What Would You Do With 340 Acres to Build With Bricks?

Where to start? Convention space. Huge parts warehouse. Giant spaces for different themed builds. A bigger Bricks for Bricks Bricklink store.

Sadly, I don’t have anything close to that amount of space, but the LEGO Group does in Chesterfield County, Virginia. The news of a LEGO factory opening in the US is not new. LEGO plans to be up and running with brick production in 2025 to supply the US market. This site, just southwest of Richmond, VA, will produce bricks and pack sets. What that means for my fellow North American brick fans is yet to be seen. I’m hoping it just means an improved supply chain with better access to sets.

So what’s the latest? Ground breaking was held on 13 April 2023, but just this week a visitor center opened on site and it’s open to the public. I’m not sure on hours, but I’m pretty sure they’re not selling exclusive sets or minifigures that you can scoop up (sorry). A local news station went to the site and posted a few pictures. My favorite is this brick designed model of what the plant will look like. The reporting focused on jobs, politicians, and carbon neutrality, but as a brick fan, I want to see LEGO Bricks. This is a pretty impressive layout. Hopefully a fan will visit soon and post some close up pictures so we can get a better look.

One thing to notice in the article is that they mention the site being closed for various reasons, but of a goal to be able to open it up for school field trips and other visits. That sounds cool! Maybe they will open it up for fan tours as well so some of us bigger kids can stop by for a visit. If you are in the area, send some pictures or get me a link of where we can see them (post in the comments) .

In the meantime, happy building!

Set Review - #910002-1: Studgate Train Station - Bricklink Designer Program

Round Three sets of the 2021 Bricklink Designer Program arrived in 2023. The sets have been delivered for a while, but I had a backlog of builds and then it took a while to put this one together. #910002-1: Studgate Train station contains 4,062 pieces and retailed for $399.99. That worked out to $0.098 per piece so very close to the average of 10 cents per piece that everyone quotes. I’m sure I could have sold it for a significant mark up, but I really wanted to build this one as a train fan and my overall excitement for how the structure looked when the design was released. The fan designer is Pablo Sánchez Jiménez. You might remember him as the fan designer behind #21322-1: Pirates of Barracuda Bay.

I watched a video from Tiago Catarino a few weeks back and someone asked him for his impression of the Bricklink Designer Program sets. He responded that he didn’t like them as they didn’t get the full treatment that LEGO goes through for it’s design process. My response is that he should build this set. Wow! It was an incredible build and was very challenging. I enjoyed the process and I think the end product looks great. There are a few things that wouldn’t pass the LEGO designer test, but nothing major. Let’s dig into the review.

The box matches all of he previous Bricklink Designer Program designs with the white box, Bricklink logo, and LEGO set identification in the bottom left corner on the front. The front also lists the fan designer’s name which is cool My set came well packaged and the seals were all fully attached.

The parts are mixed between three separate boxes on the inside and then there is a large 48x48 stud light gray baseplate. Opening the boxes reveals 23 numbered bags with some numbers having more than one bag per number. There were also a few bags of larger pieces that weren’t numbered.

Like previous Bricklink Designer Program sets, there are no printed instructions. You can either download a .pdf from Bricklink or use the LEGO® Builder app. I used the .pdf. I still prefer printed instructions, but I managed. After working with a computer all day, it’s nice to turn off the electronics and use paper instructions and bricks.

This set comes with a small sticker sheet. While I would have liked printed parts, I can’t complain about 9 stickers total.

The first bag assembles the base of both train cars. You use two of the large train plates and the standard buffers and wheels. Everything else is custom built.

Bag two builds up the train to include seats and windows. Bag three completes the trains with a roof and front wind shield. Overall, it’s a fairly simple train and you can use them as individual cars or combine the two for a longer train. There are no doors on the cars so you either have to modify them on your own or just live without doors. If you want to motorize the train, you’ll have to do some modifications to add a battery box, but it’s possible. Or just use a 9V motor and track if you have it. I would have liked a more detailed train and more cars, but I understand the limitation of the program and realize that the focus of this build was on the station. The train is just an added bonus.

