Retro Brick Reviews

That's not a soft reboot, that's just a reboot. A soft reboot would be sets that are a direct continuation of what came before, while also acting as a new entry point that retreads some aspects of the original sets. (A good example of a soft reboot is Star Wars The Force Awakens: It is a sequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, while also being in some ways a remake of the original film, and acting as a new entry point for new fans.) By saying this is a soft reboot, he's essentially confirming that this isn't a full reset, but rather just a new beginning to the same story.

Which is still more play value than half of the 2018-2020 sets had. Kids will buy this set for the figures, they alone are enough to sell it with the fun new faces for Harry and Ron and the cat head for Hermione.

Agreed. I've been a completionist for this line so far (except Diagon Alley, but I have until 2024 to scrounge up the money), and Fluffy is the first set that not only do I have no interest in, but I actively don't want to buy it. Everything else in this wave is either a day-one buy or a as-soon-as-I-can-afford-it buy, but the only way I'll get Fluffy is if I see it on good clearance or if I need to reach the threshold for a neat promo.

I hadn't noticed the ones in the Chamber of Secrets. I honestly don't mind the ones in the bottom Chamber itself (I think they help to give off the sewer vibe), but I really dislike them everywhere else. What really grinds my gears, though, is that Lockhart's office is actually on a normal 8x8 plate, even though it goes right next to another grated area. I know it's just because they needed all of the studs available to attach Lockhart's desk and chair, but it just throws into sharper relief that if they'd used normal plates, we could've had a much nicer Devil's Snare, rather than just a little square of vines that won't catch anyone. As for the panels, I honestly don't mind most of them, since I think they're mostly well integrated. In particular, I love their usage in the Flying Lesson, since the windows fit perfectly between the banners. The exception is the Fluffy set, which the more I look at it just continues to cement itself as my least favorite Harry Potter set of all time- unfortunate, since the original is one of my favorite sets of the 2001-2007 HP run. Nope. LEGO really expects this set to sell solely on the inclusion of Fluffy and nothing else... which could've been a good strategy, if not for the poor chunky body ruining it for display and the asinine head prints making it unusable for play.

By the way, has anyone else noticed that the 8x8 sections in the Fluffy set and Flying Lesson set use these grates for floors rather than normal 8x8 plates? I don't know why they did it like this, it looks pretty bad and greatly decreases the playable dollhouse aspect.

Yeah, that's the fundamental problem with the set for me. I could accept a funky Fluffy and a bland exterior if the set at least could work on its own merit, but no. You need at least one other set for it to work as it's supposed to, and the way they advertise different setups for the exterior and interior almost feels like false advertising. In my opinion, they should've just made this set more like the 2001 version: For the 8x16 corridor, nix the shingled roof and instead have that be a flat area with a trapdoor, where you can put Fluffy (have battlements up top so it still looks alright). The trapdoor leads to the lower section, which has the Devil's Snare (which in this hypothetical set would be a neat play feature like the original, rather than 3 vines that the falling figure will just hit and bounce off of). The tower would have a staircase on the bottom level, and the upper two floors could just stay the same. All this wouldn't instantly fix the set, but at least it wouldn't be nearly as bad. When the set releases, I'll go into stud.io to see how much of this can be accomplished using the parts included in the set, which will be the determining factor of when I buy it.

Agreed. That would've greatly lifted the look of the set, since imo that stickered sign is a big (or rather, tiny) eyesore.

Interesting note, all of the new closed rebe prints in the CoS and other sets have the exaggerated collars from the Moments jumpers, while the new open robe print used on Harry in the CoS and Ron in the Fluffy Encounter have the smaller collars, in line with the 2018-2020 jumpers. Perhaps this could hint that in 2022 they'll return to the old style of jumpers, sort of like how the Slytherin robes we got in 2020 used the Moments design before those sets debuted? Also, this new open Gryffindor print does not match up with the open Slytherin robes from the AT: Not only is the collar different, but the AT robes had an ugly gray edging that was thankfully mixed here. So, that 2020 design may be a permanent one-off style.

Agreed. Since the D2C will likely feature Dumbledore, I'm not sure who it could be in the polybag though: Draco is who we've all been predicting, but I'm not sure if average consumers would be willing to pay $75 (or so) to get a special Draco figure, especially since his torso would be very similar to those of the Golden² Trio. Perhaps McGonagall, since she's a fan favorite and would only require one new recolor? If I were LEGO, I'd have had Golden Quirrell in the polybag, with Draco in the Bathroom (and switching Harry to the Flying Lesson), but that clearly isn't what's happening.

As many others have stated, the new Flying Lesson has no shingles roof, and as such would fit with either system. It is also the least blocky of all the new expansions.

@Falconfan1414 said that only two of the known sets (Advent Calendar not included) wouldn't include golden figures. This can be presumed to mean that both the D2C and polybag will include golden figures. It would be appreciated if Falconfan could verify this.

Well, Harry and Ron in that set have new face prints that aren't in any of the other sets, and they've only shown one side of each. So, it's pretty safe to assume that yes, we will be getting Crabbe and Goyle.

While I understand and agree with the sentiment, there really hasn't been a set style up to this point. 2018 Nick and the Myrtle sticker in nano-Hogwarts were greyscale, while the 2020 Myrtle was in cool blue tones. There has yet to be a consistent style for the HP ghosts.

All of the Anniversary sets have Harry on the box casting a golden spell. The Fawkes box has Harry casting a blue spell, like the Maxifigs. It can be presumed that Fawkes is not considered an Anniversary set, and as such will not include a golden figure.

Well, I could see them including a variant in red robes, in order to look better next to Fawkes (hot pink next to a red bird would be pretty garish). Also, Hedwig came with an exclusive Harry, so it would make sense that Fawkes would include an exclusive Dumby.

That also reused the 2018 head print.

See below

No, those torsos are all currently exclusive.

If you look, the two sides of the building are on separate 8x8 plates, and the roofs can detach. It looks like those parts can definitely integrate in with the new castle, but the center might not. Also nice to see one of the lantern builds from DA, with the black arrowhead.

Dude, the build is eight studs deep. It's a full castle section.

...Anyone else find it funny that we've now had two entirely different leaks of the Fawkes set, and both of them cut out the minifigure? I want to see Dumbledore, darn it!

Seriously, I might be wrong, but that Remembrall sure looks like a single piece, not at all brickbuilt! I must be seeing things...

Looking at all of these, here are my current rankings: Harry Potter and Hermione Granger Maxifigures Hogwarts Chamber of Secrets Hogwarts First Flying Lesson Hogwarts Polyjuice Potion Mistake Hogwarts Wizard's Chess Fawkes, Dumbledore's Phoenix Hogsmeade Village Visit Hogwarts Fluffy Encounter

Dang! Despite all the warnings, in my opinion this is EASILY the best wave of LEGO HP ever! The least interesting thing here is the Forbidden Corridor, and even that is still really good.

Interestingly, the Flying Lesson doesn't include Harry. It's nice to get another Neville, even if he does still have the same face from 2018, with the unconscious alt. Harry and Ron in the Polyjuice set have different face expressions, which very much implies that the alternate prints will be for Crabbe and Goyle.