A successful first show.
Just over a week has passed since our group’s debut performance, and what an incredible experience it was! The roboteers have spent the subsequent week diligently tallying shattered LEGO bricks, painstakingly repairing their robots, and implementing improvements in preparation for their next event.
Friday
Morgan’s weekend began on Friday with their arrival at the venue around 4:45 PM. Their immediate tasks included signing in with the event organizers to receive their name badge and event bricks, as well as locating their designated display area and the robot combat arena’s setup location. Morgan then commenced setting up both spaces for the weekend. This involved arranging their Ukraine/Chornobyl display (unfortunately, one of their models sustained major damage during transport to the show which needed to be rebuilt) and preparing the robot arena by positioning seating, distributing Power Dysfunction leaflets, setting up the ballot box and sticky notes for public voting on favourite robots, and configuring the lighting and sound system.
Saturday
Shortly after the venue opened to registered exhibitors at 7:00 AM, Morgan and several other roboteers arrived to complete the setup of the robot combat area. Around 8:00 AM, Dan arrived with his robots and the battle timer, which we positioned high behind the arena for clear visibility for both competitors and spectators. By approximately 9:00 AM, a couple more roboteers had arrived, and at 9:40 AM, we held a team briefing. During this briefing, we conducted a safety overview and ensured everyone was familiar with the new 2025 unified ruleset.
The show officially opened at 10:00 AM, coinciding with the arrival of a few more roboteers, to whom we distributed the goodie packs we had prepared. Our first session commenced at 10:40 AM, providing an opportunity for roboteers to see the other robots present and decide who they wished to battle. This session also allowed us to finalize the battle schedule for the initial fights. Roboteers were permitted to choose their opponents, contingent on mutual agreement. Session 1 kicked off with a match between Simon’s Second Revolution and Lewis’s Stratos and the carnage ensued straight away.
The excitement and destruction continued throughout the day, with a total of four battle sessions held at 10:40 AM, 12:20 PM, 1:30 PM, and 3:00 PM. Each session featured approximately seven to eight intense fights. The visiting public eagerly filled the robot combat area up to 30 minutes before each session, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle we presented. The children, in particular, enthusiastically cheered for their favorite robots. Throughout the day, numerous robots suffered significant damage, keeping the roboteers busy with repairs between matches, often right up until the final battle session.
Just before the roboteers left, it was time to hand out the trophies for the day. One of our members, Dan, kindly provided 3 trophies to hand out. Most Destructive which was won by Pete with his robot Anony, Best Design which was won by Lewis for his robot Turing and Crowd Favourite which was won by Sam for his robot Wasp.
Several roboteers were also registered as exhibitors for the Black Country Brick Show. These individuals spent the evening at a social gathering organized by Paul and Darren, which included various games and a delicious curry meal.
Sunday
Sunday began early with the show opening at 9:00 AM for a designated quiet hour. This allowed attendees with disabilities and sensory sensitivities to experience the event in a more relaxed atmosphere. Our robot combat schedule mirrored Saturday’s, with the first battle session commencing at 10:40 AM. Predictably, the arena witnessed even greater mayhem and some fights proved to be more intense than those on the previous day.
The 3:00 PM fight session featured a highly anticipated tournament. Eight of the weekend’s most formidable robots clashed in our arena to determine the Black Country Brick Show champion. With generous prizes for the winner and runner-up, very kindly provided by Techbrick↗, every roboteer was fiercely competitive and determined to claim victory. Ultimately, only one robot could emerge as the champion. Full videos of the tournament will be available on YouTube shortly.
After the tournament it was time to hand out the trophies for the day. Dan again kindly provided another 3 trophies to hand out. Most Destructive which was won by Team Hazer with their robot James Pond, Best Design which was won by Lewis for his robot Scorch & Pyro and the Crowd Favourite was won by Chris for his robot Sonic.
Shortly after the trophy presentation, the show concluded, and we began the process of packing up and returning to our accommodations or homes. Overall, the Black Country Brick Show 2025 was a resounding success for Power Dysfunctions. It provided an invaluable platform to introduce our burgeoning community to the wider robot combat scene and to the wider LEGO AFOL community, and we are incredibly pleased with how everything unfolded. We extend our sincere gratitude to all the roboteers who traveled to Birmingham for our inaugural event and commend everyone for delivering such a captivating spectacle for the public.
We are profoundly grateful to each and every one of the following individuals and roboteers for their invaluable contributions throughout the weekend, which were absolutely instrumental in making our first show such an overwhelming success: Paul, Darren, Mark, Morgan, Danny G, Danny R, Lewis, Simon, Jamie, Chris, Team Hazer, Combat Bricks, Sam, Ben, and the wonderful Alexis making a few brief appearances as pit crew, rebuilding robots mid-session! Your dedication, support, and hard work meant the world to us, and we cannot thank you enough for everything you did!
