One of my Round 3 Picks Will Get Made (2023 Bricklink Designer Program)

Somehow I’m trying to will the crowd to select the sets I think are cool. So far it’s worked on one out of every five nominations I’ve made. Maybe I need to try and think like the crowd? Anyways, you can see my round 3 selections here. Once again, only one of the five sets I liked made it through. Let’s take a look at the final picks for this round.

Camping Adventure by user name thepresident14 contains 643 pieces. This one is a smaller set and hopefully that means not as expensive (hint, hint LEGO if you’re reading this). I think there are a lot of camping/camper related sets already so I wasn’t a big fan of this one. It could go well with #21338-1: A Frame Cabin though as the trees look similar.

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Forest Stronghold by username Krackenator contains 3,208 pieces. The Castle fans had yet another win. Don’t we have enough grey sets with the Star Wars line? Okay, you have to admit this one looks cool. The two structures with the bridge and then rope at the top to swing across. There’s some creative stuff in this one. The piece count is sure to make this one cost an arm and a leg though.

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Harbormaster’s Office by username Rich_Herbert contains 2,395 pieces. To me, this one was similar to #21310-1: Old Fishing Store. Maybe it’s a chance for folks who missed that one to grab something similar? I like some of the details and what I assume will be stickers. You might be able to connect it to the Old Fishing Store as well which could be fun as a dock scene.

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Lost City by username letsgolegobrick contains 3,332 pieces. This one is a very detailed build with some cool looking techniques (the roof colors are awesome). You could see LEGO doing a whole theme with this one. I wasn’t a huge fan of this set myself, but it is an impressive build. With the number of pieces, it’ll be a pricey build too.

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The Art of Chocolate by username Brickester contains 2,574 pieces. This was the original pick that I had. I’m a big fan of this one as it’s something out of the ordinary from what we normally see. Plus you can use it in your Winter Village or with your modular buildings.

Well done to all the builders. I look forward to seeing the final products! Happy building!

Bricklink is Back Up and Running! Thank you Bricklink Team!

After a brief hiatus, Bricklink is back up and running. If you missed it, a brief synopsis of the situation is that the Bricklink became aware of some fraudulent activity going on in October. Apparently people were listing sets at very cheap prices, accepting payment, and then not delivering. These payments were not through PayPal or Stripe, but instead through direct fund transfers (having lived in Europe, I’m familiar with this process). This activity culminated in a ransom letter being delivered to Bricklink threatening to start taking out the larger stores until the funds were paid.

Out of precaution, the Bricklink team put the site in maintenance mode to update their security protocols. The site went back online on 8 November 2023 with a requirement to update your password before moving forward. I updated my information and logged in with no issue. The Bricks for Bricks store is still there with the full inventory listed. It is back open so check it out! The forums have more details on what happened and the response if you want more information.

A big shout out to the Bricklink team for working through the issue. Thanks to them for fixing the situation, protecting the site, and keeping it all operational.

Happy building!

My Bricklink Designer Program Round 3 Picks

This isn’t my first post on the Bricklink Designer Program so I’m not going to go into all the details again. I’m hoping you’re up to speed by now. Voting ends on 20 October 2023 so go cast your votes now! The link is here.

And as a shameless plug, while you’re at Bricklink, you can check out the Bricks for Bricks Bricklink store to see what retired sets and minifigures are there. .

My top five picks to become sets are below (not in any particular order). For the past two rounds, I’ve gone one for five so let’s see if everyone agrees with me or not this round.

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American Steam Locomotive

By Bricklink User: stijnd

Contains 2,141 pieces

As a train fan, I’d love to see more trains. This rendition of a steam locomotive is incredible and would look great going around your CITY layout. LEGO won’t produce trains that we want so let’s create some as a fan community. I haven’t seen a video of this one working, but it would look great even as a display piece or in a rail yard.

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Octan Highway Truck

By Bricklink User: el_presidente0

Contains 531 pieces

The Octan brand is pretty classic and I think this set represents the brand well. Plus this one doesn’t have a ton of pieces so the cost should be lower. Maybe they’ll be able to add a logo into the final design. Even if it’s a sticker.

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Picturesque Italy

By Bricklink User: levsi54

Contains 3,908 pieces

There were a lot of modulars in this round again. I didn’t want to pick a bunch again, but I really like this one. It has a good mix of buildings and would help to make your CITY look better with the addition of three well designed buildings instead of just one.