Build four begins the station build with the sidewalk in front of the station and part of the first platform. The sidewalk is pretty simple, but the use of the light and dark gray along with the Nexo Knight shields helps to improve upon the design.

Build five adds the front wall of the station with some windows, stairs leading up to an arched doorway, and a wheel chair ramp.

Build six is already to the second story of the platform. You add in some decorative wall designs and a few seats and a newspaper stand. The front of the station by the sidewalk uses black lamp post poles to hold up the upper level. The pieces are a little awkward as the back section is well attached and it can stay up without all of these pieces attached. I found they came out of place often.

Build seven adds in some details on the upper level to include some tables with umbrellas, lamps, and a clock on the front. The first two minifigures are included which are a younger male passenger with a guitar and a male worker.

Bag eight adds in some decoration on the front of the station to include a sticker with the name of the station.

Build nine adds in some details on the platform to include a bench and ticket machine. You also start the build of the stairs that will allow the minifigures to go to the other side of the platform. This bag comes with two minifigures. One is a janitor cleaning off the station platform. The other is a traveler with a bag and ticket. You then add in the rails. The set comes with eight straight rails, but you only install six so you have a few extras. Then you start to build up the other side of the platform.

One note of the design is the ramp across the tracks for minifigures in wheel chairs. some of the pieces used have studs sticking up. This is good if you want minifigures to pose on the tracks, but it doesn’t allow the engine with the buffer that has a plow-like piece on it to easily clear the tracks there. If you intend to add this set to you train setup, you’ll need to add in some different pieces to allow train clearance.

Bag ten adds in the other side of the platform with a wall with windows, a station sign, a bench, a trash can, and some lights. There are two more minifigures. One is a male with a winter cap, sun glasses, a poofy jacket collar, and 2 bags. The other is a female worker with a purse/bag.

Bag 11 builds the bridge that connects the platforms. It’s not a super sturdy bridge, but it holds up okay. The design is all black pieces, but it works. Bag 12 finishes the bridge, adds the stairs to the upper level, and a support arch to hold up the upper level and dome.

Bag 13 builds the base of the top level. It is put together with plates connected to bricks connected with Technic pins. It’s pretty solid. Bag 14 finishes up the upper level base and starts to add in some detailing.

Bag 15 continues to add in detailing of the upper level with a fence around the outside, two center sections that are a little taller for aesthetics, and then some lounge areas for your minifigures to sit while waiting for their train.

Bag 16 adds in some parts around where the stairs connect and then an embellished section where a clock is placed. This section is cool as there are a bunch of brick arches and you build an assembly for the clock that connects via clips to parts behind the clock. Definitely a cool design choice I wouldn’t have thought of. Also along the outside are some open studs which are used as design throughout the build. Maybe it’s part of the reason why it’s called “Stud” gate.

Bag 17 wraps up the upper section. You add in some umbrellas for shade by the couches, some flowers for decorations, two lookout stands to get a view, a hot dog stand, and a few more decorations along the edges. This section gives you two minifigures. One is the hot dog vendor who comes with a blue baseball cap or a chef’s hat. The other is a female traveler with a camera.

Bags 18 through 21 build the dome like covering of the station. This part got a little repetitive, but I understood why. You start by using Technic pieces to build a piece of the outer frame, then you connect the clear garage door pieces together and connect them to the outer frame, then you build more frame pieces to connect to the clear garage door pieces, and so on. Eventually you get two larger sections of four sections of this type of build.

After each section is assembled, those sections are attached to the top level completed at step 17. This part was very challenging for me. You have to connect the Technic pins into the base of the top level and there are clips to attach the clear garage door pieces. This was not easy to do as the top level has a lot of details already installed. I ended up removing a lot of pieces and then fighting to get everything attached. I’m not sure if there would have been a better order to do this all in, but I eventually managed to get it all together and re-assembled. Whew!

The whole section is then attached to the rest of the station. I use the term attached loosely as it really rests on it. The only true connection is with the stairs. One side of the platform has two small pins that stick up into the Technic holes, but this is more to keep it from sliding as opposed to being a structural support. It works though as I’m able to pick the entire build up and move it around and it stays in place.

