New Hashima takeover week concludes with an article by BrickNerd’s own Ted Andes who has compiled personal stories from participants in and around the epic 2023 Brickworld cybercity display.

The NEW HASHIMA DAEMONS at Brickworld Chicago 2023

BrickNerd has made a recent habit of reposting my article about the legend of the White Brick on the final day of Brickworld Chicago. It is on that Sunday (Father’s Day in the US) when any new White Brick recipients will have discovered them at their displays in the early morning hours and are then eager to learn more about their significance. This year was no exception, and how they were given out once again points to their true purpose; recognizing those who have made that year’s Brickworld experience special. More importantly, they are a reminder that the convention experience is more than about competing for awards.

This was all too clear as four White Bricks were found at the New Hashima layout (one for each section coordinator), despite the fact that the collaboration had already won official Brickworld awards for Best Large Layout, Best In Show, and World of Lights. However, rather than personalized MOCs being found inside these White Bricks, there was a handwritten note inside. The message inside said the following:

“Maybe the real New Hashima were the friends we built along the way? Thank you for everything.”

It is with that sentiment we begin this final article in our series about the New Hashima collaboration. We have gathered a few of our favorite stories about our personal connections to the collaboration and all of those “friends we built along the way”.

Ted Andes - Serendipity

In addition to making new friends amongst my fellow New Hashima collaborators, two additional friends that I “built along the way” were Krystle Starr and Amie Dansby (website) from Season One of LEGO Masters US, aka “The Unicorns” team… and it all happened out of serendipity (definition: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way).

The night before leaving for Brickworld, I was sorting through all my minifigures trying to find any with a cool cyberpunk vibe that I could place around my tower. One of them I grabbed was the N-POP figure from the Collectible Minifig Series for The LEGO Movie, with her pink and blue died hair and a Unikitty on the front of her shirt. Just as I was about to close up the bag of figs, the Night Protector from the Collectible Minifig Series also caught my eye. She was the last figure I added to the bag before I stashed it in one of my boxes and started my drive up.

It was sometime on Friday morning when we finally started placing minifigs around my topper-tower cube stack, placed front-and-center in the original Sector 08. I first placed the N-POP figure in front of the geisha poster outside and then focused on placing other figures around other areas of my cube-stack. I then came back upon the Night Protector figure, and on a whim, I placed her to the right of the N-POP figure… as I stepped back to take in the scene, I realized, “Holy Crap! That looks just like Krystle and Amie standing together!”

Another added moment of serendipity was that I placed the middle cube of my tower stack rotated 90 degrees from how I had intended (and by the time I noticed it was too late to fix it). That mistake is what lead to the Unikitty sign I built being directly below where I had placed the figs representing Krystle and Amie. Yet another nod to “The Unicorns”.

As I had yet to meet either of them in person, I just shot them a message via Instagram that I had placed their avatars into New Hashima, and where they could find them in the layout. I wasn’t even sure they would see my message, but an hour or so later I received replies of “OMG!” from both of them. They were ecstatic that I had done that, and it meant even more to them than I realized.

That first season of LEGO Masters US is a bit of hazy memory for me at this stage, and I completely blanked-out on the fact that it was the Cyberpunk City challenge that they were the most excited for on that show… and also the challenge that they were dubiously eliminated from at the end, despite getting positive feedback from the judges. My inclusion of them in New Hashima was a subconscious “tip of the hat” in respect of them, leading the way on that challenge and for their overall pioneering spirit throughout the show.

It took a while for us to finally connect in person at Brickworld, as all day Saturday I had been on the other side of the display hall running my “Table Top Derby” horse race (which will be an article for another day). Once we did, it was just like meeting old friends, as it always seems to be in our LEGO building community. I really enjoyed getting to know each of them over our remaining time at Brickworld, and I’m glad to have made their first Brickworld experience all the more memorable and meaningful for them.

