So If you read my last post about Indiana Comic Con you know about that. I wouldn’t say “Worst Con Ever” because I’ve been to worse Cons, but I would have to say it wasn’t what was advertised, or at least if this is the direction Comic Cons are going- I don’t see the need to attend them, unless I want photos and autographs (which I don’t). Heroes Con in Charlotte and Baltimore Comic Con seem to be the hold outs when it comes to die-hard comic cons, I’m sure there are others, but those are the ones that jump out.
I have said in the past that I’m torn between a bunch of different things I like- with retirement I’m trying to decide what I really want to focus on. Yes, I know I don’t have to focus on one thing, but with limited resources I need to decide what I really want to invest in. First there’s comic books- something I have been interested in since I was probably six or seven years old. Something I keep returning to when I need to escape. I returned to comics the last time when I was in grad school and needed to escape the pressure of classes. Tied closely to that is drawing. Again something I return to over and over again. I don’t see this going away anytime soon.
After Billund I have renewed my interest in building with LEGO Bricks, but mostly sets and not full on MOCs (My Own Creation). The thing keeping me from diving in again is the community. While there are some amazing people, the local LUG seems to be a a bunch of people who are into being in power and not willing to change or adapt. One of the reasons I retired was that I felt the robotics program could not evolve as long as I was in charge. It needed new ideas and other people to be responsible. Same goes for our local LUG. “We’ve always done this way” seems to be their mantra, and they will argue until you just give up.
I have met some of my best friends through MINI Coopers. I’m not a car guy, but I do love the MINI Community and the people in it. Like LEGO, the local group seems stuck in doing the same things over and over again with the same people in charge. There is another group in Fort Wayne which I’ve attended a number of events, then there are the national events like MINI Takes The States which are awesome. If only MINI would go back to making smaller cars, but as long as the Roadster is running (and when I get the classic back to working) things are fine. Unfortunately when people start talking to me about cars, I realize just how much I don’t know.
Geocaching is Sue’s thing. I have made a lot of friends while hunting down Tupperware in the woods, but I’m definitely not as competitive or completist enough to geocache more than when I’m traveling (see comments on Caching in my posts about Denmark).
I’ve been into games since I was in middle school playing the Marquis de Iblis in D&D. The problem with gaming is having to rely on other people and in this day and age it is impossible to coordinate calendars. I’m tired of thinking I’m going to play only to have it cancelled at the last minute. This is the thing on the chopping block, I’ve invested a lot into games, but if they aren’t being played, it’s kind of silly. I’m torn between attending Gen Con this year because I could use the resources in other interests… and I don’t really need anything more. Although it is an amazing Con and I highly recommend it if you are into games.
This Weeks Comics:
Primer #1 (of 4) – Primer is an all ages comic introducing Ashley, a foster kid who can just be trouble. She get’s placed with a couple who are polar opposites and tries to escape, only to discover one of their secrets… Since it’s a first issue there is a lot of character background going on, which is good. Sadly it looks like this will only be 4 issues, hopefully it will continue, The premise is interesting.
The Flash # 7 – What happened to Max Mercury and Impulse?!? In this issue we find out. Something weird is also going on with everyone else, but I’m sure Barry will figure that out while Wally is in the garden looking at statues and finding out about the Arc Angles… no that isn’t a typo. Angle not Angel.
Detective Comics #1083 – This version of Batman is hopefully going to get out of the desert and return to Gotham to save it from the Orthams who have made Gotham a better place (on the surface, but under that chocolate coating is it still an ooey gooey mess of corruption and bad stuff?) The Question finds evidence, but is it too late? A then Dr. Hate’s story comes to a conclusion… or does it? So many question marks…
Black Hammer The End #6 – So, this is the end… Will Lucy save the world from the Anti-God? What about the extremely large cast of characters gathered throughout the previous 5 issues? DC took 12 issues to do what Dark Horse and Lemire are doing in six…
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #18 (Legacy #300) – Big issue in which Miles goes up against the Cape Killers who have more impressive powers even if they don’t want to use them! Will Miles finally confront Rabble and save Brooklyn? Who lives? Who dies? Only the next issue will tell.
Amazing Spider-Man #46 – The Sinister Six return and try to help a reluctant Sandman escape Ravencroft (no relation to Ravenloft in Barovia). Spider-Man and Jackpot (MJ) try to thwart the attempt made by Electro… and succeed?
Star Trek Defiant #13 – OK- if you read the last issue there are no spoilers, if you didn’t- shame on you. IN the last issue we find out what happened to those weird bug creatures that had infiltrated the Federation way, way back in ST:TNG’s first season (Episode 25- Conspiracy). The alien enemy I think we all thought would be the new big bad, but they never showed up again, instead the Borg took their place. They have taken over a Starbase (for Lower Deck fans , not Starbase 80) and Worf and the crew of the Defiant have been sent there (probably by someone taken over by the alien bugs). Now they need to escape but seeing as this is only part 2, we’ve got a long way to go in this arc. I’m OK with that.
Ultimate Spider-Man #3 – Wow. Just like the original Ultimate universe we are starting to get into some interesting stuff! Spider-Man gets help with his costume (with amusing options). He also meets and teams up with an old friend (who is a new friend in this universe).
Alan Scott Green Lantern #5 – The penultimate issue in which Red Lantern reveals more about his origin and we finally meet the real bad guys and (redacted) show up to make the next issue awesome.
Nacelleverse #0- This was recommended to me at Indiana Comic Con (but I won’t hold that against it). Basically take some of your 1980-90’s toy lines and create a comic book encompassing all of them. Robo Force, Biker Mice from Mars, Sectaurs, Power Lords, and The Great Garloo are brought back in a story featuring Garloo. If you don’t recognize any of these brands… you (like me) won’t have the nostalgia button pressed, but it still was a good story setting up a series and the return of these toys to market. Toy marketing has always been a part of cartoons and comics, so this just updates it a bit to tug at the heartstrings of people who now have more deposable income and don’t need their parents permission to buy stuff. Unless they are still living in their parent’s basement.
