100 replies to this topic

[Nabii]

AFOLCON and The LEGO Show are back for 2012!

It's just been confirmed that AFOLCON and The LEGO Show are back for 2012!
Specifically, the 3rd - 7th May 2012 in Manchester, UK.

For those of you that haven’t heard about the show before, ‘AFOLCON’ is a special adult
only fan convention for AFOLs from all over the world. After private convention days, the
show is opened up to the public as ‘The LEGO Show’.

In 2011, AFOLCON had around 80 attendees from all over the UK, Europe and even
Zimbabwe! There was a full day of conference sessions giving the inside track about the
LEGO community.

The keynote session saw the launch of the LEGO Master Builder
Academy, followed by sessions from LEGO and TT Games designers as well as a LEGO
certified professional and LEGO Serious Play consultant.

Not only that, but every AFOLCON attendee also received a goodie bag worth over £50
each and were invited to visit the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre too for a special after hours
visit.

The LEGO Show attracted over 5250 members of the public and included both Bricklink
stores and a LEGO Brand store, as well as a LEGO museum and theatre.

For 2012, the team have raised the bar!
- New Location! We’re moving to a huge new location at the Trafford Center with over
6000 sq meters of exhibition space (and it’s right opposite the Discovery Centre!)

- Free Parking. Not only for AFOLS, but also the public. There are over 3000 free spaces.

- More sessions. AFOLCON will be split over two days this year, giving more time for talks,
workshops and of course socialising.

- Open to everyone. The extra space available also means that now anyone can display at
The LEGO Show - you don’t have to register for the full convention to join in the weekend
fun (though, of course, you’ll miss out on all the sessions and other goodies!)


For more details on AFOLCON and how to be involved, check out www.afolcon.com now.

Registration is open to attend the full conference or just display a MOC.

Public ticket sales and information are also open right now at www.thelegoshow.com.

[Bricksan]

Well I will be going as it is only 45 minutes away and I can't wait already have two conventions to go to next year

Edited by RJH, 20 September 2011 - 10:24 PM.

[cavegod]

Should be good fun again, Will you be joining us again Mark?

[Nabii]

cavegod, on 20 September 2011 - 10:17 PM, said:

Should be good fun again, Will you be joining us again Mark?

Yes, that's the idea. It was fun, I had a great time.

I'll announce what I'll be presenting once I'm allowed to talk about next years products!

Cheers.

[J4ke]

Trafford Center? Awesome! Not been there in years.

I should be able to make this, too.

[Trent]

I went to the public show this year, and I will hope to attend that again next year.

I don't really know anyone who would go with me for a longer duration than an afternoon (none of my mates are Lego fans) so I'm not sure I'd be able to do AFOLCON itself.

[SilentMode]

Well I plan on being there and exhibiting again, it was a great experience last time.

[cavegod]

Trent, on 20 September 2011 - 11:30 PM, said:

I went to the public show this year, and I will hope to attend that again next year.

I don't really know anyone who would go with me for a longer duration than an afternoon (none of my mates are Lego fans) so I'm not sure I'd be able to do AFOLCON itself.

  why do you need somebody to go with you we are all friendly and don't bite much lol!

[BrickAvon]

see you guy there

[eiker86]

Im coming back next year =) this time i will bring along something to display from Norway.

Maybe we should get some more out of the evenings than last time. after 6 pm it kinda died out soscially..

[Warren]

eiker86, on 28 September 2011 - 10:39 AM, said:

Im coming back next year =) this time i will bring along something to display from Norway.

Maybe we should get some more out of the evenings than last time. after 6 pm it kinda died out soscially..

We're certainly planning it. Last year we had to leave the venue much earlier in the evening that I had hoped for. Next year we can stay longer and we're working on finding a hotel that we can all stay in at a discount too.

[legostyle]

We (my girlfriend and me) are coming to next year
We heard a lot aoubt it now.
I'll hope to come with 20meter lay-out, it's big enough there !!

[eiker86]

Warren, on 05 October 2011 - 07:12 PM, said:

We're certainly planning it. Last year we had to leave the venue much earlier in the evening that I had hoped for. Next year we can stay longer and we're working on finding a hotel that we can all stay in at a discount too.

Sounds good =) I'll be waiting for more information about the hotel before I order that.

legostyle, on 01 November 2011 - 06:20 PM, said:

I'll hope to come with 20meter lay-out, it's big enough there !!

