RogueTwo

I think (hope) a U-Wing is possible. It would make a great minifig-scale set for $200. Maybe next May the Fourth? Rogue One seems to have been mostly forgotten by LEGO, perhaps because it’s too dark for children, but UCS sets are patently adult, anyway. A TIE Bomber seems inevitable at some point, but I can’t get too excited about that one... Plus, then the UCS TIE Interceptor and Advanced would have to be rereleased, because the originals don’t hold up at all. All that said, the MOC that I’ve seen that seems like a most natural fit for an official set is a UCS Resistance X-Wing.

LEGO Shop at Home US has removed its back-in-stock notification feature for big-ticket items like the Millennium Falcon and the Star Destroyer. Does this mean that they are getting close to normal stock levels, or further away??

Me neither (I live in the Chicago area). I would not wait to go to the store, because those wave-one sets might become even scarcer. The Hogwarts Student Pack seems to have plenty of online stock, so you should be fine for a little while.

I did not mean to start new rumors. Personally, I think Grimmauld Place (either as Advent Calendar vignettes or a whole model) would be better off next year instead of this fall. But like I said, who knows? I hope for your sake that you get your Grimmauld Place soon! But we will just have to wait and see what happens, because I honestly have no idea.

Interesting! So we could potentially still get more Harry Potter stuff in a third wave? That would be a major change of tradition, but clearly LEGO's plans for this theme are expanding as it grows in popularity. As others have reiterated, the chances of another retailer exclusive this year are slim to none (and my wallet is glad of that!) but at this point we'll just have to wait and see. On another note, if I had to choose between the Hogwarts Astronomy Tower and The Burrow, which do people prefer? EDIT: @Retro Brick Reviews I was watching your YouTube channel (at least I think it's you) and you seemed pretty sure that the new sets will be released in July in the United States. I really hope so. I thought about asking Customer Service, but figured that even if they knew, they wouldn't be allowed to confirm it. My guess is that the August release date is provisional, depending on whether factories can produce enough before July, but who knows?

Now you know you have to mod a Burrow that has a removable back wall.

If we get any more this year, I’m officially going from “collect every set” to “only but the ones that I really love.” It’s hard, because I love them all, but seriously, this hobby is too expensive for me to justify buying some stuff. Of the two you mentioned, I’d say the Atrium Battle is far more likely. But that’s obviously complete speculation, and I doubt there are any more secret catalogue pages. To be fair, though, at this point nothing that 2020 can throw at me would surprise me.

Is there any precedent for that, though? Regardless, it will be interesting to see how the pandemic affects everyone feeling the bags for their favorite minifigures. I will say this, though. Last series, I seriously overpaid for a complete set on eBay. I won’t do that again unless absolutely “necessary”! Better to Bricklink them one by one in order of personal preference.

This needs to be on a t-shirt.

He could be that smart! I'm for Team Kingnono! If nothing else, the guy's providing a lot of entertainment!

I'm honest-to-goodness planning on reducing my number of therapist appointments between now and August so that I will have more money for the HP sets, which I think will be more curative. This world can be a very difficult and even horrible place at times, and I don't think there's any shame in admitting that. You're right about burnout. We need to stand up for the right things but not be ashamed of taking care of ourselves, too. I really appreciate this Eurobricks community. Sometimes people get into petty fights, but for the most part we have each others' backs.

I just remember how badly The Random Blocker was treated last year, and then they lost their job on top of it all! So one of my character flaws is giving people the benefit of the doubt (unless I know for a fact that they have done something seriously wrong, then I simply hate them.)

Well, thank you for not calling me crazy. Maybe my problem is that I just can't understand why someone would spend half a year spoonfeeding us cryptic and brilliant hints. I know some people thrive on misplaced Internet fame, but that's a mindset that I truly cannot comprehend. I guess Gilderoy Lockhart could comprehend it!

Nothing new in the retailer catalogue that leaked on Instagram (the D2C wouldn't be there, anyway). Call me crazy (and I know some will), but I still trust Kingnono more than a single catalogue. LEGO has all the cards up their sleeves for this theme. We didn't know about Hogwarts Students minifigure pack, and wasn't there still a Hagrid/Buckbeak Brickheadz, or did that get scrapped?

I will go on record and say that I decided I still trust Kingnono. Maybe I’m being naive, but literally the only thing they’ve been wrong about so far is the Advent Calendar, and they implied that they knew they were wrong. Let’s see what happens! EDIT: By the way, US replacement parts currently has the hare and otter Patronuses, and at least three exclusive torso parts (Arthur, Greyback, and Lavender) for sale. I’d recommend waiting for the sets, but I just thought that was interesting!! I suspect those Patronuses will sell out quickly and be resold on eBay for 10 times the price!

