BrickLink Designer Program Ongoing Discussion Thread

[Artanis I]

9 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

Crowd support for series 7 starts in a few days. I wonder if some form of classic space will make a meaningful appearance, having been absent from previous finalists.

Space mocs are always so far removed from anything resembling Lego sets, they don't get a lot of support on Ideas or BDP. Even if they look any good, they're just way too big and over-detailed, and most parts are all the same colour. They're also not usually capable of carrying more than 1 or 2 minifigs, and the minifigs the designers can choose from are limited to what's currently available in sets.

I've never seen one that I've wanted to vote for. Huge contrast from castle, sadly (from a space point-of-view).

[icm]

I agree with everything you just said.

[Flyingkangaro]

Voting for Series 7 is now open!

https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-7/main.page

[JohnTPT17]

I think besides the usual swath of Castle, semi-modulars, Western, trains, and boats, a new category seems to be firmly entrenched: 1000ish piece sets that feature a vehicle on a baseplate selling food. I'll also note that a lot of the sets feel "overstuffed" - a lot of the time I might look at the set, only to be flabbergasted by the part counts. For better or worse, there are also a lot of resubmissions.

There's a lot of good designs, but only one I thought I'd mention specifically here: Skating at the Sugar Shack. It's designed by JKBrickworks, who made the old Pursuit of Flight set from the earlier iteration of the program. More ingenious mechanical movements, and a cheap price at only 596 parts! Be sure to check out the video to see the movement.

My other top ones, in no particular order, would probably be:

• Countryside Greenhouse: Feels like it "earns" that part count, and it makes sense as a "stand-alone"
• Wizard's Tower: A decent spin on the Castle tropes from the wave, and it seems to have some play features. Though I do wonder if this is one of those "born-digital" sets that might have some IRL stability issues.
• Juice Bar: Does it almost fall into the "vehicle on a baseplate selling food" category? Yes. I still like it, though.
• Working Windmill: Bad name, and I don't like the exposed Technic beams in the back. Still, it looks nice.
• Pigs, Potions, & Pauldrons: An upgraded design of one of my previous shoutouts. I like the updates, but I think it could be falling into the "high part count for what it is" category.
• The Enchanted Forest's Lavender Chalet: Looks like it could slot into Halloween Town - but I mean that in a good way!
• Food Stand Diners: Probably my second favorite from the wave. I especially like that the food stands work as either minifig-scale eateries, or they can be turned around to look like normal food.

Best Designer of the wave: PepeFrost has several excellent-looking sets. None of them are quite grabbing me, and several are resubmissions, but I can't deny the talent and the eye for design. 

Most Disappointing Designer: JonasKramm - Where's my Mushroom Village Part 3?! His submission still looks really good, though, and it could very well even be a contender for approval - but I would have greatly preferred an expansion on the idea of the mushrooms he's done previously.  Not bad by any means - but I am personally disappointed. 

Overall - a bit underwhelming of a wave. I'll show up on pre-order day for Skating at the Sugar Shack, but might pass on the rest, unless it's a good price or I take more time to appreciate it.

[icm]

I voted according to:

Not for me - I'm not interested in buying this at all.

Like it - If I had an unlimited budget, I would buy this.

Love it - Day one buy if selected.

I marked these entries as "Love it":

Classic Lunar Rover by livetobuild: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-7/2623/Classic-Lunar-Rover

 

Medieval Seaport With Cog and Crane by BrickPerfection: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-7/2611/Medieval-Seaport-with-Cog-&-Crane

 

Penguin Family by JoffreBricks: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-7/2388/Penguin-Family

 

Privateer Frigate Fortuna by BrickPerfection: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-7/2609/Privateer-Frigate-Fortuna

 

Scalawag Sloop by Sam2XD: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-7/2606/Scalawag-Sloop

 

The Wright Flyer (1903) by TJJohn12: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-7/2555/The-Wright-Flyer-(1903)

 

[Yoggington]

26 minutes ago, JohnTPT17 said:

Countryside Greenhouse: Feels like it "earns" that part count, and it makes sense as a "stand-alone"

This seems familiar.. 

https://www.funwhole.com/products/home-greenhouse-1428pcs

Oh.

[icm]

Oh. Well. I liked the greenhouse but that uncanny resemblance to the Funwhole product puts it in a bad light.

[JohnTPT17]

17 minutes ago, Yoggington said:

This seems familiar.. 

Hmm... They definitely seem very similar. But there's also some differences in there as well. Now I'm not sure how to feel...

It wouldn't be the only set that heavily borrows from something that already exists, though. Medieval Tournament borrows pretty heavily from set 10223. 