Time2 Omnibus – I had the chance to meet Howard Chaykin at Galaxy Con. I went to a panel and then paid for a workshop. He’s done a lot in his career but the one I got caught up with was “American Flagg” a take on the future in which a lot of the things going on in the comic seem logical if things continue the way they have been (Have you ever seen “Idiocracy”?). Time2 started off connected to American Flagg- kind of in the multiverse alternate timeline crossover kind of way. It then branched off on its own. A future based on the 1930’s style with gangsters and robots and jazz and… It reminds me somewhat of the Will Eisner’s Contract with God, with a cool American Flagg science fiction twist. This omnibus actually was released a while ago, but I finally picked up a copy.
Sunday: Walked 3.62 miles, Flew a few more than 4400
12:30 CET to 11:something or other EST Flight from Billund to Amsterdam to Detroit to Indianapolis to home to cats to bed.
Got up early to get breakfast. Said goodbye to the guard rhino in our room. Checked out and headed to the airport.
Goals for the day: refuel & return the car, get the two adventure labs and one virtual at the airport and pick up the Billund Airport exclusive LEGO set. Then go home. Note: The Billund Airport set had been recently retired and therefore no longer available. 😪 They had a great sale, but… at this point, I don’t have room or need any other LEGO sets at this time.
By the Numbers:
Hotels: 3 – Refborg (Billund), Grand Hotel (Odense), Osterport (Copenhagen) Longest stay: 3 days Shortest stay: maybe 18 hours Geocaches: 30ish – including Denmark’s First Geocache! Adventure Labs completed: 12 and a bunch of stages started but incomplete (Yes, St. Canute- I’m looking at you… solving ALs in another language with written answers can be “challenging”)
Trolls: 6
LEGO sets: 13 Minifigs: 10 (4 exclusive to the Fan Tour, 6 exclusive to a location) LEGO Keyhains: 4
Cost for two people:
Tour Cost: $1323
Money spent on souvenirs & LEGO: about $1200 Yes, most of this was for me🙄
Lodging (7 nights 3 cities): about $1250
Meals- formal meals at a pub or restaurant including alcohol and under one circumstance a tip (we were near the U.S. Embassy🙄): about $500 Breakfasts were included at most of the hotels.
Rental Car for 8 days (a Audi SUV thing): $172
Petrol: $105 (one fill up)
Parking, Trains, & Tolls: about $300
Flight Cost: $1900
Total (for two): about $6700 (rounding up)
Lessons Learned/Notes aka wha? huh? 🤔:
When we travel Sue and I try to figure out what we would do differently or what things were different than what we expected.
Give ourselves one full day (and night) in a place once we land. In this case, we should have either stopped and spent the night in Amsterdam or spent an extra night in Billund at the start to recuperate from the flight. Next time- fly through Iceland- Icelandair actually has a long layover program 😁
Stay in a place around three days to get acclimated (postage stamp rule – Something we discovered in England to really get to know a place stay and explore in an area on the map about the size of a postage stamp) We tend to forget this over the excitement of visiting a new place, but it is good to keep in mind. It was nice to settle in Copenhagen and Billund instead of rushing to a new place each morning. Avoid the “It’s Tuesday, it must be Belgium” Syndrome.
It’s amazing how other countries seem to be more trusting. It is nice to see and almost unimaginable to consider in the U.S. except maybe in small towns.
Danish chicanes instead of speed bumps?!? While heading to Jelling we discovered a spot where to slow people down they had one lane that had a zig zag pattern, which required you to slow down to get through. A large portion of speed bumps in Denmark are in the middle of the lane.
A lot of the roads outside of the main highways were 1.5 lanes so when another care is coming at you you both pull over a bit. Allowing the roads to not use up the much space.
110kph = 68 mph so things move a bit slower and therefore take a bit longer to get from point A to point B.
USB C outlets in cars?!? America is so “sophisticated” and high tech, but it was interesting that our rental only had USB-C outlets, and not USB-A which is still pretty much still the standard in the U.S.
Why do I have to sign my credit card receipt? Locals didn’t seem to need to sign, just scan and go. Why did some cards never work? (Yes, MINI CARD I’m looking at you). When I purchased things from a person, I had to sign the receipt, something I don’t always have to do in the U.S. but also most automated kiosks seemed to reject my card (as invalid), was this because I couldn’t sign the receipt? What is done with these signed receipts? Do they get sent (via the post) to the bank? 🤔
Many places preferred credit to cash… we actually didn’t exchange money during our trip. we had some leftover Euros from our pre-COVID trip to Paris and it was rather amusing that we couldn’t find a currency exchange open when we found them.
What happened to getting your passport stamped? It seemed that Amsterdam and the coming into Detroit were the only places that stamped my passport.
European flights- passengers are told they are not allowed to photograph or film passengers or crew members without their permission… but how am I going to get followers and likes on my YouTube/TikTok Channel?
On ALL flights we were given the safety instructions in English… is this because Americans are so stupid they wouldn’t know what to do and are most likely to sue the company if anything were to happen – with the American claiming ignorance because “They spoke with a funny accent” and they couldn’t understand them.
Delta’s video makes me think of a Church service. It just seemed to be set up like you were in some new age church with yoga mats surrounded by nature. The Flight Attendant on screen standing in the middle delivering a calm sermon on how to fasten your seatbelt.
Set reasonable goals. If anything a true “Whimventurer” under plans in case something happens to pop up. If you have one thing that has a timed entry, that’s enough. What if you really get lost in that exhibit? Do you leave to make it to the next thing on the list? If you give yourself one goal each day, you don’t have a chance of being disappointed. We would never had gone on our first Troll hunt if we hadn’t had a flexible schedule.
When buying ceramic pieces as souvenirs either pack them nested around squishy things in your checked luggage, or expect to have your carryon bag pulled at every single security checkpoint, I guess a ceramic horse/dragon looks a lot like C4 when viewed from an X-Ray machine.
