nicknack116

Technically the Muppets IS a Disney series, but not the one we expected I agree that next year seems like a good year to expect a new D2C set and a proper Disney series to go along with it. 2023 is also the Walt Disney Company's 100th anniversary, so there could be some larger merchandising push with companies like LEGO for that, too? Personally, I would love for LEGO to do a monorail set with a collection of park attractions/icons for us to arrange around the monorail. Something like the style of the 50th Disney World castle or the rumored Haunted Mansion but for attractions that wouldn't sell on their own. Something like the Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, the Matterhorn, etc. all on their own display base and then monorail track you can weave around them.

Definitely agree that a Gringotts rollercoaster would fit a kid consumer more so more likely to be priced lower. And now I think too hard about all of this for my own good: Lots of good theories in here for how/why LEGO chooses to make some sets (like Diagon Alley) priced as D2C vs. others. I just think it's fun to speculate and guess. I agree that there aren't a whole of options left to justify a $470 price tag from the "well, duh" category. Seems like people keep throwing around potential sets of: Gringotts/Leaky Cauldron/other DA shops Quidditch Pitch (Personally, I think some people are really underselling the popularity of Quidditch) Some sort of UCS/motorized Hogwarts Express Another version of Hogwarts castle I think looking at Universal Studio's approach to designing Harry Potter would help see what's iconic to diehard and casual fans, too. So, what does Universal have that's not been made into LEGO? Grimmauld Place Full Hogsmeade/Kings Cross Train Stations Gringotts Bank/Rollercoaster Additional Diagon Alley/Hogsmeade shops The Leaky Cauldron and Brick Wall TONS of merchandise/objects So, what's left and iconic? Just throwing out random ideas here: Battle-damaged Hogwarts Brick-built Sorting Hat and Sword of Gryffindor Items to represent the Horcruxes or Deathly Hallow-connected objects The Triwizard Tournament - All 3 tasks in one giant set, complete with hedge maze Portrait of the Fat Lady Brick-built Dobby or Buckbeak That was probably way too long of a message, so I'm sorry. Really curious to see what the set will end up being.

I know people are passionately for or against different sets at this price point, with a lot of good points of why certain sets are likely/unlikey. Just saying that to keep in mind this is 100% pure fun/not a serious idea...but what if the D2C is a Gringotts...underground rollercoaster? Using the rollercoaster track pieces, they could give us a couple of cars that go around to Harry's vault, the sorcerer's stone vault, the waterfall that removes enchantments, the Lestrange vault, and the Ironbelly, with supports made to look like the caves. And then the $120 set is the Gringotts exterior that can connect to the coaster if you want or stand on its own.

This is a really good point I hadn't thought of before. I've always felt like there aren't many scenes from DH1 or DH2 that LEGO would feel comfortable making into sets given the lack of action or that the action is too dark. But being able to pull double duty by having the Ministry of Magic also be a DH1 set and Gringotts be a DH2 set is a brilliant way to adapt scenes from those movies. I also feel like the creative energy behind adapting the wizarding world (as in what becomes LEGO sets and what was chosen for the Harry Potter theme parks at Universal) means that we're more likely to get a Gringotts with an option for displaying the Ironbelly on the roof, which means DH2, too.

Catching up on a few pages of commentary on the Summer set descriptions, and it's exciting to finally have news. It sounds to me like the Ministry of Magic set will be OotP-based. The Hall of Prophecy supposedly being included seems to point that direction. If the dementors are really dementors, could they be included with the idea that they be used to recreate the attack on Harry over the summer? Because that's the reason he even goes to the Ministry in the first place. Umbridge, Lucius, and Arthur are all present in the scenes around Harry's trial at the Ministry. Ron might even be Percy, who's also in that scene. Or maybe we're given Ron (if it is Ron) and a death eater or two (with Lucius) to also recreate the Hall of Prophecy fight. But then again, I'm surprised to get a Ministry of Magic set that doesn't include Dumbledore and Voldemort fighting in the atrium. I've also seen lots of comments saying the big D2C set is obviously more Diagon Alley. I feel like we were saying the same thing last year on the Mario discussion that the D2C "had to be" Princess Peach's castle, and then we got something entirely out of the box...er, block, as it were. I wonder if something similar is happening here? I'd love to get a set with Gringotts and The Leaky Cauldron, but I wonder if there are any more recognizable Diagon Alley buildings to make? And it seems like both of those could be standalone purchases. But I'm surprised to see hardly any mention of a minifig-scale Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch. It could easily give us full rosters of all four house teams and any number of random/requested students/staff as spectators. Not to mention it would be an impressive display piece on its own.

