One Last post...

Well, this will be my last blog post here.  We never really gained any momentum as a separate blog.  But, that is okay....

We will be completing the relaunch of the Brickworld web site just in time for the opening of registration for Brickworld Chicago 2016.  And, the new site will include a blog of its own.  So, perhaps things will be published there....you never know.

Thanks to the 30 or so people that actually followed this!!  Your support is appreciated.

And, that support is rewarded here with a sneak peak at the new home page for Brickworld.COM (you see what I did there?)

Project MTron

Written by:  Bryan Bonahoom

Project MTron.  Who remembers that theme from the early 90s?  Lots of red, black and light grey.  Magnets.  Trans-neon yellow.

If you haven't noticed, we do an MTron collaboration at almost every Brickworld event.  Note the word COLLABORATION.  There is always more than one person involved and it is open for everyone to participate just like the rest of the collaborations we post.

But, not many people know the history of the MTron collaboration.  The MTron collaboration first appeared at IndyLUG shows and was probably a 5 ft x 8 ft display with 3 or 4 people involved.  Nobody really knows exactly where and when the collaboration first appeared.  But, ever since Brickworld Indy in 2009, it has done nothing but grow and improve.

At Brickworld Indy next month, the display will be 7 1/2 ft wide and 56 ft long.  There will be at least 10 people contributing to the collaboration.  Of course, it is largest at the Indy show because all of IndyLUG is involved.  But, even at Brickworld Chicago last year, the layout was 8 ft wide and 30 ft long.  The coolest part is that in Chicago, there are parts of the collaboration from other attendees.  So, the Chicago layout always has something different going on.

Over the past couple years, there has been more and more height in the structures.  And, a significant amount of custom rock work is appearing in the layout.  The introduction of 1 Watt LED ultraviolet lights in 2014 will make the MTron layout glow bright during the world of lights in Chicago this year.

You can find the basic definitions for participating in the collaboration here.  If you have questions, send them to the Contact Us form on the Brickworld web site and the MTron coordinator (Steve McDonough) will be happy to help!

Remember, collaborations are an easy way to make something small so that you are participating in displaying.  This keeps life simple - easy to carry on an airplane - easy to set up - looks really cool when you take pictures of your stuff to show friends.  So, don't be afraid to contribute a space ship, a vehicle or a small building to the collaboration.  Every little bit helps!

Introducing the Microscale Castle/Pirate Collaboration

Written by:  David Gregory

At Brickworld we’re always looking for new ways to engage people in building projects that are fun and let LEGO fans combine their efforts to create something beyond what they could do alone.  Some fans of the castle and pirate themes had a meeting at Brickworld 2014, to try and come up with a project that would let anyone get involved on any level of commitment.  It was decided that a modular microscale project was the best way to do that. As with any modular project, we had to come up with a standard for the “base” module.

Have you ever seen a patio paved with octo stone pavers?  Each stone is the shape of an octagon with a square on one side.







The base module for a micro castle/pirate display is based on the principle of this pattern.  Back in 2010 TLC released a 10X10 octagonal plate <http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=89523> .  So far this part has been released in 6 different colors, 4 of which will work just fine for making modules: green, tan, dark bluish gray and dark tan.








All you need to get started is to attach a 10X10 octagonal plate to a 4X4 stud square, bring the height up to 1 brick + 1 plate, and voila!  You have a module.

Here you can see examples modules in three different colors (banana for scale.)

Now you may be thinking that when multiple modules are put together, their borders will be sort of wavy due to the angles of the pieces meeting.  You’re right, when these modules are put together, there will be no gaps, but there will be angles—angles in LEGO that are not 90°!

Straight lines work well for city blocks and space stations, but the coastlines, fields and stone walls of a micro medieval display have so much more character when they’re allowed to deviate from straight lines.

We have an example of blue water modules, even though the 10X10 octagonal plate hasn’t been released in blue.  We’ve simply put 4X4 cut-corner wedge plates <http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=30503>  on one of the octagonal plates.  In fact you could use those same wedge  plates in colors such as light bluish gray, black, white or reddish brown to make modules in colors that are different from those in which the octagonal plates have been made.

