BrickLink Designer Program round three begins soon!

Omg these are all frickin great!!! Gonna pick up at least two of em.

That Mountain View Observatory is niiiiice but that price is not niiiice. Still going to have to get it or I know i'll regret it!

What time does it start?

Feel there is a lot of these sets out of my price range, great designs just not in my budget. Think the exploratorium is really cool, but it would be that or whatever’s the 90th anniversary set is going to be, just bad timing. Plus I’ve to budget for a trip to Billund, have strict restrictions until that point from the boss!

@Capybara554321 said:
"Did anyone get their sets from the other rounds yet?"

I got the Castle from the first run a few months ago, in the US

@Capybara554321 said:
"Did anyone get their sets from the other rounds yet?"

Not yet. I have 4 things on order. I contacted Customer Service for an update a couple of weeks ago. They said they are working hard to get them ready & sent out asap but don't have a specific date yet. They said they will send a reminder/update email when they do.
Hope this helps.

@Capybara554321 said:
"Did anyone get their sets from the other rounds yet?"

Nope. And one of mine is on an old card, which Lego customer support told me cannot be updated, so (shrug). I guess I might not be getting the boat, then.

I'm hoping the Construction Site makes it. It's such an obvious addition to a modular line, yet I doubt they'll ever make one like this officially. 1950's Diner I'd really like as well, and might have a chance just due to the price compared to the others. i want to turn it into a modular as well, with the gas station and parking space for other cars...

These range from big to massive and (accordingly) from expensive to very expensive. Not saying prices are not justified, but I think I'll pass this round. Nothing in there that I would really need. Some passing interest in the observatory, construction site or diner, maybe.

Am I right in assuming that since these are actually ordered through Lego that the $35 min for shipping would be covered? Are regular taxes added?

Most of these would need a serious redesign to be worth it to me.. I know they have the disclaimer 'final product may vary' but how much variation has there been so far?

Probably the Train Station, Modular Construction Site, and Brickwest Studios are the best of the bunch.

Probably the diner and definitely the modular construction site. Yes it’s expensive but I wanted it when it was on ideas. Funnily enough four of these I voted for on Ideas but I can’t afford them all

@Capybara554321 said:
"Did anyone get their sets from the other rounds yet?"

Just received an email that my wave 1 sets were backordered...so nothing received to date.

Looking forward to the Chalet, Construction Site as well as the Train Station. This is going to be a very expensive round without any clear leaders.

@craiggrannell said:
" @Capybara554321 said:
"Did anyone get their sets from the other rounds yet?"

Nope. And one of mine is on an old card, which Lego customer support told me cannot be updated, so (shrug). I guess I might not be getting the boat, then. "

No, still waiting for my safe....taking far too long to arrive

Tempted by the observatory, but $320 is a lot, even after accounting for VIP rewards that essentially add up to a $15 rebate. Could see the train station too if I had the budget… or more importantly, the shelf space!

@Capybara554321 said:
"Did anyone get their sets from the other rounds yet?"

It took a long time, but yes I got the Forestmen and the Kakapoo bird from the 1st series. Paid last July 2021 and they arrived in February 2022 so they took about 7 months. I ordered the Fishing boat from R1 but that was in August when they reopened and that still has yet to ship... Nothing from R2.

I agree with everyone that these are expensive!
I think the Diner is a sure bet since its just $129 more in line with traditional sets.
And I'm sure the Winter Chalet will also make it with a price point of $200 and fits in well with Winter Village series.
The rest are a hard sell but only 3 more would make it into the final production stage, with 4 hitting the cutting room floor.

My guess opinion is (Space Troopers, Waterfall, Steam Powered, and the Studios project don't make it. I like 3 of them a lot too, but Space Troopers won't be the space set we are looking for from the past... The waterfall is awesome but too expensive for what it is, Steam Powered is beautiful, but too large and expensive and the Studio is awesome but also high priced and niche market)
I think the Construction site while expensive will make it, the Observatory was moved from the R2 to R3 so I think that will make it, the Train Station while the most expensive will have a place in Train lovers hearts... but hey this is just my opinion :) Good luck to them all! Geez my wallet will take a hit this round... Does anyone know if there is a round 4?

