Accio Lego

The build for the gwp is exactly what I was expecting. Floo fireplace and chimney with a nice shelf of merchandise next to it. Lucius might be a bit of a downgrade from his previous appearance, but given that 1) it’s not another Harry, 2) we’re almost certainly getting a new Lucius in January, and 3) it means we get the mysterious box of dark artifacts he’s selling to Borgin, I’m personally not inclined to complain. Personally, I like it for what it is. And for anyone moaning about how they just want a proper B&B set - I honestly think this could make it more likely. The 2011 version from that year’s Diagon Alley set had a nice exterior, but the interior had the floo fireplace, vanishing cabinet, and almost nothing else due to space and (presumably) budget constraints. The shelf in this gwp already has more merchandise that the 2011 version of the store did, and I’m hoping that with the fireplace and CoS character variants already accounted for it will streamline a potential B&B set into a proper shop with the vanishing cabinet and Death Eater group from HBP. That sounds like a much more manageable budget and coherent story than trying to mix the CoS and HBP versions into the same set.

Minidoll and minifigure heads are absolutely designed to be the same diameter on top, allowing the two systems to interchange wigs most of the time. For example Lavender and Karkaroff both use minidoll hair that can clearly be identified by the accessory holes they have. Female minifigure hair doesn’t get put on dolls as often because long hairpieces tended to be sculpted to fit around the blockier minifig torso, but both male characters in the set you posted use pieces that originated on minifigures, and the Nessarose minidoll in one of the other Wicked sets seems to use the same hair mold as Rosmerta. Personally, I’ve been thinking ‘Ooo… I want that for a Diagon Alley shopper’ since the first trailer dropped (since we already knew Wicked would be getting sets by then). The question is how easy will it be to get ahold of a part which will almost certainly be IP locked.

It definitely strikes me as more of a preference thing than anything. Like how some designers use the old thinner cape fabric versus the newer spongy style (with the recently added plastic capes presumably be added to that). Some people are going to like the fullness in appearance that the new D&D part has, others are going to prefer the flexibility that a rig like the Harpy’s gives you.

Would be strange, but not something that will be a problem for most collectors – don’t we all have piles of extra wands from previous sets? I know I do. Came in useful when the Diagon Alley D2C didn’t come with any wands other than the ones in the boxes in Ollivander’s.

Oh dang, I think you’re right. The striped torso on the fig in the upper bedroom does look like the pajamas Percy is wearing in that CoS scene. In that case, the fig with the dark clothes could be Bill – upon looking closer he seems to actually use that Yaxley hair instead of the short wig I originally thought. That would mean the character in the brown vest is actually Charlie - which fits the rugged clothes and gloves a bit better.

The fireplace/chimney is in the living room. Sure, it takes up a lot of the space in said living room, but you can still see details like the chair with the self-knitting needles off to the side. I think it’s interesting that they clearly went with CoS based heights for the younger kids, but they still seem to have references to later installments like the WWW products and Percy’s outfit. Still not sure why they wouldn’t just do a GoF based set, since the outfits would be similarly unique as the CoS arrival ones and the twins had already started their business by then in the books, but maybe they just couldn’t squeeze Hermione into the budget. Charlie seems to be the one with the recolored Hawkeye hair - the pattern on his shirt seems to match the extra at the back of the PoA family photo. That would make the fellow in the brown vest Bill, although I can’t say I’m a fan of the hobbit hair for him. I might see about picking up the ponytail they used for Yaxley in dark orange, if he can’t have accurate movie hair he can at least have accurate book hair. Returning to the fireplace, the Floo play feature looks like a screw lift that will let you suck characters into the chimney by spinning a knob. Assuming the gwp has a matching set up (like the 2010 Burrow and 2011 Diagon Alley did), then it will need to be on the taller side for a promo. I think there’s still a good chance we’ll see a shelf of merchandise attached though, if for no other reason than that’s the easiest way to build in pin connections that would give it a way to attach to a hypothetical future Borgin and Burke’s set.