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The Art of Chocolate

By Bricklink User: Bricester

Contains 2,574 pieces

This one could fit in a CITY, in a Winter Village, or just on it’s own. There are a bunch of play features and it is a great display piece. I think it would look great if you lit it up too. It’s fun to see a different theme as we haven’t seen something like this before.

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Two-Seat Biplane 2.0

By Bricklink User: EmanueLego

Contains 2,268 pieces

I recommended a biplane before and I’ll try again. I like this design. It’s a great display piece and it looks like a fun build.

My Top Five 2023 Bricklink Designer Program Picks

In case you’ve missed it, the 2023 Bricklink Designer Program or Series 1 as they are calling it is open for selections. You can find the program details and submissions here. They are open for voting through the end of March 2023. The program has some big changes this time. Unlike previous rounds where they crowd funded designs and the sets with the highest number of pre-orders get made, this one gives you three voting options. For each submission, you can select an emoji. There is one for “not for me,” one for “like it,” and one for “love it.” You can vote on as many sets as you’d like (only one vote per submission) and the vote tallies are secret so there are no popularity contests.

Overall there are some great submissions in the program. There are a lot of castle, pirate, and classic space themed sets which would be great for fans hoping for more parts and minifigures. There are a ton of buildings of which many fit into the modular line.

One complaint I have of the program is that when I go to vote on a set and then go back to the submissions, it re-arranges the order of the submissions. This was annoying as I had to search around to find the ones that I wanted to vote on after voting on a submission.

I don’t know how many they will end up producing, but I voted on five as being “love it” sets for me. So here were my picks:

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#5 - Florentine Palazzo by fan user name paupadros - This modular compatible building contains 3,511 pieces and I think it looks awesome. The different floors can be removed for access and there is plenty of detailing on the inside. The yellow color with the white looks really good and then the flowers help to make the set stand out. This would be a great set to go along with #910023-1: Venetian Houses from a previous Designer Program round. At over 3,000 pieces, this one would not be cheap in the end, So we’ll have to weigh the amazing details and lot of pieces against the potential cost.

Picture from Bricklink.com

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#4 - Black Biplane by fan user name EmanueLego This set contains 2,408 pieces.and I think it looks stunning. Some of the commenters weren’t pleased that it was all black, but there could be a possibility to make it interchangeable with different colored parts. I think the designer captured a lot of great details on this one and I like the addition of the stand. I have a copy of #10226-1: Sopwith Camel .in my collection and I think it would be great to have another biplane to add to the mix.

Picture from Bricklink.com

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#3 - Parisian Street by fan user name CARLIERTI1 - This set contains 3,465 parts and would look amazing in a city scene. It’s not fully modular compatible as it is just the front half of the buildings, but that could be remedied based on how you set it up in your city. This one has a ton of great details, but does have a sticker sheet so we’ll see if that’s an issue or not. . This would look great next to #10243-1: Parisian Restaurant.

Picture from Bricklink.com

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#2 - P-51D Mustang “Red Tail” by fan user name brick_squadron. This set would contain 743 pieces and I think it would be another awesome addition to the limited number of aircraft models outside of the CITY line. This one is technically a weapon system so I’m not sure LEGO would produce it, but it is historical and we don’t seem to have a problem making weapons for Castle, Pirates, or even the new Lord of the Rings set. This set is a little smaller, but still has some great details and would be a great tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen.

Picture from Bricklink.com

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#1 - Coral Reef Diorama by fan user name Falkorich. This set would contain 1,707 pieces and is jam packed with details. I’ve seen a few fans create their own coral reefs and I think it would be great to have one as a set. The minifigure divers and whale are an awesome addition to the set and if you look at the write up on Bricklink, it is modular as well so you can take it apart and re-assemble as desired. I also think this one is something completely out of the ordinary that LEGO hasn’t done before so let’s broaden out the set themes away from some of the standard themes we see all the time.

Picture from Bricklink.com

Happy voting!

2021 Bricklink Designer Program - Round 2 Sets Finally Delivered!

I lost track when I made the initial order. The last estimate I saw, it was 10 months ago. Well, they’re finally here. The 2021 Bricklink Designer Program Round 2 sets are shipping or maybe already arrived to you all. In case you aren’t familiar, the Bricklink Designer Program for 2021 was a chance to bring back some of the non-licensed Ideas sets that received 10K votes, but didn’t make it to production. LEGO, through Bricklink, crowd funded these sets and selected the ones that achieved 10K pre-orders. I managed to get the five that made it and they just arrived. A quick rundown of the sets is below. I’m not sure which ones I will build and which ones I will add to the Bricks for Bricks Bricklink store. You’ll have to check the store for updates.

