needed to do more with LEGO. I’d amassed quite a bit of LEGO, my family was hooked and I finally gave myself permission to stray from the official set designs. My son has ensured that we keep every single box, as he is a purist and likes his sets to match what is on each and every box picture. My husband Marc, who had a few LEGO sets, was now joining in our family build time more than ever.
Modifying sets, or making my own creations was not ever my goal, but with so much extra LEGO, both of my kids started making their own cities, buildings, monsters—each blossoming with creativity. I was inspired.
My first MOC was a vase for the Flower Bouquet set, and it was a struggle. I was trying to figure out what parts to use, how to make it round, and above all, make it functional. The finished vase is now displayed holding that bouquet up on our shelf, and I don’t think it will ever move.
Then in January of 2021, a recruiter from LEGO Masters reached out and asked me and my brother to be a part of the show. While this was an incredible gesture, I knew I was in no way qualified. I didn’t build MOCs and while my brother agreed to do the initial interview with me after my call with a casting director, we both agreed that this was not the time for us and neither of us was ready. We graciously bowed out and that was the end of that (or so I thought). After that call, I decided to look more into this AFOL community thing and eventually found my local LUG, NELUG, or New England LEGO Users Group.
NELUG introduced me to more of the AFOL side of LEGO: parts drafts, set drafts, community builds, and eventually LEGO conventions. We met weekly online and eventually in the summer had an in-person set draft and a really fun BBQ at a member’s house. When it came to conversations about conventions, both SortLUG and NELUG were very involved in these events, and my curiosity wouldn’t let me miss out. This was not an easy decision in the times of COVID, and after a serious conversation with my husband, we decided I would make the eight-hour trek to BrickFair Virginia 2021 with my new friend from NELUG, Mike Ripley. But I couldn’t go empty-handed—it was time for me to make a real convention-worthy MOC.
Leading up to this there was another moment that made me think I might be able to actually participate in this community and not look like an idiot. It happened during a Nerd Out with BrickNerd event, a monthly Zoom call where the whole BrickNerd community gathers. Both contributors and patrons meet to get to know each other and hang out.
On one call, we were testing out a custom LEGO trivia quiz for an upcoming event, the Portuguese convention Paredes de Coura. My initial thought when joining was “maybe I’ll get one or two right,” however in my search for knowledge recently, I ended up almost winning against this LEGO brain trust! Talk about a confidence booster. It was time to build.
Let It Go
LEGO conventions are a staple in the AFOL community. The biggest and best building stars come out and they bring the most amazing creations with them. When researching BrickFair, I watched so many Beyond the Brick YouTube videos and read so many articles about the convention-goers and what they bring. NELUG has had many exquisite displays, from monorails to cities, motors and lights, and everything in between. Here I was, a lowly mom who liked LEGO with her kids, agreeing to go to a LEGO convention as a part of this historical LUG that was the home to some famous LEGO designers and big names in the industry such as Jaime Berard and Jme Wheeler!
After conversations back and forth with my NELUG and SortLUG families, I knew I had to bring something I built myself—and it had to be better than my vase. I was stumped. What kind of builder was I? There are so many different types of builders and it was completely overwhelming knowing I would see their talents and those people would see mine. Along my LEGO journey, my husband and I had become Patrons of BrickNerd and met the incredible builders they featured. Their MOC features (like Dave’s heart below) were awe-inspiring—how could I possibly be able to create something like that!?
The BrickFair website had instructions on what to bring and hit hard about MOCs being “the glue that holds the community together.” There was also a line about building what inspired you and showing off what you can do.
The lightbulb moment of clarity came when my daughter and I were building the new Elsa’s Ice Castle set that just came out in July. We had a few other versions of it, but this was supposed to be bigger and better. It was as if I had found my calling. I was going to make the ice castle of my dreams. The Frozen Ice Castle cover photo became my inspiration and this was my mission in the next two weeks leading up to the convention.
Mike Riply from NELUG came over to my house and we had a long evening of conversing about bringing my idea to life. My biggest hurdle would be collecting pieces affectionately called a BURP (Big Ugly Rock Piece). With help from other LUG members, BrickLink, and a newly found consignment store in my local town, I got what I needed and started to build.
Before I knew it I had a large base, framed for a more professional aesthetic, and a mountain of burps. This effort took many days before I was semi-happy with the shape. But I was having fun! I was experimenting with techniques I had learned using the pieces I had available. I used white nets to drape snow on the top of the mountain. I had to find a million slopes to make snow-covered rocks. Every build session started with a sorting session, digging through the few bulk boxes of LEGO I had purchased off of Facebook’s marketplace.
My castle was coming along nicely after I finally bought a second official set for parts. The shining moment was when I mastered building a stained glass window using only 1x2 cheese slopes and tension.
