Bricksplosion 2025

 

Bricksplosion 2025 was on October 25-26. The event happened at the Light House Arts Centre, a venue previously known as the World Trade and Convention Centre. This was the first time that I participated in a Lego show. I was excited, but also a bit nervous.

Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f3.5, 1/25 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour

 

Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f3.5, 1/60 sec, ISO 800
IrfanView: Crop, Colour

Lego builders from across the Maritimes, and from even farther afield, gathered in Halifax for the event. Transporting my own model to the show was tricky, and I had barely more than a kilometre to go. Bringing loads of Lego long distances must be a challenge.

 

I was very impressed by the variety of what people were able to build. Lego is a very simple system, but that efficient clarity leaves plenty of room for interpretation.

Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f4.5, 1/60 sec, ISO 1250
IrfanView: Crop, Colour

 

Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f2.5, 1/60 sec, ISO 800
IrfanView: Crop, Colour

Scale is a question that every Lego designer must face. Some sculptures are larger than life, others in miniature. I have always been very impressed by microscale builds. They make creative use of parts to convey much larger meanings. Consider the train below: It's tiny, but remarkably detailed.

 

Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f5.7, 1/40 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour

 

Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f4.7, 1/40 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f6.1, 1/15 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour

 

Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f4.5, 1/30 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour

 

Versatile as Lego can be as an art medium, it is also a toy at heart. The spirit of childlike whimsy is treasured by creators. The process of building with Lego is intended to be fun, and that can often show in the results.

Not all creations are exuberant, of course. Reflective moods are also possible. I was quite struck by the emotional content of this robot in the forest.

Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f5.1, 1/20 sec, ISO 800
IrfanView: Crop, Colour

 

One of the biggest displays at Bricksplosion was a cityscape. It was complete with a railway and also a wind turbine, both of which were motorized.

 

I could not help but smile at this model of a upscaled minifig crocheting. It was like seeing my grandmother in Lego form. I chatted with the person who had it on display, apparently it is self-portrait created by his mother.

 

Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f4.4, 1/40 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f5.8, 1/5 sec, ISO 800
IrfanView: Crop, Colour

 

Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f3.5, 1/60 sec, ISO 1000
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f3.5, 1/50 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour

 

One of the draws at the show was the presence of some Lego celebrities, in the form of contestants on the TV series, Lego Masters. This wearable Lego apron below is by Stephen Joo. The dragon is by Maia Hughes.

It was pretty nifty to be "hobnobbing with the brickerati" as my sister put it. There was a social event for the people with displays, so I got to watch a Blue Jays game with Maia Hughes and Graeme Dymond, a Lego-Certified Professional (the world has very few of those!).

 

Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f4.4, 1/40 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f4.5, 1/15 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour

 

Just about all of my photos come from the twilight moments either just before or just after the public viewings. When the show was open to the public the hall was often filled. The tally for public ticketholders, displayers, and vendors was 2850 people, over two days.

My display was heavily mechanized, but only had one element on a motor - the rest was all done by hand. That kept me very busy during the public hours as I alternated between running the cranks and fixing temperamental gears.

Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f3.5, 1/50sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour

 

One local builder, Trevor, had a truly prodigious body of work on display, He has a real talent for sculpting complex shapes, and making engaging characters. That's a very difficult skill! He's also got a strong sense of humor, and it really shows. Two of his pieces are below. He also did the butterfly and the scene from A Goofy Movie, above.

 

Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f5.4, 1/80 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour
Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f5.7, 1/40 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour

 

Dragons were well-represented at Bricksplosion. This one had great shaping, and the storytelling element of a Minifig fighting not to become a snack!

In the slot directly beside my display was the event's youngest displayer, an eleven-year-old who also brought a dragon. I did take a nice photo of him with his work, but unfortunately I didn't think to ask if I could post it here.

Olympus Pen-F, 12-200mm telephoto lens
f4.3, 1/13 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour

 

Below is a one-minute video of my main display piece. I wanted it to have an interactive feature for the viewers, so one of the cranks is on the front of the model. It drives the chain drive for the tourist train where that stretches across the front of the model. After turning the corner, the next chain is controlled by a crank behind. It was giving me some trouble. Other cranks in the rear control other segments of chain, as well as the waterfall. The windmill is on the motor.

I was rewarded by a high degree of engagement from the visitors. Most of the displays were strictly no-touch, so even something as simple as a crank got them excited when passing by my table. It was truly a delight to see their faces light up, and I loved seeing a few of the kids try to figure out how it all worked.

We took the video in the last moments before teardown on the last day. The front crank is operated by the mother of the young creator who displayed his model beside mine. The camera is in the hands of my friend Erin. I couldn't have pulled off the show without her and Jamie. He recommended that I get into it, and I am very glad he did!