Wizarding World 2024 - Rumors & Discussion

[chris6507]

11 minutes ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

I forgot what the description of the potions classroom said, but maybe it actually consists of two modules or comes with its own castle section it can slide out of?

Personally, I like this modular system a lot more than the previous one. Now let‘s hope they‘ll release more than just a small handful of modules this time!

Previous system was awful. Thing I hated the most was how broken up the larger sets felt being forced into those stupid modules. There's a significant difference in the build experience between a $20 set and a $200 set. When I rebuilt all the sets from the previous iteration last year I was so bored. So, so bored! It was like building 20 or so $10-$20 sets rather than building $80, $100 or even $200 sets. I still have them all built in what's a pretty good rendition of Hogwarts Castle. But I just look at it without feeling disgusted by the awful, awful build experience.

[brickbride]

25 minutes ago, chris6507 said:

Previous system was awful. Thing I hated the most was how broken up the larger sets felt being forced into those stupid modules.

 

If you feel that way, I'm not sure how much you'll enjoy the new system since it's still going to be modular. But we'll see.

[Mordarch]

I think the issue with the previous modular version was the rather boxy lay-out of every module, which is logical with how that modular system worked, they needed to fit next and onto eachother. If the new modular system is going with interchangeable interiors whilst the exterior keeps it shape it might be able to have the best of both worlds; a great looking exterior with lots of customisation options on the interior.

[DannyPowers]

To the previous poster's point, the new system almost looks like It's a few $15-20 sets combined with a $50ish shell that's designed to hold the other sets.

[Virginia_Bricks]

1 hour ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

I forgot what the description of the potions classroom said, but maybe it actually consists of two modules or comes with its own castle section it can slide out of?

Personally, I like this modular system a lot more than the previous one. Now let‘s hope they‘ll release more than just a small handful of modules this time!

I think you are right with that is comes with its own castle section that it can slide out of. Based on price and leaked piece count it seems to be around the size of the boathouse with more smaller pieces, so I am guessing it will be a rock cliff exterior that something in the 2025 wave will sit on. And the slide out portion is a play feature more than a modularity feature.

[Gorilla94]

I hope we get a real Fluffy remake the same quality as the Troll and basilisk.

[Bugbot20082]

I’m very pleased with the new house ghost and Professor Vector, this was a good choice of figs to include in this set. Nice also to see new Hufflepuff students too and I’m so glad to see the CMF Dumbledore hair/hat being used again. I’m a little disappointed with hey used for he scarecrow hat for Vector, she needed something more elegant 

Troll looks very good and well made with painted/printed clothes etc, an excellent big-fig and one of the main attractions of the set, I hope the bathroom module includes some troll smashing play features 

Is the gold scissors in Malkins a new colour for those? 

Fair play to re-use the librarian hat for Madame Malkin, but the re-use of many other existing parts and prints makes the building look like a MOC in my eyes, apart from the stickers which are great 

Mandrake is excellent, very stand out and uses many original building techniques which gives it its own aesthetic compared to Groot or the LotR Ent but also stays true to the real prop, I love all the entangled vines and roots, and the huge leaves with printing are impressive. I only wish it had come with a Herbology Hermione using a recolour of that Hidden-side hair with moulded headphones, maybe that will appear in a future greenhouse set 

 

 

Edited April 27 by Bugbot20082

[krimimimi]

I'm not feeling it. The description for the Potions set was it was a single modular unit, and I very much hope it's wrong. How can that be worth 40 EUR? And either these modules come without castle framework, in which case they're apparently far too expensive and they'll take too much shelf space to store, or we're getting soaked on the exterior framework.

They're still no wider than the ones we had in the 2021+ system, we remain stuck at 16 studs, although it looks like they may have some of the necessary added depth, they're doing this at the expense of walls that can actually be useful for details in the build, and yet still cost us that area in much needed floor space with those odd pony walls. You see that in the Hufflepuff common room. We've got a small couch, a table, a bog standard chair piece, a fireplace and that's it. Try a making a classroom, to not look stingy you need 4 studs per row of desks and seats, with fourteen to work with, that's two jammed back to back, two studs free and then the teacher's desk, and no real room for a chalkboard, or you skip the teacher's desk, but that's also weird and not suited to every class. And it's only two studs free because the hair of the back row of students and the teacher extends into the "wall" / doorway space. Sixteen was always just that bit tight. 

