Bricks Cascade, Year 9

Bricks Cascade, Year 9

Portland, Oregon

February 27-March 1, 2020

As I do every year, I'm going to talk about Bricks Cascade (Portland, OR's LEGO fan convention). However, if you want the full scope of my experience, you'll ALSO want to check out the two videos I've produced:

Video #1 (Some Photos, Lots Of Videos, And Me *At* The Con Itself)

Video #2 (4 Things That Made This Year's Con Special, My top 5 favorite MOCs, & around 100 MORE Photos!)

So there's those. But you know what I didn't talk about in those videos? My MOCs! Games I played! And trophies!

This year I brought several new creations the con....

Clutchmoor Elementary School

I spent a lot of time on this build because I wanted to make a structure that can be easily modified. So each of the classrooms is the same size, with the doors and windows in the same place on each. Meaning they can all be moved around. They just slide in and out... well, usually. That way if I ever want the school to have a cafeteria instead of a music room, I can (more easily) make that happen.

I bought some battery-powered lights to help illuminate the interiors.

  

For this version of the school, I attempted to make a 1960s-1970s-era school, complete with chalkboards, a climbing rope, desks with chairs attached, a film projector, and not a singular computer in sight.

The film projector was my most "innovative" element. (And yes, my standards are pretty low.) The projector had a battery-powered light. And across the room, on the "screen," was my old iPod Nano. And playing on THAT was a stop-motion LEGO film I made back in 2012. The effect worked pretty well, I thought. Unfortunately, the MOC was pretty far back on the table and I don't think many people actually got to see the "film."

* * * 

Also new this year: I built a bunker for a post-apocalyptic collab called "Dream Bunkers."

I dubbed mine "Gingerbunker"...

I had a lot of fun designing the details within, including chocolate-chip-cookie bunk beds and a cloud-and-candy floor.

I also brought some builds to the Old West collab...

...including this Schoolhouse, which is designed to look like a late-Victorian country schoolhouse.

I swear I'm not obsessed with schools. Really. I only have... uh... three?... LEGO schools!

I also went on two "LEGO Photography" excursions this winter, and got some fun shots. I chose my favorites and had them printed. I entered them in the Photography category.

^Ducks

^Bike on cement

^Naked bike ride

I've posted a few photos from these excursions on my Instagram (@MoMakesStuffUp), and plan to post more as time goes on. Be sure to follow me on there if you'd like to see more pics!

* * *

I also brought some other MOCs I've come to Bricks Cascade with before, including "Random Things From My Childhood." (The "doll house" was new, though. I covered it in this video.) I also contributed a build to the "Marina" collab by bringing a singular building that once had a home in the Steampunk theme.

* * *

I participated in two games at the con this year: "99 Pieces" and the Team Speed Build. (I also participated in Dirty Brickster, in which I came away with a small set, plus a cool older minifig I'd never seen before!)

For the Team Speed Build, I'd put together a team of folks who varied in building experience. In fact, one had never done a speed build before! Nevertheless, we persisted...

^We built this.

The games coordinator added an extra ounce of malice to the whole thing. He opened the boxes at some point before the game, took all the pieces out of all the bags, mixed them up, and put them all back in the box.

Niiiice.

This was the first year that Bricks Cascade did game sign-ups online. I was happy they did that, as I've found it difficult in the past to get into the Team Speed Build. Especially when the sign-up process has involved being the first in a line that begins to form during other events.

In fact, I don't think I'd done a Team Speed Build at this con since 2014, when a group of us assembled that giant tower from LOTR.

I do wish they'd follow BrickCan's suit and do two Team Speed Build events at Bricks Cascade, as this is typically the most sought-after event. I think this con is going to have to offer more games next year to meet the demands of 500+ attendees. 

Then there was 99 Pieces....

99 pieces (sometimes played as "101 Pieces") is a game in which you get a series of build prompts, and, using only the small assortment of LEGO elements you've brought, you are required to build something in just a few minutes. I've seen this played at many conventions, and it's always a little different. Sometimes you get a chance to talk about your build; other times, you just have to show it without explanation. Sometimes the person running the game picks each round's winner -- other times, other people's votes are considered. I won this game once at BrickCon, and was a runner-up at one time at BrickCan.

