LEGO BrickLink Designer Program Harbormaster’s Office review

The latest series of BrickLink Designer Program sets go up for pre-order on October 8, and Harbormaster’s Office is solid proof that this is one of the best things the LEGO Group is doing at the moment.

Harbormaster’s Office is one of five sets in the BrickLink Designer Program Series 3, which were designed by LEGO fans, and which go up for pre-order on October 8 at 8am PT (4pm BST), and which will be limited to just 30,000 units at maximum. Those who purchase the sets will have to wait until March 2025 at the earliest for them to start shipping, but the wait will absolutely be worth it, as this model has a premium feel that sets it apart from most sets designed internally by the LEGO Group.

Release: October 8, 2024 (pre-order) Price: £159.99 / $209.99 / €179.99 Pieces: 2,418 Minifigures: 6 LEGO: Pre-order from BrickLink

Awash with personality

One of the fantastic things about the BrickLink Designer Program is the level to which these fan-designed sets remain unadulterated. In contrast to the LEGO Ideas program in which fans submit designs that are heavily reworked by official LEGO designers, the five approved sets from each series of the BrickLink Designer Program receive very little if any tweaking from anyone other than their designers, and this comes across in the finished models.

There’s a lot more personality on display here, as designer Rich Herbert’s unique sensibilities can be felt in the way that the set is constructed and the use of elements. There are parts of the set that feel a little flimsy as a result – most notably the wooden barrier around the dock that isn’t anchored particularly well – but this is a small price to pay for a set that is brimming with unique charm.

That said, it’s clear that Rich’s approach here is more like a traditional LEGO set than, say, Jared Le Cras’s 910038 Ominous Isle, which we reviewed ahead of the previous crowdfunding window for Series 2 of the BrickLink Designer Program. Where Jared’s set feels like a highly-detailed custom creation that would fit in on a convention table, Rich has clearly taken more inspiration from an existing collection of LEGO sets and tried his best to emulate their particular quirks.

Plenty of fish in the sea

One of the great things about Harbormaster’s Office is how well it fits with a variety of different LEGO sets. Rich has stated that the goal here was to make something that would fit alongside sets like 21310 Old Fishing Store and 21335 Motorised Lighthouse, and certainly anyone who enjoys the nautical side of the LEGO catalogue will feel that this set fits right in with many of these other sets (including the relatively recent 21350 Jaws).

Rich’s particular approach, though, also fits in superbly well with the modular collection of highly detailed, multi-storey sets. The inside of the set looks utterly phenomenal, and the level of detail on display matches a modular building perfectly. What’s more the colour scheme for this set feels bold and vibrant, making it stand out even among some of the more colourful modulars that we’ve seen hit the market in recent years.

What makes all of this all the more impressive is that modular buildings are typically designed by some of the best LEGO designers working at the company, and they’re rarely working completely alone, with oversight from fellow designers who are able to contribute and offer suggestions during the design process. That Rich managed to emulate the modular detail to this degree, while working without the support structure that’s in place for official LEGO designers, speaks to his talent as a fan designer.

Going the extra nautical mile

One of the other benefits of the BrickLink Designer Program is the extent to which fan designers are allowed (and perhaps even encouraged) to think big with parts usage. There’s a level of decadence on display in this set that you don’t usually get with a LEGO set, with extra elements thrown in for details that would otherwise be limited so as not to feel excessive.

This was the case with Ominous Isle as well, which features the kind of golden treasure cave that most LEGO pirates would give their hook hands and peglegs to acquire, but in Harbormaster’s Office the over-the-top blue-sky approach to parts is most keenly felt below the building itself.

Early photos of the original design for the set showed some relatively restrained aquatic decoration underneath the jetty, but in the finished model, this has been blown out to fantastic proportions, with coral, seaweed, fish and even a shark and a large turtle. Where the danger with the BrickLink Designer Program could be that these sets end up feeling like a poor man’s imitation of a LEGO set, the level of extra parts usage instead gives these sets the feeling that they are the cream of the crop: the very best quality sets that offer something more than your average 18+ build.

What’s even more impressive is that this doesn’t seem to have negatively impacted the price of the set. Harbormaster’s Office retails at £159.99, making it just £30 more expensive than 21350 Jaws despite containing around a thousand more elements. The price is in line with most modular buildings currently on sale, and while the set uses stickers instead of printed elements for its details, the value for money here is a welcome surprise – especially for a limited-run crowdfunding set.

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by purchasing your LEGO using our affiliate links.

Our honest opinion: In spite of its homespun origin, Harbormaster’s Office is one of the highest-quality LEGO sets on the market (even if there’s a very narrow window in which to actually buy it), delivering a treat for nautical and modular building fans alike.