BrickLink Designer Program: First round of crowdfunding begins soon
Posted by Huw,
The first of three crowdfunding phases of the BrickLink Designer Program 2021 begins on July 1st when you will have the opportunity to pre-order eight sets, all of which are LEGO Ideas 10k Club projects.
Only 5,000 of each will be available and this will the only time you'll be able to buy them, so if any of them take your fancy you'll need to be quick.
You can view the models after the break and find out more at BrickLink.
Which ones will you be ordering?
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I'm quite interested in the Fishing Boat. After seeing the designer video for the Particle Accelerator, I think I'll go for that - it looks like a lot of fun. None of the others really grab me as sets to buy, even if they're nice models.
Fishing boat is the only one in this round that interests me. Pity about the colour change though, would have preferred teal/dark turquoise.
That observatory looks pretty great. If only the original was a little bit higher, maybe LEGO would mistake it for a lighthouse and we'd have an official one on the shelves right now.
Safe Observatory and Castle for me !
Kakapo!!
Is the Legend of Bionicle image missing?
Any price indication known already?
Has the Legend of Bionicles pic been missed off to help manage demand and corner the market? Lol.
I like Pursuit of Flight and the Kakapo, but until I see prices I'm not committing to anything!
@HangedSanchez said:
"Is the Legend of Bionicle image missing?"
I believe Legend of Bionicle is coming in one of the two subsequent rounds of releases. Instead of all of the sets being available for crowdfunding at once, they are coming out in three smaller waves.
As for this group, I am inclined towards the pursuit of flight, observatory, castle, and the fishing boat, but the prices of each will help drive my final decision.
I made a copy of JKbrickworks' Pursuit of Flight with different plane and scenery and I must say it's awesome. Highly recommended.
My mistake, I missed off the Bionicle image, which I've now added.
all pretty neat, but the kakapo is the only must-buy
I hope that sales will be limited to one per account (edit: per item). Otherwise, a lot of people will be disappointed.
The castle, fishing boat and pursuit of flight may be the ones I'll get.
looking at the program page on BrickLink, interesting to see a bunch have been withdrawn by their designers. i find it rather odd that so many of these are in the "test building" phase - wouldn't you have done an actual build, rather than simply a render, before submitting something like this? too much digital, not enough real brick action, IMO
@denn said:
"looking at the program page on BrickLink, interesting to see a bunch have been withdrawn by their designers. i find it rather odd that so many of these are in the "test building" phase - wouldn't you have done an actual build, rather than simply a render, before submitting something like this? too much digital, not enough real brick action, IMO"
One of the issues is that the designers were given a limited set of elements available for the final models which I think caused some re-designing. Remember, also, that these final models have to meet Lego's requirements for strength and stability etc so there is more to it that just building a physical model and you're good to go.
One of the designers withdrew because he had a deal with another company to produce his models.
I love Jason's ideas, but from this lot I would probably go for Kakapo. Because Douglas Adams :)
Has there been any announcement regarding box art/packaging? It will be a shame if these are just shipped in zip lock bags in generic boxes. I know instructions are online only not a physical copy.....
@Rusticjohn said:
"Has there been any announcement regarding box art/packaging? It will be a shame if these are just shipped in zip lock bags in generic boxes. I know instructions are online only not a physical copy..... "
Last time the box art was nice enough imho. If they go with a similar design I am going to be happy.
Disappointed with the digital instructions, but I will wait to see the prices first. I wonder if we will see them before the crowdfunding starts…
Time to get my Bionicle fix!
Do you only get charged for your pre order if the project makes it all the way through?
@denn said:
"looking at the program page on BrickLink, interesting to see a bunch have been withdrawn by their designers. i find it rather odd that so many of these are in the "test building" phase - wouldn't you have done an actual build, rather than simply a render, before submitting something like this? too much digital, not enough real brick action, IMO"
I'm sure most designers have built the actual sets (probably all), but this "test building" phase means that actual LEGO designers are testing whether the model fulfills TLG's standards.
Castle in the Forest is lovely, especially since there aren't a lot of castles right now, and even less so Forestmen inspired Castles.
