Series 9 BrickLink Designer Program Finalists Revealed

So, Series 9 of the BrickLink Designer Program had its finalists revealed recently, and if you aren’t checking Bricklink regularly it is easy to miss where they are up to in any particular series… Is it voting time? Are the sets available for purchase? 

Fortunately for you I write these articles to keep you up to date (even if they aren’t hot off the press).

‘The Fisherman's Village’, by rocknbricks31

In my previous article I shared a few designs that caught my eye as I quickly browsed through, and two of the sets I mentioned made the final 5.  ‘The Fisherman's Village’, by rocknbricks31, was one of those I mentioned. With 3,995 pieces it is the largest of the sets this series. The designers inspiration came from the colourful villages of Maine, in northeast USA, and they have produced a lighthouse as well as 3 other buildings (one of which is entirely SNOT!).

The set has good playability with the small fishing boat and the fact that the buildings can be separated and rearranged. It also makes a nice display set with its colours and features, including the two levels of boardwalk (one of the elements that drew my attention) giving it more character than a single level village scene.

‘Wild West Blacksmith’, by llucky

I also mentioned that the designer llucky had another nice Wild West design, but the one that made the final 5 was not the design I mentioned, instead ‘Wild West Blacksmith’ was chosen. This set has an interactive mechanism, a windmill that powers the bellows inside the forge. If you purchased, or plan to purchase, llucky's other finalist designs from earlier series', then you won’t want to miss out on acquiring this set as well… and if you only really want one western themed build, then this gives a very nice feel of a western scene, and it has a lot of detail included in the design.

I do like how it is a two room building, one room is the forge and workshop area, the other is the living quarters; not adding extra internal walls may be realistic to the era, but it also means that the rooms aren’t cramped like many LEGO buildings can be in an attempt to add more rooms into a similar sized space.

‘Woodbrick Freight Depot’, by Mind_the_Brick

Mind_the_Brick, designer of the ‘Old Train Engine Shed’ in Series 1, returns to the finalist arena with ‘Woodbrick Freight Depot’, a 52cm long build with detachable train tracks running alongside the depot. There are some interesting design aspects to this set that I like (e.g. the doors, the crane, the modular parts), and some which I had to read about so I could start to appreciate it (i.e. the bricked up window).

I am sure LEGO train enthusiasts will enjoy this, and though it would be a fun playset with the loading crane, train carriage, and lorry, it is not my favourite design of the series.

‘Sleepy Dragon Inn’, by MarinBD

I actually found the list of finalists this series a little underwhelming at first, including this next design by MarinBD. The facade of the ‘Sleepy Dragon Inn’ was just another building. Yes it looks well built, and yes it has a medieval theme, but so many seem to be made and submitted I wasn't sure what made this one special. I had missed the intricacies of this design in the crowd support, but fortunately others supported this set. The set has a raised ground floor which conceals a mechanism that turns the chicken in the fireplace, makes minifigures dance on the rug, and moves the bard on the stage as well!

The back of the building has walls like double doors that open wide to reveal the inner inn, the ground floor containing the previously mentioned features of the main space, as well as the kitchen. There is a curving staircase which takes us to an open mezzanine which overlooks the bard and dancing below, though here we have more entertainment with card games at the tables. Another staircase leads to the attic style sleeping area for the weary guests. There are 8 different minifigures, the variety akin to the range of D&D character classes plus the innkeepers… and a cat and a pigeon.

After looking closer at this design it has definitely gained my approval to be a Series 9 finalist.

 ‘Pumpkin Patch’, by SofieBuilds

With 565 total pieces, ‘Pumpkin Patch’ by SofieBuilds is the smallest design of the finalists, and is also another one I mentioned as a standout of the series in my previous article. I considered it a standout due to the eyecatching colours, the simplicity of the build, and the well-balanced layout of the design. It would make a cute little display piece, and has a play feature where the gardener can work amongst the pumpkins with the provided tools, and then customers can come and buy the pumpkins at the stall.

This will be a more affordable set to purchase when the time comes, as the smaller sets always are, so I am sure it will sell out quickly unless Bricklink/LEGO lifts the limit of available sets again (which I’m sure they will do so they profit as much as they can from the BDP).

These designs have been chosen for crowdfunding on October 7th, 2026 at 9am Pacific time… so set a reminder if any looks like a set you want to own. Head to the website to find out more about any particular design: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-9/main.page