spiderfan2000

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Posts posted by spiderfan2000

  1. Posted

    I decided to go ahead and rank the sets from 2018 onwards, divided by year.  (Note I do not own the D2C Hogwarts Castle or the promo microscale Diagon Alley, so I did not include them in my rankings, and I am also not counting advent calendars, Brickheadz, polybags, or CMF series.)

    2018:
    1. Great Hall
    2. Hogwarts Express
    3. Quidditch Match
    4. Newt's Suitcase
    5. Whomping Willow
    6. Aragog's Lair
    7. Grindelwald's Escape

    2019:
    1. Clock Tower
    2. Hagrid's Hut
    3. Expecto Patronum 
    4. Rise of Voldemort
    5. Knight Bus
    6. Beauxbaton's Carriage
    7. Hungarian Horntail

    2020:
    1. Diagon Alley
    2. The Burrow
    3. Astronomy Tower
    4. Room of Requirement
    5. 4 Privet Drive
    6. Forbidden Forest
    7. Hedwig

    8. Monster Book of Monsters                                            

    2021 Hogwarts Moments:
    1. Transfiguration
    2. Charms
    3. Herbology
    4. Potions

    And just for fun, the 2021 Anniversary Wave (only going by preliminary pictures):
    1. Hogsmeade
    2. Myrtle's Bathroom
    3. Great Hall/Chamber of Secrets
    4. Forbidden Corridor

     

  2. Posted

    1 hour ago, Clone OPatra said:

    Something I've been wondering - is anyone really nostalgic for the original 4709 Hogwarts Castle? To the point that they want something that looks fairly like it?

    It feels like an odd nostalgia pull to me because, IMO, while they were what they were the original Harry Potter sets were nothing to write home about, and certainly not desirable compared to modern sets. It's like, the original Millenium Falcon was a thing, but you wouldn't want a new one that looked like it today.

    As I felt when I originally got 4709 in 2001 and when I reviewed it in 2011, it's really not very good. It's ugly, gappy, a bad mess of colours, and full of under-detailed rooms and random play features that don't make sense. Yes the new one will be better than that, but it still seems like LEGO might be trying to pull at heart strings that aren't there?

    I mean, I'm personally fine with it.  I figured the Great Hall would get remade at some point, and I'm glad they at least found a way to keep this one looking distinct from the 2018 version, while still staying recognizable as the Great Hall.  

  3. Posted

    9 minutes ago, chris6507 said:

    Is anyone else actually excited for these golden figures? I know i'm actually feeling pretty excited about them, but haven't actually heard anyone else respond positively to them. 

    Just for clarification. There aren't pictures of these. Just the idea of them i'm referring to.

    I am a bit curious to see how they look, and also if the gold Harry, Ron and Hermione will use short, medium or regular legs.  I don't think we have gold short or medium legs, so one of those would be neat to get.

  4. Posted

    21 minutes ago, Legopls said:

    If this turns out to be the case, then surely they must include that big ship (forgot it’s name) right? 

    The ship is the Sanctuary II.  I would definitely be interested in seeing LEGO's take on it, though we still don't have enough information to actually know what we're getting for the set lineup this year.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for something interesting!

  5. Posted

    I think that, if not this year, then next year seems very likely to feature more remakes.  What I think is the top three most likely sets to be remade, are:

    1: Quidditch Match

    2: Hogwarts Express

    3: Hagrid's Hut

    I can't picture LEGO not having a version of one of those available.  Quidditch Match seems like the most likely to get remade first, as I think it's actually been discontinued as of this year if I'm not mistaken.  I put Hogwarts Express as next most likely as it's not as recent of a set compared to Hagrid's Hut.  Depending on what we get this year, I suspect next year might also have a set selection that could be considered underwhelming, if it ends up being mostly remakes and Fantastic Beasts sets. 

    I do hope we get another CMF series next year, but I'd really want it to feature Fantastic Beasts characters and total 22 minifigures like the first series did.  I feel like the second series suffered a bit for leaving out characters from Fantastic Beasts, especially the second movie, from which I've been waiting for more minifigures since 2018.  And if a third series gets reduced to 12 slots, the minifigures would have to be really spectacular for me not to be underwhelmed.