Wow those USD prices are atrocious compared to the Euro prices

Love the train station.

Pardon my ignorance...

1) Are these official LEGO bricks?
2) Are manuals included? I read somewhere that manuals are digital only.
3) Is there some sort of box art?

These prices are really, really steep, so it would feel good to have an actual product in hands as opposed to a pile of loose bricks.

@tomthepirate said:
"Love the train station.

Pardon my ignorance...

1) Are these official LEGO bricks?
2) Are manuals included? I read somewhere that manuals are digital only.
3) Is there some sort of box art?

These prices are really, really steep, so it would feel good to have an actual product in hands as opposed to a pile of loose bricks."

1) Yes, actual LEGO bricks produced, packed, and shipped by LEGO.
2) No printed manual, unfortunately digital only.
3) Yes, full box art.

These models are extremely expensive but also have high piece counts and a small production run.

I'm looking at the construction site, diner, and maybe the train station. But I agree on price! Wow!

I got my two copies of the safe about 4-6 weeks ago. USA

Man, these look great, but the prices do not. I'd love the train station and the construction site, but I don't think I can drop that kind of cash.
Then again, the exclusivity of the sets would no doubt make these decent investments...

If my math is right the USD price is on average 13% higher than Euro and 8% higher than GBP. Do the European prices include tax? If so, the gap is even larger.
I wonder if it's shipping related or LEGO knows the market will buy them anyways. The CAD and AUS prices will be insane.

Hopefully LEGO will see that AFOLs are willing to pay big bucks for good designs. There are several here that I will try to get.

@Sidebroad said:
"If my math is right the USD price is on average 13% higher than Euro and 8% higher than GBP. Do the European prices include tax? If so, the gap is even larger.
I wonder if it's shipping related or LEGO knows the market will buy them anyways. The CAD and AUS prices will be insane."

Yes. The AUD prices are beyond insane.

Sure they bundled all the big and expensive ones in this round to test how the community and market react with pushing the bounds.

The question re prices should be: "Do you stump up now or pay more than double in a year's time?"

wow gorgeous stuff but yeah add me to the "too expensive for me" list. too bad there's no smaller sets in this run. oh well, wallet is safe for round 3!

My guess is the diner will sell out very quickly as it's a mini modular, at an impulse-purchase price for lots of people. I know I'm tempted. The others feel way too expensive to gamble on.

@krysto2002 said:
"I'm not sold on Space Troopers - I'm a huge Lego Space nerd and this just kinda misses the mark.

.... Plus, for $200, it doesn't feel like the 2,600 parts are being utilized efficiently - it reeks of highly-greebled AFOL design meant to look pretty over everything else."

And does it even hit that mark? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all, but this ....

@cflyg, Thanks for the report. If you don't mind saying more, how do they compare to standard lego sets in terms of stability, clever parts usage, clear instructions, etc?

The only one I would possibly be interested in this round is the diner. Everything else is either too expensive or too overpriced. I like the winter chalet, but that itch can be settled by winter village. Brickwest studios' price is very disappointing. This selection overall isn't that impressive.

I have to say my enthusiasm for the BrickLink programme has decreased round by round. The sets have got bigger and more expensive to the point now where they are just far, far too pricey.

Brickwest Studios was an absolute must buy for me when I first saw it. However, now I'll probably just pass - I'm really just interested in the western part of it and could live without all the studio stuff so the price, for me, is just not worth it.

I'll try and pick up the Diner because I missed the modular one and it looks like a fun set.

My top five are Studgate Train Station, Mountain View Observatory, Winter Chalet, Steam Powered Science, and Modular Construction Site. If all five make the cut, it will be about $1,400. For the first time ever, I am hoping some of my choices don't make the cut because I am dubious of my ability to afford them all.

