Wizarding World 2023 - Rumors & Discussion

[chris6507]

Does anyone know of any decent instructions on how this Hogwarts Castle (2021-2023) all combines together? Watched some youtube videos and I think it's all together right, but surely it's not as s*** as it looks. Lol. Does the bridge not connect at all? Thought i'd saved some colour codes instructions a few months ago, but can't find it now.

On another subject, is anyone else feeling apprehensive about this Diagon Alley set reveal? Being the most desired set ever since I bought Diagon Alley, I'm feeling really nervous now about what the quality of it is going to be like. May just be my personal opinion, but is seriously feels like the quality of LEGO Harry Potter has absolutely tanked in recent years and i'm just so hoping that by some miracle it's not as bad as the last few years releases, but at the same time super nervous that i'm going to see it and get that same sinking feeling I've gotten with the last few waves (most recent moreso) reveals.

[MaxHeadroom]

5 hours ago, chris6507 said:

On another subject, is anyone else feeling apprehensive about this Diagon Alley set reveal? Being the most desired set ever since I bought Diagon Alley, I'm feeling really nervous now about what the quality of it is going to be like. May just be my personal opinion, but is seriously feels like the quality of LEGO Harry Potter has absolutely tanked in recent years and i'm just so hoping that by some miracle it's not as bad as the last few years releases, but at the same time super nervous that i'm going to see it and get that same sinking feeling I've gotten with the last few waves (most recent moreso) reveals.

Casting aside the Hogwarts sets, foldable things, and oversized builds (3 things which make up most the line these days) leaves a mostly solid collection of sets. Hogsmeade, the Thestral carriage, the Shrieking Shack, Grimmauld Place, the second task, and maybe to a lesser extent the WWW and Hogwarts Express remakes are all on par with the 2018-20 level of quality. The only thing that makes me nervous is the D2C Hogwarts Express.
 

In general with modern HP if the concept is good, the set is still good. If we were talking about a trunk full of Gringotts rectangles with a buildable Griphook model instead of a building above an underground section with a dragon, then I’d be worried. 

Edited July 15, 2023 by MaxHeadroom

[krimimimi]

@chris6507 Yeah, it basically is.  

More here: https://www.mecabricks.com/en/models/1XjdNKOna8b, plus the colour key helps. (As it's from early May and pre-BoH instructions, there were some slight changes that came later, but nothing major.)  

On the digital model, if you zoom in on the exposed end of the BoH (you can zoom and twist the build around to see things more clearly ), you'll see the light grey brick for the technic connection pins. The same brick is on the other side, so you can attach it to what is otherwise the rear of the upper part of the middle section of the BoH set (*whew*), so the bridge is not completely unattached. The connections definitely aren't robust for a build of that size, but it's enough to keep things together on your display table. (I would not try to move it that way, though.)

As the other sections of the curved / bent bit of the castle are basically modules, by changing the angle on the bend of the Infirmary, you can change the angle of how the bridge meets the Great Hall's courtyard. None of the angles made the bridge match up cleanly on that side, and none of the roof parts seem to account for the gap, but that's not visible except from above, so I went with an angle that made the build look more satisfying. You could probably build a small piece to cover it easily enough, but there are plenty of gaps on the back section, to the extent that one more didn't make enough of a difference to me on my physical build. (Mileage varies, obviously. There's no "right" answer, it just needs to make you happy / happier. )

 

As for Gringotts / the quality of recent sets, the more time I spent with the new RoR and BoH, the more I liked them, and the 2nd Task is straight up banging. I am seriously pleased with all three sets. The new WWW has left me some hope that even if I don't find the D2C Gringotts to my taste for the price, they'll release a smaller set in the not all too distant future that I can double up on or just mod. I've decided that was the goal for releasing it now, to anticipate and head off some of the inevitable complaints upon the D2C's release. Options shall be forthcoming... We'll see. 

[Micmac]

19 hours ago, chris6507 said:

On another subject, is anyone else feeling apprehensive about this Diagon Alley set reveal? 