Believe it or not, there’s also another way to make a water module.  The
solid version of the 10X10 octagonal plate has a small hole in the center, but there’s also a 10X10 octagonal plate that has a large cutout in the
center <http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=6063>  that comes in dark azure.  Once you have one of those, attach 4X4 studs worth of some dark azure bricks, build something that covers the center cutout (volcano, island, whirlpool, etc.), and you have a Caribbean water module.

Once you have your base(s) built, the details are totally up to you. Castles, pirate ships, farms, krakens, towers and islands are only a few of the many ideas of what you can make to fill your module(s).

We say that this project is “microscale,” but what does that mean?  For the purpose of this project microscale is any scale smaller than minifig scale. Do you want your people to be the little dudes from the LEGO boardgames?  Go for it.  (That would be the largest that the scale could go.) 


Do you want to go with the traditional microscale standard of a person being represented by a 1X1 round brick?  That works too!  In fact you could create a landscape where the inhabitants would be too small to be  represented by any LEGO piece.

All of those options are just fine.  Don’t worry about the scale of your creation not exactly matching the scale of the creation next to yours.  That won’t be important when they’re all put together.  We’ll be too busy hearing people ask, “Is this supposed to be Settlers of Catan?” to worry about scale conflicts.

One of the nice things about building in microscale is that anyone has enough pieces to participate.  People can add 20 modules to the display or just 1.  Bringing your micro landscape to life requires far fewer pieces than most MOCs, so you can build a single module with literally a handful of pieces.  The house in the photo below is made of only 7 parts.


The micro people who populate your world can be simple placeholders, or they can have a bit of personality built into them.  The knights in the picture below are each only 5 pieces.

Are you thinking about making a module to add to the display at Brickworld?


Here are some basic guidelines:

• Each module is made from a 10X10 octagon + a 4X4 square.
• The 4X4 square area goes on the left.
• Modules are 1 brick + 1 plate high.
• Feel free to build things that are larger than what will fit on 1 module.  You can connect your modules together and build across them.
• There is no limit to the number of modules you can bring.
• The display coordinator is responsible for bringing/building a border around the perimeter to keep the modules from shifting around.

Also, as the 2015 event nears, make sure to check the event schedule for a presentation on microscale building from David Gregory and Ben Ellerman.

(And word has it that they might even have custom microscale kits available)

Kevin Hinkle is Awesome

By Bryan Bonahoom

Kevin Hinkle is the LEGO Community Manager for the Americas.  What does this mean and is Kevin the right man for the job?  Well, obviously we think he is the right man for the job (note the title of this post if there is any doubt what we think).

If you haven't met Kevin Hinkle at a LEGO fan event in the Americas, then you really need to go to more fan events.  Kevin attends 6 or so events a year.  One in Canada.  One in South America (well, there is only one in South America).  And, four in the US.  This may sound disproportionate.  But it is not.  Most of the events in the Americas take place in the US (Brickworld has 4).

Kevin has a job with The LEGO Group that is very unique among jobs in general.  In fact, LEGO is the only company we are aware of that actually has team members like Kevin on what they call "The Community Team".  Their only purpose is to be the liaison between the company and the fan base.

Is his job to answer all of our questions?  No, not really.  In fact, at Brickworld we stopped even having a Q&A session with Kevin during large group gatherings because we were tired of the phrase "I can't discuss future sets" (or something to that effect).  That phrase was uttered countless times by Kevin and his predecessors (whom we also liked).  So, if he can't answer all of our questions, then what can he do for us?

Kevin can answer some of your questions.  Ask him about LEGO User Groups, how LEGO supports user groups, he can answer process questions, and he might even be able to help guide you toward a way to apply for discounted parts to support a special project.

Kevin is usually listening.  And, he is a good listener.  He strives to take messages from the community and consolidate them into something coherent and actionable for the company.  Does this mean he takes our messages to the company and we always get exactly what we want/ask for?  No, it does not mean this at all.  If that was the case, I think I would ask for unlimited free parts with a delivery lead time of 4 hours and the ability to send back parts I am not using.  What the heck, if they are free, then why should I bother storing anything?  It would eliminate my least favorite activity:  Sorting.

Kevin is fair and even.  Or, at least he tries to be whenever it is possible.  Kevin has to work within a set of constraints.  He is doing this as a job, not a hobby like most of us.  So, he has to watch out for the rules and procedures set forth by his boss and the company.

