It is still our biggest display event of the year and we had great fun putting it together. One of our new members, Jason, brought in his collection of 9V track and so we had two lines running most of both days. We went with a more specifically Town & Train theme this time, with a few portals here and there spewing time-tossed creatures and travelers for a bit of flavour. We had a lot more MOCs there which is really exciting to see. And our selection of trains is growing as well. And of course an amazing old west town. I was a great show and will be even better next year. We are going to be channeling a bit of Pacific Rim! We found out at the beginning of this year that the monthly display program that had been running at the Lego Store was coming to an end. It was sad news for us, as we shared the monthly Installs with the VLC for the Guildford Town Center store, but the news was softened by the allowance for one final LUG display. And this one would be permanent!
Previously we had access to one of the big “picture frame” windows around the store. These were rather tall and it was sometimes a challenge to fill the space effectively. With such prestigious displays we always strove to showcase our best while also giving opportunities for each member who wanted to have a go. I myself was lucky enough to collaborate with other builders on four separate displays. The final display, though, was a little different than these previous ones. Firstly we were to use a “ribbon brand” window which was much shorter, secondly the elements we used would not be returned to us (permanent, right), and thirdly The Lego Company desired us to have a display that had some recognizable local flavour. And then there was the consideration that as the last install the whole LUG should be involved as much as possible. In the end we settled on the Abbotsford International Airshow as a theme and decided to go with a microscale style to maximize the variation.
The end result is our best store display ever, and it will hopefully be enjoyed by Lego fans young and old for many years to come. Now I will simply let the pictures do the talking. Check out the AbbyLUG group on Flickr for even more great detail shots of these and other displays and shows! Well, the beans are finally spilled. We’ve been giddy with anticipation since the first whisperings of the hint of this event reached our ears (in secret). Now the countdown has officially begun. We have less than a year to go before our first in hopefully a long line of annual Vancouver Lego Conventions takes place. Hit up the official site for all the particulars, like it on Facebook even, if you are into that sort of thing. What I know is that we can look forward to 4 amazing days of Lego goodness right here in the valley. 2 Days of public viewing, so bring your MOCs, and 2 days of AFOL oriented goodness. We’ve got such a great group of AFOLs here that this just has to be good.
Come on out and see what this community is all about! This was the second year of AbbyLUG participation at the long-running Train and Hobby show benefiting the Mount Cheam Lions. We had as much fun as last year getting our displays ready for the viewing public. Instead of going strictly in a Lego City direction we branched out to showcase some of our members’ most passionate themes. Castle, Space, Post-apoc, and Christmas Village sections were full of detailed custom models and sets.The two day event attracted thousands of attendees, both young and old and we had a great time talking about our hobby and answering questions. It seems that people are always amazed at the shape Lego bricks can take in the hands of a dedicated builder.Especially popular was the Mad Max section built by our member Lee. Those old enough to recall the movie enjoyed picking out the various details added to the vehicles and characters.Smaug made a special appearance atop one of the castle keeps, an early glimpse at the famed dragon from the new Hobbit sets.
And all in all we had a great time. We will be back next year! AbbyLUG recently had the opportunity to participate in a fundraiser for the Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation. AbbyLUG was approached by the SMHF to build a replica of the new Critical Care Tower in Surrey. This amazing Lego creation by Lee Wager was successfully auctioned off for a grand total of $4500! Thanks to Lee for taking the lead on this wonderful project. Read more about the build from the Langley Times here. Calling all Lego space fanatics – if you didn’t have the opportunity to check out AbbyLUG’s tribute to Lego space through the decades, now is your chance! See if you can name all of the Lego space themes represented here. If you like this build, look for an even bigger and better space display from AbbyLUG at the Chilliwack Train and Hobby Show coming up in October! This was our first year being involved in the BC Homeschool Expo at Tradex in Abbotsford, and it was a great success!
We enjoyed being a big part of the Fun Zone, providing kids an opportunity to build Lego creations of their own, as well as displaying many of our own creations and favourite official Lego models. From my informal polling, fan favourites included a Lego Snoopy house by Christian, complete with a brick built Snoopy and Woodstock, a modified Lord of the Rings Pirate Ship Ambush by Adele, and a fabulous Castle MOC by James. The kids really got into the Lego spirit with some impressive teamwork in the Duplo area as well as many creative solo projects at the Lego System free build tables. Thanks to all the participants for their enthusiasm and we hope to see you all again next year! We will be at the BC Home School Expo at the Tradex in Abbotsford this Friday, June 6th from 10am until 5pm. If you are planning to attend, come and say hi to us and build us something cool! Hope to see you there! We have now successfully launched our AbbyLUG forum site! We are very excited about this.