Thoughts on traveling as an anxious ‘Murican. There is an image of the stereotypical American tourist in a foreign country and that image makes me sick. Frankly Americans in the U.S. who act like they are better than anyone else make me cringe. I barely speak English properly, let alone another language and we believe that everyone in the world should speak English. I do find it amusing that the Europeans tend to rub it in by having the Union Jack next to English translations and not the Stars and Stripes. Even though the translation is mostly for Americans. I’m guessing there are a few people out there that would prefer the stars and bars, but then again they rarely leave their home town. I guess for me when traveling I am the polar opposite of the stereotype. I rarely talk, might nod my head, if I have to order I am overly apologetic during the process. I joke that we travel on a whim… we do for some thing’s, but I’m pretty much a basket case hoping I’m not too embarrassing. When we traveled this time, I brought a classic looking leather jacket, collared shirts, dark jeans, dress pants and avoided tennis shoes. I found in the past this helped me blend in- instead of the guy in the red baseball cap and “God Bless ‘Murica” t-shirt in flip flops and cut offs. Of course now everyone wears tennis shoes (trainers), but I’ll stick to walking around a city in my Doc Martens. When I travel I’d much rather have people think I’m British, or Canadian. The world tends to see us as obnoxious spoiled bullies for the most part, especially with the way our corporations run our politics and our media depicts the average American.
How many times does your bag need to go through security? We had to go through security in Billund, Amsterdam, and Detroit. While I understand the need for safety, What could I have done in mid-flight or after landing to suddenly become a flight hazard? In Detroit it made a bit of sense since we had to handle our checked luggage, but still…
Since I can’t sleep on a plane: Movie Reviews: Wonka ⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎, Barbie ⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎, Oppenheimer ⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎, & Blue Beetle ⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎ All the films were nice diversions. I started with Wonka since we were behind the Wonka float at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and wanted to understand why nothing actually happened on the float during the parade and only a dance routine in front of an empty float occurred at the end… I actually stopped part way through the film and came back to finish it later. None were what I would consider 5 star amazing films, but they held my interest for the most part. Barbie was a unique social commentary that was very well done, I understand why it has become a cultural phenomenon. Oppenheimer was a nice historical piece and I understand why it did so well at the Oscars. Blue Beetle… I wanted to give a DC film a chance since they seem to have an aura of despair surrounding them… It was a good super hero movie, like Barbie, some social commentary this time dealing with plight of Latin Americans in the US, but for the most part a good escapist film, which is really what super hero films should be.
Flight home last leg… “Please do not change your seat- it’s a balance issue.” Was it Phil Foglio who did a comic about how planes actually fly due to certain people, who without them on a plane the plane wouldn’t fly? They are seated strategically to aid in keeping the plane in the air.
Last flight 39 minutes of first class! I felt so special.
“Hey, I tell you what is. Big city, hmm? Live, work, huh? But not city only. Only peoples. Peoples is peoples. No is buildings. Is tomatoes, huh? Is peoples, is dancing, is music, is potatoes. So, peoples is peoples. Okay?” – Pete from The Muppets Take Manhattan “No matter where you go, there you are” and always- peoples is peoples.
I will miss our guard Rhinoceros from our time in Billund. Thank you for keeping us, and our stuff safe during our visit.
Today started with a nice breakfast before heading back to the LEGO House for one more circuit and to get the virtual geocache on the roof. We discovered a few of our Fan Tour colleagues were also staying at the Refborg Hotel – this was an awesome place walking distance, I mean about a block, away from LEGO House. We started by grabbing a locker (free to guests- activated using your wristband) and then went back to the shop. I believe I mentioned this before, but LEGO Store with Minifig factories have exclusive designs making it a go to place for people who want exclusive minifigs. I bought the last exclusive set available from LEGO house and five minifigs, then sat at the computer before the crowd got too big designing special torsos for each. I did give Sue the chance to work on a couple. As those were printing we looked for heads, legs, hair and accessories. After putting our purchases in our locker we headed back to get our six-brick combination and code. There are over 900 million ways you can put six bricks together. Using your wristband you are randomly given one of those combinations. You then can pick up six 2×4 bricks from the “smallest LEGO brick factory” in the world. Go home and build your combination.
Sue and I saw they had a building activity just outside and decided to see if we could join in… timed entrance given out in the shop. We decided we had other things to do so back into the house!
The “Mood Mixer” had you build a character and choose it’s mood (Educators this is “SEL” Conservatives this is not “CRT”). Since we were happy We both choose to do a “Happy Dance”.
My Batman build from the night before was considered “worthy” enough to be used as a demo!
After these activities and as the crowd of people grew, we recalled our goal for the day- to log the virtual geocache on the roof of the LEGO house. You see, LEGO house designers decided that the “physical” aspect of play would be on the roof, so there are playgrounds accessible from the various colored areas. Also, when the house is open there are play areas accessible without a ticket from the outside of the house. These areas lead you to the roof. The roof is a scale 2×4 brick over the Master Gallery. The dinosaurs are under the brick’s tubes and the studs (knobs) on the top are actually skylights. The challenge- take your picture standing on the glass. Being a bit acrophobic this is a challenge, but I did it with Cecil. Oh, the things I do for that monkey.
We then picked up our stuff dropped it off at the hotel and returned to Jelling to see the Viking museum. For a small free museum, it was amazing. They took you through the history of Jelling, the birthplace of Denmark. We had visited the sites outside earlier the week, the museum tied it all together and the accompanying adventure lab helped too. They also had a great exhibit highlighting “Bluetooth” and King Harald. For me, they even had a comic book! I was glad we had the opportunity to come back when the museum was open.
Cecil felt like he was back in Rome, Georgia!The museum’s exhibits were interactive, if you touched the orange part it would display the viking’s wound and if it were fatal.I know why it’s called Bluetooth… do you?
We returned to Billund, stopped off again at the LEGOland hotel to see what exclusive sets they had and The LEGO Group HQ for a photo op then decided to chase down petrol for our rental car… we’ve been off whimventuring (yes, I just invented a word- aren’t you proud of me?) for a week and had used up almost a full tank of gas. Don’t know what was going on but none of my credit cards were considered “valid” by the unmanned kiosk at the gas station. I even called one of the companies and got a “Not our problem” response, frustrated we returned to the hotel to deal with one more frustration before dinner- how are we going to get all this stuff home?!?
