Aug 27

Denver Comic Con 2014 !!!

Denver Comic Con 2014 was longer, larger, and livelier than last year. Pretty much, everything was awesome.

Pop Culture Classroom organized a fun and successful con. Attendance exceeded expectations with 86,500 attendees. The overall space was increased and the increased space between exhibitors allowed for traffic to flow more freely. A vast number of people attended in costume. It was great to see a wide variety of characters being cosplayed.

This year, the Lego display was a joint effort between CoWLUG and DenLUG. This collaboration made it possible to fill the 1500 square feet of space we were graciously afforded.

On one end of the display we had a train layout with a Post-Modern train station built by Stefanos. Joe lent us Emmet’s Construct-o-Mech to clear out Miciah’s crashed Quinjet. Shawn’s modular buildings added depth to the city layout.

Train_Terminal_photo_by_Ian_Davis

Many people recognized The Dickens Tavern built by Derek.

Dickens_Tavern_photo_by_Ian_Davis

On the backside of the large station, Jason’s handily modular airport hosted a smattering of aerial vehicles and scenes of superheroes. Darin displayed his sports themed mosaics.

The train traveled deep into the display, circumnavigating Ralph’s fun filled scene titled, “Cosplay in the Park.”

Airport_Mosaics_Park_Station_photo_by_Ralph_CopleyCosplay_In_The_Park_by_Ralph_CopleyBatman_Park_photo_by_Ralph_CopleyAbove Cosplay in the Park images courtesy of Ralph Copley.

On one side of the display was Donnie’s brightly colored, somewhat sinister, comic amusement park titled, “Seagate Park”. There were several great and gruesome scenes to be found in this build full of color and packed with detail.

Seagate_Park_photo_by_Ralph_Copley

Seagate Park image courtesy of Ralph Copley.

Derek’s ornate Tilt-a-Whirl was on display next to a farm scene built by Matthew entirely from Pick-a-Brick wall pieces.

Farm_Tiltawhirl_photo_by_Ian_Davis

Nearby, stood a full Mech-bay built by Dan.

Mech_Bay_photo_by_Ian_Davis

On the opposite side of the display was Jim’s interactive amusement park titled, “Riverside Park”. Most of the rides in the park were controllable by cleverly labeled push buttons. The endless stream of willing and excited button pushers was testament to the popularity of interactive exhibits.

Riverside_Park_photo_by_Jim_Miller

Riverside Park image courtesy of Jim Miller.

Joe built a micro city scene with a Mech battle.

Micro_Mech_Battle_photo_by_Ian_Davis

Dale brought his official Star Wars Mosaic and many people stopped to take pictures with it. Lego Batman stopped to pose in front of a table of builds by Ryan and Matthew.

Lego_Batman_Cosplay_photo_by_Ian_Davis

Jeremy utilized a large platform to show off a large amount of fully functional Technic creations.

Jeremy_McCreary_Crowd_photo_by_Ian_Davis

Ian used his platform to provide kids a hands-on experience with Technic pieces.

Kids_Technic_photo_by_Ralph_Copley

Kids Technic image courtesy of Ralph Copley.

Abby contributed a black and white Ferris wheel to Sin City.

Ferris_Wheel_photo_by_Ian_Davis

Imagine’s Cthulhu hung out at the docks of Sin City.

Cthulhu_photo_by_Ralph_Copley

Cthulhu image courtesy of Ralph Copley.

Lester built a large and detailed city with a scavenger hunt. He utilized The Simpsons’ minigifures throughout and had a captive audience throughout the show.

Lesterville_photo_by_Ian_DavisLester_City_photo_by_Ralph_Copley

Ralph_photo_by_Ralph_Copley

Lester City Seekers (middle) & Ralph Gangster (bottom) images courtesy of Ralph Copley.

Many other great views of the CoWLUG/DENLUG display at Denver Comic Con 2014 can be found at Ralph Copley’s PhotosJim Miller’s Photos.

Story & Images by Ian Davis unless otherwise noted.

Mar 22

Superman Mosaic – Life Beyond DCC

IMG_6976

Since its debut at Denver Comic Con in 2013, the super-huge Superman mosaic (Action Comics No.1) collectively created and mounted for display by Mark, Joel and Duane, it has begun a traveling career. From DCC it found its way to The Longmont Museum for 2013’s Build! exhibit and now is heading west!

Arizona’s Heard Museum is currently organizing its own brick exhibit with a similar title, Build! Toy Brick Art at the Heard, scheduled to open in May of this year. Congratulations to Mark, Joel and Duane for the continued enjoyment of their stellar work on this fabulous mosaic. It’s quite possible this is just the beginning of a far-reaching, traveling life for this piece.

