Blog

zaLUG at Fourways Mall, 2024

zaLUG at Fourways Mall, 2024

 The recent zaLUG display event held at Fourways Mall was a resounding success, showcasing not only the creativity and talent of our members but also the strong community interest in the world of Lego. The display, which ran from 7 to 8 September 2024, attracted...

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zaLUG at WRO 2024

zaLUG at WRO 2024

 This past weekend, zaLUG embarked on another exciting adventure, this time at the WRO event held at Curro Aurora School. It was a day brimming with innovation, camaraderie, and boundless imagination as we unveiled our latest LEGO creations to a captivated...

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zaLUG at Medieval Fayre 2024

zaLUG at Medieval Fayre 2024

 This past weekend, zaLUG had the incredible opportunity to showcase our creations at the annual Medieval Fayre at Greensleeves, west of Johannesburg. It was a day filled with creativity, community, and a touch of nostalgia as our intricate LEGO displays...

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zaLUG at Sandton City, April 2024

zaLUG at Sandton City, April 2024

 Great news for LEGO™ fans in Gauteng as zaLUG (the South African LEGO User Group) headed back to the Sandton City Shopping Centre to exhibit a vast and varied display of LEGO sets and MOCs (my own creations) from 27 to 28 April 2024. Now an annual event on the...

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zaLUG at Brickfair 2023

zaLUG at Brickfair 2023

 From 28 to 29 October 2023, thousands of LEGO fans descended on Menlyn Shopping Centre in Pretoria for South Africa’s premier annual LEGO fan event, Brickfair. And this year, it was bigger and better than ever before! In fact, such is the scale of this event...

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zaLUG at Comic-Con Africa 2023

zaLUG at Comic-Con Africa 2023

 Could there be a better place to exhibit LEGO than at the biggest gathering of comic book, fantasy and sci-fi fans in Africa? zaLUG was privileged to again be invited to exhibit at Comic Con Africa from 22 to 25 September 2023. Hosted at the Johannesburg Expo...

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zaLUG display at Medieval Fayre 2023

zaLUG display at Medieval Fayre 2023

 At first glance, an event called The Magical Medieval Fayre may not seem the likeliest place to find a group of die-hard AFOLs (adult fans of LEGO®) displaying their love of the iconic plastic brick. But when you add zaLUG’s castle and fantasy special interest...

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zaLUG display event at Sandton City

zaLUG display event at Sandton City

 On 29 and 30 April 2023, zaLUG was very pleased to once again exhibit at Sandton City. This is the second year we have displayed at the shopping centre but this time we went a whole lot bigger! In fact, this was the largest Lego event ever in Johannesburg based...

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zaLUG at Comic-Con Africa 2022

zaLUG at Comic-Con Africa 2022

zaLUG displayed at the third Comic Con Africa from 22 to 25 September 2022. Much larger than previous years, this year had something for everyone!   zaLUG exhibited their fantastic builds and sets over four long days, and enjoyed every minute. With our exhibition...

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zaLUG at Sandton City, March 2022

zaLUG at Sandton City, March 2022

With our first in-person display event in more than 29 months, we exihibited at Sandton City on 26 and 27 March 2022. The exhibition marked the start of getting back into the swing of exhibition season with 22 tables filled with Lego goodness. Both exhibitors and the...

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zaLUG Year end function 2019

zaLUG Year end function 2019

2019 has been a been a fantastic year for zaLUG and to celebrate we had our annual xmas party on the 30th of November in Centurion.As typical South Africans, we had a braai (a better version of a barbeque for our international friends) as well as some beer and...

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Brickfair 2019

Brickfair 2019

Another year, and another Brickfair done and dusted! This year was a big year for Brickfair 2019, as the event became independent, and moved spaces from the mall basements of The Grove and Irene, to the clean airconditioned halls in one of the largest malls in South...

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Comic Con Africa – 24-27 October 2019

Comic Con Africa – 24-27 October 2019

Comic Con Africa celebrated their second annual convention in style at Gallagher Estates on the long weekend of the 21st – 24th of September.Much larger than previous years, this year had something for everyone!  Including the all the Lego Fans.That’s...

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Improving STUDIO renders

Improving STUDIO renders

Getting digital builds to look good is always a mission and although Bricklink has gone to great lengths with their renderer.. it can be better. Inside the render engine The engine has 5 light presets: Building Mechanic Asteroid Dawn Piazza Building and Mechanic uses...

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Springs Mall LEGO Exhibition, 27 April 2019

Springs Mall LEGO Exhibition, 27 April 2019

It’s a brave person who makes the long journey to the other side of the boerewors curtain, but zaLUG are those brave people, and we did trek. All the way to Springs on the far, far east of Gauteng. Getting up before the sun comes up is old hat for the members who’ve...

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Discover the Bugatti Chiron!

Discover the Bugatti Chiron!

Build, experience and display this quintessential super sports car, featuring aerodynamic bodywork with an active rear wing, spoked rims with low-profile tires, and a detailed cockpit with movable paddle gearshift. Celebrate innovative engineering and design from one...