The original submitted design used a large single clear piece for the very top dome. Apparently LEGO didn’t agree with the piece choice so it was re-designed with multiple clear pieces. This section starts off with an octagon type shape connected by hinge pieces. Then you clip on some larger windscreen pieces to go around the outside while some clear rod pieces are in the inside to support what will be the top of the dome in the next section of the build.

The final bag, #23, is some smaller wind screens attached to the clear rods from the previous bag. You then use these pieces to hold up the very top spire. There are no actual connections, it just rests there with gravity. From there, you build a chandelier which connects to the top spire by a chain piece. My picture of the chandelier isn’t the greatest, but it was hard to get a picture of it alone as it needs to hang freely to see what it looks like.

This whole dome section was an impressive engineering feat and while it has some gaps and weird angles, I think it looks okay.

This set comes with ten minifigures. There are a good range of travelers and workers and they come with a bunch of different accessories. Overall, it’s a good mix.

Okay, I lied… There are 11 minifigures. The minifigure in a wheelchair rolled off the set in my building area when I took the original picture. Whoops! This is a female minifigure with short hair and a hoodie. She gives you the opportunity to test out the ramps for those that need them.

Here are some pictures of the final set assembled. I think this one looks awesome! Despite some minor design issues and assembly challenges with the upper level, it’s a great set that would look great in any city set. I think it would be a bit small for a larger passenger train to stop at, but one with one or two cars works. I’m glad I picked this one up when I did as I’m sure it’s going to a hefty price on Bricklink or Ebay. Not sure how much it would be to assemble all the pieces and build it on your own, but the instructions are available for free online so you can assemble it if you’d like. Overall, it was a great build and I look forward to adding this to a train layout someday.

Happy building!

Set Review - #71038 - Disney 100 - Collectible Minifigures

We just had two Collectible Minifigure Series of original minifigures and now we’re back to another licensed theme. The Disney 100 series was released on 1 May 2023. It contains 18 minifigures instead of 12 like the previous two series. The price is still $4.99 each per minifigure.

Overall, I’m not a big fan of this series, but I’m also not a big Disney fan so maybe I have a biased opinion. It definitely has a diverse grouping of minifigures from some movies I haven’t seen before. I thankfully didn’t have to buy a ton to get all 18. It took four boxes of six to get to the 18. I bought 6 boxes total so I have some extras, but that’s the good part of having a Bricklink store is I have a place to sell them when I have extras. You should get these if you’re a Disney fan or if you’re addicted to needing each Collectible Minifigure set (like I am). Otherwise, only get them if you really want a part or like one of the minifigures. With any luck, these will go on sale towards the end of their shelf time similar to how some of the previous series have done. Onto my comments on the minifigures…

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit has a different shaped head with ears attached so that’s unique. He also comes with a printed 1x2 tile. I’m not sure what else I’d do with him besides a display of minifigures, but I’m sure someone will come up with something cool

Pinocchio has the normal minifigure head, but has a molded nose which is a first from what I know. He comes with a clear minifigure head with the fish printed on it as a fish bowl. His legs have different coloring which is a nice touch to give a shorter minifigure shorts.

Jiminy Cricket looks a little odd as we’re used to seeing him with a shaped head instead of a minifigure head. For a LEGO minifigure it works I guess. He’s got an umbrella which isn’t new and a collar piece for his shirt. The hat is a nice touch with the yellow band around bottom.

Sorcerer Mickey looks similar to the other Micky figures only with the sorcerer get up. He comes with a pail and mop. Nothing else overly spectacular here.

Tiana comes with a light greenish colored tiara and a frog. She has a 2x3 printed tile as well. The color of the dress is different so that’s good.

Dr. Facilier… um, I haven’t seen the movie so I guess he is okay. I don’t know…The top hat with the skull and cross bones could work as a pirate minifigure in a pirate themed MOC.

Queen of Hearts looks like I’d picture the Queen of Hearts and she even has a heart scepter. The face looks less like a minifigure face and more like a cartoon.

