Get yer bricks ready for BrickLink Designer Program Series 9!
Sales for The Thieves of Tortuga were a phenomenal success!
Pre-orders for Coconut Cape have been officially announced and Crowd Funding for The Thieves of Tortuga commences mid January 2026.
So now we must repeat the process once more – can we rally our armada and steer a fifth pirate-themed build to victory?
Official Announcement
Launch yer BrickLink Designer voyage at the official Series 9 webpage.
It possess all the knowledge yer need for building and submitting a sterling LEGO Pirates set design.
The Series 9 palette is waiting for you to build!
The official Series 9 webpage informs:
We’re accepting submissions from September 15th – September 26th 2025. The best designs have the chance to be Series 9 sets, so get those ideas flowing!
Pretty much the same literature as all these official webpages, just with sparkly new dates.
Also, be sure to read the updated guidelines studiously because these evolve with each BrickLink Designer Series!
Series 9 Timeline
Mark yer calendars — here be the important dates to successfully navigate through Series 9:
New Palette ReleasedJul 1st 2025 |
Update BrickLink Studio software to access the latest colour palette containing parts for Series 9 |
Open Submissionsep 15 —
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This is when you leap into action and submit your designs before the deadline on 26 September at noon Pacific US time. |
Crowd Support6 Oct —
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Look lively! If you’re a BrickLink members, this in when you may 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 be sure to register a BrickLink account if yer be lacking one! |
ReviewOct 17 —
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The BrickLink Designer Team examines the designs for building experience, brand fit, and crowd favorites. I.e. yer pledges of support! |
5 Finalists Announced19 Nov, 2025 |
The BrickLink Designer Team unveils the five Series 9 designs that will proceed to Crowdfunding. The team then collaborates with fan designers to prepare their designs to reach their fullest potential. |
Refinement3 Dec, 2025 —
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The finalist designers work with the official LEGO Model Governance and Building Instructions team to make necessary adjustments to their designs before locking them in for pre-production. |
CrowdfundingOct 2026 |
You (if yer have a BrickLink account) may pre-order yer favorite BrickLink Pirate sets, but no more than 2 shall you have delivered to yer house!
Sets what achieve 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. Although, the limit seems somewhat flexible these days. |
Production and ShippingMar 2027 |
The LEGO Group shall churn out the sets in their state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly factory and yer order will be completed approximately 6 months after Crowfunding. The final dates and shipping times may fluctuate with the tides. |
Open Submission
Open Submission for Series 9 is between 15 and 27 September, 2025.
You have until the timer reaches 00:00:00:00 to build and submit yer design!
Fewer Pirate-Themed Parts?
Finally, the fortunes of LEGO Pirates sailing into the BrickLink Designer Program be improvin’!
But to make the waters more treacherous for aspiring designers, there now be fewer Pirate-themed parts available in the BrickLink Design Studio palette.
What shall a LEGO Pirate builder do?
After the blue coat Soldiers were decommissioned during late 2024, the efforts of inventive builders hath not been hindered!
We’ve seen new imperial factions arrive in the last three pirate-themed submission to ace the Review phase – even if they weren’t conceived within the original submission.
Crowdfunded Pirate Designs
As of August 2025, four pirate-themed designs have endured the BrickLink Designer Team merciless review!
Joining the ranks of the finalists be “Coconut Cape” by BallistickBricks, the first imperial fortress to gain approval.
Our BrickLink Designer pirate collection is growing!
Aye, it’s a downright dazzlin’ delight!
Remember when the BrickLink Designer Program launched during 2021 and the sentiment was; LEGO Pirates? Who be they?
Well, the tides sure have changed.
Coconut Cape
Will the Don Diego de LEGO and Imperial Armada make a resurgence?
Naught be set in stone — the design’s still floatin’ in open waters, yet to enter the Refinement phase.
Submitted to Series 8 by BallisticBricks, “Coconut Cape” will be available for Crowdfunding (pre-orders) upon 1 June 1st, 2026 at 8AM.
Privateer Frigate Fortuna
Beware the Privateers!
Sailing the mighty frigate Fortuna, this sly new faction has chameleon like abilities to disguise themselves as any other faction they please!
“Privateer Frigate Fortuna” by BrickPerfection – Series 5 Version
“Privateer Frigate Fortuna” by Brickperfection from Series 7 has been announced for Crowdfunding (pre-orders) during 1 February, 2026. at 8 `o clock in the morn.
The Thieves of Tortuga
The usual 30,000 set pre-order limit was blown out of the water within hours, so the BrickLink Designer Team jacked up the limit high as 50,000 orders!
Perhaps this bodes well for the future of LEGO Pirates in the BrickLink Designer Program.
But will future BrickLink Designer pirate sets enjoy the same level of success?
Ominous Isle
This be the maiden submission to brave the stormy seas of the BrickLink Designer Team’s notorious approval process, and eventually make landfall at the abodes of loving fans!
She didn’t haul in the Pre-orders to the same magnitude as The Thieves of Tortuga, but this fledgling venture was just settin’ the compass for grander BrickLink sets yet to come.
I Missed Out!
Avast! Ain’t you been followin’ Classic Pirates on Instagram, Facebook or Flickr to stay abreast of all the LEGO Pirate updates?
Luckily, there be a glimmer in the lantern if yer still seekin’ Ominous Isle or The Thieves of Tortuga…
Scouting eBay we discover they’re still available
But these scalpers will take yer head clean off!
The prices be shootin’ for the stars – maybe the sellers be dreamin’, but this is what yer pay for not taking heed during Crowdfunding.
Making an offer is yer only hope of getting the price down
Still, these eBay traders be yer only hope, so perhaps yer could make`em an offer… if they be willin’.
Remember, these BrickLink sets won’t linger on the shores of eBay forever! Their supplies will deplete and they’ll slip into the mist like ghost ships at dawn.
What Next?
Arrr, our toil ain’t over, loyal deckhands! The seas o’ brick still hunger for our dedication.
Those with a warm heart for LEGO Pirates must remain sharp as a cutlass, ready to project their voices and rally behind each new piratey build what sails into the BrickLink Designer harbour!
Let’s not overlook the smaller builds for Crowdfunding!
What concepts be callin’ to yer? Be it a fearsome fortress, a hidden cove for Indigo Islanders, or a ghostly galleon lost to time?
Name the bounty yer soul craves for Series 9…
What Do Yer Think?
Will you be submitting pirate-themed designs to Series 9?
Set yer sights on the updated guidelines and then built yer piratey designs!
Builders
Open Submission for Series 9 occurs between September 15 and 26.
You have until the clock strikes 00:00:00:00 to build yer design!
Buyers
Do yer believe the BrickLink Designer Program is finally delivering results for LEGO Pirate fans?
Or are BrickLink Designer sets the missin’ the sparkle of retail releases?
And what of the upcoming BrickLink sets? Will yer be pre-ordering Privateer Frigate Fortuna or Coconut Cape in 2026?
Hoist yer opinions and fire off yer questions or weigh anchor in the Classic Pirates Facebook Group and speak yer mind, matey!