  7. Posted

    If I had to rate the sets based only on the preliminary images, I'd rate them:

    Bathroom: 7/10

    Forbidden Corridor: 6/10 (Assuming the trio are in jumpers like the preliminary.  If the trio are in their casual outfits from the scene , bump it to 7/10)

    Hogsmeade: 9/10

    Great Hall/Chamber of Secrets: 7/10

  8. Posted

    1 hour ago, Cmf6169 said:

    the body of the brick-build fluffy reminds me of the Erumpent build from 75952.

    Good catch.  The Erumpent build was a pretty good one, and it this modified version seems to work well for Fluffy.  I'm mostly glad that they went with molded heads.  I don't think brickbuilt heads would have worked as well.

    1 hour ago, Surge said:

    The only other place I could see them being in (that we know of, could be one of the august sets) is the AC, however that is pretty unlikely as that would mean all of the figs would be new and I don't believe that has ever been done 

    I thought it was already confirmed that Harry at least was confirmed to be a repeat of the Diagon Alley bonus minifigure.  Ron and Hermione's calendar variants are unknown, but while they could be based on the Stone challenge scenes, I personally feel that it's more likely they go with the outfits from the Hogwarts Express scene to go with the Harry.

    1 hour ago, chris6507 said:

    Going to be a bit annoyed if the sword of Gryffindor and Butterbeer Mugs are actually the ones from the CMF series, because I specifically bought additional copies of figures just for those parts! 

    Oof, that must be frustrating.  I had sort of assumed when the CMF came out that they were going to use those parts for sets later on, so I held off on getting multiples, but I did seriously consider it for a while.

  9. Posted

    Some more detailed thoughts on the sets after getting to look at them more closely:

    The Bathroom: Looks like a pretty decent build overall.  The stall is a good inclusion, and the sink build looks pretty spot on.  I can't tell if it's designed to open in any way, but it probably wouldn't be difficult to modify if not.  The enclosed design of the set is rather unique compared to the other Hogwarts expansion sets we've gotten recently.  It's clearly designed to fit something on top of it.  The minifigure selection is good, as I had been hoping to see these variants of the trio in the last CMF series, so I'm glad to finally get them now.  A representation of Crabbe and Goyle in the line has been long overdue.  I'm assuming that the anniversary minifigures will all have crested jumpers instead of the regular jumpers shown in the preliminaries.  Hopefully the molded cat head for Hermione turns out well enough, as it's too unfinished in the pictures to properly judge.  I just really hope a tail piece is included.  

    Forbidden Corridor: Looks like an okay build, but Fluffy is the clear highlight.  The molded heads work well with the brickbuilt body.  The harp is also a good inclusion.  The castle build looks like it might detach in the middle, which could be interesting.  I do hope the Devil's Snare room is somehow part of the interior, but based on the size of the build, it looks like Fluffy's Room would have to take up the whole bottom section, which would leave no room for the Devil's Snare.  Hopefully there's at least a working trap door, even if we have to wait for a future set to provide the room it leads to.  I really hope the preliminary versions of the trio shown here are not what will be included in the set, as I really want the casual outfits they wore for this part of the movie, and getting repeats of the same jumpers would be disappointing.

    Hogsmeade:  I wasn't sure what to expect of this set when I learned of the price point, but the two buildings manage to look great and substantial enough to be, in my opinion, the best looking set of the wave.  It looks like there's plenty of detail incorporated throughout the set.  Rosmerta is a good inclusion, and as obscure as the Flumes are, I'm glad they're included to make Honeyduke's look less empty.  Getting new variants of McGonagall and Dean is also a plus.  I just hope Harry is a different variant from what the picture show.  I already have three of that version from the 2019 sets.