I’m not too worried about that. We still got the vested dog in police/fire and the Tiger, gorilla, baby gorilla, and red panda in the summer jungle subtheme (although that last one might have used Dreamzzz budget), and not a single one of those had anything to do with the overarching space subtheme they did this year. Not to mention Dreamzzz giving us the new raven (and possibly red panda). And the non-themed CMF introduced the Afghan hound and brought back the goat. So, yeah, if this year is anything to go by, we shouldn’t have to worry too much about getting new animals next year.

Yes, it would be nice if they did it in black and brought it back in brown. Especially since it’s compatible with the service dog harness too! And since plenty of service dogs don’t actually wear vests it would be better for Lego to continue acknowledging that instead of getting lazy and only using the vested mold.

Because the poll wasn’t “what classic space color do you want in the future,” it was specifically “what new classic space color do you want introduced in the upcoming Ideas Minifigure Machine?” The Minifigure Machine wouldn’t appeal to nearly as many people if it had 5 colors of spaceman instead of a range of different archetypes. Even just two spacemen in that set would probably be perceived as ‘cheap’ by consumers who aren’t familiar with how lego budgeting works.

It will probably be more like – this year’s polybag for $XX Harry Potter purchase, the B&B Floo gwp for $XXX Harry Potter purchase, and [unknown Weasley clock item] specifically when you purchase the Burrow. I don’t think any Harry Potter gwp in the past has been tied to the purchase of a specific set, not even the Gringotts Vault one last year which was very specifically an extension of the D2C set. But Lego has done that with several other D2Cs, so I can see them dipping their toe in with this theme too. May the Fourth seems to be profitable for them, and has frequently included some non lego promotional items, with Back to Hogwarts day becoming a more permanent fixture in recent years it makes sense that Lego might want to try similar tactics.

The zoo/aquarium thing would be kinda a bummer, but I get it. There are good examples of both out there, which do great things with conservation and educating the public, but the most visible difference between them and bad institutions is the amount of space the animals have. And the way system sets work even minifigures tend to look horribly cramped in interior rooms. It would just take too many pieces to show people the animals they want in humane enclosures. Much better to get sets themed around environmentalists observing them in the wild that will actually be affordable. The rule cited only mentions wild animals in captivity, so domesticated animals on farms shouldn’t be affected by that bit.

The outfits in the set seem to be based off multiple movies – for instance the figure all in black is almost certainly Percy in his ministry worker outfit, and he only graduated after Wormtail was exposed. Harry and Ron also seem to have mid legs instead of short legs, so I personally wouldn’t consider Scabbers likely.

A whole bunch of people turned up to lego stores in Chile expecting those promo posters with the Burrow on them after their local social media page posted the promo weeks too early. So at this point it would make sense for Lego to do the official reveal next week or the week after to give people time to get hyped about it going into whatever back to Hogwarts events they’re doing, as opposed to dropping it at the last minute for shock factor.

I’d consider chickens more likely than ducks or geese considering the Weasleys canonically have a chicken coop. But no sign of that in the leaked image. Other than the visible great grey owl and pigs, the smowl in light grey that was introduced in the Owlery set is based off Ron’s pet, Pigwidgeon, so that would be something preexisting that the designers could throw in if they have the budget. Ron’s also described as keeping frog spawn and eventually an actual frog in his room, so given how much some of the designers love that piece…

That could be it, although it would be odd because Arthur in his hat is to the right, but it wouldn’t be the first time that marketing didn’t care what accessory they had a character holding in promo photos.

A (very blurry) picture of the upcoming Burrow D2C has leaked. Meaning we have official confirmation of the flying owl coming in a new color for Errol the Great Grey.

Good spot on the hat! I was a little worried because I only counted 8 redheads, but now that you’ve pointed it out that’s definitely Arthur in his hat from CoS instead of an ambiguous pig sty related structure like I initially thought. Cool that we’re getting a new hat. And while there’s definitely so reference to CoS in the outfits I don’t think it’s completely based on those scenes. For one, Harry and Ron are right at the front, and even with the blurry image they seem to have at least mid legs instead of short ones. There’s also rather notably a redhead in mostly black on the far left – I’m certain that’s Percy in his Ministry suit from the later movies.

