Lego creations to inspire young and old

The hugely popular Brick Show is back in Christchurch this weekend, with hundreds of Lego creations to inspire young and not so young Lego fans.

In 2018 more than 18,000 people attended the show. Christchurch Brick Show organiser Bruce Aldridge says this year there will be more than 250 Lego creations on display.

Harry Davis has created a motorised pirate ship from Lego. It will be among the exhibits at the Brick Show this weekend.

“We have 30 more exhibits than last year,” Mr Aldridge says. “That’s a lot of Lego – we estimate around 5 million pieces.”

People attending the show will be able to get hands-on with New Zealand’s only Lego soft bricks, which can be used to build large-scale creations such as castles and other buildings.

Among the exhibits will be an eight-metre replica of Christchurch’s New Brighton Pier, a four-metre high ramp for Lego car races and a station for Lego builders to learn how to use gears.

Mr Aldridge said the television show Lego Masters Australia which recently screened here has made Lego even more popular.

“Everyone knows that kids love Lego. What Lego Masters Australia has helped to do is shine the light on all the adults out there who also devote endless hours to constructing amazing creations from Lego,” he says.

One of those adult Lego builders is Christchurch engineer Harry Davis, who was among those who worked on the replica pier creation at last year’s show.

Mr Davis played with Lego as a child and while his son was young he had the “perfect excuse” to indulge his passion as an adult. His son has grown out of Lego now, but that hasn’t stopped him.

“I’ve been told more than once that a man of my age shouldn’t be playing with Lego,” he says.

For this year’s show he has built a motorised pirate ship made almost entirely of Lego.

“The only thing that’s not Lego is a small piece of rubber window seal,” Mr Davis says.

He loves the engineering challenge of giving large complex creations stability and getting them to work.

“Making the pirate ship swing was bit of a challenge and I’ve had to take it apart and rebuild it several times to make it more stable for transport.”

All profits from the Christchurch Brick Show will go to the Imagination Station.

“The Imagination Station has seen a real surge in popularity since [moving to Tūranga in] October last year, with an increase in visitor numbers of 140 per cent,” Mr Aldridge says.

“Unfortunately during that time donations have dropped by 75 per cent. The Imagination Station is an incredible asset for the city and Canterbury, and we really hope to get enough ticket sales to provide them with a significant donation.

The Christchurch Brick Show is on at Horncastle Arena on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 July. Tickets are $5 per person and can be bought online or at the door.