I totally hear you. I have been childish about this whole thing, and I apologize. On the other hand, I've donated money and signed petitions, and I was marching in protests before social distancing went into effect, so what else can I do, really? I feel helpless, and when I feel helpless, I turn to LEGO. I know that may not be healthy, but that's where I'm at right now. The thing is, my understanding is that LEGO had record sales this past month, so their stock levels may be low, but that's because people have bought everything. I hope they're treating their employees with the dignity that everyone deserves, and my point is that the I have less sympathy for the perpetual dysfunction of their website when they're raking in a ton of money from privileged people (of whom I am admittedly a part) who don't know what to do and end up buying a lot of toys. EDIT: I've just been "knighted" by Eurobricks!

Cancellations may be different than returns. Also, I once returned a $250 set, and when I offered to return the GWP, they told me to keep it. So your mileage may vary. "60 days" means "60 days or sooner." IIRC, it is generally the farthest in advance that LEGO allows backorders, which shows the supply-demand disparity for these sets pretty clearly.

I've always been able to cancel items on backorder. But as for the GWP, would you still meet the threshold without The Burrow? They would probably let you keep it either way, but it's dodgier if The Burrow was what qualified you for the GWP. Plus, if you wait a week, you run the risk of The Burrow coming back in stock earlier than anticipated, and (in the US at least) you can't cancel items once they reach the warehouse. Did you create a VIP account? If so, you should definitely just wait for The Burrow and get the extra VIP points, But that's just my three cents.

Well, whoever's in charge of LEGO product distribution seems to really not care one bit whether their most popular items are accessible, as long as they have something to sell. I would say it's because of the coronavirus, but...it's always been this way. The bad thing about an August 1 release date in the United States is not actually not the waiting two months, but the fact that Diagon Alley, the CMF, and goodness knows what else will be released around the same time, necessitating spending roughly $1000 all at once or waiting several months for things to come back in stock. I fully realize that this is the dictionary definition of a "first world problem," and trust me, I won't be spending $1000 at once, but I would prefer to have more time to space out my purchases. I don't know whether J.K. Rowling had any say in this, but averaging pricing and availability, the UK definitely got it "best" this time around! The LEGO situation in Australia sounds really disappointing, and potentially worse than the US. I'm sorry, folks.

When I call LEGO Customer Service to get try to get my VIP points resolved, I'm also going to try to see whether they have any knowledge of a possible "early" July release in the United States. I've still got my fingers crossed, but I'm thankful for the minifigure pack, and an August release is not the end of the world. The torso error in the Room of Requirement is disgraceful, though, no matter how good the Replacement Parts service is. Kind of like the A-Wing I just bought, where literally every dark red piece is translucent. These quality control issues make me maintain my belief that LEGO has gotten too big for its britches and puts profits ahead of quality. Luckily, the Harry Potter designers still obviously put so much love and care into their designs.

MINIFIGURE PACK AVAILABLE IN THE US!! GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT. Edit: Dammit, I hate the new VIP system. In my haste, I redeemed $15 in LEGO Store/phone order credit instead of for Shop at Home. Now I have to call Customer Service bright and early in the morning. But I'm so excited to at least be getting something Harry Potter this month!

One good thing about us "Yanks" having to wait until August: the supply situation would probably be even worse if the sets launched today in all territories. I hope you managed to get an Astronomy Tower if you wanted one!

Email LEGO Customer Service immediately and hope for the best (and call them in the morning). That's a tough situation, but they may be accommodating. Good luck with your points, and have fun with the sets, everyone! I'm so jealous! All we get in the US is exclusive rates of COVID and racism...

I'm not even sure that LEGO knows! In all seriousness, I'm pathetic enough that I'm going to stay up until midnight to see if it goes on sale.

Didn't Kingono say "on track" before, though? The exact repetition makes me think that if they are telling the truth, which is questionable, a Gringotts mine cart add-on set is still fairly likely. I would still consider @8fifty's theory that Kingnono are trying to protect someone (either themselves or a friend), and so it makes sense that they couldn't admit a mistake. And let's face it, most people would care much more about accurate information regarding the D2C than the advent calendar. However, I also agree with THELEGOBATMAN that there's little sense in trying to parse this out any more until we have something concrete, not just cryptic wordplay.