This idea came from Alice Finch’s Architecture Idea book, and I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. I decided that my MOC had to be lighted up to highlight it—so lights were now my mission. Using every lighting element I had, I worked them into the build. My husband even found me a light base for my Elsa Mini Doll. It was all coming together so fast! Adding a rotating turntable for Elsa was the icing on the cake.
For two weeks I did nothing but build at night, and I had SortLUG, NELUG and BrickNerd helping me when I had questions. Adding lights around the base to illuminate the entire thing Disney-style was the very last thing I did, and just in time too! I was leaving for the convention on Wednesday and I finished late Tuesday night. Whew!
Into the Unknown
Everyone knows that feeling of nervous excitement—first day of school jitters, new job, meeting a new community for the first time. This was what I felt like the entire drive to Virginia. Would they like me? Would my MOC be an embarrassment? Did I change the castle enough? Did I use enough techniques? Would the people I met online be as nice to me in person? Would I ramble and make a fool of myself? (I do have ADHD and tend to have verbal diarrhea on occasion which is quite embarrassing.)
The entire surreal convention experience started when I was waiting in line for registration. Trying to make small talk, I casually asked the masked guys behind me if they knew of any LEGO Masters that were coming. Brick Rodeo was the week before, and so many articles highlighted the LEGO Masters contestants that came, showed off their work, and interacted with the public. The two guys hemmed and hawed and said they might have heard of a few, but didn’t know anyone specific. We chatted some more as the line moved ahead. It was only when I heard them signing in that I realized THEY were LEGO Masters Phillip and Randall! I had my first '“open mouth and insert foot” moment. They were happy to laugh it off with me and snap a selfie for immortal stupidity, and I realized right then that this event was going to be a memorable one.
From there on it was a whirlwind of finding where to set up, meeting so many people, and figuring out what to do with my MOC. While the convention itself was meticulously organized and clearly a well-oiled machine, there weren’t signs anywhere to direct people to either their tables or theme leaders. The map in the back of the program guide proved useful after I acquired it—which wasn’t available at the initial check-in.
During the set-up, I walked around to look at everyone’s MOCs to appease my nerves about my own. I was pleasantly surprised to either recognize the build techniques or feel like I might be able to do some of their techniques in the future—until I came to the castle section that is. Castles is where my jaw dropped to the floor. There were so many impressive builds that I knew took years to make. I hope to build something like that one day—I realized I still had a long way to go. Once I got to the Great Ball Contraptions (GBC) section, it was clear I still knew nothing about LEGO!
I had my first event that afternoon called “Dirty Buildster,” and to say I was nervous was an understatement. We congregated at the front of the convention center and were given a cup of random bricks with the challenge to build something “dirty”—literally (not the adult-type of dirty since there were many kids present). My brain, being fried from the eight-hour drive, couldn’t think of much and I managed a pooping animal of sorts. To no one’s surprise, I didn’t win.
The day was rounded out on a high when I got to meet all of my other SortLUG friends and have a great dinner at Willard’s BBQ which I heard is a must when at BrickFair VA. We of course posted a picture for our friends who couldn’t make it, minus a few who had already retired for the night.
Thursday was a blur of exciting events that started with a LEGO TikTok talk by my friend Jon Lazar (vintage_bricks) and followed with meeting more LEGO Masters and their families that came with them.
Watching the “Tape Ball” event was particularly fun and I hope to get picked for it next year! One person unwraps a giant ball of plastic wrap with LEGO and candy stuck inside while their neighbor rolls dice until they get doubles. The person unwrapping gets to keep whatever falls out until they have to pass the ball on once doubles are rolled. It was hilarious and manic and fun to watch.
I was actually having so much fun looking at all the MOCs being set up on Thursday that I missed one of my games called “Pass the Brick.” It was ok though because some of those half-built castles were now complete and it was awe-inspiring to see the finished products along with many more builds that arrived.
Friday began with a memorable trip to a local LEGO store with some new friends that came all the way from Utah. All the new LEGO sets for the summer had come out and we might have bought a few… which got us some quizzical looks while at the Potomac Mall.
When we got back to the convention, it was almost time for World of Lights. This was one event I was particularly excited about. It is when the exhibition hall lights are turned down and everyone gets to showcase how their MOCs light up. After many issues with batteries dying, I finally got my castle all lit up—and it looked incredible!
World of Lights was a special event for sure. Once the lights went down, I half expected music to start playing it felt so magical. The convention center became a chorus of “oohs and ahhs” as we walked from one section to the next. Dave’s rainbow heart MOC was so relaxing and meditative with its color-changing effect. The glow-in-the-dark GBC balls were mesmerizing. Mark’s dragon with its lit base, glowing green eyes, and smoke coming out of its mouth was something straight out of a movie.
