Accio Lego

White lions are actually a result of Leucism - a different genetic mutation. Hence the white Lion male and cub from a couple of years ago still having black eyes. So we’ve technically never had any proper albino animals. Which is kind of silly because albino rats and rabbits are fairly common pets and it would be ridiculously easy to do either one in a City set.

I don’t see why – there are plenty of Castle-y archetypes that don’t fit the hero/villain format of the D&D series. Case in point, the goatherd we got in the last non-themed series. For that matter, castle style characters could be even more popular because the people who just picked up the D&D series want to flesh out their world with townsfolk or a princess to rescue. I wouldn’t expect a sorcerer or wizard of any sort, but I wouldn’t take anything else off the table.

I really wouldn’t take that vague outline in the instructions as anything concrete. From what I understand the set designers only really know what they’re actively working on for the next year with only a general idea of what’s being workshopped for beyond that - with plans changing a lot over even the year or so a set is being developed. The graphic artists putting together the images know even less. The Owlery is a separate building, the bit of the castle the flying class is held next to is not a separate building. Therefore I’d expect at least a perfunctory show of being able to attach it to other castle sections.

Technically, we already knew that, but given the unprecedented way the original leak came a few months back it is nice to get things confirmed.

That wouldn’t surprise me simply because the statue that Neville gets caught on to slow his fall is a pretty notable part of that scene and it makes sense to include a bit of wall so it can be there. That’s why I was rather fond of the 2021 version - it included the statue and you could stack the two modules so it was a decent height up. The trick here is that the current Great Hall set is up on a rocky outcrop but the lawn where the flying lesson is held is obviously level with the castle building, so it could be tricky designing something that would connect with the rest of the castle.

??? But McGonagall has no connection to Charms class though??? She doesn’t even take Harry to Charms when she fetches Wood, he’s in DADA with Quirrel.

No cat, just the book and cauldron with purple flames. But her prints are pretty impressive and she uses the witch hat and hair mold that’s only appeared in the Hocus Pocus Ideas set before (and wasn’t available in PaB), so she’s a pretty enticing addition to flesh out the crowds in a wizarding setting. I’ve wanted to add a fig wearing that hat to my display ever since the leaks of the Vidiyo development sample dropped, so I’m very tempting to grab her, as well as the sorcerer with the mini red dragon (haven’t decided whether baby Norbert needs a friend or I want to use it as first task Krum’s model Chinese Fireball).

‘Could there be Death Eaters?’ is actually an interesting question here. On one hand, this would make a perfect small and affordable playset for kids like the Ford Anglia was last year. On the other hand, the motorbike is probably going to need some new custom parts to accommodate the uniquely sized Hagrid being its driver, which would bump up the budget. If that pushes the set into a higher price point it could make sense to put in a couple of Death Eaters on brooms so customers feel like they’re getting their money’s worth (and you wouldn’t even need new prints, the DH Death Eater from Gringotts has two different masks on the head).

The Flying Motorbike! Finally! I wonder if it will feature baby Harry in the sidecar or Battle of the Seven Potters Harry since there’s another DH1 set in the wave. Charms class could also be interesting. I’m expecting another module design like the potions class set from this summer, and if that’s the case we’ll likely get all the classes like that the same way we got moments books.

The gwp will almost certainly focus on the actual floo fireplace as opposed to anything resembling a full building. In the original 2002 Borgin & Burke’s set had the fireplace and chimney as a separate build from the facade. The 2011 version had nothing on the inside but the floo fireplace, vanishing cabinet, and a skeleton in the window, so I can see the appeal of doing the fireplace (likely with a small shelf of dark objects to the side) separately and then having more room and parts for actual merchandise when they eventually do the shop as a full set.

Strictly speaking, Sinestra, Vector, Fortescue, and even Lucian Bole from the 2018 Quidditch set were all uncredited extras in the movies, and only Fortescue was intended to represent that specific character. The other three examples are just lego attaching canon names to cool looking extras (the first to) or a character who played a role but wasn’t named (the last). Pretty sure Daphne Greengrass and Terry Boot from the Great Hall are also a similar case.

To be fair - I was specifically listing Hogwarts professors that we’re missing. When you add students and outside adults the list gets a bit more notable.

