The Duck Build!

At the Holiday Ornament building meet-up in December we decided that we wanted to have some kind of group build presence at Bricks Cascade. The next thing we knew, Nyssa Rogers sent Alice an email with the Duck Build instructions attached. Our solution had been found!

Immediately the word was spread and every one got to work creating a duck to present at Bricks Cascade. The only instructions given was that the duck needed to reflect your personality.

And that is exactly what we received!

The Ducks

Twenty ducks and one Mama duck showed up to Bricks Cascade. Even though we all worked from the same plans, none of the ducks were alike. Each one was unique, much like our fabulous community members. A big shout out to Nyssa who not only provided the blue backdrop for our little ducklings, but created a fabulous sign in the background to let everyone know that we have arrived!

The Reaction

The Duck Build definitely caused a lot of discussion. Our display neighbors asked us to man the build because they were fielding so many questions from women and girls about the WBI. They needed help and a little education. In addition to putting out information cards, Nyssa stepped up and chatted with interested people throughout the weekend.

Its hard to quantify why the reaction to our first group build was successful. It could be because of the awesome sign by Nyssa. Maybe the idea of a Women’s Brick Initiative inspired conversation and questions. Or maybe it was because the build felt attainable. Personally, I think it was a combination of all three. I wasn’t the only person who’s duck was their first time participating with a build at a LEGO convention. When I chatted with Stephanie, she admitted this was her very first build!

Whatever the reason, at the end of the show, Alice and I were approached by one of our male neighbors asking to collaborate next year. He was most interested in what our secret sauce was! For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why our group build was inspiring so much interaction with the public. Obviously we have work to do!

Next steps

After the show, many of the ducks were sent with Lynette at Bricks and Minifigs of Beaverton to be displayed in her store window. We’re currently looking at potentially displaying this group build at Bricks By the Bay and BrickCon. If you know of an upcoming convention that can make room for the Duck Build please let us know in the comments. As long as we have one member in attendance we can make sure there is a nice selection of ducks to display.

Thank you!

Thank you to Nyssa for making this build happen. Thank you to our fearless leader Alice who created the double size ‘momma duck’ in the WBI colors. And a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who built a duck and brought it to Bricks Cascade. You’re all awesome!!

We all look forward to growing our pond of ducks as the build travels from convention to convention this year. It will be fun see how this collaboration changes and grows throughout 2020.

Shelly