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Brickfest Report
I noticed some people on LUGNET were wanting some news or information from
Brickfest 2006. Below is a highly personalized account and impression of my
Brickfest experience:
The Venue
This was the first time that Brickfest did not take place at the Arlington
branch of George Mason University. Instead, the event took place in Vienna, VA
at the Sheraton Premiere. I loved going to GMU in Arlington and as a city, I
have to say Arlington is more attractive to me than Vienna. The little
neighborhoods, close proximity to metro subway stations and international feel
of Arlington was missing for me in Vienna. Walking a block to several neat
lunch places was nice in Arlington too. I also liked the GMU building
(converted department store with escalators, etc.) and the separation of Lego
themes by classrooms and floor levels that Brickfest offered while it took place
at GMU.
However, there were many benefits to the new venue and I would assume that for
the majority of attendees these benefits far outweighed the loss of GMU at
Arlington. The most obvious benefit is having the convention take place in the
same place as your accomodations. It took literally less than 1 minute for me
to get from my room to the main display area. Not only that, but the building
did not close down in the evening like GMU did, so you didn’t have to worry
about closing time. The main display space was in the hotel’s grand ballroom
and while I personally lament the separation of themes, I can see the benefit of
increased co-mingling of people across themes that having people share one large
display space allowed. And the display space was BIG! Other incidental
benefits were - a great pool for a refreshing dip (although the floating boat
theme was conspicously absent -- if BF ‘07 is in the same place, I am bringing
some ;), the bar right in the hotel (I did not take advantage, but I believe
some people may have ;), and the hotel’s close proximity to the mall that had a
Lego store (about 2 miles, I think).
The one disadvantage of the hotel’s space was probably the outlying conference
rooms and the rooms the Brick Bazaar took place in because these were some
distance from the main part of the event. Still, I don’t think anyone had any
trouble finding them. I did wonder about sellers in those far rooms feeling a
bit removed from the main part of the action, though.
Overall, the venue was a great improvement for the convention. For me
personally, it would have been ideal to have a hotel like this in Arlington, but
just for the feel of the my trip outside of the convention itself.
The Fest (PICS!)
The most satisfying part of every Brickfest is seeing people that I have seen
from previous years. In some cases, that’s 7 years! It is truly wonderful to
see both old and new people at these events. I had the feeling that a lot of
brand new faces were at this fest.
The displays are the next most rewarding feature for me. I look at Brickshelf
pretty much daily, but to see some of the amazing models from Brickfest live and
in 3-D is just amazing.
There were a bunch of vignettes and that was my first stop on my tour through
the grand ballroom. Honestly, I have never really cared for vignettes as much
as other themes. Seeing something in person is so different from seeing a
picture online, though. For instance:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00001.jpg
I had seen this posted online before and thought it was ok and spend probably 30
seconds looking at it. At the fest, I was really able to appreciate the detail
in this little model. I could see every part and could view it easily in three
dimensions. I probably spent 5 minutes looking at it. In short, it’s a very
different experience than viewing the same model online.
There were some great little interior room models at the fest too. This one
really caught my eye:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00006.jpg
Someone did some studies of using just a single element to make interesting
shapes:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00009.jpg
Interesting building techniques and uniquely shapad buildings were plentiful:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00011.jpg
Microscale was scaled back a bit this year, but what was there was amazing:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00012.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00039.jpg
One interesting thing that happens at Brickfest is that you see models and
building techniques that you may not personally even like, but are so amazingly
artistic that you have to conceed that you are seeing something truly great.
That happened for me with this model:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00015.jpg
I also saw models that I wish were sets I could buy off the shelf at TRU:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00019.jpg
And every now and then, get introduced to a whole new theme. I didn’t know what
Steampunk was until this year’s BF:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00030.jpg
But I was amazed by the theme and the people building it. I also saw models
that were weirdly un-Lego to me, but beautiful:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00033.jpg
I was also very impressed with what people do when they combine their interest
in Lego with another interest (in this case, a neat game):
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00035.jpg
And the amazing thing people can do when they make a roof to their buildings:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00034.jpg
One night I had trouble sleeping so I read for a bit. I was reading Harry
Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and stopped at the chapter where Harry and
Ginny kiss. The next day I saw this model:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00042.jpg
Weird! I did not see it the day before and it was a scene depicting what I had
just read. I love when things like that happen.
Were there any space models? Hmmm....
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00044.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00051.jpg
I didn’t take many pics, but believe me, there was plenty to be wowed by at BF
as far as .space was concerned.
Of course, town and train are my favorites, but this post is getting
ridiculously long. But check out this train and this trackside building:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00063.jpg
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00060.jpg
And it’s hard to tell why this is so innovative in a picture, but this mosaic
used a technique I had never seen before of mounting 1x1 round plates on
different colored jumper plates in the background:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00065.jpg
The things you learn are possible at BF!
And who made it all possible? Well, lots of people, I am sure. But here’s the
chief:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/thomasmain/Miscellaneous/Brickfest/dsc00067.jpg
The Speaker Sessions
I attended sessions on MS Robo Studio, Steampunk, Lego Ads, Stressing the
Elements and Brickjournal. I also heard the key-note speech, opening ceremony
and awards show. I missed a couple of speaker sessions that I would have liked
to have attended because of other distractions (whether people, gawking at
models or catching lunch). That happens every year. You can’t see and do
everything there is to do at Brickfest. It’s interesting because two people
could do almost entirely different sessions at the same Brickfest. The sessions
were extemely informative, personal and insightful. I learned “insider secrets”
from Jamie at the Stressing the elements session, I learned of a whole new theme
(for me) at the Steampunk session and got to see the comaraderie and enthusiasm
that those builders share with one another, I strained by brain at the Robo
Studio session, saw some wonderful video at the ads sessions and was inspired by
Joe’s vision at the Brick Journal session. The key-note speech made me
appreciate the company more than I had in the past few months by letting me see
its very human face. I was also surprised and delighted by the information we
were given about the upcoming hobby train set. The awards show could have been
shorter ;) And I would have preferred seeing pics of the models as people came
up to accept
their award. But I think it is a treat to see the best builders be rewarded for
their efforts.
I also attended a live auction and Dirty Brickster event. My bank account
couldn’t afford anything at the auction, but it was fun seeing people get
something they had always wanted. Dirty Brickster is always a highlight of
Brickfest - it’s just plain fun.
I’m sad to have missed a few sessions Sunday afternoon and the closing ceremony,
but had to leave town as many other attendees did.
Summation
I enjoyed going to Brickfest. I was worried at first it would be very different
from previous years. It was in some respects, but that was ok. Some elements
were better, all elements of what makes a great Brickfest were there and I am so
glad I snuck in a late registration. Next year, I will clear my calendar and
register early if fate will allow. Would I recommend it? YES.
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: My Brickfest Report
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| (...) Thomas, Thanks for writing this up. I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend this year due to financial difficulties, but I hope to be able to make it next year. I'm looking forward to hearing others' writeups as well, and I'll also be scouring (...) (18 years ago, 29-Aug-06, to lugnet.events.brickfest, FTX)
| | | Re: My Brickfest Report
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| (...) Yay! I'm glad you had a great time at DirtyBrickster!! I thought it went very well and I had a BLAST, too! I'm still surprised no one took that Hans Christian Andersen Belville set from me. ;) Not that I am complaining... I love that set and (...) (18 years ago, 29-Aug-06, to lugnet.events.brickfest, FTX)
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