So normally I post about miniatures, miniature events, miniature painting, miniature reviews etc.. today I have a slightly different post in that this is a convention review, but for Brick2015.. or the Lego Con of London!
Last week my son received a flyer that had Brick2015 details within it. Explaining how it was in London, and how it was everything and all things about Lego. So naturally he wanted to go.
After making a deal on being good for the week, we decided to pick up tickets and head out to the show. Knowing it was at the ExCel center we also planned out our route, and tried to make the most of the day ( which was to include some time in London since we don't do that enough apparently ).
So bright eyed and bushy tailed, we set off to London via the trains and underground to make our way to ExCel and Brick2015. Uber tired as we left quite early in the morning to "beat the rush". My bad in thinking that more people would attend than actually did.. but at least we had the afternoon to chill in London.
Sam received another free magazine while in the line, and started in on the lego star wars comic held within...
Once inside we were immediately to some of the lego pits to try our hand at some creations. We did a lot at the car race track, but no photos from me ( was too busy building my car! ) but we did get photos of our house that went into the build Britain map! Sam was quite clear on what we wanted to have on the house ( 2 stories and a door like our place ). And then the fun of seeing the lady try to find space on the map for it.
The family chipped in with building part of a mosaic for the convention. Sam's piece was a bit out of the way still it seems, but it would be used in time. By the time he was finished it though we could see that it would be full of xmas like minifigs.. which is pretty wild to see such a piece come together.
We saw this theme come through quite a few times though whereby the participants were helping to build a larger creation. In some cases like this mosaic it was interesting to see, in others not so much. Like the build a snow man or build a Santa. As the there was not much thinking involved more just manual effort ( build a larger brick out of smaller bricks, rinse and repeat ).
The brick pits were interesting, but definitely kid oriented, except for the purple pit. Which had benches and seats, alongside 4 large tubs of just purple bricks to play with.
The master builders section, and the fan section was quite interesting though. People who are mega lego fans bringing in some of their pieces to show off. The top 4 photos there being of photos or videos or pieces, but made completely out of bricks!
Many great pieces from a lot of different builders across many different countries it seems! Many throughout central Europe as well.
Although we skipped past a lot of the events within the event.. Such as things like the Ps4 games, most of the brick pits ( Sam wanted us to join him.. not happening in those ), the shops, and the more strict building sites ( build a snowman or Santa ). But this was just cause junior was not interested or we just didn't have the energy for it.
We did make it to the minecraft tables, but the lego selections by that time were quite slim ( and it was only around 1 or 2 pm ) so Sam was having difficulties getting to build something that he wanted. As compared to the other tables, here he was very clear on what certain colors represented. Blue was water, orange was lava, grey was stone, etc.. and you cannot have a water and lava house obviously...
Overall a great day out with the family. We topped it off with a snack of mini burgers, and a trip to the London Bridge and Xmas fair nearby. A quick stop off at Dark Sphere ( since it is near Waterloo station ) and then home for dinner and an early bed. Since everyone was tired from the mega walk around London and the convention.
Have to say that although the event cost was quite high, Junior did have a ton of fun. So there is a good chance we will go to it once more next year if he is still so into Lego. And the fact that we were able to escape without purchasing anything at the show is double good considering how close to Christmas is already is.
Now to finish off the decoration around the house, and get ready for some much needed family time at home this season!