Jeff Cross (Octopunk) - Life Fills The Spaces In-Between

I was one of the contributing builders that could not make the trip out to Brickworld, but thanks to Brendan and Zach, a number of my vehicles and minifigs got to show up to play. I've looked at tons of pictures and talked to Brendan and Zach a little about their experience of being there, and I know I've only scratched the surface of even the second-hand experience… But then something occurred to me that smacks of "reason" or "mission," and I thought I'd share it as a written fist bump to everyone who contributed to New Hashima, especially the lot of you who were hands-on at Brickworld. 👊

I'm posting this picture Brendan took for me because 1) my TV repair vehicle is in it and 2) it embodies for me the beating urban sci-fi heart nestled in the deep, seething metal canyons of the implied story of New Hashima; I love the size. I love the lights. I love the moving parts. I love the repeated accounts from everyone of getting the feels in the presence of the thing… and yet, I'm hypnotized by the spaces in between the buildings, thinking about what it would feel like to be, you know, IN there, and I suddenly thought of it like this:

Those cats who were at Brickworld, they didn't do it for the prizes.
They didn't do it for the public.
They didn't do it for the other AFOLs
They didn't even really do it for the team. I mean, of course they did, but really...
They did it for the minifigs.

Simon Loef (Simon-MOCs) - “YONHO!”

Hi. I am Simon (Simon-MOCs), a 20-year-old from Germany, and I want to take this opportunity to tell the story of how I got involved in the awesome New Hashima collab. It all started in August 2022, after I learned about New Hashima for the first time through the Beyond the Brick interview at BrickFair VA. I was amazed to see such a big collab project come together, with that much love for all the little details.

I left a comment on one of Stefan's Instagram posts about that display, and a few days later he asked me if I'd like to take part in making the city four times bigger at Brickworld Chicago 2023 (which was in less than a year). I couldn't believe that offer and knew it was going to be a once in a lifetime project that I had to participate in.

When Stefan reached out, I had just finished school and I was going to start my architecture studies soon. At that time, I really wasn’t sure I could actually travel to Chicago. I asked if it would still be possible to participate without attending the convention if I could only provide some of my digital designs. The answer was “Absolutely! We’d love to have you!”

After joining the Discord server where all the discussions were taking place and seeing all the awesome inspiration photos and ideas for the new layout, I wanted to get involved more and more. I started to help Simon Liu with some specific designs for Sector 06 'Docks', which I fell in love with because it hits my Sci-Fi industrial building style perfectly. I really enjoyed sending Simon all my annoying overly complex designs I made in Stud.io, which he then tried his best to recreate with his collection of actual physical bricks.

Just two months later, the YONHO spirit really caught me (“You Only New Hashima Once”). I started to really consider the idea of sending physical builds to display (a small truck and one cube), which led me to the decision to actually attend the convention whatever it might cost (money, time, and getting behind in my studies). This would be the first LEGO convention I had ever attended and the first time ever meeting others in the LEGO building community in real life.

With that decided, I soon wanted to go even bigger with my contributions. It began with the idea of a double-cube to have enough space for all my ideas, but my ideas grew beyond even what that space could contain. One evening I played around with some rarely used Technic fender parts as we all set an extra challenge for ourselves by integrating some weird, old, or very rare parts. That night I came up with the first prototype of the Si-Block (a modular apartment of pre-fab pods). I knew it would be crazy to follow the idea to create a tower out of them, but the outstanding “YONHO!” spirit in the group for everyone to give 110% on the collab combined with all the positive feedback I had received for my digital sketches convinced me to go all in.

In the five months between January and June, I invested all of my time and effort (outside of my studies) to New Hashima to realize my vision of 'Si-Town' as it grew to be known. I would never have been able to pull that off without the outstanding support of the group, who helped me out countless times with honest feedback which kept me motivated and willing to improve the build. People even provided me with the needed parts to build everything in the way I planned so that I wouldn’t have to sacrifice the details by substituting for more affordable parts (and as you will soon read, found ways to reinforce the cubes placed underneath my tower to support its weight).