LEGO has an activity in which they people the exact same bricks and ask them to “build a duck” the cool thing is that every time I’ve done this- everyone’s duck is different.This duck exercise emphasizes everyone’s uniqueness and how there is more than one solution.I’m sure there are some groups in the US that would frown upon this…interesting way to reuse old towels…
This had been in the back of my mind since before we left and I thought I had it all figured out… yes, I make myself laugh too. I had packed my normal suitcase inside a larger suitcase which is brilliant until you realize the larger suitcase, isn’t that much larger. We thought about options and even went out to buy a duffel bag to put clothes into. Why is Denmark the second happiest place on earth (according to Pub trivia)? Because culturally they close thing down early. Weekends are not a time to go shopping until dawn. Stores close early so most people get time off to do stuff with family & friends. Remember when we arrived on Sunday the reception had closed right after lunch. We arrived jet lagged, exhausted to an envelop with a key left on a low shelf. People matter, you don’t need to be at work 24/7 because you aren’t expected to be open, or available 24/7. If only America would… funny thing is I see one group cheering about “honoring the sabbath” then the same people complaining because they couldn’t go to the store to pick up last minute snacks for the big game. 🙄
So before dinner we looked at all the sets we had bought and what the airline requirements were and got to work figuring out what fit into three suitcases, two daypacks and two tote bags given to us from the fan tour. The suitcases, once packed would be checked and we wouldn’t work about them, everything we’d have to lug around… not including anything else we might pick up “duty-free.” Before we headed out for dinner our nerves were calmer, we’d figured it out, with only a couple of question marks that weren’t impossible.
I warn you ahead of time- where most of these posts have been short- the wonderful folks at LEGO House packed a lot into today so this is going to a big post- with lots of photos. To start it will be easier to just share what LEGO House sent us instead of trying to retell it in my words:
“You will be joining a group of 25 passionate LEGO fans with 10 different nationalities, for a guided tour of the LEGO company, LEGO House and other amazing LEGO sites that are normally only accessible to LEGO employees – and some of them not even accessible for LEGO employees. What have you signed up for? LEGO House takes you on a unique 1-day tour ‘behind the scenes’ of the LEGO Group. Listen to the sound of LEGO bricks being molded at our factory, visit the home of our founder Ole Kirk Kristiansen, and rediscover the LEGO sets of your childhood in our internal museum. Last but (absolutely) not least, we will take you on an inspiring guided tour of the awesome LEGO House, where you can see giant LEGO models up close, and finally, you will get 2 hours of exclusive after-hours playtime at LEGO House. Note: The tour even includes tickets to return to LEGO House next day on your own.
More about your day: We have created a program for you that we are sure you will love. Herewith, I send you the details so that you know what to expect from the day. We can make minor changes if other opportunities come up to ensure that you will have the best day possible.
Your adventure will take off at the LEGO House and rocket you into the LEGO universe. Here are further details: 08.15 – Doors are open 08.30 – Welcome, Introduction and Play 09.30 – Guided tour in LEGO Idea House 11.20 – Lunch in LEGO House 12.15 – Introduction to the LEGO Factory 12.30 – Bus drive to the LEGO Factory 12.50 – LEGO Factory tour 14.15 – Coffee break 14.30 – Guided tour in LEGO House 15.50 – Farewell 16.10 – After-hours play in LEGO House Experience Zones 17.00 – LEGO House Retail Store closes 18.00 – End of Play Please note that you are required to wear closed shoes (no sandals, etc.) for the factory tour.”
We got up early and had a great breakfast wondering if anyone else at breakfast in our hotel was going on the tour with us – nope, none that were there when we were. We then took a bit of a stroll around the area (again) picking up a few more Adventure Lab stages and thinking about what the day will bring.
“Where does he get those wonderful toys?”
We arrived at LEGO house and wandered a bit since we had about 15 minutes until we were actually supposed to be there. What?!? I was excited land anxious, so I followed the “if you are on time, you’re late” rule. 24 people from 9 different countries were in the group, first thing- build a minifig representing yourself. At each seat was a gift (the first of many). We chatted with Brandon and Rob from Las Vegas who were at our table before formal introductions- name, where do you live, favorite LEGO set or theme. Lena, Mads, and Jonathan were our guides which started in the LEGO Idea House, the original home of Ole Kirk Christiansen the founder of the LEGO Group. While there we went through the history of the company from a simple carpenter shop to what it is today. We also had a chance to visit… THE VAULT. (play dramatic music). The vault is home to one copy of every LEGO product produced for retail since the beginning of time. Like everyone I searched for certain sets from my childhood. From there it was fun to explore the sets made during what AFOLs call the “Dark Age” the time after I gave up LEGO play as a child to when I picked it up again as an adult. It was a dark time for the LEGO Group also as they were trying everything and moving further and further away from their core. That was all covered in the next part of our tour at LEGO Idea House, the history of the company, which was fascinating even to a guy who has read two books on the subject. We received a special minifig when we left.
The Vault holds one of everything the LEGO group has produced fro retail.We were encouraged to hunt down sets and pull out the boxes. We were not encouraged to build the sets.one of my early sets from the 70’s I built it and then used the parts to build a sci-fi all-terrain vehicle.I could never get the motor to function properly! this was the last LEGO set I remember building as a child.Further back in the vault were display cases of some of the older toys that the LEGO Group had produced.It all started with a carpenter in the depression who decided to take a chance on toys.one of the early woodworking tools used to make some of the early toys.“Only the Best is Good Enough.” This sign is actually in every LEGO building. I recall walking under it every day at the Castleton LEGO Store.Capturing a child’s imagination in play-a lady bug wearing pants with wiggly arms.one of the many wooden cars made by LEGOAs quality wood became harder to find, the company integrated plastics into the line.
The infamous duck. As the story goes a young Godtfred Kirk Christiansen was finishing up a set of ducks for shipment. He proudly went to his father Ole to inform him that the ducks were done and at the train station. He had even saved the company money by using only two coats of lacquer instead of three. His father was upset and made him retrieve the ducks and finish the job- correctly. Hence the “Only the best is good enough” motto.
