Retro Brick Reviews

Ah, okay. I suppose there is precedent, such as the NES and Grand Piano both releasing on the same day last year.

The Friends Apartments set was just revealed. It's releasing June 1, with a VIP release May 19. I doubt they'll want the Daily Bugle releasing on the same day as another big D2C, so I think the Bugle likely won't release until later in June.

Not necessarily. Last year, the description for the Harry Potter "Attack on the Burrow" set leaked a couple weeks before pictures came out.

Well, last year, the big Star Wars D2C was originally "confirmed" by trusted leakers to be an Imperial Shuttle, when it ended up being a Mos Eisley Cantina, which wasn't even rumored until the minifigures started to leak. So there is precedent. While I still think this Icons selection is likely (and I'm excited, because I'm sure it'll be absolutely gorgeous), it is certainly possible that it's erroneous information our leakers have received. Alternatively, considering the fact that Falconfan spent weeks lying about a $30 brickbuilt Remembrall just to mess with everyone, this could just be a jape. But that's pretty unlikely.

No. While the hat/hair combo is abysmally inaccurate, that Vicki Vale torso is clearly meant to resemble Crockford's outfit from the first movie.

The face on Scrimgeour definitely isn't new, it's from Wuher (the Mos Eisley Cantina bartender). Still a great print to get in a cheap set, and not a bad likeness. Also, I think the Vicki Vale torso works quite well for Doris Crockford- it's a good translation, and Diggle looks nice too, though I'd have preferred if they'd used the 2018 Ollivander torso so he wouldn't be matching with Ollivander in DA. Also, Harry's using the robes from DA, not the new 2021 print.

I believe it was rumored at one point that they'll be in their pre-Sorting robes, though I don't remember if any reputable leakers confirmed it.

Leakers have confirmed that there will be more golden figures, though the amount, distribution, and characters are as-of-yet unknown.

Unpopular opinion, but I prefer the new Harry- he's the only trio member I prefer. I won't deny that the glasses are a little off, but I think the print looks better than the molded piece, plus this fits better with the Dumbledore Brickheadz from 2018.

Oh, my mistake. In that case, a mystery set is nigh-impossible. That said, I'm more with satisfied with what we've already gotten, it's already the GOAT HP wave.

Not likely. In 2019 we knew there would be two August sets, just not what they would be. This year, we don't have any outlying set numbers left to my knowledge. The only possibility is set 76390, since the June wave skips from 76389 to 76391, but, if we don't have a price by now, I'm not holding my breath.

To my knowledge, it's 2 dark tan & 1 dark grey in the Forbidden Corridor, 4 dark tan in the Flying Lesson, and 2 dark tan & 4 dark drey in the Chamber of Secrets.

They are directly compatible, yes.

I just messaged Marcos Bessa on Instagram to ask him about why they chose to use grated 8x8 plates for the new Hogwarts expansion modules instead of standard plates, and here was his response: "The answer to the first question is price. The “grated” plate is cheaper and allows me as a designer to include other details in the model instead of having to pay more for a regular plate that would do basically the same job." Honestly, it makes sense, and, while it definitely isn't as visually appealing or versatile as a full plate, I'll accept it if it's part of why the Chamber of Secrets feels so detailed and complete.

Book. While I understand the attempt to bring in more color with the new variant, I think the all-black design looks so much better. I also prefer the original face print. My only issue with that figure is the hairpiece, but, since they use the same piece on the new figure, that point is irrelevant. I don't have the 2020 figure yet, but I plan on buying the book when I get the CoS so I can display him with that set instead of the new variant.

Honestly, looking at your comments, it seems less that everyone in this forum aside from you is blinded by the newness of the new sets, and more so that you just dislike the new style and want to think it's a complete downgrade, rather than a tradeoff.

Wow, a sticker. That definitely makes up for a classroom that's only four studs deep, with exactly one cramped student desk. I have no idea why people would say the previous interiors were bad. That said, the only new sets with fantastic interiors are the Polyjuice and the Chamber of Secrets. Flying Lesson is pretty much on par with the 2018-20 sets, albeit perhaps a bit nicer with the trophy case, and the Fluffy set is downright atrocious. All Hogwarts sets ranked by interior (imo), worst to best: 9. Hogwarts Fluffy Encounter 8. Hogwarts Clock Tower 7. Hogwarts Room of Requirement 6. Hogwarts Great Hall 5. Hogwarts Astronomy Tower 4. Hogwarts First Flying Lesson 3. Hogwarts Whomping Willow 2. Hogwarts Polyjuice Potion Mistake 1. Hogwarts Chamber of Secrets

I have the Potions book, because I think it has the most interesting build and I love the Seamus figure. (I'd already bought the new McGonagall secondhand before the set released.) I don't have a ton of interest in the others, since they're all very similar, but I'll probably get Herbology and Charms when I need to meet a promo threshold. Transfiguration I have no interest in, since imo it has the worst color, least interesting build, and I already have the McGonagall.