I think everyone is anxious to see what they come up with but like MaxHeadroom said there are a few tiers of sets now and the quality differs across them all. I think all the D2C sets are all very well designed, they are not everyones cup of tea though and the cost of them is definitely a deterrent.

I think if you asked the lego community over the last few years what they wanted they would have said the bank that fits with the rest of the Alley with the dragon on top. So I think the main issue with Gringotts will be the underground area. If it consumes lots of bricks but doesn't really add much to the set then i think people will be mad that they have to spend so much when they only really want the top section.

It seems from the description that the upper level is compatible with the old set. It may have a plate base but it shouldn't stand out too much. And even if the scales are a bit different between Gringotts and the alley I'm sure it won't be too bad. I'm looking forward to seeing how they do the dome roof and if we will get some new parts designed for the set. So i'm optimistic and hopefully it will feels worth the money but the underground section is my main concern and if you seperate the bank to add it to the alley will the underground section be enough by itself to display. We shall see soon hopefully. 

And just on Krimimimi comment about them releasing a smaller bank if you don't want the big one. I would have said no but look at the two WWW on sale at the same time. I think it is very likely we get another bank in the next year or two like the new WWW shop. It would have sounded crazy a few years ago but it sounds like a very lego 2023 thing to do now.

[brickbride]

2 hours ago, Micmac said:

I think it is very likely we get another bank in the next year or two like the new WWW shop. It would have sounded crazy a few years ago but it sounds like a very lego 2023 thing to do now.

What's crazy would be expecting everyone to shell out EUR 430 for a single building.

Also, the new WWW isn't exactly a low-cost option, since if you bought four sets at that price, you'd have spent about the same as for DA, but for a very scaled-down version of it.

Unforunately, both are very LEGO things to do these days.

[Alas_Earwax]

I'm already telling myself 'I don't need it' before the reveal. It's just so expensive. I have the alley from 2011, so I'm just clinging to that

[BrickBob Studpants]

6 hours ago, Alas_Earwax said:

I'm already telling myself 'I don't need it' before the reveal. It's just so expensive. I have the alley from 2011, so I'm just clinging to that

As nostalgic as the 2011 set is to me, the new one is 100% gonna wipe the floor with it  It will make the 2011 set look like the 2002 one.

Speaking of Gringotts: If the reveal rumour is correct, TLG can be proud of themselves! No leaks this time (unless I just jynxed it)  

…Then again, that‘s also a good counterargument for why the rumour could be bogus. Anyway, fingers crossed for tomorrow!

[Surge]

have the 2020 alley, ive really slowed down my harry potter collecting (only get 2-3 sets a wave atp) and i really dont want to drop 430 (?) but i have a feeling the second pictures come out i just wont be able to resist 

[mirkwoodspiders]

I really hope the Gringott's reveal truly is tomorrow. I trust exabrickslegogo, but I would have thought a picture or two would have leaked by now before an official reveal.

[Falconfan1414]

2 Harry Potter designers have teased gringotts reveal tomorrow

[BrickBob Studpants]

Nice to have it confirmed! Can‘t wait

[mirkwoodspiders]

50 minutes ago, Falconfan1414 said:

2 Harry Potter designers have teased gringotts reveal tomorrow

excellent

[RODDY]

Can’t wait!!! This last wave was so disappointing to me so fingers crossed Gringott’s delivers in spades. 

[BacktoBricks]

A grainy pic has leaked of the front box art so official reveal is imminent it seems. :)

[Accio Lego]

4 minutes ago, BacktoBricks said:

A grainy pic has leaked of the front box art so official reveal is imminent it seems. :)

Ooo where’s that? I’ve been checking the basic Instagram leak hashtags expecting something like that but haven’t seen anything yet 

EDIT: Nevermind, my slow internet is just striking again. Looks fabulous even grainy. I wasn’t expecting the underground section to be that pretty looking. And 2/3 of the recycled figs are SS Hagrid and Harry, can’t really tell who any of the rest are. 

