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I don't see them releasing a Hogwarts that wouldn't have its own Great Hall. If all of the other sets connect to the Hogwarts to flesh it out, I don't see why it would be a $500 set. Doesn't seem worth it.

Yes, I did enjoy the images. Sorry for being so brusque. I hope that you figure out your embedding issue. As for the profile picture, try using a program like paint to make your image smaller, then try to add it as your profile picture again.

Has it been confirmed that there is a D2C Hogwarts? I know there's been a lot of fairly credible talk. If so, has it been confirmed that a large portion of (Great Hall) will be missing from the D2C Hogwarts set? Or is that just more speculation?

Can't wait to see what the Mosasaurus molds look like.

Maybe we will see something this weekend...

I'm not too worried about stud shooters, as I don't think they really belong. That said, I wouldn't have too much of a problem with including them as long as they aren't replacing other standard weapons. If anything, I'm worried about the new crossbow stud shooters introduced with Elves and Star Wars. I much prefer the classic crossbows, the new ones look bulky and out of place in a Castle theme : About the main character idea, I don't really have a problem with named characters in a Castle theme, either. Things that would irk me about their inclusion would be lots of bright colors (KK2 jelly beans / NK rock candy), or designs too specific to work well for army building. That said, I do really appreciate that both KK2 and NK gave us new visor molds. Some of them are fantastic, and I wouldn't mind seeing some of those (or similar) molds return in normal metal colors that would be used for normal knights: Outpost Attack is a nice small set. I'd prefer a similar set with more pieces put into the tower rather than a bulky catapult: Prison Carriage Rescue is honestly one of the smaller and less impressive of the many carriages in the Castle line. I much prefer the carriage from 2013's Gold Getaway. Still, I think that either the structure and catapult of Gold Getaway could have been eliminated in favor of a better carriage, or could have been built up to be a more impressive structure (a taller tower or a mine) at a higher price point: I don't think we will have to wait 10 years for Castle to return. It will be a shame if this is true, though.

I'd like to discuss some of the quirks of LEGO fandom that I've come across, and things that grind my gears. I will start with 2 examples: - LEGOs - I am putting this one up top because it is a common pet peeve among LEGO fans. It irks me a bit to hear it, but it drives some people mad. Many kids grow up calling them LEGOs with nobody to correct them. LEGO is already plural, there is no need to pluralize it any further! "I just bought a lot of LEGOs at a garage sale!" - Set / Part Numbers - It drives me nuts when people talk about sets or parts by number without any additional information. I can't remember them all by number, I always have to go look it up (or just skip over their comment, not knowing what they were talking about). "My favorite LEGO part is 30043 because it is so useful!" All of this said, taking any of this too seriously is just bad for everyone. As much as things like this may bother us from time to time, LEGO is really all about having fun. So, what gets under your skin?

Yes. Please.

Yes. Why not embed the photos?

All Elemental Masters past & present, including the element of SURPRISE!

Minidolls; doesn't count. At least that's how the bulk of the male-oriented population see it. And that doesn't mean all men prefer minifigures and all girls prefer minidolls. My girlfriend and niece are females who really appreciate the minifigure, while many guys here will tell you how they love minidolls. And of course some like both, but that's a smaller segment. The majority of people who like one dislike the other. Those are all brick-built dragons (with the exception of Smaug), whereas Castle always has that amazing Dragon mold they continue to use. Also, Smaug is amazing mold, and the Hungarian Horntail from Harry Potter wasn't bad, either. Castle can differentiate itself from those other themes by giving us awesome dragons using molded pieces. Maybe they could even use some dinosaur molds to add to the fantasy. Many many boys in the US love medieval European architecture. Yes, it is appealing. Castles and fortresses are among the first things many boys will build with bricks, and girls, too. And while children learn about fables and fairy tales early here, the freedom to create and express ones self with a generic theme tied to nothing carries on the true philosophy of LEGO as a creative tool that can help to unleash a child's (or adult's) imagination.

It was indeed a Visionaries ripoff. And I'm not going to be sorry it is gone, either. I wasn't a fan of Visionaries in the 1980's, and I wasn't a fan of Nexo Knights in the 2010's. On the other hand, I do think that Castle will make a return. It may be a little longer than originally expected due to an early end for Nexo Knights and a full-blown Wizarding World theme, but I do think that a Castle theme will be back before too long. And I'd much prefer that to a general history theme.

A pretty apt analysis. Muted colors would be better, but a touch of red or blue in the heraldry, or green in the plants couldn't hurt. I just personally prefer the dark palette of colors over the normal versions. The sand selection is also nice, and a sand blue could work very well if used properly. Maybe they could even throw in some sand red or sand purple, colors which have been underused. I wouldn't mind seeing them here and there in a Castle theme.

Sort of. It's an imagined future of the Castle theme, imagined by people who are aware of modern technology, including sci-fi future technology. Yes, it's complicated.

You missed the point. It's not a future based on what medieval people thought would happen. It's a theoretical future of the world set up in the Castle theme.

Watched Rocky last night. A nice feel-good comedy with boxing.

I do the same thing. If you've followed my posts at all I've talked about Star Wars and Superheroes supplementing my purchasing and providing me with minifigures and parts that can be used in my Castle builds. That said, we haven't had Castle for ages. Trying to find what I need through other themes is slim pickings, few and far between. Only a true Castle theme can give me (and others like me) what I crave.

What's with all the links here? Embed your images, please!

It would be really great if the original founders / house namesakes appeared in the CMF series. I'm not much into Harry Potter as a universe, but I could get behind iconic characters from lore like those 4.

Exactly. Similarly, thinking that Nexo Knights will appease both Castle and Space fans seems like a lack of understanding. Nexo Knights did add a few useful pieces for each, but ultimately missed both marks completely.

Let's talk about those fans, though. No bone thrown.

Definitely. The 3 themes I support above all others are Castle, Pirates, and Space. Do I also buy sets from other themes? Yes, but only to satisfy my desires for more minifigures and parts useful to Castle builds (and sometimes Pirates and Space). I have been tempted to step outside of LEGO and buy from other similar brands, but have resisted that urge for a loyalty to LEGO. And my spending would increase considerably should I actually have Castle, Pirates, and Space sets to choose from. As I have said, I bought all but one 2013 Castle sets, and I bought a few from the 2015 Pirates line as well. I would still do this, while purchasing the odd Star Wars or Superheroes sets that I currently buy. In fact, LEGO would get more of my money as I wouldn't be spending as much on Bricklink to get the parts I want. And yes, I believe this extends beyond AFOL purchasing to include the target market of kids from 8-16.

But nothing in the way of Castle themed sets.

I often buy grey spaceships from the Star Wars line because they come with a couple of minifigures I want, and I know I will be able to use the bulk of the grey set pieces in a Castle based build. So yes, sometimes I buy sets from other themes for parts and minifigures. I only do this when there is plenty to use, though. With Elves, for example, I am more likely to buy via Bricklink or Bricks & Pieces to get the specific parts I'm after because minidolls are useless to me, as are most of the colorful parts. And of course I always try to find a deal and buy at a discount when buying complete sets.

Here and there, there is interest in those other themes, but they do not offer what only Castle can offer.