Aurora isn’t really all that special in my opinion, but you do get an owl that is different from all of the Harry Potter owls so a new animal is always a good thing.

Mulan looks pretty tough. I think it’s a good looking minifigure. Nice work here.

Ernesto de la Cruz… I haven’t seen this movie so I have no idea what to say here. The white guitar is fun and the sombrero as well.. Beyond that… I don’t know?

Miguel Rivera… um… looks good I guess. The dog with the tongue to the side must be from the movie so we’ll go with it. You can go with the hood and skeleton face or the printed face and hair. For fun, I have the hair on the minifigure stand which looks a little creepy.

Pocahontas seems to match the character well enough. And you get a few colored leaves which should help to brighten up any plant or garden MOC.

Cruella de Vil seems a little odd with a printed dress on, but not a dress piece. I’m not sure how they could have done this better. A slope piece for the dress would be too long and I think the cloth piece wouldn’t work as she has the long coat on over her dress. We’ll go with it. You get a little dalmatian too which is a nice addition.

Robin Hood seems a little tall for a fox. Maybe they should have done some shorter legs. The head mold looks pretty accurate along with the tail. He has a bow and arrow, but no quiver since it probably wouldn’t fit with the tail piece.

Prince John looks pretty accurate as compared to the movie. The sac he’s holding I assume is a sac of money.

Experiment 626 Stitch is awesome with the 4 arms. I like it!

Baymax… didn’t know who he was… we watched the movie and now I know. I think the minifigure is a little small as he was much larger than the people he was with in the movie. I’m not sure how the designers would have done that though. he comes with his charging pack.

Evil Queen works well for what you’d expect her to be. The mirror is great with the minifigure head printed on it.

I Went 1 for 5 in Picking the Series 1 Bricklink Designer Program Finalists

In case you missed it, Bricklink released the results of Series 1 of the Designer Program on 8 May 2023. You can see the results here. I made a post back in March 2023 with my top 5 picks. Well the results are in and only one of the five I voted for were selected.

Before we get into that, the program will open for crowd funding in February 2024. Bricklink users will be able to pre-order up to two sets of each available design. A design will go into production if it receives at least 3,000 pre-orders. LEGO will produce a maximum of 20,000 sets. Production/Shipping won’t occur until summer/fall 2024 so get ready to wait if you pre-order.

Onto the finalists selected…

Photo from bricklink.com

#1 - Mountain Fortress by user SleeplessNight. This set contains 3,986 pieces as currently designed. It’s a Black Falcon subtheme castle and it looks great! With the popularity of the castle theme, I’m not shocked to see a castle set in the top five. I have no doubt this one will get produced and it’ll probably go quickly. As for cost, I would guess over $400. We’ll see.

Photo from Bricklink.com

#2 - Parisian Street by user NicolasCarlier contains 3,465 parts. I voted for this one back in March 2023 and I’m stoked to see it made the list. This one looks awesome! I’m sure it’ll get made with the popularity of modular buildings. The initial design looks awesome! I can’t wait!

Photo from Bricklink.com

#3 - Old Train Engine Shed by user Mind_the_Brick. This one contains 2,298 pieces and to be honest, I didn’t think it would get voted in as train themed sets usually don’t see a lot of love. This one made it and it has some great details on the outside and then check the Bricklink site for pictures of the inside. The designer put a lot of details inside to capture what would be in an engine shed. Now we just need an engine to go with it.

Photo from Bricklink.com

#4 - The Snack Shack by user Skeletuhr. This set contains 548 pieces and is a fun little food trailer. It looks like it could be set at a beach for beach goers to grab some food. It’s a smaller set, but it still has some fun details. I like it and I think the price should be lower as compared to the others making it a bit more obtainable. Maybe $70?

Photo from Bricklink.com

#5 - General Store - Wild West by user llucky. This one contains 1,848 pieces. We’ve seen a number of Wild West type sets on the LEGO Ideas platform as well as in previous Bricklink Designer Program offerings. This is another opportunity to have something in the theme built. I think there’s a good opportunity here with this fun design. I like the inclusion of the stage coach and the blue coloring of the siding on the store is a nice choice. I hope to see this one as well as the other four out there in production.

