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That's very true. They could maybe squeeze into the bathroom size module or it could be you get two modules and they replace both the bathroom and common room, but it's going to be cramped.

I just don't think the detailed exterior / removable interior thing looks very good here. I know there are budget constraints, yet if it was say this concept but with the Polyjuice style modules slotting into the underground I could see the charm and aesthetic appeal. However, these interior modules just don't resemble rooms. The bathroom section just reminds me of a chair with the curved back and sides and the common room feels like one of the balcony module sections of the last castle wave, except the difference there was that they were just to provide a roof or rampart and this is actually meant to be interior.

I think you're absolutely right, and yet somehow whether it's part of 'the most detailed Hogwarts Castle' or not it still feels underwhelming.

At last Dumbledore gets his hat in a set and not just the CMF version! Great Hall feels like what I was expecting with the pull out bases, but can't say it feels very detailed to me. Those bottom sections just look plain, but will need to wait for better images. Nothing about this screams value for that price though to me as it's hardly better than the last one and you got a basilisk then, so the troll doesn't justify it. Yes it's bigger, but does it offer more play value? I don't really think so. Also, @brickbride where is the ghost because I'm just not seeing it? Ollivanders is cute and a perfectly shrunken version I think. I'm guessing the Flourish and Blotts sign is a nod to the next modular in the series, as WWW have the Madam Malkins sign. The interior of Malkins itself is underwhelming, but it is the secondary build I suppose. Great to see a fresh Ollivander so he has a unique torso again. Buckbeak I'm afraid to say looks bland and yet somehow chaotic to me with all those different shades of grey, but then I never had any intention of purchasing it so it makes little difference to me. I'm sure some will love it and no denying it's a detailed model, but definitely not my thing. The same goes for the buildable Mandrake; it holds no interest for me and a Mandrake that doesn't have the sound brick so it can scream in the year they made that a thing again is kind of ironic. Overall, this wave so far is extremely disappointing if I'm being totally honest. I really hope the Durmstrang Ship looks good after waiting for a remake all these years and doesn't end up looking like some Chibi version because they'd used pieces on the Beauxbatons Carriage.

Count me in.

I could see R2-KT being the other minifigure in Jedi Bob's Starfighter. The other 'buildable creature' set that Young Leia was rumoured to come with could also be Lola I suppose. I could see someone not knowing what they were looking at and maybe see a few 'eyes' on the build.

GITD Nick is a great minifigure, but I find him a bit of a pain to be honest; so many times I've had to put him away in a draw or he becomes a beacon in my dark bedroom at night when I'm trying to sleep. I have to say the current Lego glow in the dark quality is very good. I would rather they just stick to the light grey for the ghosts and stop changing all the time.

I see. Thank you. I wonder if it's still meant as a little 'inn' joke.

I don't play D&D so I've no idea if it has any in universe reference, but the sticker for the inn sign on the new D&D set looks like the Eye of Sauron and the inn is called Inn Plain Sight. A hint at Barad-dûr set maybe?

Well the auto translate for me said it is 'a new cast in the bigfig version' which I think could either end up looking terrible or really good. Personally I always think the bigfig villains look like their pose is one of squatting on the toilet, but the troll obviously needs to be large. I loved the original troll and think it looks nice and tall and gangly, but that being said it's not really large enough. So a big fig of sorts with a new torso and legs might work out great like you say. I just hope the face print isn't too comical and the 'clothes' are done in cloth like the original.

I get why some people might think the theme should come to a close soon; I myself as a big Harry Potter fan have become more select with the sets I buy now after a few years of the theme's return, but in all seriousness I can't see the theme dying anytime soon. You only have to think that there will be kids of around six who will start getting into Harry Potter that were only just born when the first lots of sets from this new HP era came out to know that they could keep remaking sets for a while and feeding a new audience every few years, especially when they haven't quite covered all locations and characters yet. Also, I know it's a contentious issue, but I can't see how they won't move on to doing sets for the new series in a couple of years too. I don't know how it will work alongside the old films, but the Lego deal is with Warner Bros hence why we don't get book only material unless the designers happen to sneak in an Easter egg. So if Warner are in charge of the new series surely they will want merchandise for it and then the series will give even more material for Lego to work off seeing as the whole point of the series is they can cover the books more in depth than the movies. Harry Potter fatigue doesn't seem to have hit generally even with the material being a lot more limited than say the Star Wars ever expanding universe, so I don't see why Lego should be much different.

Ah good glad you managed to get one. Already starting to see bundles of them on ebay.

Release date for issue 106 with the Shock Trooper was 6th March and the next one is due on 3rd April. They are every four weeks so throughout the year some fall at the beginning of a month and some at the end.

It was released yesterday so I'm guessing maybe the supermarkets just haven't turned their stock over yet. Sainsburys and Tesco are my go to, although issues with Clones tend to go fast.

No posts since January although they have been on.

Quite possible, but if that is the case then Lego has totally shot itself in the foot; when the Infiltrator was rumored to have Padme and Panaka I was all in for getting in. With just the three minifigures and the anniversary minifigure I'm out unless it's deeply discounted as its minifigure value compared to other sets this year like the Tantive Hallway is very poor. I was excited, but now I'm just annoyed. But someone has messed up somewhere though with the leaks for the set and Lego definitely is responsible for some of it; the outline picture of the Infiltrator with Qui-Gon and Anakin disappeared of the Lego website so clearly it shouldn't have been uploaded, whether it is right or wrong. That or Lego doesn't want leakers because it wants to 'leak' info itself.

