Welcome to the MegaThread for the BDP Series 2028 Wave 1 Crowd Support phase. Let's get straight to the important questions:
What?
It's time for the Bricklink Designer Program 2028 Wave 1 Crowd Support phase! This is your chance to vote for the projects that were submitted earlier in September. Your votes will help Bricklink decide which sets will eventually become official BDP sets.
Who?
Bricklink Designer Program entries are designed by fellow Lego fans. You may recognize some of them as successful creators on Rebrickable, from past BDP programs, or from the creations they've shared here in r/lego. The creators whose designs reach the review stage will work with Bricklink's Model Governance and Building Instructions teams to ensure the designs meet Lego's standards.
When?
The Crowd Support phase starts on Sep 30th. Voting will continue until Oct 14th. Next, those sets will all head into the review stage, and 5 sets will be announced on Nov 12th. Then a year later, in Oct 2027, those 5 sets will go up for crowd funding.
Where?
Bricklink! Bricklink is the world's largest site for reselling Lego products. It started as an independent fan site, but is now owned by the Lego company.
In the comments below, fan creators can link to their projects and hopefully tell us a little more about the project. You can visit the BDP 2028 Wave 1 page and vote for the projects you'd like to become a set. You don't have to commit any money at this stage. That comes during Crowd Funding next year. It's free to vote!
What happened to BDP Series 10, 11, 12? Why 2028??
The Bricklink Designer Program has changed the name from Series numbers to Wave numbers in the year the sets are expected to release. You can read more about the program on their website.
Closing Notes
Still have questions? Ask them in the comments below!
Hey BDP creators, please keep your promotion for 2028 Wave 1 in this Megathread. In previous rounds we've had over 500 projects to vote for, so the promotional posts started drowning out everything else. Thanks for your cooperation. And good luck!
This cozy two-story cat café features 8 lovely cats, indoor and outdoor seating areas, lush greenery, and 5 minifigs. It includes an open-back design, as well as a removable second floor and roof for easy access to the interior.
A Great Dragon Skeleton in the ruins of an old dragon sanctum, where two adventurers witness the dragon and its masters coming back to life....
For a creature build like this, stability is probably the most important thing, so I felt that I had to build the model in real life. The dragon itself is fully posable and the base has turntables to "transform" the dragon priestess and her knights from skeletons to their undead versions.
This is my new "Medieval Toll Bridge". I wanted to create a castle model that is not just another grey castle but actually feels like it adds life and character to your medieval world. I also wanted to make sure that the model is not too expensive and therefore made sure the model is just over 3200 pieces.
If you have any questions please post them here or in the Bricklink comment section. Thank you for your support!
Number of submissions is down but still a ton of quality and very small low number of low effort designs.
Noticable uptick in boats.
A number of repeat submissions missing from this series erm wave including all the modular style hospitals.
Increase in number of Western sets.
I had 123 love it which is on the lower side compared to prior rounds, but a higher number of no question buys if they make it through (usually 2-5, easily 7 this wave).
I think a ton of voters love to provide commentary/provide feedback, but with everyone posting individual threads for their own model, it's hard to get a dialog going. Glad to see a number of different perspectives here.
A great list, thanks for sharing! I'm focused in city and pirates, so definitely the farm store, cabin, Victorian, and library. Amazingly, the food market didn't jump to me like all the other Brickester sets have.
The food market interior is what grabbed me. Exterior is borderline too busy but the detail and play features on the interior are a cut above other similar themed sets.
Lots of great city sets in this one - airport was close for me as well but it'll likely come down to price and finishing details if it gets picked.
Curious what pirate sets caught your eye. Pirate is very hit or miss for me and I've been comparing all the boats to the fortuna. Three larger shipwreck was interesting but wouldn't fit with anything.
The only medieval set that was close for me was the drawbridge city despite a ton of solid entries.
Yeah, is what you're saying with the market. I have the Art Factory and Brick Cross (skipped the art of chocolate), so it'll be hard to pass up another Brickester set of it's chosen.
Agreed, lots of great city sets. Airport looked great. Though, with budget and space tight, I think my favorite so far is the Farm Store. (I love a few of the little food stands also.)
I haven't gone through the pirate sets yet. I haven't built it yet, but Thieves of Tortuga was an instant buy for me, as was Coconut Cape. I passed on Fortuna, but it was a great set. Looking for something medium-sized (i.e. a non-giant ship) with lots of details/play features hopefully. Something will really have to jump out at me from the theme to push me over the fence again.
