BrickScouts.Org

Mountain Guides Station

2012-01-09T17:05:00.000-08:00

As part of the Eurobricks Expand the Winter Village Contest Priovit70 has created a Mountain Guides Station including, " 3 boy scouts, full of excitement waiting for their first hike in the snow."

Although the Scouts look woefully unprepared for a days adventure on the mountain I am sure their Scouter is somewhere nearby making arrangements for proper gear.

Pinewood Derby Car

2012-01-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

Saw an interesting post on Eurobricks this morning about a LEGO Pinewood Derby Car (Kub Kar for Canadians):

Check out the EB Post for the full story. Very nice souvenir for a dedicated volunteer.

Classic Stetsons from LEGO?

2011-08-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

According to a rumour reported on Eurobricks the City line in 2012 will include new police and fire fighter sets with a twist: forest rangers and firefighters.

Two new elements are being reported by the usually well-informed EB community. First, a new brown bear reported to be similar to the old polar bear design but with moving legs. Second, and more importantly to the BrickScouts community, a tan stetson giving an official LEGO alternative to the very nice BrickForge Ranger Hat.

Here's hoping that the EB community is right again.

Brickworld - Scout Survival Kit

2011-06-15T15:19:00.001-07:00

Brickworld - Scout Survival Kit, a photo by BrickForge on Flickr.

Looks like attendees @ BrickWorld in Chicago are getting a special treat in their convention goody bag courtesy of BrickForge! The printed classic-style scout hat looks brilliant.

It also looks like any real-life scouts are being welcomed to the public displays in a big way:

Scouts in uniform and their families will each receive $1 off the public attendee admission price. Scouts will also receive a special Brickworld 2011 participation badge (while supplies last).

Wish I could be there!

Simple Tents

2011-05-15T08:36:00.001-07:00

pa2011-6, a photo by Proudlove on Flickr.

Nathan from SLUG posted this pic from their recent hobby show display. The tents are wonderfully simple and quick. The slope piece used is available in a variety of colours making for several options for variety in your next camp.

Missing Scout

2010-12-07T07:56:00.001-08:00

Have you seen me?
Originally uploaded by SavaTheAggie
Hard to believe someone would kidnap a Brick Scout!

If you visited Baybrook Mall in Texas recently and took little Billy home please do the right thing.

Huge tent!

2010-08-01T22:42:00.001-07:00

Battalion Aid Station (1)
Originally uploaded by Dunechaser
It may be a historical tent but I think a lot of Scouts have slept in army surplus tents. This WWII medical tent by Andrew from the Brothers Brick features a part I do not think I have seen used for tents before.

The skateboard ramp part comes in blue, light or dark grey and white as well for a less army surplus look. Any colour would make a great mess tent, activity tent or even a medic tent as used here.

Scouts @ Railroad Museum

2010-07-08T07:58:00.001-07:00

Lost Spike at California State Railroad Museum
Originally uploaded by -Cooper-
BrickScouts don't just go camping!

These scouts are learning about the Lost Spike at California State Railroad Museum. Nicely done Cooper!

Summer Camping

2010-06-21T08:08:00.001-07:00

Camping
Originally uploaded by nabeule1

A fantastic little holiday camping scene. (thanks to EB for the tip.)

The trailer would excellent all by itself but the amount of detail is wonderful and makes good use of the newer elements like the fish and the Toy Story Army Men bases. My favorite details is the lantern design. Simple and effective and one I don't think I have seen before.

Here's hoping all you BrickScouts have a great summer with your families.

New Tent Colours

2010-03-27T16:04:00.001-07:00

Colour samples
Originally uploaded by Tedward

Thanks to custom cloth accessories maker Mark Parker (aka MMCB) we now can have tents of colours other than standard LEGO tan, yellow and black.

Using the same pattern that LEGO recently reused for the Indiana Jones theme Mark has improved on the originals. The cloth feels heavier and more sturdy. The available colours are too numerous to list here and since you can specify the stitching colour the possible combinations are seemingly endless.

I ordered standard tents in dark red and sand blue, both with black stitching (us$2.50 each). I also ordered a specialty Medic Tent (us$3.50) which is dark green with light grey stitching. The colours are deep and rich, the "stitching" perfect. The Red Cross painted on the Medic Tent is thick and crisply done. Clearly great care went into the production. I would say these are fantastic accessories at a very reasonable price. With the LEGO tents currently out of production this may be the only source of "new" tents for a while.

(see all pics on Flickr)

A Word on the Service
This is a custom service, each item is made by hand to order. I placed my order in late January when I found out about these tents and was lucky to get into his queue. He limits his orders to 30 to prevent a crazy backlog and at the time I just made the cut. (I checked again today and he is "full" again.)

I received a helpful email when I ordered that repeated his policies and then I received another in Early March to let me know they were ready and being shipped. The postmark from the Australian Post Office was March 10 and I received the package here in Canada March 19. Nine days is not bad at all.

It took a long time, mostly for production, but I have to say it was worth it and I will be ordering again.

Server Move

2010-03-11T15:24:00.000-08:00

Blogger has changed the way it publishes so this blog (and the whole website) will be moved and eventually the layout will be updated to take advantage of the new architecture.

What does this mean?
Not much actually. The address will still be BrickScouts.org but the "news" page will become the main page and some of the Blogger keywords search functions will be used more effectively.

I hope.

-BrickScouter Ted

Hiking in to camp

2010-02-06T09:00:00.001-08:00

Scouts marching to camp
Originally uploaded by SavaTheAggie
A small scout camp in Eastwood Ravine from TexLUG's Show at the Healthy Baby and Child Expo in Houston, Texas. The ravine and camp was built by Anthony Sava and I believe other members added their own troops.

