Bricklink Programs

Bricklink Designer Program Round 4 - A Win for Castle Fans

I’ve turned picking the Bricklink Designer Program round sets into a game and round 4 was the first where I didn’t get any right. You can see my failed picks here. This round was heavy on the castle theme and even another train made the pick which is cool to see as a train fan. I’ll be curious to see if LEGO brings back the castle theme based on the popularity through Ideas, Icons, and this program. Onto the finalists for round 4…

First up is Medieval Seaside Market by user Bricks_fan_uy which contains 2,183 pieces. This one is an interesting selection with the addition of #10332: Medieval Town Square in the Icons line. I realize the differences, but it also has a lot of similarities. Either way, it’s Castle and as of late, Castle sets are super popular. This one will most likely sell out quickly.

Next up is the Merchant Boat by user NicolasCarlier which contains 1,933 pieces. This one is something different that we haven’t seen before. I like the concept. We haven’t seen a steamboat before, but maybe there’s a reason for it. We’ll see how this one does with sales.

If one Castle themed set wasn’t enough, this round gives us two. The Siege Encampment by user SleeplessNight contains 2,637 pieces. SleeplessNight designed the Mountain Fortress set from round 1. It’s a full on war scene with the equipment to take over a castle, some tents, and some areas to support the troops. It’s something we haven’t seen in Castle before so I suspect this one will go quickly too.

Next up is The Riverside Scholars by user Hanwas which will contain 2,692 pieces. This one is another unique design and is tied to the Mountain Windmill set from a while back. I like the fantasy theme, but I’m not sure this one will go like the Castle themed sets.

The last one is the Wild West Train by designer llucky which contains 2,760 pieces. llucky designed the General Store set from series 1 so he is another repeat designer for this program. It’s good to see another train set after a lot of years of no trains. This one is from a different era as I don’t think we’ve seen a western themed train set since the Toy Story train a few years back. This one should go well with llucky’s General Store set of the same era.

My Bricklink Designer Program Round 4 Picks

I’ve been writing about the Bricklink Designer Program that kicked off in 2023 for a while. I’ve voted on the last three rounds and a few of my picks are being turned into sets in the program. At the time of this post, Round 1 pre-orders just kicked off. Hopefully you survived the 30 minute website outage to grab the set(s) that you were interested in. Round 4 voting just kicked off and ends on 16 February. Like many of the past rounds, there are a lot of modular type buildings, castles, pirates, and some space items. This round also includes a number of Winter Village themed sets which corresponds to palette being released 1 December for a mid-January submission timeframe.

I made a few picks and listed them below. I also made sure to give all five “Love It” votes.

The first one is American Steam Locomotive by designer stijnd which is made up of 2,143 pieces. The fan community has been pushing for some awesome looking steam engines and I think this one would be a great addition to the lineup. I know trains aren’t the most popular theme, but this one has some great detail and would fit in this program instead of the main lineup through LEGO Icons or Ideas.

The next pick is called Blooming Bouquets. It’s by designer JackBrickLover and contains 757 pieces. While it’s on the smaller side for a modular building, I think every city could use some smaller buildings and our wallets could use some smaller sets on the cheaper side. This one still has a lot of great details and is very bright and has a good mix of colors. I like the flower on the top of the building with the butterfly.

Fire Truck is by designer KingCreations and packs a lot of detail into a build with only 412 pieces. The City theme gives us a ton of fire vehicles with new ones released each year, but we have yet to get one with this much detail and functionality. This would go great in any City layout and even includes two minifigures. As an added bonus, 412 pieces shouldn’t break the bank. Maybe $45? Please vote for this one like I did!

I had to throw in a building/modular. Here’s the Old City Canal by lukreate. It contains 3,742 pieces and is the front facade of a section of a city around a canal. While it’s not a true modular, it still has a lot of fun details and can be rearranged to give it some different views. Downsides are the high piece count (high price) and a bunch of stickers, but I think it looks pretty cool!