Mar 22

LEGO for Montbello Library

Early in January of this year CoWLUG was contacted by a librarian of the Denver Public Library from the Montbello Branch with a request for LEGO donations. Many of the smaller-sized patrons of the library worried about not having the means with which to pull together a collection of LEGO that would enable them to participate fully in the upcoming 2014 LEGO Building Contest – Building Books!

With the help of over a dozen CoWLUG members, a few boxes of LEGO sets and bulk elements were collected during February. Donnie made the final delivery of the donations to the library making it possible for the branch to host it’s first in a series of build days in March.

Library KidsShanna Shadoan, librarian at the Montbello Branch and also the person who initially reached out to CoWLUG for our help, was happy to report that over 70 children and parents attended the first build day. The photograph above shows just how busy the build tables were during the event. With this new “community set” of LEGO available at the branch, there should be many more build events to come. We wish all of the children much luck in the upcoming contest!

A huge thank you goes out to all the CoWLUG members who generously donated from their collections, as well as a special thank you to Donnie for making the special delivery to the library.

 

Feb 16

Rails on the Rockies: Estes Park 2014

Zombies, Toys & Coffee by Meghan

Despite the continued reconstruction of all the highways leading up to Estes Park after last fall’s disastrous flood, there was a solid showing for CoWLUG members participating in this year’s display, organized by Lester. Above a corner of the city showcases buildings by Meghan, Duane and Samantha.

Push Button Amusement Park by Jim M.

Jim M.’s interactive amusement park received continued action by the younger crowds.

Button Pusing

Below, Art created a mountainous backdrop to Jerry’s fort.

Fort by Jerry & Mountain by Art

Grimy Gulch Station by Jeff Market by Lester and other buildings by Duane & Meghan

The mountain’s tunnel spilled out into a very large Western section of the layout with buildings by Lester (Market,) Grimy Gulch station by Jeff, and a multitude of detailed structures by Meghan and Duane populating the action.

Spanish Village by Jerry

A Spanish village by Jerry spanned the length of one side, bringing us to an Indian village by Jim M. and Bent’s fort by Ian.

Indian Village by Jim M. & Bent's Fort by Ian

Hedgehogs vs. Octopus Teddy Bear Army

No one was quite sure exactly what was happening between the hedgehogs, bears and an octopus….

Western by Samantha

Western Detail by Samantha

Samantha’s detailed western structures and scenes were a popular draw, especially with the addition of LEGO Movie references.

Train Wreck fun with Lester & Imagine

There was plenty of train wreck action happening as Lester changed out various trains during the show (the blurry figure lower right behind the tarantula leg) and tested the number of characters that could be added to numerous cars. The crowds looked on, very entertained.

Low Clearance under Tarantula by Imagine

Low clearance under Imagine’s steampunk tarantula contraption from Wild Wild West brought inquisitive looks from onlookers.

Victorian Block by Meghan

Beyond the western area, Meghan’s gorgeously colorful victorian street created a lovely spot to stand and gaze. Lester certainly looks pretty posing behind them. I think the pink house is giving him a rosy glow. 🙂

Lester Extraordinaire

Lester’s pièce de résistance this year was his addition of the steampunk street scene and various steampunk inspired vehicles and figs.

Steampunk Village by Lester

Steampunk Village & Dirigible by Lester

Steampunk Details by LesterAnd literally bridging the gap between steampunk and city features was Duane’s quadruple bridge, dam and river scene. The underwater and cave features were particularly exciting for the shorter members of the crowd who could peer in at their own eye level.

Dam & Bridge by Duane

Dam & Bridge Crossing by Duane

The city scape continued to grow this year with more buildings (by Stuart, Lester, Duane, Samantha and Meghan,) and activities.

Pizza by Stuart & City by Lester

Ice Cream & Salon by Samantha

LEGO Movie Action by Imagine

And since the LEGO Movie hit theaters, there were of course several relevant action scenes playing out in the streets. Here, Imagine’s redesign of Lord Business’ Lair uses his huge legs to stomp his way through the streets.

Multiple Layers-Monorail by Jim M.

Finally, it wouldn’t be Rails on the Rockies without trains. There were trains of all kinds, moving through every part of the layout all day – thank you train builders: Lester, Duane, Michael & Jim M!  Lester would like to extend his thanks to everyone who took part in building, displaying and tending the show over the weekend. It was a truly fabulous collaboration by all.