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zaLUG Integrated Landscaping Standard

zaLUG Integrated Landscaping Standard

The zaLUG Landscaping Standard (LS) is a standard, modular way of doing landscaping to facilitate large collaborative displays. The zaLUG landscaping standard is based on http://www.abellon.net/MILS/. Please read it for a better understanding of what a landscaping...

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Pop’s Toys display event | 24 and 25 March 2018

Pop’s Toys display event | 24 and 25 March 2018

Our first display of 2018 took place in Benoni at Northmead Square. Pop’s Toys hosted us and the weekend proved to be a great success. For two days, LEGO fever took over the mall and the foot traffic never stopped; once again showing the love that people have for...

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Pop’s Toys display event | 25 and 26 November 2017

Pop’s Toys display event | 25 and 26 November 2017

Pop’s Toys Lego exhibition Northmead Square Benoni by Linda Lier   2017 has been an exciting and busy year for zaLUG. We celebrated our 1 year anniversary as an RLUG (registered LUG), had many social gatherings, various building projects and we took part in 5...

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The zaLUG Castle Project

The zaLUG Castle Project

Castles have always been a mainstay of Lego’s various lines, dating back to the yellow castle 375-2 all the way up to it’s current iteration Nexo Knights ( With many long time Lego fans reckoning that it's a weird combo of castle and space lines, with the colours of...

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Brickfair 2017

Brickfair 2017

You know those light-hearted news stories that feature at the end of a news bulletin? The ones that follow after all the serious, depressing news? The stories of interesting people doing wacky things? You know the ones – you watch in amazement at the kinds of crazy...

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Build your own mini Helicarrier

Build your own mini Helicarrier

Hey LEGOholics The S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier is such an iconic vehicle and a really cool set, but we don't always have the space and cash for such a monster. Introducing the mini Helicarrier! It's a fun (and cheap) little build that we can all add to our collections. To...

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Clearwater Mall display event | 26-27 August 2017

Clearwater Mall display event | 26-27 August 2017

The best part of a LEGO exhibition is the public. The sharing of heart-warming stories and reminiscing about the funny moments, are the highlights of the post event discussions. How many kids asked to touch the LEGO? What were people drawn to in your display? Did...

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BUILDING TIPS: #7 MINILAND FIGS

BUILDING TIPS: #7 MINILAND FIGS

Howdy LEGOlogists! Today we are talking figs of a different kind. Miniland is the scale and style that LEGO uses for their displays at their themeparks and are completely brick built. Building one is easy and customizing is a lot of fun, so let's get to it shall we.....

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BUILDING TIPS: #6 RAINBOW POOP

BUILDING TIPS: #6 RAINBOW POOP

Howdy fellow brickers! Quite a lot of times MOCs with real potential turn into heaps of rainbow poop, where it could have been a WOW.. is now just a Meh. Why does this happen? It all comes down to colour choices and the abundance of it.. so today we get into one of...

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BUILDING TIPS: #5 SNOT FLAT SQUARE

BUILDING TIPS: #5 SNOT FLAT SQUARE

Ola ABSaholics! Today's quick building tip is really quick, but it will help you solve quite a few problems when you need to build in different directions. You will need: 1 2x4 plate 4 1x4 plates 4 1x2/1x4 angle plates (bracket) STEP 1 Take a 2x4 plate and add 2...

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Display event: Lilliputs, 6 to 7 May 2017

Display event: Lilliputs, 6 to 7 May 2017

During our second display event for 2017 and a first as zaLUG for Lilliputs, we had a great opportunity to display inside the the Rosebank Mall and the members really showed class with some great displays. As always the public was very excited and loved interacting...

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BUILDING TIPS: #4 SNOT CUBE

BUILDING TIPS: #4 SNOT CUBE

Yes, SNOT Cube.. although it sounds like something a 4 year old would construct it'snot (I know that joke is lame but it's the best one I've got). On with the building! You will need: 4 Travis Bricks 6 2x2 plates 1 2x2 jumper (alternative bottom) 1 2x2 round tile with...

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BUILDING TIPS: #3 CIRCULAR BASES FOR MINIFIGS

BUILDING TIPS: #3 CIRCULAR BASES FOR MINIFIGS

Hello again! If you are anything like me, then you love your minifigs but building little 8x8 square bases/vignettes for them are very.. square. With series 17 on our doorstep let's get right to it shall we.. you will need: 8  1x3 curved slopes 4 1x2 plates 4 1x2...

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Building tips: #2 Pine Tree

Building tips: #2 Pine Tree

GREETINGS LEGOHOLICS! For those of us who ordered a bunch of flower stalks or bought a couple from George.. let's put them to good use in building a pine tree. You will need: A bunch of flower stalks a bunch of Travis bricks in Reddish Brown 2 or 3 1x1 round bricks in...

