BrickLink Designer Program - Series 1 Finalists Announced

BrickLink.com have announced the 5 designs who have been chosen for crowdfunding as part of the BrickLink Designer Program, and so have the potential of becoming a LEGO set if at least 3,000 people pre-order the set.

Crowdfunding for these 5 finalists will begin in February 2024; the designs will be ‘production-ready’ later this year, and the prices will be decided prior to the crowdfunding period (which lasts for 3-4 weeks). You will only be able to order these sets through the BrickLink Designer Program site, you won’t be able to find these sets in the LEGO store. Pre-orders will also be limited to two of each set per household.

These are the 5 finalists:

Mountain Fortress, by SleeplessNight

Parisian Street, by NicolasCarlier

The Old Train Engine Shed, by Mind_the_Brick

The Snack Shack, by Skeletuhr

General Store - Wild West, by llucky

Mountain Fortress, by SleeplessNight

The story behind this fortress is inspired by the Black Falcon and Lion Knights era of LEGO castles. The designer’s description states, “What makes this mighty fortress design stand out is its harsh winter scenery, including snow caps and icicles. It consists of a lower and upper castle, connected by a drawbridge, which spans a frozen moat”. The snowy landscape definitely draws my attention, as does the detail in a number of spots including the coat of arms style display above the entry gate.

The design uses 3,986 parts to create this building, which can fold open and reveal removable sections, making for a fun and detailed build.

This would make a great play-set, but I worry at the price tag they will put on it being the largest design amongst the finalists… And I am truly concerned about this, as it is a set I am very interested in for myself.

Parisian Street, by NicolasCarlier

This is the second largest design, using 3,465 parts, so could also have a hefty price tag… Though those LEGO fans who love to build city MOCs will surely want to add this design to their collection.

The designer writes, “As a French native living near Paris, it was only natural for me to recreate a classic Parisian street featuring charming shops and elegant facades.” The shops included on the ground floor are a bakery, florist, and a bistro. The upper levels have apartments of various types, and include a billiard hall and a rooftop terrace.

It is an attractive build and the designer has dedicated much effort into making sure the final product has authentic Parisian architecture and atmosphere.

The Old Train Engine Shed, by Mind_the_Brick

Here is one for the LEGO train fans out there. A gorgeous little workshop for your old train engines, and as the designer puts it, “The Old Train Engine Shed can accommodate a train engine up to 37 studs long, whilst its wagon can pull up at the front tracks”. The shed contains an overhead crane, a lathe, drill press, welder, hammers and more. The roof can be easily removed to access the interior, and the large doors give smooth access for your trains to enter too.

The design has some good detail outside the shed as well, such as the draisine, the power pole with the bird nest, or the interesting looking drain pipe beside the small office out the back.

This set uses 2,298 parts in total, making it the third largest set of the final five.

The Snack Shack, by Skeletuhr

Inspired by a food truck, this little takeaway store is by far the smallest of the finalists, using only 548 parts, and therefore is likely to be the most affordable of the sets available for crowdfunding.

This will be a brilliant addition to any coastal town MOC; with its beach vibe and ability to remove the trailer from the base, allowing it to be placed anywhere you please. The rear has hinges to allow opening for easy access to the innards, explained by the designer as a “fully equiped snack bar with a detailed interior including a deep fryer, milkshake machine, press grill, condiment station and a fridge”.

My guess is that this design is a high chance of getting the 3,000 pre-orders simply because it will likely have a more appealing price for many buyers looking to own one of the BrickLink Designer Program sets.

General Store – Wild West, by llucky

I do like a good Wild West theme build, and this designer had two that I liked in the voting stage. The most notable feature of this design is the technique used to construct the horizontal boarding of the walls, followed closely by the horse drawn wagon bringing in more supplies to the store.

The eye-catching cactus, the rocking chair and the vulture are a few of the interesting bits of detail surrounding the building. Continuing inside, which seems to be accessed by removing the roof, the shop and all its merchandise are revealed. The designer guides us through their store, “Inside, we have several shelves. One is full of mining equipment and on another, we can find canned food and bottles of various liquors. On the counter, we can see a cloche of cupcakes… Right away a classic cash register catches the eye. In the building, we also have a stove for the colder months”.

This design uses 1,848 parts, and though not a large building, looks to be an interesting one to build.

Overall, there is a variety of themes and set sizes, which I think the program was aiming for to enable a broader market for potential buyers. The fan designers will receive five percent of the net sales price of BrickLink Designer Program sets that are sold, which means the LEGO Group (who owns BrickLink now) is making money off these amazing designs.

I do like that this program allows for very interesting, creative, and potentially difficult to build LEGO sets to be created. Series 2 of the program is already underway with the submission period almost over; crowd support for the next five potential LEGO sets will take place from June 12 - 30 this year. Keep an eye out for the series 2 voting stage, and start saving for any of these limited edition LEGO sets that take your fancy.