BayLUG News » General News

BayLUG’s 8th Annual Holiday LEGO Show Opens!

Mark Benz — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:09:02 +0000

The 8th Annual “Living LEGO-cy” show opens this coming weekend in Palo Alto. Hosted every year by the Museum of American Heritage, 351 Homer Avenue, Palo Alto, California, the exhibit features a wide variety of amazing and innovative LEGO Creations and LEGO trains running through familiar city, farm, and suburban scenes, all built from LEGO bricks.

It opens on Friday, December 9, 2010 and runs through Sunday, January 15 2012 during regular Museum open hours: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 3:30pm. It will be closed Christmas Eve and Day, and New Years Eve and Day. All ages welcome. General admission is $2 for the Exhibit, Museum Admission is Free (but donations are welcome). Current BayLUG and MoAH members are FREE! No strollers inside the exhibit, please.

The December 2-4 weekend was a busy one for many BayLUG members, setting up the exhibit. Members overcame a number of challenges in both setting up the train layout with under table clearances, and with installing displays. Everything was ready just in time for MoAH’s Member Holiday Party late Sunday afternoon, as you can see in the following pictures. Click any of the pictures to view a gallery of photos from the exhibit setup and party.

Members Vote to Update Bylaws

Mark Benz — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 22:33:21 +0000

At the recent February BayLUG meeting at MoAH in Palo Alto, members present voted unanimously to update the Club’s bylaws as discussed over the past few months. The revised bylaws will be posted soon.

In addition, the meeting featured a “Farm” build contest, and a Kids Activity that built and tested catapults.

The next regular club meeting is March 19th in San Leandro. The March Build Contest theme is “Creative Combinations,” in honor of the Bricks by the Bay convention the following weekend.

BayLUG’s 7th Annual Living LEGO-cy Exhibit at MoAH Closes

Mark Benz — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 06:37:18 +0000

After a month and a very busy final weekend, BayLUG/LTC’s 7th Annual Holiday Exhibit at the Museum of American Heritage in Palo Alto closed on Sunday January 9th. More than 3500 visitors toured the Exhibit this year which again featured many BayLUG members’ imaginative LEGO trains, and other creations for the holidays. Many visitors commented that they thought the exhibit was the Club’s best one yet.

The Exhibit was more refined and offered more variety for visitors of all ages and interests. MoAH provided improved lighting and nice fabric skirting for the display areas. This year’s train layout featured a larger downtown area, a Zoo, farm, ‘burbs and other scenic and humorous aspects, and unexpected surprises for visitors to find. Again surrounding the train layout were a wide variety of LEGO displays including exquisite large crane, VLA, ship and historic models, artistic works, classic sets, and many other interesting creations filled the display cases lining the walls.

Photos by Bill Ward.

Remaining Stolen LEGO Returned!

Mark Benz — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 02:32:48 +0000

We are pleased to announce that our (Mark Benz’s and family) remaining LEGO creations, stolen in February, were returned recently. An individual who wishes to remain anonymous purchased them at a San Jose Flea Market. The individual contacted a Bay Area LEGO User Group member by email, who forwarded their information to us.

The stolen LEGO creations were returned at the Fremont Marriot, site of the Bricks By the Bay LEGO Convention last weekend. These last creations returned are primarily custom LEGO Trains, models of the famous California Zephyr and others, as well as many scenery elements. While dirty, they appear to need only minor repairs, though it will take months to rebuild the destroyed SF Landmark buildings recovered last month.

Should anyone have information regarding the LEGO or the stolen pickup truck where the buildings were found, please contact Fremont Police Detective Bill Veteran at 510-790-6900.

We’d like to sincerely thank the many Fans of LEGO around the country who’ve sent condolences, and even replacement parts to us. LEGO as a hobby is truly a community for all ages and backgrounds, with only imagination required.

STOLEN LEGO Partially Recovered!

Mark Benz — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:40:51 +0000

Fremont Police contacted BayLUG President Mark Benz whose LEGO creations were stolen recently with good news. A pick-up truck, stolen in January from Fremont’s Niles District and recovered in Castro Valley yesterday, contained a big pile of LEGO. When the truck was returned to its rightful owner, the family found the LEGO in the back and called police. The search for the truck and toy thieves continues based on other evidence found in the truck. If you have any information on either crime, please contact FPD Detective Veteran at 510-790-6800.

Mark is delighted that some of his LEGO was found and returned, saying “It’s great they found much of it, but all of the 8-wide trains, trees and baseplates are still missing. Adding, “I hope they find the rest when they catch the crooks,” Benz said.

About the LEGO creations themselves, he said: ”Some are in fair shape while others are completely wrecked.” Only about two-thirds of the stolen LEGO creations were retrieved, and many reduced to a pile of LEGO “rubble”. Ghirardelli Square and two other models were broken into several large pieces. The Conservatory of Flowers and other model SF landmarks are now only a 50 pound box, about the size of a bar refrigerator, of seemly random LEGO. All of the stolen LEGO trains, along with hundreds of LEGO trees, and other items remain missing.

Nevertheless, he’s excited to soon have some of the LEGO back, and plans to rebuild as many of the famous SF Landmarks as he can in time to display them at the Bricks by the Bay LEGO Fan Convention at the Fremont Marriott, in April. A recovery segment was shown recently on Channel 4 TV, with accompanying article.