Kevin is responsive.  One of Kevin's roles is to provide support to the multitude of events that occur all over the Americas whether he is attending personally or not.  This means he is getting sets shipped, monitoring bulk orders of parts, working with store managers from the Brand Retail side of the business, addressing the concerns of people running events, and keeping his sanity through it all.

Do the simple math on Kevin's time:  About 3 weeks a year visiting Denmark for team meetings, a week in South America (because it would be pointless to go for a shorter period of time), probably 3 weeks of vacation, maybe he is sick for a week total (he does not have conthrax immunity), and about 2 weeks of holidays throughout the year.

This leaves 42 weeks or 210 days to do the rest of his job.  Attending 5 other events eats up 15 of those days.  There are another 12 conventions and probably 200 RLUG events that he supports throughout the year.  If he spends just 4 hours on an RLUG event then he is spending 800 hours or 100 days of time there.  If he spends 24 hours doing all the prep, approvals, and followup for each convention, there went another 51 days.  If he spends 2 hours per RLUG for their annual needs (eg - LUGBulk order) and there are about 80 RLUGs then there went another 20 days.

Now he is down to just 24 days to do all the other interaction (both internal and external), planning, and executing.  Take away department weekly meetings (1 hour per week) and report writing (1 hour per week) and there went about another 13 days and he is down to 45 days a year - less than 1/2 day per week to keep up with everything LEGO is doing and everything the community is doing.

So, just to keep his sanity requires a lot of effort.

Kevin Hinkle is awesome because none of this ever shows.  When you are with Kevin, you are the only thing that matters.  And, he doesn't forget to follow up with you if he promises to check on something (well, not often at least).

So, THANKS KEVIN FOR BEING AWESOME!

Doing a presentation at an AFOL Convention?

Written by: Bryan Bonahoom

At every AFOL convention there are presentations made by the fans attending the event. Why? Because one of the major points of AFOL conventions is to share what you know with your fellow hobbyists. And, let's be honest. It is cool when other people adopt your techniques. It kind of gives you a sense of pride. It is cool when other people admire your creation. It kind of gives you a sense of pride.

Anyone doing a presentation wants it to be a success. But, a lot of people making the presentations don't have a lot (if any) experience speaking to a group of people. So, here are some tips and some straight talk for you to consider.

First - and I don't include this in the list below because this one point is so very important to remember - you are doing a presentation in front of a group of people that has chosen of their own free will to be there. They ARE INTERESTED in what you have to say. They WANT TO LEARN. So, you can be confident in your topic of discussion. This one element of fear can lead you to making a presentation that comes across as scattered because you might jump through multiple topics for fear someone might not like your focus. Don't be afraid. Embrace your topic. Focus on your topic. Stick to your topic.

Some pointers:

1. Introduce yourself. And, don't just give your name. Tell the audience enough about you and your interests so they understand why you chose to volunteer to make this presentation or lead this discussion.
2. Maybe you are an expert on this topic. Maybe you aren't. Tell them who you are and why you are there. Don't embellish. Be straight. And, be prepared for someone else in the room to know as much (if not more) than you. Don't argue with them. Embrace their input. They are engaging in your discussion. There is usually no one right way to do things. Of course, if they are trying to take over and redirect, you can politely ask that you have that discussion after your official time is up. There are always places where you can talk to people at conventions.
3. Organize yourself before the presentation. Maybe you have slides. Maybe you have notes. Maybe you have example creations. Just make sure that whatever you are doing, it is organized. Nothing ruins a presentation quicker than the presenter wasting time trying to find things or figure out what they were going to say.
4. Have a goal and make the goal clear to the audience. I want to teach you how to....I want to show you how I....I want to give you an understanding of....I want us all to discuss xyz and broaden our knowledge....whatever it is, make sure the goal is clear. It will help keep the presentation/discussion focused.
5. Have fun!! This is a hobby convention. If you have fun, the audience is a lot more likely to have fun. Stories about things you had to do over and self-deprecating humor usually work well.
6. If someone gets up and leaves, that is okay. There are many reasons people will leave that have nothing to do with whether you are doing a good job. So, don't panic about this if it happens.
7. Ask for feedback at the end. Invite the audience members to stop and talk in the hallway to hear how you did. A few will actually do it. Listen to what they say. Don't argue. Don't make excuses. Just say thank you for the feedback and give it consideration. If they perceived something wrong, there was a reason. And, if you think about it, you will figure out why they had that perception. Perception is reality. You can't back track them into your mind afterwards. And, arguing with them will only cause friction.