EDIT: After looking at it more, I think that the greenhouses could just happen to be similar. There seems to be enough differences between them that any similarities just boil down to how one would build a greenhouse at that scale. The exterior, interior, plant selection, water pump, and even several details on the greenhouse are all different. I could be wrong, but I'm not waiting any flags either.

EDIT 2: If you're in a voting mood today, you can also head over to the Lego Ideas site and vote on the 90's Throwback set of your choice - the Top 5 are Jumanji, The 5th Element, The X-Files, Edward Scissorhands, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Edited February 10 by JohnTPT17

[Yoggington]

1 hour ago, JohnTPT17 said:

Hmm... They definitely seem very similar. But there's also some differences in there as well. Now I'm not sure how to feel...

It wouldn't be the only set that heavily borrows from something that already exists, though. Medieval Tournament borrows pretty heavily from set 10223.

Oh sorry, I'm not implying a copy-cat version. I just meant that if you are in the mood for that kind of build, then you don't need to wait for BDP 7 in a year or whenever. There are sets out there that could scratch the itch if you're okay with non-lego.

[RichardGoring]

I also felt a bit underwhelmed, mostly because I was overwhelmed with so much repetition. While it is all better than I could do, and the builders are clearly very good, there was so much that was the same as has previously been submitted. I think I probably voted for fewer in this round than any previous ones. I wonder why there appear to be so many alchemists in this round?!

The Fortina frigate looks great.

I love the colour and shape of the Elven Haven.

The Steampunk Mobile Observatory is fun.

And I like the spaceships by jazlecraz.

[DonQuixote]

Long live the Bricklink Castle Programm !

Let's make Classic Castle great again! 

[Yoggington]

On 2/10/2025 at 9:37 PM, icm said:

Medieval Seaport With Cog and Crane by BrickPerfection: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-7/2611/Medieval-Seaport-with-Cog-&-Crane

The more I look at this one the more I like it. There's clearly been a lot of work gone into the design. I mean you expect a crane to move a bit but they didn't have to have a walkeable wheel plus the crank to rotate the whole thing.

And then you see the brick-built sail is also foldeable? Wow.

[crowe-k]

On 2/10/2025 at 5:42 PM, RichardGoring said:

I also felt a bit underwhelmed, mostly because I was overwhelmed with so much repetition. While it is all better than I could do, and the builders are clearly very good, there was so much that was the same as has previously been submitted. I think I probably voted for fewer in this round than any previous ones. I wonder why there appear to be so many alchemists in this round?!

The Fortina frigate looks great.

I love the colour and shape of the Elven Haven.

The Steampunk Mobile Observatory is fun.

And I like the spaceships by jazlecraz.

100% in agreement with this. I think I only loved one or two submissions. Too much repetition.

[Murdoch17]

At this point, I don't think the wild west train is gonna sell out. We have almost exactly eleven days to go, and quite a distance left in the progress bar.

[Artanis I]

Are you saying that it's run out of steam?

[RichardGoring]

Series 7 finalists have been announced - Designer Program Series 7 [BrickLink]

It feels a lot more varied than previous series? Or maybe just no castle-specific sets and the one that is, is part-fantasy, and looks great.

The frigate and sushi restaurant look amazing, but are huge and will be pricey. All three are very tempting.

I love the creativity, detail, and execution of the robot and antique collection, but I'm not sure they're for me. I await reviews before making a final decision, as they can sometimes bring out things you hadn't realized were there.

 

[hikouki]

1 hour ago, RichardGoring said:

Series 7 finalists have been announced - Designer Program Series 7 [BrickLink]

 It feels a lot more varied than previous series? Or maybe just no castle-specific sets and the one that is, is part-fantasy, and looks great.

The frigate and sushi restaurant look amazing, but are huge and will be pricey. All three are very tempting.

I love the creativity, detail, and execution of the robot and antique collection, but I'm not sure they're for me. I await reviews before making a final decision, as they can sometimes bring out things you hadn't realized were there.

 

I just love that sushi restaurant - it sets it apart from other modulars (I know it isn't technically one). It has its own street!

I was rooting for that plus the floating market!!! Bummer that the latter did not make it! (https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-7/2368/The-Floating-Market)

[Artanis I]

Nothing for me this time. I recall that there wasn't a great selection to vote for, but I quite liked a space submission or two that didn't get through.

[MAB]

11 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

It feels a lot more varied than previous series? Or maybe just no castle-specific sets and the one that is, is part-fantasy, and looks great.

Remove the flask from the roof (which looks a bit naff anyway) and cover the hole that is left, and the alchemist set is pretty much a civilian castle set. It even has a Lion Kinght, Wolfpack, tax collector and various civilians.

 

I think some of these might struggle though.  The robot is reasonably small so will at least be a reasonably low price point, but that ship hits the 4000 piece limit so will be incredibly expensive. Even the pretty big sushi restaurant will look quite good value next to it. I like the number of interest points the sushi restaurant has in it, not just the build but the tram and the street section. The furniture looks nice, but again this is going to appear very expensive for a niche interest item and I imagine that one will struggle.

