Harry Potter 2018 - Rumors & Discussion

[Fenghuang0296]

IMO, for a DADA Classroom set, the best case would be a two-storey building with the classroom in the bottom and the office on top, with an interior that can be tweaked to acccomodate Lockhart, Lupin or Umbridge. Minifigure woukd be all three professors, as well as Harry and Hermiome. Maybe Draco too. 

[Vindicare]

8 hours ago, RODDY said:

I one hundred percent agree. I don't see a winter wave happening but Summer I think for sure. Unlike others here, I don't see HP as an evergreen theme. Not because of popularity but there is a limit on how much sets you can make. Various parts of Hogwarts, Ministry Of Magic, The Burrow, the three tasks, Diagon Alley, Knight Bus, and Priver Drive will take five years max. Not enough locations to be honest. Another reason why I think Lego is waiting is they shoehorned alot of characters in the first wave just in case another wave doesn't happen. Just hope for at least one more wave to get Sirius, Wormtail, and Lockhart.  This is why Star Wars is evergreen, it has a huge universe. But I don't mind once a year, I have major interest in Star Wars and Ninjago as well so I can send some money that way. Also Indiana Jones 5 might bring some remakes as well.

On a different topic I walked into Wal-Mart today to buy the Riddler Racer and I saw the HP sets at lower costs. Both Willow and Express were 10 dollars cheaper interestingly enough. 

 

 

 

Star Wars...the theme that recycles the same sets every few years...yeah. I love the theme, but they have a diversifying problem. Of course the reason why they keep making them is because people know them & continue buying them. That would be the same, I believe, with HP. 

They could also release every single building from both Hogsmeade & Diagon Alley, SW has been no different with obscure stuff(10195 was especially obscure & high dollar). Those would appeal to more than just HP fans as they’re basically just buildings. Some may have some over the top decorations, a la Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. The Express will undoubtably be on repeat just like any note worthy SW ship & train fans would also likely buy it. 

Edited August 11, 2018 by Vindicare

[Fenghuang0296]

2 minutes ago, Vindicare said:

Pardon the double post...didn’t read everything before posting. 

Star Wars...the theme that recycles the same sets every few years...yeah. I love the theme, but they have a diversifying problem. Of course the reason why they keep making them is because people know them & continue buying them. That would be the same, I believe, with HP. 

They could also release every single building from both Hogsmeade & Diagon Alley, SW has been no different with obscure stuff(10195 was especially obscure & high dollar). Those would appeal to more than just HP fans as they’re basically just buildings. Some may have some over the top decorations, a la Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. The Express will undoubtably be on repeat just like any note worthy SW ship & train fans would also likely buy it. 

And there's potential appeal for people who are only interested in high-end CREATOR-style stuff, too. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I desperately want to see a Modular Building of No. 12 Grimmauld Place. To say nothing of the D2C Hogwarts we're just now getting. As a rule, I'm only interested in minifig-scale stuff, but I can see why people would want it as a display piece. 

[Isherwood]

It’s all speculation at this stage but - like any corporation - I expect Lego’s future plans will be driven by their bottom line.

It would be sensible for them to plan 2-3 initial waves to take in key plot points from the books/movies, keep fans happy, but most importantly to gauge the market.

If they see HP as a big money-spinner that can create surplus for other projects, I could see them making it an ongoing line. I would love that to happen but at the same time I doubt any decision’s been made yet.

I chatted to the manager of my local Lego Store about it. He told me it was their busiest launch in years, most sets were sold out on day one, and they took £3500 in the first hour after opening (a lot for a smallish regional branch). All of which sends a great message to Billund.

But that was the launch and Lego willl likely base any decision on total sales figures. So it will be interesting to see if there is continued momentum in sales and interest (one week after launch, my local store had all sets back in stock including Great Hall). I’m also really interested to see how the d2c sells, as I guess that’s Lego’s bellwether test on how strong the adult collector market is.

I have everything crossed HP is here to stay!

[BrickBob Studpants]

Yeah, TLG is going to be very cautious with this theme, despite its initial success. Right now, there's no licensed (movie-based) theme around that spawns set in years that don't see the release of a new installment (technically, not even SW any more ). Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the last exception was Indy with its 2009 range...

[Miss Feklista]

2 hours ago, Vindicare said:

Not only that, but we have Quirrell, although we never saw him teaching, & Moody(you could also count Umbridge I suppose).  So much re retains coukd take place in just that he set. 

Of course, I supposed all the teachers from all the school years. :) I named two of them just because they brought the most interesting decorations in this classroom.  Quirrell only had bats and iguana :-) . But we could make all the teachers' decorations ourselves if we had this set. 

11 hours ago, DungeonsAndFlagons said:

I think the Hogwarts Castle sets are done as components for a reason. So you can mix the sets together and make different scenes.

