In the latest issue of the Lego Collector’s magazine, there was a flyer for the upcoming National Lego Building Competition (Australia).

The contest is run each year by Lego in conjunction with the local Toyworld store franchise and requires participants to build a model, take a photo of the model and submit 2 copies of the photo to their local Toyworld store sometime during April.

My son entered last year and received a wonderful certificate for his efforts which now sits proudly on his wall.

This year each entrant also has the opportunity to receive a free DVD copy of the National Geographic Megafactories documentary featuring the Lego factory in Billund.

Earlier today Lego released a press release which included a wonderful set of guidelines for building Lego models, written by Australia’s Certified Lego Professional, Ryan McNaught.

THE SEARCH IS ON FOR AUSTRALIA’S NATIONAL LEGO BUILDING CHAMPION

MEDIA RELEASE – Sydney, 15 March 2012: LEGO Australia in conjunction with Toyworld stores, is searching for the nation’s best LEGO builder in 2012 for the National LEGO Building Competition with entries opening on the first of April 2012.

Now in its third consecutive year, the competition gives Australian children of all ages the opportunity to use their creativity and construction skills to build the LEGO model of their dreams for the chance to win the grand prize of a family trip to LEGOLAND® California.

To enter, all children are required to build their ultimate LEGO creation (using only LEGO products) and take two identical colour printed photos of their creation. Children must then visit a participating Toyworld store to obtain the official entry form to complete and attach one of the colour printed photos, and place it in the entry box. The second colour printed photo should be presented to a Toyworld staff member to display alongside all other entrant’s creations.

Entries can be submitted to participating Toyworld stores from the 1st to the 30th April 2012 and will be on display in-store for the duration of the competition.

Caroline Squire, LEGO ANZ Director of Marketing is encouraging children to get involved in the competition and start building.

“Kids, start building your dream models now, ready for when entries open in April. Building is a great way for children to ignite their imaginations and there are no limits to how creative they can be. LEGO bricks definitely encourage thinking outside of the box and children should look to draw inspiration from the world around them”.

The Grand Prize winner will receive return flights to Los Angeles for four people, five nights accommodation in the luxurious Grand Pacific Palisades Resort and Hotel, admission for four people to LEGOLAND California^® theme park for four days, and AUD$1,500 spending money.

There will also be the chance to win store and state prizes with winners receiving RRP $50 and RRP $100 worth of LEGO product respectively. All entrants will receive a personalised LEGO certificate of completion and a free LEGO Megafactories DVD that will be posted to them*.

2012 is also the 50th Anniversary of the LEGO brick in Australia. Another great reason for kids to start building!

Visit www.toyworld.com.au or  a participating Toyworld store for more details.

10 Top Tips for building LEGO models
by A Lego Professional 

Ryan McNaught, LEGO Certified Professional has offered the following top ten tips to help children get started on their entries.

1.     Don’t just build one thing, build lots of different things then choose your favourite one.

Often it’s the other ideas and creations you make that are even better than your original idea, so build lots and pick your favourite!

2.     Get organised! Have your LEGO bricks all sorted out in a way that makes building easy, have your bricks sorted by colour and type, i.e. have all your minifigures and their utensils together.

3.     Make things that you really like, if you really love space ships, then build a space ship, or if you are into making cities then build the best police station. Models are always better when you really love what you’re building.

4.     Include things that move.  Have hidden trap doors, sections that open and things that spin to make the model playable.

5.     Every great model tells a story, for example; here is the King who is trying to defend his castle from the bad guy Prince who wants to take all of his cows!  The more interesting the story the more interesting the model.

6.     Take inspiration for your models from all around you, from the world we live in, TV shows and the books you have read. Building something different and unique is definitely the way to go.

7.     Work with other people, get together with your friends and family and build yourmodels at the same time. This way you will get inspiration and ideas that will help you make an even better creation.

8.     Build a strong model.  If you have to move your models around, make sure they are robust and tough, you don’t want your precious creation falling to pieces when you go to move it.

9.     Don’t be afraid to start again, if you just finished building something and you aren’t happy with it, tear it down and build it again. All the great LEGO models around the world are made from many, many versions.

10.  Get colourful. Use different colours that you normally wouldn’t. Use colours in unusual ways, put a red stripe down the side of your grey space ship, it will make it super-fast and look super cool!

Check out Ryan’s website The Brick Man for more of his amazing creations.

We will feature more about the 2012 Lego Building Competition as more details come to hand.