Alexandrina

If anything, digital instructions have multiple advantages (and I say this as someone who takes good care of her physical manuals and always builds from them if available). Not too long ago, I came into a copy of 375 Yellow Castle broken down amongst a big job lot of bricks, but with no instructions - so I had to use digital instructions. There's a big difference between the ease of modern instructions and the bombardment of parts per step in the 1970s kits, so often I'd miss a brick. It's easy to go back. With digital instructions you can zoom in all the way if you can't quite see a detail. You don't have to prop heavy books open while you build so that gravity doesn't close them. Would I be upset if Lego went all-digital with their instructions? Yes, I would... for a time. Then I'd get over it. Because at the end of the day these are plastic bricks, and unless the day ever comes that Lego are sending armed goons door to door to collect my old bricks and melt them down, nothing they do in the future will change what I already own. If they stopped making new bricks, stopped making decent sets, went entirely over to tech gimmicks, so what? We've had almost seventy years of interlocking plastic already, so there's plenty out there.

It's been many many years since I used Lego Digital Designer (it was probably 2008 or so - certainly before the Factory offer stopped) but I don't remember it being easier than Stud.io. It's the same basic set-up - parts are sorted into categories, you click a part and then it enters your 3D space for you to add it to the model - but in most ways Studio far outclasses LDD. Part selection is one - many good parts weren't ever in LDD - but the biggest benefit is actually being able to see what colour I've selected, rather than every colour being a shade of dark grey until the final render. You mention the categorisation system as an issue. Studio uses Bricklink's categorisation system, which is more comprehensive and imo infinitely better than LDD. Obviously if you're used to the LDD categories, it's going to take a litle bit of time to adjust. That's natural, though, and the only way to get through that is to use Studio until you get used to the categories. You can't really fast-forward it. As for learning, the basics of Studio are fairly intuitive. I've been teaching myself by focusing on one thing at a time, doing a silly little build entirely to focus on getting one part of the software down (for instance, I spent a few hours just playing with hinges until I was confident with how they functioned within the software).

I don't even think it would necessarily be mutually exclusive. I don't like mechs in any context, so I'd not buy any such sets personally - but Marvel manages to have mech sets coexisting with more "traditional" playsets, so even if Lego did want mythological mechs, they could do conventional sets too. I actually think a Trojan Horse set would be an ideal testing ground for mythology as the basis for a theme. Yes, it's based on Homeric writings - but it's also an iconic vehicle, a unique structure, and let's face it, it's a giant horse on wheels with soldiers hiding inside. What kid wouldn't love that?

A pity. I was hoping he'd have a scared/pained face useful for an "evil mastermind has executed the heroes by dipping them in molten gold" MOC

It looks to me like grey legs is the way to go for Tom Riddle, if the name of the game is 'screen-accuracy'. It's a good way to make the distinction between Riddle-era Hogwarts uniform and the Potter-era uniform, which a quick Google tells me had black trousers.

To be fair, Fluffy looks atrocious in the film, so Lego never had a chance!

True, but Lego didn't know how successful the theme would be. They did two films per year early on, which would see them get through the series in four years. Maybe they would have done tie in sets with the new films when they came out, but not perhaps a full on Harry Potter theme.

Fabuland Orange, returning from a thirty five year hiatus!

Oh, don't get me wrong, I would love a Rita minifigure even if I detest her as a character (in the same way I detest Umbridge, not that I think she was badly written or anything). It's just a very good sign that characters like Rita are the ones we're wanting, rather than people like Fred and George and Sprout.

True. Rita Skeeter, at least, is fairly insignificant to the films though.