The final design having 6 figures, and a horse also adds more to it.
I'm fine with stickered Forestmen shields, not expecting exclusive prints in a Bricklink program set.
Definitely gonna try for the Castle in the Forest
Bricklink has been bought by LEGO. I’m expecting it to become a complete failure like the VIP program where the site will crash after 2 minutes and thousands will miss out on the sets only to find the sets available on the secondary markets for at least double the original price.
Still I’m hoping to be able to get 1 of the observatory sets. Looks very good.
@RickestRick said:
"Do you only get charged for your pre order if the project makes it all the way through?"
Yep. This was one of the questions in the FAQ section - a 'fully realized' project means a minimum of 3,000 pre-orders during the funding period. Short of that, you're not charged.
The Observatory looks amazing!
@Mr_Hankey said:
"Bricklink has been bought by LEGO. I’m expecting it to become a complete failure like the VIP program where the site will crash after 2 minutes and thousands will miss out on the sets only to find the sets available on the secondary markets for at least double the original price.
Still I’m hoping to be able to get 1 of the observatory sets. Looks very good."
^^Sucks, but I was thinking the same thing. IT has never been TLG's talent - I'm bracing for the worst, hoping for the best!
Can't say need to see some prices. Why are they not showing us the prices yet?
Interested in several but likely could only afford one or two max. Always a fan of Jason's work.
The piece count on most of these models is quite large, Kakapo has 1000 pieces! I think many of these sets will be more expensive than expected from the picture.
Will the instructions be published online so people who miss the preorder can build the set?
Who is the target audience for the safe?
@Wrecknbuild said:
"I hope that sales will be limited to one per account (edit: per item). Otherwise, a lot of people will be disappointed.
The castle, fishing boat and pursuit of flight may be the ones I'll get."
I mean, even if the selling of those sets would be limited to one per account, that still wouldn't prevent scalpers from creating duplicate accounts and ordering multiple copies of the sets.
Sadly, there is no direct way to prevent people from scalping.
I was hoping that once the crowdfunding passed 3000 TLG would make as many as there are people who have paid for the model by an end date rather than stopping earlier at 5000. Since some models are going to be more popular than others, would reduce their per unit costs (after passing 5000), keep all the buyers happy and discourage investors just looking to sell on the secondary market.
@kinggregus said:
"Who is the target audience for the safe? "
I mean anyone interested in it?! Isn't that the whole idea of crowdfunding. If there is enough interest its a go if not the project will end.
So how fast does the site crash after going live? Space Probe 2.0? Why only 5000 made when it took 10,000 to support it? why not 10,000.
Several of these look nice.
But if it is going to be like last time, they will be rather on the expensive side (also in terms of price per part). And you won't really know what you are getting up front, as there will be no reviews. For me, that means I will probably not try to get any.
Nothing really grabbed me as ‘must have it!’ But in terms of preference it would be;-
Flight - 1
Fishing boat - 2
Castle - 3
The one I really wanted has dropped out……
There are a couple I like but I expect the prices will be way more than I'd be willing to pay.
These were all the rage last time. I understand why they are doing a new series of rounds.
Buuuut, they were very expensive! I understand crowdfunding. I understand the hard work that the designers/creators must go through. But I will have to weigh some options early on if I want to spend extra for a MOC.
But if the price is agreeable, I really like the Castle set and the JK plane set (which I've seen elsewhere, so surprised to see it here also).
@ABrickinTime said:
"Disappointed with the digital instructions, but I will wait to see the prices first. I wonder if we will see them before the crowdfunding starts…"
I thought I had read that the supported models would get printed instructions, and that digital instructions would be available for the models that didn't get funded.
Now the site clearly says "digital instructions only".
Very disappointing. One of things that made the first Designer Program sets feel like premium products were the quality printed instructions.
Unless the sets are very fairly priced, I would rather just buy the instructions and source the bricks on my own.
loads technic gun, I've been saving this baby
I'm excited about the Castle in the Forest. I really hope this Digital Instructions only thing won't bleed into regular sets..
My top three
1. Castle in the Forest
2. Fishing Boat
3. Observatory
No proper instructions? Why? They had them last time.
