BrickLink Designer Program Series 5 finalists explained

[@BrotherhoodWorkshop]

As a huge fan of the original Dracula novel, I absolutely adore the "Adventure's in Transylvania" model. All of LEGO's other "creepy" sets and themes were too cartoony to scratch that Gothic itch. This one is perfection. I also pushback on the interpretation that the novel portrays Eastern Europeans in a negative light. The actual Transylvanian people are portrayed as the ones who understand how the world works, and it's the British characters who are portrayed as too arrogant to understand what's going on. It takes a character from outside of England (Van Helsing) to get the rest of the characters to humble themselves and realize "maybe we aren't as smart as we think we are. Maybe the peasants we look down on are right and we need to learn from them." Dracula himself isn't symbolic of the the people and the country, he's an ancient evil who just happens to be residing in Eatern Europe at this time in the story, and has no intention of staying there forever.

[@brick_fanatics]

That's an interesting perspective that I hadn't considered before, thank you for sharing! Perhaps I need to go and look at the book again a bit more closely, although I still maintain that Romani deserve better representation in Western media.

[@BrotherhoodWorkshop]

​@@brick_fanatics I do totally acknowledge the issue with an entire region of the world being associated most prominently in the cultural zeitgeist with an outsider's monster story. But I view that as a flaw in education, not a flaw in the story itself.

[@jt734]

Was going to comment on the same, but you worded it perfectly. Best regards from Norway

[@imjango1052]

I love that you can tell the minifigures are based on the characters from the novel. Quincy Morris is particularly obvious, and it's great to see him be acknowledged!

[@fireboy312002]

I feel like they could move Adventures in Transylvania to 50k and still sell out in a day.

[@RyanHipp]

I have zero complaints. I will be totally transparent - if it meant stepping on top of every worthy wonderful submission crushing everything in its wake to make Dracula’s Castle real, it was worth it. That thing is a masterpiece.

[@Stranded_Pirate]

I was rooting for the Transylvania castle and here it is. It is a must buy for me. The color scheme is so unique. Very happy.

[@travertinepico751]

All the Wolfpack submissions should be a hint for Lego to reboot castle in full - a hint as subtle as an actual brick to the face.

[@therandomnarwhal]

Antique shop has been a few rounds in the past and I’m so happy it got through finally!

[@davejack82]

Quite possibly the first series that I will aim to get all 5. Better start saving now 😬

[@GothamClive]

"Adventure's in Transylvania" would be a perfect fit for D&D. They would just have to change the minifigs. I hope they are going to do loads of fantasy stuff for D&D.

[@tman4237]

Lego has to make more 30k of this set. It will sell out immediately!

[@GregOrCreg]

TLG and Bricklink seem to have a problem with okaying city/urban-based modulars, like the superior Art Factory submission (complete with relatively unique elevator function), instead gravitating to more rural-based buildings. This is frustrating for all but the wealthiest and most space-rich lego city enthusiasts, because in reality an actual city is less likely to have a rural antique store or a haunted castle, for instance, and so only those with LOTS and LOTS of space (i.e. for a city outskirts locale within their 'city layout') will be able to make sense of such buildings.

[@Invent-Ment]

So disappointing that the Art factory wasn’t selected

[@GregOrCreg]

@@Invent-Ment I hope there's still a way to make that set, even if it means spending above the odds to purchase the parts separately. Just need the instructions and an inventory for the pieces.

[@gbrow1604]

I'm confused, the sets you mentioned aren't meant to be modulars?

[@PlazDreamweaver]

I'm very disappointed the Floating Waterfall Castle didn't make it. Adventure in Transylvania is an outstanding piece, as well. However, while we will see many more designs similar to the latter, we will see nothing like the Floating Waterfall City going forward. The engineering and insane, truly fantastical appearance is beyond amazing and has surpassed anything Lego has done themselves in their entire history. It's a shame it didn't make it. I'm quite disappointed.

[@bloodymarvelous4790]

We will see many more like Transylvania because it won and is getting produced. Had the Floating Waterfall City won, we would've seen a lot more like those. There haven't been any Transylvania like submissions before. This is a unique set. (At least, for now).

[@tynovel]

The contrast of the monologue between the castle dislike and the passion about the Dracula's castle is night and day (no pun intended). Having the passion immediately following the castle diss worked well. Good job.