As a whole, I'm getting really nervous about the direction they're taking. Too much previously covered ground in the sets, only very marginally improved, if at all, too few new additions to justify them this soon, and the prices... Previously we had pivotal scenes (like the trio bonding as they battle the troll (albeit a few minifigs shy)) available for small money, in small sets. Now we need to buy a very pricey set to have that scene. (Or everyone bricklinks the troll.) The price per unit in the D2C DA, even after the price hike, no discounts applied, is 112 EUR for Ollivander's and Scribbulus. Here Ollivander's (despite the lovely new wands) is so pared back, and now compare Madams Malkin's to Scribbulus and ask if what's on offer is worth the 12 EUR saved? And nowhere in all of this are we seeing the Quidditch and school uniform Accessory Packs anymore that Star Wars seems to enjoy. If you want those other Houses, you need to buy into expensive sets, those ridiculous trunks, or something like the Banners, which still aren't a remotely good way to come by other House uniforms.

I'm not sure how to phrase this, but as a fan, I don't feel respected by many of these choices, if that makes sense? I'm not an ATM. You do need to deliver something enticing for the price. 

Sorry for being a downer. It's just I was so looking forward to this, and now I'm disappointed. 

[Virginia_Bricks]

1 hour ago, krimimimi said:

I'm not feeling it. The description for the Potions set was it was a single modular unit, and I very much hope it's wrong. How can that be worth 40 EUR? And either these modules come without castle framework, in which case they're apparently far too expensive and they'll take too much shelf space to store, or we're getting soaked on the exterior framework.

They're still no wider than the ones we had in the 2021+ system, we remain stuck at 16 studs, although it looks like they may have some of the necessary added depth, they're doing this at the expense of walls that can actually be useful for details in the build, and yet still cost us that area in much needed floor space with those odd pony walls. You see that in the Hufflepuff common room. We've got a small couch, a table, a bog standard chair piece, a fireplace and that's it. Try a making a classroom, to not look stingy you need 4 studs per row of desks and seats, with fourteen to work with, that's two jammed back to back, two studs free and then the teacher's desk, and no real room for a chalkboard, or you skip the teacher's desk, but that's also weird and not suited to every class. And it's only two studs free because the hair of the back row of students and the teacher extends into the "wall" / doorway space. Sixteen was always just that bit tight. 

As a whole, I'm getting really nervous about the direction they're taking. Too much previously covered ground in the sets, only very marginally improved, if at all, too few new additions to justify them this soon, and the prices... Previously we had pivotal scenes (like the trio bonding as they battle the troll (albeit a few minifigs shy)) available for small money, in small sets. Now we need to buy a very pricey set to have that scene. (Or everyone bricklinks the troll.) The price per unit in the D2C DA, even after the price hike, no discounts applied, is 112 EUR for Ollivander's and Scribbulus. Here Ollivander's (despite the lovely new wands) is so pared back, and now compare Madams Malkin's to Scribbulus and ask if what's on offer is worth the 12 EUR saved? And nowhere in all of this are we seeing the Quidditch and school uniform Accessory Packs anymore that Star Wars seems to enjoy. If you want those other Houses, you need to buy into expensive sets, those ridiculous trunks, or something like the Banners, which still aren't a remotely good way to come by other House uniforms.

I'm not sure how to phrase this, but as a fan, I don't feel respected by many of these choices, if that makes sense? I'm not an ATM. You do need to deliver something enticing for the price. 

Sorry for being a downer. It's just I was so looking forward to this, and now I'm disappointed. 

Honestly battle packs like Star Wars make very little sense for Harry Potter because no one is building an army of Harrys, Lunas, etc..... Battle packs work well for figures you want 10+ of that are the same (or for some 100+), which I just don't think there are for a theme like Harry Potter besides maybe dementors. Also Star Wars has 2x the number of sets a year because of its popularity so there are more things they can experiment with there.

[BacktoBricks]

Phew! Well I'm glad you said it @krimimimi

I get what they are trying to do with the concept of providing both a playset and a castle that appeals to collectors that want to display a good outside view. It can't be easy for the designers to work with that concept whilst being stuck to a particular price point. That being said, I can't get behind these modules; blurry or not I don't think they are going to look much better with clearer images. Of course the concept could work, just not on a budget basically. The last iteration might have been basic and blocky, but it did at least allow for creativity and MOC expansion. This concept will of course allow the same and I'm sure we will see some fantastic MOC modules to replace those under the Great Hall and then you will have a system that looks better in the outside than the last, but it won't change the fact that I just can't see a set on a price point really deliver on both exterior and interior whether that's the Great Hall or something smaller like Potions.

 

That being said, in a way I'm really glad this Great Hall hasn't impressed me. I was dreading getting sucked in to buying yet another castle iteration as much as I would love to be excited by the concept. I'm very glad that I'm only interested in some of the minifigures. However, I'm sure that mindset is going to be quite commonplace and the exclusive minifigures of Dumbledore, Professor Vector and the Fat Friar are going to cost a fair amount on BL, let alone the troll who I think is going to appeal to a wider audience than even Harry Potter collectors. It might end up being one of those situations where buying the minifigures separately will end up costing nearly as much as the set, but there's no way I want to get dragged in to buying the set just to get them.

