When you begin to think of emerging out of the Canberra winter and into a glorious spring, it is not Floriade that you should be thinking of, but Canberra’s very own Brick Expo, according to its organiser, David Boddy.

Brick Expo, which comes to Canberra on the weekend of Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 August, brings together prolific amateur LEGO builders and enthusiasts from around Australia, who take the Expo as an opportunity to showcase their building skills.

According to David, most people start out building LEGO like any regular person. But then, eventually, as you build more and more models, and you understand more and more about how the pieces fit together and what the bricks are capable of, you become more adventurous. It is at this point where people begin making their own things.

In David’s opinion, LEGO is distinctive because it transcends so many mediums of art. He tells me that at Brick Expo the models fall into two categories: the first are engineering-based models, impressive in the technical skill they require, encompassing bridges and buildings; the second category involves what he calls “arty-type things”.

In any case, David’s message to me is that with LEGO, you can build anything you want – the possibilities are endless, the only limit (at the risk of sounding like a character from the LEGO Movie), is your imagination.

However, it is possible to transcend enthusiasm and to become a true master. There are thirteen of these “masters” in the world, called LCPs (LEGO Certified Professionals), who are recognised by LEGO as trusted business partners. One such professional is Ryan McNaught, the only Australian LCP – and indeed the only LCP in the Southern Hemisphere – who will be exhibiting one of his creations at the Brick Expo this year.

The “Elvis” Helicopter, McNaught’s creation for the Canberra Brick Expo, is a four metre long, one metre high, bright orange helicopter. Built with 100,000 LEGO bricks, the colour in itself is striking – in David Boddy’s words, only a LPC would be able to acquire that many tangerine coloured bricks!

Unfortunately, Elvis fell victim to foul play last year when, on the eve of his transportation to Canberra for the Brick Expo, he was smashed to pieces in a Townsville shopping centre by forces of destruction. Nevertheless, he has been reconstructed, and his presence, now highly anticipated in Canberra for over a year, is a significant attraction for the event.

When quizzed about the most exciting thing about this year’s Brick Expo, however, David did not hesitate in his response: the train layout. Although the layout normally extends over 25 metres, this year, with the addition of five builders from the Melbourne LEGO train club and a half a dozen from Canberra, bigger and better things are in the works.

The whole set up, including the trains, will move, and according to David, the slot car exhibit is the one to see, because at LEGO scale these cars are travelling at hundreds of miles an hour, which is serious business when your medium of choice is easily destructible. David recommends that if you’re looking for LEGO carnage, Sunday afternoon is the key time, because the train drivers are tired, and one false move can lead to a collision of dramatic proportions!

Brick Expo is in its fifth year, and prides itself on showing the Canberra community the kinds of models that you can’t see anywhere else. Furthermore, since its second year, the event has donated the money made from ticket sales to Paediatrics at the Canberra Hospital (PaTCH). PaTCH is the identity that unifies the paediatric health services at the Canberra Hospital, and involved in raising funds for the children’s ward. According to David, picking PaTCH as the charity they would sponsor was a ‘no-brainer’, since LEGO, being a kid’s toy, was a perfect fit.

David described to me that after the Expo’s first year, when 6000 people poured through the big, wooden doors of the Southern Cross Club to see the models, they realised that they could raise a significant amount of money. David thinks that so far, the Brick Expo has raised approximately $100,000.

Brick Expo Canberra 2012. Photo by David Boddy.

Not only is the money going to a good cause, but it is also being put to good use. In the past, PaTCH has used the money raised from the Brick Expo to buy medical equipment for the ward. David told me proudly that, for example, this money was used to buy an ECT, a machine which monitors heart rate. The children’s ward did not have its own ECT, and had been borrowing the machine from the emergency department. Now, as a consequence of the money that Brick Expo has donated, they have an ECT machine to call their own.

The Brick Expo is shaping up to be even bigger and better than it has been in previous years, with a giant helicopter made by one of thirteen of the best LEGO builders in the world, and an enormous train set which is set to thrill everyone who goes through the doors. It will be a fantastic weekend, and in support of a cause as important as PaTCH, it really must not be missed. Be advised that last year tickets sold out a week in advance, so enthusiasts are advised to grab their tickets before they’re all gone!

And maybe, in the meantime, grab a box or two of LEGO, and see if you can’t produce something weird and wonderful before the Expo opens – you never know, you could be the next master builder!

the essentials

What: Brick Expo
When: 8:30am to 5:30pm, Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 August
Where: Hellenic Club of Canberra, Matilda Street, Woden
How much: From $6 for kids and concession to $120 for VIP Exclusive Exhibit Access & Dinner (18+)
Tickets: www.trybooking.com
Web: www.brickexpo.com.au