UPDATE on presidential elections

Sorry it took a while to translate the whole affair, but I can now bring out the full "press release" from our president, Tom De Bruyker, and his move to the United Kingdom.

BREAKING NEWS: "Presidential elections" are due

Dear BeLUG members,


This might come as a shock, as it did to myself as well, but it seems we have a problem.

I just came of the Facebook chat with our club president, Tom De Bruyker, to tell about the board meeting yesterday, and to ask about the practical things for BM Liege, when I got a `hot scoop`.

Well, sometimes the social media picks up things right before it gets announced to boards, he is probably typing his official letter at this very moment, but I was already allowed to share the news...

The following passage is pasted from Facebook, and as such sorry for it being in flemish:

Kleine aanpassing : wij hebben een huis gekocht in UK, we gaan binnenkort verhuizen dus moet er een nieuwe voorzitter gezocht worden

Well, translated to english, this says:

Small change of plans: we bought a house here in the United Kingdom, and will soon be moving, so a new president will have to be instated.

This basically means everyone will be able to run for president of BeLUG.  Well, in theory ofc, but as this is just the `hot potato` I just received, we still need to start up a full selection procedure, so I`ll make sure to be able to share this as soon as possible.  The problem being that the General Assembly has just passed two weeks ago, and we can go back to the voting booth already.

This definitly isn`t Leg Godt news... 

Our apparent former club president, on the left

And his new abode...

Registration for the Skaerbaek Fan Weekend is open

For those planning on joining the Skaerbaek fan weekend this year, taking place on the 24th and 25th of September, the registration system has opened

This weekend is an event where a multitude of moc`s from all over the world will be on display, and you have a chance to meet some `known faces` from all over the internet as you all gather together in two days of Lego extravaganza.

Just have a look at this picture from a participant in 2015 to have an idea what it is all about!

Bouw- en Showweekend met LEGO Blokken

BeLUG lid #892 - Johan Timmerman

Welkom allemaal bij een nieuwe aflevering in Meet BeLUG, de blogreeks waarin we trachten al onze leden aan elkaar voor te stellen.

Welcome all to a new episode of Meet BeLUG, the blog series where we try to introduce all our members to each other.

En wie laten we vandaag aan het woord?

And who do we give the word to today?

TIMMERMAN JOHAN, lidnr: 892

Timmerman Johan, member number 892

En wat is jouw intresse in Lego?

And what is your interest in Lego?

Mijn voorkeur ligt in het aankopen van blokjes allerhande vooral om eigen creaties te bouwen. Als ik sets koop dan zijn het collectors items of hard to find.

Zelfs als ik een nieuwe set koop kijk ik reeds wat ik er nog mee kan doen.

Ik heb op dit moment zo een 40.000 blokjes. De grootste aankoop heb ik gedaan op rondreis door Denemarken (met Lego land uiteraard) in 1990. Toen kon men hier weinig grijze blokjes vinden. Dus ik heb daar in elke stad alle aanvuldozen met grijze blokjes opgekocht. Er zat één valies vol!

My preference lies with the purchasing of all sorts of bricks to be able to build own creations.  When I actually buy sets, these are collector`s items or hard to find.

Even when buying a new set I`m already thinking of what I can do with it.

At the moment I have about 40.000 bricks.  My biggest purchase was when I did a voyage through Denmark (including of course Lego Land) back in 1990.  It was rather difficult then to find grey elements here.  So in every city I visited I bought all the supplement sets with grey bricks.  It amounted to a full travelling case!

Wat zijn dan zowat je favoriete thema`a geweest over de jaren?

So what have been your favorite theme`s over the years?

Vooral de collectors items zoals de ferrari, kever, lamborghini, race-moto's.

Ook technic heeft mij een tijdje kunnen  bekoren. Ik heb ook verschillende Gentse historische gebouwen nagemaakt.

Mostly the collector`s items like the Ferrari, VW Bug, Lamborghini, Racing Bikes.

Technic has also been something I liked for while.  I also recreated various historical buildings from Ghent.

Heb je recentelijk nog toffe dingen aangekocht?

Did you buy some cool stuff in recent times?

Enkel nog speciale aanvullende blokjes voor mijn MOC.