I know some consider this Round Three, but I think of it as Round 4 since I bought Lowenstein Castle, Hot Shot Carnival, and Bikes! in, what I consider the original Round 1. In my Round 2, I have already received In Pursuit of Flight, Kakapo, Castle in the Forest, and The Great Fishing Boat. I am still awaiting my Sheriff's Safe, though. I have no word yet about Round 3 Venetian Houses, Mountain Windmill, Modular LEGO Store, and Retro Bowling Alley.

The modular construction site seems like a shoe-in given how wildly popular the Lego store modular was during the last round. I do hope that any potential future Designer Program waves offer some modular buildings that share the same quality and level of detail as the official models along with the name and build format. I'm also interested to see if the train crowd will shell out for that train station.

Does anyone else view these Bricklink Design Program releases as a sort of competition between the different fandoms within the Lego community??

@krysto2002 said:
"I'm not sold on Space Troopers - I'm a huge Lego Space nerd and this just kinda misses the mark.

It feels like it really wants to be Starcraft more than anything - they're Space *Troopers*. It's more militarized junk and it's just not thematically on point. Plus, for $200, it doesn't feel like the 2,600 parts are being utilized efficiently - it reeks of highly-greebled AFOL design meant to look pretty over everything else.

If I wanted robots and missiles and laser guns and soldiers, I'd go for Star Wars or Galaxy Squad.

If other AFOLs want to stretch the corpse of Classic Space over the bones of something else, fine, but that's not what I'm looking for.
I don't want to feel obligated to show support for something I don't want, just for some vain hope that it will eventually lead to something I do.

So this is gonna be a pass for me."

Well the Space Marines/Troopers project was always more the militarized style and wasn't trying to appeal to classic space nostalgia that much (though back then it was mainly red in the color scheme and didn't use classic space blue and grey color schemes), and it became one of the more popular early original ip ideas/cuusoo projects with that style.

The diner's pretty good, the car goes hard.

Also, love the train station, that train is fresh

Given how massive and intricate these are, the prices seems about right for them. My kids would be in awe of that Modular Construction Site; of the whole bunch, that does seem the most like a regular set.

@micano said:
"I purchased the Science Tower from the first wave and although I enjoy it, I was also dismayed by some design flaws that a regular LEGO set would not have."

Yup, some look really neat but I'm immediately skeptical when something hasn't been put together with actual bricks ahead of time. Most Lego Ideas models (and by extension models in this program) these days are made entirely digitally.

@MasterT:
As I recall, it’s treated like a regular order. Shipping triggers at $35 (not an issue here), points are earned and can be spent to purchase, and GWPs (where applicable) should trigger. And taxes apply to all Bricklink orders now, from what I understand, which is why they force you to use onsite PayPal in the US (which is why I haven’t purchased anything through Bricklink since before the pandemic started, because I trust Bricklink’s site security about as far as I can throw the entire company).

Without the classic dome pieces Studgate looks butchered.
@Shadowcloner said:
"Always had a soft spot for it, given the legendary comment thread it held back in Cuusoo days. "
Legendary comment thread?

Modular Construction Site.

@Norikins said:
"Without the classic dome pieces Studgate looks butchered.
@Shadowcloner said:
"Always had a soft spot for it, given the legendary comment thread it held back in Cuusoo days. "
Legendary comment thread?
"

This one?
" https://brickset.com/article/4900/space-marines-vs-the-deadline !-and-what-is-taking-so-long-anyway"
I don't know if it's what is being referred to as a legendary comment thread about Space Marines back in Cuusoo days, but the link is at least a comment thread about Space Marines back in Cuusoo days. Doesn't seem very "legendary" to me though.

I do like the Diner--those prints are wonderful and funny. However, I already have the Downtown Diner so it's a pass. The Train Station is gorgeous, but it has too big of a footprint for my city. I love the Construction Site and it would make an amazing addition to my city, but it (like all the others) is too expensive. I'm not into the whole Winter Village thing so the Chalet doesn't interest me aside from it having lots of sand green. I am praying that it includes sand green 1x8 brick(s) so that those can come back on the market again. They're up to $5.00 on Bricklink.

