Well, I made it out to Brickworld on Friday and Saturday, work having prevented me from being able to go Thursday and Sunday. I'll say, I had a pretty good time. I went solo, which had it's pros and cons. Pros being that I'm more in my element on my own,and I can do pretty much as I please while I'm there. Cons being that there were lots of MOC and other creations that I know many of my friends would have enjoyed. About 5 of my friends voiced interest in attending, but sadly, did not. In there defense, there was an Offspring/Dropkick Murphy show Saturday, and also A Paul Van Dyk/Benny Benassi show, both on Saturday, so I was pretty torn there too.

So, BA related stuff. First off, It was nice to get to meet Will and Badger. Seeing the faces behind the product is always a treat, plus it was great to see there enthusiasm for what they do. As far as product, and I have no pictures loaded anywhere yet, I did have a decent take. First off, I managed to come away with two prototypes, a Brassy Retro Raygun, and a Dark Red AC8. I'm really liking the AC8, as it feels like a decent "missing link" between modern and futuristic. As for my comments on the other prototypes; I was really impressed at the work. The Blaster Rifle and the Heavy Blaster Pistol looked great, and will add a lot to anyone's Star Wars collection. It could be used in other MOCs to be sure, but like the SAR, it seems like a very recognizable weapon, and my opinion is that may take attention away from your personal creativity in a MOC. I really like the Tactical Sword as well. I run into a lack of decent melee weapons for my Sci-fi minifigs, and these look like they'd fit that pretty well. The M203 is, I think, just genius. I'm a huge fan of weapon customizations in general, and having something like that available is, in my opinion, a great idea. And last but not least, the AC8. Now, I've followed the buzzgun concept since people started talking about it, and like many people, I was a little wary about the new look. But after seeing both weapons up close and in profile, I have to say that the new version makes a much stronger showing. The original simply felt too bulky. That being said, I don't have any problem with a bulk sci-fi rifle, but if that's the case, it can't be too streamline. If you're going for a bulky gun, make it work, like the M41A, the Bolter, or the Gauss Rifle from Starcraft (not suggesting these last two be made, I'm aware of the licensing complications, they're just good examples). The Buzzgun v1.0 just seemed too big; I think the v2.0 is a good compromise.

From the BA table I spent...well I don't really know. I got home and made a few gun racks and the rest are in a plastic organizer. If you want to, you're welcome to do the math; that's just too much for me to worry about. For starters I got a Sci-Fi chrome pack. And it looks great. I bought two baseball bats. I have no real use for them beyond saying I got them. And they look very cool, with multiple colors. And two...phaser looking guns. I can't remember what they were called, but they looked pretty cool, so I got two. I also got 8 Combat LMGs, 4 M41As, 4 M4s, 4 SMPs, 8 M84s, 4 Combat Knives, 4 Trans-Neon Green M6s (everything else is Black, fyi), and a pile of monopods, bipods, and u-clips (Ha ha, where's your math now? :-P ). I also got, from an adjacent vendor, 20 discontinued G36, which are my weapon of choice until the AC8 gets mass-produced, by proxy.

From Brickworld in general I picked up a few minifig accessories I'd been looking for, as well as two more of the Dark Bley Indiana Jones Motorcycles. Oh, and a bag of antennas. At the Lego Store Event, I only spent about $30, since I didn't have a budget (dangerous with a wife. ;-) ). But I got a 6745 (Propeller Power), a 7620 (Indiana Jones Motorcycle Chase), a 7236 (Police Car), a 7736 (Coast Guard Quad Bike), and a 4962 (Duplo Legoville Zoo) for my daughter. I also got a few engraved bricks for family members. I also got two quarts (?) of Pick-a-brick from the Lego Store. Being from Northwest Indiana, with no Lego Stores around, I had never gotten pick-a-brick. I wont list off everything I got, but my gun racks are made exclusively from pick-a-brick acquisitions, and, as an example, I got nearly 1000 Trans-Neon Orange 1x1x1/3 studs, about 500 Trans-Neon Blue 1x1x1/3 studs, and about 350 Trans-Neon Green 1x1x1 cones. And those were added as after thoughts to fill up the nooks and crannies. Pick-a-brick is amazing.

Hopefully I can get the wife to ok a Bricklink order or two in the near future, and I can get a few minifigs up here to show off. Also, I'll edit in some pictures if/when I get the time. But my wife and I are adopting a 5 child sibling group, so we're pretty busy with the process that that involves.

[Edit] I also forgot to mention my somewhat lengthy conversation with Jørgen Vig Knudstorp (Lego Group CEO) while browsing the pick-a-brick at the Lego Store. He's a pretty nice guy. Very enthusiastic about Legos, too, which is refreshing. Probably the highlight of the event for me, through sheer shock factor for myself.

Ah, thank you. To be perfectly honest, neither that nor the baseball bat really fit my build style, but I thought it'd be fun to have them in my collection. I was really torn about getting the Chrome set. Parting with the $15 was a little hard, but now that I have it, I'm glad I decided to. It's definitely something impressive to have, even (and especially) to people who aren't really lego enthusiasts.

that's quite a haul you got there! my parents wouldn't let me go so I just hope Will is going to be at bricks by the bay in 2010

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Double kill! Triple kill! Killtacular!

This is just a test image, as it's my first time posting one on the forums. More to come if it works. :-P

And this is pretty much all the BA I got. I did include the G36, A. Because they are awesome, and B. Because they make up a significant part of what I got.

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx321/Lord_Syruss/SDC10086.jpg