BrickLink Designer Program Ongoing Discussion Thread

[hikouki]

1 hour ago, RichardGoring said:

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.

The MOC pop-up store overrode the "disliked' stores settings. BL aggressively featured stores with high inventory, regardless if whether my profile set them as disliked and regardless that these stores had many complaints.

[squiz18]

Just seen the final designs for series 5 were unveiled at an event a few days ago

 

https://www.brickfanatics.com/lego-bricklink-series-5-final-showcased/

[DonQuixote]

I will try to get the Transylvania castle . It will be difficult. There are allways a lot of scalpers that just buy sets to resell them. They don't love Lego. They are just there for the  money. Damn scalpers! They should all be scalped by native Americans. No mercy!

[RichardGoring]

56 minutes ago, DonQuixote said:

I will try to get the Transylvania castle . It will be difficult. There are allways a lot of scalpers that just buy sets to resell them. They don't love Lego. They are just there for the  money. Damn scalpers! They should all be scalped by native Americans. No mercy!

I don't think it will as difficult as earlier rounds. It's a great model, but it's expensive and these are not selling at crazily inflated prices anymore, so I'm confident that the scalpers will cool off on them and a sensible order will be assumed.

I'm really looking forward to a bunch of these and excited to see more.

[MAB]

4 hours ago, DonQuixote said:

I will try to get the Transylvania castle . It will be difficult. There are allways a lot of scalpers that just buy sets to resell them. They don't love Lego. They are just there for the  money. Damn scalpers! They should all be scalped by native Americans. No mercy!

Based on the last round, anyone wanting to buy a set should be able to get one just fine if they remember the date they go live and are not unavailable on that date.

[Artanis I]

I won't be getting that castle, as it doesn't fit the aesthetic of normal Castle, so there's 1 more available for people that want one.

 

On another note, my series 3 castle was supposed to arrive yesterday, but the local Australia Post distribution centre sent it off to the other end of the state instead of to my house. 4 day delay.

[DonQuixote]

9 hours ago, Artanis I said:

I won't be getting that castle, as it doesn't fit the aesthetic of normal Castle, so there's 1 more available for people that want one.

It does fit with the Fright Knights 

[JohnTPT17]

Prices have been announced for Wave 5. Finalized pictures are also out.

910049 Adventures in Transylvania: $350 (4056 pieces)

910050 Antique Shop: $150 (1918 pieces)

910051 Mushroom Village: $210 (2436 pieces)

910052 Popcorn Wagon: $55 (594 pieces)

910053 The Thieves of Tortuga: $340 (4002 pieces)

[RichardGoring]

Those prices are slightly better than I was expecting. I hope they can maintain them in the US. 

This is my my favorite wave so far and the first of the new style series where I'm tempted to try and get all of them.

[squiz18]

Definitely want the Transylvania set. I didn't think I wanted the pirate one but seeing it now it does look good. I like  it displayed as 2 corners rather than one long set. I felt the same about the Forest Stronghold. They do know how to suck you in! Another £600 I need to find....

[DonQuixote]

12 hours ago, JohnTPT17 said:

Prices have been announced for Wave 5. Finalized pictures are also out.

910049 Adventures in Transylvania: $350 (4056 pieces)

910050 Antique Shop: $150 (1918 pieces)

910051 Mushroom Village: $210 (2436 pieces)

910052 Popcorn Wagon: $55 (594 pieces)

910053 The Thieves of Tortuga: $340 (4002 pieces)

I wonder what the prices in Europe are. The Mountain Fortress was €340 over here instead of $380 in the US. Americans pay higher shipping costs I think. All BDP sets are cheaper in Europe. 

Two sets exceeded the 4000 pieces limit. How is that possible? I thought it was not allowed to go over 4000 pieces? 

[Lyichir]

Mushroom Village is pricy... but I still hope to get it. Several others look good but I probably won't get them... with things like Lego and video games getting more expensive in the US I've got to try to be selective.

[steele]

I love the Transylvania set for the castle, but the minifigs seem "excessive"----few are very unique/interesting, and seem to be there just to pad out the numbers.  I'd honestly prefer half as many figs and a lower set price.  Or at least one more vampire/spook instead of so many kids and "typical townsfolk".   

Edited May 2 by steele

[hrdknxbrix]

On 5/1/2025 at 11:53 AM, DonQuixote said:

I wonder what the prices in Europe are. The Mountain Fortress was €340 over here instead of $380 in the US. Americans pay higher shipping costs I think. All BDP sets are cheaper in Europe. 

Two sets exceeded the 4000 pieces limit. How is that possible? I thought it was not allowed to go over 4000 pieces? 

Probably future-proofing for tariff and/or exchange rate.  But you can't really compare Euro to USD pricing as the US/Canada prices are pre-tax whereas EU/UK prices include VAT.  Most buyers in the US/Canada pay on average 10-15% more once tax is added.

[Lyichir]

Series 8 entries are live, including yet another amazing model by JonasKramm in his "Tiny World of Wonders" theme: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-8/2840/Mushroom-Haven

[Yperio_Bricks]

My absolure favorite from series 8 is the dig site by octane_thermo https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-8/2972/The-Dig-Site Best BDP set ever

[JohnTPT17]

I only have eyes for Mushroom Haven - another slam dunk for the Mushroom Village "series." I do like seeing a few designs that fit into that "world" from other builders, but JonasKramm's designs are just on another level.