There is a growing need at all conventions for new people to step up and talk about things. Old things...new things. Whatever!! The possibilities for topics are endless. I hope you find this information useful!!!

Play well, Bryan

Only a couple weeks

Event preparation is actually nearing completion. We are still getting a few new things added to the event schedule (significant things). So, keep an eye on it (and maybe some announcements. We need to get logistics information out to the displayers and we need to get packed up. All of my builds are done. And, I have a couple new things. So, that is fun for me. I also spent some time upgrading my MTron MOCs (some for looks, some for durability, some for noise control, and some to make setup quicker. The one thing that is really hard on me in Chicago is that I really don't have time to set up my MOCs and enjoy it. It is always a rush because there is never a dull moment for me. So, since MTron has become the largest collection of MOCs I set up each year, it needed some upgrades (and probably still needs more) It is hard to believe that we filled the display hall to overflowing again even after expanding it by 30% again this year. Of course, some space went to vendor booths and some went to aisles. But, we still added about 400 feet of display frontage. See you in Chicago!!

Is Winter Gone Yet?

Brickworld Indy came and went this past weekend.  Happily, it was in the 40's.  Of course, it is now snowing again.  Ugh!!

Brickworld Indy was nothing short of awesome from the media coverage to the social media coverage to the displays to the vendors and to the public.  But, especially awesome was the opportunity to host a wish trip for the Make-A-Wish charity.  We were touched that someone would deem Brickworld worthy of the trip.

We did all we could to make it a memorable experience and many vendors and sponsors joined in on making it special.  I wish I knew who all helped.  But, there were so many!!

Chicago is up next.  The list of things that need to be done for Chicago is not short.  And, it is not getting shorter.  As we grow closer to the event, more things always seem to go on the to-do list than get taken off.  But, we will persevere and overcome with the help of the coordinators and many others.

Hopefully my updates here come a little more often between now and June.  But, only time will tell.

Until next time, Play Well!!

A little behind...

Well, we got registration opened on January 1st just as planned this year.  But, Kathie and I have both been caught up in a vortex of non-Brickworld urgent matters for the last few weeks.  So, now we are behind on a lot of things.

Plus, now we are in the zone of Brickworld Indy preparation.  So, catching up on Chicago will take a few weeks (not to mention the still swirling vortex of other urgent stuff).

On the happy side, we were able to get to Champaign, IL for one of the Illinois FLL championship tournaments this weekend and do a small display to help get the word out about Brickworld.  And, we are going to be holding our coordinator kickoff on Feb 8 just as planned.  We already have a keynote speaker lined up for Chicago (not a LEGO employee).  I have seen this keynote speaker in action and I think we will really enjoy it this year.

If you haven't looked at the high level schedule on the Brickworld site, then you haven't seen some of the schedule adjustments we have made for 2014.  You should take a peek  :)

If you haven't registered for Brickworld, don't forget to get that done soon or you will be playing catch up on pre-order merchandise, table space requests and MOC registration.

We will be attending a screening of the LEGO Movie on Feb 1st and we are still watching closely for release dates of the Beyond the Brick brickumentary that was filmed at Brickworld Chicago in 2013 (among some other locations).

Stay tuned for a flurry of announcements from the Brickworld email system!!

Be safe and play well, Bryan

Great Ball Contraption

When a group of guys published the specification for the Great Ball Contraption (GBC) in the spring of 2005, it was being done for a little bit of fun.  When we took the GBC on the road to a fan event for the first time in August 2005, we had no idea that there would be an overwhelming fan and public response to the giant Rube Goldberg-like creation.  And, ever since that time, the popularity of the GBC has exploded worldwide.  While the original 5 or 6 of us that pushed and operated the GBC kind of faded into the background, we still kept watching and enjoying.

Well, now we are pushing a resurgence of the GBC.  Several of us have created a few new modules and we want to continue to bring life to our LEGO creations.

You might be asking yourself, what is useful in this post.

There is a point.  The point is that things that move and make noise are more fun for the average person to watch.  While some of us are more astute LEGO artists that look for nuances and look at building techniques, the average person want something to jump out at them.  And, the GBC does exactly that.

