1600 road miles
417 LEGO builders and fans
30 LEGO employees
5 states in 8 days
3 Pick-a-Brick cups full of tiles
1 ten foot tall tower
Tons and tons of priceless memories and stories.
I’ll be blogging about my Brickfest trip for weeks to come and posting lots of pics.
You’ve been warned. 
Allan B.
I received a pleasant surprise in the mail the other day. My publisher had sent me a couple of copies of The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide in Italian. The rights to this edition were arranged last year and I had honestly sort of forgotten this had happened. So, as noted, it was a real treat to open up the package and see this version for the first time. For those who may be interested in the Italian language version of ULBG, I would suggest starting with the press release in Italian. (At least I *think* it’s the press release. If anyone can read it and finds I’m wrong, please let me know.) 
Or, you may wish to check out the book’s sale page on their site.
For those who might be curious to see the front and back covers… here they are:
I’m off to brush up on my Italian now.
All the best,
Allan B.
Before I get to the real point of this message I want to take a minute to acknowledge the AFOL readers of The Unofficial LEGO Builder’s Guide. Since the very beginning the response I got from the AFOL community has been both positive and supportive. It was amazing to me to see how readily the idea for this book was welcomed and how many in the AFOL world have helped spread the word about the book.
So this message is for you folks.
And especially any of you coming to Brickfest in just a few short days.
I will be there, at Brickfest, for the very first time. If you’re going to be there, and have room in your luggage, please feel free to bring along your copy of ULBG. I’d be more than happy to sign your copy and hear your thoughts. If you are coming but can’t bring your copy I’d still love to chat with you. Please stop me and say hello if you see me. I’d be really interested to know what you thought of the book… what worked… and maybe what could have been better.
If you’re looking for me, here’s a link to a page on my site that will give you an idea what I look like:
I’m looking forward to meeting as many of you as I can. See you there!
Best regards,
Allan B.
As I review the web stats for apotome.com I often notice hits coming from different cities in Ontario. From Windsor, Waterloo, London, Guelph, Toronto, Ottawa and many other great places. Don’t worry, I’m not tracking you. I just find it interesting to see so many hits from this region of the country. And since I know you’re already reading my blog, this message is for all of you folks across Ontario.
This is a personal invitation to you, from me, to join in the LEGO display that will be part of The Hobby Show in November, in Toronto Ontario.
For those who may not be familiar with the show, let me go over a few quick details:
- This is a 3-day show featuring many different hobbies showcased for the public. Typical attendance is about 25,000 people over the 3 days
- Our LEGO display is just that…. a display only. It’s not competitive and there’s no pressure to bring anything in particular. Bring one big model. Bring several small ones. It’s up to you. But the fun part is having a place to show off your models and spend a few days talking with fellow LEGO builders from this region
- The show is free (or nearly free) for participants. We’re working hard to keep costs to an absolute minimum. So if you know any ways to help arrange things like display tables please let me know. Show passes are free for those bringing models for display and as noted, there should be few if any other costs (besides your food and coffee!)
- You can attend for one, two or all three days. Of course, it’s the most fun to be there for the whole weekend but that’s just not always practical for everyone. So let us know when you can be there and we’ll work the display around your schedule.
That’s about it. If you have other questions please do let me know and I’ll do my best to address any concerns you have. As noted, this is a personal invitation to all of you Ontario builders who may be thinking about coming out to a public event for the first time. I was hesitant at first myself. Until I organized the first Hobby Show LEGO display (2003) I’d never done a public show. But it went really well and I had a great time. I now have a number of new friends who I otherwise wouldn’t have met. This year marks our 4th appearance as a group and should be our best ever. That reminds me of one more item. The “group” that I speak of is really just an ad hoc gathering of people who do this one show a year and then leave you alone for the rest of the year. LOL That’s right, there’s no dues to pay, no meetings to attend, no email discussion lists to keep up on. This is just three days a year that are opened up to anyone who may not get to bigger (and more expensive) events such as Brickfest. So if you’re looking for a very low-stress weekend of LEGO fun, then this show is for you.
Email me with any questions, concerns, or confirmation that you want to come!
In case the link doesn’t work, please email me at: HobbyShowLEGO (at) apotome (dot) com
Remove the usual spam blocking methods, of course.
I’m looking forward to hearing from you and then meeting you in November!
All the best,
Allan B.
I’ve posted an update to the apotome.com site today. There are two brand new pages. One of them has been a long time coming. The links page is finally available. This is the page often mentioned in the book, when referring to other websites. I apologize to all those who have waited so patiently for this page to be posted.
I also created something called Reviews and Emails and that’s exactly what you’ll find on that page. There are snippets of book reviews that have appeared on the web since the book’s release, as well as links to the complete reviews. There are also portions of reader emails that I’ve received. It is really rewarding for me to read these emails and I thought it might be nice to share them with you.
Enjoy!
Allan
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