Wish I could bring something that big. Would be a loooong drive from Norway  

[Alasdair Ryan]

I am thinking about going is there many technic people there and technic moc's?

[Dfenz]

eiker86, on 02 November 2011 - 07:35 PM, said:

Sounds good =) I'll be waiting for more information about the hotel before I order that.


Wish I could bring something that big. Would be a loooong drive from Norway  

Just a heads up that hotel information (including discounted rates) have been added to the AFOLCON site. £65 for a double room for the Copthorne (inclusive of breakfast). The recommended hotels are not the nearest to the venue. These dont have function rooms.

Edited by Dfenz, 22 November 2011 - 12:46 AM.

[ibecks]

This is very good news.  I went to one of the public days last year and loved seeing everyone's creations - especially Westminster Abbey, the collectable minifig vignettes (which will be about triple the size if the creator's there again this year!) and the modular MOCs.  Not sure I'll have anything to display as I'm just coming out of my dark ages and catching up on the official sets before I get to building MOCs, but I'll be there at some point during the show. :)

[Cecilie]

ibecks, on 13 December 2011 - 08:59 AM, said:

[...] the collectable minifig vignettes (which will be about triple the size if the creator's there again this year!)

Thank you . Sadly, I doubt I'll be able to come this year . But even if I did, I think I would have some troubles transporting that many vignettes on the plane .

[zed0]

I'd love to come to this, I have a few worries about transport however:

I will almost certainly not have the use of a car for AFOLCON.  Public transport to the centre itself seems to be easy enough, are there also regular buses to the recommended hotels?

I would like to bring at least one MOC for display, however I would be getting the train most of the way, does anyone have any recommendations for how to transport them?
(This is assuming I can actually get them from Scotland to uni in one piece.)

Also, unrelated to transport; do you guys do anything in the evening?  I've been to a few anime conventions and they tend to have a lot of socialising in the evenings, do you do trips to the pub or anything similar?

[Alasdair Ryan]

I hope to make it i think i will be going via car,i am coming from the Isle Of Lewis.

Edited by Alasdair Ryan, 24 April 2012 - 09:38 PM.

[SilentMode]

zed0, on 30 December 2011 - 04:14 AM, said:

I would like to bring at least one MOC for display, however I would be getting the train most of the way, does anyone have any recommendations for how to transport them?
(This is assuming I can actually get them from Scotland to uni in one piece.)

I brought my MOCs last time by train, with the help of my trusty hand cart - but it wasn't easy! I think the person who brought the St Pancras model had it sent by courier.

[Ralph_S]

I will very likely be coming over to the UK for AFOLCON. I couldn't make it last time, but things look better this year. The guy who built St. Pancras (Warren Elsmore, the organiser of the show) has a van.

I've attended numerous shows in the UK whilst living in the Netherlands traveling by plane. This summer I also took models to the US. The models go into my suitcase as check-in luggage on the aircraft. The way I keep them more-or-less in one piece is by packing them into a cardboard box lined with bubble wrap and with lots of plastic bags packed between them to keep them from moving about. The box gets tucked inside my hard-shelled suitcase and wedged in there such that it doesn't move about either. That's key: you ought to keep the models from moving around and banging into each other. They usually sustain some damage, but nothing I couldn't repair on the spot.

I will probably be socialising in the evenings. I've been a member of Brickish for years, so I know a fair few people in the British AFOL scene, and expect to see quite a few friends at the show.

Cheers,
Ralph

Edited by Ralph_S, 31 December 2011 - 12:15 AM.

[ibecks]

Ralph_S, on 31 December 2011 - 12:13 AM, said:

The guy who built St. Pancras (Warren Elsmore, the organiser of the show) has a van.

I'm so glad you said that!  I can't imagine handing that over to a courier - I'm not sure they'd understand the importance of being gentle with it!

[cavegod]

Have you seen Warrens driving??  

[eiker86]

Any AFOL's wanna share hotelroom expences?
I will proberly be staying from Wedensday the 2th and going back home Tuesday the 8th.

[SilentMode]

eiker86, on 09 January 2012 - 02:31 PM, said:

Any AFOL's wanna share hotelroom expences?
I will proberly be staying from Wedensday the 2th and going back home Tuesday the 8th.

I wouldn't mind; I've yet to book a room, and I don't know which hotels are near the venue. But just as long as you don't snore!

While I'm here: it's a shame Cecilie won't be there this year, she and her crew ill be missed.