[RichardGoring]

10 hours ago, hikouki said:

I just love that sushi restaurant - it sets it apart from other modulars (I know it isn't technically one). It has its own street!

I was rooting for that plus the floating market!!! Bummer that the latter did not make it! (https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-7/2368/The-Floating-Market)

I was hoping for the floating market too. But I can see that the 'modular' would have broader mass appeal. It's still excellent, so I hope it's a reasonable price, but there's a lot in it.

37 minutes ago, MAB said:

Remove the flask from the roof (which looks a bit naff anyway) and cover the hole that is left, and the alchemist set is pretty much a civilian castle set. It even has a Lion Kinght, Wolfpack, tax collector and various civilians.

I think some of these might struggle though.  The robot is reasonably small so will at least be a reasonably low price point, but that ship hits the 4000 piece limit so will be incredibly expensive. Even the pretty big sushi restaurant will look quite good value next to it. I like the number of interest points the sushi restaurant has in it, not just the build but the tram and the street section. The furniture looks nice, but again this is going to appear very expensive for a niche interest item and I imagine that one will struggle.

Ha! I rather like the flask. It adds a level of whimsy which is often missing from adult-focused LEGO sets. I could see something like that appearing in Elves or Dreamzzz, both of which I enjoy. But yes, for BDP, it's a bit naff I suppose! 

Agreed that the sets will generally feel expensive for what they are, but maybe Bricklink has considered pricing and decided they can do them at a price that will tempt enough people. I imagine they don't want to have sets fall short of 3000 orders. Or maybe I'm assuming too much planning.

[DonQuixote]

I'm surprised the alchemist house from SleeplessNight was not selected. It looks better than the one that got selected and it has a lot of positive comments. Mostly it's an indicator if a set is populair and got many votes. 

[RichardGoring]

1 hour ago, DonQuixote said:

I'm surprised the alchemist house from SleeplessNight was not selected. It looks better than the one that got selected and it has a lot of positive comments. Mostly it's an indicator if a set is populair and got many votes. 

Oh, yes, that one is terrific. I wonder if they considered trying to expand to more builders. They've since introduced new rules limiting designers to one successful model per year.

[DonQuixote]

57 minutes ago, RichardGoring said:

Oh, yes, that one is terrific. I wonder if they considered trying to expand to more builders. They've since introduced new rules limiting designers to one successful model per year.

Oh, I didn't know that. Yes he allready has 2 succesfull sets that sold out fast. The Transsylvania castle is going to be sold out fast as well. I'm going to try to get one. Not 2 because I'm not a dirty scalper. 

[hikouki]

3 hours ago, DonQuixote said:

I'm surprised the alchemist house from SleeplessNight was not selected. It looks better than the one that got selected and it has a lot of positive comments. Mostly it's an indicator if a set is populair and got many votes. 

 

1 hour ago, RichardGoring said:

Oh, yes, that one is terrific. I wonder if they considered trying to expand to more builders. They've since introduced new rules limiting designers to one successful model per year.

Oh yes, that one was actually terrific!!!

Over at IG, people are complaining about the selection process not being 'transparent' enough. I think a lot of people were disappointed with the selection.

I do feel that for the past couple of series, it seems that the selections have been short of many people's expectations. I think that there should be runners-up where people can just buy the instructions. But perhaps Lego's own hands limits BL.

49 minutes ago, DonQuixote said:

Oh, I didn't know that. Yes he allready has 2 succesfull sets that sold out fast. The Transsylvania castle is going to be sold out fast as well. I'm going to try to get one. Not 2 because I'm not a dirty scalper. 

You're giving me ideas... perhaps I should just buy these sets instead of contributing to my retirement fund. LOL

[RichardGoring]

3 hours ago, hikouki said:

I do feel that for the past couple of series, it seems that the selections have been short of many people's expectations. I think that there should be runners-up where people can just buy the instructions. But perhaps Lego's own hands limits BL.

I thought that the Bricklink MOC Pop-up store was great for that. And what makes it so much easier for the designs in the BDP is that they're all from a palette of current, in-production parts, so you can get it all from PAB, instead of potentially several stores and pay the shipping.

But on the other hand, they were very careful during the MOC Pop-up to encourage people to buy from Bricklink sellers, which might make it more complex for those who haven't bought from the site before. It's another level of explanation that can be hard to do. FWIW, when I priced up the MOC Pop-up sets from Bricklink vs PAB, it worked out pretty close between the two - shipping included. I went for PAB for most of them though, as I got some GWP, which swung the value towards LEGO for me. But I had to wait a long time for everything to arrive.