In the end, I couldn't have been happier with how everything worked out. I started by just providing my old digital designs, and I ended up fitting a 2,25m/7ft tall tower into two suitcases to take on a flight “over the pond.” When the tower was finally placed in the Docks, it became the city's tallest point, reaching over 13ft tall.

To close, I truly want to thank everybody who was involved in that project! I have never in my life experienced anything like New Hashima, where everybody is so passionate and committed to a LEGO project like this, willing to give 110% for the same goal. It convinced me that with that spirit you can achieve anything in life, even the things that seem impossible at first. That is the only way you can pull off a project like this and result in such perfection.

Alec Doede - Friendships Forged While Figuring It All Out

Simon asking, “We can go this much taller, right?”

Two and a half months before the convention in Chicago, Simon Liu asked me to join a Discord call to discuss the possibility of changing the layout of my contribution for the Docks sector. Simon was growing concerned about the height and the weight of the toppers going on top of the Docks, and the amount of weight that the cubes underneath them could bear. This frantic call was filled with anxiety, especially at the possibility of needing to rebuild all our cube structures within such a limited time before the convention.

Along with Simon on the call, there were two of the West Coast builders (Zach and Brendan) and then Adam and Caleb who also had significant contributions for the Docks. We had all been working together pretty closely as part of the docks crew at this point. Quickly, we began to brainstorm and devise a solution that would support Simon 2’s gorgeous tower (which was growing taller with every WIP photo he shared), while also keeping the Docks at a reasonable height. In the end, we developed a solution together as a team, and everything worked out seamlessly! Ultimately, minimal changes were needed, and we were confident that the “Si-Town Tower” had a much stronger support.

Initially this episode was very stressful, but I trusted Simon’s vision and everyone else’s input. Reflecting back, this problem-solving with everyone together was a great part of this experience and just one of the many memorable moments. There were so many amazing builders involved in this collaboration, which further bolstered this project's collaborative spirit. It was a joy and honor to work with all these legends in the building community, reconnecting with old friends and building alongside close ones while also meeting so many new and wonderful people!

REenactment of “the Call”?… OR Yet another moment of having to “figure it all out”?

Chris Roberts (Xtopher98) - A Welcome Face In The Crowd

During the public hours at Brickworld Chicago this year, I got to do one of my favorite convention activities; talking with the public. As awe inspiring as New Hashima was, rendering many people speechless, there were always questions to answer. Young and old alike wanted to know more about the city we built, how many pieces, how long, and everything else. To understand why this interaction is so special to me, we need to jump back ten years to BrickCon 2013 in Seattle.

I was a shy 15-year-old back then and had only recently discovered the online LEGO community. I had recognized a layout from Simon Liu and was excited to have seen it! I remember Simon coming up to me and spending some time talking with just me one-on-one. It was one of the coolest moments—this celebrity in the LEGO building community taking the time to talk to me! That conversation and the FrogPod he gave me became the turning point for me in my time as a TFOL. We stayed in contact over the next year, and he encouraged me to build more and come to BrickCon the next year as an attendee. I can't say what would have happened if he hadn't taken the time to talk with me then, but I know the impact it made on me, not only within LEGO circles but in my daily life as well, has been huge.

So now back to BrickWorld 2023. I got to give back what was given to me all those years ago. I forgot to eat lunch and had no voice by the end of the day… and it was all worth it. I can't wait to see what those kids I talked with at the convention will do with the inspiration they took from both myself and those involved in the New Hashima collaboration. So the friends I made along the way? That would be everyone I've interacted with since that fateful day ten years ago when Simon gave me his time and encouragement, and hopefully the next generation of builders will pick up and carry that same baton of encouragement that Simon passed to me.

Chris and Future Simons at Brickworld 2023

Kevin Murney (legorevolution) - Ending A 10-Year Dark Age

I first caught wind of the project through sheer luck. I was fed a post on my Instagram feed with a call-to-arms for those who were interested in joining a collaborative build called New Hashima. I say this was lucky because years prior, I had purposefully decided to keep LEGO matters strictly on Flickr/blogs and social matters on Instagram. I only recently decided to start following some LEGO accounts there, and the post about New Hashima immediately piqued my interest.