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#910003-1: Mountain Windmill
2,085 pieces
Retailed for $179.99 in the US
$0.086 per piece

The design of this one is cool, but I saw something that it was originally supposed to have minifigures and then they were removed before production. I’m thinking I may add this one to the store at a later date. We’ll see.

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#910009-1: Modular LEGO® Store
2,149 pieces
Retailed for $179.99 in the US
$0.084 per piece

The box I received had a few rips to the printing on the box on the side. Nothing major. I like the concept of a modular building that fits with the others, but I’m not sure if I’ll build this one. We’ll see.

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#910013-1: Retro Bowling Alley
2,779 pieces
Retailed for $229.99 in the US
$0.083 per piece

The idea of this one is great and the design is cool. Sadly my box showed up pretty beat up. As you can see by the picture of the back of the box, there is a large crease. Some of the seals showed up detached from the box. I will most likely keep this one, but am not sure whether it will be a display piece, if it could fit in a city scene, or if I will build it and then store it for a future date.

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#910015-1: Clockwork Aquarium
874 pieces
Retailed for $64.99 in the US
$0.074 per piece

This one is a fun concept, but I’m not sure what I’d do with it. This one will end up in the store at some point.

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#910023-1: Venetian Houses
3,470 pieces
Retailed for $289.99 in the US
$0.084 per piece

I think this one is awesome. This is a definitely must build on my part. Sorry if you were hoping it’d end up in the store!

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I Made it into a Popular Youtube Video (sort of... okay, not really)

I did it! My store got featured by a famous AFOL in the Fan Media who called me out by name to say thanks for getting him the set he needed to finish the coolest video ever!

Or not so much…

Okay… in the video below, David of Solid Brix Studios, builds a LEGO Star Wars MOC only using sets from LEGO without any additional pieces. If you skip to the 3:20 mark, he holds up set #75098-1: Assault on Hoth. So yeah, he bought it from the Bricks for Bricks BrickLink store. I get it, you watched the video and he said none of that so I could be making it all up, but you’ll just have to trust me on this one.

So thanks David for supporting Bricks for Bricks and our efforts to give. The current campaign ends in 10 days so we appreciate all the orders and for helping us to help others.

Biggest Give yet from Bricks for Bricks!

We were able to give $928 to Creations for Charity through our giving campaign that started in August and ended in November. Thanks to everyone who made purchases from our store so we could be so generous to a great cause!

According to the Creations for Charity site, this year they raised over $35,000! This is awesome! Thank you to everyone who donated whether it was through buying from the site, supporting the Beyond the Brick 24-Hour live stream, or making a purchase from Bricks for Bricks at our Bricklink.com store.

We will announce our next campaign soon. In the meantime, happy building!

Creations for Charity has Begun for 2021

Creations for Charity - 2021

15 October to 30 November 2021

I’m slightly late to the game, but the 2021 Creations for Charity drive started back on 15 October and runs through 30 November. You can read more about the drive this year and what Creations for Charity is by going to their website here.

15% of the profit from sales at the Bricks for Bricks (on BrickLink.com) store will get donated to Creations for Charity on 29 November. So if you don’t see anything you like at Creations for Charity’s site, but you do at the Bricks for Bricks store, you can still support.

Thanks for your willingness to give! Happy building!

Return to Giving -- Creations for Charity

After a few years living in Germany, we are back in the US and I finally had a chance to re-open the BrickLink store. There are some items that I “pulled from the vault” so they are now a little older and harder to find elsewhere. I will continue to add inventory over the next few weeks as I sort through it all. As sales come in (Thank You!), it’s time to announce our next giving campaign.

This one is a repeat, but the timing works out great. Creations for Charity was started in 2009 by Nannan Zhang. The goal was to have LEGO builders sell their creations and then use the funds from sales to donate LEGO sets to kids all around the world. In 2009 they raised around $3,000. In 2020 they raised $18,240 and donated sets in 6 different countries.

This year, I’d like to help them reach a new record. 15% of the profits from the Bricks for Bricks store on BrickLink.com will go to Creations for Charity. The annual Creations for Charity event runs from 15 October to 30 November so we will use sales from now through 29 November and then hit the donation button on 30 November.

Thank you for supporting our efforts to give! Happy Building!