Edited July 17, 2023 by Accio Lego

[BacktoBricks]

3 minutes ago, Accio Lego said:

Ooo where’s that? I’ve been checking the basic Instagram leak hashtags expecting something like that but haven’t seen anything yet 

I saw it on a FB group so don't know where they got it from. It's grainy, but basically you have the lower level twisting up to the bank itself and a dragon on top. For it to be display like the box art though there must be some strong technic going on in the middle or it will be totally top heavy.

Edited July 17, 2023 by BacktoBricks

[Brick Clicker]

1 minute ago, Accio Lego said:

Ooo where’s that? I’ve been checking the basic Instagram leak hashtags expecting something like that but haven’t seen anything yet 

https://assets.legal.services.lego.com/ecerts/6426010_305_eudoc_uk_10330400.pdf

Lego posted it ahead of time here :)

[Chris10]

1414Falconfan has posted it on his IG account.

Looks great but the underground section is a lot of pieces which is a big waste if wanting to connect to diagon Alley!

Edited July 17, 2023 by Chris10

[Accio Lego]

8 minutes ago, Chris10 said:

1414Falconfan has posted it on his IG account.

Looks great but the underground section is a lot of pieces which is a big waste if wanting to connect to diagon Alley!

My current display setup is a bookcase like arrangement so I’ve got my fingers crossed that the underground section is short enough to slide in the lower shelf right underneath where the building will sit. (I’ll just have to move my 2002 Chamber of Secrets somewhere new.) That will let me connect it to the big Diagon Alley set while also keeping the vaults underneath. 

[brickbride]

On 7/13/2023 at 5:42 PM, BrickBob Studpants said:

Hope it‘ll be worth it, but judging by what we know already, it does have „set a the year“ potential!

Given what LEGO HP has come up with this year, that's not exactly a high bar. What else is going to be the highlight of the year - buildable Dobby? :-(

---

The leaked pic looks pretty cool. I dig it. Not that I'll buy it, EUR 430 is waaaaay above my LEGO set budget. However, I see three immediate problems:

1) The entire structure with the underground section looks very cool, but it doesn't give me any vibes of a bank in a busy shopping street whatsoever. In fact it reminds me most of the Lake Task with the underwater section and then the tower above. Or maybe something fairlylandish like caves full of dark creatures with a human fortress above which, yeah, isn't wholly inaccurate in concept but entirely lacks the mundanity aspect of "Let's go to the bank to withdraw money for return-to-school shopping."

2) All the people who want to display this next to Diagon Alley are forced to scrap the best part of it - they'd probably be happier with just the top section for EUR 200 or so. And even if you add the lower part on, like, a lower shelf or something, the vibes don't mesh for me. The 2020 DA may be full of magic shops but it's still a recognisably mundane shopping street, whereas, again, this (the lower part at least) feels much more fairytale-ish.

3) With the showy underground section and the way this is structured, the dragon on top looks unimpressive size-wise and frankly barely noticable compared to, again, the caverns.

I don't know. It's a cool visual but it feels like several missed opportunities at the same time. That's my first impression, anyway.

Edited July 17, 2023 by brickbride

[Micmac]

The joy blurry lego pictures brings you. I thought it was fake for a bit. I actually think the underground section looks much better than I thought, how it holds up the bank will be fun to see. Hopefully its easy to seperate. and the best news, we get more shops, pet and broom shop i'd say.  Can't wait to see the official pics. 

[Borex]

Looks great! 

[Surge]

wow looks really good 

 

so curious to see how it is able to be strong enough to hold the bank up

 

also curious what the two shops on either side are

[mirkwoodspiders]

I'm excited to see how the drop-down feature works for the cart as it travels to the vaults.

The grainy picture looks great. I will not sleep well tonight waiting for the reveal.

Honestly, the more I look at it, the toughest thing to figure out from the pic for me is the scale. If it's compatible with the large DA as has been said, this thing is fairly substantial.

[Scarilian]

Kinda feel like it should have been three seperate builds at the moment - the Dragon, Gringotts with side buildings, and the Caves/Vault. Each section kinda doesn't feel like it gets the attention it deserves.

Edited July 18, 2023 by Scarilian