LEGO did not invent the plastic brick, but they did improve on the design making it possible to build much more than before. They also didn’t create a “toy” they created a system of play. Every piece in the LEGO system can work with any other piece. A DUPLO brick can be used to build with system bricks. System bricks can integrate with Technic. yup.. robots- I can’t escape them.My last complete LEGO set- before Technic, they were called ExpertThe LEGO Idea House back when it was Ole Kirk Christiansen’s house.It seems so simple- let kids learn through play, but it seems so hard to get adults to understand.One of the hidden rooms showcasing special themes… The first one I saw was Technic, but the panorama didn’t turn out right- something about a great disturbance in the Force…
Building your Lunch
We then headed to lunch at LEGO House which is a unique way to order and receive food. First you pull out a menu and a bag of LEGO bricks. Each brick determines a part of your meal. Adult (yes, I’m considered an adult) use four bricks to build their meal kids three (and a special kid brick for a surprise). You place your build on a tray under a display screen at your table. It is then scanned and your order is sent to the kitchen for the robot chefs to make. When it is ready a large LEGO box comes down a conveyor belt and you are alerted that it is ready and what color box you should look for. You get to keep all the bricks you used for lunch.
Hmmm… a monkey?Oh another monkey, looking at the menu… what to build?The Robot servers… I can’t escape robots no matter how hard I try.Lunch arrives via conveyor belt in a LEGO box.Inside… exactly what I ordered and it was delicious.
Off to the Factory…
After lunch we head off to the factory to see where LEGO bricks come from. The Billund factory makes bricks but doesn’t do any of the post production. What that means is the bricks aren’t packaged for sale here, that happens in the Czech Republic. Bricks for the U.S. come from Mexico for the most part anyway. As with most factories, there were robots, and no photography is allowed. We had our phones locked up so we couldn’t take pictures of the process. It was amazing to see how it all works and the shear number of elements produced. I guess there is a need for a billion or two purple minifig hands… We received an engraved 2×4 brick when we left as proof that we had actually set foot into the factory.
The Factory as seen from a photo of a photo taken by photographer in a planeThe author outside the factory entrance before they took his phone away.A reminder from the LEGO Story Video made out of… LEGO bricks
Finally, Exploring LEGO House
We returned to LEGO House for a whirlwind tour of the place given by Mike Ganderton, one of the people responsible for the design of the place… but first a break, some amazing apple cake, and tea (or water, or coffee). So… what is LEGO House? It is the epicenter of all things LEGO. It is the clubhouse for LEGO fans of all ages. It is an activity center for children divided into sections, each focused of a key LEGO ideal with activities developed for children and adults emphasizing the importance of play. Remember: The LEGO Group has a companywide Play Day in which everything shuts down so people can take a day to play. Having worked at a LEGO Store we came back after hours and were paid to play.
The Tree of Creativity & Monkeys
I apologize ahead of time… There was so much to look at while being told about all the other things to look at, so I’m sure I missed something. In the center of LEGO House is a massive LEGO tree. built of millions of bricks it highlights everything that is, was, and will be, and monkeys. It seems that during the design process it was discussed about having animals in the tree. Birds, squirrels, wombats, whatever. Mike suggested monkeys and it stuck so now “Mike’s Monkeys” live on the tree. you can find them in every vignette. For the AFOL these are mocs using the monkey from Creator 3 in 1 LEGO Set 31019 as a base. For the non-AFOL, these are LEGO monkeys. Each branch covers a theme important to the LEGO group. The top of the tree is unfinished and has a LEGO crane so that is shows that we are never done creating.
It’s a monkey party!Ninjago branchesNinja MonkeySir Monkey on the Castle branchesFriends BranchesFriends Surfer Monkey dudeArrgh! its the pirate branchesAnd the Pirate Monkey!That’s one small ook1 for me, one giant oak for Monkey-kindThe tree never is finished just like creative ideas are never really done.
The Master Gallery
As you climb the ramp leading past all the monkeys, you end up in the Master Gallery dominated by three Tyrannosaurs. Each is built using a different LEGO system, DUPLO, System, and Technic. Around the gallery in display cases are builds from LEGO master builders from around the world. These builders were chosen and their work is displayed for a year. As with looking at anyone’s builds I get two feelings- first, inspiration to build more, then a feeling that I could never match anything displayed. As with a lot of projects I tend to have lofty goals, instead of just trying things a little bit at a time. The “How do you eat a whale? – One bite at a time.” The displays showed the versatility of Lego bricks, in that they covered a wide range. From small vignettes to a dress and everything in-between. I don’t display at LEGO shows, because I’m still in the build a set, maybe modify it a little. Not the build whatever is in your head. I recall the first time I wanted to display, the person running the show was big on emphasizing “We don’t want a bunch of Cafe Corners” which meant it needs to be unique and original… I disagree. at a show you need to show how you can take a set that everyone has at home and improve it. Then again these were masters at LEGO construction, they were definitely at a different level of building than I am.
Why the dinosaurs “ROWR!”Mike’s Monkey’s are EVERYWHERE!
Getting into the Zone
LEGO House is divided into zones, each zone focuses on a different part of the LEGO educational philosophy. The Red Zone – Creativity Skills, The Blue Zone – Cognitive Skills, The Green Zone – Social Skills, The Yellow Zone – Emotional Skills. The latest addition was to the Blue Zone called “Build the Change” in which visitors are given a challenge and must build it. Each challenge is unique to the visitor and deals with creating something that will address a current issue in the world. The challenges are multitiered but have an element of fun to them.
We did spend a little time in each zone, and had a 7 minute building challenge in the Red Zone. The one thing they wanted to do was not just replicate what people can do at LEGO shows so while there are bins of bricks around every corner, it wasn’t just build, build, build… This was the one time I thought about what I would have brought back to school for my kids if I was still teaching. So many amazingly awesome ideas.
The Red Zone- build whatever you would like.OUr Group’s builds after 7 minutes.The Green ZoneAmazing cityscapes similar to ones found at AFOL EventsI think Cecil may have spotted the bananas!Monkey Overboard! How did he get there?!? Bad Evil GeoCaching Monkey Bent on World Domination!ONce again… I cannot escape robots.
Now it’s time to say goodbye…
After the guided tour we came back and found a bag full of stuff at our table. We I had been a little disappointed when I walked into the LEGO House LEGO Store, there were two sets I had wanted… OK fine, there were a lot of sets I wanted, but two sets I was looking for weren’t there. The three dinosaurs from the Master Gallery and the Tree of Creativity. They also didn’t have the Moulding Machine, but I was kind of fine with that. What was in our goodie bag?!? The DINOSAURS! so I was really happy!
I said goodbye to everyone and did get Cecil’s photo with Mike so he could join his band of monkeys. Our stuff was safe as we headed out on our own to explore for a bit after hours.
