Bricking Bavaria Set up and Day 1

It was a little odd showing up to an event without anything to do.


Setup for BB was on Friday and was really neat to watch, tho.  People were at the church for the event Friday morning, but setup didn't really start until noon. Tables and furniture was moved, and then the models started showing up.

And it was something to see, as European cars are smaller than US cars - but they were filled!  And with small boxes, but really big boxes! So moving models required many people going back and forth with boxes in hand.

I met one of the MINDSTORMS people and got a glance at what the group was doing - they made one arm bandits for the kids to play with. Using small Technic pulley wheels as tokens, the machines would run the bandits, where kids could win one or more tokens..then they could cash in on another machine 5 tokens to get a piece of candy. There were three machines set to arrive for the show.

I also saw a bunch of boxes get opened up and moved to make a model of the Frankfurt train station. The model is VERY large and is beautiful to look at - the architectural work that was modeled is astounding. The roof is arched and made from 1x2 bricks woven to flex...one of the rool sheets looked like it could almost be rolled up. The parts of the station were fitted in a base piece by piece with a group of people and then details added by the builder. The model has a bit to go in terms of completion but as it stands, is something special to see.

I also got to help out with a mosaic - it wasn't complete, so I was one of a few people who took some time to finish it. The idea was simple enough: to reflect a large element from side to another. However, when it's a six-foot wide mosaic, it's hard to keep track of what was being built. I spent some time on it, and others joined in...but then more models showed up.

I also noticed that there was food and drinks (including beer) coming in and being placed in the kitchen -  this became the green room for the event - people could pick up a snack (or more, I learned) and a drink. The drinks included soda, mineral water (soda water, a VERY acquired taste), and beer. And so there was always a group of people there taking breaks and chatting through the entire event.

The other really nice thing was that the event was very laid back - it is a smaller event, and as a result, the planning was very general. There were no diagrams of floor space, no coordinators in teh normal sense, just a bunch of friends who are putting a show, as one of the guys put it.

And I was picked up by the Event Coordinator to goto my hotel...and he didn't tell me! There was a real sense of community here, and it was really nice to take part.

The generosity of the people is a nice note too - even though I know almost no German, everyone helps me out, either with English, or with a couple of quick explanations with a gesture or two. My worst case of American/German communications gone wrong was in teh electronics store, where I had to explain that I needed an adapter for the special plugs in Germany - and I had my adapter on hand. He looked, reached under the counter and pulled out exactly what I needed! The only problem after that was paying...Euros are strange and tiny compared to change I am used to.

And yes I was offered a drink. And I did - I did a LOT of drinking.

Anyways, back to the story...

The aircraft carrier came in....and it fills the builder's car. Literally. I watched as teh stand was brought, then the boat sections....this model dominates floor space!

Not too long after that, HoMa and his church shows...and many other models come in...

I have met at this point (spelling will really be wrong):

Jan Beyer, Jürgen Broctoch (Event Organizer), Malle Hawking, Marco Taglioferro, Holger Mattes, Rene Hoffmeister, Axel um - I don't know his last name, but he's with 1000stein, and many more that I need to get names from - I am LOUSY at that.

I hung out at setup until 1 am.

And Day 1 was busy. It started out rainy, then it snowed. Snowed! Too bad it didn't stick. And people came.

The people were from allover and were couples and families. And things were very quiet - it was like people attending an art gallery sorta.

Until you saw HoMa with the Bionicle gun,

So things were fun to watch and talk about - but I did get a chance to slip away to teh Munich LEGO store, Looks like one of the US stores, but a bit bigger, And more expensive! Sothat was a short visit:-)

On return, I went with everyone else to a local restaurant where they had a buffet ready for us...and we drank. I drank (which is not a normal thing for me). And ate. And had a lot of fun!

St Nicklaus showed up to give presents to the kids of the attendees, and there was an auction duringthis time - and there were sets and even a couple of MOCs auctioned off. The biggest item, though, was a Factory tour by Jan Beyer, one box of 'stuff' from Rene Hoffmeister, and free admission to Skaerbeck and meal - that was sold for 280 euros - over $300 bucks!

And what did the auction pay for? The banquet! Had enough money for anotherr round of drinks too!

And we went from the restaurant back to the event site to chat and drink more....

what a day!

First look at display space

Got to see the space for Bricking Bavaria - setup happens later today, so there only boxes of stuff coming in.

BB will have a Mindstorms room (yay) and a train layout (that will be sizable) and a Star Wars layout. The main room is pretty large (maybe 5000 sq feet) and has an upper loft. Star Wars will be in the loft, and the train display below. Mindstorms will have a room of its own.

