This past week Erin and myself went to the Washington DC Lego convention. Even the Badge was made out of lego with the express intent of allowing you to pimp it out.

We visited last year, but this one we actually got the full membership and a Hotel room. Full membership has a special privilege of allowing you to show your creations, and I fully took advantage of that, completely filling the trunk of my car with bubble wrapped and boxed MOCs. MOC is adult fan of lego speak for a My Own Creation, as opposed to a set made by the company.



One of the items I brought, I had posted here a while back. Sal's Fish, and the abandoned plumbing supply store.
Here situated on the WAMALUG main train table. The largest table in the main ball room.

 

which always gets a good crowd during the public hours.



I also got to speak a great deal with John and his girlfriend Jess. John creates excellent 1930s era buildings as shown here.



One area that stood out on the main table was a string of Cafe Corner Standard buildings. Cafe Corner was an excellent advanced Lego set that came out with a deliberate connect-ability to other sets that came later.  This standard allows for easy compatible modules for different people to come to the train layout with a building or two and have them all look like they were intended to go together, which is great. However there is an unfortunate tendency toward sameness that it seems to bring.



None the less the sameness to bring a continuity that works for a block or two of a layout



But true continuity can be only achieved if one person builds the whole layout, as this Alpine Village did, winning an Award





But there was also an old West train layout. We see here Chinese Immigrants working on laying track




A Stagecoach, and in my consideration a tragicly overlooked MOC, given the quality of the work involved, and those who might not of noticed, the entire main body of the coach is bult upside down. An advanced building technique called Studs Not On Top, or SNOT for short.



They called this Lucky Frog Casino, but I think they changed the name on account of the kiddies




And what Western Layout would be complete without some Indians




Me at the main train table, pointing to my 1960s shopping center, Vincent Hills.



Another of John's 1930s style buildings.



In the Hotel Lobby was this impressively lit structure




And over near the elevators would be something that my brother Jeff would like, a Coast Guard Cutter.


A nice realization, expansion of one of my favorite small sets, The Passage of Jun Chi.




Which along with another small set, Yeti's Hideout, from the same time, 2003 I put into Dirty Brickster, a variation on a Yankee Gift Exchange. I got stolen from 8 times, and ended getting screwed by someone who put in a Racers set that was under the minimum value, and currently available, and not very desirable. At least I wasn't the guy who got stuck with a pen, mug, and some other garbage that the rules EXPRESSLY FORBID. I don't think I'll be doing that again. However some people truly walked away winners, one with a highly desirable Dacta educational set.

My Ill luck was offset late in Saturday evening when I managed to secure a spot in the drunken speed build competition. Where 20 contestants were fed two Jello shots, given an identical set, then fed another Jello shot every 5 minutes, until done. I manage to come in eighth.


The beauty of Lego is inherent hack-ability, like this person who used a train motor and hidden train tracks to have a Viking long boat circling around a Viking village



The Council of Jedi, a nicely realized Star Wars Scene



It's fingertips sore from stacking bricks good.


Erin working the overflow table where I put Bob's Classic Fast Food, and My East Baltimore Rowhomes.
Funny thing was, at one point a Mother was pointing to her child that it looks like where here Mother lived. Turned out her Mother lived on my street one block from me. The woman was at first incredulous then overjoyed and asked to take pictures of her children in front of it.



Next to us on the table was this well executed pool hall.



Mmm, I'm hungry, what's in the Fridge?




Lego Robot Sumo competition.



And, of course, the two frigging story tall crane.



Early Sunday morning, I attended a workshop on building Lego steam Engines, but I was not quite able to concentrate that long on such a technical subject after a night of Jello shots

 
But PennLug members do some nice work



Even on the baggage cars



The Southern Plantation was a bit of a surprise



Especially given the details



Who you gonna call? Funny to think this movie came out a year before this builder was born



A serene Japanese Residence



Contrasting with the German Presence



After the Apocalypse, things were fairly untidy



But the Washington Monument still stood.