That’s true. Now that you mention it, I’m surprised lego hasn’t done a cmf character in a Venetian mask before. It’s iconic, very pretty, and highly unlikely to offend anyone as far as perpetuating harmful stereotypes goes. And Venice is also know for their glass, so there’s some obvious options for new accessories too. (Now that I’m thinking of it, a glassblowing minifig would make a pretty cool cmf character as well)

I mean, we’ve gotten Sinestra and Vector despite neither having lines in the movies (and their lego appearances only being based off uncredited extras), Florian Fortescue and the flower selling witch despite also not having lines and only showing up on screen for seconds, Madam Malkin despite her not appearing on screen at all, and the trolley witch despite her having just a single line. I think Firenze can be justified as a character that should be made in Lego form compared to those. If it weren’t for the context of the scene he’s in I’m pretty sure we’d already have him.

He is blond but his horse body is palomino in the books. That means golden fur with a white mane and tail (although I can understand a bit of confusion as the Beauxbatons Abraxans are also palomino in the books but the movie made the grey/white). The movies wildly changed his appearance – really the only thing they kept was him being a centaur. He’s more of a dark brown (the exact shade is hard to tell since his only scene is in low light).

Honestly, from what I can remember off the top of my head, the ‘Plague Doctor Mask’ we think of from modern interpretations actually looks far more like those beaked Venetian masks than historically accurate plague doctor outfits. Probably because at some point in history artists fused the two. If you look up real plague doctor masks they actually look very little like birds. They’re more like formless leather sacks that cover the entire head with the only defining features being round eye lenses and a vaguely conical protrusion around the mouth that would have been stuffed with herbs meant to filter the air. They look more like medieval gas masks than anything else. That said, if lego ever tackles a plague doctor I’m sure they’ll use the more recognizable modern interpretation - we’ve got plenty of Viking minifigures running around with horns on their helmets after all.

Other than Charity Burbage, Professor Grubly-Plank hasn’t been done yet (she’s clearly visible behind Umbridge during her opening feast speech in OotP despite the movie cutting any mention of Hagrid’s substitute). There’s also Professor Binns, who is fairly well known through the books and certain video games. He didn’t appear on screen during the movies, but neither did Madam Malkin so… Theoretically, if Lego wanted to ascend another extra, they could also choose one of the random background teachers to be Professor Babbling of Ancient Runes. And while it wasn’t covered in the movies, Firenze did take over as Divination teacher in the books, and he’s a character we’re notably still missing (although with his part in the movies cut to only a scene where there’s a dead unicorn on the ground, I worry that we’ll have to wait for a CMF type situation before we get him).

The current rumors state that this year’s Borgin and Burke’s gwp will be released alongside the Burrow D2C at the beginning of September. So anyone planning on getting the D2C first day will be fine. The Advent Calendar also is released at that time.

I don’t see why they couldn’t. Fleur in a swimsuit might have been titillating to the Hogwarts students in-universe, but realistically speaking she’s just in a fairly modest single piece swimsuit. It’s functionally identical to the CMF series 7 Swimming Champion’s costume, and I know they’ve done similar designs since too. In fact, the only reasons to do Cedric of Fleur for the book specifically are 1) Cedric has more plot relevance and 2) Fleur would require new legs while Cedric doesn’t. Personally, I think second task Fleur with a grindylow and some pondweed would make a decent polybag or cmf figure (or even a bricktober character if they ever brought those back), and I hope the designers find a way to sneak her in somewhere someday.

Nice, I was hoping for something like that!

I imagine it will be the same as Ninjago – as you just said, a combination of preexisting prints and new exclusives. It’s definitely a possibility, but that’s more likely to happen in another theme since the Dreamzzz ravens appear to be exclusively magical. If we’re hoping for a normal passing animal in the Dreamzzz BAM mix, the real question we should be asking is how the red panda compares to previous BAM animals (retriever, bulldog, dachshund, cat) in size and it’s resulting likelihood of being included in the mix seeing as Izzy apparently has picked one up as a companion of sorts in the most recent wave.

fateful_lego on Instagram just posted that Dreamzzz figs will be coming to BAM later this year. Fingers crossed for versions of the characters in their normal/wakeful appearances - I’ve wanted Izzy’s hair in a realistic color since I first saw her (still surprised City hasn’t bothered to use it yet).

New Elementary just posted a visual list which confirms the smowl from the Owlery isn’t among the new parts available starting tomorrow. However we are getting the olive green frog, unprinted sand flying owl, glow in the dark spider, and for the first time the Goat and Hermit Crab! (I’m really looking forward to the hermit crab, I’ve wanted an army of those for ages).

Yes, and the glow in the dark spider

According to Brickfanatics it’s going to be added in July, along with several other March set pieces. Personally, I’m more concerned with the new tiny owl that came the Owlery back in March. The only part under ‘owl’ on Brickfanatics list is the unprinted flying one from the same set, but the tiny owl has never been on PaB before so it’s possible it’s listed under a more generic name that we don’t know about yet.