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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Flight Of The Luck Dragon

As if the modification builder JK Brickworks made to LEGO 80102 Dragon Dance for smoother motion wasn’t cool enough, now he’s gone and added some 80’s nostalgia to it. Yes, it’s Falcor from The NeverEnding Story, flying smooth as silk thanks to some further modifications to the mechanism for even smoother sine wave motion. Check out the video to really appreciate the hard work and ingenuity that went into this.

There Be Dragons Here

When I lived in London my commute took me through Chinatown every day, it was just a few blocks south of where I worked in Soho. One night, which just happened to be Chinese New Year, I rounded a corner just as the celebration started. My timing couldn't have been better, it went from normal London hustle bustle noise to sudden cacophony as drums started playing, fire crackers went off and the crowd cheered. And in the middle of it all, was a dragon, not unlike this outstanding depiction by builder Rhymes_Shelter. This was the first time I'd seen a legitimate dragon, and I was transfixed. I stopped dead in my tracks, the pressing need to get back to my tiny flat suddenly erased, and I watched.

Earth Dragon

I think it's really too bad there's no dragons in the world. Whether or not this is because they've all died off or never existed in the first place I'll leave up to you. Luckily we can sort of bring them to life (or bring them back, again, up to you) through art and media, and that's exactly what builder Henjin_Quilones has done with this awesome rendition of Kijani the Earth Dragon.

Kijani the Earth Dragon

Taz Na Rok

Builder Pol Mac is pretty freshly out of his dark ages, but seems to have come out with a vengeance, check out this gorgeous (first ever) dragon! It's designed to be flexible without big gaps in the body, and I'd say it was successful. My favorite detail has to be the eyes though, what a simple, elegant solution. The combination of lever base and mudguard has instant expression.

Taz Na Rok
Taz Na Rok

Sky Pirates Dragon Attack

This is one of those MOCs that's just hard to take in as a photo, or series of photos for that matter. There's so much going on and so many complex angles that pictures just don't do it justice. But one thing is clear from this single picture, that builder LEGO 7 put some serious time and effort into it. Do yourself a favor and click through for more pics.

White Dragon attack Sky Pirate

Whitefang

Sometimes when we build a MOC we're not quite satisfied, and that's natural. As an artist I'm never quite satisfied with my work, always thinking it could be better, but you just run out of time, run out of money or run out of steam, happens every time. Occasionally we get the chance to revisit something, we take the time and update it, and that's what this fantastic space dragon is, an update. The original was splendid, but there were certain aspects that always bothered builder BobDeQuatre. Now he's taken some time to correct those, and the results are spectacular. If I had to guess there's still one or two things he'd like to perfect, but that's an artist, never satisfied.

Whitefang Evolved

Saajiir

It seems no one can post a picture of a vaguely reptilian winged beast without a dragon vs wyvern debate starting up. I'm starting to wonder if we need a new word that encompasses all the beasts. Sort of like "bird" covers everything from eagles to finches. I don't know what that word may be, please feel free to comment below and nominate your word. In the mean time, please enjoy this "weast" (winged beast) by builder jaapxaap.

TT17 R1: Ssajiir

Cyricus The Kingbreaker

Being a king isn't easy. First there's all the whining, about land disputes, taxes, arranged marriages, etc. Then there's the matter of the parades and public appearances, you know why they wave that way? Because they have to do it for hours and it gets tiring. Then there's the fact that it seems someone is always trying to kill you, and if not someone then something, like this big black dragon by Mark of Falworth. Personally, I like being the jester.

Cyricus the Kingbreaker
Cyricus the Kingbreaker

The Magical Wizarding Bank

"Well there's yer money, Harry!  Gringotts the wizard bank.  Ain't no safer place, not one.  Except perhaps Hogwarts."

My sister introduced me to the magical world created by JK Rowling.  I don't have many memories of reading any other book series, but I absolutely remember reading the Harry Potter books for the first time!  The series has been given a lot of love in the LEGO community this year, especially thanks to the Harry's Magical Journey project.  Fellow builder and friend Jared has created a beautiful replica of Gringotts, the famous bank in Diagon Alley.  Obviously, a main attraction of this build is the well-designed dragon.  Before I talk about that, let's take a minute to admire the building itself.  Jared created a very unique roof design for this building, and the way he built the walls is, quite literally, simply fantastic.  Moreover the columns in the front, a main point of interest for the building, are recreated so well.  Now let's talk about that dragon...man.  What a work of art as well!  I included Jared's second photo of the back of the dragon below, just so more details of this wonderful LEGO creature are revealed.  All in all, this is an amazing creation that I was fortunate enough to see for the "unveiling" at BrickFair Virginia.  Looking forward to seeing more Harry Potter creations from you in the future, Jared!

 

LEGO® Harry Potter: Escape from Gringotts!
LEGO® Harry Potter: Escape from Gringotts!
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Nathaniel Stoner

     My name is Nathaniel Stoner, and I am an very active LEGO builder.  I mostly build in the themes of castle and science-fiction, but I also dabble in other genres and create occasional random MOC's (My Own Creations). 

     When I was younger, I would get and build small LEGO sets for my birthday, but I was never really into them.  When they fell apart, I would become frustrated attempting to put them back together and would throw them in a box in my closet.  I couldn't stand them!

     Then, miraculously, I became addicted to the LEGO brick later in my teen years.  Ever since, I have continued to build up (pun intended) my collection of bricks and to expand my knowledge of techniques and building skills.  LEGO is truly more than a toy, its an art form and a way to express yourself.

     For the most part, I collect LEGO Star Wars (mainly the minifigs), which is probably my favorite LEGO theme.  I have a fairly decent collection, including some of the original 1999 sets, such as the Snowspeeder, X-Wing, and Naboo starfighter.  I also collected LEGO the Lord of the Rings when those sets first came out.  The minifigs are great, and the story remains one of my favorites ever. 

     My hope is to inspire other young (and perhaps even older) LEGO builders to unleash their inner creativity!  You can find me on my Flikr here

Iron Mountain Guardians

One of the things I love about Iron Builder is the out-of-the-box thinking that it inevitably inspires. I've heard stories of builders carrying the part in their pocket for the entire month, continually aware of it, continually looking for that spark. Sure you or I look at that part and say "handle" or maybe "plumbing". But 2 Much Caffeine looks at it and says "classic Chinese dragon whiskers", brilliant.

Iron Mountain Guardians

Scourge Of The Gray Dragon

Normally if you heard the phrase "it's a dragon attacking a village, setting it on fire" you would imagine a MOC with 5-10 thousand pieces, but not if you're Grantmasters. There's what, 32 pieces here? But it tells the story so well with clever part use and construction in a tiny and effective micro MOC. That dragon is awesome, and as for the villagers...well, I suppose that's what you get for building your village out of flammable materials.