Brickworld

It started with a crowd...

on the Wednesday before the event started.

Almost 800 LEGO fans young and old drove, flew, or found some way to get to Chicago, Illinois to attend Brickworld 2010, one of the largest LEGO fan events in the United States. In the three years since Brickworld began, the event has grown to massive proportions, overtaking the space of it's host hotel.

Setup took place over the days before the weekend - Saturday and Sunday served as public display days. In the days before, though, setup wasn't the only thing going on. On Wednesday, there was a game

The Monster Chess game that has been seen online went through a rehearsal at the hotel restaurant. The bodies of the chess pieces weren't placed yet, but were marked by mosaics of their 3D counterparts. The man standing in the back is Steve Hassenplug, the leader of the team that built the set.



Here's what the interior of a chess piece looks like. The big brick on the side is an NXT brick - the brains of the piece. The wheels are on the top and bottom.

Another view of the game.

On Thursday, there was more, as presentations and workshops took place, such as:

Arthur Gugick talking about LEGO architecture. This seminar had about 150 attendees.



Here he is with some of his models.

There were models starting to show up for display too.

As well as other models, like this RC car built with LEGO components.

But there's more. Stay tuned.

Peeking at Brickworld

The largest LEGO fan convention in the US is going to be happening in Chicago next week! there will be hundreds of attendees showing up with their models. I go there every year, mostly to see what's up and to meet fellow fans. This year, there are some things that will be going on that will be worth going to:

1. Monster chess. Developed by MINDSTORMS genius Steve Hassenplug and a team of fellow NXT builders, this FUNCTIONING chess game features LEGO renditions of pawns, rooks and knights, do name a few chess parts. You can see all the information and video here.

2. The boat race. Ever see a LEGO boat in competition? You will here.

3. City of Lights.



One night, attendees get to see the lights go down and many models lit internally.

I will be there this year taking pics and video, so start looking here for news during the event!

Another Prince of Persia video!

From Julie Stern, LEGO Brand Relations

The Fastest and Funniest LEGO Star Wars story ever told

From Julie Stern, LEGO Brand Relations:







Very funny!

DSC04142retoc

DSC04142retoc, originally uploaded by Henrik Hoexbroe.

The Disneyland riverboat Mark Twain, built by Henrik Hoexbroe of HISPAbrick! Gorgeous work, including an interior!

New video!

BrickJournal 10 is Out Digitally

and there's an article on Jordan Schwartz's rendition of Rapunzel's Tower, as well as a talk with the designers of the Atlantis sets!

Other articles include a spotlight on Brickset.com and instructions on making miniland scale figures and a sliding puzzle!

The printed magazine will be out soon!