That's a brilliant idea! I agree with a lot of what you said about potential sets, but I hadn't considered this one at all. It would also give an opportunity to provide a user-controlled antagonist if they wanted, too.

The Lightyear trailer was great, and I'm excited to see what the sets look like! Really curious to see how they redesign Zurg (and maybe the little green men?) for this movie. I'm confused that people thought it was going to be "grounded" though? Pixar, when they first announced this movie, said they had always thought that the Buzz Lightyear action figures/video games in Toy Story 1 and 2 probably had a big blockbuster movie to go with them in-universe. Like Andy saw a Buzz Lightyear movie and then wanted the merchandise/toys that came out with it. And Pixar just decided to actually make that Buzz Lightyear movie. So in that sense 2022's Lightyear is based on the "real" Buzz Lightyear...the Space Ranger who was stationed in the Gamma Quadrant of Sector 4 and fought the Evil Emperor Zurg, sworn enemy of the Galactic Alliance. Just like his packaging says. :) I'm curious to see how much that box description has influenced this movie's story.

I'm surprised no one's talked about the new ? block set yet! I picked it up on October 1st and just finished building last night. It's really fun, and I love the amount of details and hidden things they were able to pack into such tiny dioramas of the Mario 64 levels. Definitely in my top three favorite sets of the year. Of course, I feel like I'm an oddball around these parts. The giant, brick-built Harry Potter and Hermione minifigures were also one of my favorite sets of this year.

Yes. It’s an officially licensed game that sought funds through Kickstarter, and they raised $9.5 million with a goal of $50,000. So, definitely an indicator of people willing to pay for Airbender/Korra merchandise.

You're right, and that's a very good pull. I enjoy the figure much more now. Just wish it came with the waistcoat piece. For everyone saying this Mickey looks creepy, I won't argue that. Cause, yeah... But just wanted to make sure everyone knew that they're making a figure based on this version of Mickey from Walt Disney World's opening 50 years ago.

I think the only way a nose-less version would work is if they make a new mustache piece that resembles Mario's so it's kind of an implied nose? But totally agree that molded heads would work better, especially since so many other characters will need to have molded pieces to be represented accurately.

I know it's incredibly too early to speculate, but if 2022 has 4 collectible minifigure series (which seems to be the rumor now?), I'd love to see sets based on the Mario movie also get one of those 4 CMF series dedicated to it, too!

Agreed! Keeping things minifigure scale limits their options and making it something iconic that non-Disney-diehards would also want to buy. I think a Monorail set and loading platform with a cast of Disney characters to ride in it is a no-brainer set that I hope LEGO makes. And I really think that's an opportunity to represent each land with micro-scale dioramas of an attraction to serve as the "from the monorail" view of the park. Then kids could set up the monorail track and rearrange the dioramas to create their own Disneyland layout. It would also be an opportunity to create iconic Disneyland locations that wouldn't be as feasible (financially or creatively) on their own as a set: Sleeping Beauty Castle (since we've only gotten Cinderella's so far), Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Matterhorn, It's a Small World's exterior, Main Street, Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain, Mickey's house in ToonTown. I'd say Haunted Mansion as well, but I agree that could be its own set. Unfortunately, the recent Fairground set seems to also tick that haunted house box as well as Tower of Terror. Maybe when the Haunted Mansion movie Disney's making comes out we could get a classic Disneyland LEGO set, too?