I'd love to see a review. There are lots of gaps on Eurobricks for older sets that never got reviewed, because they came out in the time before Eurobricks and nobody's ever gone back to do them - anything to fill those gaps is welcome. I meant to do the same with the Mystic Mountain Time Lab, but the version I bought was missing a piece and I've not yet got round to replacing it. I don't actually have any UFO sets in their entirety, but I have a lot of the pieces - some of the big printed saucer pieces, in particular - from a mixed job lot. I'm curious to know what the sets themselves are like, so I'll be waiting on your review with bated breath

Maybe it's a geographical difference (the spread of the Roman Empire was such that most of Europe is near to Roman ruins/settlements) but I'd argue that Greece and Rome are inverses. Greek history is far less well-known than Greek mythology, but for Rome it's the opposite - or at least, the key tenets of Roman history are better known. I'm thinking of Shakespeare, and his Roman historical plays Julius Caesar and Antony & Cleopatra (sidebar: Charlton Heston's "friends, Romans, countrymen" from 1970 is imo one of the best acting performances ever) compared to the more mythological Greek Troilus and Cressida. Or early Doctor Who, which had the historical serial The Romans (played for laughs, but based on genuine history) about twelve months before the serial The Myth Makers, very much based on Homerian mythology. Not for Lego's target audience, but I think the cultural influence of things like The Life of Brian, I Claudius, Rome and Plebs (a broad cross-section) also makes Ancient Rome feel more recognisable than Ancient Greece - which, as you say, is well-known for its gods.

I knew I'd get something wrong! What's even worse is I knew Greyback was in the original Burrow but didnt think to check if he was in the new one. In case you couldn't tell, I haven't got round to getting the Burrow yet! The big omissions are Bill and Percy then. And actually that's a pretty good state of affairs for the theme, given the depth of minifigures we got in the original run.

Knockturn Alley is pretty well a given if the theme runs on long enough. I reckon it's at the top of the 'second division' of sets that weren't in their original plans but have been drafted in post-haste after the theme's success. The other two I can't see, unless they're relatively cheap with good figures. Are they prominent enough in the films/exciting enough to kids to sell on their own merit?

My belief is that Lego originally planned a four-year run for the new Harry Potter - two years per film, with Fantastic Beasts stuff when the films came out. However, the range has been unexpectedly popular, so rather than releasing their 'final wave' they've decided to restructure their plans to last a little longer. The anniversary is an excuse for them to fill in some gaps and re-release some sets while they get their ducks in a row for a revised plan of the theme. I wouldn't be surprised if we get a few Deathly Hallows sets next year along with some sets missed out earlier on in the run (Durmstrang ship, Divination class, Norbert, etc.) followed by a grand finale in 2023 covering the remaining Deathly Hallows sets. What key characters have we not had in the 2018-present run? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the big ones are Tonks, Fenrir Greyback, Narcissus Malfoy, Bill Weasley and Percy Weasley. I reckon they're saving these last big characters - or at least some - for the final wave, so that there's excitement. The year we see Greyback and Narcissus will be the last year of Harry Potter.

I'd make that the second-year D2C. It would have to be a decently-sized set to get everything across, but there's no obvious action to make it appeal to kids, so throw in a couple of other civilian structures and a good selection of minifigures and it would be a good adult-oriented set to go with the main line

Right, just for the sake of my own entertainment really, I've knocked together a possible first wave of Roman sets - without looking up anything about Roman history, so just based on my own current understanding. I've based it on the first year of Kingdoms sets, minus polybags, battlepacks and D2C sets. I'd set such a theme in the Punic Wars era - the Carthaginians being wiped out, them being the 'enemy' shouldn't be too controversial Cavalry Battle (equivalent to 6918) One Roman and one Carthaginian soldier, with their horses and accoutrements Gladiator Duel (equivalent to 7187) Two Gladiators, one with a net and one with a spear, with a build of part of an arena The Liburnia (equivalent to 7188) A small Roman warship with a couple of Roman soldiers The Chariot Race (equivalent to 7189) Two Roman chariots, with different colour schemes, two drivers, a pleb, a senator and the Emperor The Forum (equivalent to 7946) The Forum, featuring an Emperor, Senator, Praetorian Guard and a couple of Plebs Elephant Attack (equivalent to 7947) Hannibal of Carthage with a war elephant, a Carthaginian soldier and two Roman centurions Villa Attack (equivalent to 7948) A small Roman villa façade, with a civilian, a Roman soldier and a Carthaginian soldier The Phalanx (equivalent to 7949) A couple of Roman soldiers and their shields The Founders (equivalent to 7950) Romulus and Remus, with a she-wolf and a small cave build The Senator (equivalent to 7953) A Roman senator and some accessories The Augur (equivalent to 7955) An augur and some accessories I've left out a few options - a Roman amphitheatre, a trireme, the tower of Vesta (controversial subject matter perhaps) and combined with Lego's imagination and a deep dive into history, I think there's definitely two waves' worth of sets at least. Not everything is going to be as widely known as say Gladiators, but that's the same with any theme, and the lesser-known stuff - things like Carthaginian elephants - are probably cool enough to sell on their own merit. I'm not sure such a theme would be Castle, strictly speaking, but I'd be very interested to see what Lego could do with the period.

