The Thread about Castlers in Oregon (and Washington)

[The Blue Knight]

I'm not sure where else to put this, so if it's in the wrong forum I'll let an Admin do their "thang."

Right. There are a lot of us here in the Pacific Northwest. The Seattle contingent is fairly well organized, but we are in a more nacent state here in the Portland Oregon vacinity.

The recent addition of Rocky (RebelRock) has finally spurred me into action. I got active with the GPLR, or Greater Portland Lego Railroaders. The GPLR is the Portland branch of the very first AFOL club of them all, the PNLTC, or Pacific Northwest Lego Train Club (The PSLTC Pudget Sound Lego Train Club is the Seattle branch).

The GPLR is a very active club. We have 3 to 5 shows a year. Besides being the oldest AFOL club (along with PSLTC just so they don't get huffy!) the club has several other claims to fame. We have Steve Barile and Ben Fleskes, two of the very best train builders in the world (both of whom took part in the creation of the Ultimate Collector Train design), Matt Chiles of the roller coaster fame, and we have staged the only two BrickFest conventions outside of the Washington DC area. We have strong presences at the NMRA shows, NWBC, and several regional events. Last both we were included in Willamette Week's (a local Portland paper) "Best of Portland" issue.

As for the castlers, we have an outstanding builder (who is fairly private so I won't name him here) whose creations have been featured here. There are several past users here (i.e. Ja_izzle and Sir Rupert Lansing) who live in the area but are no longer active here. And now a new crop of CC members have hit the scene. People like the Wunz brothers last year, now the likes of Lord Doom and Rocky.

If any of you are interested in getting together PM me and we can exchange contact info. A great first step would be to get you to a GPLR meeting. Those happen generally every other Thursday at one of our homes.

Let me know your interest level, and PM me so we can get things moving.

Richard

[wunztwice]

Well, Richard, I am very interested. As you know (I think) the other Wunz and I have basically started a "LUG" here in Eastern Oregon (with just us two and another of our brothers being the members so far) EORLUG isn't big, but it should show our interest in being involved more than just online. Unfortunately having a meeting in Portland isn't terribly convenient for us. Granted we would love to see y'all much more often-er, but gas is kinda spendy for a 5-6 hour drive.

I dunno if that helps you out. I'm sure if you got something rolling we would eventually show up at several meetings. Especially if I end up attending Multnomah there in P-town!

[RebelRock]

I'd be interested in joining a castle specific or just general Lego group in the Portland area. Unfortunately, I have no interest whatsoever in joining a group with "train" in the name of the club.

[architect]

This thread should be in the Displays section as it deals with meeting other fans in your area. I will move it there.

Ben

[The Blue Knight]

I'd be interested in joining a castle specific or just general Lego group in the Portland area. Unfortunately, I have no interest whatsoever in joining a group with "train" in the name of the club.

Hey Rocky,

I kinda felt the same at first, but no longer. Don't let the train in the name put you off. It was founded by train guys, but Frank Filz, also known as Mr. Pirates is in there, and now my castle influence. I'd love to have you in the group. That would not at all preclude us from founding a LUG, or Lego Users Group, which offers a more generalist appeal. Of course with enough interest we could start a first of its kind LCC, or Lego Castle Club! But I think a good first step is to get you and some of the others to a GPLR meeting. It is such a great feeling to be among other AFOLs. The input from their building is great, plus with members like Kelly McKiernan we have a direct line of communication with TLC itself. Ben Fleskes built a huge Milenium Falcon 8 years ago, so Star Wars is part of the group, plus space and town.

Please don't let the name influence your decision to join! PM me with your email and phone # and we can get together for lunch.

Thomas--you and Chris are welcomed anytime. I know it's a long way, but we have members in Eastern Washington and Medford. Not to mention Kelly who has relocated to Lego World Headquarters in Billund. We have another 6 or 8 people as "members in absentia" living in Alaska all the way to Los Angeles! We may only see them on ce evry two years, but they are on the mail list and can keep tabs on the club. What school might you attend here? I know of no colleges named "Multnomah" in the area.

If you guys are interested in getting on the mail list let me know, and we'll see what we can do.


Richard

[Tedward]

...EORLUG isn't big...

Bigger than Piglet but not so big as Christopher Robin...

Sorry, just couldn't resist after reading your LUG's name.

[JoshWedin]

Unfortunately, I have no interest whatsoever in joining a group with "train" in the name of the club.

Well, technically, its the GPLR (Greater Portland Lego Railroaders) so there should be no problem, right? No "train" in the name.

What school might you attend here? I know of no colleges named "Multnomah" in the area.

It's a private college on NE Glisan. How do I know? I attended there towards the end of the last millennium.

Take care,
Josh

(Couldn't help putting in my 2 cents, even though I don't live in Oregon...)

[RebelRock]

I've got my heart set on starting/joining PortLUG, an AFOL group for all Lego themes or some sort of castle specific club. Maybe PDX Castle Junkies or something like that.

Who cares if it's three people, I think it would be awesome.

I really think that a lot of people(including myself) might be hesitant to join a group with a name that implies a specific theme. Train clubs make me think of a bunch of old guys sitting around scratching their beards.

My secret dream is really a rock and roll Lego club where a bunch of nerds get together, have a beer, listen to music and play with toys.

[plums_deify]

Rocko, they do that anyway.


Eh. Really, trains only refer to part of the hobby. Sure, the trains on the track are cool, but what REALLY makes the display is everything else, which is town, space, castle, etc.

So no worries.

[LORD DOOM]

My secret dream is really a rock and roll Lego club where a bunch of nerds get together, have a beer, listen to music and play with toys.

Now you're speaking my language Rocko. This is the kind of LEGO© related gathering that I would greatly fancy. Some relaxed and not overly ambitious interchange LEGO© related of course. Castle related at best.

Throw in a couple Metal tracks, some games of brick-quest or even some good brick battles and a good lengthy building session and I'm all sorts of down to make the trip to Portland. (I'm in Corvallis)

I'll generously donate in the way of any party favors such a gathering may necessitate.

[LORD DOOM]

Okay but besides that, I thought maybe we should organize a little Lego© ski swap type of thing, where we all bring our own pre-selected pieces we've got no use for or no longer want or just want to trade for something else to whoever wants whatever. Like a little mini market, for AFOL's and specifically castlers. Not the general public.

Just thinkin'...ramblin' and thinkin'.