It's interesting how people dole out their votes, I usually only give love it to a dozen or so designs that I would <80% probably buy. Anything that I wouldn't mind owning a displaying but probably wouldn't buy is a "like it" and then anything else, even if it's high quality, is "not for me".
Same. It's about me and my choices, just like the options say: "not for me", "I like it", "I love it". Something may be good and cool but I wont give it a love it since it may not fit my style or display ability.
- I Love it: means I would buy it (I only give a few of these out)
- I Like it: its really really cool but I wouldn't buy it for what ever reason
- Not for me: No interest from me at all or it flat out sucks.
What is nice is this info is not a hard winner choice, but just info the BDP folks take into account when picking the sets.
And really the only one I really want to buy is the steampunk workshop.
My methodology is similar, though I have an extra tier in there between 'I like it' and 'Not for me' where I abstain from voting on models I'm indifferent to. 'Not for me' feels a bit harsh to me, so I typically only use it on models I actively dislike and don't want to see chosen as a finalist.
Yeah I'm always interested in others methodology of others so good to get perspective on yours.
My love it critierial is much looser
does this set meet the quality standard (estetics+ playability) given a small amount of tweaking
would I consider buying this for myself or as a gift given the rough pricing per part of brickline with the assumption that it would fit into my budget
This differs from my must have in that I would make budget space and would buy without alterations
Solid list. I really like a lot of the smaller sets, but it's rare for them to end up on my must have list because in my mind they would have to work with another set I already have.
I also really appreciate the display only sets but have realized they just compete for space with playsets my kids would be more interested in engaging with.
Really wish they had a picture of the Hag's hut when it's down and how the mechanism works.
A number of those sets also scared me away with the potential price at around 4k pieces. A set really needs to blow me away (so far just the fortuna) to pay for that 4k price point.
Sorry I should have been more clear, was hoping for interior picture when it's down and some sort of diagram on how the mechanism works similar to what other designers do with arrows and notes.
Something that was recently mentioned by Alex in an interview with Slapshot Bricks (about 43 minutes in) that gives a HUGE insight into how sets are picked- something I think was previously not publicly know. We've known for some time that the goal for each series was to have an average piece count of about 2500 pieces per set. But we didn't have great insight just how sets were selected to meet that goal.
Alex just gave some interesting info that I think will drastically change how people design submissions. While we still don't know how their internal 3-rating system operates (not for me, like it, love it), we know that almost always, they will start with the highest scored set in the voting and basically build the wave from there around that 2500 piece avg goal.
So in the example he gave, Series 11 Elven citadel was the highest voted, and since it was so big, they immediately opt for a small set to balance out the wave- thus the highest voted small set (likely under 1000pc) was picked as petit bouquet. Then, the other three sets are really determined not by which next set had the most votes, but what combo of 3 decently voted on sets can get the overall avg close to 2500. Also not duplicating themes is important, though Alex mentioned that the small set doesn't have to step on toes.
He also mentioned that if there aren't good enough sets in the 1400-1700 range, they basically have to skip over other high demand massive sets. Because of this, he specifically states that the fifth set picked can normally come down to luck, because if they need a set within 100 pieces of 2200, that basically throws out anything around 2000, as well as anything from 2400 to 2600. In this format, they usually wind up with about 3 sets in the top 10 voted sets, but then maybe a set that finished 15th and one that maybe finished even 30th.
he also mentioned that their team is essentially left to play around with the final wave- working with different combinations of sets to see which final group of 5 best balances voter feedback, piece count, and theme.
He went on to mention thats why Royal Nest (Seen by the community as a bit of a controversial pick) was a finalist- because it satisfied a part count for the theme, but indeed was surpassed by other sets for that theme in voting. I suspect thats also the reason other controversial picks, such as the space train, made it as finalists.
The main reason they do it like this has to do with ensuring that their team has enough time to work with the models to refine them to stay on their tight production timeline. So I think the way they do it is here to stay.
BUT revealing that gives a huge insight for designers about how the selection process actually works- its less about sheer voting or judge opinion- its extremely algorithmic.
I think thats going to vastly change the way we see designers approach submissions, as it will definitely encourage strategic designs that fill a niche in a certain part range or theme.
But at the same time, playing that strategy will all come down to that first set- If its 4000 pieces, the next set sizes are pretty formulaic. But if its a 3000 piece set? Less predictable after that. That's how we wound up with a series 4 wave of 2 castle sets and no small set.
So I'd expect to see way less 4,000 part sets going forward, and a lot more in the range of 1300-2600.