Registration is Now Open for BrickCon 2023

Registration is now open for BrickCon 2023! The dates are 7 through 10 September 2023 for the AFOL convention and public days are 9 and 10 September. You can go register here. Tickets for the in-person AFOL convention are $85 until 24 August and then they go to $100. The virtual convention will be $25 regardless of when you purchase your ricket.

The convention will be at the Meydenbaur Center in Bellevue, WA this year which is a change from previous years, but it sounds like it should be a great event despite the new location. You can learn more about BrickCon here. There will be a public convention as well, but those tickets aren’t available yet so check back for when they start.

I plan to attend virtually again this year. Will you be there?

Little Bricks Charity - The Mission Continues

I first mentioned Little Bricks Charity back in November 2021. With the Bricks for Bricks campaign to give funds to the Ronald McDonald House in Northwest Florida still going through the end of June 2023, I thought it would be a good opportunity to highlight others that are using the brick to give to those who could use a boost in life. Before I do that, just a quick plug for the Bricks for Bricks campaign. 15% of the profits from the Bricks for Bricks Bricklink shop will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House in Northwest Florida. No work or extra fees required on your part to participate. You buy retired sets and minifigures and we’ll send funds directly at the end of June 2023. This donation is timely as one of my co-workers at my non-LEGO job is using the House so it’s much appreciated. Okay, that was a long aside. Back to Mr. Cassevah… He is visiting BrickFest Live events around the country this year and making donations along the way. This past weekend, he was in Connecticut. Here are two news clips on the event. Number one and number two.

If you’d like to donate to his cause, you can find out more HERE.

Thanks for supporting and helping to give bricks!

Beware When Ordering LEGO from Walmart.com

I used to purchase a lot from Amazon.com here in the US. They had some great deals and the free shipping with orders over $35 was reasonable since it’s very easy to spend more than that amount on LEGO sets. Then Amazon just gave up on quality shipping. As I posted here, my orders arrive with little to no packaging in larger boxes and the sets looked like they had been used in a soccer game as the ball. The last straw was when I would order a larger set and they wouldn’t even put it in a box. They would just stick the shipping label on the outside and call it good. I went to the UPS Store to return one and the worker asked why I didn’t re-package it. It was because that’s how it was packaged when I received it. Needless to say, I think I purchased one or two LEGO sets from Amazon.com over the past year.

More of my orders went to Walmart. The discounts were often the same and the shipping quality was much better. I received well packaged sets in boxes that arrived looking brand new. This went on for a while, but has recently gone down hill. At first, I started receiving sets in padded packages. The items would get smashed and I had a lot of returns. The final straw came when I received this…

I’m sorry, but nothing in the item description said I was going to receive a set where the front packaging was peeled off. How did this even happen? My suspicion is that when Walmart does their pickup in store or home deliver orders, they typically put big stickers on the items. People didn’t want LEGO sets with big stickers on them so they return them. Apparently LEGO just recycles those sets back into their inventory and you get this. And get these…

It’s been a great run, but unless Walmart can guarantee that I am going to receive a new set or if they can tell me that the set will arrive damage (and give me a substantial discount for the damaged set), I’m not interested anymore.

Target has been the holdout so far. They continue to package items well and I don’t receive beat up sets. We’ll see how long that lasts. The unfortunate part is that Target has not had the sales that Walmart and Amazon have had.

Let met know in the comments what your experience has been. Have you found a way around receiving beat up sets from any of the big retailers? Have you received worse?

Set Review - #10312-1: Jazz Club - LEGO Icons - Modular Building

Thanks LEGO! You’ve hooked me onto the modular buildings and now I’m addicted. 2023’s modular building is #10312-1: Jazz Club. It was released on 15 December 2022 and it contains 2,899 pieces. The set retails for $229.99 and costs $0.079 per piece. It consists of a Jazz Club with an office on the second floor and a practice room on the third floor. To the side of the building is a small pizza parlor. Above it is a tailor shop. At the top of the smaller building is a green house. I’ve heard/read a number of reviews, but tried to go into it with an open mind. So here goes…

The front of the box shows the full set with a black background. It appears to be in a spot light. The set name is in the upper left with a number of architectural type drawn buildings and in small letters it says “modular buildings collection.” The Icons logo is on the bottom with the 18+ greebling in the same brick red color as the top two floors of the jazz club.