[@lucho2529]

I feel like this series has more castle in it then series two. I really like the finalists of series five. great video btw :)

[@really-Now]

Ironically there's no true castle set in this program series 5. There's currently 5 factions in the current castle line and not even one isn't dedicated to it. Series 2 had the same distinction of not picking any castle faction and didn't sell out for a entire month. While series 1 castle sold out in 30 minutes.

[@GregOrCreg]

@@really-Now Brick Cross Station sold out within a few hours. It was hugely successful. So, it's a shame that the Art Studio wasn;t chosen, from the same designer. A lot of people will have wanted it based on that working elevator alone.

[@IzzyKindaFizzy]

I'm truly considering going for every set from this round

[@dariobseuw]

is the best serie of all of them, they really really did what the people wanted. i am shocked tortuga made it, this serie 5 is well based in Fantasy, wich i think we all like, it does has a bit of everything that everyone would love, it is just literally the best serie in my opinion.

[@really-Now]

This looks like a exact copy of series 2 and that one did extremely poor. The castle sets always have the distinction of selling out in less then a hour. The excuse of too many people love them so nobody gets one. Just result in a skip series like 2. Although the vampire manor looks good.

[@gbrow1604]

@@really-Now How is this a copy of series 2?

[@GregOrCreg]

I hate negative stereotypes of Eastern Europeans (it sadly seems to be quite popular at the moment, across the entire political spectrum, to demonise Eastern Europeans), but I hope we're not now cancelling Dracula, are we? @BrotherhoodWorkshop makes some very good points on this forum regarding Bram Stoker's novel. But in avoiding the risk of entirely whitewashing and dismissing our entire cultural and literary history, I sometimes think we have to accept that some classic pieces of art and literature will not have aged perfectly well.

[@near-zero321]

Thanks, as always, for your thoughtful review. These are excellent selections, from an an excellent field of submissions. Adventure in Transylvania is just so right - such a masterpiece. Hopefully Lego will make more than 30,000 available. If I could order today, I'd order Adventure in Transylvania, Thieves of Tortuga and Popcorn Wagon.

[@lordmawkish1286]

I am glad that Transsylvania made it - it really was the standout this time around. I still feel like a person who won a BDP series should be mandated to take a step back for a few rounds. It really would be more fair! And their designs don't have an expiration date either - this castle would have been just as beloved as part of series 8 or 9. The point made about the castle sets makes a lot of sense. There were tons of great Wolfpack (and other) builds this time around, and I did a lot of comparing a while ago, yet right now I can't really remember most of them. I really did like standouts like the dark portal (what a build!) or the river fortress, but I am not too surprised they did not make it... we shall see which of these may come to Rebrickable, though. The rest of the lineup are great, too, but I am a bit saddened that there was no final urban modular. This was the last series that was allowed to have them - and they chose not to take the risk. Well, they probably had their reasons.

[@amyjones25]

The Castle Transylvania and Mushroom Village are really nice!

[@Simebag]

Great video! I really enjoyed the commentary/review 👌

[@markc9438]

i definitely consider the Transylvania one to be a castle set, and I imagine those who approved it thought the same when it came to diversifying the selection

[@SuperMunkeh]

Dracula's Castle looks incredible - I can only imagine how that work of art is going to sell out. The Bricklink site is going to shit the bed so hard when those pre-orders go live. I fully expect not to manage to get one - but i'll have a go at least. Big fan of Pirates of Tortuga and the antiques shop as well. If the rest of the wave wasn't so strong, I might be a little disappointed about there being another mushroom set. But it's really stong, so I'm fine with it.

[@Simebag]

Tortuga & Transylvania are definitely must buys for me, I just hope I have the money for it next year 😬

[@McPilch]

Seeing Space making a comeback of sorts, here's hoping TLG are going to bring back Castle in the same way.. numerous sets of varying size and price point. Early Space will always be my most treasured theme, but I do recall the Christmases of opening presents that had those small Castle sets.. like battle packs, wagons, etc. I think I was so in love with them they caused me to sneakily make little tears in the wrapping to see which was which, and even taking and opening (and hiding!) a set once or twice well before Christmas Day! 😅

[@memyselftheone]

I'm very impressed with the finalists. I like every single one of them (although I have to admit the castle is my least favorite and I won't be getting it, but I can appreciate it). This might be an expensive wave for me. Ouch. 😅 I will very likely be getting the mushroom village and antique shop for sure. I love the pirate one, but I don't think I'll be able to justify its price because it doesn't really fit my 'collection'. If the popcorn cart is priced right, I might just get that; just because. ;)

[@GregOrCreg]

I respect any fan designer who puts in the work, and has the confidence and initiative to submit their work for the Bricklink program, BUT it's no surprise that many of the same designers keep popping up again and again among the finalists in view of the large gap in quality. Some fan designers, like SleeplessNight, are just in a different league to the majority of other designers (which is not to denigrate anyone who's submitted a design, because all of them have designed stuff far better than anything I could do).