I am not encouraging everyone to make a GBC module.

But, I am encouraging you to consider the additional of movement and noise...and even a little interactiveness to your displays.  Some people might not have a great appreciation for it, but Tim Allwein's Studsville is a perfect example.  Watch the reception it gets from people and you will understand more of how to make your creation more popular to viewers.

Of course, this is selfish encouragement.  Because the better your displays are, the more that people enjoy Brickworld.  See you all at an event in 2014!!

Google+ Success

I successfully created a Google+ Brickworld page this evening.  Now, to get all the linking to happen automatically!!!

It is almost 2014!!!

We are never sure exactly what the new year will bring except that change is inevitable.

Of course, nothing is definite in life or in LEGO...So, what will 2014 possibly bring?

Note:  All comments below are purely speculative and not guaranteed

• A new look for the Brickworld web site?
• Trophies for MOCs nominated for awards?
• More Brickworld expos?  Maybe we are coming to a city closer to you!!
• A coordinator kick off meeting in February at the Renaissance?
• An event kit contest for 2015 where the models are judged at Brickworld Chicago in 2014?
• Maybe we will put the brick into Brickworld?

Short and cryptic?  maybe....and stealing a line from Starship Troopers:  "Would you like to know more?"

We hope everyone has a safe holiday season.  We will see you all soon.  On that note, we will be at the NILTC Cantigny show Dec 14 & 15.  Maybe we will see you there.

It has been a while

First, thanks to all 30 of you that actually follow this blog.  I can't figure out why more people aren't interested in the boring details of making Brickworld happen....Okay, maybe I do understand.  But, every once in a while I will drop a tidbit here first as a thank you for following.

Is there a tidbit in this post?  hmmmm...

We have been busy since the event ended in June.  We are working on web site updates when we can.  The theme has been selected and announced.  And...

We are taking a hard look at the big picture of the event schedule.

We have been holding opening ceremonies on Wednesday evening for the last 3 years now.  And, in looking at how this fits with the new venue, we realized that the reason we moved the ceremony to Wednesday was the space limitation in the Westin.  Once we had this realization, the flood gates opened to new ideas and approaches to the overall schedule.

Additionally, we received post event comments from people asking for more things like parts drafts and games...along with "please bring back the theater" (which endured a 1 year absence this year under the list of "just couldn't make it happen").

So, next year (and we signed the contract for next year a couple days ago by the way) we have obtained a dedicated theater room for all 4 days of the event.  We have obtained a dedicated room for games & parts drafts all 4 days of the event.  And, we are taking a hard look at moving opening ceremonies to Thursday evening.

This leaves Wednesday evening open and because we have a lot of people that show up on Wednesday, we are thinking about an over 21 mixer on Wednesday evening with a cash bar.  Maybe even something just out on the terrace that has a bit of organization.  Input on this (and anything else) is more than welcome.  We are in the early stages of this discussion (like it is not even out on the coordinator forum yet).

Was there a tidbit in there for you?

We have also been busy building a copy of the Cummins engine model to send to India.  When it breaks, someone will need to go fix it...any takers?  (flying to India doesn't interest me)  Lots of progress in building but I am not looking forward to recreating the custom foam inserts for the shipping crates.  Lots of contact cement.

We are looking forward to Brickworld Fort Wayne (Sep 28 & 29) and then Brickworld Lafayette (Nov 2 & 3).  Staying busy is what I do.

Brickworld Chicago is coming!!

Holy cow....I have been receiving emails from people telling us what they want to do at Brickworld to add to  the event.  It is great that people are getting so excited.  Of course, I am always swamped (right now with BW Indy) and I live concerned that I am not returning their emails and getting information out quickly enough.

In a couple weeks, I will be focused on Chicago and the faucet will open...I will be putting out information and details...I will be asking for more people to step up and add to the event.  We will be in full swing of organizing the convention side of the event.

On top of that, we will be opening MOC registration and table reservations.  I can't stress enough how much I believe in the power of the collaborative displays.  M-Tron debuted in Chicago last year and I think it will be even bigger this year.  VirtualLUG is busy cooking up another fabulous collaboration in secret and I fully expect the Eurobricks crew to be up to the challenge with a collaboration of their own.

Meanwhile, we have the castle collaboration.  If you have ever thought about doing something for castle, this is the year to do it.  Yet to be announced is a special set of prizes to commemorate the anniversary of the first castle set (or so I am told).