If this means the sets will be much cheaper than last time, I might still think about it. But if they turn out to be just as expensive, yet still not get proper printed instructions, I'm out.
Some cool designs but nothing that jumps out (for me personally). Also, I’m curious what the castle and observatory will cost. They are fairly large sets.
Bricklink was bought by LEGO, right? Does that make these official sets in some weird roundabout way?
@tallblocktoo said:
"Can't say need to see some prices. Why are they not showing us the prices yet?
Interested in several but likely could only afford one or two max. Always a fan of Jason's work. "
It's crowdfunding. You won't see prices before the start of a campaign.
I'm planning on getting Legend of the BIONICLE and Castle in the Forest. The former tickles my nostalgia and I've been desperate for new Gen 1 content. For the later, the Forestmen was before my time but I always ogled over the sets in guidebooks. Since it's basically all the Forestmen sets slapped together into one castle I'd adore to have it!
I wonder if these will sell better than the most recent Ideas sets that are officially Lego and how that will affect Lego's decisions in upcoming Idea's results.
Not too thrilled about having stickered parts instead of prints where current parts are not available nor lack of physical instructions, which means these are not premium products so pricing will be critical.
Once these go to crowdfunding stage we better get good sample images of the actual physically built sets that will actually be in the end product.
Absolutely lazy marketing with that "Final product my vary" disclaimer on the current images.
@darkstonegrey said:
"Not too thrilled about having stickered parts instead of prints where current parts are not available nor lack of physical instructions, which means these are not premium products so pricing will be critical.
Once these go to crowdfunding stage we better get good sample images of the actual physically built sets that will actually be in the end product.
Absolutely lazy marketing with that "Final product my vary" disclaimer on the current images."
Lord help us for stickers in sets like Castle in the Forest. What's the point then of buying these if all the "special parts" are stickers? I'd be cheaper to just part it out and create your own stickers.
@darkstonegrey said:
"Not too thrilled about having stickered parts instead of prints where current parts are not available nor lack of physical instructions, which means these are not premium products so pricing will be critical.
Once these go to crowdfunding stage we better get good sample images of the actual physically built sets that will actually be in the end product.
Absolutely lazy marketing with that "Final product my vary" disclaimer on the current images."
I wouldn’t hold my breath for low prices. Anything small-batch or crowdfunded will inherently have a higher cost, even if it’s backed by a large company. I don’t think they introduced this program to be a loss leader, but rather hit a niche of the market that wants to see more flexibility beyond the typical Lego portfolio.
Those are all amazing in their own way and I’d love to get them all but realistically I still have about 50 official Lego sets left to build in my backlog and two of the original BrickLink series still in boxes.
Observatory for me, particle accelerator for my uncle (who worked on the LHC), pending pricing.
The castle looks nice but I am put off by digital only instructions, and the prices will probably be more than I would like to pay.
I'll go for the safe! Considering the boat and the castle, but it really depends on price for those two
I've been following this since it was first announced and what concerns me most, is that with 5 days to go before the R1 Crowdfunding begins, the Observatory and Fishing Boat still aren't "Production Ready" yet. They've had more than enough time to get things ready (especially after Bricklink altered the deadline dates and created the different crowdfunding rounds), and with the popularity the designs seem to be getting, they're going to end up disappointing a lot of people if they pull-out now.
@arusson2421 said:
"I wonder if these will sell better than the most recent Ideas sets that are officially Lego and how that will affect Lego's decisions in upcoming Idea's results."
Practically every recent Ideas set is owned by more than 5000 people (according to Brickset's database) so I don't see that happening
@denn said:
"looking at the program page on BrickLink, interesting to see a bunch have been withdrawn by their designers. i find it rather odd that so many of these are in the "test building" phase - wouldn't you have done an actual build, rather than simply a render, before submitting something like this? too much digital, not enough real brick action, IMO"
Agreed, a render might be fine for an ideal visualization but you should be required to have a physical build before you can submit a Project. The same way that they don't allow people to put extra text or nonexistent pieces, you shouldn't be able to coat a model in Chrome or a billion masonry bricks to get votes for a lackluster project
Personally as long as LEGO sort out the issues of differentiating dark colours (black, dark brown etc) then i’m all in for digital instructions, lets be honest its got to happen - for a bad example checkout 7784 instructions on lego.com…….
