LEGO wants BDP designers to expand the world of Castle

The head of the LEGO BrickLink Designer Program has encouraged fan designers to expand the world of Castle beyond just...castles.

The BrickLink Designer Program is one way for fan designers to get their own creations as real LEGO sets, and has proven to be a treasure trove of sets, especially when it comes to the Castle theme. As we approach pre-orders for Series 7, the initiative has produced medieval sets beyond actual castles – and it sounds like the BrickLink Designer Program team wants to see more of that.

Head of the BrickLink Designer Program at the LEGO Group Alex Kastelic said in a recent interview with Brads Archives that past Castle sets have shown that there's much more to the theme than fortresses and faction bases, name-dropping Series 4's Siege Encampment and Medieval Seaside Market, Series 7's Alchemist's, and Series 9's Sleepy Dragon Inn as just a few examples.

"Siege Encampment hopefully showed a different path, in the sense that these other types of medieval sets will do well and can be chosen," said Alex. "It doesn't need to be a faction-specific base or castle. It could be an addendum, just like Medieval Seaside Market is an addendum to 10307 Lion Knights' Castle. We have Alchemist's Shop, which can sit on display right next to 21325 Medieval Blacksmith, and Sleepy Dragon Inn will be right there [too]."

Indeed, Castle displays need sets based on areas other than the castles themselves to really expand the world. It's something we've seen from official LEGO sets over the years as well, going all the way back to 1984's 6040 Blacksmith Shop or more recent additions LEGO Ideas 21325 Medieval Blacksmith and LEGO Icons 10332 Medieval Town Square.

Expanding beyond more traditional models, like 10305 Lion Knights' Castle, does mean that the lines can blur about what's a Castle set and what isn't. Some fans have already commented that BDP's Sleepy Dragon Inn doesn't feel wholly Castle, but Alex was quick to note that it's being approached as a Castle set rather than a Fantasy one.

"I've seen some videos talking about how Sleepy Dragon Inn is much more Dungeons & Dragons-focused in the Fantasy world than Castle, but I can tell you that is not the direction [we're going in]," he said.

The next major BrickLink Designer Program date to be aware of includes one of the sets discussed, Alchemist's Shop. Pre-orders open at 4pm (UK time) / 8am (Pacific) on February 16.

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