There's going to be about 70 people showing, so it's goingto be really nice. I know the following is showing: HoMas church replica and Malle Hawking's aircraft carrier. I also learned that there will be a mountain where atrain enters and spirals up and exits out the mountain. There will aslo be lighted town spaces and vehicles.

Seeing the boxes and peeking inside has already gotten me excited and I cannot wait to see everyone come in and start setting up.

Aw man....

So I start unpacking and look at my clothes, which are a mess.

I don't have an iron. Hm. There are ways around that, so no big deal.

The big deal is finding that my adapters don't fit the plugs....that's a problem. The adapters have the right prong configuration, but are not thin enoughto get in the sockets. How odd is that?

End result is that I may not be able to recharge anything until Denmark. And taht's not good!

There's gotta be a Radio Shack here...

Made it to Munich

The flights were uneventful, and the last one overseas was long.

But Germany is pretty. I took a train to the hotel I am staying and I went through a lot of beautiful farmland.

I was met atthe train station by a member of 1000steine by the name of Juergen, he's very friendly, and he drove me the rest of the way to the hotel, which is not too far away from the display. Before he did that, though, he stopped at his place to show his LEGO models.

He's a Town builder, and he had a layout with a town and snow slopes and elevated track...and he has a holiday train. The trick is that all of this is lit by LEDs! There's also lit Christmas trees and houses...and fire trucks! Beautiful electronics mods.

Two of the fire engines have separate lighting systems for the headlighs, alertlights, working lights, and sound. And both can be remote controlled - by the same controller! It was a LOT of fun to play with.

After that, we went to the hotel abdd after alittle walk, we got to the room....nice!

But now my brain is fried because of jet lag...more later!

An entry before The Big Trip...

I'm heading to Germany to attend Bricking Bavaria, and I am really excited! I haven't been to Germany since the mid 70s, where I was a kid...and I remember just enough to wish that I could have stayed longer.

The great thing is that I get to meet the German builders, such as HoMa and Malle Hawking - two builders that have been in BrickJournal for wonderful creations. I get to see their work in person, so I will be able to see that gigantc aircraft carrier and the church at Dresden that HoMa built. I'll have my camera with me too, so there will be a lot of pics from this trip.

I also will be able to talk with the head of LUGNET and 1000steinland, so I will be able to talk about events and planning...they have an experience pool that is different from the pool in the US, and I want to see how they proceed. Jan Beyer rom LEGO will also be there, so it will be a good opportunity to talk about community with him. I'm really curious to learn about the community in Europe.

But this is part one...

Part two of the trip is going to Billund to meet up with LEGO staff about BrickJournal and some other projects. That has me really excited because I will be talking business...

Thankfully, the first trip is fun - I need the rest from my traveling and dealing!

New things and ideas...

So now I am in Chicago (where apparently taxis get a LOT of money) and recovering.

From?

Well, I had two meetings today about some things that are in the planning stages - one is with the Museum of Science and Industry and one has to do with BrickWorld.

I'll start with BrickWorld - I got to see the event site. Very nice! I'm not coordinator of this event, but an advisor...and this is a nice place. The site is a new hotel and has a well-lit ballroom for display area and is also very classy. There is a lot, and I mean a LOT of potential there!

And the Museum - they want to do an event that would be a display/expo over a weekend in November (so far) that would be in conjunction with their Star Wars exhibit, which opens in October. This is a project that I am taking lead on and getting more and more excited about...as the Museum is really interested in providing support ! I'm also looking at help from other areas too. The slated date for this event is November.

I met up with Adam Tucker of BrickStructures while I was in town, and gotto see his building area - one thing I will say, he's organized. And his buildings are amazing. His townhouse is tall enough to house his buildings complete, so they are in corners looking like architectural displays.  His star is about to take off with his building, and it's cool to see his work being appreciated by so many.

I've gotten a cold from my travels from cold to sorta warm to cold again. Chicago is in teh teens, and there is snow- as in about 8-10 inches. I love snow, but I can't see myself driving in a big city with it. But then again, I'm getting cross-eyed with the taxi fares I have had to manage. And travel time.

So what's goingto happen? Keep an eye here and on LUGNET...

Back and recovering...

Got back late last night from Manchester (the flight from JFK Airport was delayed 4 HOURS- and two were in the plane!!!) and am in a recovery mode.

A lot of stories have been sent to me for the Journal, and it's dawning on me that this issue will be a big issue - this is one of those times where almost everyone who I inquired responded...so this snowballed.

I also have a ton of photos from the Millyard - the irony fro me is that there were a few pics so far online of the dedication in the local news, but most pics were of Dean Kamen and the Governor. I got some pics of Kjeld and everyone else. I also got some pix to do pano shots of the Millyard, yes, it's that big!