[@imjango1052]

I'm shocked that Thieves of Tortuga made the cut, but I am so happy that it did. It's easily the single best non-ship pirate set I have ever seen. It loons strait out of PotC or AC4:BF.

[@billnye69]

Best series so far. I want all of these sets.

[@logansmith2703]

Honestly I think the Castle flooding makes the argument to just give us a theme stronger.

[@GregOrCreg]

TLG is being really stupid in blocking modulars. It's been speculated that the Bricklink modulars intrude on TLG's own official modular line's territory, but the truth is that many people collect official modulars to put in their own lego cities, and if TLG clamp down on the range of modulars that can be purchased from various different avenues, it ironically makes their own official modular line less appealing. The fewer the modulars and the more limited/less unique the range, the less appealing it will be for lego city enthusiasts to collect any of them. TLG has clearly not thought this through.

[@killerjdog51]

Thieves of Tortuga and Transylvania Adventure both look amazing, I’m committing to them; waffling on the Antique Shop though. Mushroom Village also looks quite nice, but I’m not particularly invested in it.

[@gta71000]

"pay for them in advance" is vague as they don't charge you at all until it ships which is a bit stupid IMHO as it means if you somehow don't have the funds when the thing ships, your order you placed will get cancelled. Which is straight up wrong since you already spend the amount for it when the crowdfunding starts, then it charges to then give it back? Why give money back when the intent was to lock your place to buy it?

[@bloodymarvelous4790]

I don't get what you're saying. You didn't spend the money. You pay for it when the set ships. You know months in advance this day is coming, and when it's coming. You're reminded before the set ships to have your funds ready. And you can cancel your order anytime you want. It's not really a crowdfunding phase, it's making an agreement that the sets you've reserved will be purchased. However, if you don't/can't pay for them your order is cancelled. Which is fair enough. LEGO could also put you in a financial hole by making you pay for sets you don't have the money for. That would be a far less desirable solution in my opinion.

[@QuiGonJeans]

As a huge fan of the Mountain Fortress, I must admit I’m super biased towards castles, and the Transylvania model will be a must buy for me. THERE CAN NEVER BE ENOUGH LEGO CASTLES!

[@Badgers_9]

Well, I had better start saving now 😂

[@joshuakingma6126]

The d&d cmf torsos you mentioned will almost certainly not be in the set, as they are both licensed and cmf, both of which have never been available to bdp sets before. It's also sleeplessnight's 3rd time as a finalist, he's in series 4 as well.

[@tylerwhitehead1945]

This thing is going to be so cool in my DND world

[@MK00040]

that Transsylvania castle will sell out within 3 hours

[@keno31186]

Lego must be releasing a wolf pack base/ Castle themselves. Very odd not one made it. THIEVES OF TORTUGA looks fantastic tho. Definitely gonna pick it up.

[@octav1600]

I like what came this time around. I love the castle not castle. My vampire lord will love it (I don't really care that someone wants it to be a hotel, it's a castle / palace ! ) - and we have thse kinds of "castles" in romania, in the region that was colonized by the austrohungarian empire - and where hungarian, german and czechoslovac origin people live. Maybe it's not exactly like this castle, but they are close enough. The pirate village this time around makes me regret I didn't get the skull modular island (or makes me happy I didn't because this is better for me and my ideas of what to do withthem - not sure yet) I still wanted a small wolfpack castle set :(. I do agree lego has to realized that they need to take castle back to normal lego and give us a remake every year or 2 and a nice new series of castle. We don't even need to much to be happy - we just want battlepacks and variation on the things we already have to actually be able to make awesome houses / villages and castles

[@vietrounder]

Like pretty much everything in life, it comes down to supply / demand. There is strictly a high demand for castle sets period. This is evident that so many castle sets got voted in and were sold out faster than ever.

[@tonyricca8116]

Love the Transylvania castle it’s a must have

[@travertinepico751]

Tortuga is gorgeous- I’m so getting one.