    Great Hall+Chamber of Secrets:  Well, the Great Hall is definitely a downgrade from the 2018 version, and the Staircase Tower doesn't really resemble the source material too well.  That said, the Chamber of Secrets looks to be a reasonably substantial part of the build, and it looks like the castle sections might be designed to detach from the Chamber sections, which would be a great feature.  The Basilisk looks like the best version yet from LEGO, and while I was personally hoping for the 2018 version's level of articulation to be incorporated, this one looks far better.  I do hope that a flying Fawkes is included, as that would really complete the scene.  As for minifigures, Harry isn't really noteworthy, and Ginny is more noteworthy for being the first Hogwarts jumper variant of her since 2010.  Colin and Justin are good inclusions, and I'm glad they were included over another Ron and Hermione.  Nick seems to be the same, so eh.  I'm glad to see the orange variant of Lockhart.  I'm glad that Tom Riddle is included, as I did not buy the book he was previously included in.  Sinistra opens up the door for other obscure Hogwarts staff to be included in future sets.  The preliminary shows Dumbledore as being the Clock Tower version, which will almost certainly not reflect his actual appearance in this set.  It is worth noting that preliminary Dumbledore is shown to be hatless unlike the Clock Tower version, so perhaps we'll finally get the Dumbledore hairpiece in white.

    Overall, a solid lineup of sets in my opinion.  I intend to purchase them all at some point.  I just hope the August sets will have good quality builds, even if they're not Deathly Hallows sets.

  10. Posted

    10 minutes ago, chris6507 said:

    Forgive me if i'm not allowed to say this on the forum, but I did save the specific links for the website that posted the pictures if anyone wanted to see them. Happy to send in a DM.

    I'd like to have the pictures DM'd.  I only briefly got to examine them on Instagram before they got taken down.  Thanks in advance!

  12. Posted

    I'll probably end up buying all the sets, though Hogsmeade is the definite winner here.  I really hope the Forbidden Corridor set has the trio in the casual clothes they were actually wearing in the scene instead of the jumpers the preliminary pictures have them in.  To get around the issue of having two Great Halls in my display, I'll probably try putting them back to back.  Hopefully they're not too different in height.  The new one has the rock base that the 2018 one doesn't have, but the actual castle section of the 2021 version looks shorter than the 2018 version, so maybe it'll balance out enough to work.

    4 minutes ago, Guyon2002 said:

    That's not what I said though. I like the June wave as well but the August wave? God no. 

    That's...not reassuring.

  14. Posted

    It's a shame that WB lost the rights to make future LEGO films, because I really think the originally planned sequel to the LEGO Batman Movie would have been our best opportunity to get more obscure heroes and villains.  Unless that somehow gets made, the best option left is to hope for another CMF series.

  15. Posted

    19 minutes ago, sebastian666 said:

    I will second @Clone OPatra and remind folks that what is disappointing or underwhelming to one LEGO Harry Potter fan, may be incredibly exciting to another. We all have different tastes and opinions.

    What I appreciate about the info @Guyon2002 shared is that he didn’t say the second wave is going to be good or bad - he just said lower expectations.

    In my mind, lowering expectations means don’t hold your breath for lots of new characters, molds, and prints and don’t get hung up on all of the remaining sets fitting into a predetermined theme that you were expecting (in this case Deathly Hallows) based on previous releases.

    In my opinion, the most important set that we are missing right now is Gringott’s - so if I’m lowering my expectations on that I’d say there is still a good possibility it is the $250 set, but maybe there is no dragon that comes with it and just a handful of meh minifigs like Diagon Alley.

    I would also be disappointed with a big Quidditch set or a bunch of other Harry, Ron, Hermione repacks like a Forrest of Dean tent. I guess time will tell...

    This is a good point.  Even if we don't get exactly what some of us were wanting, the August sets will probably end up being good for whatever they are.  There is a plausible chance of getting more remake sets this year, considering that the 2018 sets were apparently expected to have been discontinued last year, considering that in addition to the Great Hall, the Whomping Willow set wasn't expected to still be on shelves when the Privet Drive set came out, but now we have two sets with the Ford Anglia available at the same time.  If we don't see more remake sets this year, we are likely to see them next year.  Remakes can still have merit if they find ways to change them up the way they seem to be doing with the Great Hall (Sharing only a few common minifigures, including new characters like Sinistra and Justin, basing it on CoS than the mostly SS based 2018 version, incorporating the Chamber of Secrets into the build and addressing the Basilisk that people complained about last time)

  16. Posted

    I definitely wouldn't be opposed to getting more Fantastic Beasts sets.  The the first movie was represented fairly well between the Suitcase set and the 1st CMF series, but all we got from the second movie was the Thestral Carriage from the opening scene, with nothing from the rest of the film.  One of my biggest complaints of the CMF 2 series was that it reduced the lineup from 22 to 16 and didn't include any Crimes of Grindelwald characters, so hopefully they catch up with that movie a bit next year.

