Attendees:
- Larry Pieniazek
- Colin Spears
- Jason Spears
Overall Picture Directories:
Larry Pieniazek
Jason Spears
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Report by Jason Spears
House of Bricks (HoB) is an ALE (Adult LEGO Enthusiast) run convention for ALEs. It was held in conjunction with 2BeCONtinued, a science fiction and fantasy convention. As with many conventions, HoB’s first CON was a small event. 2bCon had around 400 attendees total, so the exhibit part of the convention was minimal. Instead the builders had lots of time to socialize, to share build techniques, and to marvel at the GBC.
MichLTC chose to display a town/train layout in addition to the creations being displayed by individual members. We setup a 10x12.5 ft layout, complete with downtown blocks, a kids museum, a 1920’s hotel, two running loops, a rail yard and a tractor dealership. Folks from other clubs displayed some of their creations as well. Joe Meno put his Batmobile and utility truck. Adrian Drake ran his steam locomotive around the display. We even got pictures of him running the trains. Lured him away from his Spacey tendencies to the dark theme, Trains!
During the day we had many visitors coming through the room. The usual comments however, were absent. No “you have too much time on your hands” or other derogatory comments. Everyone was really positive. Shari Caudron, a journalist was around all weekend, interviewing builders for a book she is planning to write called “Who Are You People”. The book is taking a very kind look at people with interesting hobbies; from LEGO building to pigeon racers to Andy Griffith fans. Charles Urbach, the artist guest of honor, was impressed with what was possible with LEGO as an artistic medium. I think he may turn out to be a builder yet.
While we closed the doors for HoB around 5:30, 2BeCon still had a lot to offer. ADD Pirate Comedy shows, improv comedian Dean Haglund did an excellent show, coming up with a spoof X-Files show on the spot, pulling guests and ideas from the audience similar to “Who’s Line is it Anyway?” I had the pleasure (misfortune?) of getting up to help with sound effects. In the past, watching shows were audience members were required to make sound effects, I had often commented to my wife that I could do better. Alas, whether I was any good or not was unimportant. Dean was too crafty, turning what I though water might sound like into a sand blasting shower, door opening sounds meant the door needed oiling and if the door didn’t make a noise, he’d make like he missed the door completely. No matter how hard I tried to make sounds (which when I wanted to laugh was a challenge in and of itself) he had a funny response.
The evening was also a time for socializing, discussing various LEGO related topics and even debating some issues of society. A chance to get to know the other LEGO fans better. If that wasn’t your thing, there were quite a few room parties and even one with Karoke. Saturday night brought the Luau which as Adrian noted “Was better than I had expected it to be”. They had a good band playing covers, free drinks and food.
A nice side bonus was the Woodfield LEGO store. More than one trip was made out to pick up track and other LEGO store special items as well as their plentiful Pick-A-Brick wall. It’s always a sight to see eight LEGO fans finely packing their cups.
I made friends with most of the LEGO folks and also with a number of the 2BeCON staff. It was a great weekend, one I’m eager to repeat in 2006.
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Layout Details:
Event Pictures:
Castle Display
Town/Train Display
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