Lego masterpieces wow sold out crowds

LEGO fans from far and wide descended on the Bendigo Exhibition Centre last weekend for the highly anticipated Bendigo Bricks event.

The sold-out exhibition run by the Bendigo Lego User Group delighted fans with iconic structures like the Princess Theatre and Taj Mahal, while keen eyes hovered over the Batmobile and Millennium Falcon.

Bubbling with excitement was South Australian builder Emma Robinson, who travelled from Mount Gambier with her husband to share her giant Toy Story mosaic.

“It’s been amazing that we’ve been able to actually cross the border. We booked [tickets] quite a while ago, but we were hoping that things wouldn’t change so we were really pleased that we were still able to come over and be able to share our hobby with other people,” Mrs Robinson said.

The high school maths and science teacher, who hosts her own Lego event back home, spent 50 hours building the giant artwork with the help of a computer design program.

Builders said their efforts were worth it though as the event gave them the long-awaited opportunity to reconnect with like-minded friends.

“I’m thrilled to be here. It’s been a very long, cooped up year,” said Ballarat builder Darren Reid.

“Coming to this is actually great because there are people here that I haven’t seen in nearly two years because of the fact that most of the big shows where we would normally see one another didn’t happen.”

Appreciating his build of the RMS Carpathia was the Burke family, who travelled to the event from Geelong.

“This is much bigger and more comprehensive than we would ever have in Geelong,” said mum, Lisa. “It’s much more creativity than I expected. It blows your mind.”

Dad, Gep, and kids, Ditch and Malerie, were motivated by the event to work on their skills and hopefully return as builders at the next exhibition.

“We’re feeling inspired to build our own creations. We bought pieces to see what we can pull together and maybe come and exhibit ourselves,” Mrs Burke said.

Paving the way for young builders was nine-year-old Vihaan Nanka who showed off his original build of the Nintendo Switch console, complete with sliding controllers.

“To think of it took 10 minutes and then to build it took 20 minutes,” he said.

While inspired visitors might not be able to match that speed yet, they can still build their confidence and skill with the Bendigo Lego User Group who meet on the last Sunday of each month.

For more information, visit bendigolug.com.au.