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#2531 SET REVIEW: BDP Series 3: The Lost City

The Bricklink Designer Program is back again with Series 3! This time we’re digging into the Lost City, but what will the explorers find?


This series opens for crowdfunding on October 8th, so don’t miss out on this or any other sets in the series you may want. Learn more about the sets on Bricklink!


[Review products provided by the LEGO Group, but all opinions are our own and honest - we don’t have to praise sets to keep receiving them.]



#2531 SET REVIEW: BDP Series 3: The Lost City Another round of the Bricklink Designer Program has uncovered a hidden city… The set is a large gray building with a pointed roof in the center and a large tower rising behind it. The roofs are greens, and large brown trees with green branches grow out of different portions of it. Two tall statues holding spears and shields are positioned on either side of the stairs, with two minifigures posed in front. Part of the building extends to the right, with similar roofs and plants. The price is £239.99 or $289.99 or €269.99 for 3506 parts. Our score is 13 out of 25. Let’s explore it together!

Just like official LEGO sets, BrickLink Designer Program (BDP) sets are sent to us for review. One team member receives the set, constructs a review, then shares with the team for feedback. A cartoon image shows a LEGO minifigure opening a bag of LEGO bricks and pouring them out onto a table. We use guidelines for scoring, but defer to the person who received the set and knows it best. Our reviews are subjective, dependent on the reviewer, and don’t encompass how every builder will feel about the set. We try to review from the perspective of a MOC builder, which is why we emphasize techniques and parts in our scores. BDP sets sent to us aren’t in the same state that they will be when purchased. Packaging isn’t yet prepared and even instructions may change before release! A large plastic bag full of parts is shown, with the label LOST CITY on the bag. Thumbnails of set reviews #2289 and #2409 are shown: they are reviews of sets from Series 1 and Series 2 of the Bricklink Designer Program. We haven’t yet scored BDP sets on part selection, since designers are limited to the existing LEGO catalog. Since the Lost City didn’t fit neatly into other scoring categories, we chose to score its parts, though took into consideration that no new molds or recolors were permitted.

This bar shows the colors in the set. Over half the pieces are in grays, but this could be useful for some builders. We liked the greens and turquoise! There are some very useful parts in large quantities, and a huge assortment of green plant parts. Rare colors come in small quantities, but the bulk in this set is fantastic!

Just like parts, designers are limited to minifigure prints that already exist. Starting in Series 6, one minifigure is permitted for every 325 parts. Even with those restrictions, this set could have allowed up to 12 minifigures! It has two. One minifigure has plain brown legs and a tan sweater with a dark green jacket that is open; the torso comes in 3 other sets. It also has a dual-sided head that comes in 6 other sets; it features a concerned face on one side and a devious grin on the other, both wearing lipstick. The other minifigure wears plain dark tan legs and has a light blue shirt with color underneath an open dark red jacket. It wears a brick-built backpack. The face has gray facial hair and wrinkles, and it wears a tan fedora. None of its parts are rare. This set ties for fewest minifigs in BDP Series 3. Camping Adventure also has two minifigs, but it is over $200 cheaper and nearly 3000 parts smaller. A picture shows that set, which has a brick-built small white and sand green camper on a rounded built baseplate. Two minifigures toast marshmallows over an open fire and a large tree in fall colors is on the baseplate. For a great display piece at this price point and size, two minifigures feels inadequate. An entire group of explorers, researchers, or even local guides could have brought more life to this lost city! Our score is 1 out of 5. But what would we have changed? Pocket prints would be perfect for explorers, with a picture of dark tan legs with pocket prints shown. We love hair/ hat combos, with four of them pictured, some with long hair and some with short.