I’m going in on the construction site and maybe the train station. Love it, but not sure I can justify the cost.

They all look pretty awesome, but way out of my price range downunder.

These are all just too big and too expensive.

@Brick_Belt:
As someone who actually does most of my original designs on a computer, I can heartily agree with that. My first two cars turned out fine. The third…I had a clean split right behind the seats. I had designed it without a roof, but in order to connect the two halves I had to slap a roof on top and as long a 2x plate as I had room for underneath. The two that I built with that design look fine, but it still irks me that they’re basically held together with a LEGO bandage.

That was about ten years ago. Now, I probably could redesign it to the point where I could drop the roof as originally intended. I’ve had other models that had stability issues that didn’t become evident until built, and I’ve had to tweak the designs to strengthen them once I saw where the problems were. The weirdest one I had was my LEGO Store, which is shaped like a giant 2x4 brick. It fills two baseplates, has a red exterior wall made of 1x2 bricks (which I got free with holiday PAB boxes, back when those were a thing), and a fully detailed interior. I built the subfloor up with three layers of plates on two 32x32 baseplates, then built the exterior wall before trying to attach it to the base. It was off by half a stud along the back wall (64 studs). Impossible, right? To make it work, I had to shrink the subfloor from 32x64 to 28x60 and ring it with 2x4 bricks. Even then, there are hairline cracks that run 45° up to the rear corners.

Digital design is great, but the parts are 100% perfect in shape and size, and this is not always the case in real life. Very large parts and large quantities of very small parts can cause weird problems, which is what I ran into here.

I supported the Modular Construction site and Mountain View Observatory when they were on Ideas, and the Brickwest Studios model was also high on my list--at least before it was moved to Round 3 (with a significantly higher price and no minifigures, for which I'd like an explanation). The original Studgate Station was another one I liked very much. Now...well, the Studios and the Observatory don't seem to appeal to me as much as formerly, while the Station's once-gorgeous roof has been redesigned and won't look as good in the new transparent plastic anyway. This leaves the Construction site. Just as well, given how much I spent in Round 2! (And there's the new Pyramid as well, which I hadn't been expecting....)

I wonder if there will be another round of this program, or if the concept takes up too much time and bother which TLG might prefer to invest elsewhere? But I am happy to have had a chance to buy some of the unsucessful Ideas I really liked!

@NatureBricks said:
" @Capybara554321 said:
"Did anyone get their sets from the other rounds yet?"

I got an email that my fishing ship will be shipped June 3rd."

Confirmed same here.

@MasterT said:
"Am I right in assuming that since these are actually ordered through Lego that the $35 min for shipping would be covered? Are regular taxes added?"

I have ordered the one of 2nd batch. When you click the buy button you are redirected to the Lego site with the item in your shopping cart. Then process as usual. No shipping fee but regular tax is added to your total.

I see that these sets hard to get and even harder to display in casual home space. Some of them are massive... Nice job though.

Not to keen on space troopers but the rest yes but looking at around £1700 will need to get a job perhaps at the passport office and work from home, will have time to build them as well.
I myself also have not received my order for the last round and was told still working on them that was some months ago.

the only one i at all care for is the construction site, to be honest...

I really hope my wallet can take the Train Station and Construction Site…

@Capybara554321 said:
"Did anyone get their sets from the other rounds yet?"

Nope. 0 for 7. Two were supposed to be 'delivered,' but never arrived (I've never had a package go missing before or since, and I was home the day of the supposed 'delivery').

That said, I will go for the winter chalet, train station, and steam punk building in that order.

@Capybara554321 said:
"Did anyone get their sets from the other rounds yet?"

Yes, we got our first round sets (Forest Castle, Kakapo, and Pursuit of Flight) several weeks ago. They're awesome!