The store was open for an hour after closing so, of course that’s where pretty much every one headed. It didn’t help that LEGO set designers happen to be present signing their sets, including the new exclusive set released at the beginning of the month. Those who know me know I’m not usually one who is big on exclusives, or autographs, but… I think Cecil is still not happy that I didn’t get his picture taken with them. Because of the designers signing things they had also put out the Tree of Creativity Set for sale at the store! Of course now we just had to figure out how to get it all home…
SO you and 24 of your new friends have some time at LEGO House without anyone else around, what do you do? Play and explore some more. Our first stop the basement and the history display. After visiting and seeing everything at the LEGO Idea House earlier in the day seeing the public version at LEGO House was interesting. We did this during our free time I think the most interesting part was how they added a way for the blind to experience the exhibits. it was basically a circle the exterior was displays of LEGO products and innovations throughout the years, the inside of the ring was devoted to displays for the blind. headphones t help focus on the exhibit and eliminate background noise, and then large touchable displays of whatever the focus was, so there were large LEGO bricks, a large minifig, a large mini doll, etc.
We then headed back upstairs and looked around playing with some of the simpler activities… like make a minifig… then we took that mini fig and added it to a stop motion movie- because I kind have a thing for animation. We then spent a what time we had left playing with the robots, because old habits die hard. Fortunately we had a wristband for tomorrow so we could keep exploring.
LEGO Moulds are pretty much a super duper industrial secret… So what do you do when you are done with them? put them in the foundation of a new LEGO Building.Moles only know the secrets and even the ones in the new factory in Virginia aren’t saying a word.
Wristbands
In the US when you go someplace that requires a wristband for entry they usually are near impossible to get off without destroying the thing. When we visited the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester, NY we were given wristbands with RFID chips in them in an exhibit to keep track of our progress that we had to return. LEGO House, your wristband is used in a similar manner. It is your entry, and exit key, it collects and saves the activities you complete so you don’t have kids screaming about wanting to take home whatever they built. the other thing (as an American) I found fascinating was, you could take it off without destroying it. When you get home you log in using the code on your wristband and you can pull up photos of the things you built or did throughout your day. Since we were rushed we didn’t get much done, but that was OK- because we can come back tomorrow!
The smallest LEGO Moulding Factory is onsite in which you get 6 2×4 bricks and a challenge to build one of the over 915,000,000 combinations that can be made with just 6 LEGO bricks
Build your own Minifig and then what should you do with it? Why make a short film with it!
So here’s my “Finished” stop motion film… If only I had a $200 million dollar budget!
Sue’s stop motion film… She took greater care (since you can’t see her had in any of the film. The images and videos were downloadable from our wristbands. along with this amazing photo!
I cannot say again how wonderful this day was! Line, Mads, and Johnathan did an amazing job of herding cats and getting us where we needed to be while making sure we were taken care of. Our group of 24 experienced a full day of LEGO awesomeness and I look forward to doing it again sometime soon. Having been in charge of 35 years worth of classroom field trips I know how difficult it can be, and they were exemplary.
Yes, It’s kinda a minifig. I was looking around my studio for inspiration and I saw my LEGO Club magazine. I know I’ve already done one MINIon based on The LEGO Movie but thought Emmett would be AWESOME.
Anna from “Frozen” hanging out, because it couldn’t be a 2014 Con without “Frozen” showing up somewhere.
A little over two years ago As I took on the role of “Magnet Integration Specialist” I decided that since the school had spent a bazillion dollars on LEGO bricks, I should learn more about how they could work in the classroom. So one weekend I headed to Fort Wayne, Indiana to go to “Brickworld Fort Wayne” There I ran into a friend who invited me to the next LUG (LEGO Users Group) Meeting. After doing My Geek Odyssey for a few years I had learned that I had only scratched the surface of geek culture. One of the major things I had learned is that everyone is a geek about something… be it football, basketball, curling (GOOOOO Sportsteam!), dogs, model airplanes, books, cooking… you name it and there are people who are really passionate about something that other people don’t care a hoot about. SO two years ago I started to see what the AFOL (Adult Fan Of LEGO) world was all about.
This whole post comes about because while attending Brickworld Chicago (a LEGO Convention) I kept getting questions from friends about LEGO and specifically Lego Conventions. I was going to post this after that (life got in the way) so after attending my third Brickworld Fort Wayne (link to my Flickr Set) over the weekend I decided it was long overdue. I know I’ve covered some of that in other posts, but thought I would consolidate everything here.
What is it all about? Lego is just a toy isn’t it?
From “The LEGO Movie”
The Man Upstairs: You know the rules, this isn’t a toy!
Finn: Um… it kind of is.
The Man Upstairs: No, actually it’s a highly sophisticated inter-locking brick system.
Finn: But we bought it at the toy store.
The Man Upstairs: We did, but the way I’m using it makes it an adult thing.
Finn: The box for this one said “Ages 8 to 14”!
The Man Upstairs: That’s a suggestion. They have to put that on there.
Yes, “The Man Upstairs” is an AFOL… which actually upsets some AFOLs since they “aren’t like that at all” – and comic books are “graphic novels.”
Project M-Tron by IndyLUG reminding me that I need to help out besides setting up the conga line.
My experience with Lego Conventions (i.e. Brickworld) is this is a place for Fans of Lego to show off and be honored. This is where they can sit back and have crowds of people look at them in awe. While LEGO is a “toy” there is so much more that can be done with it and going to a LEGO Convention is a way to see just the tip of the iceberg of what can be done with a simple plastic brick and some imagination.
At a comic book conventions you have the Exhibit Hall that really isn’t an Exhibit Hall since the majority of the floor space is taken up by people selling things. They call it an Exhibit Hall, but in the old days they called it the Vendor Hall and it still is that. At a Lego Convention it is mostly an Exhibit Hall, a place to see what others have done. Table upon table of things real people have built using the same materials, little plastic bricks. There are vendors, selling a variety of LEGO related items, from old sets to custom pieces, but they tend to be on the periphery, the reason to go is to be inspired by what these artists & engineers have created. So adults and kids wander around screaming with joy over a discovery or just in utter amazement over what is in front of them.