Interesting, I haven’t had a chance to watch the video yet, so I was just going by the website list. It would definitely make A LOT more sense for the motorbike to be the $20 set, for all the same reasons the Ford Anglia was a good set for that price point this year (with the added bonus of being something Lego has never done before). $50 for Charms Class would be a bump up from the Potions Class set, but perhaps the above ground modules are slightly larger? You’d certainly have to do something a bit larger to fit the mirrored bleacher style desks the Charms classroom has at any rate.

Dobby technically doesn’t die until they get to Shell Cottage - the most we see at Malfoy Manor is Bellatrix throwing the knife and it disappearing with the heroes when they escape. So I’d still consider it in the realm of possibility. As far as price points go - jedi jac penguin already has set numbers, tentative names, piece counts, and prices up with Hagrid’s Motorbike matched with a $50 price. They tend to be pretty wary of jumping the gun on leaks, so a pretty trustworthy source would have to get something mixed up for them to have posted incorrect info.

The last Ford Anglia came out this year alongside the Boathouse and Owlery, but that will hardly prevent us from getting a new Whomping Willow since the last one came with the Shrieking Shack - Lego knows it doesn’t have to come with the car. If anything, the Willow could do with the standalone treatment that the car got - both previous versions aren’t as good as it could be if given sole focus. Hagrid’s Motorbike is either going to disappoint everyone by being this wave’s buildable ‘creature’ or be based off the battle of the seven Potters and feature a decent amount of scenery. The flying lesson probably features a decent chunk of castle so it can feature the statue that Neville gets caught on as he falls off his broom - probably including McGonagall and her office on the inside. They probably decided on that over a Quidditch set because they want more castle sections that you can put modules in ASAP. I imagine this one will feature above ground module cubby holes, to accommodate modules like the also upcoming Charms Class.

I pointed out it’s statistically unlikely because historically since the reboot we’ve had very few instances of an adult character appearing more than once in the same wave. I think the only two cases were when the Shrieking Shack and Expecto Patronum sets came out at the same time and Snape in the Whomping Willow and Quidditch Match sets at the beginning (not counting the gold anniversary figs of course). Otherwise teachers seem to stick to once per wave or even once per year. So I personally believe the designers are more likely to wait on a F&B set until a later wave. Also, we’ve only had two of the new smaller Diagon Alley sets so far, so it’s hard to tell if there’s a proper pattern, but the previous two have both paired a notable previously done shop with a brand new to lego one, presumably as incentive for those of us with the old D2C to buy them for the new locations and characters. If nothing else, QQS and F&B have to be broken up for that reason, so Lego can keep long term collectors interested while stretching the Diagon subtheme out.

I’m wondering if it isn’t a length thing? Yes, we got Diagon Alley: Weasleys’ Wizarding Wheezes, but that left off any mention of the owl post office in the name. Ollivander’s & Madam Malkin’s Robes have more characters for the stores, but leaves off the ‘Diagon Alley’ part. Something like “Diagon Alley: Quality Quidditch Supplies and Magical Menagerie” might just be too wordy. Incidentally, those are my personal guesses for the shops – this wave otherwise has 2 SS, 2 DH, 1 CoS, and 1 PoA set, and we’ve had SS and HBP in the small scale Diagon sets previously. And Lockhart will definitely be in the Dueling Club set so it’s statistically unlikely he’ll be in another set the same wave, meaning no Flourish & Blott’s. That means a PoA themed set is a good possibility, and Crookshanks and the Firebolt are the most notable acquisitions in the third installment.

Absolutely stoked that we’re getting all the Weasleys. That was already strongly suspected after the survey leak image, but given how preliminary that was it’s great to have confirmation. Now we just get to wonder what they’ll do for Charlie. (I think I’ve already stated I’m a fan of the Hogwarts Mystery look, but it will be fun to see what lego chooses)

I mean that’s a plus, isn’t it? The same part being able to pull double duty as a completely normal domestic pet and an unexpected enemy. Lego is supposed to have that kind of flexibility.

I’d be willing to have another early version Flitwick if they used the set budget to finally give him his hat. The moments and AC versions don’t have it and with Boathouse McGonagall and Potions Class Snape being more detailed than ever I think Flitwick deserves the same treatment.