I agree. :) The second part of the castle (with the whomping willow) is rather simple so we even can add the small classroms ourselves. 

[Whovastron]

1 hour ago, Lego-Freak said:

Yeah, TLG is going to be very cautious with this theme, despite its initial success. Right now, there's no licensed (movie-based) theme around that spawns set in years that don't see the release of a new installment (technically, not even SW any more ). Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the last exception was Indy with its 2009 range...

The Fantastic Beasts films are the excuse for making the sets I’m pretty sure. With the hype around those films every few years, interest in Wizarding World merch with keep coming back.

 

Thin is with the debate about popularity and evergreen. Is that it’s not just lego which is cashing in right now, in the U.K. at least. Over here Primark, a very popular high street clothes store, has a large Harry Potter line of clothes and home items, and they don’t really have any other licences lines except for some reality TV show merch. In Sainsbury’s, a supermarket, Harry Potter Home merch has now got a huge selection, atleast twice as much as what they offer for Star Wars. In fact they had a huge ‘back to Hogwarts’ display at the front of my local store with loss of new merchandise, most of it was sold out straight away.

on top of this, Hamley’s London, the UK’s biggest toy store, apparently has a whole floor dedicated to Harry Potter now, which is unheard of I’m pretty sure, even lego share a floor with Mega Blocks and Kinex.

theres also a new line of action figure dolls that have recently launched which are fairly successful it seems.

of course none of this speaks for long term sales, but interest in this property has greatly increased in recent years from a collection of factors; the children from when the books and films first being released now have their own children that they are introducing it to, the Wizarding world and studio tour attractions, the stage play and book, and of course Fantastic Beasts.

who knows if this hype will last, but atleast for the next year or so, I think Lego should cram out as many sets as possible to cash in on this

[JVM]

7 hours ago, BrickJagger said:

Just as a precaution, I'm gonna leave this here: don't fall into the same mindset that the LOTR fans had. It's crazy how that was so recent but everyone has forgotten about it. The LOTR 2012 thread was the second biggest thread on the whole site because people kept raving about how LOTR was "going to last for at least ten years" because "there's so much to cover" and "LOTR is one of the biggest fanbases in the world". I'm starting to see that here, don't get too overconfident for your own sake because you'll end up disappointing yourselves. Of course you should appreciate what's out now and hope for more but don't expect it to run for ten years, because the odds are against that happening. 

Or, they covered the first few movies this year because they're covering everything in chronological order, and after they cover the remaining movies in the next two years they'll stop making sets. "Clearly" is a strong word here.

Yeah, see, this is the boat I'm in. I'm very nostalgic for the original theme, and I'm exactly the kind of person who would be a half-decade or more of sets based on increasingly obscure pieces of lore -- it's not that I wouldn't love to see a bigger expansion, but the odds feel deeply against it. The two Deathly Hallows fllms had more material than the 2010-11 waves dared to cover, and the games as tie-ins, but we still saw the theme discontinued -- and since GoF, it's seemed LEGO would always prefer to do the same five or six main elements. Why do separate Hogwarts locations that build together when you could limit everything to a single plate in a larger castle?

I'm doubting we'll get a second wave at all, and even if we get two or three, none of that would guarantee the theme becoming evergreen when one looks at Jurassic World or the film-based superhero subthemes, which have virtually always lasted a single wave regardless of film or set success, or Lord of the Rings and Indiana Jones, both of which were accompanied by a lot of hype but lasted two or so years barely?

But I won't complain if LEGO keeps the Wizarding World theme around for as long as possible!

[Pulp Detective]

I don't expect for this theme to turn evergreen (even though I would glady welcome this turn of events) I just hope that it'll go on for atleast two more years.Or maybe it'll still be around by the time the final Fantastic Beasts movie hits the theaters.

[LegoHPbrickfilms]

I just hope it will stay long enough to finally make some deathly hallows sets! We didn't get any DH part 1 sets, and just 1 or 2 DH part 2 sets back in 2010 and 11! So at least 2-3 more years should be good enough. I honestly think if they let this line last for too many years, they will run out of ideas and just start remaking sets like the Great hall, Aragog, whomping willow etc... (Like star wars do with remaking the falcon almost every 2-4 years iguess) And i honestly wouldn't like that to happen with Harry Potter! (But that's my opinion though!)  

Edited August 11, 2018 by LegoHPbrickfilms

[Whovastron]

I expect that it will last atleast as long as the Fantastic Beasts series does. A film every couple of years will increase interest in it.

[SpiderJazz]

For you guys. Enjoy! 

 

UCS Hogwarts Castle designer video. 

