Hands on with the LEGO Bricklink Designer Old Train Engine Shed

January 22, 2024 | 14

At Brickvention 2024, the Bricklink team came to visit and brought along some special surprises with them – a bunch of LEGO Bricklink Designer Program (BDP) Series 1 sets to display!

This was really notable as Melburnians got an exclusive sneak peek at these sets before anyone else in the world, and I got a chance to take a look at The Old Train Engine Shed, the 3rd biggest set from BDP Series 1.

In case you’re unaware, here’s a refresher of the LEGO BDP Series 1 sets, which you’ll be able to pre-order from 8am (PST), 7 February 2024!

These will only ship out from July 2024 onwards, so getting to see these in the flesh before pre-orders were an unprecedented opportunity to gauge what the sets were like – and after seeing The Old Train Engine Shed in person, it might have just snuck into my to-buy list.

Here are all 5 Bricklink Designer Program Series 1 sets.

• Mountain Fortress – US$379.99 / €339.99 / AU$529.99
• Parisian Street – US$319.99 / €289.99 / AU$469.99
• The Old Train Engine Shed – US$229.99 / €219.99 / AU$349.99
• The Snack Shack – US$49.99 / €44.99 / AU$72.99
• General Store – Wild West – US$159.99 / €139.99 / AU$219.99

For reference, this was the original design submission by by Mind_The_Brick that people voted on. As you can see, the angle this was taken at drastically undersells the length and size of the build!

Here are the official set images of The Old Train Engine Shed, but there’s something different about seeing the set in person as you get a much better idea of the size, scale and how all the elements look in the flesh.

Pardon me, I affixed the roof wrongly in some of these photos, but one thing that really surprised me about the set was just how large and substantial it was.

The colours also work very well, with realistic earthy tones and plenty of nice details strewn about the build.

The roof can easily pop off, to give you access to the interiors.

Here’s a look inside where you can see plenty of accessories which give it a lot of character.

I didn’t expect to like this one as much until I saw it in person, and it also looks like a really fun build with plenty of little details strewn about.

You also get a better sense of the value and Bricklink’s asking price of US$229.99 / €219.99 / AU$349.99 makes a bit more sense, and justifies this 2,331-piece set. It’s quite a substantial minifigure-scale display model that works well as a standalone set, especially if you can slot a locomotive or train into the shed.

Looking at the price as well, it does seem like Bricklink made a bit of effort to stick to the (slightly outdated, in my opinion) US$0.10 per piece ratio that fans like to see.

Anyway, after seeing it in person, I’m tempted to also pre-order The Old Train Engine Shed when BDP Series 1 opens up on 8am (PST), 7 February 2024. I was initially going to skip this in favour of the 4 other sets, but I kinda like the look of this one, and it does look like a really fun build.

Be sure to also check out the other designs from LEGO Bricklink Designer Program Series 1, and find out more about how the program works!

Stay tuned for previews of the Snack Shack (also very good!) and the Parisian Street!

What do you think of the The Old Train Engine Shed? Is this on your list to pre-order?

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