[@georgecook83]

So when do pre-orders go live for series 4? Have they happened already? I have never looked into this program before and don’t quite get the timeline.

[@Mr_Boss_Smile]

I don't understand the popcorn stand

[@johnvanmaanen7997]

Some designers having in time a lot of fans/followers so its easy for theme to get the votes for theme projects.

[@bloodymarvelous4790]

Wow, relating a story about Dracula to eastern European immigrants is quite a reach. I was listening to where you were going, and I had absolutely no clue how you got to that one. Dracula takes place in the 19th century. Are we really going to cross reference every historical era to whatever may be happening today?

[@Nightlordbuilds]

You can't tell me the dracula castle is not a castle.

[@Ciero9]

My wallet can give a deep breath that there are no castles. Sleepless Night also designed the medieval siege camp mentioned in the video.

[@darkroy610]

Man I wished for the foldable castle

[@MNeuenswander]

I mean, they could leave off the designer name in the voting process. I'm not surprised that no modulars made the cut this round.

[@bloodymarvelous4790]

Or any round before this one. They weren't picked for a reason. That reason is now communicated to the designers. (And everyone went apeshit over it).

[@GregOrCreg]

@@bloodymarvelous4790 What is the 'reason'? Other than it's been banned?

[@GregOrCreg]

What happens to those Bricklink submissions that are rejected? Does TLG have some ownership of the designs, as they do with the Lego Ideas program? Can the designers resubmit for a future round? Can the designers sell/post their design online?

[@ChrisWright93]

they can resubmit twice if they don't make any changes to the model I believe - after two submissions they need to show that they've updated it or made changes so people don't keep submitting duds. And designers retain ownership if they're not selected so they can upload to rebrickable or wherever

[@GregOrCreg]

@@ChrisWright93 Brilliant. Thank you for this great answer. The design I'm thinking about is a modular, so I hope the designer in question considers uploading to Rebrickable or their own site with instructions etc. (since they won't be able to submit it for Series 6, at the very least). Thanks again!

[@stevenphillips6080]

Great overview of the sets that were selected, but I disagree with your take on the designers. I believe if you make the best/most popular design and have proven yourself to be a step above the rest like a SleeplessNight, then you shouldn't be penalized because you were selected from a previous series. Imagine us not getting the Transylvania set because the designer had already had a set selection. I see where you're coming from, for sure, but feel like if you deserve it, you should get it. It helps that the set is much different from his/her previous submission where the mushroom house is clearly an addition to a specific theme. I'm more surprised that set was selected due to it being so similar to the previous and having a submitter already been chosen.

[@pinioncorp]

Please fire your editor. You need to have images of what you're talking about specifically onscreen as you say it.

[@neilrusling-je6zo]

The "No Modulars" Rule, was always a rule, they have only now decided to inform us. Like the "No Ships" Rule that they have not yet told us is in operation, but it definitely is in operation because we dont get any Ships do we, expect to be told about a "No Ships" rule for series 7. If you also include Medieval under the "Castle" theme then I think that series four had 3 Castle theme sets, the Riverside Scholars set is Medieval and so is part of the Castle Theme.

[@jared5311]

lol no. There have been three BDP modulars. Lego Modular Store, Modular Construction Site, and Brick Cross Train Station.

[@Brixjust4me]

Also, isn’t there the „merchant boat“ from series 4? Guess there just is more interest from fans in castles than ships, but I feel like we‘ll never really know 😅

[@GregOrCreg]

@@jared5311 And those sets were extremely popular and sold out really quickly, so what's the reasoning behind the ban on modulars?

[@jared5311]

@@GregOrCreg its absolutely senseless and everyone arguing otherwise is just coping. Probably some brainless MBA consultant idea, but they don't realize the people who actually collect modulars are fine with buying more than 1 a year

[@GregOrCreg]

@@jared5311 Plus, it's nice to have some say over the variety of the modulars one chooses to collect, instead of all being forced to have the same limited few in one's collection.

[@MichaeldeSousaCruz]

This guy hates Castle! 😂🤣😂 Wants weird builds! I’m getting the Adventures in Transylvania. Is it weird??? It looks like a Castle. This guy hates Castle and he is drooling over a design that’s …Castle… 😂🤣😂 Grey Castles SUCK!! And are not historically accurate at all. Most castles were painted various colors, most white.