No, just a few suggestions. If you like I can think up a full wave of sets later.

Gladiator duel, chariot race, the Forum... Plenty of options.

That's not a leaked image of the 3 in 1 though is it?

Trelawney only predicts future deaths that she will be the one to make come to pass That sounds like a diplomatic way of saying "not this year"

By the very definition of the hypothetical, there couldn't be anybody who was alive and NOT okay with that - since if there was, they'd still be buying plastic bricks, so Lego wouldn't stop making plastic bricks. It's genuinely an absurd thing to be worried about. If Lego ever stopped making bricks, it would be telegraphed well in advance by declining sales and declining production, and there is no suggestion this is even in consideration.

This, to me, is the failing of livestreams as a format. We're in the age of on-demand television, so why do you need to be online at a certain time of day to see stuff on the internet? Just upload the video.

I'd just like to highlight this little part of your comment to say that I would love it if some globally-influential powerhouse concerned with world history were to emerge. IMO history is the most fascinating subject, so the more resources get put towards it the better. I do think that one difficulty certain periods in history would pose (and by 'certain periods' I mean basically everything that's not medieval or age of sail or Roman or Ancient Egyptian) is the lack of an agreed-upon cultural mythos, at least in the western market. Roman and Egyptian themes could be done as easily as Castle or Pirates, because as periods of history they have a lore which - while not strictly historical - is instantly recognisable. There are tropes you can do that will make those periods evident even without the underlying history being spot on. Minifigures with togas and laurel wreathes, with gladiators and chariots, are going to be obviously Roman - Lego don't have to go into the gritty gory bits, nor do they have to make up their own tropes. Equally, Ancient Egypt has pyramids, hieroglyphics and the aesthetic of their gods. Lego could do a theme with these aspects and not touch on the ins and outs of mummification. They can make their own child-friendly pseudo-history from the cultural imprints. Compare that with something like 12th century Ethiopia (random example off the top of my head). It doesn't have the same pre-determined tropes, so Lego have a choice. Either they make sets as historical as possible, covering every detail with as much accuracy as the blocks allow, or they pick and choose. And whatever they do, the fact is that many periods are many times more interesting than they are widely known.

Nothing in there says that you have the right to a refund because you didn't enjoy the set - so long as the model is as advertised and the bricks aren't broken, you're out of luck. True - not that you actually had any way of knowing that from my comments. In any case, I only said you come across as hating Lego - which you do, given that all your comments seem to be grousing at the company's business practices and their products, including often-contradictory complaints within the same comment. I'll ask again: what could Lego do that would satisfy you? I notice by the way that despite having a multitude of responses to your post, each addressing issues you had and explaining why things are the way they are, you've so far engaged with very little. I myself quoted and responded to six different specific points from your original comment, answering issues you've had, and the only part of my response you chose to engage with was a single off-the-cuff comment. Furthermore, you keep talking about how logic dictates that what Lego are doing doesn't make sense, but as far as I'm aware you've not laid out the logic which tells you this. I for one don't see how Lego are being logically inconsistent.