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Building tips: #1 Tiles flush with wall

Building tips: #1 Tiles flush with wall

Howdy Brickers! Over the next couple of months we will be posting some quick building tips to help your builds. From simple techniques to complicated ideas.. we will try and cover them all. So to start you off here is #1: Tiles flush with brick built walls. This works...

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Pops Display Event

Pops Display Event

On the morning of March 25th 2017, AFOLS all around Gauteng, woke up bright and early to the sounds of their alarms. Though sleepy and desperately in need of our morning coffee, we shared a common feeling of excitement. An excitement that can only come from thought of...

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zaLUG at Brickfair 2016, Irene, Pretoria

zaLUG at Brickfair 2016, Irene, Pretoria

Brickfair 2016 was a great weekend! 18 members of zaLUG brought their amazing custom creations and interacted with the public for 2 days straight! More members who couldn't make it came round and spend some time looking at some awesome designs. There was a total of 71...

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LEGO®  Photography

LEGO® Photography

I had some requests to get a photographer to come and speak to us at our LUG meetings on how to photograph your MOC's. It is a really fantastic idea and I am busy looking into getting a workshop rather than just a 30min talk. Photography courses tend to be expensive...

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zaLUG is a RLUG!

zaLUG is a RLUG!

Today was a good day! A really good day! It was an amazing and humbling privilege to announce at our LUG meeting that zaLUG has received an RLUG status from The LEGO Group! To see people sit upright in their seats and the change in their faces was something quite...

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Benoni Child Welfare Field Cleanup

Benoni Child Welfare Field Cleanup

On Saturday 27 August 2016, members of zaLUG donated their time to help the Greater Benoni Child Welfare to clean up the open field next to the house. This field was scattered with rubble, broken glass and trimmed tree branches. The members walked the field to pick up...

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PAUL’S PARTS #3 (August 2016)

PAUL’S PARTS #3 (August 2016)

New Parts This issue I thought I would highlight a new part that arrived in August. Part Number:                 26047 First Appeared:              Ninjago Current Colours:            Black This new part looks to be another in the range of new parts that will allow...

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zaLUG 2nd Meeting

zaLUG 2nd Meeting

We started our second meeting bursting at the seams as we had much more members than at the 1st meeting. LUG business was mainly taken care of by exco member Iain followed by an update regarding upcoming charity events by Clark. The educational talk was by Tony Graham...

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Tony’s presentation on LEGO® geometry

Tony’s presentation on LEGO® geometry

Following requests from some of the zaLUG members, we've uploaded Tony's presentation on LEGO® Geometry. Quite interesting to understand LDraw Units (LDU), exceptions, studs not on top (SNOT) building, slopes, offsets, jumper plates, microstriping and...

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Newsletter 2

Newsletter 2

Welcome to our 2nd Newsletter. It is now 4 months since we sat around a table across from Pops Toys discussing the formation of zaLUG. It was on that day that I met Iain and Clark for the first time. It has been a great ride so far and we have achieved so much more...

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zaLUG at iTech LEGO® Day

zaLUG at iTech LEGO® Day

iTech Plus hosted an AFOL display for the public at the Riverside Boulevard Shopping Centre, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa. The event took place on Saturday 30 April 2016 on a beautiful autumn day. Even though it was held over the Easter long weekend, the AFOLS showed...

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zaLUG 1st Meeting: 29 May 2016

zaLUG 1st Meeting: 29 May 2016

On Sunday 29 May, zaLUG had its inaugural meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was a beautiful day and the attendee total exceeded our wildest dreams. The day started with Joe welcoming everyone and giving LUG feedback, updates and statistics. Iain and Clark...

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List of LEGO Abbreviations

List of LEGO Abbreviations

A AFOL: “Adult-Fan-of-LEGO”. Pronounced to rhyme with “hay-foal”. AFFOL: “Adult-Female-Fan-of-LEGO” (See also FAFOL and SHEFOL.)  B Bignette: a large LEGO creation (larger than a Vignette, but smaller than a Diorama). Billund: Billund, Denmark. Headquarters and...

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zaLUG Juniors

zaLUG Juniors

To ensure to longevity of the LUG we have to ensure a constant pool of new builders coming through. We want to start a new section to the LUG aimed at our younger members. The exco cannot run this section of the LUG and want to offer it to anyone who have a passion...

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Paul’s Parts #2 (June 2016)

Paul’s Parts #2 (June 2016)

New Parts This issue I thought I would highlight one new part that arrived in June. Part Number: 23443 First Appeared: Volcano Explorers Current Colours: Black Very similar to part 11090, first appearing in 2013, it has a bar instead of a clip. These two parts...

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Paul’s Parts #1 (May 2016)

Paul’s Parts #1 (May 2016)

Being our first issue I thought I’d look at a few parts that made their first appearance last year. Part Number: 19121 First Appeared: Elves Current Colours: Lavender, Sand Green, Pearl Gold, Black Part Number: 20309 First Appeared: Friends Current Colours: Tan, Sand,...

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