This time, I won! Barely. ;) Here were some of my builds...

I got a fun trophy made out of -- what else? -- 99 pieces!

I didn't get any other "official" trophies over the weekend, but I did receive two little appreciation tokens that made me happy. Someone from the Women's Brick Initiative left a memento next to my Random Things MOCs, and one of LEGO Masters, Jessica ("Ragzy"), left a signed wooden minifig next to my "Bare Essentials" photo (above.)

Speaking of the LEGO Masters, ten of the contestants were present at the con, and they were just so nice. I know... it's like, "Well, of course they were nice. They had to be." But really, they didn't. They weren't officially there on behalf of the TV show. They came as fans. But they also posed for numerous photos, signed autographs, and chatted with anyone who approached them. And they kept up the positive energy the entire weekend, it seemed. Great job, all.

^The LEGO Masters at a "Special Builders" panel.

I'm already thinking about things I want to build for next year. If you're interested in attending the con yourself, keep an eye on the website at BricksCascade.com. 

They're saying the theme for 2021 is "A Decade Of Bricking Around." Hmmm... March 2021 will be only 8.75 years since the first Bricks Cascade....

But who's counting?

* * *

 Previous Bricks Cascade blog posts:

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

Seriously, I'm Done With Creative Titles: BrickCan 2019!

After having a wonderful time at BrickCan in 2018, I was eager to return this year.

On Friday, May 3, I boarded a mid-morning flight from Portland. When I arrived in Vancouver, the line for customs was about 8,000 people long. Gah. So that took about an hour. But as soon as I escaped from the customs line, it was time to eat donuts!

I got lunch at the airport, then took the light rail train to the hotel. I arrived at the River Rock Casino/Resort around 2:30pm, with just enough time to drop off my stuff in the hotel room (I was sharing with a friend) before a 3pm gathering o' LEGO fans.

As we AFOLs entered the theater, we were given goodies... free drinking glasses and ski hats...

This is my My flight was only an hour long, so why have I been traveling for 6 hours? face. 

Beyond getting these hats, I don't remember anything about this meeting.

At some point that afternoon, I set up my MOCs...

^"Quacktan" (first seen at Bricks Cascade '19) and "Escalation" (new.)

^2 of my kitchens.

I also brought 3 of my Fisher-Price toy replicas, which you can see if you look really hard...

All AFOL attendees got a swag bag, and the bags were quite nice (again) this year. I can't believe I didn't take any photos of the goodies while at the con, but I just remembered I had one of the bags sitting nearby just now, so here's a picture of some of the stuff I got (and/or traded for -- different people got different pieces.)

Lots of printed tile... and check out those heart-shaped pieces!

Around 5pm it was time for my first game of the con... The One-Handed Speed Build...

I didn't do too poorly... but yeah, several people had already called "done" by the time I finished. And then I realized I'd put the robot's arms on backwards. So at that point, I packed up.

That evening, a group of lady AFOLs (aka WAFOLs), including myself, rode the light rail over to a mall that has a LEGO store.

And I bought 14 of these packs. But I GOT SCROOGE MCDUCK, which is all that matters, really. 

I also got one of the duck nephews, and by the end of the weekend I'd procured a second nephew. One more to go...

Late Friday evening, we participated in Dirty Brickster...

New this year, they had a round of "Homemade Dirty Brickster," where all the gifts given/received were things that had been, you know, made rather than purchased. While I opted to participate in the normal version, I was very curious about what was going on in the "Homemade" game -- the variant games were held at the same time, unfortunately -- and I may have sneaked over to the other circle for a couple of glances & photos.

Next year, I might just do the Homemade version, if they have it.

I really failed on the photos this year. No pictures of what I acquired during DB, but... I recall that I got a couple of smaller sets, and I was happy with them.

* * *

Saturday morning I didn't have much going on, so I opted to do some Vancouver sightseeing. I decided I was finally going to check out the Vancouver Aquarium. I had passed by it during my 2017 trip, but had thought the price seemed a little steep. Now I was like, Hey -- let's do it.