  17. Posted

    I'm wondering if we're just going to get a bunch of remakes with minimal DH content in August.  That could easily be viewed as underwheming  Being only half-serious with my speculating, maybe we'll end up with something like:

    $29.99 The Forest Tent (with no doe)

    $39.99 Quidditch Match...again (maybe based off POA so LEGO has an excuse to include Quidditch Cedric)

    $59.99 Hagrid's Hut...again (First two movies design)

    $119.99 Undersized Gringotts with underwheming dragon (reusing the same Thunderbird/Occamy/Horntail head)

    $249.99 Motorized Hogwarts Express 

    I feel like that would be a lineup that would disappoint people on here.

  18. Posted

    4 minutes ago, Lego-Freak said:

    A Hogwarts Express D2C set also wouldn't have any potential for interesting minifigs, so hard pass from me on that front as well :sceptic: Of course I'd buy it regardless, being a completionist (sort of), but only begrudgingly :tongue:

    This is essentially my position on the idea of the Hogwarts Express being a D2C.  I definitely wouldn't be as excited for that as I would be for a Gringotts/DA expansion.  The only way I'd be hyped on the minifigure selection would be if they based it off the 19 Years Later Epilogue, but I feel like that would be quite unlikely to happen.

  19. Posted

    Yeah, I really don't think the Harry Potter theme will be discontinued anytime soon.  I'd be surprised if they stop making sets before the Fantastic Beasts series is concluded anyways.  If other media such as Hogwarts Legacy or the HBO Max series is successful and long-lasting enough, LEGO might be encouraged to continue making new sets for a very long time.

  20. Posted

    18 minutes ago, bluedog1111 said:

    I am going to buy both the Umbridge encounter set and the room of requirement one. I want the GWP so I thought I could throw in a moment set. Which of the Hogwarts moment sets would you all recommend? I'm leaning towards the transfiguration one.

    I agree that the Transfiguration set is probably the best one to go with.  All the sets have solid builds, but McGonagall is the clear standout minifigure of the wave.

  21. Posted

    That version of Harry is prominent enough in the first movie that it would have seemed weird if it stayed exclusive to a $400 set.  I'm assuming that the Harry and SS Griphook from the Advent Calendar are meant to be used with the constantly-speculated Gringotts set (which seems more likely to include DH minifigures instead of SS versions).  If the Ron and Hermione in the Advent Calendar are from the Hogwarts Express scene from the first movie, that would be an additional reason to reuse that Harry to go with them.

  22. Posted · Edited by spiderfan2000

    I personally have no problem getting very minor characters as minifigures.  I think they fit well with the sets LEGO includes them in, and complement the increased attention to detail that has been demonstrated with this theme since the 2018 relaunch started. There should be plenty of opportunities in the future to get more prominent characters/variants, as all signs point towards this theme lasting for years to come.  LEGO clearly has a great deal of faith in the license, considering the sheer number of sets, CMF series, D2Cs, and even advent calendars we've gotten since 2018.  If LEGO is releasing all these obscure characters now,  then they are practically guaranteed to eventually release more notable characters later on, unless the theme somehow starts doing poorly and gets cut short (which seems rather unlikely).  Spacing out desirable characters/variants should also help demand for sets in the long-term more efficiently than the front-loaded approach of releasing every wanted minifigure immediately would provide.  LEGO is clearly playing the long game with this relaunch, and this gives them the opportunity to be far more thorough with included characters and details than ever before.  The only downside is having to wait, but I think it will be worth it in the end.

  23. Posted

    8 minutes ago, Legofania said:

    Huh, stonewars also said that Gryffindor sword and Riddle's diary will be included. I guess it was obvious, but it's kinda sad if they'll use sword from CMF... and diary.

    Hopefully the diary in the set will at least fix the inaccuracy the last CMF version had with Tom Riddle's name being put on the wrong side.

  25. Posted

    3 minutes ago, Yope said:

    It'll be interesting to see how the Dumbledore figure differs from the CMF version, perhaps no hat as in the end of the Philosopher's Stone.

    Either that and/or we get an updated version of the House Cup awarding outfit that we got in the previous Great Hall set, but with a skirt piece this time