I dunno, I've been looking closely at the Space Troopers set and maybe it's looking more interesting. It wouldn't be too hard to leave off the rockets and missiles and stuff, and without those it's a pretty neat dropship. Besides, sometimes I think AFOLs exaggerate the peaceful, no-conflict setting of Classic Space a bit. The designers have gone on record saying that it was intentionally ambiguous whether the reds and whites were allies or enemies, whether the little prongs at the front were sensors or ray guns, etc., and the old Jim Spaceborn comic books (the closest thing to a story canon for Classic Space) had spaceships blowing up hazardous asteroids, so they could pack a punch when they needed to. Trans black wasn't available for Classic Space sets but it's not like they all had trans yellow glass. Maybe I'm talking myself into pre-ordering the Space Troopers set - or at least adding it to the "to be considered" wanted list.

Sigh. Haven’t received the sets I ordered from the second release yet.

my favourite is the train station, it's awesome, but... MAN, IT'S SO EXPENSIVE!

It's almost the double of a regular modular building! There is too many bricks! Why you have to make so complicated sets? eg: don't make a train, but be sure that official ones are compatible...

IMHO LEGO sets should be more simply, in sets for the fans too!

If I had more room, and if I hadn't had so many sets already, I would go for the construction site. And maybe the studgate station.

I'm in for 1950s Diner, Winter Chalet, Steam Powered Science, Modular Construction Site, Mountain View Observatory AND Train Station: Studgate.

I expect the Steam Powered Science or the Observatory not to make it.

Diner is relatively cheap, Winter Chalet will speak to Winter Village fans, Construction Site is branded as Modular and Train Station looks amazing.

In any case, that's going to be an expansive round ^^

I liked the observatory, the station and the construction modular, but these are just too expensive for me. If I had to choose one it would be the station, but I can't justify the expense.

@Capybara554321 said:
"Did anyone get their sets from the other rounds yet?"

Still waiting for my planes and Kakapo ordered August last year.

but "Construction Site" is a remake of the classic set 6390 "Main Street", do you?

Good luck to the designers here! It really sucked how some models didn't make the cut last time, so I hope as many pass as they can :)

And ehm... sorry, but I don't have the budget myself. And even then, these might not be for me.

@micano said:
"I purchased the Science Tower from the first wave and although I enjoy it, I was also dismayed by some design flaws that a regular LEGO set would not have. I'm still waiting for the two sets I purchased from the second wave and am certainly not going to purchase any others from the Designer Program until I see how these check out. Plus, I don't have enough interest in this round's sets and these are all too large to be a casual purchase.
Good luck to the designers, though!"

I purchased first R1 fishing boat and damn was it painful and mainly uninterresting to build. Some nice building technics for the hull but I understand why Lego wasn't interested, it's so fragile.

The finished model is great but with the experience of building I got I'm thinking of selling it.

Will any of the instructions be available to use at a later date? I can't afford the train station but would love to get it in the future.

@BrickAstley, thanks, that's interesting to hear. I guess it will depend on each designer but the price overall seems high given the lack of Lego design quality control.

Some of these are ugly, massive, and pricey.

I still don’t even have my set from a previous round. Not really happy about the experience so far. I mean I forget sometimes I even ordered it since it’s been so long.

Also they are all so large and expensive why not have a better range of options at various price points.

@Capybara554321 said:
"Did anyone get their sets from the other rounds yet?"

My sets (Two copies of pursuit of flight) from Round One were "lost' by Fedex delivery (in Southern California, USA. ) Lego issued me a prompt refund. To replace the sets, we had to go to eBay and by them at about double the "original" price.

Set from und Two...t.b.a.

As far as I'm aware, this is the last round of the BrickLink Designer Program. BrickLink says as much in their announcement: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/community/newsview.page?msgid=1340630

I'm definitely keen on the Diner to go along woth the Bowling Alley I ordered in round 2. I'm also keen on the Observatory. Hoping for these to get through.

I too ordered the Safe from the 2nd batch of round 1. I had an update last week from Lego that they are still aiming to post it late June. This is the same projection from several months ago, so I don't think there's been any further delays to their production dates.