I used Google Maps to plan the best way to get there. But something went awry, and the directions sent me to the waterfront, near the cruise terminal. I kept trying to find a certain bus that would take me westward, but I never did find it, so I ended up walking all the way to Stanley Park and the aquarium. 

Google Maps tells me the walk was fewer than 2 miles, but dangit, it felt farther.

On the way, I saw some cool things....

Docked at Canada Place was a Holland America ship, and I was like awww!!!... because this is where my Alaska cruise departed in 2017. 

Later, I found out that this very ship was involved in a mishap earlier that VERY MORNING,when it and another Holland America ship bumped into each other, right there in port.

Look at it sitting all innocently in the harbor like it doesn't know what happened.

Oh man, though, I sooo wanted to go aboard.

#cruiselife  #notashamed

I finally made it to Stanley Park, and (yay!) I remembered my way around from the last time I was there. So I found the aquarium quickly, and proceeded to buy a ticket, enter, and then eat.

And then I went inside to see fish...

And non-fish...

I went to several keeper talks, including one for walruses, and the keepers gave out a lot of good information. I probably wouldn't be in a hurry to go back to this aquarium, but I had a nice time.

Then it was back to LEGOLand... I mean, BrickCan...

So you may recall that, at Bricks Cascade earlier this spring, I had tried to put together a Team Speed Build team, but things had not worked out. Since BrickCan picks people for games via a randomizer (rather than the dreaded first-come, first-serve method) I thought we might at least have a chance here, so I recruited 5 friends. We dubbed ourselves WAFOL House. And we all registered for Team Speed Build as our first game choice.

Buuut something went wrong, and when the list of teams/players came out on Thursday night, only four of us were on the list and 2 of us were on a waiting list. Two members of the team who were there already talked to the management, and it was rumored that something might be worked out. We didn't know, until the game actually began on Saturday, whether or not we'd be able to participate as a team. (I wasn't really keen on playing at ALL unless all 6 of us could do it.)

So at 3pm Saturday, the Team Speed Build was happening, and while Team WAFOL House wasn't sure what was going to happen, we all showed up, ready to play...

And, thanks to some rearranging & adjustments by the games committee, our whole team WAS able to participate together! And we got to assemble this set....

3,553 pieces? NBD.

We all gave it a good effort, but were not the speediest team in the land.

After the game, we broke apart the builds and divided up the pieces.

(l-r: Laura, Arwyn, Krys, me, Jenelle, and Jean.)

That evening, at the Awards Ceremony, my name was randomly drawn for a LEGO set! Since it was May 4th, all the sets given out that day were Star Wars themed. 

* * *

The next morning, Sunday, was the final day of the con. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling well. I joined some friends for a breakfast buffet, but afterwards, I went back to the room and took a nap. I did rally myself in the early afternoon, and I participated in the 101 Bricks Challenge....

I used 101 pieces from my swag bag & other pieces I'd acquired over the weekend. If I'd spent more time on it, I could have come up with a better selection of pieces, but oh well!

This was my entry for one of the challenges....

It's Snow White at her wishing well!

Honest!

So anyway, I raked up a couple of points throughout the four challenges, but not enough to win.

I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at the show among all the MOCs.

Oh, hey, maybe this would be a good time to post MOC pictures! 

There were hundreds of cool things this year! It's amazing how many great MOCs can be present in such a (relatively) small convention.

^This was one of my favorites.

^This was made by some folks from PortLUG (Portland), and it won one of the highest honors!

Late in the afternoon, the show ended, and they began to close things down. We all got together for Closing Ceremonies. This was the view from the balcony....

During Closing Ceremonies, other LEGO Cons were promoted, prizes were given out, and then it was time to head out. For me, that meant jumping on the light rail and heading for the dreaded airport. Other AFOLs stayed at the hotel one more night and enjoyed some Cinco De Mayo-related activities.

Despite any setbacks, it was a fun and fabulous weekend, and I can hardly wait to go again next year!