 

You're point about the Quidditch uniforms reminded me that yesterday I came across the Lego Harry Potter Official Yearbook 2025 which comes with a Quidditch Harry who has no cape, not even a cloth one let alone the rubber ones used in the Quidditch Trunk. I also saw the Lupin from the big Hogwarts Express the other day in a activity book called 'Duelling a Dementor', but he has plain brown legs not the printed ones similar to how the Voldemort from the Hogwarts Battle set can be found with a plain slope piece in a book rather than the printed version it comes with in the set. Then you have Filch in the owlery with the plain legs and not the printed legs that are clearly still in production and in another set that is still on shelves. In some ways I get it; budget constraints of those books and the amount allocated for each book probably means it's a necessity to downgrade the minifigures and the kids that receive them probably won't know or care too much. You also, I would assume, have the fact that there is a third party involved in their production. But Filch in the owlery is just wrong to me; maybe it was plain legs Filch or one less owl or something like that due to the allotted budget, but when it is clear you can do better, downgrading him is just a pure indication of profit margin. He is available with printed legs so clearly the only thing stopping him from being included with printed legs is the fact that saving a few cents is worth more than giving the customer a better product.

I also get what you mean about the price hikes too. In terms of Ollivanders though, I do have a couple of counters. In the UK at least WWW is an Argos exclusive and can often be found for around the £65, saving £20 off the Lego RRP and making it effectively just over £30 cheaper than the WWW in the D2C Diagon Alley which cost £389.99 for the set and so basically £97.50 per unit. So that to me is enough of a price difference to justify the smaller size, especially when you get quite a few minifigures with the set. Then you have the fact that selling the DA shops separately means some people who cannot afford to spend well over £300 all at once can literally start small and either spread the cost over a longer time period, or they could just get the shops they like. From a space perspective too, just displaying a single building can definitely be more practical. So I have nothing against these smaller DA sets. 

The increase in the price for the largest castle module is disappointing though when I don't think anybody is really sold on it. If it's not exciting us steady Lego fans and collectors, will the increases prices start to alienate the more casual fans or parent / grandparent buys and effect sales?  The Ford Anglia and Forbidden Forest: Magical Creatures sets are both currently set to retire at the end of the year and whilst I can see them potentially being extended, if not, why such a small shelf life for the small sets? They are perfect for little display pieces that draw in casual HP fans, work as gifts for kids that could then get them sucked into the theme etc, not to mention the Ford Anglia will work well with the D2C The Burrow that will only have been out three months by the time the Ford Anglia is set to retire. Unless they go all Whomping Willow and Privet Drive and include the Ford Anglia in yet another set and have it in The Burrow too, then surely that would miss out on a lot of sales of people who buy The Burrow and then want the Weasley's Car to go with it.

Anyway, sorry for doubling down on your disappointment. 

[Gorilla94]

27 minutes ago, Virginia_Bricks said:

 Battle packs work well for figures you want 10+ of that are the same (or for some 100+), which I just don't think there are for a theme like Harry Potter.

To be honest I never understood that. I was very happy to get Ki Adi Mundi in a cheap little set as an adult. The bounty hunter Battlepack with 4 unique characters was awesome, too. As a kid I didn't have the money to army build and was just glad to get one droid transporter and one clone Battlepack...

[AnonymousAnonAnon]

I'm conflicted. I quite like the modules for my young son. A problem with the bigger sets is that, if you break one playing with it, it's a bit daunting having to build the whole thing again. This design makes that issue much more manageable. That said, it is very expensive for an age range that young, especially since the new HBO series will change the entire aesthetic for his demographic in a few years.

[Gorilla94]

2 hours ago, krimimimi said:

If you want those other Houses, you need to buy into expensive sets, those ridiculous trunks, or something like the Banners, which still aren't a remotely good way to come by other House uniforms

Another option would be bricklink... I bought 20 medium legs and 10 standard legs with robe printing 1€ each. Hufflepuff robes were 1,50€ each. Slytherin were a bit more expensive, but I wanted pretty ones with open robes to match the legs perfectly. Ok, they still need heads, hair and wands, but it isn't too bad in my opinion. The only thing missing are some Ravenclaw robes and i am fine with my students. It would be cool to get those special student robes like Percy has for the other houses, too. 

Another idea for a cmf: a frog choir member with a new big fat frog mould... In the best scenario a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff with a more elaborate robe.