I had closely followed the BroLUG Cyberpocaclypse display from Brickworld 2013 and was massively inspired. So much so, that the collaboration had lived rent-free in my head ever since, with ideas coming and going, being written down or sketched on paper over the years. A nagging sense of having missed out and wishing I had been able to be a part of that build had constantly lingered. I also grew up looking at Keith Goldman’s incredible sci-fi dioramas for hours and dreamed of doing something half as cool one day. New Hashima seemed to be a sign.

Kevin & Kelly, getting swept up by NEW HASHIMA AND the “YONHO!” Spirit.

It had been over ten years since I had touched my LEGO collection, and this was the perfect excuse to get my act together, unbox my collection, and get back to building. Attending Brickworld and displaying there had also been a dream of mine since I was a kid and Brickworld first began. All the stars seemed to align, and now was the time to build again. So I reached out, and to my surprise, I was immediately welcomed into the group, despite having nothing to show other than old Star Wars builds and a ‘trust me bro, I can still build.’

Reflecting upon that 10-month experience of planning, building, transporting, and assembling New Hashima, an endless supply of topics could be discussed. What stood out to me the most was the team-first dynamics across all of the contributors. Everyone shared that exact same passion for the project that I had and was looking out for one another, with the success of the project coming above all else.

using digital software to aid in the design process

Checking egos and striving for a collaborative spirit of selflessness amongst the team was the largest factor for the project’s success. No builder was exempt from giving or receiving constructive feedback, and in many instances, a sort of hive mind took over to elevate everyone’s best suggestions and ideas. The final product of the city layout is nearly seamless in nature and makes it difficult to pick out who stylistically might have built what. It seems like an actual city set in a real cyberpunk world. But that is not to say that everything went smoothly.

When packing for Brickworld, I was a bit overconfident in thinking that my triple-bubble-wrapped builds would easily survive the risks of air travel in my suitcases. It was a rude awakening to roll into the convention hall, unzip, and find my builds shattered into thousands of pieces. To make matters worse, teammates kept coming up and asking ‘why didn’t you just use saran wrap?’ I wish I got the memo. This may be self-evident to seasoned air travelers, but if you are coming across this information for the first time, USE SARAN WRAP when transporting your large builds by air! If the build breaks, the loose brick is self-contained and easier to put back together. You’ll save yourself hours on sleep. Trust me.

Topper Finally Placed…. and Finally Time to catch up on that sleep! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Speaking of losing sleep, Stefan coming by periodically and nervously asking “You’ll be done with your tower by noon tomorrow, right?” during the rebuild might have been even worse (no pressure). It was around 8 PM on Thursday when my tower was finally put back together again, and ceremoniously placed into the Inner City. I do seriously appreciate everyone’s patience, understanding, and support in ensuring my topper tower made it into the layout.

Being a part of New Hashima led to many firsts for me: my first time building since 2013, my first time building cyberpunk, my first time building something so large (one tower and two cubes), my first time participating in a collaboration, my first time using digital software to aid in the design process, my first time building with a significant other (shoutout to my girlfriend Kelly), my first time using lights in a build, my first time traveling by air to display a build, and my first time to Brickworld. All of these firsts pushed me far out of my comfort zone and forced me to fulfill a dream I had wanted for a long time. Seeing the final build on display, especially during World of Lights, was certainly a capstone for all the sacrifices, hard work, and effort that had gone into the build…. but that wasn’t even the best part!

As cliché as it may sound, the best part of the build was meeting the team in person - yet another big first for me. Prior to Brickworld, I had never met anyone on the team in person before, despite interacting with and looking up to some of the builders for the last 15 years online. Over the course of a very quick four days, I got to meet and know some really incredible people. I strengthened old relationships, forged new friendships, and reignited my love for the hobby.