MOCs
“Just Like Beggar’s Canyon” at Brickworld Chicago
MOC stands for My Own Creation and this is what happens when someone builds something that they want from whatever reference they have and it isn’t a LEGO kit. It might have started out that way, but now it is something no one else has ever seen before. Yes, it might have some elements from a store kit, but the colors might be different, or there’s a tweak here or there. I keep looking at the Arkham Asylum set and shutter at how it is a toy (a toy for kids who want to play in an Insane Asylum) but it isn’t enclosed its a playset. The Haunted House is a play set also but was designed to be a show piece also since it closes up like a freaky dollhouse. So what did a Batman fanboy and AFOL do? they built Arkham Asylum they is should have been done and it is a thing of beauty.
Just one park of the Arkham Asylum build. The actual build was on rails so it could be spun and reveal something deaing with a number of major Bat crazies.
MOCS are inspired by the other things that AFOLs are passionate about maybe it’s a book, or movie… could be a genre like steampunk. My only MOC to date has been a portion of the Death Star trench from Star Wars. LEGO had created X-Wing and TIE fighters at a certain scale so I decided to build a scale model of the trench and include something LEGO hadn’t done Y-Wing Fighter/Bombers. Yes, LEGO had at one time created a kit, but as a old school Star Wars fan they didn’t look right, mine may not be perfect but were a lot closer to what was in the film.
Massive Displays & Collaborative Projects
Tables with massive cityscapes, interplanetary mining operations, feudal keeps, pirate ships and treasure filled islands fill the hall, some done by single people, but a number of them are collaborations put together the day before the show opens. People bring what they have and set them all together. With the popularity of “The LEGO Movie” Bricksburg has become a staple. And besides marveling at the detail people also search for Minifigs since they help tell the story. Most AFOLs will put in little jokes “easter eggs” for the worthy person. In many cases it’s a way to keep kids
The Odyssey (not My Geek Odyssey) done completely in LEGO… just say “wow” and wish you’d paid more attention when you read it in school.
mesmerized as they search for the familiar figure.
The Great Ball Contraption
Something I marvel at, but just haven’t had the energy, motivation, or bravery to try is the Great Ball Contraption or GBC. This collaborative build has nothing to do with a theme like “pirates” or “super-heroes” this is heavy duty engineering- the purpose is to move a ball around the table. There are guidelines since everyone who participates has only one segment of the machine so everything must line up. Tab A needs to line up with Slot A or all is lost (or at least a whole lot of LEGO balls are going to be lost. As I said, I haven’t even attempted at building a component for this, so all I can say is they are just awesome (as is everything).
Other things happening at the Con
While every Con is different there are usually other things to do besides wandering around looking at LEGO creations. A lot of this is on the Techic side of things- the more engineering and mechanical view, to help kids and parents see that while these are a “toy” you can learn a lot from LEGO. Like remote control LEGO cars that they can drive over a LEGO terrain. Sumo Bots (again remote control) – were you attempt to flip your opponent. The don’t look like Sumo wrestlers the are more like wedges with wheels. Mindstorms robots playing games like Connect Four, or solving a Rubik’s Cube. One of my favorites is RoboRally and Monster Chess that end up at GenCon. Programmable Robots that play chess or RoboRally. Besides this families can build mosaics using LEGO bricks or just build with a table covered with “elements.”
Brickworld Chicago
Architectural masterpieces made out of little plastic bricks.
What I’ve tried to describe to you is just a part of the Brickworlds I have attended, they are basically for the public to see what people can do with LEGO elements. Brickworld Chicago takes it to the next level. It isn’t just for the public, but actually has two days of workshops and presentations before the public arrives. Where LEGO Fans get together, talk and learn from other LEGO Fans. There are a bunch of different competitions for people to enter. The old pinewood derby race, a regatta in the hotel pool, auction and raffles. Think of a typical convention for a professional organization and that’s the “Non-Public” Days for Brickworld.
I haven’t attended any of the other conventions across the country (Brickworld is expanding to Tampa this year) because of other commitments, so I’m no expert, but I’m pretty happy with the experience I have had and really would suggest it to be added to anyone who is creative’s bucket list. Even if you don’t care for LEGO, or haven’t built anything since you were a kid, like going to a Comic-Con or a MINI Cooper rally, it’s just wonderful to see people happy and passionate about something. Oh and I apologize to any diehard AFOLs who feel that I used “LEGO” incorrectly in this entry… It’s not the end of the world (like when the person auctioning off LEGO variant covers of Marvel Comics had no clue what they were- now that was a tragedy).
Comic fanboys rejoice… Batcow at Brickworld
So on my way out to MINI Takes The States 2014 I had to stop off for one thing… The Lego Mini Cooper. The kit was released July 18th to LEGO VIPs and that happened to be the day I was heading out. I waited for our local Lego Store to open and was the first person to purchase one. I built it on the road (not while I was driving). I even had a friend (motorinbadges.com) who does vinyl graphics create something for the trip I thought since it was MINI Takes the States “Minifigs Take the States” would be amusing so I filled the Mini with as many Minifigs as I could (31 without much effort) and went back on the road… I discovered that while LEGO stays together there are some ways you can pick something up and it will break. Over the trip I learned how to expertly pick up the Mini Cooper without much damage. Fortunately one of the first stops on MTTS 2014 provided us with a box lunch, a box that fit the Mini almost perfectly, so it wasn’t rolling around on the back ledge. Here is the complete album on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/penfold/sets/72157646133272314/ While I didn’t “go all the way” or “Coast to Coast” or “Chowder to Chowdah” I did end up getting some nice shots of the Classic Mini while on the road.
The initial display from IndyLUG at the Greenfield Brick Expo- After seeing the film today, we know there’s a lot that needs to be added…
I’m and old school animation guy… classic Warner Brothers animation, Disney, & Pixar are all my favorites. While I haven’t had a chance to see a lot of the more recent stuff I haven’t really been a fan of other studios attempts at creating an animated film. Some have been good, but I compare animated films to super hero films and you’ve got Marvel that has figured it out, and DC that hasn’t (this coming from a DC comics fan). I think I’ve had the misfortune of seeing a few failed attempts at telling an animated story from Dreamworks, or whoever and just left shaking my head. The studios idea seemed to be if we use famous people and throw in a song by a popular artist (along with a few fart jokes) it will make us enough money to cover the costs. I feel bad for parents who have young children and have to sit through Ice Age 16, Madagascar 25 or whatever. Again I’m generalizing so don’t come back with a “What about…” There have been some good movies, but nothing consistent, like what Pixar had done.
