empiresperish

I think we're seeing the full extent of the new lead designer and team with this wave being essentially a reboot for new customers. The 2023 picks here feel to me like a huge contrast from the last two years which probably had a lot of ideas and models that had been planned for a completionist's dream under Bessa. A year 1 express, two buildable creatures identifiable to casual fans, trunk redo, a DH2 set with nothing super DH specific to the build, WWW as if Diagon Alley never happened or doesn't contain shops that still haven't been made into a set.. Even 2021 anniversary wave had excellent accessories and details. I was really expecting the patronus to wow and win me over instantly but the blurry leak looked better than this. The express has almost nothing worth picking up, and yhe build for the station is a huge letdown in expected quality imo. Amazing that I thought dobby and WWW were leading up to the good set reveals. I picked a great year to stop being a completionist, going to be a lot of saved money for a few bricklink pickups just like the lot of you it seems. I will be extremely surprised now if Gringotts follows the DA D2C design language and isn't just an impressive display piece not meant to mesh with the street. Gray baseplates and round 1x1s aren't that hard to get.

3 piece toilet to go with the RoR's sink room

Really should have made Dobby like hedwig and fawkes so you can turn a crank and have him hit himself with a lamp.

This would have been a great opportunity for the owl with spread wings to be recolored. Gunmetal, gray, or even black would all have been appreciated on the post office. I do like the puking pastille display and most of the figs. Seems like a big downgrade on the building just to use the curved windows they could have included in the original DA. Not sure the pieces from this would make for a good 3rd floor addition to that one but I imagine some of us will try. I'm definately prepared for blank gray plates instead of the cobbled baseplate for Gringotts, if there's even sidewalk area. Adding: omg I missed Arnold. I wonder if he'll be in the express, but that makes this an instabuy

The sonic sets' Eggman torso would be perfect for an Aunt Marge! Probably not the only one to think that immediately. I guess we will have to wait for next year to see if they utilize it but it's a pretty generic shape to reprint on.

Why are all your takes so dismissive in every thread I keep seeing you in? I'm surprised a more detailed similar blade hasn't already come from Ninjago, and I doubt the Marvel team would make a new mold, however they could definately use a more interesting part for a Ronin fig than a weapon most people already have. For one of the most glaring omissions from the Infinity Saga branding they could at least make it special, in this hypothetical.

Needed a good laugh today amidst all this temple of gloom. I'm here for this scorched earth energy over leaks no one was supposed to know about.

The Pinocchio CMF figure looks to have red mid legs with nougat printing, but alas black shoe print as well. Usually those are thicker colors but I'm not sold on the inside and backs being such a dominant hue. So close.

You must have a big problem with the way a lot of sets are split then. I'd prefer less books because storing them, especially the ones with multiple sizes, is a way bigger pain than someone having to open a pdf for an hour. The actual design of the set, and the stuff included that the designers had input on, however, is for sure worth $16.67 a room. If you divvied up the figures and accessories, those would still be dream sets to most of the people on here who moan about larger sets not being broken up into smaller ones all the time. Everyone wants anniversary style modules like the bathroom and those would most likely be built virtually identically with the same tan pillars and panels.

Having nearly identical builds is perfect for a location featuring stacks of nearly identical offices. If they had only made one of each kind it would be the normal cheapout approach they do 90% of the time for repetative structures. Use the app or the free PDF to group build, that's such a niche complaint to have 6 people work on one set. Sure I don't love the actual construction of the sections to death, the red is too bright and some of the pieces are a bit jumbled looking, but for a non d2c to be that respectable and have a big presence it's far more meat than is normally on offer. This isn't an arch I'd die in nor do I think I'd change anyone's mind, but it's a much better location set than they could and usually make.

Yes the Ministry felt extra special to me not just because it's a location we've desired for so long, or that it was DH1 based, but because it's one of the few sets where buying another to expand it feels worth it. Around maybe 90% of a second copy is usable; the figs are either good/useful duplicates or have alternate heads; the accessories are good to amass; lots of builds benefit from 2x, especially the prophecies and lower pipe segments to me; the overall size and impression of the doubled columns ends up actually feeling like a set worthy of the price. I'm happily working on both versions of the fountain and the second archway has good pieces to add extra frills to the rest. The second phone booth found the perfect home nestled with my town hall modular so even that didn't go to waste. I got it for the stairway GWP but I find I didn't even need to sweeten the deal in the end. After the single 2007 set anything substantial from my two favorites in the series, OotP and HBP, are like decade-and-a-half dreams come true. I'd say the bathroom module comes close too but am gutting most of it for a custom troll bathroom and I wouldn't have done so if it didn't hit $12 on amazon. The 2nd task soon joins the Ministry of Magic miracle set as another that's almost entirely worth doubling/tripling up.

That's some weird tone and community gatekeeping. If they get mad enough to post it means they feel strongly about it enough to share their opinions. Better than sloughing through 500 pages of the same people making the same content-anemic posts tbh. The builds of the two ship sets look really good to me but the actual superheroes and main draw to the sets are severely lacking to a ridiculous degree. I do feel for the designers, as they must have a really dire budget for these regardless of the rising price and probably are forced with some hard decisions on who to include if they're even given materials for all the new characters. A handful of prints (some of which are pointless face variants) throughout three sets is just not enough. It's also possible Marvel merchandising is pushing toys of just the protagonists like usual, but for building sets that contain plot elements and specific scenarios from the movie they should have an exception here. I understand the team takes priority but then maybe include the whole team... allot more necessary print budget! I see no point in getting these myself as I have all the guardians, more than one new character would have pushed me over the edge for the nice model of the Bowie. Please lego gods let the NWH be real to rescue 2023.

I think this is the year for me to cut back on the completionism now that I have reached 100% a month before the 2023 sets. It will be easy to focus on minifig scale location sets considering they seem to be phasing them out. I do love the existing castle and a smaller microscale doesn't really tempt me...... but now I dread what desirable exclusive figure/s it may contain. A new molded Fang that never appears elsewhere... would make perfect sense. Surely something from years 1-3. Sand red or satin Lockhart robes would get me to break my resolution instantly.

Can't believe we're going to have a beautiful $100 Burrow and a beautiful $250+ Burrow at 1.5x the size. Hope the figs are good. Really should include Arthur's workshop and at least a plate or 2 of yard and fence imo. Agree with the others a colorful wedding tent seems exactly within their wheelhouse and demographic aims. This is going to seriously make me reconsider staying completionist, this and next year. My very last set needed was the Sirius rescue and I grumbled so much about spending the sale price of $40 for 2 faces and a recolored Beaky. The sorting hat is fine even if the brim is a bit low rez. Still waiting for a maxifig Ron with upscaled pets and accessories. That's more pressing to me than DH stuff simply because I know it will never happen.

Precisely why no one expects it; it would be nice and convenient for collectors and army builders. Add the Ravenclaw robes to the upcoming polybag set with Epilogue Ron and Hermione and the OotP death eater accessory pack that's definately coming never. For this year's polybag I fully embrace a reused year 1 hermione on a 1 brick high spectator stand with a wand and common flame piece to represent "Quidditch" lol