BrickLink Designer Program Ongoing Discussion Thread

[BitByBrick]

Castle arrived today!!! (USofA) It only took 239 days (7 months and 24 days) But who’s counting? Felt like much longer. How long should I wait to open the box and build it? 

Edited February 26, 2022 by BitByBrick

[Retrocity]

Mine shipped yesterday (had to call and update my payment info in the morning) and arrived today. 

[RichardGoring]

My round 1 order arrived today. The Kakapo is awesome. I'm so pleased to have it.

[crowe-k]

Has Bricklink announced when round three will take place?

[Yoggington]

11 hours ago, crowe-k said:

Has Bricklink announced when round three will take place?

Nothing apart from "2022".

https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/introducing.page is where to check.

[karmajay]

I started building my fishing boat. It seems like there is a disparity between the bag numbers and the instructions. So don't sort any extra bag parts right away! :)

[timemail]

My castle apparently shipped on Friday. I'm in Australia, and it shipped from Victoria, so I imagine I will see it some time in the next two weeks. Hopefully this week however deliveries take a loooong time these days so I won't hold my breath. Good luck to any other Aussies waiting on this, hopefully you will see it some time soon.

[NoOneOfImportance]

Prices are up for the new lot of sets. Also, per LEGO's instructions page: 

910002

910004 

910008

910011

910018

910020

910021 Brickwest Studios

910027

 

[RichardGoring]

Wow, they're pricey. To be expected, given that they are so large, but still impressively expensive. I thought/hoped the 1950s diner would be cheaper.

There are seven of the nine that I would be delighted to get, but maybe I should root for the other two so I don't have to choose between more of them! Decisions, decisions on what to try and get. 

[RichardGoring]

Oh wow, I've just seen the updated waterfall. It looks much better now that the entire waterfall moves, rather than just some studs behind trans blue pieces. So that's another one to consider. Hmmm...

[Yoggington]

5 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

Oh wow, I've just seen the updated waterfall. It looks much better now that the entire waterfall moves, rather than just some studs behind trans blue pieces. So that's another one to consider. Hmmm...

Dang, I much preferred the previous mechanism with the studs bouncing about. I guess he couldn't keep them from flying around the room.

Suppose I'll just have to figure it out on my own.

 

On the plus side, my wallet is thanking me for not being too sold on any of the others.

[timemail]

For those that struggle to find this (like me) it is under the "Studio" Menu in Bricklink.

Prices in USD (as that is what it is showing me) are:

Brickwest Studios: $349.00

1950s Diner: $129.99

Train Station: Studgate: $399.99

Winter Chalet: $199.99

Working Waterfall: $229.99

Space Troopers!: $199.99

Mountain View Observatory: $319.99

Exploratorium: $299.99

Modular Construction Site: $319.99

 

Depending on the conversion to AUD I may look at getting the Winter Chalet, but I suspect it will dwarf all other Winter Village sets.

Pricing seems a bit up there. The Diner and Space Troopers! look really over priced to me based on the pictures. It is often hard to tell density of a set from just a couple of pictures though.

[danth]

How do these sets work?

If the Space Troopers sets come with plain red minifigs and trans-clear (or trans-black) canopies, it's a pass.

If it comes with Classic Space printed minifigs and trans-yellow canopies, it's a must have.

[icm]

https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/designer-sets-for-adult-fans-of-lego/215719/Space-Troopers!

The canopies are definitely trans-black, not trans-yellow.  I think the minifigs are blank, but they're stickered at best.  They're definitely not printed, and they don't use the new Classic Space helmet mold from TLM2.  This set isn't my style when it comes to neo-Classic Space, but it does have a good price to part ratio, $200 for 2670 parts.

[Yoggington]

2 hours ago, danth said:

How do these sets work?

If the Space Troopers sets come with plain red minifigs and trans-clear (or trans-black) canopies, it's a pass.

If it comes with Classic Space printed minifigs and trans-yellow canopies, it's a must have.

I'm pretty certain one of the limitations to design here is that all part must currently be in production in regular store sets. No new prints or revivals or anything like that.

A few of the designers are on here, maybe one can confirm.

[EndlessAges]

6 hours ago, Yoggington said:

I'm pretty certain one of the limitations to design here is that all part must currently be in production in regular store sets. No new prints or revivals or anything like that.

A few of the designers are on here, maybe one can confirm.

That's correct.  All parts have to be currently in production.  As the program has gone on for over a year, that list has shifted and some parts went out of production as well.

[RichardGoring]

25 minutes ago, EndlessAges said:

That's correct.  All parts have to be currently in production.  As the program has gone on for over a year, that list has shifted and some parts went out of production as well.

Eesh. That's harsh that parts availability has changed on you. Hope it didn't affect things too much. The model looks great, and I really hope it makes it through. It's so clever.

[EndlessAges]

39 minutes ago, RichardGoring said:

Eesh. That's harsh that parts availability has changed on you. Hope it didn't affect things too much. The model looks great, and I really hope it makes it through. It's so clever.

Thank you for the support.  I don't know about the rest of the designs, but mine took a lot of editing.  The theme of my project doesn't follow any existing LEGO theme, so there was trouble getting good colors, parts, or prints.  Also, since it's covered in odd mechanisms and used all sorts of weird techniques, I'm guessing my project alone set the whole program back by at least a month.

[Maple]

I might finally be getting my fishing point next month. TEN MONTHS after I ordered it!

[Lord Insanity]

10 hours ago, Maple said:

I might finally be getting my fishing point next month. TEN MONTHS after I ordered it!

Impressively fast for a crowd funded item that didn't even go into production until after orders were closed.  LEGO should be proud of themselves for pulling that off despite the current global shipping problems.

[Maple]

40 minutes ago, Lord Insanity said:

Impressively fast for a crowd funded item that didn't even go into production until after orders were closed.  LEGO should be proud of themselves for pulling that off despite the current global shipping problems.

Hi LEGO cult member. How are you doing? Will you be defending LEGO's 30% price increases for the June sets next?

[Lord Insanity]

23 hours ago, Maple said:

Hi LEGO cult member. How are you doing? Will you be defending LEGO's 30% price increases for the June sets next?

I'm confused.  How is LEGO delivering your order earlier than expected not considered a good thing?  You do know how crowdfunding works right?  When I ordered a Fishing Boat it very clearly gave me a delivery estimate of approximately 18 months out.  Getting it in only 10 months in impressive.  It is almost unheard of for any company to deliver anything crowdfunded in less than a year.  But then shipping and distribution is one of the few things LEGO actually still does better than the "knockoff" brands.  LEGO certainly hasn't had superior part quality for a few years now.  But I am supposed to be a "cult member"

[RichardGoring]

Round 3 is opening May 17 (10:00 PT, 13:00 ET, 19:00 CET).

With the larger sets/higher prices compared to previous rounds, I wonder if this will be a bit slower paced.

Designer Program 2021 Invitational [BrickLink]

[crowe-k]

Although the prices are high in round three, I am looking forward to supporting Studgate Station and the Modular Construction site. 

[Celeri]

On my side, ecxept maybe Mountain View Observatory, nothing really makes me want to let my money go this time, especially since they are all quite expensive products. I am rather likely to pass and wait for round 4!