The front of the set is shown, with the large angled roof structure removed. What we see is two tall towers about six studs wide. They are mostly gray, but have lots of plants and green accents. The tops of towers have the same common structure: smaller assemblies attach to a SNOT core, creating that rounded shape. Renders show a round 8 by 8 plate with a SNOT core, and smaller assemblies that attach to the SNOT bricks. A smaller rounded plate fits on top of this core. One tower has crashed to the ground! A picture shows a dome top built in the above description angled onto the ground. Swordleaf plant parts sit vertically in a few spots; a bar plate positions the plant upright! Many techniques are smart ones! However, much of the build is very repetitive, even when facades have variations with plants, wedges, and slopes.

The towers are built in the same general way: SNOT bricks and plates stack to create a frame, with arches topping off each wall. A photo shows the same image from Slide 5, but from the back, where the interiors of the towers are seen. They are empty, with dark turquoise studs placed on the anti-studs of the inner walls for decor. Assemblies built onto 2 by 8 plates attach to three sides of the SNOT frames. These create the round tower shape. Renders show the SNOT frame and the 2 by 8 plate assemblies. Tiling off the floors means they have to remain empty. Each floor uses 2 by 2 macaroni tiles to create a circle, with an open gap between that drops to the floor below. This was disappointing!

The mirror pool is a beautiful feature! It’s built in two separate pieces that are placed horizontally. A render shows how 1 by 6 by 4 panels in trans-light blue make the watery surface. They are framed by inverted arches and some plant accents. These are attached with 2 by 2 plates with studs not on top to be placed horizontally. An overhead shot shows the mirror pool, which forms a near-circle when two of the above-described sections are placed together. The back view shows how intricate the construction is. An image shows the lowest level, with some plates falling off and lots of minor gaps between constructions. Throughout the build there are some thin gaps that create fragility; things often fell apart. Many interior spaces are hard to access, making those fallen parts tough to recover.

The slope décor on the roof is lovely. It is a bit parts-intensive, but the effect is stunning! The roof is built on an 8 by 16 plate with rows of 1 by 2 slopes in a variety of colors. Plates with studs not on top fit underneath the main plate to add external decor and hide the edge of the roof. The roof sections are attached with rocker plates. The main pillared assembly isn’t very strong, so be careful while attaching! Images show the back and sides of the angled roof portion of the build. Circles point out the 1 by 2 SNOT brick connection point mentioned below. An image points out how another plate under the roof structure is the only other connection. In this image, we also see 1-stud wide pillars that are designed to hold up the roof. An arrow points out the slight lean to these pillars, which are not sturdy. Each side of the pillared frame lean on a 1x2 SNOT brick that has a single stud connection to the tower. The back of the frame has one additional support, yet this whole structure is very delicate…

…to the point where moving the set becomes dangerous to the build. Some techniques were clever, but most were quite fragile and often frustrating to put together. Layering leaf pieces creates a lush effect! With only a single stud connection, these fell often. Renders show stacks of large leaf pieces and an arrow points out how these connect to the anti-stud at the top of a dino tail piece. Another image shows a top-down view of the set on white boards. Pieces of the set are laying on the board, mostly trees and some loose gray bricks. An arrow points out how we lost the top of a tower! Our Techniques score is a 2 out of 5. However, our Display Value score is a 4 out of 5. The final build is eye-catching, with a pleasant color scheme! The base is plain and some areas feel empty. We did find it fun to pose DnD figures in the city – check out our newsletter for pictures!

A photo shows the Home Alone set beside the Lost City. Home Alone is substantial, fuller, but a bit shorter. Home Alone, a LEGO Ideas set, costs $10 USD more than this set. Though the Lost City is taller, it feels far emptier than many sets at similar price points. A picture of BDP Series 3 Forest Stronghold is shown, which has two castle structure connected by a bridge with minifigures and a horse in front. This set is $10 USD more, but feels far more substantial, especially with 10 additional figures! Our Value for Money score is a 2 out of 5. BDP sets have had great resale value, but will that stay true? Not every set sold out in Series 2, so we’re curious if resale value will continue to remain high. Which sets will you be pre-ordering?

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