Only special additional elements for my MOC.

Waar ben je trots op in je collectie?

What makes you especcially proud in your collection?

Het geen ik bouw blijft niet eeuwig staan, Als ik een nieuw idee krijg, dan gaat de rest tegen de vlakte. Meestal doe ik ideetjes op tijdens wereldreizen en dan heb ik weer inspiratie voor nieuwe creaties.

Most things I build don`t remain forever.  When I get a new idea, the rest if demolished.  I usually get these ideas during world voyages, and then I have inspiration for new creations.

Heb je een "Holy Grail" set en indien ja, welke?

Do you have a "Holy Grail" set, and if so, which one?

Neen

No

Wat zijn je eventuele bouw- en verzamelplannen voor de nabije en verre toekomst?

What are your build- and collectioningplans for the near and far future?

Op dit moment tracht ik mijn MOC af te krijgen voor Wetteren. Dit is een Vietnamese jonk (Halong Bay) van 80 cm lang met een volledige scene van water, strand en kalkrotsen. De totale oppervlakte beslaat 2m2. Zie foto hierboven, maar nog niet volledig afgewerkt.

Voor  2017 zou ik graag een 3D dolfijn willen maken die uit het water springt.

At the moment I`m trying to finish my MOC for Wetteren.  This is a Vietnamese junk (Halong Bay) of 80 cm in length with a complete scene of water, beach and chalkrocks.  The total surface is 2 square meters.  See the attached picture, but it isn`t finished yet.

For 2017 I`d love to build a 3D dolphin kumping out of the water.

Weet je nog wat je eerste Lego set was?

Do you still remember what your first Lego set was?

De eerste set (waarschijnlijk de basisdoos 066, die toen 715 BEF kostte) kan ik mij niet echt herinneren daar dit toch al meer dan 50 jaar geleden is. Toen kregen we als geschenkjes aanvuldozen, maar toen enkel in de kleuren wit en rood! Men kon toen enkel basisdozen kopen . En toen kwamen ook de eerst wielen op de markt nog met grijze rubberen banden. En ook de opbergdozen in hout met schuifdeksel.

The first set (probably the base set 066, which was 715 BEF back then) is something I can`t exactly remember as more then 50 years have past since then.  Back then, we received supplementing sets as gifts, but only in white and red colours!  One could only buy basic sets then.  Then the first wheels appeared on the market, with the grey rubber tyres.  As well as those wooden storage boxes with sliding lids.

Heb je een "Dark Ages" gekend en hoe ben je daar dan uit gekomen?

Did you have a "Dark Age" and how did you get out of them?

Er is inderdaad wel een periode van tien jaar geweest dat de blokjes niet uit de kast kwamen. Door studies en werk was er niet veel tijd voor.

Gelukkig ben ik dan getrouwd en bij de verhuis zijn de Lego's weer uitgekomen. En toen ben ik er weer aan begonnen. Met uitbreiding van de collectie blokjes.

Toen we verhuist zijn naar onze villa heb ik daar een speelkamer ingericht die dan vol ligt van de blokjes soms tot ergernis van mijn vrouw die daar dan niet mag kuisen. Maar ja, dan doe je het toch zelf.

There has indeed been a period of ten years when the bricks didn`t came out of the closet.  Studies and work made me lack time for it.  Luckily I got married then and while moving house the Lego reappeared.  And I started again as such.  With expanding the brick collection.

When we moved to our villa I decorated a playroom which is full of bricks, at times to the annoyance of my wife who isn`t allowed to clean in there then.  But yeah, you just have to do it yourself then.

Vriendelijk bedankt om ons te woord te staan Johan!

Many thanks for talking to us Johan!

Zijn er nog leden die zich graag eens willen voorstellen aan het grote publiek?  Stuur ons dan je lijstje met antwoorden door die je vindt op de BeLUG blog onder de `Meet BeLUG' tab samen met een paar foto`s en dan verschijn je spoedig ook op ons hoekje van het internet!

Are there more members who would love to introduce themselves to the big public?  Send us your list with the answers which you can find on the BeLUG blog under the 'Meet BeLUG' tab, together with some pictures and soon you`ll appear on our corner of the internet!