Lots of space and train entries this time - and I think they are overall better than previous series. I think something from one of those series will make it. I don't care enough about either of those subseries to do specific shoutout, but there are a lot of good ones.

Here's a few other shoutouts:

• Jungle Adventure: basically what Lost City should have been, IMO. A good mix of playability and a much cleaner design overall. 
• Explorers of the Sky: I'm not a huge steampunk guy, but this one does a low with a lower part count. 
• Fish & Chips Truck: Yeah, it's another vehicle on a baseplate. But I like the pelican build.
• Lion Knight's Galley: Very small and chibi, and I doubt the STAMP would be allowed in the final design, but I still like it. If none of the old Viking ships can get approved, maybe this one? (the designer also has some other ships)
• Second Life of the Tree: Dislike that most of the interior is taken up by the staircase, but otherwise I think it looks quite cozy.
• The Forest Village: Another Hanwas design, and the visual language is very similar to his past designs, but it still looks good.
• A Walk in the Park: A small set that isn't a vehicle on a baseplate!
• The Eastern Alliance: As usual, there's a lot of big castles, but this one stands out to me a little more. It seems very "playable" and can be moved around in several ways.
• Ice Cream Grill: A poor man's Downtown Diner, but it has a lot of clever details (I especially like the Ice Planet penguin).  Car could be better, though.
• Gilded Island Keep: Another big castle, but this one feels very different. Being able to fold up is another bonus.
• SkatePark: On one hand, it's basically a lot of flat tiles. But it also has several clever details, and the ability to fold into different designs.
• Hot Air Balloon: Another small, cozy set. The clouds looks especially nice.
• The Gothic Movie Theater: I maybe have done a shoutout for this one before (there's a few other returning sets, I'm trying to focus on new ones), but it still looks great, if it's not new. 

Not sure I can really say my choices for a Top 5 this time - I like a lot more of the small sets than the big ones, and realistically only one (maybe two) of them will get made. And I still have a hunch that a train or space set (or both) will get picked. If you twist my arm, though, I'd say Mushroom Haven, Hot Air Balloon, Ice Cream Grill, Explorers of the Sky, and The Gothic Movie Theater might be my Top 5. As long as I get Mushroom Haven, though, I'm happy! 

[igordost]

What's your thoughts about Zeppelin? https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-8/2855/Aviation-days:-Zeppelin

[Murdoch17]

44 minutes ago, igordost said:

What's your thoughts about Zeppelin? https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-8/2855/Aviation-days:-Zeppelin

My thoughts are as follows:

I want it yesterday... I desperately need it for my Adventurers!

Edited May 5 by Murdoch17

[JohnTPT17]

1 hour ago, igordost said:

What's your thoughts about Zeppelin?

Based on your username, it looks like you are the designer?

Well, I suppose that I'm not really in the "target audience" for it - especially when, with that part count, it would be $300+. So, it simply doesn't appeal to me personally. The bigger thing, though, is that I have questions about how stable it would be when fully built. Is the weight going to cause any issues? Are all the parts going to stay on? Can I pick it up without crushing it? It looks like there are only digital renders, so it's hard to say how it could perform IRL. Maybe a cross-section could be included, so people could know what it looks like inside? Not to say that I think it looks bad or anything! Those are just my initial thoughts based on it.

[Karalora]

4 hours ago, Yperio_Bricks said:

My absolure favorite from series 8 is the dig site by octane_thermo https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-8/2972/The-Dig-Site Best BDP set ever

I "know" him (we converse a lot on his YT channel)! I made sure to vote for The Dig Site! It's a great throwback to Adventurers as well as a real gem for anyone interested in archaeology, poetry, desert landscapes, or any combination of the above!

[RichardGoring]

At first I was disappointed when looking through the entries as there were none that appealed in the first 50 or so, but then the quality really ramped up, which was great. There are a lot of repeated themes, and so I hope that voting veers towards the more unique end of past themes and maybe introduces one or two new ones. Depending on the final selection, this could be a better round than series 6 or 7 (saying this whilst also recognizing that I couldn't MOC something to the level of any of these entries, so great work by all).

[DonQuixote]

The only non castle set I love is the small classic space ship in blue and grey.

For the rest I vote only castle as if BDP is the only way to buy Lego castle display sets. I can't wait until the new factions will  be available at BDP! 

And what will the castle fans create for them

[icm]

This time, I tried to be pretty sparing with my use of "Like It" and "Love It", so as not to dilute my vote. I marked a few medium-size castles as "Like It", and nearly everything else as "Not For Me". The only three that I marked "Love It" were the following, which are the only three I can definitely see myself buying. I really hope the Classic Space Rover makes it through this time - it was my favorite build one or two rounds ago, but it wasn't selected. The Intergalactic Justice Enforcer is also very creative without being too big and complex and overdesigned. The Broadside Brawl is two nice little brick-built sailing ships that would make a great playset.

 

 

[MAB]

8 hours ago, igordost said:

What's your thoughts about Zeppelin? https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/series-8/2855/Aviation-days:-Zeppelin

I won't be voting for it. You should be honest about promoting your own designs.