I did a few posts on the BrickLink AFOL designer back in March and April 2019. You can see the first one here and the update here. As mentioned, I ordered two sets and the first one arrived a few weeks back. I finally got done with my LEGO® House and Billund, Denmark posts so this post is next in the cue.

The first one to arrive was #BL19012: Bikes! by designer MDT.Maikel from the Netherlands. The cost was $49.99 for 519 pieces or $0.096 per piece. I bought it during the pre-order period so it was free shipping. I don’t live in California so no sales tax either. Woohoo!!

Onto the review…

When you buy from LEGO® Shop at Home, the boxes that arrive are very plain and do not have a LEGO logo on them anywhere. The shipping label says LRI I believe. BrickLink wants you to be sure you know what’s in the box when you get it. As you can see, the logo is proudly displayed on the box.

The box inside has a printed covering on it. The front of the set has the BrickLink logo, the 60th anniversary logo, and the printed numbering (my set was #617). The back shows another view of the set. The side of the box has the designer info, the total pieces, and the total unique pieces.

The inside of the box cover can be set up as a backdrop for the set. I didn’t straighten it out or hang it up so it still has the folds, but it’s a cool idea. I didn’t see anywhere that said where exactly the picture was taken, but I would guess in the Netherlands somewhere. Does anyone know?

Inside the covering is the box with the goods. The top has the BrickLink logo and the bottom has some information about the AFOL Designer Program. I took a picture of the BrickLink logo on the side just because and then the box has a seal for when you open it. Once you pull the sticker away, it says “void” and you can’t try and re-sell or scam someone into saying it’s a new build for purchase.

The box was actually a bit big considering the contents. The contents are 3 parts bags, the instructions, and 2 cards. This is what it looked like when I opened the box. Everything was well organized and you can tell it was hand packed versus machine stuffed.

The first card as you open the set has a note from BrickLink and from LEGO. Happy reading!

The second card has pictures of all of the sets that were selected as finalists in the program.

Inside the instruction booklet is a note from the AFOL designer. His name is Maikel de Vries and it’s cool that they let him plug some of his other work.

The instructions are similar to what you would find in an official LEGO set other than they skip a lot of steps and details. They get that adults are building these and they don’t need to get into every little detail. If you want to follow the instructions, then it’s on you.

The contents were 3 parts bags labeled 1A, 2A, and 2B. The instructions are set up so that you open bag 1 and then bags 2A and 2B at the same time. My guess is that BrickLink did a lot of this by hand versus using LEGO’s giant automated systems so the 2A and 2B helped people realize that they were separate. Don’t quote me on this one… does anyone have any insight into this?

Additionally, you get an Exclusive Element. It is the Technic, Brick 2x4 with 3 axle holes. I didn’t grab a picture of it, but the side of the brick has the 60 Year logo on it.

Onto the build…

The first bag completes the stand where you pick up your bike. It comes with 3 bikes and 6 slots for bikes. There are 6 light blue bikes that come with the set in total so that makes sense. The one side of the stand has a register for renting the bike and the other has an air pump (I think). The base has the “Bikes!” logo on it made out of lime green tiles. The roof is held on by a Technic parts design that is pretty cool. Unlike an official LEGO set, this stand is not very solidly constructed. If you’re used to just picking up an official set and moving it, don’t try it with this one. The roof part disconnects very easily. It’s not a bad thing… just a difference to be aware of in my opinion.

The second set of bags builds the truck, 2 minifigures, and a bike with a cart in front that carries some brick food. The truck isn’t too detailed other than the design in the back uses some SNOT techniques to have the mirror image “Bikes!” sign on both sides. The bike with cart is a cool idea… definitely something I saw a lot when I went to Amsterdam. It’s not a very stable build with the basket being held on by one small stud, but as it’s not meant for a kid to play with, They can get away with it for this set.

The minifigures are rather plain and come with the 2 dots and a smiley face. If BrickLink repeats this effort, I’d work with LEGO to expand the available minifigures. If I were to have a complain about anything from this set, I think the minifigures would be it.

Here’s the final build with the 3 extra bike wheels. There were a few small extra parts too.

Overall, I like how BrickLink and LEGO handled this and the finished product. The packaging was high quality and the set build was on par with what I’d expect from an AFOL build. Having ordered back in late March, they thankfully didn’t charge me until the set shipped in June. I have one other set on the way and have not been charged for it yet which is good. I think that’s a reasonable way to run the program. BrickLink has done a good job getting me updates on the status of my orders. Not charging me until it ships is good. I have done a brick related gofundme type program before. I paid up front and ended up not getting the final product as the effort was delayed substantially. I contacted the folks running the effort and still didn’t get anything.

Back on track though… this was well executed and the final product is great. I’m on board with BrickLink doing this again. It would be great to see more AFOL models come through the pipeline. Maybe some of the rejected IDEAS sets?

