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>> I see that Skip posted the map for the Lego show layout.
He did? Where? I didn’t get an email about it.
>> does the LUG section off spaces per person, or do we just do a first come basis??
We’re going to make a plan. The last time our plan was too vague going in (BFPA22), things did not work out so well (ask Logan).
I might have time to do it tomorrow or Sunday if I can find the map, although the last time I said that when I was in Lancaster, it didn’t work out. (My feeling is that we’re getting the map a lot closer to the event than we did the previous two years, which I’m not thrilled about.) I know Will volunteered to arrange the tables also. Skip did sort the Google doc by LUG, so we can see what we need all in a row.
Without seeing the map, I’m not sure how this is going to work out. I had no volunteers when it came to sharing a table with me (as opposed to BFVA24, where Krista was surprisingly unfazed by my yellowish-orange table cloth). Somebody’s going to have to share with me, I do see on the list that Chris Held, who I don’t think I know, also requested 48 inches. I hope he likes orangeish yellow. I need to not be in a corner.
I will be there as early as I can on Thursday (the last two years I got there between 10 and 11:30), and I was the first LUG member to arrive the last two years. My experience at events is that the table setup people are very approximate in what they do, so it’s our job to make sure everything lines up neatly, is square, that all the tables are there (BFVA25), etc. Last year the openings to our area were inadequate for scooter access (minimum 30″). At stuff like BrickFair, they’re fanatical about making sure your tables etc stay within your designated footprint, because of the fire marshal, but at Erie last year, Mark basically said I could do whatever I needed to. But, it’s also not Mark’s show anymore.
Thanks, I’ve mostly stopped using Discord, and I’m not on the Erie server.
I might be able to take a run at it tomorrow afternoon (I just drove 230 miles, it’s bedtime). But at first glance, I’m not sure that the layout they gave us will work. We have three people asking for 192″ at double depth. That means that one of those people will have to have their stuff split in half, on each side of the table area. I don’t know if that’s acceptable to Kevin or Will, and for Jonathan, it’s not an option. I don’t see an easy way to fix that.
@bengood921 I appreciate you taking a crack at it. Admittedly, it fell off my radar as well with back to school, Z’s birthday, and life.
Skip did mention that we can change it up a little. I just have Duck Hunt (which was about 4 feet). I don’t mind sharing with you again so long as you don’t mind Duck Hunt sound effects.
Unfortunately, I’m not getting up until Friday morning (lunch at the latest) so you’ll probably have this all figured out by the time I get there. @timf has the tablecloths, signs, etc.
>> I appreciate you taking a crack at it.
I’m taking a look at it now. My mom pointed out that we can solve our double-depth issues by simply rotating one of the tables up. This one’s a little more complicated than the last three layouts I’ve done because we have people using up a table amount that isn’t a whole or half a table, but I have about an hour right now that I can work on it.
>> I just have Duck Hunt (which was about 4 feet). I don’t mind sharing with you again so long as you don’t mind Duck Hunt sound effects.
Ha, that’s actually a big ask 😛 I’ll see what I can come up with. Our potential shared table history though has given me an idea for a new mosaic for you: one where the Duck Hunt dog dies of dysentery.
>> [Tim] has the tablecloths, signs, etc.
Reminder, or for new people: Brick Erie provides skirting for the tables, but no coverings for the table surfaces. The skirts clip on the tables at the sides, and the skirts extend across multiple tables, and wrap around the ends of the tables at the layout openings. Skirts and table clothes are incompatible, and you can’t remove the skirt from your table without removing it from the tables around you.
So everybody should plan on plunking their MOC’s down on a naked table surface, or, if they don’t like that, bring their own flat coverings from the table tops. I thought last year that the tables were in good shape, especially compared to BrickFair’s, although that’s a low bar to clear. With my yellowish-orange table covering, which is just plain fabric bought at Walmart, I was able to use the skirt clips to hold the fabric as well, and let it drape down on the other three sides of the table where there was extra. The Steel City LUG signs will work as usual.
The plastic clips for the skirting are clear plastic and very thin. In 2023, I put MILSed baseplates on top of them without issue. Last year I had to make sure my lava perimeter was set back enough to clear them, I’d built a margin into the perimeter’s design, so it’s not right at the edge of the table, but I think I had to move it back farther than planned and had to adjust the sides as a result. So, mostly the clips won’t be a problem for your MOC’s, but it’s possible that they will be.
If I’m doing the recreational math correctly, comparing the total width requested and the total width given, they shorted us 19 inches. Chuck asked for 115 inches, but gave 64″ as a minimum, and implied flexibility in his comments. So I have given him one table (=96″). If that’s a problem for him, he’ll need to let us know asap, so that we can come up with a solution.