Do these get touched up by LEGO designers like the ideas sets? The train station and winter chalet look awesome, but I can't help wondering about the structural integrity of the station.

@PurpleDave said:
" @Brick_Belt:
As someone who actually does most of my original designs on a computer, I can heartily agree with that. My first two cars turned out fine. The third…I had a clean split right behind the seats. I had designed it without a roof, but in order to connect the two halves I had to slap a roof on top and as long a 2x plate as I had room for underneath. The two that I built with that design look fine, but it still irks me that they’re basically held together with a LEGO bandage.

That was about ten years ago. Now, I probably could redesign it to the point where I could drop the roof as originally intended. I’ve had other models that had stability issues that didn’t become evident until built, and I’ve had to tweak the designs to strengthen them once I saw where the problems were. The weirdest one I had was my LEGO Store, which is shaped like a giant 2x4 brick. It fills two baseplates, has a red exterior wall made of 1x2 bricks (which I got free with holiday PAB boxes, back when those were a thing), and a fully detailed interior. I built the subfloor up with three layers of plates on two 32x32 baseplates, then built the exterior wall before trying to attach it to the base. It was off by half a stud along the back wall (64 studs). Impossible, right? To make it work, I had to shrink the subfloor from 32x64 to 28x60 and ring it with 2x4 bricks. Even then, there are hairline cracks that run 45° up to the rear corners.

Digital design is great, but the parts are 100% perfect in shape and size, and this is not always the case in real life. Very large parts and large quantities of very small parts can cause weird problems, which is what I ran into here."

Yup. I do mostly digital too but usually buy the bricks and then make a few revisions and then buy another batch of bricks to finish.

Digital works fine for Lego Ideas, where approved Ideas undergo significant revisions, but I'd have a really hard time trusting buying bricks for someone's digital model as-is.

@Brick_Belt:
I know these rounds (as compared to the one pre-LEGO-buyout round) had to go through a redesign process performed by the original submitter, but I also know the safe used a dirty cheat to sneak an illegal technique through that should have disqualified it from being released. I don’t know if any of the submitters built physical models, and I don’t know if TLG did either before sending them to production. From the review of the forest castle, it does sound like these might need to be display-only, unless you want to heavily mod them.

@PurpleDave said:
" @Brick_Belt:
I know these rounds (as compared to the one pre-LEGO-buyout round) had to go through a redesign process performed by the original submitter, but I also know the safe used a dirty cheat to sneak an illegal technique through that should have disqualified it from being released. I don’t know if any of the submitters built physical models, and I don’t know if TLG did either before sending them to production. From the review of the forest castle, it does sound like these might need to be display-only, unless you want to heavily mod them."

What "dirty cheat" on the "Sheriff's Safe"? You've got me curious now.

Not going to go for any of these. Though I liked some and voted for them I think they would have benefited a lot from the refinement process of Lego designers.

I liked the observatory and might have gone for it had it not been quite so much money. The waterfall I voted for but the changes since the original Idea have altered it too much for me (not saying that they weren't necessary but it doesn't appeal).

Some of these are visually very cluttered. I suppose that's just some people's MOC style but it's not my cup of tea.

@iwybs:
I’ve seen a direct quote from one of the early Space designers that said the reds were meant to represent the Russians, and the whites were Americans. These were the original two colors, from when torsos were very briefly stickered rather than printed. Of course, they’ve never officially confirmed this, but we all know the yellow ones have the logo tattooed on their chests. No idea what inspired blue and black years later, but they did round out the Mondrian color set.

