I have discovered that I belong to a certain user group. I’m not quite sure how I feel about it yet. I only recently realised this when I was walking around Menlyn Shopping Mall in Pretoria last week, just looking at the amazing Lego creations on display.

It was the annual Lego Brickfair, a two-day event showcasing Lego fans and their creations. They’re truly amazing. Some are extraordinary, some even mind-blowing. And I haven’t gotten to the Star Wars sets yet…

I was fascinated, and my eight-year-old son even more so. Although I’m the one who took 248 photos.

I know that Lego fans think of themselves as being part of a user group after I spotted enough T-shirts with “LUG” on them – “Lego user group”. We geeks are everywhere. There are clearly sub-genres within the user groups. I clearly belong to the Star Wars subculture. Nothing warms my heart like a Death Star or Star Destroyer.

But I am equally fascinated by the other obsessions people have, from flowers and nature scenes, to medieval castles and landscapes, to Minecraft and its tiny boxy-shaped bees, to cityscapes and airports, and – as always – cars and Formula 1.

The most spectacular, I think, are the metres-long set-ups where people with a far greater obsession (and budget) than mine have built some truly extraordinary sets. The most impressive of these was about 10 to 15m long. I should have shot a video. Instead, I took 83 pictures. I created an album of these to show my son. Yes, of course it’s for my son.

Here are some of the best scenes at this year’s Lego Brickfair. Well done to the Lego User Group. I’m glad to be part of this cult. Without further ado…