Brick Mania Limburg 2014

Friday afternoon and me, the GF and the Smurf are leaving for a end of school holiday weekend to a Center Parcs resort.  The plan is to spend two days of no stress, then on the way back drop by at the Brick Mania Lego event in Helchteren, Limburg, organised by BeLUG.

This is the same organisers of BM Antwerp and the likes, and the LUG I`m a member off, so with the shopping list in hand (the kid is hoping for Harry Potter sets, I`m after Lord of the Rings).  This is also the very first time it is organised in Limburg, but I already read that day one had 1.119 visitors.  Day 2, judging by the crowd this afternoon, is going to top if not break that number...

It`s hard to say, but I fear many wargame shows (my older hobby) can only dream of those numbers in what was essentially a school gym venue...

It`s also hard to say, but this was NOT how we imagined to start the vacation...

Apparently, something about the cooling causing the engine to overheat.  Luckily my parents where fast at the scene to collect the kid, so after standing by the highway for 3 hours, the car was towed to the garage.  An hour later, we could borrow the mother-in-law`s car, and then returned to my parents to wait out evening traffic and have chinese for dinner. 

Then we where off and an hour later we where at our destination and did enjoy a nice weekend with the three of us, but of course you are here to read about all those lovely little bricks...

The first major set up was a pirate display, with villagers gathering in the stockade while ships loomed on the horizon.

Another mightily impressive display was the Menenpoort of Ieper (Ypres), where every day the military taptoo is blown to remember the fallen of WW1.  I saw this being featured already on local television on a show called `Iedereen Beroemd` and on the BeLUG forum, but seeing it in real life is mightily impressive!

There where a lot of other displays as well, both known from Antwerp like this Star Wars display

Some other familiar and new builds where around, which I`ll be showing here with the necessary comments poked in between...

 I really liked this submarine build, even though for some odd reason I`m not a fan of current day military building.  Can`t put a finger on it why, which is not to say I don`t like staring flabbergasted at some of those builds.

 A medieval scene incorporating known sets, like the mill set I also possess

 Fabuland!

 Noah`s Ark of a sort

 More bagpipers as a scottish fanfare is on parade

 Strong the Birck in you is!

Now, this next display was really, really awesome, as Poseidon tried to drag a viking longship down a whirlpool

Of course, no event is complete with traders, though as you can see by the Smurf`s face, no Harry Potter sets where to be found...

On that same note, I didn`t find any Lego LOTR neither, bit of a bummer as I had hopes with them being more recent.

But of course, there was loot to be hauled home, and Smurf bought (and got) the following:

Including at least a Peter Pippeling minifig, and the Milhouse to complete his Simpsons series to full now.

And me?  Well, I took along all this, and those 6 base plates where a bargain as I paid only 5 euros for them, allowing me to start building at fuller speed again for Age of Mitgardia :-)
And I got my Shakespeare from the Lego Movie series.

The Minifig bags yielded the following:

For me to use in builds that meant a Cavewoman and 2 Vikings (still no Cleopatra though), the Smurf received the Sherlock, a Sailor, the Punk Rocker, the Lawn Gnome and the Artist for his collection.  The rest?  They go on my MiniatureTrading and Bricklink pages to help get the ones I need.

It was a good afternoon, taking a quick hour interval on our way home, but putting smiles on faces and I could collect the flyers and posters to start helping in advertising the next event, BrickMania Antwerp.