The back shows the set placed in-between #10278-1: Police Station and #10297-1: Boutique Hotel. In the upper right is a drawing of the set with dimensions. On the left side shows the different floors of the set. The bottom shows some of the details on the inside of the set.

Onto the build…

The set contains some parts bags and then a white box with parts bags. When you open up the box, there are 22 parts bags numbered one through 15. There is a light grey baseplate and then the instructions are in a cardboard envelope.

The instructions come in a white book which helps you see the set build better versus the previous darker colored instruction books. There is a page about the set inside before going into the build. Throughout this set, there are small references at the top of some pages about how certain parts of the build relate to previous modular buildings. This didn’t do too much for me and I could have done without the connective storyline LEGO tried to build. I like the modulars because they are fun to build and I can connect them up to make a larger city. I don’t need to know how the story goes between the minifigures who live there.

Bag one builds the floor of the buildings. You build the sidewalk and then you start building the flooring of each building.

Bag two adds to the walls of each building and finalizes the floor designs. You also build the stage with a drum set and a drummer. There’s a saxophone on a stand too. In the center of the building is a small bathroom. In this bag you build a small sink and a toilet.

Bag three builds the walls higher all around. You add in a door to the outside and in the back, you build a small case to put in “wood” pieces for the pizza shop store. Inside the Jazz Club, you add in some tables and chairs. There is also a string bass player with a bass, bow, and a backpack case. The pizza place has a wood stove and a chef minifigure who is working on a pizza with some toppings nearby. Instead of a 2x2 round printed pizza tile, the pizza is four quarter rounds placed together which is different from past sets. Above the bathroom are stairs that go up to the next floor.

The fourth bag tops off the walls and adds tiles with a few studs to connect to the second floor. You add in a front façade with windows, structural decorations, an advertisement on a window for an upcoming show, and some space for the entryway in a future bag. The pizza shop adds in some windows, a door, a light, and a small structure on the outside with plants growing on it.

The fifth bag finishes up the first floor. In the front of the Jazz Club, you add in the entryway. Instead of a flat space, you add in a 45 degree offset door area with a ticket booth and signage above. This is a neat design that helps to break away from the flat look of a normal façade. In the pizza shop, you add some awnings over the windows in the green, white, and red pattern potentially reminiscent of the Italian flag.

Inside the Jazz Club, you add the curtains around the stage and some spot lights to shine down on the stage. This section is easily removable if you want to change it up as it just clips into place.

Bag six starts the second floor. On the left side of the picture is the Club Manager’s office. There’s an opening in the floor so you can watch and listen to what’s going on below which is interesting. Not sure I’d want that in my office, but it works okay here. The right side has an opening for the stairs and then an opening to connect to the second floor above the Pizza Shop.

Bag seven continues this floor with some more office details to include a desk, lamp, phone, and record player. The manager minifigure also comes in this bag. I have her placed at her corner desk. The walls continue to get higher and you add in some Technic pins to connect to the other side of the modular. I was trying to figure out why this was done and I can only assume it’s because they wanted to keep the walls the same color on either side. I guess that works as the red and yellow sides are separate, but it’s not super sturdy. When you go to remove the second floor once the whole thing is finished, you need to make sure you grab it the right way or it will come apart pretty easily. The good part is that it’s easy to reassemble if it does come apart.

Bag eight just about finishes up this side of the second floor. The walls are higher, the windows are added in, there are some decorations on the front façade, there are doors between rooms, and then windows on the back.

The ninth bag starts assembly on the tailor shop which can only be reached by going through the Jazz Club section of the building. Not really a big deal, but interesting that they share a stairwell. The tailor shop is the same yellow as the pizza shop. Inside is a big sewing machine, some rolls of fabric, a mannequin, and the chimney from the pizza shop continues through this room. This bag comes with a minifigure to work as the tailor.

