Micmac

Found this today. Some of the prints are really nice. Gave most of the parts to the girls next door though as I have no use for the key rings. Tiles are random so I'll check bricklink for the missing prints eventually. You do get a wrist band but I forgot to add it to photo.

Looking forward to this set in march but there is always room for improvement in the official sets.

I think the Black lake set looks good. A nice reimagining of the original set. I feel like you could easily add more detail to it at not too much of a cost. The rest of the sets are a bit lame. The room of requirements is another addition to the ugly castle. It's nice to see a new ghost though. The "books" or banners are hit and miss, Gryffindor is the best and Hufflepuff the worst i think. The banners seem to have maybe cardboard printed back plates, you can see them on the rotating image on the lego site.

I saw this on Facebook the other day and thought they did a good job of converting it. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10229116192436051&set=pcb.441481184612349

I don't think it would work really, you want all discussion of the advent calendar kept to a seperate thread and if someone then comes on here, doesn't know the new rule and spoils it, people will get mad at them. It will just lead to problems. And a spoiler warning will be on everything at certain times of the year as new stuff is leaked. If you don't want to know what's in sets you will just have to avoid the site and the internet for periods of time.

I fell like Diagon Alley is the odd one out now in the Large Harry Potter exclusive sets. We have had a miniature version of Hogwarts, a large scale animal and objects and now super detailed version of the train. These are all display pieces rather than a play with set. I'm not sure we will get an extension to the alley in the same way as we did before. I can see them doing a Gringotts set like the Ministry or Grimmauld place price point or going the train route and making it really detailed display piece with the dragon but I'm not sure we will get a bank plus extra shops in the new $500 american dollars or $800 here in oz. I really hope they just do it by itself as a play set as the price of the sets is getting ridiculous. It's such an iconic build and will sell lots at the lower price and they can always rerelease it later as the more expensive detailed set. It would be weird for them to do it the other way, a really detailed one and then a cheaper version a few years later. The Dragon could be a seperate set with some of the vault or mines scene. And I think people would buy individual shops to add to Diagon alley like Knockturn Alley and the Leaky Cauldron that could be designed differently to the alley shops (maybe like the Three Broomsticks) but could still be displayed with it. Also I love some of the torso prints for the trio in the new train set but Lego is really bad at keeping them exclusive to a set now so I'm sure they will turn up in next years sets. A few will stay exclusive like the driver and Trolly lady and the epilogue family.

New train is beautiful but Diagon Alley is the only large set I've ever bought from this theme and that got a $100 increase here in oz with the new price hikes. So this set will be over $700 possibly $800. Crazy. I don't think the figures are different enough for them to be must have figures and it looks like none have leg printing which always annoys me in these expensive sets. The one carriage is a shame and the station is pretty small but the detail in it is great. I'll live in hope that lego sends me this by accident like the leaker but not for me at the moment but there is a market for these sets. I just wonder how high can lego go with pricing before people stop buying these type of sets in the quantities that make them profitable for lego.. I wonder if it doesn't fit on normal tracks will the train fans want it either.

Kmart only seems to have the Shrieking Shack so far, I got it last week and have seen it in another kmart as well, not listed online though. Nothing in Target or BigW yet and nothing on their websites in the coming soon sections either. The official Lego shops in Melbourne (I went to Doncaster) have everything except Dumbledores office and the Horntail set. They had Grimmuld place releasing next week on their website but they have them in today. And on the official lego site they had a bunch of sets listed for 1st August but that just seems to be a random date as some of those sets are available now. I'm sure its stock related so the missing sets might turn up this month.

The US dates are what they have on their site. My only hope is that like the last batch of sets the official lego shops in Melbourne were getting stock in when the website didn't even have them for sale. It's odd that they put the shack and the dragon up for presale but now the dragon is an august release.

I was checking release dates for the new Harry Potter sets on the lego site. UK has them all for 1st June, lovely. US has them down for June 19th release. Not too bad, I know ye have been screwed over with some of the release dates sometimes but a few weeks isn't the end of the world. Australia.....Shack 1st june....Grimmauld place 23rd june....ok ...everything else 1st august.....Nooooooooo We never usually get the rubbish release schedule over here.

The younger Castle looks great in it and it will be worth it just to have a wander around Hogwarts and its surrounding villages and hopefully we get some sets based on it just to give the theme some variety. I won't hold my breath though. It will be useful for moc inspiration anyway. Fighting in it looks a bit off in it. A lot of baddies waiting their turn to attack you. And i hope their is no micro transactions, I did notice in your room of requirements a timer appear on a potion he was making.

So here is my version of the two styles blended together. The exterior design of 2019 and the interior space of 2022. It makes it wider and deeper so I've added extra windows. I've kept some of the new features from the 2022 set that I think work well like the modular nature, the open side arch pieces to keep it accessible and the removable long brick to help with access for play.

So here is my version of the two styles blended together. The exterior design of 2019 and the interior space of 2022. It makes it wider and deeper so I've added extra windows. I've kept some of the new features from the 2022 set that I think work well like the modular nature, the open side arch pieces to keep it accessible and the removable long brick to help with access for play.

I watched Hollys video and thought the opposite, what a train wreck the new style looks like from the outside. It looks like it was designed by different people that got a tiny brief at the start and then they never communicated again. I really don't feel like they put enough time into some of the smaller sets last year to bring the whole design together and it really lets the new system down. And the new clocktower and flying lessons look like they are from a different line and have been added to it just because they fit. Interiors are much better due to the extra width but not all the room benefit from it. They needed an official layout for the last version of Hogwarts as well and to design that into all the sets. I think both series have some design issues which I think lego really need to put more time into working them out in the future. I'm glad you enjoy the new style. I'm loving the figures and new parts anyway.

So I did some minor alterations to the official set and created a ground floor to go with it. I feel like it's possible to make these modular sets much more film accurate while keeping them in the new style. I feel that they could have done so much more with this set to make it a must have. I've added Harry practicing Expecto Patronum with Lupin and Dementor coming out of the new trunk on the ground floor. The courtyard and fountain that are supposed to be in the new Sirius escape set this summer could have been added to this set too. I'll put more pictures up on instagram.