The second batch of Lego sets designed in an anyone-can-enter fan competition.
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Four months ago, a Lego fan earned around half a million dollars when Lego put his limited-edition set on sale. Now, Lego is opening orders for round two of the BrickLink Designer Program at 8am PT / 11am ET on Thursday, June 6th — featuring five more limited-edition sets, each a fan’s dream come true.
They’re charming, quaint, look like wonderful playsets, and the fan designers will get five percent of the proceeds from each sale! My eye’s on the incredibly detailed Brick Cross Train Station… but wife and I already splurged on last time’s Parisian Street so I’d probably best not!
Ready for high-res images, prices, and designer video interviews around each new set? Here you go:
Ominous Isle — $239.99
I am in awe of how many Lego hot dogs were used in the making of the Ominous Isle’s railings. Wouldn’t want any pirates to fall into the drink! There’s a dial to make that skull gate open, too.
Brick Cross Train Station — $279.99
One of my British colleagues says: “It’s so cute! Captures a lot of the right vibes to me, at least having frequently passed through all of London’s major stations.” I adore it.
Mushroom House — $89.99
It’s so much prettier than it was the first time I saw it in 2022! Details go a long way.
The Ocean House — $199.99
Designer Hanwasyellowfirst may have gotten skipped on the Snow White set, but The Mountain Windmill made him an estimated $100K, this set is going on sale now, and The Riverside Scholars is coming up in February.
Logging Railway — $209.99
I cannot look at this and not think of Back to the Future Part III. I need to put the Lego Cuusoo DeLorean on this railway.
Each of the new sets is limited to 30,000 copies, and two per person, though they’re not guaranteed to sell out — only three of the five Series 1 sets did, though the Mountain Fortress went fast. Lego BrickLink says they should theoretically ship in November 2024, though it’s not committing to a firm window.
As I show you in my video below for an earlier BrickLink set, these sets come in special BrickLink boxes without paper instructions, and Lego’s own designers don’t have much of a role — but they are produced in a Lego factory, shipped by Lego, made of official Lego bricks, and Lego employees choose the five winners of each fan competition after fan voting is over.
Anyone can enter the BrickLink Designer Program, unlike some previous Lego challenges!
The Lego Ideas program, by comparison, does put fan designs on sale at retail, paper instructions and all, but Lego’s designers pick far fewer sets — each of which go through a painstaking process to revise those sets for the masses. You can read my feature story about how that works.
And if you want to cast your votes for future fan Lego sets, voting is open right now for the BrickLink Designer Program Series 5.