Taking down New Hashima and leaving Chicago should have been bittersweet, but it left me feeling fulfilled and excited for the next time I get to come together with my new friends. New Hashima excavated and expanded upon something great, and I think we’ve got a recipe for an exciting cyberpunk renaissance. Builders today now live in a reality where 13-foot-tall, minifig-scale, fully powered LEGO cities can be assembled by builders from around the world and displayed for three days in a high-traffic area without structural failure. If a new bar has been set by New Hashima, what I am most excited to see is how others will be inspired by this build to create something even crazier in the coming years. In the words of Sean Mayo, “What will you make?”

Kelly Chow (Brickthicc_) - Alice in Cyberpunk Wonderland

Close your eyes and imagine a space… strike that, imagine a community that is saturated with your personal core interests, in creativity, in building things with your hands, in attention to the details, in cute tiny things that can also be made to look extremely realistic… all mixed with a bit of secrecy, a bit of chaos, and a whole lot of love. Now open your eyes and imagine discovering that community is actually real, and how lucky you are to have sneaked your way into this amazing realm and be surrounded by it. This is exactly what occurred to me, and here is my account of how it all happened.

Kelly & Kevin… Surrounded by “a bit of chaos, and a whole lot of love”

I was always fascinated by the creative minds behind amazing LEGO builds (“How did they do that?!”). I had never seen LEGO being anything more than how I experienced it as a child - generic colored bricks, a few windows, some yellow figures, a few things of vegetation stems, and my all-time favorite: flowers. All of this was contained within a red plastic box that clicked shut at the handles. How could there be builders getting that excited by, and seeing all that potential within, a pile of random bricks?

Back in November 2022, my boyfriend Kevin was invited to join the New Hashima collaboration. He dug out all of his LEGO that, up until that point, sat around our domicile as eye-sores in different-sized tubs, drawers, boxes, and any other type of container you can imagine frequently found at a local hardware store. I watched as he meticulously cleaned each of his pieces from the dust they had accumulated from sitting dormant for about a decade, and then ohhhhh my….what’s this?! THESE TINY MINIFIG ACCESSORIES ARE THE CUTEST DARN THINGS EVER!!! Needless to say, I got absolutely hooked by all things minifigure and wanted to know more about everything else I had been missing since those basic bricks of my youth.

The excitement from my boyfriend combing through all of his LEGO collection in preparation for New Hashima started to take hold of me as well. Kevin recognized my own fascination and invited me to help him build a cube. I was hesitant at first with everything stacked against me - i.e., being a new LEGO AFOL with no experience aside from the Harry Potter Advent Calendar and helping with a few of his sets. And not only that, but the idea of flying all the way to Chicago with him, not knowing anyone or even what the LEGO community was like… but I agreed to do it to support Kevin. I really wanted to be present as he made his first build in over ten years and witness this collaboration he had been talking about nonstop.

Kelly and Her “Dragon’s Gate Market” Cube for Inner City.

As time went on, that perspective of just “supporting Kevin” shifted to loving the idea of actually creating something myself and seeing how my own ideas turned into reality. I was fully committed to taking over the design of the cube and doing the best I could. Though I was excited about my progress and wanted to share WIPs with others, I had been sworn to secrecy. At that time, we thought that if an unofficial, uninvited newbie was contributing, it might cost participation for one or both of us, as New Hashima was a huge deal (once we were at Brickworld, we realized that our secrecy wasn’t really necessary as all were welcome). “Better to just do it and ask for forgiveness later” was the motto we had for the eight months leading up to Chicago!

KElly and Stefan guiding her cube into place

This cube I built took so much time, attention, planning, frustration, accidental and spontaneous combustion, tears, finger pad aches, countless hours of feeling inadequate, constant browsing of other builders’ cubes/toppers, and sacrificing a few broken nails. Despite knowing I put in my best efforts, I still had my self-doubts about it being worthy. I felt that my cube offered almost no value compared to the others. However, my cube and I were both welcomed into New Hashima by so much love, acceptance, new friendships, teamwork, laughs… and a few bottles of Malört. I had the most fun I’ve had in years with a group of inspirational people that started out to me as complete strangers and then became the most inclusive community.

