Ditching the June gloom of the UK for (slightly) warmer climes, 5 of the Bricks McGee team ventured to Portugal for the annual Parades de Coura Fan Weekend in northern Portugal.
Hosted by Comunidade 0937, a Portuguese LEGO User Group, the event is now a recognised AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) Networking Event, with LEGO fans from around the world gathering in this small town one weekend each year.
Our highlights of LEGO models from PdC Fan Weekend 2025
There was a huge variety of LEGO models on display from builders from Germany, Italy, France, Portugal, the UK, America and many more countries. The Bricks McGee team selected a few of our favourites to share with you.
Aljazeera Sucro LEGO fort by Victor Bosca
This LEGO fort with brick-builtBrick-built refers to creations made from LEGO bricks withou... More figures by Victor Bosca was really magnificent. His Aljazeera Sucro model showcased an invasion of crusader forces in to the town of Alzira in Spain, and the 35622 parts took him around 3 months to assemble.
18 frames – LEGO stroboscope by Alexis Santos
This is truly a case of “you had to be there” – this LEGO stroboscope by Alexis Santos was activated by a button, which start the model spinning, and strobe lights flashed to create the illusion of animation in scenes at each tier of the model. From a surfer dodging an encounter with a shark, to a skateboarder making a jump and avoiding the police, to a city scene, each of the 18 frames incremented the animation and returned to the starting position in 18 frames.
A brilliant use of LEGO bricks, which had visitors amazed!
LEGO puzzle models by Michael Verschaeve
Michael presented a series of interactive puzzles built from LEGO, including the SmartGames IQ Puzzler Pro, with the challenge being to rearrange the coloured puzzle pieces from a rectangle (as in the photograph) in to a pyramid. This was a really ingenious use of LEGO parts, and the interactive nature easily won us over!
Chichen Itza temple complex by Jakob Escher
Jakob’s Chichen Itza temple complex was truly stunning at the Parades de Coura LEGO fan weekend this year.
The original Chichen Itza was built by the Maya people in modern day Mexico, and featured a variety of temples in different styles, plus an original “football” pitch, in which opponents played a ball game in which they could only hit the ball with their torsos, aiming for a goal 6 metres above ground. A truly impressive display, and of a themeA theme is a specific category within LEGO's product lines ... More not often seen built in LEGO builders.
Jakob is a prolific LEGO builder, and our featured image here is another of his builds on display at the weekend – a cemote – a pool created by sunken land.
Many thanks to the Parades de Coura organisers – especially to Miguel and Luis – for their energies and efforts for a very memorable few days of LEGO in the Portuguese sun (and rain)!