Never has there been a more exciting time for LEGO Pirate fans to be involved in the BrickLink Designer Program…

Two previous pirate-themed submissions passed review!

Series 2’s Ominous Isle shall enter production in November 2024 and Series 5’s The Thieves of Tortuga has recently been announced for Crowd Funding during 2025.

And with the program’s sixth series due to accept submissions during September 2024, we’re bestowed with yet more opportunities to sail LEGO Pirate designs across the finish line…

Official Announcement

First let’s take a peak at the official BrickLink Designer Program Series 6 webpage.

Be sure to read the updated guidelines for Series 6

The official Series 6 webpage states:

Start designing for Series 6.
We’re accepting submissions from September 16th – September 27th 2024. The best designs have the chance to be Series 6 sets, so get those ideas flowing!
Learn more

As always, be sure to read the updated guidelines and then start building!

Fans Not Using Pirate-Themed Parts?

The Classic Pirates made a curious observation during BrickLink’s “A Pirate’s Dream” Activity, which was held during August 2024.

Like the BrickLink Designer Program, this activity invited fans to submit designs created in the BrickLink Design Studio software.

What’s curious about these designs, is the more frequent use Pirate, Soldier and Islander themed parts, which have not always been included in past BrickLink Designer Program submissions

Blue coat Soldiers in “Island Lookout” by Steampunxx

Or perhaps it’s not remotely curious observation!  The Classic Pirate have simply lacked the opportunity to explore the software and watch all the webinars.

Does the Series 6 Palette include more pirate-themed parts than earlier series?  Particularly series 1 and 2.

Islander torsos in “Con-Briki” by Jdsiro

Or have these parts always been available to BrickLink Designers, but they’ve simply chosen not to include them in their BDP submissions?

Jolly Roger flags on “Pirate house” by RAW123

Sure pirate-themed parts have appeared in later series, but not as frequently as the Classic Pirates would expect.

Ominous Isle does not include a single pirate flag – yer would think a jolly roger flag would be a mandatory inclusion, right?

The Classic Pirates would very much love to be educated from fans who build in BrickLink Design Studio.

Series 6 Q&A Webinar

If you’ve got some spare time, the Series 6 webinar is available to divulge in the wonders of the BrickLink Designer Program in glorious detail.

Or maybe just listen to the webinar in the background while you build.

LEGO® BrickLink YouTube Channel writes:

Learn about the Submission Guidelines for BrickLink Designer Program: Series 6 as Alex, BDP Project Manager, covers updates and common questions. Aspiring fan designers ask questions and get clarification to some of the nuances of various guidelines. This is a recording of a live webinar held August 5, 2024.

And if yer unable to view embedded videos, watch it directly on YouTube.

Series 6 Timeline

Here be the key dates for this series:

New Palette Released

1 Jul, 2024

Update BrickLink Studio software to access the latest colour palette containing parts for Series 6.

Open Submission

16 — 27 Sep, 2024

This is when you leap into action and submit your designs before the deadline on 27 Sep at noon Pacific US time.

At the time of publishing, Open Submission starts on in little more than a week – have you started building yet?

Crowd Support

7 — 18 Oct 2024

BrickLink members are invited to vote for the LEGO Pirate submissions. Your vote weighs in alongside the Brick Designer Team’s internal selection criteria and influences the designs selected for crowdfunding.

So register a BrickLink account right now if you don’t currently have one!

Review

18 Oct — 19 Nov, 2024

The BrickLink Designer Team reviews each design for building experience, brand fit, and crowd favorites.

Finalists Announced

18 nov, 2024

The BrickLink Designer Team reveals the five Series 6 designs that will proceed to Crowdfunding. Then team then collaborates with fan designers to prepare their submissions for to be churned out by the factory.

Refining Finalist Designs

2 Dec 2024 — 1 Sep, 2025

The finalist designers work with the official LEGO Model Governance and Building Instructions team to make final necessary adjustments to their designs before locking them in for pre-production.

Crowdfunding

October 2025

You (if you’re a BrickLink member) may pre-order your favorite BrickLink Pirate sets, with a limit of 2 of each set per household.

All sets which receive more than 3,000 pre-orders will be produced, and a maximum of 30,000 of each set will be manufactured during a limited, one-time production run.

Production and Shipping

March 2026

The LEGO Group will officially produce the sets in their factory and orders will be fulfilled approximately 6 months after pre-ordering. Final dates and shipping times may vary.

Past BrickLink Success

The BrickLink Designer Program is finally paying LEGO Pirates the recognition they deserve!

Currently two BrickLink sets have passed the Designer Team’s review, so let’s aim for a third!  Or maybe even a fourth!

“The Thieves of Tortuga” by Krackenator from Series 5

A home port for yer LEGO Pirates will be available for pre-order via LEGO.com during November 2024.

But are yer interested?

And let’s not forget, the very first pirate-themed BrickLink Designer set will soon to enter production…

“Ominous Isle” by Jazlecraz from Series 2

There once was a time when it seemed like all hope was lost for LEGO Pirate fans, particularly during the initial launch of the BrickLink Designer Program… but those days be long behind us!

Now, as a fandom, LEGO Pirate fans must continue to ensure this success by supporting pirate-themed LEGO products whenever the opportunity arises.

So what’s next for us?  Are we due for a ship?

What Do Yer Think?

Will you be submitting any designs to Series 6?

Consider this yer Call To Action!

Builders

Open Submission for Series 6 is between September 16 and September 27.

You have until the timer ends to submit your design.

Buyers

Does the BrickLink Designer Program have potential? Or do you not consider BrickLink sets as official LEGO sets?

And what of ordering The Thieves of Tortuga in the future?

Let us know your thoughts and questions in the LEGO Pirates Forum.