This experience has brought me an exciting new perspective on LEGO, a newfound appreciation and love for this hobby, and a larger heart to accommodate everyone I met along the way. I look forward to being a cheerleader for my new friends for all their future personal and collaborative builds. I also look forward to my personal growth as a builder and being a fruitful contributor myself in any future collabs I may participate in. To everyone I met, thank you for welcoming me into the LEGO community and encouraging me to continue on! …And a special thank you to my boyfriend Kevin for opening the door into this special world.

Lyra Peacock (LiminalQuark) – A “Lights Out” Experience

By the time the New Hashima setup had finally finished late Friday evening, all of these fellow builders from around the world felt like one large family. We’d seen one another at both our high and low points throughout the days of set up and through the weekend, from some builds arriving (or being shipped) in hundreds or thousands of pieces, to solving infrastructure problems collectively, to simply placing mini-figs in just the right spots to tell hundreds of stories. The crescendo was reached at that final moment when the build was called “complete” at 11:58 pm Friday night. We all got to step back in that moment and admire what a hundred incredibly talented people (builders, engineers, digital artists, manufacturers, and more) can do when they work together towards one ambitious vision.

The part of the experience that will forever be engraved in my head was during World of Lights, as we all were sitting on the ground between the Docks and Old City. I was surrounded by generations of LEGO builders—some that I had looked up to since I was a kid, some who I had only known about for a few months. But we were all there together, taking in our work, knowing that what we just accomplished was a hallmark that would inspire the next generation of LEGO builders. We all sat together in awe of what we had achieved. I think that’s pretty darn special.

Autumn Oles (autumatic30k) - Remembering My Best Friend In A City Called New Hashima

It was at the Windy City LUG holiday party when I first learned about this crazy collab called New Hashima. As we sat around the tables in Dan and Melanie's LEGO studio, I looked around, admiring the many amazing MOCs that adorned their shelves. One in particular caught my eye. It was a recent build made to fit into a modular cubic structure and jam-packed with captivating details. The amazing dark turquoise sign embellished with coral and dark pink Japanese lettering, the rounded tile trim around the windows, the thin electrical wires connected to what appeared to be a small construction robot… I could immediately tell this creation's sci-fi genre from the start, and I had to learn more.

I asked what this intriguing modular cube was for, and it was then that Dan Lachcik and Casey McCoy informed me of the colossal cyberpunk city collab planned for Brickworld 2023. After they explained the premise of the build, I quickly got lost in reminiscent thoughts of the last time I saw such a magnificent cyberpunk collab and the special person with whom I got to experience that marvel.

The year was 2013 and the first year Brickworld Chicago was held at the Renaissance in Schaumburg. My best friend Bobby and I eagerly awaited that lauded time on Saturday night when the lights in the display hall would be turned off to allow the displays themselves to shine their brightest—the “World of Lights.” Those two hours would quickly become one of my favorite and most anticipated two hours of every year.

As the convention hall sequentially turned off the series of overhead lights, I started up the music and lighting for our own display (an interactive nightclub called Biohazard Utopia). Then Bobby and I immediately zipped off to check out the glowing cyberpunk city in the distance. Upon arriving, we slowly circled the display together, entranced by all of the magnificent lighting seen throughout. We took in every little detail of what became our favorite LEGO display—BroLUG's CyberPocolypse. We stayed there marveling at its dazzling lights for quite some time, and those amazing two hours did not feel like nearly enough.

RAVE at The “Biohazard Utopia” Nightclub

The next morning we returned to the hall quite early to discover who had won that year’s custom-lit World of Lights award brick. To our surprise, we did not find it at the CyberPocolypse display or at any of the other spectacular lit creations we had thought deserved the award. Confused, we returned back to our own display to eat the breakfast we had brought and were soon met by a visitor. That visitor was Rob Hendrix, who congratulated us and presented Bobby and me with the custom-built award he had made for that year. We were shocked.