Everything else worked out okay, although I did not have the flexibility of arrangement that I had last year. The proposed layout is attached. If people have comments, problems, or suggestions, the time to bring them up is now. I’m hoping this works for everybody, I won’t have time to spend on this like I did at BFVA in 2024.
I did, as usual, give myself the spot that I want. There’s a minor chance that Krista and I will have to swap, if the skirting clips on the end of the table interfere. But I think it’s unlikely, and I have unusual flexibility in my build this time, where I can short the width of the entire build by either 4 or 8 studs if needed.
I think version 2 is better. People will have to let me know what they prefer.
In case it’s not immediately clear: although I have rearranged tables in both versions, I have not changed the number of tables, nor have I changed our overall footprint.
That works good I think, looks like it makes sense.
@timf the hangar should be towards Kevin’s side I think. (Since it got mirrored, that orientation will make the AT-AT with the speeder close to the crowd)Ben, thanks for taking a look at this and doing the lay out! I was going to ask for a corner spot so the city Nicholas and I are doing has good viewing from pretty much all around. Also, I only need 3 tables in theory. 2 for the city and one for my stand alone MOCs. I brought this up to skip and he said it would be easier on him to just count it as 4 tables. The one I don’t need we can move into the middle if we want or we can keep it there and I can put my taller stuff in the back. Regardless I don’t mind either way.
Is it possible to flip the layout 180 degrees? Assuming your plan is oriented the same as Skip’s floor plan, Donna is adding some additional mosaics in the upper-left corner of the room (pending Skip’s approval). If we flip your layout, her LUG table would end up as close as possible to that corner.
>> Is it possible to flip the layout 180 degrees?
I opted for mirroring, I like the idea of Hoth being front and center when people come in the main entrance. Version 3 is attached.
I haven’t sent anything to Skip yet, I wanted to give people a chance to weigh in here on the layout. I think I’m going to set a deadline for 7pm tomorrow (Monday) for comments and suggestions. After that, you can still make them, but I’m at least going to send the current version to Skip at that time.
>> Do we know if there will be stanchions around our tables?
There was the last two years. We can ask Skip for confirmation. Although we don’t know for sure, I have assumed that when Mark sold to new management, that that included all physical assets.
I do remember in 2023, Mark, who had never done a Lego convention setup before, initially didn’t account for stanchion space in his original plan, and adjustments had to be made.
Also, after Erie 2022 (which I did not attend), it was pointed out that, presumably since the Comicon is more adult-oriented, that of all the events we do, Brick Erie is the one where our stuff is at the least risk of being touched by the public, and in my experience, I have found that assessment to be correct.
I had a plenty of time to think about our table layout on my long drive back to Pittsburgh tonight. I had written:
>> they shorted us 19 inches. ‘
>
>> although I have rearranged tables in both versions, I have not changed the number of tablesNeither of these statements is correct. On the drive, I realized that during my rearranging, and I’d somehow lost a table. Skip gave us 12 tables, and my proposals all have only 11. I’m not sure what I should read into the fact that nobody else pointed this out.
But it’s probably a good thing that I didn’t notice earlier, because if I had, I would not have submitted the proposals to the group the way I did, and yet, considering the fact that nobody has complained about a lack of table space, I still consider version 3 to be our best option. If people want to add a 12th table back in, we can discuss it, but right now I am not seeing a solution that doesn’t involve either asking Skip for a bigger footprint, or asking Will or Kevin to split the displays onto tables on opposite sides of the island. I also was admittedly not a fan of Skip’s layout because it creates crowded corners for the people sitting with their displays at those tables.
If people have anything to say on this issue, I am all for it, but the time to do it is now. I still have plenty of building to do and so I’ll have only so much time to devote to table layout plans over the next three days. At some point I’ll have to let Skip know, and I am still planning for 7pm today. Rearranging the tables ourselves would be easy enough, but rearranging the skirting could be a huge hassle, so it’s better if we tell Skip ahead of time.
@bengood921 thank you for all your work on the Layouts. 🙂
@timf When are you planning to be there with the table coverings?
@bengood921 All good on my end! Thanks so much for pulling everything together. See you all Friday morning.
I sent version 3 to Skip this evening and got a reply. He wrote:
>> Hi Ben – Mark said we can just change/rearrange the tables once you’re
there. Thanks!I didn’t realize Mark was still involved. My comment in an earlier email that I thought it would be easier to have the table setup people have the correct plan, since redoing the skirting can be a big hassle was ignored.
So that’s where we’re at. I plan to be there before noon on Thursday.
I am finishing packing the car now. Should be on the road no later than 1 which should put me at the convention center around 3:30ish.
All our tables are 24″ depth. Getting more tables isn’t a problem, but if you need more than 24″ or 48″, you’re going to have to add another table.
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