Mushroom House Review - BDP finalist set 910037

Having written many articles about the BrickLink Designer Program (BDP) and all the finalists, such as those available right now (https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-8/main.page), I felt I really should get my hands on an actual BDP set to be able to review it properly. I always felt that they were a little pricey and I really had other living expenses that were more important though…

But, the option for me to pick up a BDP set came up when they sold off the excess sets they had in stock, and I had to get this design by Jonas Kramm. I payed about AU$130 for this set, one of the cheaper options available but also one I had been interested in from the first time I saw it. I couldn’t let the opportunity pass a second time around for something I knew my family would really like as well.

I wrapped it up for Christmas for the family, and we have now built it together. It is such a cute scene that we have decided to expand the surroundings for display at our upcoming Brick-Builder Expo in August (a plug for our event in North Kellyville, in NW Sydney region, Australia… message me if you are interested in attending and even displaying your own sets!)

The Mushroom building has been shaped well and gives two rooms, a ground level living space with a pot in the open fireplace, and an upper level bedroom with leaves for curtains. There are no stairs, but as the back is missing for access and play purposes, a flower stem growing alongside the house has leaves which act like a ladder for the minifigures to climb to the top level (note that the hands or feet of the figures can’t connect to this ‘ladder’, so it is more for show and pretend/play ‘climbing’).

A smaller second mushroom keeps the mushroom theme strong, and is balanced on the other side of the build by a carrot and some large leaves. There are a number of flowers and other small plants surrounding the cozy home, and there is even a letterbox and a water pump.

I quite enjoyed building this set, as there were a couple of building techniques I hadn’t come across before, and I liked the use of angles for the fences and steps, and S.N.O.T. (studs not on top) for the walls.

The crooked chimney was a nice touch, and one of the techniques I learnt from this design, as was the separate wheelbarrow. The snail is the standout feature, other than the house itself, and really highlights the tiny scale of the characters. It is sort of a real-scale build in that respect, though that is saying that the snail is of the larger snail variety and that it is an overly large mushroom that the house is made from… so it could be seen as a slightly enlarged scale model. His sequel BDP sets follow the same scale, except perhaps the ladybird looking bug which is much larger than a regular ladybird. Of course it is a fictional world Jonas Kramm has created with these designs, so who am I to nit-pick over any variation in scale across the designs.

I recommend this rare LEGO set, though it is now likely overpriced (my wife saw the Mushroom Village BDP set for sale at BrickBuilt for AU$500, and it sold by the end of the day when I went to see it. It was originally about AU$200-$250 I believe). The first few series of BDP had more limited numbers of sets so they will be extremely hard to find, but in saying that, the instructions are free to download for all BDP finalists and the parts should all be common enough to be able to get on BrickLink or where ever you buy your LEGO parts from. It could be worth buying the parts to make this design for yourself if you like it, especially if you have young kids, as they will surely love playing with this adorable set.

I am considering getting the parts for the other mushroom buildings in Jonas Kramm's Mushroom Village (#910051), and possibly looking into what parts might be needed for his other design that hasn't made it as a finalist (yet) as I may wish to expand the MOC scene I have been working on at some point in the future.

If you liked a BDP finalist design but can't afford the pricetag, I recommend grabbing the parts list for it and looking into the cost of putting it together with parts you already have and/or buying the necessary parts second hand.