My last pick is The Northern Ambassador Limited by NewEletia45. This one contains 2,272 pieces. The engine looks pretty similar to the the Emerald Night or at least the wheel assembly looks similar. I like the addition of two passenger cars as well. I doubt we’d get the fans to vote for two, but I’ll hedge my bets and pick two while really hoping for one (and I’ll probably get none, but that’s okay).

Please vote for your favorites! Happy building!

One of my Round 3 Picks Will Get Made (2023 Bricklink Designer Program)

Somehow I’m trying to will the crowd to select the sets I think are cool. So far it’s worked on one out of every five nominations I’ve made. Maybe I need to try and think like the crowd? Anyways, you can see my round 3 selections here. Once again, only one of the five sets I liked made it through. Let’s take a look at the final picks for this round.

Camping Adventure by user name thepresident14 contains 643 pieces. This one is a smaller set and hopefully that means not as expensive (hint, hint LEGO if you’re reading this). I think there are a lot of camping/camper related sets already so I wasn’t a big fan of this one. It could go well with #21338-1: A Frame Cabin though as the trees look similar.

Forest Stronghold by username Krackenator contains 3,208 pieces. The Castle fans had yet another win. Don’t we have enough grey sets with the Star Wars line? Okay, you have to admit this one looks cool. The two structures with the bridge and then rope at the top to swing across. There’s some creative stuff in this one. The piece count is sure to make this one cost an arm and a leg though.

Harbormaster’s Office by username Rich_Herbert contains 2,395 pieces. To me, this one was similar to #21310-1: Old Fishing Store. Maybe it’s a chance for folks who missed that one to grab something similar? I like some of the details and what I assume will be stickers. You might be able to connect it to the Old Fishing Store as well which could be fun as a dock scene.

Lost City by username letsgolegobrick contains 3,332 pieces. This one is a very detailed build with some cool looking techniques (the roof colors are awesome). You could see LEGO doing a whole theme with this one. I wasn’t a huge fan of this set myself, but it is an impressive build. With the number of pieces, it’ll be a pricey build too.

The Art of Chocolate by username Brickester contains 2,574 pieces. This was the original pick that I had. I’m a big fan of this one as it’s something out of the ordinary from what we normally see. Plus you can use it in your Winter Village or with your modular buildings.

Well done to all the builders. I look forward to seeing the final products! Happy building!

My Bricklink Designer Program Round 3 Picks

This isn’t my first post on the Bricklink Designer Program so I’m not going to go into all the details again. I’m hoping you’re up to speed by now. Voting ends on 20 October 2023 so go cast your votes now! The link is here.

And as a shameless plug, while you’re at Bricklink, you can check out the Bricks for Bricks Bricklink store to see what retired sets and minifigures are there. .

My top five picks to become sets are below (not in any particular order). For the past two rounds, I’ve gone one for five so let’s see if everyone agrees with me or not this round.

American Steam Locomotive

By Bricklink User: stijnd

Contains 2,141 pieces

As a train fan, I’d love to see more trains. This rendition of a steam locomotive is incredible and would look great going around your CITY layout. LEGO won’t produce trains that we want so let’s create some as a fan community. I haven’t seen a video of this one working, but it would look great even as a display piece or in a rail yard.

Octan Highway Truck

By Bricklink User: el_presidente0

Contains 531 pieces

The Octan brand is pretty classic and I think this set represents the brand well. Plus this one doesn’t have a ton of pieces so the cost should be lower. Maybe they’ll be able to add a logo into the final design. Even if it’s a sticker.

Picturesque Italy

By Bricklink User: levsi54

Contains 3,908 pieces

There were a lot of modulars in this round again. I didn’t want to pick a bunch again, but I really like this one. It has a good mix of buildings and would help to make your CITY look better with the addition of three well designed buildings instead of just one.

The Art of Chocolate

By Bricklink User: Bricester

Contains 2,574 pieces

This one could fit in a CITY, in a Winter Village, or just on it’s own. There are a bunch of play features and it is a great display piece. I think it would look great if you lit it up too. It’s fun to see a different theme as we haven’t seen something like this before.

Two-Seat Biplane 2.0

By Bricklink User: EmanueLego

Contains 2,268 pieces

I recommended a biplane before and I’ll try again. I like this design. It’s a great display piece and it looks like a fun build.