Thanks for this info. I watched a different interview of Alex from Bricklink done by brick maiden. He gave a little bit of insight into the actual voting system. He said the “not for me” votes do not count negatively towards score, it just counts as 0.
That's interesting and actually a bit surprising. Is there then any functional difference between voting 'Not for me' and simply abstaining from voting for a particular model?
Right?! Alex said the only actually use is for Bricklink record keeping. So when you vote not for me Bricklink still counts it as a vote at the end when they see how many total votes were cast
This little spaceship features a removable display stand, an opening main hatch, and an opening side hatch for the space baby. It has 6 engines, radar, a holographic navigation system, and a claw for moving outside objects. Included is 1 minifigure and a baby. Thanks!
Thanks! There weren’t a lot of great space minifig parts in this palette, so I think space will be more limited this wave. I agree though, would love to see a small space set!
We haven't had a lot of Adventurers in the BDP, so I decided to create a build that would honor the classic theme and give us an amazing setting!
Secrets of Shangri-La is a love letter to classic adventurers. This 2600 piece landscape build features a snowcapped mountain blended with landmarks and hidden details. A plethora of scenes, such as a Yeti cave, a historic stupa, a ragged bridge, a dangerous cavern, and a temple complex, allow builders to play out Johnny’s adventure in a number of ways.
Fans of classic Adventurers will recognize elements from the 5 original Mount Everest sets- the Secret of the Tomb, Mountain Sleigh, Aero Nomad, Yeti Hideout, and Temple of Mount Everest- have been reimagined and blended into this design.
The set comes with 6 minifigures, a brick built Yeti, and two small vehicles. The model is displayable from many angles, but has an open back for interior access.
Since I was unable to bring back my "Driftwood Keep" I at least wanted to bring back my "Medieval Village". The village consists of a big manor, a blacksmith, a sign post, a fisher hut and a saw mill that is powered by a technic function that can be activated by the working water wheel.
The model is the perfect addition to any medieval layout and while consisting of 4 large structures the whole model is only about 2500 pieces. The model is scaled to perfectly go with the Lion Knights castle, the medieval town square or older BDP castle models.
🇯🇵** Traditional Japanese Bathhouse & Garden Restaurant — BDP 2028 Wave **1
My new LEGO project is now in Crowd Support! ♨️
This model combines a traditional Japanese bathhouse with a hidden restaurant and Japanese garden.
✨ Classic sento entrance & wooden lockers
🗻 Mt. Fuji mural
🔥 Detailed boiler room
🌿 Japanese garden with a bridge, bamboo & stepping stones
🍣 Hidden restaurant overlooking the garden
I wanted to capture the atmosphere of traditional Japanese architecture and everyday culture in LEGO.
If you like Japanese architecture, LEGO MOCs, or unique buildings, I’d really appreciate your support! https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/2028-wave-1/5479/Traditional-Japanese-Bathhouse-&-Garden-Restaurant
I'm not a ship guy, but I really like your design here. I appreciate that you kept the piece count to a tight 2,000. Too many creators focus on 4,000 piece sets when there's a need for more quality sets of this size. Good luck in voting.
Plenty of detail inside and around this cozy autumn build. There's even a play feature to knock down apples. I hope you like and decide to vote! :) Thank you!
Here's my Necromancer's Crypt, a dark fantasy inspired design with plenty of interactive features, including ways to reanimate skeletons and surprise trespassers!
Here's my latest design; Heritage Hangar! A vintage hangar for restoring vintage aircraft! I love the classic LEGO biplane sets and wanted to bring a biplane back!
"Corvus Crest" is my only submission this round and apparently I missed the message about all the promotional logos and branding... but here's a rendering that's probably better than what you'll see on BDP.
In the heart of the treacherous tropical waters of the Caribbean,far beyond the reach of any friendly ship, stands an impregnablefortress a towering prison surrounded by the dangers of the sea.
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This prison is no ordinary building. It was built with anelaborate and complex system of gears, ropes, and platforms,designed to keep even the most cunning pirates locked away forever.
Hi everyone! This is The Chapter House, my entry for the BrickLink Designer Program 2028 Wave 1.
The idea was to transform an old, partially ruined building into a modern reading café, while preserving its history and imperfections. Weathered masonry and damaged sections remain visible, while new glass elements, repaired walls and the reconstructed tower give the building a second life.
Inside you’ll find a fully furnished café, reading areas, bookshelves and an enclosed garden. One of my favourite details is the original bell, preserved inside the new illuminated glass tower.
The tower, upper level and roof are removable to explore the interior.
