During the clubday, a workshop was given on How to Build sailing ships, a project initiated by Maxim Illegems and friends.
The ship was "sponsored" for parts by BeLUG as such, and wouldbe on display at the huge Pirate lay-out of Brick Mania Antwerpen 2016.
This lay-out, containing a lot of participants from different countries, had heaps of participants and a lot of Brethren of the Brick Seas "celebrities".
Here you can see the lay-out in it`s whole:
And here Rick is giving some words of explanation on the lay-out:
But now, back to the ship itself, and I`ll quote Maxim on the whole project as such:
What happens when some of the best builders in the world decide to build a fregate together?
I asked myself this question 6 months ago as I wanted to do something
original for the BELUG (Belgian Lego User Group) Clubday in September.
Why not a workshop on "how to make a fregate"? As Belug has some
legendary shipbuilders in it rangs (CGH, Sebeus, Bonaparte and maybe one
day I may say myself), this should not be that difficult...
Well, it is... As I had to order all parts from scratch (requested by
Belug), it was a difficult task as every ship is different. It is nearly
impossible to say in advance how many bricks you need and what type of
bricks you need...
Anyway, a succesfull clubday and a few additional meetings later (with
the necessary food and beer), she was ready to be showed at Brickmania
Antwerp.
So here she is, the "Beluga":
A class 5HA, sailing under the flag of MAESTRO
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Thanks a lot to everyone involved in this project!
Brick Mania Antwerp, the final event we organise in 2016, has come to pass
And it was a blast, with a lot of people visiting the show this year, topping our entrance number of last year.
I
don`t have the official numbers, but I`m sure the BeLUG board will
communicate these as soon as they are known, but let`s have a look at
the event itself then!
Preparations
Of
course, no show can be held without the volunteers that set up the
whole venue. So on friday, two dozen people where present to put down
all the tables, add the decorations, and well, set everything up.
And we are a go!
After
the early arrivals on saturdays of both traders and exhibitors, teh
doors opened at 10 o`clock for two days of bricky fun. And it was a
rush from the word "go" as people streamed into the Waagnatie, and this
would continue for two whole days.
Here you have a small movieclip of the crowd on a "lazy sunday afternoon"...
MOC`s, plenty of MOC`s!
The heart of any convention are of course the builds by the members, and there was a lot to see once again this year.
There was a Pirate lay-out of 100 square meters, with contributions of a dozen builders from all over Europe
A great looking Fabuland city including moving train
City
and Trains where present as well, to be seen over a variety of tables.
Maybe an idea for all those train fans to combine in one HUGE lay out
next year?
The Great Ball Contraption remains an eyecatcher, as thousands of little balls moved all over the circuitcourse.
Technic
remains a popular theme to build in, and all those moving builds are
always wildly appreciated by visitors young and old.
Two of our resident `sculpture builders`, Dirk and Koen, had their work on display.
LEGO
Certified Professional Dirk Denoyelle and his company Amazings had real
pieces of art on display, as well as some of the great sets they`ve
build for clients.
The
Star Wars fans had collaborated in presenting their builds all
together, so you could emerge in the franchise as you marvelled at the
works.
But there was so much more to see, ranging from a Space lay-out all the way to mosaics.
Traders
No event is complete without the opportunity to add some sets to your collection, and there was plenty of choice to buy from.
Activities
During the day, there where workshops for the children to learn how to build alternate models from small Creator 3 in 1 sets.
As well as two trading moments every day for exchanging minifigures and polybags.
The evening!
After
the first day, an excellent buffet was served to feed the hungry. Once
the inner person had been satisfied, the evening event commenced. It
had a boardgame adapted to LEGO, Quarto, and the winner took home a
small prize.
The
clubraffle was also present, as was the auction, and then we could go
home for a good night sleep after a long and eventful day, before facing
an even busier sunday.
The sunday breakdown...
As
the sunday progressed as a true festival, we had various regional and
national press making their appearance. From the local ATV to the
national VTM and radio 2, our members and staff duly answered every
question they had.
Our friends from OLBC came along as well to say "hi" and a little chat.
And
then, the weekend had gone by, and it was time for the breakdown...
including the demolition of my part of the Pirate lay-out, recycling it
into other projects for 2017.
We like to thank all the participants and visitors of the event, for it was a truly magnificent 2016 edition!
