The Great Western Brick Show 2017

Last weekend marked the 15th anniversary of the Great Western Brick Show at Swindon's Museum of the Great Western Railway. As always, the show was packed with amazing quality models, with builders coming from all four corners of Britain and even further afield to display their work.

The Great Western Brick Show is always a big event for us, because it’s when we unveil the full extent of each year’s big build, which this year is the 16 metre square beast we call The Jacobite Risings: The Fight for Britain's Throne. About 80% of the model had been on display at Manchester’s Bricktastic last July, but last weekend saw significant new features from Tim Goddard and Steve Snasdell added on to Dan Harris, James Pegrum and Simon Pickard's original.

​The model tells the history of the Jacobite Risings, which took place between 1689 and 1746 and represent Britain's last civil wars, as supporters of the Stuart dynasty attempted to restore the family to the English, Scottish and, following the Act of Union, British thrones. The model is based on the striking geography of the Scottish Highlands, from where the Jacobites drew most of their support, and includes models of real life castles and fortresses. Perhaps most striking is the 1m high tree clad mountain range that runs down its centre, which is home to an abundance of brick-built highland wildlife including ptarmigan, grouse and golden eagle.

We were blown away by the reaction to the model, which we think might be the best we've ever had. It certainly made the gruelling 12 hour task of set up worthwhile! The model breaks a lot of our personal records, not only being the highest, but also having the most minifigures, which we estimate to be about 2,000, and most pieces, which our admittedly rough estimate places in the 750,000 – 1,000,000 range.

The model will soon be on display once again and for an extended period. Where you might ask? Well where better than in Scotland itself? We will announce the venue and dates soon – be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to find out more!