BrickLink Designer Program: Series 8 Finalists

The latest BrickLink Designer Program finalists have been announced.

You have just under a year to decide if you would like any of these limited edition sets, as these designs will be available for Crowdfunding on June 1st, 2026 (at 8am Pacific time). BrickLink will give notice closer to the date with any changes they have made to the designs.

Brick Railroad Locomotive

By ThomasRoeder

1,428 total parts

The locomotive is 34.5 cm long and 11.0 cm high, and it has been designed to handle modern track curves. Motors can be retrofitted, as they cannot be included in the BrickLink program, but the designer has considered the addition of them in the design. I like how the curve of the colours are constructed using LEGO pieces rather than stickers.

Coconut Cape

By BallisticBricks

2,425 total parts

Dimensions are 34.4cm long x 47.1cm wide x 36.6cm high. This seaside fort will be a nice addition to any collector of the pirate theme, with an armoury, turrets, and prison cells, all for making the ocean a safer place to sail. 8 minifigures and some animals, a small rowboat, and a couple of cannons add the character to the building (even if the cannonballs don’t look like they will fit in the cannons, they still look the part and set the scene). Structural improvements have been made since it’s original inclusion in series 5.

Dustmark Keep

By brickhucker

4,000 total parts

Dimensions are 50.5 cm long x 48.0 cm wide x 47.1 cm high, though this set unfolds (to 78.3 cm in length) which not only give access to the internal rooms, but it also creates a different look bringing variety to playability or display. You may say you have plenty of castles already, but do you have a desert fortress that brings us a bounty hunter guild (rather than the usual medieval factions we find with LEGO sets). A working bell tower and a wall-mounted ballista add to the features of this design. This set has also made changes since it appeared in series 7, these include dark tan bricks creeping up the walls (giving a more sand-swept look), a water well in the courtyard, more foliage, the posable ballista, plus 2 horses added.

(above: the series 8 finalist version vs series 7 version, showing the changes that the designer had made)

University of Science

By KingCreations

3,995 total parts

This design is 48.0cm high x 102.4cm long (open display option)… so half that length for a closed display setup. This design is also a resubmission for this series, showing that it is well worth trying again if your designs don’t make the finalist list. The architecture is well designed, with plenty of detail in the facade. This would fit well into any LEGO cityscape, and has 13 minifigures to bring the university to life.

Hot Air Balloon

By ExeSandbox

876 total pieces

The balloon reaches a height of 26.3 cm when mounted in the clouds, and is 26.6 cm long x 17.7 cm wide. As noted the balloon can be taken out of the cloud ‘structure’ and is apparently quite durable to play with. The designer thought the current LEGO hot air ballon designs/pieces weren’t quite satisfactory, so they “set out to make a fully custom design for a hot air balloon with a gradient of colors and a more fuller shape”. I believe it is a nice shape that the designer has created, it will add adventure to any child’s play, and is a cute display piece as well.