The Great Ball Contraption is another collaboration that is pretty daunting to some people (the more artistic).  But, it is always fun to watch.  If you are mechanically inclined, give a simple module a shot.

Then there is the microscale collaboration.  It took a hit last year because some key people weren't at the show.  But, there is no reason that EVERYONE couldn't make one 16x16 module for this collaboration.  Just think how big it would be with 1,000 modules of this size...how cool would that be?!?!

Collaborations help bring the community together.  And, that is really the heart of what Brickworld is about.

Lots going on behind the scenes right now!!  More to be revealed soon.  But, first - Brickworld Indy on March 9 and 10.

I am soooooo excited this year!!!

Play well

Event Kit Parts

So, I spent all day getting the instructions for the event kits half way readable so I could use them to count out parts and construct 1 of each to make sure we got all the parts.  An interesting exercise.  I found 1 part where I ordered 200 but I need 400.  Easily remedied as it is readily available on Bricklink (whew).

Focus for the rest of the weekend has to be on Brickworld Indy.  I need to get the layout together.  And, we have an IndyLUG meeting on Sunday and everyone will want to know where their display is.  Of course, I have to go coach the high school robotics team from 10 AM - 6 PM (or maybe later) tomorrow.  So, it will be a long night tomorrow night.

Last week I started working only Monday through Wednesday.  Having 2 more days each week to work on catching up with this stuff has really helped and my stress level should be a lot lower going forward.  Though right now I am stressing because registration numbers are still lagging behind 2012.  It really makes me wonder if there were people registering just to get the LEGO discount.  Very sad indeed.  But, if that is all they were doing, they weren't making the event better for any of us.  And, they were probably in the way.  So, they won't be missed.

Off to relax for the evening.

Parts Order, Stanchions and BW Indy

So, now that the stanchions are here in Indy, I have spent some time figuring out how to better organize them for storage and improve the process of set up and tear down.  All the chain has been cut into lengths that span between 2 stanchions 6 ft apart.  So, you get a piece of chain with each stanchion.  Also, when we store the stanchions in the future, no more garbage bags.  I have boxes that will allow us to store the posts with the caps and hooks installed.  And, I am removing the bottom plate on all the bases so they stack nicely into boxes.  The boxes are all double walled and should be pretty durable if we don't abuse them.  I have to admit, cutting all that chain into 470 pieces the same length took a long time!!

Today, our parts order for the event arrived...on a pallet.  Yikes!!!

Parts for both event kits, items to put in the goody bags, the badge bricks and mini-figures made quite a pile. Now I have to sort it all and then re-ship the event kit parts to Massachusetts where Jeremy Moody (probably with some help from the family) has taken over the box design and actual kitting of the parts.  This is a big relief from Adam and I as we were always struggling to make time to get this all done for the event.

Brickworld Indy is now just a month away.  Time to get that layout finalized and polish up the plans.  It has also moved to a new venue.  Lots of changes this year!!

As a side note - life could be interesting as we run up to the event in June this year.  My FLL team qualified for the North American Championships that will be held in May at LEGOLand CA.  So, if we decide to go, I will have kids at the house for that for a while on top of mentoring the high school FRC robotics team.  Wish me luck...I might yet lose my sanity!

Good night all.

Whew - things are moving

We had our first coordinator meeting for Chicago.  Lots to discuss with the new venue.  But, that was last week.

This week I took a quick drive up to Chicago and met up with Adam.  We went over and emptied the storage unit into a trailer with some stuff going in Adam's SUV.  I brought the trailer back here to Indy with me.  It turns out, storage in Indy is a lot cheaper than Chicago.  Since we are using the stanchions at Brickworld Indy this year, it made sense to store them here.

We got the on line sales link set up for Brickworld Indy.  Now it is time to get the word out and get some tickets sold.  We have an ad coming out in Reach Magazine.  It will go to 500,000 households in the area.  Hopefully we get some turnout from this.  We are generating coupon codes for the on line ticket sales that will give us a good idea how people are hearing about the event.  In the past, we ask when you walk in the door and then try to tally it all up.  Automation is good  :)

I need to get the Brickworld Indy layout done too.  But, that comes after running by little fighting robots at a Pinewood Derby tomorrow.

