These extension services were discontinued in January 2012 (perhaps due to customer complaints when sets weren't quite complete, or when printed instructions were omitted because of their size), but the LDD software itself is still available, and is still free. This effectively allowed users to create their own Lego sets.

LDD also used to offer a service ( Design byMe) whereby designs could be showcased on Lego's own gallery pages, allowing visitors to order a complete set of parts, and have it delivered in a custom box with printed instructions. 'Design byMe' custom Lego set service (discontinued) At first sight this might seem to make Lego itself redundant, but having designed a particularly nice Lego model, it's very tempting to order the parts from Lego or from a service like BrickLink, and build it for real. The obvious advantage of Lego Digital Designer is that it lets users experiment with building very large or specialist models at zero cost, without needing to have all the particular brick types and colours needed. The program also automatically generates an assembly manual for the model that can be saved as a. The software downloads a manifest of brick types that represents almost every sort of standard Lego brick in existence, including Lego Technic parts. Lego Digital Designer (LDD) (version 4.3) is a piece of free downloadable computer software that runs under Windows XP and higher, and which lets the user create virtual Lego models.

Brighton Toy and Model Museum, constructed as a virtual Lego model

Lego digital designer models