Earlier this month I was surrounded by smiles.

Adults and children alike beamed, stared, gazed in wonder, uttering various “Ooh”s, “Ah”s and “Cool”s!

I was at the inaugural Hawke’s Bay Brick Show at Taradale High School.

Organised by the Hawke’s Bay branch of WELL-LUG (Wellington Lego User Group) It was a weekend of brilliant bricks, cool creations and pure joy:

Fine sets of figures:

Kitset creations from Lego’s massive range of licenced products – Star Wars being a clear favourite:

And even some awesome freelanced displays, like this Lego Marae:

One particular display caught my eye:

It was an automotive workshop and it took me back to when I was about ten and my dad took me to a scale model truck show at St Patrick’s School in the 80’s.

Along with exquisitely made logging trucks, dump trucks and other big rigs, I will always remember one diorama of a garage which, while it didn’t have any vehicles in it, did have engines, parts, jacks, lifts and tools all laying about the workshop as if the scale-sized mechanics had just left for morning tea and were about to return at any moment.

It was one of the things that set me on a life-long love of models and how deeper levels of detail can make all the difference.

Walking around the Brick Show I saw that same look on faces young and old that I had seeing that model workshop all those years ago – Intrigue, wonder and inspiration.

I think it even wore off on our daughter who talked about Lego for several weeks afterwards.

The next step is for us to make a scale model plane together – She’s very keen and I’m delighted of share one of my hobby loves with one of my biggest human loves.

“Everything IS Awesome!”