A great setting for a camp and it looks like both Cubs and Scouts.

Tents in Many Colours!

2010-01-17T08:15:00.000-08:00

How did I miss the debut of these beauties? Thanks to Flickr user FirstInfantry for point out that MMCB Custom Minifig Cloth Accessories is now making tents.

These Plain tents are similar to the LEGO official model but in a beautiful array of colours. As well, a medical tent with red cross and a camouflage version are also available. I have been impressed with the smaller accessories by MMCB but I am going to have to order a couple of tents when I get a chance.

Currently priced at (us)$2.50 ($3.50 for camo or medic versions) they seem like a very reasonable price compared to official tents on Bricklink which are currently running around the same price for the Dark Tan Indiana Jones version. Older tents in yellow and black are running over (us)$3 and (us)$7 each respectively.

Green BrickScout Shirt!

2010-01-15T22:03:00.001-08:00

Green BrickScout Shirt
Originally uploaded by Tedward

The new Army Men sets based on Disney/Pixar's Toy Story movies provides some new options for BrickScouts equipment. The shirt looks very smart and the green backpack is a nice change of pace. As well there is a green walkie-talkie and binoculars!

Yellow Camper

2009-11-20T20:20:00.001-08:00

For those who don't like roughing it, you might consider one of these. Eurobricks user Milan Mali created this colourful, sleek and well-equipped Recreational Vehicle.

You can see more of his creations on his Brickshelf pages.

Pioneering Tower

2009-10-07T11:06:00.001-07:00

Pioneering Tower
Originally uploaded by Tedward

Doubled the number of troops at BrickCon this year and Bradley and I had some discussion about finally doing a Jamboree next year!

If you might be interested in attending and bringing a troop or mailing a troop to us to bring for you next October please contact me.

Oh, and special thanks to Bradley for supplying tents after I forgot to bring mine! Luckily it never seems to rain in Legoland.

Jamboree @ BrickCon

2009-09-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

I have contacted the coordinator and we have a small space in the Train/Town layout for a campground. Just four 32x32 baseplates where we can pitch tents, build campfires or whatever.

So, anyone coming to BrickCon in Seattle next month can bring some BrickScouts, maybe a tent or two and perhaps some trees and other details.

See you in Seattle!

Campground @ Science World

2009-04-10T11:36:00.001-07:00

Campground
Originally uploaded by Tedward

If you are lucky enough to be in Vancouver BC (or any of the subsequent stops) you can check out the "Wheels, Wings and Waves" exhibition @ Science World.

Included was this fantastic campground with a nice selection of MOC and stock set trailers.

Nicely located by a beach some of the campers are enjoying roasting marshmallows. Perhaps a little noisy being so close to the road there is at least easy access for drivers.

New Camper Van for 2009

2009-03-28T09:50:00.001-07:00

7639 Camper - 04
Originally uploaded by no_onions

You may have seen this earlier this year. Rumors surfaced early about a new camper set in the 2009 City line and the picture above (click on the picture for more) was taken at the annual New York Toy Fair.

Pre-review
This set looks fantastic. a six-wide camper van that will actually carry minifigs and opens up at the back for some play-value with nice detail. The stickers and accessories are clearly for a surfer dude but this rig would look great in the woods or anywhere your BrickScouts would like to go.
Once I get my hands on this set I will post a full review.

Camping in the Ruins

2009-03-20T11:15:00.001-07:00

TexLUG_03-14-09_19
Originally uploaded by SavaTheAggie

Anthony Sava posted some pictures from a recent TexLUG event on his Flicker. It looks like an Indiana Jones style archeological adventure but I think I am going to start blogging about camping and outdoor activities as well as strictly "Scouting" creations. After all Scouting is about outdoor adventures and exploring our world.

Family Camping in Ohio

2008-11-23T16:41:00.001-08:00

Ok, it's not a BrickScouts event per se but it is nice to see a minifig family enjoying the outdoors. Check out some of the great details like the cooler, picnic tables and gas grill. Of course a nice horseshoes-style target game is just the thing for a quiet afternoon at camp.

This was a part of a display by Central Ohio LEGO Train Club (COLTC) at Brickshow2008. Pictures courtesy of Brickshelf

BrickScouts Campground

2008-10-09T15:37:00.001-07:00

BrickScouts Campground
Originally uploaded by Tedward

There was a small Camp at BrickCon this year. The campground was located near the ferry terminal behind the baseball park but the troop seemed to have a great time.

With all the available space I think it will be possible to do a jamboree next year - first weekend of October, 2009 in Seattle. Look for registration details in the spring of 2009.

Campground Challenge

2008-06-06T12:56:00.001-07:00

Campground Challenge
Originally uploaded by Tedward

Built as part of an activity station at the local Scout regions "Beaveree" this is a small scene designed to amuse the Beavers (5-7 year olds). Most of the camp gear is from the new Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull set Jungle Duel (7624). Gotta love those new tents!

2008-06-05T07:01:00.000-07:00

Nathan Cunningham created a great series of vignettes illustrating the Scout Law. I think my favorite is "A Scout is helpful" shown above.

Scout Camp

2008-06-04T07:01:00.000-07:00

Bruce Hietbrink (of Vignette Bricks, Classic Castle, etc.) created a wonderfully detailed Scout Camp that was one of the inspirations for me to start BrickScouts.Org. I especially love the super-simple brick-built tents. Perfect for those who don't have any of the canvas tents from the old adventurers sets or the new Indiana Jones movie sets.

- Brick Scouter Ted