Registration for Chicago hit 200 this week.  But, we are running behind last year's numbers.  Register early and don't forget your hotel room.  Unlike the Westin, there are not any reserve rooms that are empty in the hotel to increase the size of our room block.  So, when they are gone, they are gone.

While I have only gained 30 followers on the blog over the last year, I am okay with where I am at.  I hope you find my posts interesting at least.

Chicago 2013 Registration Open

We have been working on the web site to make it more informative and friendly.  Unfortunately, this effort hasn't completed.  But, that didn't stop us from opening registration today.  The content of the web site will continue to shape up over the next couple weeks.  We decided that most of the people that would be looking to get registered this early are already familiar with the event and a little missing content wouldn't be a big deal.

Apparently we were right as we are already approaching 100 paid attendees only 12 hours later.  What an incredible start to registration this year.

There is plenty of work to do!!  We are already excited to see how the event will go at the new venue.

More to come!!

Good evening.

It has certainly been a while since I posted anything here.  This is mostly because I like to take a break from hyping the event.  But, there are some other contributing factors, such as:

• A huge success at Brickworld Fort Wayne that somehow even garnered us a pretty good time slot on Fox News Across the Nation with Shepard Smith.
• My cousin, David Boudia, had my attention captured over the summer as he proceeded to win a Bronze and Gold medal at the London Olympics.
• There was this other little thing we have been spending time on...something about a new venue for Brickworld Chicago

I have also been spending my fall coaching my FLL team for one final season.  Our regional competition comes up this weekend.

So, attention is starting to turn to Brickworld Chicago at the Renaissance Hotel & Convention Center in Schaumberg, IL.

The fliers are at the printer so we can start getting the word out about the event.  Public turnout will be the difference between success and failure at the new venue as there are significantly higher costs associated with the venue.  This change is also forcing us to raise the registration fee by $10 to help defray the costs.

The event kits are designed and building instructions created.  So, we are ahead of the game on this.

It is the time of year when most people start to get excited about the holidays.  And, while I get some of that, I also start to get really fired up about the upcoming Brickworld events as we turn the calendar over.

I hope this reaches you happy, healthy and safe.

More to come as we really get to work on Brickworld Chicago 2013

Bryan

Looking Forward

So, my blog kind of took a dive for the last month as we pulled off a great Brickworld with the help of a lot of people.

Now that Brickworld Chicago is complete, we are looking forward to Brickworld Fort Wayne and we are already getting to work on Brickworld Chicago 2013.

Of course, we are still cleaning up from BW Chicago 2012, uploading pictures, working on video, cleaning up the pile of stuff in the living room from where it pretty much got dumped out of the car when we got home Monday.  Life is getting back to normal (whatever that is).  We went to a graduation party yesterday and then to a wedding where I made the center piece for the head table.  It was a flower box full of roses with an angry bird flying into it.  Nothing is complete without a bit of movement.  So, the top of the flower box lifted using a remote control and a couple of pigs would stick their heads up.

Play well.  I will probably be pretty quiet here for a while.  Don't forget the 2013 event kit competition on Flickr.

Home Stretch Time

Home stretch...seemed an appropriate title as "I'll Have Another" won the Preakness this evening, keeping hopes of a Triple Crown winner alive.  I think the last TC winner was Affirmed in 1979.

Anyway, on to Brickworld stuff!!

Well, registration is officially closed.  Though, unofficially, it is still open until tomorrow night or Monday since Mike is on vacation this weekend and doesn't have a computer with him to actually shut it down.  So, you can still register if you haven't.

We did manage to beat last year's record attendance again this year.  And, while the web site says 915, we have a group of people that are registered, but not on the web site.  So, the official number will ultimately be between 930 and 950.

Kevin is getting going on the layout.  It feels late this year.  But, since everything is shut down.  He might get away with only doing it once.

Kathie has been cross referencing MOC cards with table requests.  There are some people that could be disappointed because they didn't sign up for table space.  As always, we will do our best to work it all out.

I signed up for HootSuite today.  This allows us to schedule tweets and facebook posts to happen throughout the event.  So, the schedule is going into HootSuite.  Follow Brickworld on Twitter or get in to the Brickworld Chicago Page on FB to receive the updates during the event.  This will be kind of a fun experiment.

So, we are on the home stretch!!!  Bring it on to Brickworld.