BeLUG General Assembly 2016

If your a club, you need to have a general assembly, that`s something that is just required in your regulations.

So this morning, those that wanted could join in for a chat in the venue, De Maalderij, at Sterrebeek, where *probably* the club day will also be held, but more info on that when we get to that point.

While of course the meeting started with the necessary introductions, and the financial overview which won`t be made public, we then moved on to some more shareable information, like... members.

Here you can see the slow and steady climbing rate of our members, presented by the club president, and for your easiness also the graphis for the division geographically.

Our LEGO Ambassador also took the word for a moment to share some information of the LEGO policy rules for 2016 and how they will support RLUG`s this year, as well as some restrictions implemented.

Next on the agenda was the overview of the 2015 events, and the events coming in 2016.  This might also be another opportune moment to ask that if anyone has some ideas for an activity on the club day, feel free to send them to us!

But then we came to the `election phase`.  As you can see, our current board consists of 5 members, as both Tom Gilson and Sieger Douree had to resign their positions due to professional obligations, and where thanked for their efforts in the past.

We also had 5 effective members resigning from this status, and the new candidates where introduced and the assembly would vote on them `joining the ranks` (more information on what an effective member is can be found on the BeLUG site, but this infographic gives a bit of an idea on the club structure).

All four of the candidates for Effective Member membership past the votes, meaning that Maxim, Andy, Stefan and myself have been accepted.  Thanks to all the voters for the confidence and accepting our sollicitations.

But we also needed to add two more board members, and in order to pass the proposed board, the club statures needed to be slightly modified.  This was all voted in one go, and Inge joined the board as the new Secretary, while... yours truly became the board member putting the focus on the social media thingies.  Hmmm, so I`ve been an effective member for like 3 minutes, must be a new record lol.  Again, thanks to all that voted and the board to put your faith in lil` ol` me.

We then had another rather important point on the agenda, but I`m afraid I can`t be placing it down here just yet until it has been placed on the main site and all first and permanent, so that is something I`ll be coming back on in a future post.

Another rather important point on the agenda, which had many looking forward to this year`s meeting, was the revelation of the 40 people that would go on the Billund trip coming June.  And here is the list of those that are going:

Sorry, I`m not allowed to post it before the club board itself has had the time to contact all the participants ;-)

All in all, it was a very informative assembly, the sandwiches where great (thanks Inge and Wilfried) and all things to be voted on passed the vote, so I think we can say we are going strong!

And all present received a small gift as well, courtesy of the club.

So to put it all together in a blink of an eye:

1. We are financially healthy
2. We have a good idea which sort of media to use for promotion of the Brick Mania`s in 2016 to make sure more people find their way.
3. Our members are still growing.
4. We have 4 new Effective members, and two new additions to the board
5. The participants for Billund are known.


Now onwards to an even better 2016!






Thanks for the additional pictures to Zwits Vandervelden and Tom De Bruyker

What`s Hot and what`s not: the result

About two weeks ago, I asked the question about which LEGO themes where popular, and which not at all, amongst our followers on Facebook and the forum.

I received about 30 answers to this, and here are the top 3 results for each...


Now, let`s start with the themes which aren`t liked amongst those that replied.

This is actually a big list, as the top choices received both 4 votes.  Neither Bionicle, nor the new Nexo Knights are bewildering our community, and they are the `winners` of this category.

Placed behind them, all with 2 votes to round out this top 3.  LEGO`s new range of Angry Birds, just released, already finds itself amongst them, alongside some of their mainstay lines in City and Technic.  But also Minecraft is amongst them, which I can understand as those are basically base brick sets with a franchise pricetag.

So that was it for the `bad news` section of the results, let`s move on to those we found popular.

On the third spot, with 2 votes, we find a shared duo of on the one hand the Tolkien range, and on the other the Technic range.

The silver medal also finds itself tied for the result, as 2 ranges obtained 3 votes each: Lego City, taking avenge for not being liked as well, and the Expert Modular series.

But can there be any doubt about which range came out on top?  I think not, considering it is about their biggest yielding line ever since it`s creation back in 1999, and it sweeped this poll with a crushing 8 votes, meaning it was picked by almost 1 in 3 of the person`s that replied...

STAR WARS