greg3 Posted January 2, 2021 (edited) Happy New Year to you all! What better way to start 2021 than with a new topic to chart the ongoing lives of the citizens of Ballabreek, my LEGO town (now in its 10th year) This scene is from yesterday when a number of the more adventurous minifigs took part in a "New Year's Day Dip" by jumping into the (freezing cold) sea!! This is based on a number of real life dips that take place locally (not that I took part in any... maybe one year!!) The brave dippers... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr As well as a large number of spectators, there's a life guard and medic on hand (just in case!) Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Fresh from their trip to a Galaxy far, far away (see last year's Ballabreek topic), the local news crew are back and on hand to record the event... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr In they go... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Some dippers think it's only fair that the spectators get wet too... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr So what's 2021 got in store for Ballabreek? Well next month the town will be going on public display at a local "Brick Show" (hopefully!) so at the moment I'm experimenting with how best to disassemble/transport it (which is why this update is so brief and I can't show the rest of the town at the min). Apart from that, who knows what the year will bring us, but these 2 will be there to cover it... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Thank for looking - comments are always welcome!! Edited January 2, 2021 by greg3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stuartn Posted January 3, 2021 6 hours ago, greg3 said: So what's 2021 got in store for Ballabreek? Well next month the town will be going on public display at a local "Brick Show" Looking forward to seeing what happens with your layout, always enjoy seeing these updates and the stories/changes you make in your layout. Good luck at your local brick show Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wesley D Posted January 3, 2021 I love your reporters for covering all updated news from Ballabreek! Happy new year! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MAB Posted January 3, 2021 One of the swimmers is missing after jumping in. Is he underwater or has he run away due to the cold? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg3 Posted February 13, 2021 (edited) Well that's been an interesting few weeks!! After 7 months of normality, we were put into a strict 3 week lockdown due to a Covid outbreak at new year. So a combination of having to work from home at very short notice, no local LEGO shopping, very slow delivery from Shop at Home and the fact I'd disassembled the town ready for its first public display (due for next weekend but now sadly postponed to October!) has meant no updates for a while. Fortunately the lockdown has worked and life is back to normal (in real life at least) although Ballabreek is still being put back together but that hasn't stopped its Chinese community celebrating Chinese New Year with a small parade through the town... (luckily my Story of Nian set arrived just in time!) Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr The centrepiece of the parade is a giant animatronic Nian (a legendary beast that is said to have once terrorised Chinese villages) Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr According to the legend it was scared away by loud noises, light and red banners so the parade includes people setting off firecrackers and banging pans and cymbals to create noise... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr They also hand out red envelopes containing money... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr The parade ends with a fireworks display... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Of course the whole event is being covered by the local news crew... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Anyway, thanks for looking. As always comments are very welcome.... (Hopefully I'll get the rest of the town put back together soon... perhaps with a few changes!!) On 1/3/2021 at 12:45 PM, MAB said: One of the swimmers is missing after jumping in. Is he underwater or has he run away due to the cold? Well spotted... let's say he was underwater (he had actually fallen down the side of the desk!!) Edited February 13, 2021 by greg3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg3 Posted February 18, 2021 (edited) Today sees the opening of Ballabreek's new skate park.. Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Sponsored by the healthy sports drink company "Vita Rush", the park will provide a space for townspeople to show off their tricks and skills using skateboards, bikes, scooters, skates and wheelchairs. Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr As always, the news team are there to cover the event. Here they're interviewing a spokesperson from the drinks company about why such a facility is so important to the local community. As well as giving predominantly young people somewhere to go, the ramps etc are removable so the area can be set up for as a roller/ice rink or used for music performances and other community events. Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr So as you can tell I got the new skate park set and thought it'd fit in perfectly where the church used to be (I've been meaning to get rid of the church for ages as it didn't really fit in with all the other buildings which are modded official sets or have a local theme. It was also too small/cramped to be playable). I also wanted to see the new road parts in person... sadly I was not impressed! They might be ok for starting a new town but to replace all my road baseplates would cost a fortune and there's no curves! One thing I have decided to do is to replace all the old light grey pavements with light blueish grey parts. The old parts are starting to look pretty mucky and I also want to simplify the connections between baseplates to make disassembling the town easier. So far I've just done the immediate area of the skate park but will eventually get the whole town done. Here you can see where the old 9the steps) and new meet... and where the war memorial stood (don't worry - it's just being moved!). I'm hoping to create a ramp to allow wheelchair using minifigs to access the promenade walkway. Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Thanks for looking... comments are welcome! Edited February 18, 2021 by greg3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evans Posted February 22, 2021 It's sad to see this small church being replaced by... a flat concrete space. It was a true landmark to the town and was giving this particular atmosphere that was making me inconsciously travel to Man Island. It's now becoming a more impersonal town with less character and history. I've been actively followed your town evolution since 2010 and the more the old buildings disappear, more it's loosing its originality. The loss of the modern 6000 idea book feeling with MODed buildings that were going well together is quite a departure from the original idea. A city must evolve, but can't forget what made it what it is today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg3 Posted February 28, 2021 (edited) On 2/22/2021 at 9:21 PM, Evans said: It's sad to see this small church being replaced by... a flat concrete space. It was a true landmark to the town and was giving this particular atmosphere that was making me inconsciously travel to Man Island. It's now becoming a more impersonal town with less character and history. Interestingly, comments like this about changes in the real Isle of Man are always popping up in the local media and online forums (and to be honest I often agree with them as I love my history!)... anyway it just goes to show that Ballabreek does mirror real life! Hopefully this week's update will be a bit less "controversial" Today it's the town park that's had a bit of a revamp... new paths/pavements and a good clean! (as part the original layout, some pieces have been there for over 10 years!) Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr The layout of the park has stayed the same but I have relocated the War Memorial here (This was actually it's original spot before it was moved to near the church). Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr This has meant moving the "Ballabreek Bricks" sculpture/fountain. The iconic golden bricks symbolise the towns past - referencing the town's gold mine and its name which means "place of the brick" in Manx. (it was the first local settlement to have buildings made of brick rather than stone). Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr The fountain takes the place of the sensory garden (which was only ever going to be temporary) and is surrounded by wildflowers part of the town's latest project... BallaBee. To find out more, the news crew are interviewing the president of the town's Beekeeper Association... Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr He explains that the aim of the project is to boost the numbers of bees and other pollenating insects in the area by planting a large variety of wild "bee friendly" plants in public spaces. The project will also involve the placing of rooftop beehives on a number of buildings. The first "trail hives" are top of the local grocery shop (which hopes to sell the honey produced by the hives.) but it's hoped that more businesses and homeowners can "bee" persuaded to join the project. Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr Untitled by g.nat, on Flickr The idea of the "BallaBee Project" was inspired by parts of my local town that have been left to become bee friendly areas. I also wanted to find a use for some of the latest CMF figures (the Ladybird Girl will make an appearance at some point too as the project extends to replacing chemical pesticides with natural predators). Anyway, thanks as always for looking and feel free to comment on what you think of the changes!! Edited February 28, 2021 by greg3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vindicare Posted March 1, 2021 Some great updates here, I’m happy to see them back! Towns always evolve over time, it goes with the territory & sacrifices have to be made. I am glad to see your little square has survived, it has great character. Nice idea making the dragon an animatronic to use in a parade. And of course, love the news crew! They’re always on point. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