@cflyg:
I believe it involved originally mounting 1x1 round plates on the short ends of 3/4 pins, which compresses the flanged tip, making it a classic “illegal technique”. The rules stated you had to alter your design as necessary to meet official LEGO quality standards, so these were changed to half-pins going into production. As soon as people started receiving copies of the set, they were finding that the half-pins were too short and caused mechanical issues with the safe mechanism. Within a day of this problem being reported, the submitter had a fancy graphic showing that you could sub in 3/4 pins for the half-pins to get the safe mechanism to function properly…which reintroduced the original “illegal technique”. With how fast this all happened, it seemed highly likely that the graphic was prepared well in advance, which would mean the half-pins were only used to slip the project out the door, knowing that the only way to make it function properly never would have gotten approval to ship. Since it was intended for a single production run, by the time anyone in Billund figured out that there was a problem, the entire run probably would have been on the road. With the bump from 5k to 10k units, and reports that they split the run and delayed the second half for several months, I wouldn’t have been shocked if they announced that the remaining orders would be cancelled as the set was found to involve a design flaw that couldn’t be rectified.

@PurpleDave said:
" @iwybs:
I’ve seen a direct quote from one of the early Space designers that said the reds were meant to represent the Russians, and the whites were Americans. These were the original two colors, from when torsos were very briefly stickered rather than printed. Of course, they’ve never officially confirmed this, but we all know the yellow ones have the logo tattooed on their chests. No idea what inspired blue and black years later, but they did round out the Mondrian color set."

ehr...

“The original two colors (red and white) were explorers, yellow were scientists, blues were
technicians or mechanics and I guess the black were warriors, but we were not allowed to make a big deal out of this. We were not allowed to make war.”

Jens Nygaard Knutsen “The Truth about LEGO SPACE” Brickjournal 6 Volume 2 Estate 2009: 38-43.

I bought all of the first two rounds but after doing a few of the sets I am starting to wonder whether they really are worth it. As somebody else stated, some of the builds are very finicky and not up to Lego standards. There was one point where I was ready to throw the Fishing Boat across the room.

I'm hoping to get the Diner to go in my Simpsons block in my city.

The train station is too big, the train itself was not needed and the price is unrealistic. As a train lover, I'll sadly pass on this version.

One thing is clear, MOC builder loves to over-detail. I'm not convinced it's needed.

@cflyg, Thanks for the detailed reply. That's super helpful.

I feel like this wave might kill the program. Those prices are insane.

@pazza_inter:

https://ideas.lego.com/blogs/a4ae09b6-0d4c-4307-9da8-3ee9f3d368d6/post/4314aa28-9ce8-445a-9ee0-72bf1e5088a4

“Mark told us that each of the original colors of Classic Space minifigures had a specific job: white for pilots, red for soldiers/explorers, yellow for scientists, blue for commanders and black for spies.”

This was published July 16, 2014, and conflicts a bit with the quote you cited.

https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/29w5q7/exo_suit_side_by_side_original_submission_vs/

“According to (Jens Nygaard Knudsen) the Red and White spacemen started as Cosmonauts and Astronauts. Later they became red pilots and white explorers, yellow were introduced as scientists, blue as security/soldiers, black as spies.”

Also published in 2014, this demonstrates that new internal canon was developed after they added yellow to the mix. So, the red/white formula probably lasted less than a year, where the revised version has been consistent for over four decades.

@24nolf:
My vote’s for the Bionicle project from Round 1.

Does Brickwest Studios really come with NO minifigs? For $350 I would think it would come with a slew of minifigs . . . both cowboys, and camera crew.

These are really spectacular and I wish the asset market wasn't in an enormous downturn so I could buy a bunch of them. Modular Construction Site is really good and it will fetch $1000 on Bricklink some day if you're a speculator.

My take on the rest:

1950s Diner is a fantastic design centered around midcentury Americana. Can you integrate it into a Modular display? Maybe. But, it is most naturally at home with 910013 Retro Bowling Alley in its own display. I think it will get funded.

Space Troopers is a throwback to classic Space. I do not think it will get funded, as there aren’t as many classic Space fans who want to shell out $200 for what looks like a $100 set to me. I feel like Classic Space fans are not all that numerous but are quite vocal.

Winter Chalet: This set is not my cup of tea at all but the Winter Village people should like it and Lego keeps making those, so it could get funded.
Working Waterfall: I feel like the functions get in the way of aesthetics here but it’s a really neat concept overall. This set is a standalone that doesn’t really fit into displays well, especially with that base.

