I absolutely love polybags! They’re easy to build, relatively affordable, and often have amazing pieces. Sometimes, I would buy a couple at a time to stock up on a part that I particularly like. Given my love for polybags, I was delighted to find out that the Brick Alliance had launched a project dedicated to the often overlooked, extremely underrated LEGO polybag: The Polybag Project.

The Polybag Project is a year-long community building project, as well as a research project by the Brick Alliance. The goals of the project are to highlight the creativity of Adult Fans of LEGO in using limited resources and to collect meaningful data about polybags such as its accessibility in terms of both price and location.

The Build Challenge

Each participant builds one polybag each month of the 2022 Calendar Year (January to December) and then adds the polybag contents to the previous months’ polybag contents to create a final build, scene or collection at the end of the year with all 12 bag contents. Participants are encouraged to join the Brick Alliance Polybag Project 2022 Facebook Group to share their photos and chat with other participants. Participants may also share their creations online, using the hashtags #BrickAlliance #polybagproject2022, and tagging the Brick Alliance on Instagram.

LEGO 30413: Flower Cart, built and rebuilt by Kosha Brightwell. Photo taken from the Brick Alliance Polybag Project 2022 website.

Here’s more information on the build project:

What kind of polybags can I use?
You can use any LEGO polybag OR foil pack of any size OR any small LEGO boxed set with under 80 parts.
Where can I buy polybags?
Polybags’ availability vary globally. The best way to find out if they are available in your country is to search for “LEGO polybags in *insert country here*”. They can usually be found in department stores/supermarkets or LEGO stores. They can also be purchased secondhand from online marketplaces like eBay or Facebook.
Do I have to buy new polybags?
Not at all! Sets can come from your existing collection. You can use sets that are “gifts with purchase”, or use bags that have been gifted to you. You can also use digital LEGO to participate.
How can I use digital LEGO to participate?
You can use digital design software such as Stud.io but you must restrict part usage to published parts lists of a set/polybag that fits within the restrictions.
How often do I need to build?
The goal is to build one polybag every month. At the end of the project, you would have built 12 in total. You can only build one a month. Participants can start at any time of the year, and can still build one bag for every month missed. So if you start in June, you can build six bags in one go to make up for the lost months. However, don’t feel pressured to complete all 12. You can skip months if you weren’t able to build.
What is the project timeline?
The project runs from January 2022 through December 31, 2022.

Participants may also use small boxed sets with 80 pieces or less, such as the ones pictured above. Photo collage by the Brick Alliance.

The Research Project

An interesting aspect of the project is that the Brick Alliance also aims to gather information about the polybags used in the challenge. The goal is to find out if polybags are widely available at reasonable prices for fans on a budget, and to share such information with others, including the LEGO group. Participants may answer the survey form here. Hopefully, at the end of the year, enough data would have been gathered to form a clearer picture of the availability and affordability of polybags.

A Step-by-Step Guide

As a recap, here’s a monthly guide to the project:

First Month

Build the set
Take a picture
Optional Activity: build something different with the same parts and take a picture
Set parts aside – do not incorporate with the rest of your LEGO Collection
Complete online survey form
Repeat steps 1-3 may be done as many times as you would like!
Share pictures online with #BrickAlliance #polybagproject2022 and tag @_brick_alliance on Instagram so they can reshare your build!

2nd to 11th Month

Build the set
Take a picture
Optional Activity: build something different with the same parts and take a picture
Add the set or parts to your polybag project collection
Optional Activity: build something different with all of the parts from the collection and take a picture
Set parts aside – do not incorporate with the rest of your LEGO Collection
Complete online survey form
Repeat steps 1-3 may be done as many times as you would like!
Share pictures online with #BrickAlliance #polybagproject2022 and tag @_brick_alliance on Instagram

LAST Month (December 2022)

Build the 12th and final set
Take a picture
Optional Activity: build something different with the same parts and take a picture
Add the set or parts to your polybag project collection
Optional Activity: build something different with all of the parts from the collection and take a picture
Set parts aside – do not incorporate with the rest of your LEGO Collection
Complete online survey form
Repeat steps 1-3 may be done as many times as you would like!
Share pictures online with #BrickAlliance #polybagproject2022 and tag @_brick_alliance on Instagram
The challenge is complete!

@bottomlessbricksberkshire from Instagram combined Anna’s. Castle (set no. 43198) with Raya and the Ongi (set no. 30558) to great effect for her February contribution.

An Early Start

There have already been some entries shared online for January and February. My favorite part about the challenge so far, aside from seeing all the fun MOCs being created, is discovering sets I’ve not seen before. It seems that collectors have been digging through their stashes and sharing some amazing finds. I’ve also been re-discovering polybags from the past, such as these fantastic Mixels, that I now deeply regret not having purchased when they were widely available.

Arthur Tanseco built Camillot from the Mixels line for his January project, with a broken down castle as an alternative build.

The Polybag Project sure gives us something to look forward to every month. Are you ready for the challenge? Come build with us!

Will you be participating in the project? What is your favorite polybag? Are polybags readily available in your country? Tell us more in the comments below!

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