Edited April 26 by Gorilla94

[krimimimi]

1 hour ago, BacktoBricks said:

Anyway, sorry for doubling down on your disappointment. 

No, it's nice to know I'm not alone.  I take your point on the smaller DA-lite shops. While I do appreciate them making them accessible to different budgets, if they never turn around and offer DA2 with a proper Malkin's, Owl Post, Eeylops, etc. then I'll remain displeased that such a small amount of new set is dangled as temptation to get those DA-lite sets instead. That's the thread, not much new on offer, but give us all your monehs.

@Gorilla94, unfortunately the shipping adds up when you bricklink the lot. but you're right that it's cheaper than trunks and Banners. @Virginia_Bricks, they could run through annual packs of all four House cardigans, Quidditch uniforms, House jumpers, robes open, robes closed... give us four or five heads, four or five hair pieces, and allow us to mix and match to create the student body or sig figs. I don't need dozens of Harrys & Lunas etc, although that's still closer to my ideal than having to get them from trunks or bricklink. They should do the same with Death Eaters, you could mix and match, with four of each, hair, heads, torsos, that's 64 different possible combinations, double that if it's got a 2nd reverse face. 

[BrickBob Studpants]

3 hours ago, krimimimi said:

And nowhere in all of this are we seeing the Quidditch and school uniform Accessory Packs anymore that Star Wars seems to enjoy.

Those were discontinued for all themes, the last ones having been released in 2022  I really liked those, even with their limitations

[krimimimi]

38 minutes ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Those were discontinued for all themes, the last ones having been released in 2022  I really liked those, even with their limitations

I'm sorry to hear that, but thank you for mentioning it. It makes me feel less taken advantage of as a Harry Potter fan. 

[BrickBob Studpants]

Pictures of the minifigs included in the Ollivander’s and potion classroom sets can be found in the usual place!

Love the new Snape minifig (with arm printing!!) and that new flask piece! So cool to finally see a rounded one like that after it was teased all the way back in 2001

[strangely]

Two new wand molds. I'm surprised, but it's nice to have wand options now.

[Huigberts Builds]

I was wondering, are we absolutely sure this is supposed to be professor Vector? Because other than the matching colours, she looks quite different than how she did om screen. Most notably ofcourse the reused hatpiece, which is a far departure from the more elegant one in the movies. But also the clothes don't have those horizontal lines (latest?) that were present in the movie and on her Lego HP Years 1-4 figure. Not to mention that her headpiece appears to be medium tan rather than light nougat if my eyes aren't mistaken. So I was thinking, could she be this unidentified Hogwarts employee instead (who appeared in both the first and the last movie).

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/harrypotter/images/e/e0/MCgeegeeHP1.png/revision/latest?cb=20100707114429

The hat looks a lot closer to what Lego used here.

Not to mention it was lego themselves who used that one actress for Vector in their games. I believe she was just an unnamed extra before that. So lego can easily use other background characters and add names to them, if not retcon the ones they did before.

[chris6507]

10 hours ago, brickbride said:

 

If you feel that way, I'm not sure how much you'll enjoy the new system since it's still going to be modular. But we'll see.

That's why i'm waiting to see what it's all like before I decide. :-D Jumped into the previous system too quickly. Not making the same mistake again.

[Huigberts Builds]

Oh wow, we finally have the perfect Snape. I love him. Young Pansy Parkinson is also a nice edition. The Flower witch looks great. Although personally I think I might give her Madam Malkin's hat instead and use the beehive hairpiece in dark grey on Malkin. Idk, maybe not.

The new wand pieces are also very interesting. It looks like one is designed specifically to look like the wands the heroes use and the other for the villains. As one looks a lot like Neville's Wand and the other, if recoulered, could work perfectly for both the boney hook wand Voldemort has as the Snake head wand Lucius has.

[Kaijumeister]

11 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Personally, I like this modular system a lot more than the previous one. Now let‘s hope they‘ll release more than just a small handful of modules this time!

Same here, this already beats the post-2021 Hogwarts system for me. The interiors for that system were extremely minimalistic which was off-putting. Looking forward to seeing more pictures of the Great Hall and Potions Classroom.

[JeanGreyForever]

Snape looks great and he desperately needed some alterations after being more or less the same minifigure for so many years.

Love that we're getting Pansy circa POA.

Is the boy in the wheelchair supposed to be any particular character? 

[Darth Shadowthrone]

Has there been any news of when the official reveal for the sets will happen? Maybe early next week? 

[Huigberts Builds]

Looking at the flower witch in the movie, I kinda wished they had given us a recolour of the Fairy Godmother hood piece, that would've worked perfectly. Although I get why they didn't do that.