Why on earth are these things being limited to only 5000? When did they even announce this? I never read about it anywhere until today, and I’ve been keeping a close eye on this thing. There’s several models I’m interested in.
All this is gonna do is cause a ton of website issues on launch day and then leave thousands of customers disappointed while the scalpers pick up most of the supply, just like every limited quantity VIP token.
Why not just leave the pre-orders open during the entire crowdfunding period, and then manufacture however many pre-orders come in?
Will TLG never learn?
@MrBob said:
"Why on earth are these things being limited to only 5000? When did they even announce this? I never read about it anywhere until today, and I’ve been keeping a close eye on this thing. There’s several models I’m interested in.
All this is gonna do is cause a ton of website issues on launch day and then leave thousands of customers disappointed while the scalpers pick up most of the supply, just like every limited quantity VIP token.
Will TLG never learn?"
Same here. I never saw the whole "limited to 5000" thing, Iv'e only read other people talking about it.
If you read the rules it says max 5 each set per person. So I read that as the first 1000 scalpers will buy everything! I really dont get it. 10k people voted for each of those sets. They only intend to build 5000 and they know the problems with scalpers. WAKE UP LEGO before you have another disaster on yout hands!
Does anyone know where will the sets be dispatched?
Ordered them into the UK last time and paid a fortune for customs!
@cl_hk said:
"
Does anyone know where will the sets be dispatched?
Ordered them into the UK last time and paid a fortune for customs!
"
Believe if you read the FAQ's they mention this.
The last group of sets from a Bricklink program were enticing but very expensive. If these are equally expensive I doubt I'll buy any of them, although I voted for three of them when they were on Ideas.
Yes, it will be interesting to see how well the site holds up under the impact of everyone checking the prices out as soon as the kickstarter opens!
@cl_hk said:
"
Does anyone know where will the sets be dispatched?
Ordered them into the UK last time and paid a fortune for customs!
"
The FAQ says:
Where will the sets be shipped from?
The designer sets will be manufactured in Europe and most likely to be shipped directly from Europe, too. However, we’re working to arrange another US-based distribution center for US customers. We will update the information before the crowdfunding begins.
Also, the FAQ clearly states that only up to 5000 sets of each project will be produced. A logical reason is not stated though.
Same with the instructions. No reason is given why they don't produce printed ones like last time.
The more details I get from the FAQs, the less interested I am in this round of the whole thing. In the end I might just skip it entirely.
Thankfully, the designs I was most interested in (the Asian temple and all the sets by the designer of the Old Fishing Store) are now "archived" within this program but available as official sets (with printed instructions and at a fair price) elsewhere.
Other than the Castle, none of these interest me in the slightest. And they will probably be very overpriced, like the last batch ….. IF you are even able to secure one, courtesy of TLG’s tech issues!
I was looking forward to buying the awesome Train Station with the big glass dome, and maybe that weird Science Museum with the steampunk vibe, but sadly they didn’t make it to the final cut! :(
@lemish34 said:
"Other than the Castle, none of these interest me in the slightest. And they will probably be very overpriced, like the last batch ….. IF you are even able to secure one, courtesy of TLG’s tech issues!
I was looking forward to buying the awesome Train Station with the big glass dome, and maybe that weird Science Museum with the steampunk vibe, but sadly they didn’t make it to the final cut! :("
Unless I'm mistaken, the Train Station and Science Museums will be in the later 2 rounds. This is just the first round of 8, so all the sets wouldn't be released at once.
Like the idea of an Observatory but it looks like trying to close the dome shutters would do the telescope's objective no end of bad!
I was thinking about getting the Great Fishing Boat, so I was perusing the latest product images, and I noticed a "new" feature that I don't see in the original submission. Namely, it's a crab cage that looks quite similar to this one that I posted last year: https://flic.kr/p/2iSwbMJ. I was probably not the first person to build that, and I am not suggesting that the design was "stolen," so maybe it's a case of "great minds thinking alike." ;)