After first announcing the program back in December, The LEGO Group, in partnership with its subsidiary BrickLink, is officially launching its new Designer Program. Inviting 31 builders to the unique initiative, there is now a unique collection of fan-made kits slated to go up for pre-order starting in the summer. Head below for more for a closer look at all 31 of the upcoming builds and all of the details.
LEGO kicks off BrickLink Designer Program with 31 new builds
The LEGO Group has been experimenting with crowdfunding creations for well over a decade at this point and is now beginning to take the next step in offering fans a chance to assemble kits from members of the community. And that’s exactly what its new BrickLink Designer Program is – a way for builders who turn their popular creations into official sets.
The LEGO Group first reached out a hand to builders in 2019 when it launched the AFOL Designer Program, which is now being rebranded with the BrickLink naming following the site’s acquisition last year. While there are some changes this time around, the core principle has stayed the same – to offer entirely unique and creative kits to LEGO fans.
The BrickLink Designer Program kicks things off today with a look at 31 upcoming models. Each one of these has already been through The LEGO Group’s review process via previous Ideas campaigns, which each one has hit the 10,000-supporter milestone only to not make the cut. Now offering a second chance, these models will have a chance to land on store shelves for real.
As for the actual sets themselves, there’s a pretty expansive variety here. You’ll find everything from retro diners and bowling alleys to sci-fi models, and even throwbacks to classic themes like Bionicle. Here’s a closer look at the kits, which you can check out in more detail right here.
As of now, we’re in the pre-production phase of the BrickLink Designer Program’s three-step process. This has builders tweaking their previously-submitted creations to fit within a set of requirements, including what bricks can be used, landing with a part count of 400 to 4,000 pieces, and other similar specs. Once this phase ends on May 31 is when the real fun begins for us fans though.
Starting on June 1, all 31 of the creations will enter a crowdfunding stage in order to be confirmed as official sets. Fans will be able to pre-order each of the creations, with all that makes it past the designated goals beginning to go into production in September before shipping shortly after.
9to5Toys’ Take
After checking out a few of the LEGO kits in the original Designer Program and being blown away, I am super excited to see how these new BrickLink creations stack up. The entire assortment looks to appeal to just about any builder, but there are certainly some highlights. I’m partial to the Space Troopers build, not to mention the brick-built observatory, windmill, and a number of other models.
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