@vintage_bricks LEGO Heart Mosaic by Dave Schefcik at BrickFair VA
♬ Chill Vibes - Lofi Sleep Chill & Study & Lofi Hip-Hop Beats & LO-FI Beats
Show Yourself
Up until this point, my MOC was getting some great responses and compliments—whether I believed all of them or people were just being nice to this newbie was up for debate. My MOC was fun for sure, and it did look really nice with the lights on, but there was still so much to learn!
While it was one of the brightest in the center of the hall, it wasn’t nominated for a World of Lights award—but I wasn’t surprised. I’m new to this, of course, and those that were nominated were on another level!
Saturday morning was the big event: PUBLIC DAY and with it came quite the surprise. It turns out all of those compliments were actually true. I had been nominated for a “Best in Pop Culture” Brickee award.
To say I was shocked was an understatement. How could that possibly be? I had built my castle in a feverish rush only two weeks before the convention, and it was legit my first large MOC I had even attempted. However, there it was, a Brickee nomination plaque along with a flurry of smaller token items that I now know are other exhibitors’ ways of showing that they like your build. One of my absolute favorites was Jen’s from LEGO Masters. She gave me a micro LEGO Masters logo with a signature brick on it.
For the public hours, I—being the outgoing crazy person I am—had already planned to dress up as Elsa, if nothing but a distraction from the build if it wasn’t received so well. So I began my day in a full Elsa dress complete with a wig and false eyelashes. After viewing footage from Brick Rodeo and seeing how much fun ‘Mario’ and ‘Luigi’ had, it seemed like a good idea at the time, and I thought there might be others who cosplayed during public days.
It turns out I was wrong. There were maybe only two or three others who remotely dressed up, but nothing prepared me for the onslaught of “IT’S ELSA!!!” from children running bee-line to my area. The day was spent posing for pictures, acting as if I really WAS Elsa, and tearing up on more than one occasion at the interactions and positivity of the entire experience. It was heaven!
One memorable moment came when a little girl jumped up and down asking if I remembered coming to her birthday party. Her dad said, “Yes sweetie! Elsa did come to your birthday party!” and mouthed to me “last Tuesday” so I could exclaim to squealing delight, “Of course I remember! It was last Tuesday!” Another touching moment came when a little boy showed me his Elsa birthday cake. I played “Where Is Olaf Hiding” with him and his little brother while his mom searched her phone for the picture of the cake. She even came back the next day to deliver a drawing he made for me of Elsa, which of course made me cry!
By Saturday night, my MOC survived and still looked great, I was a Disney Princess for a day, and was even nominated for a coveted Brickee. Elsa retired for the evening, exhausted from her day, and I returned to the convention center later that night for some more fun with friends and events that shall go nameless. (Several conventions have more adult-friendly evenings where no kids are allowed and certain beverages are available, BrickFair VA included.) I participated in a Technic speed-build, but you should know I did not come close to finishing the build during the event—which my friend Mike, won’t let me forget.
Sunday was the last day of the convention, and I dreaded all the fun coming to an end. The friends, events, and builds were all so wonderful—who would want to leave that!? This was the only day I slept in later than 7 am because I was exhausted—and apparently, that was a mistake as I awoke to my phone blowing up with friends telling me to get over to the convention center ASAP. Did the castle break? Did something happen? Well, it turns out I actually won the Brickee Award for Best in Pop Culture as voted on by all the attendees. What an honor!
Throughout my entire experience at the convention, there was this feeling of belonging that I didn’t think I deserved. So many people told me that this was my place, and low and behold, there was the evidence of it staring me in the face—a trophy on the table next to my creation! Instantly all my imposter syndrome was for naught and I had proof that I too can belong to this group of amazing people and LEGO builders. The rest of that day is a blur, and nothing could prepare me for the onslaught of Instagram requests, Beyond the Brick interviews, TikTok mentions, and Facebook friend requests. I had finally found my LEGO community.
BrickFair Virginia was one of those life moments that I will never forget—and I need to thank all of those who helped support me in so many ways along my LEGO journey to becoming an AFOL. First, thank you to my husband Marc for whom without his love and support, none of this would have happened. And second, thank you to my “in the know” online friends from SortLUG, local friends from NELUG, and of course Dave and the entire BrickNerd team. This LEGO family adopted a mom of two who liked to play with LEGO sets with her kids and helped her turn into an AFOL who is already planning a build for her next LEGO convention. (On the other hand, perhaps she should retire because where could one go from here!?)
How did you become an AFOL? Have conventions encouraged you to be part of the LEGO community? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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