My Top Pick Will Become a Set!!! 2023 Bricklink Designer Program - Round 2

The selections for the second round of the 2023 Bricklink Designer Program were released yesterday (23 August). My top pick will get made! I’m super excited! You can see my top 5 selections here. In case you missed it, you can see all of the Round 2 information on Bricklink here. Congrats to all the builders who were selected!

Let’s dig into the results…

Logging Railway by Bricklink user ties25. This set contains 2,706 pieces. This train is crossing a bridge which is all brick built. The track is not the standard LEGO track, but instead is tiles on their side. The bridge is a fun design, but not functional for LEGO track. You’ll have to do some modifications if you want to include the track in a LEGO train set up, but the train will run on normal LEGO gage rails.. I personally could do without the bridge, but I like the train. I assume it will be priced between $250 and $300.

The Ocean House by Bricklink user Hanwas. This set contains 2,157 pieces. It reminds me a lot of #21310-1: Old Fishing Store. It has some fun details and colors, but I’m personally not really excited about it. I would expect pricing between $190 and $230 based on the listed piece count.

Mushroom House by Bricklink user JonasKramm. This set contains 943 pieces. I like the fantasy type theme with all the plants and berries. The rideable snail is a nice touch too. With any luck, this set will be priced under $100.

Ominous Isle by Bricklink user jazlecraz. This is not his first set. Jared Le Cres designed set #BL19003: Skyline Express from the 2018-2019 Designer Program. This set contains 2,773 pieces and will help anyone looking to grow their pirate empire. .It is modular so you can change it up as desired and there are a bunch of moveable features as well. I suspect this set will be popular when it’s released. Let’s hope the price stays under $300.

Brick Cross Train Station by Bricklink user Brickester. This set contains 3,034 pieces. This one was the one I really wanted to get picked.. I think it would look great in a city with #910002-1: Studgate Train Station. Two very different designs, but more than just the platforms that you get in the standard CITY Lego set. There is a bunch of detail in this set and I like the architectural design. I can’t wait for this one.

Crowd funding for these sets is in June 2024 and shipping won’t happen until November 2024 so you’ll have to wait some on these.

Happy building!

My Top 5 Picks for Round 2 of the 2023 Bricklink Designer Program

If you’ve missed it, we’re on round 2 of the 2023 Bricklink Designer Program. You can see my posts on round 1 here and here. Also on Bricklink here. Round 2 voting is now open and the process is the same as the last round so I won’t explain it again. Details are at the Bricklink site here. You have until 30 June 2023 to vote. The team will assess the designs in July and August and then Bricklink will announce the selected designs on 23 August. Crowd funding won’t be until June 2024.

Round 2 has 190 designs. I recommend viewing on a PC or laptop for ease of use on the site. It was hard to view on my phone. Maybe a tablet would be okay? I also found that if I clicked on a design, Bricklink re-arranged the order of designs when I returned to the list so I always selected “open in new tab” so I wouldn’t lose my place of where I was in reviewing the designs.

Overall, this round is much like last time. Lots of buildings/modulars, pirates, castle, space, and then a few one off designs. I selected five designs I liked, but I’ll be honest and say that there weren’t a ton of designs that just jumped off the screen at me as really amazing. There are definitely some talented builders out there… don’t get me wrong. Just the designs didn’t appeal to me as much as I thought/hoped they would. I’m hoping you all think I’m wrong… onto my picks (that I selected the happy emoji for).

What are your thoughts on this round? Happy voting!

#1: Brick Cross Train Station

Designed by username: brickester

Contains: 3.034 pieces

After building #910002-1: Studgate Train Station, I think it would be great to have another detailed train station not from the CITY line. This one is definitely packed with a lot of details and would look great in a train layout on the other end of Studgate. I like how it’s an older styled building with some modern touches to it. No train included, but some track and a bunch of minifigs.

#2: Jioufen Old Street

Designed by username: baeseonghwan

Contains 3,023 pieces

I’m a fan of the Chinese Festival Themed sets and this one seems to fit with that theme only it goes to the next level in detail and design. This one seems to pack a lot of details in and capture some of the cultural architecture styles as well.