As happy as we were to receive the award, we both agreed that we had actually hoped to find it placed at BroLUG's amazing collab. That build inspired so many of our future MOC lighting ideas. While we admired our custom trophy (following the Superhero theme for that year, the incredible red brick features Iron Man's arc reactor), we both speculated on the future of our new favorite ever display. We wondered whether we could make our own cyberpunk build one day. Sadly, achieving that shared dream together would never come to fruition for us.

A commissionED Drawing I had done of Bobby and my sig figs by Greg Hyland. - Also included IS my original wheelchair build for Bobby, my updated sig fig, my signature spiked Lego bracelet, and some groovy New Hashima swag.

Five years later, just three weeks before Brickworld 2018 kicked off, my mom showed up at the makerspace that evening to break the news to me. Like his younger brother Patrick, Bobby had passed away from complications from his ongoing battle with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The damned inevitable day I feared the most had arrived. My life changed forever that evening in ways I would not be able to comprehend, grieve, or work through until years later.

Brickworld 2019 came and went for me only as a hazy memory. I couldn’t muster the motivation to build anything new myself. I was emotionally destroyed from having lost my best friend and building partner, and I hid away from the world even further than the pandemic had already done. In the midst of this, I was also trying to rebuild myself as the person I truly knew I always was, as Autumn. During those difficult times, I talked to only a few people: my family, closest friends, occasionally my church family, and a new friend who would grow very dear to me. Then one other group of amazing friends reached out to me during those dark times, my friends at Windy City LUG, and it was through them I came across another amazing group.

It was really uplifting to hear from so many of my friends in Windy City LUG that reached out. They are the ones who ultimately sparked my love for my favorite little plastic bricks again with their kindness, compassion, and encouragement. Admittingly though, it was when I learned about the New Hashima collab when that passion for building with LEGO was put back into action. In retrospect, there could not have been a better project for me to start building again than New Hashima; joining a group of fellow builders that were as deeply inspired by the CyberPocolypse collab as Bobby and I were while also getting the chance to properly remember and honor my late best friend.

Looking back through the two cubes I contributed, there were so many details that were deeply influenced by my dear friend Bobby: The yokocho alley and ramen shop were inspired by our shared love of Japanese food. The nightclub for the various lighting passion projects we shared. The small condo home above it represented the frequent gathering spot of our core friend group years ago.

Despite having had to deal with other tough situations that unfortunately took me away from this year’s convention, I felt the most joy that I have in years knowing that I was once again back to my favorite hobby. The only thing I found more amazing than New Hashima itself were the amazingly supportive individuals from whom I got to learn a good bit. Everyone pushed the limits of what can be done in LEGO, and continue to do so. To know that further iterations of this magnificent supercity will be assembled at future conventions certainly inspires me to see what else I can contribute.

After marrying my friend Nyx in a few weeks, I plan to create a cube with a LGBTQ Community Center to honor my friends and the amazing young man they were. (If you would like to contribute some of your own ideas for the center, please reach out.) I'm also planning to rebuild the nightclub Bobby and I built together, but in the form of a topper tower.

Having had the chance ten years later to collaborate with the original builders of Bobby's and my favorite creation was deeply sentimental, super exciting, at times quite challenging, and ultimately rather therapeutic for me. While communicating and collaborating online was a great experience, it was something else entirely beautiful to meet so many of these fantastic people in person and ultimately help construct the best LEGO collaborative many of us will ever see.

After the long darkness after Bobby’s passing and during the pandemic, it is nice to know that I'm finally itching to get back to pushing my technical boundaries and getting to work on some new lighting ideas I have been sitting on for years. Unlike the past years, it is quite exciting to think about the year ahead and the opportunity to build a proper memorial to my best friend… to create something new and amazing for a futuristic city we both love… all the while collaborating with the new friends we made along the way.

We hope you enjoyed reading about New Hashima and the people who came together and brought it into reality during BrickNerd’s takeover week. If you missed reading any of our earlier articles, here are the links to the series of articles.

Who are some of the friends in the LEGO hobby you have built along the way? Let us know in the comments below.

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