A scale-model replica of the Golden Gate Bridge was the centrepiece of the sixth annual Illawarra Annual Brick Show held at Berkeley over the weekend.
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The event, at Illawarra Sports Stadium, saw Master LEGO builders from across Australia come together to show off their handiwork and raise money for a good cause.
The event was organised by Graham Draper, who formed the Wollongong LEGO Users Group (GongLUG) about five years ago, which puts on exhibitions across NSW to raise money for various children's charities.
The replica of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco was built by master LEGO builder Gene Lomas and measured 13.4-metre long and 1.45-metre tall at its highest point.
Mr Lomas, 45, made the trek from his Goulburn home to Berkeley, bringing it in more than 30 separate pieces before spending more than two hours reassembling it.
He first began building the creation in 2005, making the tower and some of the road.
"I pulled most of the road apart and used it to make other things, then in 2013, I found out about an exhibition and contacted the organiser," he said.
He decided that if he was going to display it, he wanted it to be an exact replica, not a model, and set about adding to it. He estimates that in all he spent a year perfecting the piece.
"It is built to a scale of 1:160, with the correct number of lights and stringers. The LEGO pieces are doing all the work structurally of holding up the bridge," he said.
The full-time carpenter and "amateur engineer" loves to see people's faces when they view it for the first time.
"You see their jaws just drop to the floor and their mouths get more and more open as they get closer," he said.
It was one of about 250 custom-LEGO builds spread across 200 tables at this year's event, where visitors could try their hand at LEGO play tables and take part in interactive activities.
Competitors from the TV show LEGO Masters also made guest appearances.
The main benefactor of the event was KidsWish, which supports children with a disability or illness.
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