#3: The Grocery Store

Designed by username: Sp_PirateKnight

Contains 3,996 pieces

I like modular buildings and LEGO won’t ever go for one in the Ideas line so why not try here. I think this one would fit in well to any modular city. I like the logo on the front and the front façade and roof design are unique which helps to make it stand out from a LEGO designed product.

#4: Stone Grayce Trailway Station

Designed by username: legokopen

Contains 1,694 pieces

This one is a smaller train station with fewer details, but also less pieces which should help to keep the cost down from the other sets I selected. It’s small and simple, but still captures something you’d expect to see on a railway line. This could fit well if you’re looking to put a station into a rural/country scene of a CITY type layout.

#5: Fairview Park

Designed by username: thepresident14

Contains 2,285 pieces

I tried to pick something different for #5 and decided on this little park scene. There is a bunch in here with a fountain, pond with bridge, kids play area, and various plants around the layout. While it’s still in the CITY theme, it isn’t something we’ve had in a set before and it packs a lot of fun details and options which you could expand into a larger scene.

Bricklink Designer Program 2021 - Round 3 Sets are Here!

It’s 2023 and the 2021 Bricklink Designer Program is wrapping up (finally). I just received my round 3 orders and by the looks of it from looking online, most other folks have too. If you’re not familiar with the program, the 2021 version took non-licensed designs that reached 10K votes in LEGO Ideas and gave fans an opportunity to vote on their favorites. The top five in each round were turned into sets. After some mess ups in round one, LEGO/Bricklink got it together, but demand was high and the limits were reached on all sets fairly quickly. Now you can find some of the sets on places like the Bricks for Bricks Bricklink store. Also if you’re interested in participating again, there’s a new round of voting that ends soon. You can see my selections and some details on the program here.

I haven’t decided which sets to build or add to the store from round three, but here are my initial thoughts on the sets after receiving them. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Not in any particular order, #910002-1: Studgate Train Station contains 4,062 pieces and retailed for $399.99. This worked out to $0.098 per piece which is right near the 10 cents per piece average that came out of some study. This set was designed by user BrickyBricks82. His real name is Pablo Sanchez Jimenez and you know him from his approved LEGO Ideas set #21322-1: Pirates of Barracuda Bay. It’s now retired, but you can find it on sale in the Bricks for Bricks Bricklink store.

As a train fan, I was super stoked to see this set. It looks incredible with dual tracks, two trains, the large roof/canopy structure over the rails, the clear parts over the roof, and some amazing details throughout. This one is a definite build for me. Sorry for those of you hoping I would put it in the store. I can’t pass this one up.

Next up is #910004-1: Winter Chalet. This one contains 2,705 pieces and retailed for $199.99. This worked out to $0.074 per piece. The set designer was user name sdrnet or Sandro Damiano. This one could be added to a Winter Village display pretty easily. Like most Winter Village sets, the front is fully decorated and the back is open for access to play in the building. There are a ton of details on the inside with multiple bedrooms and a full up kitchen and dining area. The floors are fully tiled too which helps to increase the piece count. This one is definitely more detailed than any of the $100 Winter Village sets and it has some European flare to it. I’m not sure if I’ll build this one or not. What do you think?

Going in number order, next is #910008-1: Modular Construction Site. This one contains 3,371 pieces and retails for 319.99 which works out to $0.095 per piece. The designer was user name ryantaggart whose real name is Ryan Taggart. We have a lot of modular sets and there are a lot of modulars on the Ideas platform and in the next Bricklink Designer Program. However, I have never seen one as a full up construction site with numerous workers and equipment. The working crane is one of the highlights for me. This one would go great in any city scene and could easily be modified to add or remove sections of the building. I like it!

Up next is #910011-1: 1950s Diner. It contains 1,379 pieces and retailed for $129.99. This worked out to $0.094 per piece. The designer was user name pix027 who is James Alan Cox. This design matches well with the shape of most diners out there from the 1950s and has some great details (and wait… stickers!?!?). The chef minifigure is a bit plain compared to some restaurant type sets out there, but it works. The car that comes with it is cool, but seems quite big considering the overall size of the diner. Maybe it’s just the picture? I don’t know.