BrickLink Designer Program - Round 1

If you haven’t been keeping track, BrickLink is running another AFOL Designer program. This time they are going to take some of the projects from Ideas that reached 10,000 votes, but were not selected for production and try to crowd fund them. There have been a few updates to the program since it kicked off. First off, 5 of the 31 total projects have dropped out bringing us to 26 total. Secondly, BrickLink released some info on 12 May with a change to the program. Instead of one round of crowd funding, there will now be three rounds. Round one will kick off in July, round two in September, and round three in November. The info page lists how they broke the projects up. For each round, the first five projects to reach the goal will get built. So we’ll get 15 sets total versus 13 which is good. The downside is that program will take much longer to see sets.

So with that being said, let’s go through the projects in round 1. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or vote with your wallet starting 1 July 2021 on BrickLink.

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The Castle in the Forest
Designer: povoq (Daniel VAN ZONNEVELD, 37 years old, France)

If I had to predict the first set to gain crowd funding support, I’d have to say it would be this one. This one is just over 1,900 pieces and is inspired by the Forestmen theme from castle. It also includes a few Black Falcon Knight minifigures too along with a few animal figures. With the following behind castle and after seeing the demand for #21325-1: Medieval Blacksmith, I say this one will get made. I’m thinking it’ll be around $200.

You can see the designer video here.

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Sheriff’s Safe with Combination Lock
Designer: Il_Buono (Denmark)

Here is an original idea… a safe with combination lock. The safe can actually be built with a combination to open it. It will also come with printed/stickered tiles which you can put in the brick built book to remind you of the combo. Of course, it is brick built so you can just take take the safe apart too. It also comes with a few other accessories both inside and outside. I think it’s a fun set, but it will only appeal to certain people. I’m not sure it will have the draw of some other sets. It’s at around 550 pieces so I’m guessing maybe $60? We’ll see how this one does.

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LEGO Observatory Mountain View
Designer: ThomasW_BL

Here’s another original idea that fits in with the CITY theme, the projects related to space exploration, and maybe the modulars. This one has some great play features and some fun details inside. Not sure how many pieces this one is so I can’t give a cost estimate. I like this one and hope it gets picked up for crowd funding. We’ll see if everyone else likes it.

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Particle Accelerator
Designer: JKBrickworks

I’ll be honest… I saw this one and was not impressed. And then I watched the video… I didn’t realize that this one had movement. You put the ball in and it keeps it going around the round track. I could see this set appealing to the GBC crowd. It’s pretty fun, but I wonder how the price will be if the motor and battery pack are included. At ~1,500 pieces right now and then throwing in a motor and battery pack. Are we talking a $200 set? Either way, JKBrickworks did an awesome job on this one.

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The Legend of Bionicle
Designer: Sokoda

So I’m not the biggest fan of Bionicle… I will say that there seems to be a large fan base for Bionicle pushing for its return. While this isn’t at the top of my list, there probably is a group out there that would like to see this. While it is not in the original form of Bionicle, a System brick tribute may work. I’ll be curious to see where this one ends up during crowd funding. I’m sure LEGO will as well as it will be a good test run for them as to whether they should do something with Bionicle again.

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Pursuit of Flight
Designer: JKBrickworks

Here’s another entry from JKBrickworks. This one has some mechanical movement, but is turned by hand versus a motor. You can see the video here. The set is expected to be around 500 pieces and will have three different aircraft that you can set on it. I’m hoping this comes in at $40. I think this one will appeal to a wide audience and lends itself to customization either with different aircraft, different genres (Star Wars maybe), or something completely different. I’m looking forward to seeing this one get produced.

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The Great Fishing Boat
Designer: EdouardClo

The history of LEGO doesn’t have a lot of ships if you pull out the CITY versions. There are the Maersk ships, but beyond that this would be another one. This is definitely a display piece with just under 1,500 pieces, but might look great on a dock with #21310-1: Old Fishing Store. I like the ship and think there are some great details, but I’m not sure there will be a fan base for this ship. We’ll have to see what the pricing is and what the final design will be.

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Kakapo
Designer: themfledge

We had a LEGO Ideas birds set a few years back and this is a come back with another detailed bird with a baby bird and a few accessories for fun. I think it’s a cool design, but I’m not really sure what I would do with a bird other than take it apart to use the pieces. That’s just me though. There might be a fan base from the New Zealand area or just bird and wildlife lovers in general. I think this one is a wild card. It could do really well… or not so much…