Hello all! Here I am, writing about my fun time at BrickCon 09!

THURSDAY
The less said about it, the better. I HAD planned to get to BrickCon in the late afternoon early evening and start from there. But thanks to British Airways and Heathrow Airport, I didn't arrive in the USA until 2am Friday, missing the pub meet and greet. Grrrr, no beer...

FRIDAY
After no sleep in the three hours I was in my hotel, I decided to make my way to the convention.
After getting LOST thanks to the hotel being a different way round to google maps, I finally got there. Ted was the first guy I met and we began to sort out Operation Bricklord.
When Will arrived, I kinda stuck at the back, seeing as well, despite being the Resident British Madman, I didn't want to be in his face. We introduced ourselves, and it went fine. He actually seemed to remember more about me then I remember saying! (Just furthers my beliefs he has spies worldwide...)
Badger arrived, and a complete LACK of swordfights, gun katana battles, Duel of the Fates and O Fortuna playing etc happened. In fact, Badger and Will are two of the nicest people I met! Which makes me a little ashamed being a hardened cynic.

SATURDAY
Bricklord continued to grow. And grow. And GROW. IT NEVER ENDED!!! It's still growin as type, and its 6am in Seattle!
The public bit was fun, as I got to throw my military knowledge at Americans WHO CAN'T READ AN MOC CARD RIGHT BY THE SOUTH ESSEX (SAH!)!!!!
I attended Will's talk on making his own weapons. I learnt a fair amount, and was surprised how much of this made sense to me from my days back at school. (To Southend High School for Boys Design and Tech department, I'm sorry.) I managed to sneak a question into Will about the possibilities of the Sten. This was following a discussion of the new PPSH model, which now has a clip on clip. I have to applaud Will in the way he answered, as the answer seemed to both confirm and deny the possibilites of a Sten being made. Maybe it's just my hearing (Last night, we were discussing next year's WW2 scene, and I heard "Let's make the Arab wars!" instead of "Let's make an era war!")

SUNDAY
Another great but depressing day! Operation Bricklord didn't grow at all, for once, and I managed to talk more with Will and Badger!

So, what freebies did I half inch and purchase?

Brickcon 09 All Clear Pack - Fairly awesome, didn't even notice them.
Operation Bricklord Contributers Pack - So awesome, the Ranger of Awesome holding them radiated enough Awesome to kill an elephant
SandMan Figure - RUN RUNNER! Niche market Will? Force people to watch it already! GREATEST MOVIE EVAR
2x Tommy Figures - I only wanted the Brodies :P
Shock Trooper Figure - I didn't expect to buy this. BUT I DID.
PPSH-41 - Loving it, it ended up being given to a Soviet Minifig and put on my badge!
6x Brodies - Because Will is so awesome and nice, I'm voting him to be the next Prime Minister.
Gold Brodie - Awwww yeah...
Lancer - its alright I suppose, could turn it into an FN FAL
2x Apoc SMG's - I love these, I REALLY do!
HC Sniper Rifle - scares me like mad...
2x PDWs - Yet another awesome weapon! BUY IT

And lots more...

I will list all weapons and post pictures later on.
Will I come back next year? More then likely. Providing Will is back (so I can still demand more British guns) Operation Bricklord '10 is going ahead (it has too man, it has too) and I have money (one of the safest jobs at the moment)

Cheers for reading!

-Sir Norman "I assume badger has recieved the one, black rose I sent him..." Ray.

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"Sir Norman's posts make my sides hurt from laughter. I like it when my sides hurt. ;)" - Will
Great, the real purpose of my special rank is to show I'm the Court Jester! =P

Nice haul Sir Norman! It was great to meet you! I laughed so hard when you kept doing your British Madman sayings.... Oh man, what a great con!
-Jeff

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http://100thbg.org/: My grandpa fought in World War II. Here's the Bomb Group he was in. He was in the airforce, and survived the war. On the website, you can read up on the missions, see pictures, and learn some history. He's still living today, at 93 years old. :)

Ditto! Great meeting you too, exotrator! I got lots of pictures of your tank, it looked fanbulous on the Operation Bricklord Display!
-jeff

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http://100thbg.org/: My grandpa fought in World War II. Here's the Bomb Group he was in. He was in the airforce, and survived the war. On the website, you can read up on the missions, see pictures, and learn some history. He's still living today, at 93 years old. :)

It was great to meet you man but I have to admit I was a little dissapointed your not nearly as crazed as I expected. I guess thats what sleep deprivation and utter awe at all the awesome Lego and BA will do.

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NINJA STARS!!!!!!

Actually, we were discussing where to have OpB 2010, and the Pacific was one option, though it may be vetoed for lack of appropriate Japanese BA.

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Does it ever seem that the intelligent parts of posts are the parts ignored?

The PPSh-41 has a little...well, it's hard to decribe: The body of it, where the magazine clips into, is a bit smoothed out and rounded, very much like the BA Colt Navy pistol where the bullets would go in. It then has a u-clip-ish idea, where it makes the mag have half a u-clip, and then it clips rihgt in. Must've taken awhile to design, but it's awesome!
-Jeff

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http://100thbg.org/: My grandpa fought in World War II. Here's the Bomb Group he was in. He was in the airforce, and survived the war. On the website, you can read up on the missions, see pictures, and learn some history. He's still living today, at 93 years old. :)

Yes, Big Red One, myself, and Sir Norman Ray were all talking about an OpB in 2010 that could possibly be in the Pacific theatre.

-Ewok

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Just thought I'd pop back in and reply to the posts now I'm home in the UK.

Yes, we were discussing the possible ideas for Bricklord next year. But, that is down to Ranger and Ted. Its their thing, and they already know my thoughts on the matter.

Yes, I ain't always a looney, honest.

Something I forgot to add was that Ranger is a brilliant bloke. He organised everything for Bricklord, and deserves more adulation from this forum.

-Sir Norman "Jet lagged still" Ray.

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"Sir Norman's posts make my sides hurt from laughter. I like it when my sides hurt. ;)" - Will
Great, the real purpose of my special rank is to show I'm the Court Jester! =P

Based on his reactions to my references to Marget Thatcher, Danger Mouse, Banana Man, and pub culture, yeah, it's a pretty safe bet Sir Norman is British through and through ;)

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"... and that's when the C.H.U.D.s came at me"
Flickr

Like I said, if I had been able to rely on my Laptop, I would have had Spitting Image playing there and then! :P
Besides Badger, I seem to remember you joining in the Brian Blessed impressions and singing Count Duckula.

-Sir Norman "And I even know Badger's name. It's-" Ray.

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"Sir Norman's posts make my sides hurt from laughter. I like it when my sides hurt. ;)" - Will
Great, the real purpose of my special rank is to show I'm the Court Jester! =P