Earlier this August, BrickCon.PH 2025 brought together LEGO fans from all over Metro Manila, Philippines for a weekend of displays, games, and cosplays. Organized by the Brick Traders Community (BTC), BrickCon.PH provided a venue for fans to display their creations and collections, and spend time together as a community. Add LEGO treasure hunting in the mix, and it was definitely time well spent for everyone who attended.

Here’s a quick run-down on what I loved about the event along with some photos of the builds I saw.

The Displays

BTC is well known for its dedicated collectors, and they came in full force. A minifig wall showcased minifigures from a wide range of LEGO themes, including Disney, Star Wars, Minecraft, Nexo Knights, various series of Collectible Minifigures, and Ninjago. Among the set collectors, Star Wars was especially popular, with minifig armies and ships on display. There were also many vehicles (land, sea, and air), and even a Galidor-themed display!

Photos by Kevin Buenaventura.

I found myself crying over a touching display by AFOL Billy Lee, who passed away early this year. A corner was dedicated to Billy’s builds, which I thought was an appropriate tribute to the man everyone called Uncle/Tito.

BTC’s tribute for Uncle Billy Lee, featuring his MOCs.

The stars of the weekend were the MOCs (My Own Creations), which included:

Mecha builds of different designs. The influence of Japanese pop culture is strong in Manila, reflected in these impressive mechs. My personal favorite was a detailed LEGO mecha of Pokémon Zeraora, whose adorable face stole my heart!
A town of MOC Modular buildings, which were modified from LEGO’s own modular sets.
Collaborative displays by BTC members featured tiny shops and an apartment complex designed for minifigs.
A flower wall made of LEGO botanical models and flower MOCs served as a selfie backdrop.
An elaborate medieval castle battle scene.
A beautiful Japanese garden with so much details, I spent forever staring at it and kept finding new details every time I came back to it!
Remote-controlled robots that let you play football (this was my kids’ favorite!)

Photos by Kevin Buenaventura and Inez Vasquez.

I was also honored to be part of the display community with my Philippine Botanicals MOC collection. I particularly enjoyed connecting with new friends, a couple and their twin sons, who identified my flower collection because their mom is a Biologist (I actually went to school with her! She was a year below me), Dad is a Physicist, and the kids had seen the actual live specimen in bloom. It was such a precious moment, being able to talk to these kids about the flowers I loved so much!

Community Events

It was my first time participating in a panel discussion about life as an AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO). Listening to fellow enthusiasts share how LEGO has transformed their lives—especially during the pandemic—was truly inspiring.

Panel interview made of afols. Photo by Kevin Buenaventura.

I also attended my first cosplay event at a LEGO gathering. Although not directly related to LEGO, it attracted a large crowd, and it was clear that everyone enjoyed the creative costumes inspired by anime, movies, and TV characters. LEGO car racing, a perennial favorite, fostered friendly competition. There was also the much-awaited BINGO, with LEGO sets up for grabs, including 71799 Ninjago City Markets and 71741 Ninjago City Gardens.

cosplayers roamed the event and competed for best in costume. photo by Kevin Buenaventura.

Treasure Hunting

I try my best NOT to overspend at LEGO events so I have some ground rules

Spend only what’s in my wallet. NO TOPPING UP allowed.
Have a specific set or pieces in mind. No buying of random things unless goals are not available. But always go back to rule No. 1.
If I find something I really like but is beyond budget, I remind myself of all the expenses responsible adulting entails and the current problem of lack of space. Repeat as many times as possible to allow oneself to walk away.
Don’t talk to friends who will enable you to purchase irresponsibly (haha).

I set out with a goal of finding the following: (1) a red panda minifig I saw on the Japanese garden display, (2) the baby astronaut minifig from 71499 DreamZzz Mateo’s Spray Paint Truck , and (3) the Building my SG (Singapore 40th Anniversary Commemorative Set), a gift for my nephew that I’ve been looking for on and off for the past two years.

Thankfully, I found the red panda and Building my SG set! Score! Sadly, there was no creepy baby astronaut around. But 2/3 goals met is not bad at all! Since I still had a bit of budget left over, I also got myself a cute little keychain with my Instagram handle (with a super cute cat engraved on a 1x1 brick!), a corgi, and the Philippine butterfly from 21346 Family Tree.

I really enjoyed my time checking out the various wares, which were not limited to LEGO. There were stuffies, anime figures, stickers, and all sorts of LEGO related stuff. There were so many interesting finds, from San Diego Comic Con minifigs (it the first time I ever saw these in person. But the price tags! OMG!), retired sets that were reasonably priced, and even a LEGO Yoda nightlight (never saw that one before).

Going Home Happy

While I was at the panel interview, I talked about how LEGO has shaped me, from giving me a respite from my busy life as a working mom, to forcing me to budget responsibly, to giving me friends from all over the world. My BrickCon.PH weekend reminded me of all of that, and so much more. It was everything I loved about the LEGO community: creativity, fun, and a family bound not by blood but by bricks. It was a truly memorable experience, one I’d be happy to repeat in the years to come.

Photos above provided by Kevin Buenaventura Photography.

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