Take a closer look at BrickLink’s LEGO Wild West Train before pre-orders begin
Here’s a closer look at the BrickLink Designer Program’s LEGO Wild West Train before pre-orders for the Series 4 sets open next week.
Crowdfunding for the next series of the BrickLink Designer Program – which brings fan designs to life in limited quantities – kicks off on February 4, and ahead of that date reviewers across the web have been diving into each of the five sets available to pre-order. Last on the list is Ilucky’s Wild West Train, which follows the same designer’s 910031 General Store from Series 1.
Brickset has published an early review of this 3,192-piece locomotive and carriages, which will cost £249.99 / $279.99 / €279.99 to secure next week. The review draws favourable comparisons to 21344 The Orient Express Train as the Western train comes in at a similar scale, but also unfavourable comparisons because – like that LEGO Ideas set – the locomotive is apparently the weakest part of the BrickLink model.
Criticisms include the loco’s size and muted colours, but Brickset does shower praise on its details (such as the pipework, brick-built cowcatcher and cylinders). The review also calls attention to the ‘brilliant’ passenger carriage and the ‘parts-intensive but… fantastic’ boxcar. The Wild West Train doesn’t just include the loco and carriages, though: there’s also a sandy track bed that can split into four different sections, along with a windmill and water tower.
The overall effect is a much more fleshed-out Western scene than you might expect from a train set, and while the usual hang-ups with BrickLink Designer Program sets are present here – some areas feel overengineered, others fragile, in comparison to traditional LEGO sets; and the minifigures suffer from having to use existing elements – Brickset says the Wild West Train is ‘a worthy addition to the [trains] range’.
YouTuber Racing Brick has also published a review of the Wild West Train, and explains the biggest change between Ilucky’s original submission and the finished set: the addition of the flatbed wagon between the locomotive and passenger carriage. Because LEGO track pieces come in pairs, the set includes eight rather than the seven originally pitched – so Ilucky apparently decided to fill the space with an extra build.
It does mean the set comes in a little more expensive than you might have expected during the crowd vote phase, but for LEGO train fans that probably won’t be too much of an obstacle when crowdfunding begins. The Wild West Train will enter production if it racks up at least 3,000 pre-orders, with a maximum of 30,000 copies available. You’ll be able to pre-order your copy from February 4 at 4pm GMT / 8am PT.
LEGO BrickLink Designer Program Series 4 sets
| Series 4 set | Price | Pieces | Stickers | Minifigures | Fan designer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Siege Encampment | £199.99 / $229.99 / €229.99 | 2,598 | 11 | 18 | SleeplessNight |
| Medieval Seaside Market | £199.99 / $229.99 / €229.99 | 2,560 | 0 | 5 | Bricks_fan_uy |
| Riverside Scholars | £169.99 / $199.99 / €199.99 | 2,769 | 2 | 5 | Hanwas |
| Wild West Train | £249.99 / $279.99 / €279.99 | 3,192 | 17 | 12 | Llucky |
| Merchant Boat | £149.99 / $169.99 / €169.99 | 2,180 | 3 | 4 | NicolasCarlier |
If you’re trying to decide which sets to back in this series, click through for a closer look at the Medieval Seaside Market, Riverside Scholars, Merchant Boat and Siege Encampment.
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