Steam Powered Science: this set really could have used trans-blue tile for the water a la Ninjago City. As it is, I can’t see people funding this.

Mountain View Observatory: also not really my cup of tea but it’s a very good set overall and I could easily see it sneaking past the threshold.

Brickwest Studios: I can’t help but feel this would be better as just a straightforward Western set. As it stands, it is The Rust Tragedy in Lego form and 100% of edgelords will be mentally combing through Bricklink for the minifigure head that most closely resembles Alec Baldwin.

Studgate: Studgate is really aesthetic and it will be nice to see it finally get brought to brick form after all these years. I can’t afford both MCS and this so I will be getting the former but it’s nice.

So, I think Modular Construction Set, Diner, and Studgate will sell out fast and the others will kind of struggle to get past the threshold.

So does anyone have an update on why the USD prices are much higher before taxes? I've reached out to Bricklink for comment on this but heard nothing back. The prices should be:
And we still have to pay tax on top of this. Some places in the US that another 10%
Diner: $130 --> $115 (13%)
Space Troopers $200 --> $175 (14%)
Chalet $200 --> $175 (14%)
Waterfall: $230 --> $200 (15%)
Steampunk: $300 --> $260 (15%)
Construction: $320 --> $270 (18%)
Observatory: $320 --> $270 (18%)
West Studio: $350 --> $300 (16%)
Train Station: $400 -->$350

does anyone know when payment is made on these sets? when they ship or before?

@Bricklunch said:
" @merman said:
"What time does it start?"

May 17th at 10:00am Pacific Time / / 7:00pm CET"

Maybe I am being dumb but if it is due to start at 7pm CET does that actually mean 8pm as we are currently in CEST?

@JediBrickNinja said:
"does anyone know when payment is made on these sets? when they ship or before?"

When they ship, round 3 will ship in 2023

@24nolf said:
"Brickset should run a poll to gauge interest in the various models. I would be curious to see what the favorites are this round. "

yes, kinda miss that, they did it for round 2 :(

@nwr122 said:
" @Bricklunch said:
" @merman said:
"What time does it start?"

May 17th at 10:00am Pacific Time / / 7:00pm CET"

Maybe I am being dumb but if it is due to start at 7pm CET does that actually mean 8pm as we are currently in CEST? "

Now I'm thinking the same thing..... or may be it means 6pm here in the UK. I don't know whether I'm coming or going now.

That was fast...five sets funded

I managed to order 4 that have been funded... i hope i get a promotion between now and when the money comes out!

@kkoster79 said:
"I agree with everyone that these are expensive!
I think the Diner is a sure bet since its just $129 more in line with traditional sets.
And I'm sure the Winter Chalet will also make it with a price point of $200 and fits in well with Winter Village series.
The rest are a hard sell but only 3 more would make it into the final production stage, with 4 hitting the cutting room floor.

My guess opinion is (Space Troopers, Waterfall, Steam Powered, and the Studios project don't make it. I like 3 of them a lot too, but Space Troopers won't be the space set we are looking for from the past... The waterfall is awesome but too expensive for what it is, Steam Powered is beautiful, but too large and expensive and the Studio is awesome but also high priced and niche market)
I think the Construction site while expensive will make it, the Observatory was moved from the R2 to R3 so I think that will make it, the Train Station while the most expensive will have a place in Train lovers hearts... but hey this is just my opinion :) Good luck to them all! Geez my wallet will take a hit this round... Does anyone know if there is a round 4?"

Sweet I guessed the top 5 right!!! Woohoo!

@bfeighery said:
"I managed to order 4 that have been funded... i hope i get a promotion between now and when the money comes out!"

LOL - I had purchased the Winter Chalet / Studgate Train Station / Modular Construction site as part of the plan. Then after the dinner made it through I figured I may as well purchase that. Looks good for the price. Just hope the sets aren't all charged at the same time since it is only when shipped.

This was an expensive day...can't let the wife know :)

And just like that...one hour and 39 minutes in and the Winter Chalet is already SOLD OUT