- BrickLink Designer Program Season 8 is now open for fan voting, with 385 submitted LEGO creations vying for a spot in the final five sets to be crowdfunded and produced.
- Standout builds include The Eastern Alliance castle, a Viking Shipyard, and Mushroom Haven, each rich in storytelling and designed by veteran LEGO creators.
- Fans have until May 16, 2025, to support their favorites, with final winners announced on June 14 and sets expected to ship in November 2026 after crowdfunding in mid-2026.
LEGO IDEAS projects are always a treat, delivering impressive sets dreamed up by fans, but the BrickLink Designer Program is quickly emerging as the go-to destination for AFOLs seeking truly original, masterfully crafted builds by some of the community’s most talented designers.
BrickLink Designer Program Season 8 Opens Vote to the Public
So much that BrickLink has already opened the backing phase for its Designer Program Season 8, meaning that fans can already sift through the nearly 400 submissions and vie for your support.
This comes shortly after BrickLink announced that the crowdfunding for the BrickLink Designer Program Season 5 program is going to kick off on June 1, 2025.
The crowdfunding is your opportunity to acquire one of five outstanding and stunning sets that will be available before long. We have already covered the sets here, and they are an absolute delight to look at, and possibly – a budget-wrecking ball!
As for Season 8, however, the field of entries still needs culling, with LEGO fans having as many as 385 options to go through in this program’s edition, with only five to be selected as finalists, and further details to be announced.
However, it’s not that easy, as BrickLink also uses its own judges to decide if a set will make the final cut, and it is possible for a less supported project to leapfrog an arguably more popular one.
Among the absolute delights of BrickLink hopefuls are such options as The Eastern Alliance by BrickyBricks82, a chonker of a LEGO set that has become the signature style of the BrickLink builds, featuring a 4,000-part Castle along with numerous minifigs and scenery surrounding the castle to ensure that you get maximum storytelling out of it.
This is a remarkably rich build, bustling with life as there are inns, a smithy, lively trade, and more going on in the middle of it, as well as many intricate and meaningfully-connected passages to increase the value you would get exploring this build.
Another excellent set for your consideration is the Viking Shipyard by NicolasCarlier that stands awesome on its own but will make a fantastic fit into your LEGO IDEAS Viking Village (21343) set, complete with seven minifigs and plenty of detail to recreate the glorious times of the Nordic people.
Sets for Season 8 to Star Arriving in November 2026, the Earliest
Not least, creator JonasKramm is betting on the success of his previous creations, and specifically the recently-approved Mushroom Village, and he is already expanding it with another entry – the Mushroom Haven that will add to the iconic scenery of the original.
To help any of these builds move forward, you have until May 16, 2025, to vote for your favorite ones. Then, BrickLink will spend the time through June 14, 2025, to consider your support, and announce winners on that same day.
From that point on, the wait will be a bit longer, as you will need to wait until May 1, 2026, for the final designs to be revised, and for crowdfunding to kick off in June, followed by shipping in November.