HOT: Brickvention 2014, Royal Exhibition Building, 9 Nicholson St, Carlton

As a 30-something female I am probably not the main target market for Lego. But I think if you’ve had a Lego-filled childhood then the appeal of these little plastic bricks outlasts your school years. I kept my plastic crate of Lego despite moving interstate, overseas and in and out of many share houses and now my own kids enjoy playing with them.

For some adults Lego becomes a passionate hobby. Brickvention is Australia’s premier Lego fan convention and on the weekend the exhibition opened for two sold out days at the enormous Royal Exhibition Building. Check out the line at 9am on Saturday!

While the hall was filled to the brim with families in search of cool and affordable school holiday activities (Adults $12, Children $6, under 3 are free), there were lots of adult fangirls and fanboys in amongst the crowd. Advantage – you could see over the top of the heads of the little kids crowding around each display.

With such a loud, large crowd it was a little difficult to really get in close to look at all the tiny details in such of the more grand works and of course you wanted to go around to every display. At least there was more space to move around unlike previous Brickvention exhibitions held in the jam-packed Melbourne Town Hall. Plus there were food/drink stations and rest areas in the building so if you felt a bit overwhelmed you could take a rest.

The centrepiece was the combined effort of this amazing train track with many different circuits, trains, buildings and intricate details. My favourite part of it was a typically Melbourne scene – the gaping mouth of Luna Park with a W class tram trundling past. Lady AB could have watched the trains go round and round for ages but I tugged her along to check out some of the other displays.

My other favourite creations included a huge version of the Sydney Opera House, complete with drinks at the Opera Bar….

….the engineering feat of creating a 1:160 scale model of the Golden Gate Bridge, suspended precariously over a huge gap…

…a Quidditch game in action, completely with nearly 600 minifigs.

Predictably, Lady AB’s favourite display was ‘Pink Town’. I didn’t know Lego came in that many shades of pink!

Not to mention lots of pirate ships, castles, fantasy buildings, vehicles and lots of space craft / space scenes (Lego fanatics seem to go hand-in-hand with being Star Wars fans). Also if you’re feeling inspired there are Lego sets and merchandise for sale.

Brickvention will be back in 2015 and tickets will open on 1 October 2014. Mark the date in your diary as it will sell out and tickets are only available via the Brickvention website.

Brickvention 2014, Royal Exhibition Building, 9 Nicholson St, Carlton