Bag ten wraps up this floor. You add tiles and a few studs around the tops of the walls to make for easy connections with the higher levels. You also finish up the front façade for the tailor shop with some windows and plants.

Bag 11 starts the third floor of the Jazz Club. Besides the floor and a start to the outer wall, you build a couch, music stand, plant, and a railing around the stairway entrance. This bag comes with the singer minifigure. She has a dress, microphone, and some big hair. The music stand comes with a printed tile with some music for her to practice.

Bag 12 builds up the walls and adds in some windows. Two of the front windows are made of translucent bricks and plates for a colored glass window. On the inside, you add a chair next to a table and mirror for the singer to use to put on makeup or fix her hair.

Bag 13 adds in some art on the wall of the practice room, the outer hallway gets a ladder to go up to the roof, and the entire floor gets more pieces for the walls, doors, windows, and tiling for the top of the walls. This bag comes with the magician who has a few parts for one of her tricks and a small bunny as well.

Bag 14 builds the roof of the Jazz Club. The details fit right into the rest of the build and while not overly complicated, the build was different using techniques you don’t usually see. For example, you attach a piece in upside down in the front of the roof, in the center section so you can attach a decoration piece. The back corner of the roof has a small nest for a squirrel to live in. A trap door opens up to the ladder in the hallway on the floor below.

This bag also builds the Jazz Club sign. I was thankful that the sign is printed and I like the yellow on the dark blue. The yellow rails along with the yellow sausage pieces really help to make it pop. I’ve seen a few reviews were people didn’t like the colors of the building, but I’m good with it. It looks awesome with the brick red color of the building.

The final bag, bag 15, adds in a small outdoor seating area in front of the pizza shop and includes a driver with a mini motor bike to deliver pizzas to customers. On top of the pizza shop is a green house. There are a few plants inside the greenhouse and then there’s an interesting design using clear door/wall pieces to let in light for the brick plants to grow. I followed the instructions, but there is space and some extra plant pieces to mix things up as desired.

The set comes with eight minifigures. Here they are in case you couldn’t see them well in the earlier pictures.

Here’s the final build. The sides don’t look that great, but that’s to be expected as you connect modulars to each other. The back is pretty boring as well, but that’s not too big of a deal to me. Overall, is this my favorite modular building ever? No. Was it a great build with a fun design? Yes. I enjoyed this one. I actually ended up building it with my 5-year old kiddo. He had some challenges with the harder sections, but he did great with a lot of the areas I didn’t think he’d be able to handle.

As for the price, I am not a fan that the price keeps going up for modulars, but I am glad the price per piece is still fairly reasonable. I used VIP points and purchased the set during a double VIP point period so that helped. If you’re a modular fan, you have to pick this one up. If you’re on the fence, I’d dive into this one. You’ll enjoy the build and if not, you get some fun pieces for future MOCs. Look for great GWPs or double VIP point options to get a better deal.

I think this is the first time that I’ve had another modular still built. Here is the Jazz Club next to #10297-1: Boutique Hotel. I think it looks better with the Jazz Club on the left side, but that’s just my opinion. Some day, I hope to have the time to rebuild them all and the space to put them all together for a photo shoot.

Happy building!

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.

Set Review - #21335-1: Motorized Lighthouse - Lego Ideas

Here is LEGO Ideas set #43, #21335-1: Motorized Lighthouse. This one was released in the US on 19 August 2022 and retails for $299.99. It contains 2,065 pieces and this works out to $0.145 per piece. Yikes! A lot, I know. It does come with a motor, battery box, and lights, but does that really raise the price by that much? I picked this one up during a double VIP point period and used some of my VIP points to discount the price. It’s a bit high in my opinion, but onto to the review.

The box for this one is rather large. The set arrived in a special outer box that UPS still somehow managed to damage so the set box showed up damaged too. Thanks! I think the box could have been a bit smaller, but I’m not a packaging expert. The box is dark with some blue greebling on the bottom for the 18+ design. The dark packaging works so LEGO can show off the light house functionality. I’m not sure the light looks exactly like they picture it, but I get the idea. The back of the box shows some additional set details and gives the dimensions of the set.