The last one is #910027-1: Mountain View Observatory. This one has 3,889 pieces and retailed for $249.99. This worked out to $0.064/piece. The designer was user name ThomasW_BL or Thomas Wosch. I like the concept and the idea. The science museum and laboratory type theme is a great addition to any city and I think the design helps it fit in well versus just a plain building. This one has height and some plants which breaks things up a bit. You get a bunch of minifigures and a baby to take around the exhibits which is a bonus. I think I’ll be building this one.

My Top Five 2023 Bricklink Designer Program Picks

In case you’ve missed it, the 2023 Bricklink Designer Program or Series 1 as they are calling it is open for selections. You can find the program details and submissions here. They are open for voting through the end of March 2023. The program has some big changes this time. Unlike previous rounds where they crowd funded designs and the sets with the highest number of pre-orders get made, this one gives you three voting options. For each submission, you can select an emoji. There is one for “not for me,” one for “like it,” and one for “love it.” You can vote on as many sets as you’d like (only one vote per submission) and the vote tallies are secret so there are no popularity contests.

Overall there are some great submissions in the program. There are a lot of castle, pirate, and classic space themed sets which would be great for fans hoping for more parts and minifigures. There are a ton of buildings of which many fit into the modular line.

One complaint I have of the program is that when I go to vote on a set and then go back to the submissions, it re-arranges the order of the submissions. This was annoying as I had to search around to find the ones that I wanted to vote on after voting on a submission.

I don’t know how many they will end up producing, but I voted on five as being “love it” sets for me. So here were my picks:

#5 - Florentine Palazzo by fan user name paupadros - This modular compatible building contains 3,511 pieces and I think it looks awesome. The different floors can be removed for access and there is plenty of detailing on the inside. The yellow color with the white looks really good and then the flowers help to make the set stand out. This would be a great set to go along with #910023-1: Venetian Houses from a previous Designer Program round. At over 3,000 pieces, this one would not be cheap in the end, So we’ll have to weigh the amazing details and lot of pieces against the potential cost.

Picture from Bricklink.com

#4 - Black Biplane by fan user name EmanueLego This set contains 2,408 pieces.and I think it looks stunning. Some of the commenters weren’t pleased that it was all black, but there could be a possibility to make it interchangeable with different colored parts. I think the designer captured a lot of great details on this one and I like the addition of the stand. I have a copy of #10226-1: Sopwith Camel .in my collection and I think it would be great to have another biplane to add to the mix.

Picture from Bricklink.com

#3 - Parisian Street by fan user name CARLIERTI1 - This set contains 3,465 parts and would look amazing in a city scene. It’s not fully modular compatible as it is just the front half of the buildings, but that could be remedied based on how you set it up in your city. This one has a ton of great details, but does have a sticker sheet so we’ll see if that’s an issue or not. . This would look great next to #10243-1: Parisian Restaurant.

Picture from Bricklink.com

#2 - P-51D Mustang “Red Tail” by fan user name brick_squadron. This set would contain 743 pieces and I think it would be another awesome addition to the limited number of aircraft models outside of the CITY line. This one is technically a weapon system so I’m not sure LEGO would produce it, but it is historical and we don’t seem to have a problem making weapons for Castle, Pirates, or even the new Lord of the Rings set. This set is a little smaller, but still has some great details and would be a great tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen.

Picture from Bricklink.com

#1 - Coral Reef Diorama by fan user name Falkorich. This set would contain 1,707 pieces and is jam packed with details. I’ve seen a few fans create their own coral reefs and I think it would be great to have one as a set. The minifigure divers and whale are an awesome addition to the set and if you look at the write up on Bricklink, it is modular as well so you can take it apart and re-assemble as desired. I also think this one is something completely out of the ordinary that LEGO hasn’t done before so let’s broaden out the set themes away from some of the standard themes we see all the time.

Picture from Bricklink.com

Happy voting!