BayLUG – Page 12 – Bill Ward's Brickpile

Getting Ready for Maker Faire

Next weekend (April 22-23) is Maker Faire, an event featuring “the MythBusters, and thousands of tech DIY enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, science clubs, students, and authors,” put on by the publishers of MAKE Magazine. This event is kind of like a giant science fair for grownups, mixed with an art show and all kinds of stuff. I don’t really know what to expect but we’re planning to treat it pretty much the same way we do the train shows.

We have a space that’s 30 feet square, which will feature a train layout and some additional non-train LEGO exhibits such as David Wegmuller’s giant Technic crane.

I’ve been frantically busy “making” things for the Faire all weekend. But last night I seem to have caught a cold. The worst part is the difficulty sleeping. And I don’t have the strength to build much LEGO even though I am home sick from work.

Also I want to apologize for the dearth of posts lately. Holly and I went to Charleston, SC for a week last month and when we got back, I was quite busy with regular life and just didn’t get back into the swing of things in the blog. But I’m going to start posting more soon, I promise!!

TransAmerica Pyramid

The TransAmerica Pyramid is one of the most distinctive structures in the city of San Francisco. In January 2006 my LEGO club, the Bay Area LEGO Users’ Group chose “mini-scale San Francisco” as the theme for our display at the LEGO store in Pleasanton, CA. I built this model, along with a scene of Lombard Street, for that display.

More pictures of the model can be found on Flickr and on Brickshelf (once moderated).[tags]lego,pyramid,sanfrancisco,mymodels,microscale,transamerica[/tags]

TCA Show – Sunday

I spent most of the day today at the 2006 Cal-Stewart Spring Meet of the Train Collectors Association (TCA) at the Santa Clara Convention Center. My LEGO club, Bay Area LEGO Users’ Group & Train Club, had a big train layout on display all weekend (see my previous entry with pictures of the setup on Friday).

We had a 30×30 foot space, most of which was taken up by the layout, with a few tables offering LEGO parts and sets for sale by our members. My contributions to the layout included the Coast Guard base, San Ladrillo train station, and several smaller buildings and vehicles around the layout.

Pictures of the layout can be found on Flickr. Click the photo to see them.[tags]lego,baylug,bayltc,trainshow[/tags]

BayLTC at TCA 2006 Show Setup

Friday evening, March 10, I was at the Santa Clara Convention Center helping set up(*) the Bay Area LEGO Users’ Group & Train Club layout for the 2006 Cal-Stewart Spring Meet of the Train Collectors Association. It’s a combination conference and show, running all weekend. Saturday, March 11, it’s open only to conference attendees, but on Sunday it will be open to the public (for a small fee). Come on down and visit us! See the event information on the BayLUG site for details.

Pictures of the layout can be found on Flickr. Click the photo to see them.

(*) – not really. I was really late showing up and the other guys had already done the hard stuff. I just put a few buildings and cars down and took pictures….[tags]lego,baylug,bayltc,trainshow[/tags]

Aquarium display at LEGO store

With other members of the Bay Area LEGO Users Group, I helped install a new [tag]aquarium[/tag]-themed display at the Stoneridge Mall [tag]LEGO[/tag] store in [tag]Pleasanton[/tag], CA on Feb 20, 2006. My contributions to this display were two fish and some seaweed.

Group photo. L-R: Charles, Bruce, Russell, and me.

The fish that appear to be floating in air, and the seaweed that I created (on the left side of the “tank,” made out of LEGO palm frond pieces) are suspended by threads, at the other end of which are magnets that cling to the shelf above the display. The large octopus is suspended by threads too, but it’s too heavy for magnets so the threads are wrapped around the shelf supports.

See photos on Flickr or on Brickshelf.

Bay Area LEGO Train Club at Pleasanton Train Show in Nov. 2005

Last November, BayLTC participated in the Pleasanton, CA, Great Western & Atlantic Train Show at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. The event was held on the weekend following Thanksgiving. View the pictures on Flickr or on Brickshelf (once moderated).

Our next show will be at the TCA Cal-Stewart Meet in Santa Clara, which will be open to the public on Sunday, March 12.
[tags]LEGO, BayLUG, BayLTC, Train Show[/tags]

Bay Area LEGO Users’ Group Meeting on Jan. 22, 2006

Bay Area LEGO Users' Group Meeting at Dave Porter's house on Jan. 22, 2006

Yesterday I attended a BayLUG club meeting at the home of one of our members, Dave Porter, in Woodside, CA. Dave sets up a [tag]LEGO[/tag] train layout in his upstairs loft every year around the holidays and it is going to be torn down in a week, so he invited the club to come to his house to see it while we still could. [tag]BayLUG[/tag] members brought their latest models to show off, and there was a lot of buying and selling of parts, including “Uncle Dan” and his bulk LEGO by the pound. View the pictures on Flickr or on Brickshelf (once moderated).

Bay Area LEGO Train Club at San Jose Train Show in Sep. 2005

Another long-delayed set of photos from a club event. This time, the BayLTC layout from the Great Western & Atlantic Train Show is featured. The show was held at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds in San José, CA. View the pictures on Flickr or on Brickshelf (once moderated).

Our next show will be at the TCA Cal-Stewart Meet in Santa Clara. Perhaps you can come see us there! That show is open to the public on Sunday, March 12 only.
[tags]LEGO, BayLUG, BayLTC, Train Show[/tags]

Bay Area LEGO Users’ Group Meeting on Sep. 11, 2005

I am finally getting around to posting pictures from this meeting. We met at the Museum of American Heritage in Palo Alto, CA on September 11, 2005. The meeting featured models on display and a lot of buying, selling, and trading of parts. See the rest of my pictures on Flickr or on Brickshelf (once moderated).

We hope to continue meeting there in 2006 and you are welcome to come! Monitor the BayLUG Web site to keep up with announcements of upcoming events (and join the announce mailing list) if you’re interested.
[tags]LEGO, BayLUG[/tags]

BayLUG exhibit at MoAH

For the past few weeks (starting just before Christmas), we have been running a display at the Museum of American Heritage in Palo Alto. It has been insanely popular, with more people coming to see the exhibit than the room could even hold at once.

This is the second year that we’ve had a show there over the holidays, and I think it’s fair to say we’ll be doing this every year for some time to come.

If you missed this exhibit, don’t fret – check the BayLUG Web site for information about upcoming events or how you can join the club.

I took photos of the layout yesterday afternoon just prior to teardown of the display. You can see the photos on Flickr or on Brickshelf (once moderated).
[tags]LEGO, BayLUG, MoAH, LEGO Trains[/tags]