Oh absolutely, just me getting my own hopes up :)

I’ve been wondering the same thing. The new Walt Disney World castle should be coming out October 1st, since it’s branded as a 50th anniversary set and that’s the date the 50th celebration starts. I’ve been wondering if we might get a monorail set? Maybe two Disneyland transportation sets is too much, so they’re retiring the train. And then you could have more micro scale attractions to go with the track to act as the park itself? The teacups. Dumbo. It’s a Small World’s Disneyland facade. The Haunted Mansion. And it means they could basically put any characters they want in the set. re: the Muppets, I hope it’s true!! I would love the Electric Mayhem’s bus as a set, too

Dream CMF series? That implies that it's nothing we've seen before. Seriously though...what's left to license that could fill out a mass-appeal CMF series? This might not be the place for speculation, but...I'd love for it to be the Muppets! You could easily find 12 characters to fill out a series. And it would mean another Disney series, just not Disney/Pixar animation. LEGO's Sesame Street characters turned out so well, and I've been wanting them to make Kermit and the gang next.

haha, I get the doom and gloom given their track record, but I honestly think that any other animation studio would've been an awful fit for Nintendo. I think with Illumination Nintendo will be exactly where they want to be: in the driver's seat. And I'm guessing studios who pride themselves on quality stories would've just clashed with Nintendo. Nintendo has to have full approval on anything in the movie. They gave notes on how Bowser would hold a cup of coffee in Wreck-It Ralph, so I can only imagine the headache of getting everything approved, pushing to go beyond the basic Mario story, etc. It'll be interesting to see how it ends up.

I wonder how much of that decision by LEGO was influenced by K'NEX previously having the Mario license? K'NEX made lots of minifigure-type characters with molded heads in minifigure-scale playsets. And, while LEGO is obviously different, I could see LEGO worrying that parents might say, "We already have Mario LEGO." Even if that's not the case, I think LEGO made the right choice by fully embracing the potential of Super Mario and making it more interactive. My kids love the sets. And then these display sets like the NES and ? block are perfect for me. I wish we had a happy medium, though. I want LEGO Mario figures to display on a shelf. And the brick-built characters have been awesome. But it's just a shame they can't have a brick-built Mario to go with them. Unless you like the black-eyed possessed version.

Perfectly said! LEGO is in the business of tapping new markets to come buy their sets who haven’t before and then might get interested in other lines, too. It’s smart and, selfishly, I’m loving this intersection of two things I’ve always loved.

So, I know we’ll know for sure soon, but… Has there been any discussion of this new Mario Question Block set getting a VIP release in September with a wide release in October? Or is it going to be an October set?

Not only is it open with the castle, Cool Cool Mountain, and Bob-Omb Battlefield on top, but it sure looks like there's...something in that open space where that hatch is. We'll see tomorrow! I'm just excited that LEGO is making a set based on Mario 64 AND that Nintendo approved it. It feels like Nintendo rarely licenses merchandise from past Mario games and opts for a more generic style (like the regular Mario sets) or toys based on the most recent game. I hope that extends to the regular Mario line and we get to see them be more creative than adapting simple side-scrolling levels.

Hi, random question to insert with the talk of 2022 sets. Does anyone know if the Harry Potter team at LEGO have said anything about the success of set #76393 (the brick-built minifigures of Harry and Hermione) or the future of making other characters? It's my favorite Harry Potter set from last year, and I just need the trio finished at least.

Thanks! Even if they don't completely redo this set, I'm guessing we're going to see MOCs of the other levels in Mario 64, too, which will be fun. Kind of surprised there's no brick-built micro Bowser? Maybe that flap scene has a Bowser boss fight scene?

Yep! Right after I posted I saw the post on Lava Land and it's obvious now. In that image of the 4 levels, the top-left one seems to show the castle raised up and maybe the main staircase? It's definitely more raised than the other image of Peach's castle. So maybe there's at least a hint of an interior?

It looks like the top flips and one of the sides of the block moves out to get the diorama scenes out of the block's interior, and then they can fold out to sit on top of the block. And the flap on the opposite side of the block must open down so you can look inside and see an underground level? From squinting, it sure looks like we're getting: Mario, Peach, and Yoshi brick-built micro figures Peach's Castle with castle interiors (?) Bob-Omb Battlefield with King Bob-Omb Cool Cool Mountain with brick-built micro Penguins So, if that flap is an underground world, maybe it's a scene from Hazy Maze Cave?