I’ve just submitted my registration fees for BrickCon, the LEGO convention in Seattle.
Tag: #lego
Brick Show now open
This was the opening weekend for the the Brick Show in San Leandro, CA at the Bay Area Family Church, organized by Johannes van Galen and featuring BayLUG/BayLTC. The show is ongoing through July 25 so come on out and check it out!
Seven-way radial symmetry technique
I just stumbled across a way to build a 7-way radial symmetry in LEGO.
A technique for building 7-way radial symmetry in LEGO. The blue 2×2 plates are connected to each other using plate hinges in a ring, and when I built that I noticed the ring looked like the right diameter to go around a 4×4 round piece. The hinges actually protrude a little into the center, but by sandwiching the two 4×4 rounds together and filling the space inside with a round 2×2 plate and seven (leaving one stud open) 1×1 round plates, you can make it all fit nicely. And since the 4×4 rounds and 2×2 round plate have axle holes, it can easily be connected to any Technic mechanism.
If you stick an axle in the middle it twirls like a top – it’s very well balanced.
LDraw code after the break:
Maker Faire 2010
Here are the pictures from the Bay Area LEGO Users Group & Train Club‘s exhibit at Maker Faire 2010 Bay Area in San Mateo, CA.
We had a 40′ by 50′ space just like last year, but this time we set aside about half of it as a play area for the little ones. We dumped out loose LEGO parts on the floor (including a DUPLO area for the really little ones) and spread them out on some tables as well, so that fairegoers could build whatever they wanted. We then had some tables set aside to display these MOCs (My Own Creations), and had volunteers who would take pictures of the models and put them up on a computer. I brought my video projector and we had a continuous slideshow running all weekend with pictures of these MOCs.
Bricks by the Bay Photos
My Bricks by the Bay Pictures are available on Flickr if you want to take a look at some of the great models on display and the crowds on the public day.
I LEGO N.Y.
I LEGO N.Y. by Christoph Niemann is a book that was released on March 1, 2010. It’s a series of photographs featuring mini NYC vignettes, created entirely out of LEGO pieces! It originated as a blog post on NYTIMES.com. As far as I know, Niemann isn’t known as an AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO, the term used by the adult LEGO hobbyist community).
BayLTC at TCA 2010
Last weekend I, along with other members of the Bay Area LEGO Train Club, had a display at the Northern California Train Collectors Association Cal-Stewart Spring Meet in Santa Clara, CA.
How best to share building instructions for my creations?
Every once in a while I get a request to share building instructions for my models. I am willing to do so, but haven’t quite figured out the best way. I was wondering if people might want to comment and make some suggestions?
BayLUG January 2010 Meeting at Dave Porter’s house
On January 24, Bay Area LEGO Users’ Group (BayLUG) had our annual meeting at Dave Porter’s house in Woodside, CA.
Dave always sets up a very impressive layout in his loft featuring a huge collection of LEGO sets and his own custom creations, with running trains. He has been inviting the club up to his house every January for the past few years to share his layout and give us a chance to show off what we’ve been up to. Marcello de Cicco brought his Japanese Navy ships to show off, and Brian Thiemer and his wife brought their newest MOC, a baby, to the meeting!
Reasonably Lazy
Readers of the “Brick House” comic at Reasonably Clever will have noticed that the characters are now wandering around the author’s home in Detroit.
LEGO Nutcracker
My latest LEGO model, just in time for Christmas, is the Nutcracker, a classic Christmas icon. In fact, it was built on Christmas Eve!
Advent 2009
Like last year, LEGO came up with two advent calendars, only one of which was sold in the U.S. The 7687 City advent calendar was sold everywhere, but the 6299 Pirates calendar was only available in Europe. (If you’re not familiar with advent calendars, they basically consist of 24 different gifts, one to be opened on each day of Advent, the traditional Christian season that precedes Christmas, or in other words December 1-24. These days, it’s secularized – fine by me, since I’m not religious – but the name has stuck.)
BayLUG Museum Show Open through January 17
This weekend, the Bay Area LEGO Users Group opened our annual “Living LEGO-cy” exhibit at the Museum of American Heritage in Palo Alto, CA. We’ll be open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (except Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day) through Sunday, January 17. Admission is $2 (free for BayLUG and MoAH members and kids under 2), which is split 50/50 between the club and the museum.
Pirates Advent Calendar Petitions
You’ve probably heard by now that the Pirates Advent Calendar is not going to be sold in the US.
Spirit of St Louis
One of the first LEGO sets I ever owned was the Spirit of St Louis, a little yellow and black (the original one was silver – see pictures on Wikipedia) airplane set that represented Charles Lindbergh’s plane from the first trans-Atlantic solo flight. It was sold as set # 456 or 661, depending on where in the world you bought it. I was six years old in 1977 when this set came out, and my parents bought it for me. I still have at least some of the parts – all mixed into my LEGO collection, of course…
Scrambler
This amusement park ride is known in various parts of the world as the Scrambler, Twist, Twister, Cyclone, Sizzler, Merry Mixer, Grasscutter, or Cha Cha. In my part of the world (California) I’ve always seen it called the Scrambler. Wikipedia has more information about this ride under its various guises.
LEGO setup at home
For my birthday I had a small party at my home, and so I cleaned up my LEGO work area and set up several representative models on display there.
New Power Functions Remote Recall
I just got the following notice in my email from LEGO:
Brickworld 2009 Chicago
Turn out the lights, the party’s over… Brickworld was a lot of fun – the biggest LEGO event I’ve ever attended, for sure. There were 35,000 square feet of ballroom space, about 600 attendees, and 4 days. I took well over 1,000 photos and had a great time.
LEGO Owner Visits Brickworld
The owner of LEGO, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, visited Brickworld today and I got to meet him!
Brickworld 2009 photos
Well, we’re halfway through Brickworld here in Chicago! Time flies so fast…. but tomorrow the big excitement begins as the doors open to the public. If you’re in the area, come on down and see the exhibits! I even have a free pass I can give to one lucky person.
I’ve taken hundreds of photos and uploaded them to Flickr. They’re organized into several sets: