Hello readers. Today we have two quick little items on some current contests going on in the LEGO® train community.
Brick Train Awards
If you haven’t been following, the Brick Train Awards is back for 2021.
The Brick Train Awards is a global virtual competition to showcase LEGO train builders around the world. The Awards where founded in 2020 and with a surprising 732 entries last year, the organization decided to run it again this year. Like previous year, the Brick Train Awards is a collaboration between LNUR, Bricks McGee and BMR. The awards are free to enter and judged by members of the LEGO® train fan community worldwide. The entries are op from 1st – 28th February 2021. The winners of this year’s awards will be announced on March the 5th.
You have one week to still get your entries in. For more info on the Brick Train Awards, follow the link below.
Funny Freight Contest! Sponsored by Texas Brick Railroad
The Texas Brick Railroad is sponsoring a “Funny Freight” contest. You have nearly six months to design and build your entries – judging will take place at Brick Rodeo (Houston, TX) on Friday, July 23, and all 12 winners will be announced Saturday night.
What It’s About
Create a LEGO railcar (or string of cars) that is . . . funny. It’s funny if it makes us laugh. Or at least grin. That’s the only definition. Parody, satire, weird historical rolling stock, plain old absurdity . . . whatever floats your boat. Just keep it rated G or PG, since Brick Rodeo is a family event.
Prizes!!
FIRST PRIZE – an 8-wide TBRR tank car kit designed by Edward Chang, with custom award printing. (And maybe more – we’re open to prize sponsorship, and some has been tentatively promised.)
SECOND PRIZE – A new-in-box Brickstuff animated Metroliner billboard for your town. (And maybe more.)
THIRD PRIZE – A LEGO “Charles Dickens Tribute,” 40410, new in box. (And maybe more.)
BUILD BONUS – $100 in booth credit at the Brick Rodeo “Too Many Bricks” booth – for the best physical entry that is actually brought to the show. That is: If the first place winner is an actual build at the show, it will get the build bonus. If the first place winner is not at the show but the second place winner is, the second place will get the bonus . . . and so on.
AWARD BRICKS – We’ll create a dozen “2021 Funny Freight” 1 x 8 bricks, and give one each to the top dozen people who enter.
Details
Who can enter? – Any living human being. But no more than two entries per person, please. Judges will be asked not to vote for their own entries.
Required info – We need the name of each entry, your own name (or a screen name), and a means of contact if you win. We will not share your info with anyone, or retain any info after the contest except the names of the winners. We do ask that if you run your entry on our track, you put an identifying sticker on the bottom so we can get it back to you.
Scale – From 6-wide to 10-wide, as long as it runs on standard LEGO track.
Judges – The contest will be judged by the TBRR members displaying at Brick Rodeo.
Format: Your entry may be an actual build brought to the show (preferred!), or a photo/video of a real build, or a virtual build. Virtual images or photos should be sent to texasbrickrr@gmail.com, and should arrive by noon on Friday, July 23rd.
Rights – You retain all rights to your entry, but we get to display images of it, and to build one for our layout if we love it.
Awesomeness – When choosing between equally funny entries, the judges will favor real builds over any other format, and will take into account technical excellence, light, sound, and movement effects.
Novelty – Entries must never have been displayed at a Brick Rodeo before. But this is the first Brick Rodeo, so bring out your best!
Questions?
Send questions about the contest to texasbrickrr@gmail.com.
FAQ
Q – Can one entry be multiple cars?
A – If the joke requires multiple cars, sure, that’s one entry.
Q – Tell me more about Brick Rodeo.
A – Ten years of awesomeness, now with a new name. www.brickrodeo.com.
Q – Should I explain the joke?
A – That’s up to you. Many good jokes don’t need explaining. If your entry embodies a witticism about court intrigue in the days of Louis XIV, you’d better explain it. But often the title of the entry will be enough additional explanation.
Q – Do I need to include instructions?
A – No.
Q – Can I do a funny locomotive?
A – What do you think pulls all the funny freight?
Q – Do you have a disclaimer?
A – LEGO is a registered trademark of The Lego Group. This contest is not sponsored or endorsed by TLG.