BayLUG President’s Museum MOCs STOLEN!

Mark Benz — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:29:47 +0000

Essentially all of Bay Area LEGO Club President Mark Benz’s LEGO creations (MOCs) shown over the holidays at the Museum of American Heritage were stolen last Thursday morning (February 4th, 2010). Taken were about 20,000 parts forming 20 square feet of LEGO models of San Francisco waterfront landmarks: Ghirardelli Square, the new Conservatory of Flowers, Palace of Fine Arts, Maritime Museum and municipal pier, and the USS Pampanito. Also, trains taken: California Zephyr, Whale Car, a red SW1000 diesel locomotive and freight cars, at least 4 small classic town sets: Camera car, speedboat, ultralite and 1 other, about 60 baseplates, and all (500) trees of all types used to scenic common areas of BayLTC layouts. Total value estimate is $6500. The minor good news is they didn’t take the Hyde St. Pier.

I’d very much like to thank all the BayLUG members and ALL (not just Adult) Fans of LEGO (AFOLs) who’ve expressed condolences and sent pictures and support concerning this theft.

A $500 Reward is offered. Today, the Fremont Police Department released their report, and request for assistance from the public. Please contact Detective Bill Veteran at (510) 790-6972.

An Argus Newspaper article appeared, and apparently this news has also made the wire services, and may appear on local TV and radio across the country on a slow news day. A story on The Brothers Brick has also been published. Please be on the lookout for sellers offering these models, or collections of parts that may have come from them, on eBay or Craigslist or local garage sales and flea markets.

Pictures of The Stolen Goods:

\(8-wide Zephyr only)

Not shown: SF Conservatory of Flowers

Announcing BayLUG & BayLTC 2010 Events Schedule!

Mark Benz — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:50:57 +0000

JANUARY
BayLUG Meeting, January 24, at Dave Porter’s in Woodside

FEBRUARY
BayLUG Meeting, February 20, at Johannes’ Church in San Leandro

MARCH
BayLTC at Train Collectors Association Cal Stewart Meet, March 12-14. Public Day March 14, at Santa Clara Convention Center. Admission charge.

APRIL
Bricks By the Bay LEGO Convention, Fremont, April 9-11

MAY
BayLUG Meeting, May 15 at Johannes’ Church in San Leandro
BayLUG and BayLTC participation in the Maker Faire, May 22-23, San Mateo

JUNE
BayLUG Meeting, June 20 at MoAH in Palo Alto
BayLUG and BayLTC participation in Johannes’ LEGO Show tentatively June 25 through July 25 at his Church in San Leandro. Set up starting on June 20th after 2 PM, and the rest of that week

JULY
BayLUG and BayLTC at MoAH Vintage Vehicles, July 25, Palo Alto, across El Camino from Stanford Mall.

AUGUST
BayLUG Meeting ,August 22 at MoAH in Palo Alto.

SEPTEMBER
BayLUG Meeting, September 18 at Johannes’ Church in San Leandro.
Canceled: BayLTC participation in GTE Train Show, Date TBA, San Jose.

OCTOBER
BayLUG Anniversary Meeting, October 30 at MoAH in Palo Alto.

NOVEMBER
BayLTC participation in GTE Train Show, Nov 27-28, San Jose (not Pleasanton as in years past!).

DECEMBER
BayLUG and BayLTC present 8^th Annual “Living LEGO-cy” Holiday Show, at MoAH in Palo Alto.
Set up Dec 3-4. MoAH Members Party Dec 5. Show opens to public Friday Dec 10. Open every Fri, Sat & Sun, except Holidays through Jan 9, 2011.
Show closes 1 week earlier than this year to avoid MLK weekend.

New BayLUG Officers Elected

Bill Ward — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:37:17 +0000

At the January BayLUG meeting at Dave Porter’s house, BayLUG members voted to confirm a new set of bylaws and a new group of officers to serve for the next two years. The new officers are:

President – Mark Benz
Vice President – Jim Olson
Treasurer – Paul Sinasohn
Secretary – Johannes van Galen
Quartermaster – Bruce Chamberlain

Living LEGO-cy is a hit again

Bill Ward — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 21:18:00 +0000

Hundreds of people have been swarming every day to the Museum of American Heritage in Palo Alto to view the club’s “Living LEGO-cy” exhibit since it opened on December 11. As of December 20, our total visitors to date is 1572!

We’re getting more and more publicity each week, and the public attendance has been growing accordingly. We were interviewed Friday morning (December 18) for a Spanish language TV station KDTV Univision (Channel 14) which will be broadcast at 6am on Tuesday, December 29. We were featured in the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Mateo Daily Journal as well.

So come out and see the show, open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (except New Years’ Day) through January 17!

BayLUG featured on WIRED.com

Bill Ward — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:43:16 +0000

On Sunday, May 24, a reporter and photographer from WIRED met with us at MoAH to document BayLUG‘s plans for Maker Faire. See the resulting photo gallery and story, “Maker Faire 2009: Tech-Savvy Lego Maniacs Assemble a Plastic World” for more. They have a slide show featuring each of the BayLUG members who were present and at least one of each of our models. Click the thumbnails for more:

See you this weekend at Maker Faire!