The NALUG Legislature Model in the Legislature

January 2008, ongoing

The Final Display | Setup | Oops | Crowd Shots 

The LEGO model of the Alberta Legislature building was initially built for the 2005 GETS (Great Edmonton Train Show) display. 2005 was the Province of Alberta's centennial, so NALUG members built a number of historic structures to highlight the occasion. During 2007 the model was in the main entrance of Telus World of Science, as part of NALUG displays there. It was seen by the Speaker of the House of the Alberta Legislature, who decided that the model should be inside the real Legislature building. The wheels of government turn slowly, so it took a while, but the model now resides in a large custom display case located in the walkway complex of the Legislature building. Everyone involved agreed that a Lego model just did not belong within the marble and columned interior of the Legislature building itself.

The model is built mostly by NALUG members John Koob and Chris Gray, with considerable assistance from other NALUG members, friends and family. The structure is about 9 feet long, 7 feet deep and 3-1/2 feet high. It is built from well over 100,000 standard Lego pieces. Construction took several months, and the parts required were obtained from all over the world. No paint or glue is used in the model - the only non-standard components are the stickers on the flags. LEGO modellers will note that the building uses a lot of SNOT (Studs Not On Top), and a lot of half-stud and less spacing. The outer edges of the structure have some interior detail, but not a lot. The requirements of the outer wall detailing resulted in quite thick walls that are not overly strong - attempting to do the same for the interior would have more than doubled the construction time and cost, and perhaps not been really doable in the end.

The pictures of the display are divided into four parts - the final display inside the case, display setup, photos of an "incident", and some photos of viewers on the opening day of the display.

The final display Display setup
An "incident" Opening day