The rumors for the rest of the year don't mention anymore Story Books. Lego seems to have moved on to the jewelry boxes and the flower pot sets by the looks of the leaks. Moana's Flowerpot and Snow White's Jewelery Box are two sets supposedly releasing later this year, although the Snow White one might possibly get delayed until next year to tie in with the new movie. That's not to say Lego won't do more of the books next year, but I don't think we are getting anymore this year from what I can see. Glad to see some love for Pocahontas. One of my favorite toys as a child was a Pocahontas Polly Pocket set, so very similar to a tiny Lego Story Book in some ways, and I'd love to get John, Meeko, Percy, Flit etc. I'm more for minifigures though.

They all have a white 'pupil' in general, although Maul's used to be black. But basically they all normally have some inner circle. If you look closely at the leaked Maul though it almost looks like he has black pupils, but they've been really faded out. 🤔

Oh dear Maul looks like he's been staring at the laser beams for too long. Really not a fan of this one. Palpatine I can just about get as his eyes are very cloudy sometimes, although pupils would still be more accurate. However, Maul has pupils just like any other human character so I'm not getting why we're going for the whole hypnotized look.

I think considering the first Disney Castle was pretty scant on the minifigure side of things, that getting four couples was quite good. I'd have love more, but that would have been too optimistic I think. As much as I'd hate to devalue the castle figs, I would love to think that Rapunzel and Flynn might turn up in a more detailed Rapunzel's Tower, complete with Gothel and a Pascal who doesn't seem far too big in comparison to minifigures.

One of the designers of the Disney Castle, Ryan Van Woerkom, says in the Designer Video for the set that Beauty and the Beast is one of his favorite childhood films so he really worked on getting details from the film into the kitchen and dining room in the castle. Now I know designers don't necessarily have the last say on minifigures, but it seems odd to me that the film has such a presence in the castle, but no accompanying minifigures. It certainly feels like the minifigures for the castle and the latest CMF series were chosen systematically e.g. Snow White and Prince Florian as they could be reused in the cottage. Tiana and Prince Naveen as Tiana is a reuse from the CMF, Aurora being in the CMF to go with Maleficent from the Icons set and theoretically to get her Prince in the possible dragon set. That being said, it feels like Belle and the Beast have intentionally been left out for a future set, especially as Lego has given us Gaston in the Icons. So many people have mentioned a ballroom diorama for Beauty and the Beast that it wouldn't surprise me if that set showed up next year. The last Disney Castle stayed in production for many years after all so they have plenty of time to 'populate' the castle so to speak.

Thank you @krimimimi. That's interesting. Looks like a good site for German buyers. I tried to find a similar UK equivalent (found a reddit thread discussing it actually in relation to HP sets 😆) and we don't seem to have a good one. There was a recommended website, but on looking it definitely did not have all the data. It just kept recommending Lego.com when I know the set is offered elsewhere. 😆 @Clone OPatra Yes we have some stores in the UK (Argos, Smyths and John Lewis) that get exclusives and they have all had the castle and Smyths has the train. Amazon will also get exclusives like Rivendell for example. The big Star Wars UCS sets can be found in one of all of them too depending on the set. Smyths and John Lewis are nowhere near me, but I have a local Argos and when it comes to sale time I would much rather pick up a large set from a store than order online. DA has never gone further than Lego though so I was just wondering if this was a consistent decision. I try to not go for too many large sets as well. I have given in to DA and Gringotts, and did get both the castle and train because I wanted to experience the builds but have since moved those on. I just don't have the space and the budget to keep everything. When I got back into the hobby about a decade ago big sets were few and far between. The Death Star and old UCS Falcon spring to mind, but I know when the Lego Movie Joker Manor set was announced that was considered something larger and more of a 'special' set. The Lego landscape has definitely changed since then! It must be getting harder for you to stay under that threshold. 🙂

Someone must have either messed up and put up too much too soon or we were all too good at guessing the mystery minifigure from the hints because the outline of the Sith Infiltrator and the characteristics of its celebratory minifigure have disappeared off the Lego Celebrating 25 years of Lego Star Wars page. Shame as I was hoping we'd see some more from the set sooner rather than later. Still holding out a thread of hope that the minifigure selection might include Padme and Panaka. Or maybe the pic with Young Anakin in was wrong? 🤔

Have any other retailers ever had Diagon Alley and Gringotts in Australia? In the UK, DA has never been available in any other shop which is extremely rare and it seems Gringotts might be going the same way. Wondering if it's the same in other countries.

I watched that one myself last night too and found that point interesting. I think either colour can work depending on the reference material, but I do think the official box art and digital renders are misleading with the colour making it look medium blue, hence why we all didn't seem to realise. Also of note to me was the fact that not only is Ron's torso new, but Harry's is too; they've got rid of the pocket outlines on his check shirt and moved the creases a bit. I tried watching the scenes from the movie last night to see if this is actually a downgrade but honestly couldn't make out if he has pockets in his shirt or not, so I guess it doesn't really matter! If this hadn't of been pointed out though I certainly wouldn't have noticed unless I had both figures side by side, which makes me wonder why Lego would spend budget on reprinting these figs. I can only think it's to encourage collectors to buy a set they otherwise might not so as to get every minifigure as otherwise I see absolutely no reason for them to have changed. I like the cream printing and softer lines on Ron's torso for instance, but I think the old darker colour torso was actually more accurate. Speaking of minifigures, another change I wouldn't have realised without seeing the minifigures side by side is the fact that McGonagall actually has entirely new printing; she not only has the new arm printing, but the dress pattern is slightly different and the swirls on her dress are more silvery. Overall, I think this is a great wave and I'm really looking forward to seeing what the summer wave brings in terms of minifigure quality. There's definitely some downgrades in this March wave (looking firmly at you, plain legged Filch), but McGonagall really is superb and I would love to see that quality in say a PS Dumbledore in the Great Hall set for instance.