[RODDY]

9 hours ago, Vindicare said:

 

Star Wars...the theme that recycles the same sets every few years...yeah. I love the theme, but they have a diversifying problem. Of course the reason why they keep making them is because people know them & continue buying them. That would be the same, I believe, with HP. 

They could also release every single building from both Hogsmeade & Diagon Alley, SW has been no different with obscure stuff(10195 was especially obscure & high dollar). Those would appeal to more than just HP fans as they’re basically just buildings. Some may have some over the top decorations, a la Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. The Express will undoubtably be on repeat just like any note worthy SW ship & train fans would also likely buy it. 

Yeah but Star Wars has new movies coming out every year which brings in alot of new set ideas.  And actually in recent years we got some much needed updates like Yoda's Hut and Vader Transformation. Star Wars also has TV Series (Clone Wars Saved) and other mediums such as videogames and comics to do sets on as well. HP doesn't have that advantage it's a limited world. Remember Star Wars comes out three times a year compared to once. Of course they will be remakes. And there are already more new non release sets than Harry Potter: Snoke's Throne Room, Ahch-To Training, Hoth Medical Chamber, Han Solo Speeder, UCS Y Wing. Then some much needed remakes like Yoda's Hut and Cloud City. And you can't remake a train every 4 years there won't be enough changed to warrant purchase. It's not like X Wings where you can build a whole squadron out of them. 

I give HP one more wave for sure, two more about 25/75 chance. Indiana Jones will take its place in 2020. Honestly as long as we get key POA and GOF sets next wave I'll be content and won't complain if the line ends there. I'm not really a fan of anything past 4 besides Half Blood Prince. 

 

[Alegrispa]

12 hours ago, SpiderJazz said:

For you guys. Enjoy! 

 

UCS Hogwarts Castle designer video. 

I can't stand this new format and I also can't help to disagree with every one of their decisions. Stickers my anti-studs. 

[Huigberts Builds]

I just got the Great Hall, Whomping Willow and the entire CMF series (even Graves). I'm so thankful to the (as always) amazing service at the lego store in Gouda. Can't wait to build them.

[LegoFjotten]

17 minutes ago, RODDY said:

And you can't remake a train every 4 years there won't be enough changed to warrant purchase. 

Sure you can, most of the customers will be new. Just look how often police & fire sets come out.

I think we will get at least 3 waves of Harry Potter sets. Due to the long design/production time of the sets they can't really make one wave, see how it goes, and then design another wave. The design of the 2nd has probably been completed some time already, and the third wave is most likely well underway. Basically, in for a penny in for a pound. 

Hopefully that will cover most of the movies and give us a really good collection of figures for mocs. I for one am extremely happy with the number of good minifigures we get just in this wave + CMF series, so a few more waves + hopefully a second CMF series would be excellent!

[GoldenNinja3000]

Interesting to see that the new half arch pieces are exclusive to the D2C so far. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the previous D2C exclusive molds were all hair/head pieces (although Salazar’s hair made it into the Statue of Liberty and I’m sure the half arches will appear in other sets down the line). The set looks great and while I feel the stickers are excessive they do add good detail in places where detail wouldn’t be possible without them. 

[Terrasher]

D2C Hogwarts looks amazing. I can't seem to find any images of the set from above. That'd help picture the width and depth of the set, since the castle goes off at an angle with the bridges.

[Heppy9]

It’s interesting seeing that chap Justin as the designer of the set. Remember seeing him getting the job at lego in a documentary I watched on YouTube a while back. He was assigned to the superhero department when he started.

[GoldenNinja3000]

1 hour ago, Terrasher said:

D2C Hogwarts looks amazing. I can't seem to find any images of the set from above. That'd help picture the width and depth of the set, since the castle goes off at an angle with the bridges.

The width is 27” and the depth is 16”, if that helps at all. 

[Terrasher]

4 hours ago, GoldenNinja3000 said:

The width is 27” and the depth is 16”, if that helps at all. 

Yeah, that's from the official description of the set. What interests me is how far apart the two halves of the castle are (each half being separated by the bridges). 

Are TLG's measurements calculated by having the Great Hall section at the corner of the 27" by 16" area, having the studs of that section align with the width and depth of the set? Or is 27" the maximum width of the set (if the castle were put at an angle like it is in the pictures and measured that way).

 

[sunhuntin]

15 hours ago, Whovastron said:

The Fantastic Beasts films are the excuse for making the sets I’m pretty sure. With the hype around those films every few years, interest in Wizarding World merch with keep coming back.