Being an AFOL (Adult Fan of Lego) when the hype started about “The Lego Movie” I was cautiously optimistic. The trailers seemed amusing which could be that they cut the trailer to include only the funny parts. The cast, while stars, weren’t necessarily Hollywood A-listers (although I stay away from tabloids so they could be and I don’t know). The thing that kept coming to me as I watched the trailers was it looked like it was going to be fun. It looked like they were taking themselves seriously, but not too seriously. When the Lego kits for the movie came out, they continued with this theme. Almost a child-like whimsy built into to each set. I started to really look forward to seeing this film- and that scared me even more. I was scared that I was setting the bar too high and that nothing could be as good as what I was expecting.
I was wrong. This film not only met those expectations, but surpassed them. I was lucky enough to get a couple of passes to a screening this morning since I had contributed to a display at the Greenfield Brick Expo and was amazed at how it appealed to everyone in the audience, and this could have been a tough audience since a large portion were AFOLs. Frankly, I don’t want to give anything away and I suggest you avoid spoilers because there are some twists that really make the film more than just 100 minutes of animated Lego Minifigs. I also suggest you see it as soon as you can, before you can’t avoid reviews that ruin the film for you.
Here’s the basic plot, most of this can be pulled from the trailers- It takes place in a Lego world where our hero – Emmet is just a construction guy doing his job. There is a group called the “Master Builders” who are looking for “The Special” someone who, because of prophecy, will save the world from Lord Business and his evil plans (destroy the world on Taco Tuesday). Emmet, our “hero”, gets mistaken for “The Special” and must try to save the world, with the help of others (the trailer shows an old wizard guy, a girl dressed in black, and Batman- yes, Batman). Sounds a little like “The Matrix”? I would agree as to the general premise, the nice thing is they tie everything up in 100 minutes, not three movies, and since it is geared to kids, adults can pretty much understand what’s going on. By the end you care about the world, you care about the characters, and it has a couple good morals (one for kids, and one for adults although the one for kids works for adults too)- If I told you it would ruin it for you so I won’t.
The thing that stood out for me is that I am seriously considering seeing this film again, in a theater. Most films I can wait until they are on Netflix, or I spend a couple bucks to rent them from iTunes (I did this with The Avengers & Man of Steel). This one I’m thinking about going back to the theater when it opens, paying a lot of money, and seeing it again, just to catch what I missed- and then I’m thinking about buying a copy to own when it’s available…that says something about this movie, since I haven’t done either thing for any film released in the last decade.
SO what are your thoughts? For me it was “AWESOME!” Your mileage may vary.
Interestingly enough I decided to try out the “Master Builder Academy” program from Lego. This because I started sliding down the slippery slope of building with Lego after an over 30 year absence. I made this decision because I work at a school and bought something that I figure will end up in my classroom, with my students. The first kit deals with building spacecraft. It goes into many techniques on building and includes sections highlighting designers. So the actual manuals are a valuable resource. I use the same excuse about watching cartoons. You build three projects and then end up getting pushed (as an adult) back into the creativity of youth when you are asked to use what you have learned and build your own design. As a kid, this would have been easy- slap a few pieces together and there it is… as an adult all those little nagging doubts surface and I realized how much my own spontaneous creativity has been squashed. I say this as I guy who draws… but pushing outside that safety zone in Lego. So while I have thrown this out to the MBA Lego community, I will also throw it out to you- My Own Creation- I consider it a draft or in engineering terms I believe it would be a “prototype.” I called it a MINI Warp Shuttle, although I’m starting to like the word “sled” instead of shuttle.
The finished product of my first Lego build since 1977.
So I collect comic books, play a variety of games, drive a quirky British car, carry around a stuffed monkey, and have a cat… What else could make me more “Not Normal”? One word- Lego. Yes, I know I just used a four letter word in a family friendly comic- I’m sorry.
As some of you know my day job is in public education, right now I’m a “Teacher on Special Assignment” working with the Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) magnet schools in my district. There’s a lot more to it than I originally thought when I took the job, but it is an interesting change of pace. Which leads me to that four letter word- Lego. Both schools have First Lego League Robotics teams so the kids learn to program robots built out of Lego to complete a task. It is kind of cool and something I wish had been around when I was a kid. (Historical note: My last Lego kits growing up were 853 & 854 the Technic Car Chassis & Go-Kart back in 1977) So a few weeks ago using the excuse of “research” & “networking” I attended Brickworld in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Brickworld is basically a convention for Lego builders of all ages. Different clubs (yes, there are Lego clubs) get together and show their skill by building complex set ups. While there were many traditional set ups with what seemed like tweaks to to make them stand out from the basic kit they were all impressive. I did learn something about Lego, as every geek has their collectible, so does Lego- the mini-fig seems to be the big thing. You know, that little guy with the yellow head that is shaped like a propane tank. Tables full of armies of yellow headed people, and real people snapping them up. Scary sight, since I remember when they didn’t have faces (Set 585).
I decided not to add any stickers to it just yet and have been doing research as to what specific markings would be needed to make it fit within certain squadrons.
This got me wondering if I still had it in me… Could I still build with Lego? Sure I’d bought the Lego knock-off TARDIS kit, but a blue box is pretty simple compared to… a Sopwith Camel. SO returning from Brickworld, Sue and I stopped by the local Lego Store in the Mall… first time I had set foot in the Mall since I don’t remember when. I walked out, my wallet a little lighter with a massive kit (Set 10226) and promised I wouldn’t start working on it until I had some other work done. Three days later, It was done, and now I have to figure out what I’m going to do with an 883 piece airplane. The other thing that I have to work out is… What will I build next?
on my way out to MINI Takes The States 2014 I had to stop off for one thing… The Lego Mini Cooper. The kit was released July 18th to LEGO VIPs and that happened to be the day I was heading out. I waited for our local Lego Store to open and was the first person to purchase one. I built it on the road (not while I was driving). I even had a friend (
