My first “National” with my two sons . . . you’ll be surprised :)

detroitfan2 · August 7, 2011 11:59AM

While the rest of you were either at the National or (like me) living vicariously through those who went, I was with my two sons at the “National” Lego Collector’s Convention (officially called “Brick Fair”). It was a spur of the moment decision. We headed out around lunch time on Friday to make the 550 mile journey from Michigan to Chantilly, VA (very near DC).

The show is held twice a year (once in Alabama and once in VA). The convention center is relatively small. About 75% of the space is for people to show off their creations. The other 25% is dedicated to dealers selling their wares, many of whom create their own “parts” for Lego minifigures.

Below are some scans and comments. We had a blast:

First off, the Steve Hart of Lego (unopened):

The bins of commons:

For all of you Mustang fans:

The closest thing to "sports" at the whole show (a motocross in a lighted stadium)

About $2500 worth of Clone Troopers (500 total):

The Titanic:

The Virginia State Capitol:

These cranes were easily 15 feet tall:

A replica of my sons' room (and they aren't even teenagers yet):

And a bunch more cool stuff:

illinifan912 · August 7, 2011 12:04PM

omg Im in lego heaven. GREAT PICS!

fur72 · August 7, 2011 12:28PM

This is amazing! Not sure what I would have done without Legos as a kid, didnt have video games to keep me distracted. Thanks for sharing.

LarryP · August 7, 2011 12:28PM

Wow, that is amazing ... My son would have a field day.

Thanks for sharing,
-Larry

captainthreeputt · August 7, 2011 12:31PM

That is awesome! Thanks for the info, I will take my son next year.

Dialj · August 7, 2011 4:45PM

Thanks for sharing the pictures!! My son and I are headed to Lego Land here in Germany this month. CANNOT WAIT!!!!!

fiveniner · August 7, 2011 6:44PM

NEAT!!! Memories.

footlong · August 7, 2011 7:38PM

absolutely amazing stuff. i remember doing legos with my son when he was little, he's now 32. great pix.

baseballfan · August 7, 2011 8:16PM

very cool!!!!

seems like a nice trip

TonyC · August 7, 2011 8:49PM

Very neat stuff, my son used to do a lot with Legos when he was a kid.

Dboneesq · August 7, 2011 9:37PM

Nice stuff ... seems like you had a great time with your sons and that's what it's all about.

Downtown1974 · August 7, 2011 9:38PM

Great thread Tom! Sounds like you guys had a great time. I spent countless hours building stuff when I was a kid. Thanks for sharing!

alnavman · August 7, 2011 10:31PM

cool, whenever the family is in Florida we always stop at the Lego store in Orlando....neat stuff

YogiBerraFan · August 7, 2011 10:36PM

Looks like you had fun and lots of quality time with your sons.

54topps · August 7, 2011 11:06PM

I did not know a Lego convention existed. Those are fantastic structures they can build. Thanks for the pics.

Gadsden86 · August 8, 2011 12:15AM

That is awesome.

SOM · August 8, 2011 2:04AM

Good lord!!

RipublicaninMass · August 8, 2011 2:23AM

WOW! really cool! Makes me want to build a replica Las Vegas Strip!

storm888 · August 8, 2011 2:30AM

As a Lincoln Log guy, all I can say is, "WOW!"

Amazing!

cwazzy · August 8, 2011 3:23AM

That's awesome! I'll be honest with you: one of the main reasons I had kids was so I would have an excuse to play with Legos again.

scashaggy · August 8, 2011 6:50AM

Cool pics.

detroitfan2 · August 8, 2011 6:57AM

I appreciate all of the comments guys. I was intrigued to see the response of the board - I think there is a lot of kid left in all of us which is why we are all in the sports card hobby, so I assumed most have fond memories of Lego and would enjoy the photos.

The whole thing is pretty interesting. I think it started out as an event to get people together and word has spread rapidly. The event is not sanctioned or affiliated with Lego in anyway. The show hours are short (11:00 AM to 4:00 PM on both Sat and Sun). It was $9 to get in, and parking was free. While we were there, it was VERY hard to see things, the aisles were packed. And forget it if you want to buy something. My sons, bless their hearts, battled to get near the tables and finally get to sift through things. It was like the scene in Trading Places at the end when the crop report was leaked. Mass chaos! My impression is that they will need to expand either the hours or the space next year.

That being said, the pictures don't do justice to some of the creations. The detail and size in some of those things was amazing. At 4 to 10 cents minimum per Lego piece, some of those creations had a few grand into them easily. Even if money and time were limitless, I'm not sure where these guys find all the pieces that they use.

Interesting crowd - I didn't see too many what I would consider "jocks" or sports fans there. One of these days I'm going to build me a Lego Tiger Stadium and display it there.

As a side note, we stayed about 1 hour northwest of the show site, and about 15 minutes from a Minor League team called the Hagerstown Suns. We stopped by on Saturday night to see about tix. They had plenty and it was Brian Wilson (SF Giant bearded freak) gnome night on top of it. My youngest son thinks Wilson is hilarious after seeing him at the All-Star game. We left the stadium (without buying tix) and headed back to the hotel because we were undecided (weather was iffy). It started to rain pretty hard so we didn't go. Later that night we're watching SportsCenter and I'll be darn if they don't show Stephen Strasburg in a Suns uniform and mention that he's playing for Hagerstown on Sunday. My youngest swears he saw Strasburg playing catch on Saturday while we were asking about tix. So I guess we messed up, could have had a Brian Wilson gnome and who knows, maybe a Strasburg autograph or two if we'd have stuck it out (there was hardly anyone there).

Peace,

Tom