Well done BrickLink!

If you look at any of the LEGO related fan sites recently you have probably seen plugs for the Bricklink AFOL Designer Program. Back in 2018 I remember this program being announced and the initial response from the community was “huh?” Why should we submit designs for people to vote on and then if they get enough votes, the design gets made? That sounds a lot like the LEGO Ideas program. I will be honest and say I saw it come out and then ignored it. Thankfully, not everyone did… so let me give a quick explanation of how it works in case you haven’t been following this effort.

Over 400 designs were submitted to Bricklink by September 2018. Between November and January, LEGO and Bricklink got together to review designs. The review team ended up selecting 16 designs. Those designs were posted on Bricklink (here) in January. From January until 15 April 2019, anyone can go and vote with their wallet on one (or a few of the designs). If the design you vote on reaches the required number of votes by 15 April, the design goes into production (and you get charged on 15 April). From that point, Bricklink (not LEGO) will work on getting parts and putting the packaging together. Then they will ship (for free if you use the pre-order time) sometime in the May time frame.

I recommend checking out the Bricklink page to get more information on how this project works if it still sounds confusing. Also, the Beyond the Brick team did some press for the program as well. There are some good videos they made to include an interview with Jamie Berard (LEGO Designer), an interview with Tormod Askildsen (LEGO’s AFOL Engagement Team Lead), and then one with Russell Callender (BrickLink Catalog manager). Of the three, I found the interview with Jamie Berard the most interesting. One because it went through how he was selected to join the company and two because he talks about why the Bricklink AFOL program is cool. What it boils down to is that LEGO designers really have to put a lot of thought into how things are constructed and what techniques are used as their designs reach huge audiences across the world. With this program, the goal is not to go in and do major design changes to a proposed set. Since the program is targeted to AFOLs, they figure that AFOLs can handle some different techniques that are not allowed in official sets. To me, that is a big selling point.

Enough about the program, let’s talk about the designs. There is still over a month to go so you have time to put your pre-orders in. As of the writing of this post, 10 of the 16 designs have met or exceeded their crowdfunding goals. I voted for two and I’ll mention two that I deem as honorable mentions.

The first one is called Skyline Express by user Jazlecraz. At 1,373 parts and $139.99, it works out to $0.102 per piece. It’s a bit high, but not too bad. The coloring is very simple, but in my mind this set opens up a ton of possibilities for adding more track, stations, scenery, or even modifying the monorail train itself. The builder has posted that he’s working on instructions for adding an M-motor to the set so make it motorized so that would be a great addition. I don’t know about anyone else, but as I kid I always saw the LEGO catalogs with the monorails in them and was never able to get one so this I saw this as my chance. If you need a reminder, there was the Classic Space version (#6990-1 Monorail Transport System), the theme now known as CITY had #6399-1 Airport Shuttle, and finally another space version (#6991-1 Monorail Transport Base). This set is slightly different as it uses the rail from the Roller Coasters (#10261-1 Roller Coaster or #31084-1 Pirate Roller Coaster). The rails match the color of #31084-1 so you can get that set and use the rail to expand the Skyline Express rail. There’s also a small juice bar in the station with JüS spelled out in tiles (I even figured out how to get the umlaut over the U in there).

The second set I backed is called “Bikes!” and it was built by user mdt.maikel. This one is 529 pieces and goes for $49.99 which works out to $0.094 per piece. It’s slightly under the so called 10 cents per piece average, so not too bad. I like this set because it is something different. I’m a big CITY and Train fan and my goal is to one day have a house with a basement that I can take over with a large CITY display. This one is not in line with the usual stream of CITY sets that come out of the LEGO Group. There are a lot of official sets with cars, fire trucks, and police vehicles, but not one dedicated to bicycling like this set. It will definitely add a welcome change to any LEGO CITY scene.

Two honorable mentions that I liked, but didn’t end up backing.

The first is called The LEGO® Story. It’s by user BrickJonas and contains 1,442 pieces for $99.99 ($0.07/piece).. This one highlights the 60th anniversary of the brick and contains four different vignettes dealing with LEGO”s history from making wooden toys, to the first plastic bricks, to designing the models, and finally modern production. I thought this one was pretty cool, but alas I don’t have an endless budget to buy LEGO sets.

The second is called Eight Studs and it is by user kleinraum. It’s 1,393 pieces for $9.99 ($0.072/piece). This one is a modular living area in the shape of a 2x4 brick or two 2x2 bricks. If you check out the set’s page you’ll see that it can be customized to look a few different ways. Definitely check it out. It’s a cool design.

To be fair, I’m not saying that the other 12 sets I didn’t mention are bad models. I’m just showing you the ones that interested me the most. There are some great designs from some talented builders. If you aren’t interested in purchasing, be sure to check out what is out there anyways. Maybe next time when Bricklink puts out a call for designs you can submit yours.

Happy building!