The box contains 18 parts bags. The bags are numbered one to 13 with one unnumbered bag for the larger pieces. You get a box for the battery box and the motor comes packaged separate too. The instructions and the base plate come in paperboard envelopes. Don’t forget about the stickers. I almost did.

You get two instruction booklets. There are some details about lighthouses, the Fresnel lens, the fan designer (Sandro Quattrini), and then info about the LEGO design team.

There are two small sticker sheets with 5 stickers total. Not bad I guess.

You get a dark blue baseplate which is a first for LEGO. We’ll see if it pops up again somewhere in the future.

The first bag starts the base of the build with the outline of the island area where the lighthouse is placed. This bag also comes with a male lighthouse keeper with a telescope and then a female lighthouse keeper. I have her in the row boat with the kitten.

The second bag adds up some more details along the base, but also installs the battery box and motor. Initially it looks like the wires are everywhere, but the designers did a good job keeping them contained.

The third bag adds more details and a bunch of the BURPs (big ugly rock pieces) to the build for height. While I’m not a fan of BURPs, I understand the usage of them as I’d probably still be sitting there attaching all the pieces to achieve the height needed to cover up the electronics. Not pictured well here, but there is a cave in the island. It is where the switch is located to turn the light on and then there’s a treasure chest as well.

The fourth bag adds plates to the top of the island covering it all with just an axle sticking up and the wire for the lights.

The fifth bag adds the base of the lighthouse structure and then adds some details to the top of the island which will allow us to install the little structure at the base of the lighthouse. The axle to turn the light is hidden pretty well already which is great.

I could look it up, but I like to call it swamp green. I’m sure there’s an official term for the green color. It’s a nice look for the set.

Bag six builds the small living quarters for the lighthouse. They managed to cram a lot in there to include a small kitchen space, a bed, a desk, and some decorations.

Bag seven adds some details to the outside of the structure and installs it to the lighthouse island at an angle which is a nice touch.

Bag eight builds the internal structure to the lighthouse and takes it up a few floors. There are ladders inside for minifigures to climb up to the top as needed.

The ninth bag starts to round out the lighthouse structure with curved pieces. To break things up a bit, you throw in a few pieces with studs to clip on plant pieces. The structure gets smaller as you get higher so thankfully it’s not a repetitive build.

Bag 10 rounds out most of the rest of the tower and adds in the windows. The lighthouse tower has a good look to it on the outside. It’s not completely round, but it works for being brick built. The placement of the windows with the small ledge at the bottom is simple, yet it fits in well.

Bag 11 adds the roof to the living quarters at the base of the lighthouse. You also add a door and connect a light to the fireplace. I didn’t get a picture of it, but you really can’t see the fireplace lit up well unless you take the roof off. It seems like they could have used the second light on the strand for something else. Maybe a lamp on the front of the building?

Bag 12 completes the lighthouse and starts to add details to the top of the tower. The parts to connect the motor to the top of the lighthouse are added as well. I was curious to see how the light and motor would be integrated in the next step with such limited hardware showing

Bag 13 finishes up the set and I really like how they did this. The railing on the outside with the bent tubes, the garage door pieces for the windows around the tower, and the motorization for the light. The light is installed and it shines on the silver/reflective sticker. That then shines the light through the Fresnel lens (the piece is pictured) and the whole assembly rotates around. The mechanics of this are simple, but they work. Nice job design team. To top it off, you get a lance/sword as the tip of the lighthouse.

Here are a few shots of the final build. Overall, it was an enjoyable build to assemble. Not a lot of repetition and some great parts usage. I enjoyed it despite the BURPs included. I already mentioned the cost as a negative, but it ranks right up there with #10268-1: Vestas Wind Turbine as cool looking, but overpriced. There’s a motor, a light, and a battery box and LEGO increases the price of the set because of this.

Do I recommend this set? This is a tough one. Great build, but high price. I don’t think I would have purchased it without VIP points to cut the price down. $300 for this set is a bit high in my opinion.

What are your thoughts? Pick this one up? Hope there is a sale? Use VIP points?

Happy building!