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Photos: Lego fans descend on BrickCon 2009

Over the course of four days, thousands of Lego enthusiasts toured Seattle Center's Exhibition Hall to see what's possible with a few bricks and some imagination.

Ina Fried
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley.
Ina Fried
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1 of 21 Joe Meno/BrickJournal.com

Colbert Nation meets Legoland

Over the course of four days, thousands of Lego enthusiasts toured Seattle Center's Exhibition Hall to see what's possible with a few bricks and some imagination. At BrickCon 2009, held October 1-4, attendees could check out elaborate Lego-built towers, watch walking robots compete, or look for rare pieces missing from their collections.

Among the more impressive pieces was this Lego recreation of Stephen Colbert's Colbert Report studio.

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2 of 21 Joe Meno/BrickJournal.com

An a-mazing Lego creation

A Lego twist on the classic wooden labyrinth toy.
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3 of 21 Joe Meno/BrickJournal.com

Jewelry made of bricks

Aiming to appeal to the FFOLs (female fans of Lego), Lori Rodi of Issaquah, Wash., makes earrings out of Lego pieces, which she sells for $5 to $20 a pair.
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4 of 21 Joe Meno/BrickJournal.com

Over here, Lego man

There were plenty of Lego T-shirts for sale at BrickCon, but why have a Lego T-Shirt when you can instead wear Legos on your shirt?
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5 of 21 Joe Meno/BrickJournal.com

Beyond Lego men and women

These Cube Men were among the smaller creations on display at BrickCon, which had a separate section devoted to things created at micro scale.
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6 of 21 Joe Meno/BrickJournal.com

Voltron

This Lego Voltron appears to be defending the Lego universe.

Correction, 8:05 a.m. PDT: The photo caption initially misidentified this Lego figure. It is Voltron.

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7 of 21 Ina Fried/CNET

Thousands pack BrickCon 2009

Although BrickCon was held over four days, the public was limited to just four hours a day on Saturday and Sunday, with the remainder of the time reserved for the true die-hards for the private portion of the expo.
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8 of 21 Joe Meno/BrickJournal.com

The Moulin Rouge

The only thing missing was a tiny Nicole Kidman.
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9 of 21 Joe Meno/BrickJournal.com

Seattle, Circa 1930

Art Vanbergeyk, who has been working with Lego blocks for 46 years, said he planned to only create three or four downtown blocks of 1930s Seattle when he started the project eight months ago, but he was having so much fun, he ended up completing 15 blocks' worth.
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10 of 21 Joe Meno/BrickJournal.com

Lego Art

Among the categories of Lego creations was Art, which included this impressive Lego totem.
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11 of 21 Ina Fried/CNET News

Lego lamp

There were plenty of Lego creations on sale, including these working lamps.
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12 of 21 Ina Fried/CNET News

Hey, is that Woz?

Thomas Mueller, 33, originally set out to build a weapons station, but when he showed a partially built version to friends, they all thought it looked like a Segway, so he created a Lego person to stand on top.
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13 of 21 Joe Meno/BrickJournal.com

More Lego art

While there was artistic merit in most of the things on display at BrickCon, this particular group of creations was specifically entered in the art category.
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14 of 21 Ina Fried/CNET

Looking for treasure

Lego enthusiasts searched bins to find parts that might come in handy for future creations.
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15 of 21 Ina Fried/CNET News

Virtual Legos popular, too

Lego has software that lets users design their own creation online, then order the parts direct from the manufacturer. A new version of the software, due out soon, also lets users design a box for their masterpiece.
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16 of 21 Ina Fried/CNET News

Heads will roll

Several booths were selling Lego people parts, with this particular one charging $5 per person, including one's choice of head, torso, feet, and two accessories.
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17 of 21 Joe Meno/BrickJournal.com

Step right up

This creation included a Ferris wheel as well as a water tower made to resemble a Lego person.
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18 of 21 Joe Meno/BrickJournal.com

Nintendo, anyone?

The original Nintendo console was kind of a brick, so perhaps it's only fitting that it be re-created in Lego form.
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19 of 21 Joe Meno/BrickJournal.com

A spinning carousel

This spinning carousel was one of several carnival-themed creations on display at BrickCon.
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20 of 21 Ina Fried/CNET News

Bulk treasures

Among the popular vendors at BrickCon were those selling Lego parts in bulk.
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21 of 21 Ina Fried/CNET News

Coming through

Last year, Thomas Mueller brought to BrickCon a remote control Segway. But that required him to miss out on too much of the fun. So this year, his Lego Segway was set to follow a continuous loop, allowing Mueller more time to hang with fellow brick-heads.

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