The Story of Misty Isle Bricks
Today, I have something different than my menagerie… something misty instead. I’m indulging in a love letter to one of my favourite events, which is small but mighty: Misty Isle Bricks.
I’ve sprinkled pics of MOCs and displays from the show throughout the article, but this one is about more than just the bricks we all know and love.
Why Misty Isle Bricks?
Sometimes a show comes along that is just extra special. Misty Isle Bricks is one of those. It’s not a big show by any metric, but it punches above its weight, and there would have to be something very significant happening on the same date for me to miss it.
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Gordon Finlay: Glasgow School of Art
It is held on the Isle of Skye in Scotland - the eponymous Misty Isle - and is organised by Tartan LUG member John Nicolson. John spent his formative years on Skye, and although he no longer lives there, it is still very much the family home. John asked, almost as a joke, if anyone would be prepared to travel to Skye for a show. There was a resounding “Yes!” and Misty Isle Bricks was born.
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Sandy Lyall: Town Square (expanded) (1589)
Anyone Need a Travel Agent?
The Isle of Skye is one of the top tourist destinations in Scotland – it attracts 650,000 tourists annually, against a population of around 13,000. It has everything really; there’s whisky, wildlife, walking, and if you visit the Fairy Pools, you can even go wishing! It is simply beautiful, if the weather lets you see it, but it is a mighty long way from everywhere, and the roads to it are not the biggest.
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Gavin Cleary: Yellow 2x4s View fullsize
Gavin Cleary: Danish milk bottle
It's a minimum 5-hour/240-mile drive from my home in Edinburgh, and that’s only because they built a connecting bridge in 1995. It’s not as far as some AFOLs travel, but for Scotland, it is a surprisingly long way away. I’m stressing this because over 99% of the exhibitors who attend the one-day show travel a similar distance to me – as does John himself. That is quite a pull for what is essentially a little local show.
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The road bridge to Skye, opened in 1995
So Why Do We Go?
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I’m at least four paragraphs into this, and apart from the LUG, I haven’t talked about LEGO yet. Why?
Island communities are special, and Skye is no different. There is an all-for-one mentality born somewhat of necessity but mostly out of genuine love for their home.
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Gavin Cleary: Factory and town
Misty Isle Bricks is one of those amazing things where a community of communities pulls together for a common cause, and it is joyful to be part of it.
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Charli Dobie: Every UK-released Brickheadz
Since 1986, the island has consistently raised significant amounts of money for Cancer Research UK. That is in no small part thanks to John’s Mum and her tireless efforts over those 37 years, and now John’s show adds to that considerable pot too.
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Kenny Smith: South Lanarkshire Council Headquarters
The Cancer Research UK (Isle of Skye Branch) team arranged for a huge tombola, an amazing home-baking sale, and teas, coffees and lunch for us all.
The local Community Centre provides us with the event space, along with tables, etc.
It’s a family affair – John’s sister runs the LEGO raffle. John’s Mum was so determined to take part in every activity that she actually joined the LUG so she was eligible to buy raffle tickets!
Many local businesses provide prizes for the tombola and deals on accommodation, food, etc. We even offer some free local accommodation for exhibitors who want to come but might need some help to make it possible.
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Some of the Cancer Reserach UK team, staffing the wildly popular Tombola stand
A Chance To Share The LEGO Love
The islanders come out in force to see us. 2024 was only the second show, but we are already a fixture in the Island’s calendar, and one of the most frequent questions we get is, “Are you coming back next year?”
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Stephen Buchanan: Revolving Space Station (microscale space monorail!) View fullsize
This year, we gained a new member of the LUG, all the way from Canada. He was determined to be part of this year’s shows even if he couldn’t be there in person. He shipped over a beautiful rendition of his family’s tartan—McLeod—and it debuted at Misty Isle. It has since been on show in Edinburgh, and this month, it will be at Brickmania in Peterhead.
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Shawn McLeod: McLeod Tartan
I love doing big LEGO shows in big cities, too, but the appreciation you get for bringing your models to a more remote community that is not on the ‘touring culture’ route is immense. These small shows are a chance for us to have deeper conversations with visitors and for visitors to get up close and personal with things they might otherwise never see ‘in the brick.’
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Warren Elsmore: Piper (col07-6) View fullsize
Warren Elsmore: Parrot (2546p01) View fullsize
Kenny Smith: Policeman (col329)
This year, I took my Walled Garden AT-AT and my entire LEGO dinosaur collection (currently around 110 different specimens). Not only was this the first time all my dinosaurs had been out together, but it was the first time I could display all 16 dinosaurs that could be made out of the four large 4-in-1 Dinosaurs sets (6719, 6720, 6721 & 6722) from 2001-02. This included the single sheet of instructions and box for each set.
They’re honestly pretty chronic models, and they have a lot of very specialised parts, but there is something about them that drew me in. I’ve spent a few years gathering enough parts to make all the models at once. It felt really good to show them all off and reminisce with those who remembered them from the first time around.
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I also had some absolutely great chats with a huge range of enthusiastic people who were so engaged with the displays.
Tartan Pride
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Despite my singing their praises, Scotland’s islands have not always been as socially progressive as our major cities, but thankfully, that is changing. And Tartan LUG is committed to helping with that. Every event has a Pride table, where exhibitors share their Pride-inspired builds to emphasise that the LUG is for everyone, no matter their hue.
This year, our Chair, Christine, was looking after the table and overheard a grandmother talking about it to her granddaughter—but as the woman was talking in Gaelic, Christine couldn’t understand. Christine asked her to translate and was really happy to hear the grandmother confirm that she’d been explaining pride and saying what a good thing it was to see the table and to know everyone was welcome.
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There and Back Again
This is my deepest love in this infinite LEGO-verse of ours. Yes of course I love the actual bricks (heck, they have been paying my mortgage for the last decade after all!), but my deepest ties are those of community and of friendship and this show has those in spades. Bring on 2025!
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John & I at the end of this year's show View fullsize
Misty Isle Bricks 2024 Exhibitors and Volunteers
What smaller/lesser known shows do you love going to? What makes them special? Let us know in the comments below.
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