 

Thin is with the debate about popularity and evergreen. Is that it’s not just lego which is cashing in right now, in the U.K. at least. Over here Primark, a very popular high street clothes store, has a large Harry Potter line of clothes and home items, and they don’t really have any other licences lines except for some reality TV show merch. In Sainsbury’s, a supermarket, Harry Potter Home merch has now got a huge selection, atleast twice as much as what they offer for Star Wars. In fact they had a huge ‘back to Hogwarts’ display at the front of my local store with loss of new merchandise, most of it was sold out straight away.

on top of this, Hamley’s London, the UK’s biggest toy store, apparently has a whole floor dedicated to Harry Potter now, which is unheard of I’m pretty sure, even lego share a floor with Mega Blocks and Kinex.

theres also a new line of action figure dolls that have recently launched which are fairly successful it seems.

of course none of this speaks for long term sales, but interest in this property has greatly increased in recent years from a collection of factors; the children from when the books and films first being released now have their own children that they are introducing it to, the Wizarding world and studio tour attractions, the stage play and book, and of course Fantastic Beasts.

who knows if this hype will last, but atleast for the next year or so, I think Lego should cram out as many sets as possible to cash in on this

It is similar here in New Zealand, and I am sure in Australia. Jayjays, a clothing store, regularly has new HP shirts and other merchanidise available. Another store, The Warehouse [similar to Walmart on a not so huge scale] has recently put together a dedicated HP stand with the Lego sets, clothing, pjs, books, dvds and other merchandise. All of it is selling well. I literally bought the last hoodie at my store a few weeks back, and they haven't been restocked yet. And the online stores are just mind blowing with what they have. I could easily go broke very quickly!

I would imagine Aussie is doing even more than this, with their larger department stores and variety in store types.

[Legoniche]

No one has seemed to mention (and this ties into whether we’ll get ‘new sets’ discussion) how well the sets we already have go together (bricktober pack included) for example, you’ve got the flying car that comes with the whomping willow- if you swap some figures around that we already have in sets or the CMF, you’ve got the scene from the chamber of secrets where harry and ron after the Hogwarts Express- and by doing this, YOU have created a NEW set effectively, sets are based on scenes in the films obviously Andy you have just created An arrangement that Lego hasnt created in their new wave of HP, likewise, you can put the Ford anglia/flying car in aragogs lair, and make the ‘acromantula Escape’ set that hasnt been created yet- and if down the line we get a privet drive set, or inclusion of the privet drive in a knight bus set- you can make the ‘rescuing Harry’ set- as well you can switch one of the quidditch slytherin players, with draco, and replace snape with hagrid, boom you have the quidditch scene From chamber of secrets- maybe even throw in dobby, you’ve got luna from the half blood prince to again create your own set of the Hogwarts Express instead of Lego having to remake it specially for that film, likewise create a new set ‘the mirror of erised’ and include Dumbledore and invisibility cloak harry- you have a set of the scene from philosophers stone, as well you get hooch in the bricktober pack, and in the great hall, harry and Susan bones are seen flying on brooms, they give you two brooms, and then the chest of quidditch balls in the quidditch match, so you can create ‘the flying lesson’ set without legoniche having to make a set of it, but apparently they are making one, which I will welcome with wide open arms.

 

my point is, Lego only have to make the areas, we can create the scenes, I want HP to be an evergreen theme, but if we don’t gets get a set of EVERY scene, we can make them, officially without having to moc, because Lego, in the 5 set they’ve given us, have actually given us 10+ sets in disguise, just have to look for them, the wave we got is a lot bigger than you think...

[BenderBrau]

7 minutes ago, Legoniche said:

...my point is, Lego only have to make the areas, we can create the scenes, I want HP to be an evergreen theme, but if we don’t gets get a set of EVERY scene, we can make them, officially without having to moc, because Lego, in the 5 set they’ve given us, have actually given us 10+ sets in disguise, just have to look for them, the wave we got is a lot bigger than you think...

Yeah, but that's Harry Potter in general, different scenes in the same, few places. Literally, there's seven main recurring locations (eight if you count the train), although three of those can be divided. Once you have enough figures, you can recreate pretty much every scene you can remember.

[Roebuck]

Time will show how many sets/waves we get..

If Lego want to they can keep the line going for many years:

•  Hogwarts parts set is easily 10 sets if they like
• They made 40 CMF figs from batman so 100 from HP/FB is no problem
• Diagon alley could be like winter village with a set of one shop per year for a long time
• Ministry of magic from each country (FB will most likely visit several more in the future) could be a huge D2C set series
• So far we have gotten 2 FB sets from 2 movies, we could get plenty more from those two and the 3 next films
• Etc

Several members mention the LOTR as a example with its huge fan base, but how many of those are children in the Lego buying age?! Very few I would guess compared to HP..

I am sure Lego will make a second wave in 2019 (or 2020), after that it depends on the sale how many waves we get.. So better get everyone you know to buy the sets for themselves and/or their kids