2012 Great Western LEGO Show Review

6-7 October saw the 2012 Great Western LEGO Show at STEAM in Swindon. You can read my review of the 2011 show here. This year was no less awesome than 2011, with plenty to see and do and tonnes of fab LEGO inspiration that left our boys buzzing with enthusiasm that had them heading straight to their rooms to build as soon as we got in.

The layout was the same as last year so we knew what to expect and, as planned, we hit the shops first to avoid the crush of last year. The boys (10, 10 and 5) had pretty specific ideas about what they wanted to buy and I think they found it. I picked up a few stocking fillers (shh!) Interestingly, my 5 year old had gone off LEGO about 6 months previously and hadn't intended to buy anything (saving his pennies for an iPad... dream on kid) but he was infected by the surge of mania in the room, with children and adults alike shoppng with Purpose, whether it was to buy the one Minifigure from a series they needed to complete their collection, or just stock up on rare items. There was also an official LEGO store stand this year, which had a great selection.

Enjoy about the shopping and onto the models. Where as 2011 was all about Harry Potter, 2012 was about the Olympics. Personally I preferred last year's models but no one could fail to be impressed by the spectacular Olympic Stadium which had something like 4,000 Minifigures in the stands, and the city was pretty cool as well. It was a relief to see some tables with velvet ropes around them to prevent children from getting too close, and the tablecloths which were such a hazard last year were mostly shorter or missing altogether which made it much less stressful and more enjoyable for me.We spent around four hours in there and all of us left happy (via the outlet stores opposite - the adults reward)

Here is a video STEAM have up on their site that was filmed on Sunday and gives a good overview of the models, the atmosphere and the *ahem* exceptionally good looking visitors


 

Barring flood or famine I can't see a reason why we wouldn't go again next year. From someone who hasn't touched LEGO to play with for ages, my 5 year old spent an hour building with the bricks at the back of the hall, before getting stuck into rebuilding his own city when he got home. It's a fantastic event and if you like trains, STEAM is a brilliant location with so much to see and experience hands on. If you have any interest in LEGO then put it in your calendar for 2013, when it will be on 5-6 October.