On the US Shop@Home, all of the sets are listed as releasing June 1 except for the Flying Lesson, which is set for August 1. However, I think earlier in the forum someone mentioned that the Flying Lesson will release in the US on June 1, but exclusively at Kohl's. Can someone with knowledge on the subject please reply to this to set the record straight?

Not to my knowledge.

That's fair, though for all we know they might consider the Advent to be a 20th Anniversary set. Myrtles bathroom, The Three Broomsticks, and the Flying Lesson aren't really remakes of classic sets and they still count, so for the non-D2C sets so far the only qualification for being Anniversary is being minifig-scale. Plus, as mentioned prior, the Advent is said to include DA Harry, Griphook, a cart, and a section of track for it to go down- all clear callbacks to the 2002 Gringotts. It's still unlikely that'll get this to be considered an Anniversary set, but I'll give it 20/80 odds.

Considering that this year they're doing a Marvel calendar with seven minifigures, I'd be shocked if the HP calendar actually included only 5. I think the set will likely include a Hagrid, since he would fit well with both the PJs Dudley and with the Gringotts setup (DA Harry, PS Griphook, Minecart). The only question is whether it'll be a Golden Hagrid or a standard variant. Standard is more likely, but gold would both be a very special figure (perfect for the Day 24 gift) and explain why we haven't heard about it yet, since the golden figures are considered separate from the rest of the minifigure selection.

Yeah, that's probably the most morbid LEGO set ever made. Also, speaking of dark content, literally today LEGO put out an ad for the new Darth Vader helmet that's based on the scene from the scene in Rogue One where he massacres a hallway full of Rebel troops. So, I doubt there's any cap on dark subject matter of the murder-y variety. (The only question is which is darker: a scene of violent slaughter, or the torture I went through sitting through Rogue One)

I still don't understand why a "Hogwarts Icons" set would be so awful. Some of the best sets of recent years have been non-minifigure-scale sets: D2C Hogwarts Castle, Nintendo Entertainment System, Saturn V, Ship in a Bottle, Voltron, etc. Speaking specifically on the NES, that's another collection of iconic brickbuilt objects: in this case, the Nintendo Control Deck, a cartridge, a controller, and a CRT television. I imagine this set will form a great display with cohesive items focused around a single main idea, like that one, and I'm super excited to see what this team has come up with.

Marcos Bessa himself specifically called this a soft reboot. As in, it's a continuation just with a new style, not a full reboot. While there will inevitably be some remakes, the fact that we now know that many of the current sets won't be retiring until 2022 or after means it'll definitely be a while. (For example, the Hogwarts Express is set to retire in December 2022, meaning we wouldn't see a remake until, at earliest, Summer 2023.) LEGO had plans to make a Malfoy Manor set in the 2010/2011 line, but it was ultimately canned. If it wasn't too mature to be considered back then, it won't be too mature for them to consider in the future. Also, if they wouldn't make certain sets based on association with dark subject matter, we wouldn't have: - The Rise of Voldemort: Cedric is murdered, Harry is tortured, Wormtail cuts his hand off - Hagrid's Hut: Includes an Executioner to kill Buckbeak - Expecto Patronum: Sirius gets his soul sucked out - Hogwarts Astronomy Tower: Dumbledore is murdered, Bill is violently disfigured - 4 Privet Drive: Harry is abused for 10 years of his childhood Et cetera. If LEGO didn't make sets that were associated with dark subjects, they wouldn't make Harry Potter sets at all. Or Star Wars sets. Or Jurassic Park sets, or Batman sets, or pretty much any licensed sets at all. Everyone needs to stop fearmongering about why "OMG THEY'RE NEVER DOING DH SETS", they skipped over them this year to do a fun anniversary wave, and because sets based on the first couple years sell well because more kids have seen/read those installments. If they did Goblet of Fire and Half-Blood Prince, they'll eventually do Deathly Hallows. Just have a bit more patience.