Oct 11

NoCo MiniMaker Faire: 2015

Posted on October 11, 2015 by Jim

NoCo Mini-Maker Faire 2015

About 10 builders made the trek up to Loveland for the NoCo Mini Maker Faire over the October 10th and 11th weekend. The display was filled with a large variety of builds. Being a Mini Maker Faire, creativity and making things was full on with the builds not only from CoWLUG but the rest of the event. It was a fun event for the builders as well.

Lester brought some of his finds, a 2001 remote control Bionicle called Manas.

Jeff made his I-Rex from Bionicle parts and did a pretty nice job too.

Lester’s steam punk AT-AT is always a crowd pleaser.

Chris bringing some Star Wars fun to the build with a base of operations.

Bionicles and Bionicles. Each creation have an individual look for their characters.

Eric’s buildings. Each building is getting better and the details are fun to look at while trying to figure out the technique used.

Joe and Doug’s fantasy area. They finish building it as the days go on. Need some lanscaping ideas, look closely.

Donnie has a few things going on. First on the left is an X-Men -vs- Sentinels battle, then a Star Wars Imperial Hanger. Off to the right, the Joker -vs- Batman scene.

Oh look, Jim’s amusement park operated by pushbuttons. The train has camera on it that gives a view of riding the rails around the park.

Ryan has a collected the various colors of LEGO parts used over the years. It’s neat to see them all together in one place.

A cool battle scene, the landscaping and scenery are quite impressive and should be looked at to see what can be done.

Thanks to Doug for organizing the display. Photos courtesy of Eric Neuman and Doug Cloud. Thanks guys.

Oct 04

Loveland BrickBuilder Expo – The First!

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Jessica

A Brick Expo in Loveland, Colorado! Certainly. With the enthusiasm of John Metcalf and a dozen CoWLUG members, behold the first annual BrickBuilder Expo. Held in conjunction with the NoCo Mini Maker Faire, now in its second year, the emphasis for all is on making things. For the LEGO part, team builds for the public are a huge highlight (below.)

For the AFOL among us, chatting about LEGO elements, colors and build techniques is on the agenda for the afternoon. (Imagine, Stefano & Ryan below.)

And of course there has to be a gathering of creations for all to see and share. (Dan’s Steampunk Dragonfly & Mech Diorama below.)

Newer members to CoWLUG, Doug (left) Joe (right) and Kieran (not pictured), collaborate on a fantastic build loaded with details. And cute goats! Joe is also the organizer for the event, connecting members to the Expo, making sure all activities run smoothly. Thanks Joe!

Closer details of Joe’s spaceships (below.)

Being in the same space as the NoCo Mini Maker Faire, makes for some great interaction – among mechs and droids, mechs and kids.

That’s Imagine’s giant anime mech by the way, alongside his floating Bank of the Prophet from Bioshock Infinite (below.)

Speaking of the Maker Faire – there’s all that too! Giant robots breathing fire, human foosball, cardboard cities, air cannons, swords – did I mention giant robots?!

Displays cover all themes, as shown by Collin’s Star Wars mash up (below.)

Jake covered dungeon/castle, island & spaceship themes (below.)
Jeff always does some amazing things with Bionicle (below.)

Jim’s button pushing crazy carnival rides are a super hit with all ages and do not dissapoint.
John, the Brickbuilder instigator and new CoWLUG member, presents Loveland in micro scale. It’s a lovely tribute to the town of the same name.
The LEGO Movie submarine, executed in brick by Imagine, is a hit among new LEGO fans, and sidles up along Ryan’s Tardis (which does NOT open) and spaceships of the real and imagined sort.

There’s a record store by Ryan (which you should go support on LEGO Ideas if you haven’t already,) Modulex built items (also LEGO if you didn’t know,) and headphones entirely out of LEGO – all built by Ryan too!

Reference materials? You say you want a chart of LEGO colors? Well we have that too! Or at least Ryan does. If you can’t see it in person, check out his Brick Colorstream Flickr page for the most excellent and up to date reference on LEGO colors.
What? No trains? Of course not! Where there is LEGO, there are bound to be trains somewhere. Stefanos has his modern train station running a train provided by another newer member, Chris (below.) I might also add that if you scroll back up to Jeff’s Bionicle, you will see a very clever Bionicle train too. Did you miss it? Well, go back up and look.

Oct 05

NoCo Mini Maker Faire Fun!

Posted on October 5, 2013 by Jessica

A handful of CoWLUG members participated in very successful first annual NoCo Mini Maker Faire on the Colorado front range. Held in Loveland this first weekend of October, over 3000 people turned out for the one-day event.

Above: Ryan, Imagine, Tommy & Barbara chat as the first crowds begin to filter in.

The CoWLUG Open Build table was busy all day. The LEGO Group should take notice of the plethora of girls who enjoyed building with the standard brick – in standard colors, without a minifig or Friends character in sight!

For those who have never had the chance to attend a Mini Maker Faire, here’s a little sampling of what could be seen (and tinkered with) today. There was a room full of cardboard for cutting and building, using special snap/hinge pieces facilitating making that kept pace with the mind. There were people playing music on carrots with their noses! And electronics of all kinds – interactive, artistic, idea generating. Finally, there seemed to be a 3D printer in every corner.

Participating and visiting members of CoWLUG all enjoyed an inspiring day. I’d like to thank Tommy for bringing our attention to the Faire and also for bringing his wife Barbara to help tend the Open Build table for the day. Their enthusiasm and encouragement fostered a creative spirit among the kids and adults that was truly contagious. As you can see above, everyone’s creations soon filled up the space. A grateful thank you also goes out to Ian and Abby for providing the brick for the Open Build table. It was very well used.