Here’s another one from the second round of the 2021 Bricklink Designer Program sets. You can check out the Bricks for Bricks store on Bricklink to see some of the Bricklink Designer Program sets I have for sale. This one is #910013-1: Retro Bowling Alley. It contains 2,779 pieces and retailed for $229.99 pieces. This worked out to $0.083 per piece. Given the limited production run of the set, don’t count on finding this set for that price. You probably could try to piece it together. I’m not sure what the cost for that would be and you’d miss out on the stickers.
Onto the review…
The box is similar to other Bricklink Designer Program sets. It’s white with the Bricklink logo on the front and back. The LEGO logo is on the side. The front shows the full set and gives the standard information you’d expect to see on a LEGO set. It also states the designer’s Bricklink name which is avlia (Alan Avila from California, USA). The design is in line with #10260-1: Downtown Diner and in the retro 1960s US style. The back shows the set from a different angle and with the roof removed.
The set contains 15 number parts bags with one or two bags per number. There are three bags that are not numbered. The set also comes with a sticker sheet, two 32x32 dark gray baseplates, and a card explaining the instructions.
I started this build outside when it was still nice outside, hence the table in this picture.
Here is a picture of the stickers. Thankfully, there were only a few, but my sheet was stuffed in the box and got bent a bit. In the end, the stickers went on fine so I guess I can’t complain.
Also, the Bricklink designer sets come with a special seal to show that they haven’t been opened. Only my set came without the seal attached so… thanks! Everything was there, but it lost a bit of the exclusiveness when I saw that.
The first bag starts similar to a modular building with the construction of the sidewalk and then the outline of the building. I originally thought it was going to be built so you could easily separate the two baseplates, but eventually you lay a piece down that connects the two.
This bag also builds the five minifigures for this set which seem to fit well. I’ve never been to a bowling alley with a chef, but you never know.
You also attached a few stickers to some tiles to make score sheets and put some pieces together to make a triangle for… I’m not sure what the triangle is for. Then there are a few bowling balls which are not really balls as they have a hole on the bottom to attach a Technic axle, but they get the job done. Finally there is a trophy to give to the winner of your brick bowling tournament.
It’s usually a given for a set this size, but a brick separator comes in this bag.
Bags two and three build the tiling for the inside of the bowling alley. Bag two builds the arcade area with a fun, colorful pattern. It also assembles the kitchen and some of the flooring for the bowling area. Bag three finishes up the brown and then puts down the base of each lane. Lots of great tiles in these two bags.
Bags four and five build up the walls. Bag four sets down an initial layer, adds in some doors, and installs some flowers and greenery in the front. Bag 5 continues to build up the walls and adds some details to the interior to include ball returns, the front desk, and seats for bowlers to sit in.
Bag six adds a bit to the walls and then focuses on the kitchen. It’s not overly detailed, but I like the addition of a few cooking areas and some of the food details. The hot dogs seem appropriate for a bowling alley, but I’ve never seen one do fried eggs before. Maybe they did in the 1960s?
Bag seven builds up the walls and adds in some of the decorations. There are patterns on the outside and then lights on the inside.
You also add some details to the pay counter. You connect a red 1x1 plate to a red 1x1 tile and put them on a shelf behind the desk. I’m not sure if they are supposed to be boxes of shoes or what, but it is hard to get them to stay on the shelves. Any slight movement and they fall on the floor and you have to try and dig them out from behind the desk. It’s a nice detail, but it isn’t very practical. Later on, you add a second shelf and more of these red plate and tile stacks. Those fall as well.
The eighth bag adds in some fence pieces near the entrance as part of the decoration on that part of the building. Additionally, you build the arcade games. There are three games and they have a decent amount of detail considering the scale. One appears to be a driving game, one has small shooters to be some sort of game where you shoot at things on the screen, and the last one is maybe more of a Pac-Man type game.
I didn’t get a good picture of them, but you add in some stools in front of the food area.
Bag nine adds in some tiling over the walls of the cafe area. It also adds in some brick red pieces for the building design by the outside planters and then in the back of the building. Lastly, you add in some plant and flower pieces along the outer walls of the building.
The tenth bag adds in tiles above the walls of the bowling alley. Much like a modular building, they are set up so there are some studs so the roof stays down, but not enough where it makes it a challenge to remove the roof. Additionally, each corner of the building adds in some gray pieces for a bit of architectural design there. It’s a simple design, but it makes the building look better over just having brick corners. Lastly, you add in the bowling pins on either side of the front doors. There is a Technic axle in the center of the pin and then the pieces stack on it. The pins look great and are a nice addition to the set design.
Bag 11 adds the bowling pins and the tops to each of the lanes. There are only 6 pins per lane, but based on the scale, I can’t complain too much about this. The pins are free standing so you have to be careful when moving the build to not knock them down. It also makes them a challenge to set up. Perhaps they could have used jumper plates to arrange the pins so you could attach them and they wouldn’t fall over.
Bag 12 starts half of the roof. It continues the design from the walls and then there’s some ventilation units. I like the use of the silver pieces.
Bag 13 finishes that section of the roof and then adds some additional detail along the sides. Then you start on the other half of the roof.
You add some boxes to the roof. One is just a box with a jumper plate top. Then there is a jumper plate and an open box. That box has a black ball with a hole for a Technic axle. I’m not sure if this is supposed to be a part of the roof or if it’s just a place to store bowling balls. Any ideas?
Bag 13 starts the other section of the roof.
Bag 14 finishes the other half of the roof. This section fits around the ladder to the top in the back. It also includes another box with a “ball” in it. I don’t know…
You add an awning over the entrance to the alley which is a cool curved design. I like the techniques used and the curvature.
Bag 15 finishes the build. You attach a sign to the baseplate. The sign is very colorful and the stickers actually look pretty good. The only downside I found to this portion of the build is that you use 2x2 round bricks stacked together with a long Technic axle inside. This works fine only my Technic axle came bent and so the sign looks like it’s leaning over. I’m not sure the best way to fix this. Any ideas?
Here’s the final build. It’s a large, one-story modular building that isn’t modular. You can’t easily disconnect this set for storage or to move it around. I wish I had my Downtown Diner Modular building still assembled as I think this would look great next to it and I look forward to someday building a MOC with the two or having both in a city layout next to each other.
Overall, it’s not a bad set. The build was fun with only a few repetitive parts. There were a lot of great details and the color scheme was great. There are also a lot of great pieces if you want to tear it apart for MOC pieces. The minifigures are okay. Nothing too exciting, but they fit the set well. The price per piece is decent although $230 is pretty steep to pay. Due to the limited production run, you won’t find this one for $230 anymore. Sorry.
Happy building!