The Chapter House is now in Crowd Support. If you’d love to see it become a real set, I’d really appreciate your support! ❤️🙏
My BDP 2028 Wave 1 submission is Brick Lane, a ~3,794-piece railway scene inspired by growing up in East London and travelling into London to skateboard during the 2000s.
It features a station and railway above detailed brick arches containing Em’s Grocers, a skate shop and station entrance, plus working shutter mechanisms and detailed interiors.
I also designed an optional railway bridge so the track can continue into a larger LEGO city/train layout rather than ending at the station.
Would love to know what you think!
I have updated Hot Rod Roadster, including a new exhaust system and some other aesthetic improvements. Functions include opening doors and trunk, and working steering. I have built and tested the model.
Take a look at my newest BDP submission: the "Modern Log Cabin". I wanted to create something completely different for a change: a cozy nature inspired build that brings back childhood memories and combines traditional building styles with modern architecture. It is a model that works well for both play and display and would go amazingly well with the A-Frame cabin or some of the nature inspired BDP sets. Despite its impressive size the "Modern Log Cabin" consists of less than 2500 pieces.
There's some really cool stuff in here. If I would have known about the BDP program when I got back into Lego, I would have gone nuts on the castle sets, some of these are incredible.
I think the medival sets this series are suffering from the removal of the kraken and raven knights from the pallette. With fewer factions to pick from the castles feel to similar and bland. Though I appreciate the increase in pirate submissions.
My entry for the BrickLink Designer Program 2028 Wave 1! Based on the historic 1787 Columbia Rediviva, featuring 3 masts, 8 minifigures, 4 cannons and detailed interiors.
I’d really appreciate your support!
This is my Community Bakehouse & Springhouse. It is my first ever Lego design (not just my first submission). I'd very much appreciate your feedback in the comments at the linked page below.
My 3,982-piece Columbia Rediviva is now open for voting in the BrickLink Designer Program 2028 Wave 1! It’s based on the historic 1787 sailing ship and features 3 masts, 8 minifigures, 4 cannons and detailed interiors. I’d really appreciate your support! ⚓ Link
I’m thrilled to share my creation, The Adventurer's Vintage Biplane.
Inspired by childhood dreams of endless exploration, this project captures the timeless romance of golden-age aviation set within a serene, nature-inspired hideaway.
At its heart is a classic biplane featuring clean, streamlined double-layer wings with intricate support struts and a detailed radial engine, designed with modularity in mind so you can seamlessly swap between standard wheeled landing gear for airstrip takeoffs and dual floats for water landings.
The magic extends to the interactive two-layer base, where lifting off the top grassy terrain reveals a hidden blue pond tailored for the seaplane configuration, creating a rich storytelling scene complete with a blossoming cherry tree, a cozy campfire, a folding chair stacked with maps, and lively forest wildlife.
Inspired by art deco streamlined trains of the 1930's, this model pays tribute to some of the most famous locomotives in history. While the build is smooth and sleek on the outside, the interior includes many complex techniques to achieve half plate offsets in multiple directions in a tight and confined space. It includes many solutions to get every element of the outside where it needs to be while keeping the body strong and having enough space on the inside. I particularly like the fact that I was able to do a brick built stripe and get all of the curves around the roof. Notice how the doors are inset by a half plate and the marker lights follow the curve around the nose. While the outside is classically styled, I brought some whimsy to the build too. The engineer holds a winding key, reminiscent of the windup tin toy trains from the 1930's, and instead of building a model of a motor to fill the space reserved for a PUp Hub, I put an "engine" in there. More specifically: a model of a toy wooden train engine. This play on words was deliberate, the wooden train is an homage to the earliest Lego toy trains, which also date to the 1930's.
Please consider supporting the design on BDP by casting your support here
Lots of same old crap, but there are some hidden gems. I’m so sick of huge sets, I wish Lego would set a limit of 1000 pieces for one of the upcoming waves
The Kraken parts weren't in the palette this time, same with the Griffins. The vending machine set will likely be out of production by 2028, so those parts won't be available anymore.
Should be an easy choice - just select all 3 of Brickproject's designs and you got yourself the best wave of all time. It was already baffling that Medieval Village Fair did not get selected for the last wave.
P.S. I just realized I forgot to include screenshots of the basement on BrickLink! There’s actually a hidden prison down there, hinted at by the unlocking mechanism next to the door, as shown in the screenshots. 🔐⛓️
I am really excited to share my very first submission to the Bricklink Designer Program, the Titan Rover. I shared this with the community here and got some great feedback that helped me improve the model immensely.
Working within the limitations of the BDP palette, I chose to build something with the color scheme of the current education focused sets. I kept the exterior to a predominantly dark blue at white style and I incorporated the turquoise and coral into the interior to give those spaces a bit more life and color.
The name was inspired by the limited letters available in the BDP pallets. Unfortunately only the letters that spell out “TITANIC” are available but Titan seemed like the perfect name for a large vehicle, so it stuck.
The build includes functional steering, two boarding ramps, a sliding door to enter the bridge, and a modular design with six total rooms. Also included is a six-wheeled mini-rover and 11 minifigs (in accordance with the BDP guidelines for a build of this size). The build comes in at about 3150 pieces.
This is a more compact and smaller version of a previous submission. It is an alpine chalet in which I would like to spend all my time during winter : cosy, warm, traditionnal wood building. I tried to put lots of details to make it confortable : kitchen, sofa, master bedroom and or course you will find a fireplace and a table with raclette !
I spent the last 4 months designing Combine. I wanted it to look good at least I hope so ;) but on top of that, the play features make it something unique. All the functions can be controlled by gear knobs, and when you switch the model into Harvest Mode, multiple mechanisms start working together.
Main features for the Combine Harvester • Four-cylinder engine • Functional drivetrain with differential and gearbox • Tracked drive system • Hand-of-God steering • Pendular suspension on rear axle • Powered harvesting header • Rotating header reel • Header auger for simulated crop collection • Header lift mechanism • Straw chopper lift mechanism • Oscillating shoe mechanism simulating the cleaning process • Simulated grain elevator • Simulated straw chopper and spreader • Unloading auger lifting mechanism • Opening grain tank • Opening engine cover • Opening cabin/access doors • Rotating access ladder • Dedicated header transport trailer
Hi everyone! I’d love to share my second BDP submission: a traditional Churros Food Truck MOC! 🚚☕ It features a fully detailed interior with a frying station, coffee machine, an open-roof feature, and a cozy park bench with a blossom tree. If you want to add some sweet flavor to your city or town layouts, you can check it out and support it here: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/2028-wave-1/5298/La-Churreria-Van
Presenting my Queen's Castle submission for BDP 2028 Wave 1. As it stands, it is 1,901 parts, which would make it a fairly affordable entry into the BDP Castle lineup.
⚓The ship has been completely updated! I refreshed its visual identity and redesigned many of its internal mechanisms, while preserving the original silhouette. 🏴☠️ Hope you like the new version! 🏴☠️✨
Captain's retreat can be a real set.1693 pieces in total in a 2:1 building approach. One set to include many play options. One day left until the voting period for BDP 2028 wave 1 ends. If you'd like, you can show your support by clicking the link below :
This building pays tribute to one of the graphic arts that is gradually disappearing by the transition from paper to digital.
Hi! I'd love to share my submission for the BDP: a building featuring a traditional printing press downstairs and a cozy bakery/bistro with a karaoke lounge upstairs! It features a fully opening back wall on the first floor using hinge bricks and a cleanly integrated handle mechanism. I'd love to hear your feedback! The BrickLink vote link is right here:
G'day! Sphinx Adventure is an Adventurers-inspired model with a rugged car, a secret entrance, a falling ceiling, and a revolving door that hides a ruby! Many details were inspired by classic Adventurers sets. You can see more pictures here: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/designer-program/2028-wave-1/5156/Sphinx-Adventure
The castle slop is crazy. And I love it! I’m a sicko castle lover. The tinder style swipe voting feels terrible though. It doesn’t encourage you to look at what interests you. Auto “bad” vote for things I don’t like.
My build, Barracuda Tavern, has reached the voting stage of the BrickLink Designer Program!
Becoming a LEGO designer is a goal I’m working toward, and I’m excited to share this step with you. If you’d enjoy seeing Barracuda Tavern become a BrickLink Designer Program set, please consider supporting it on BrickLink. Sharing it with another LEGO pirate fan would mean a lot, too!
I'm always interested in feedback! How do you think I could improve it or similar builds in the future? Are there any specific examples you can give me?
I'd say you need to evoke more of a story with the interior, give it more character, and likewise on the outside, there is too much flat blank wall space that should be fixed with something that draws the eye and builds on the world a little. I like it though, it has good bones.
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u/mescad 9h ago
Voting is now closed. Congrats to the designers, and thanks to everyone who voted for your favorites.
Check back on November 12 to see which projects were selected by Lego.
The BDP rule is now lifted. You can post outside of the megathread until next round.