sebastian666

I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment, but I have a feeling we are hours away from seeing some leaks related to the D2C Diagon Alley set... The page on Harry mentions Eeylop’s Owl Emporium by name. Hmm...

I think this is highly possible. LEGO is going to do everything in its power to make the D2C Diagon Alley a “must-buy” for as wide an audience as possible. This includes Harry Potter superfans, casual fans who have happy memories of the location from family trips to Universal Studios, and folks who don’t care much for Harry Potter but collect LEGO and would want to connect this set to their current Creator City sets. The current marketing formula (releasing a series of modular buildings every year that connect to form a large collectible display piece) is working incredibly well for LEGO. Look at the Hogwarts castle sets. Many latecomers (including some of our friends on here) who missed the first two waves are scrambling to buy the previous castle segments because they are “must buy” pieces that fit into the larger display. For the folks who are buying all five Hogwarts sets at once, it is costing them at least $400. And we are almost guaranteed to get some additional modular sets to continue expanding upon the current $400 collection next year and in the years to come. Rolling out a $400 “must buy” set right off the bat is very clever in my opinion. All they have to do is include technical pins, and the door for possible expansions is open. The D2C Diagon Alley will probably only include Gringott’s, Ollivander’s, Flourish & Blotts, and the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes. Modular expansions could include a Gringott’s vault with the Ukrainian Ironbelly, Borgin and Burke, Quality Quidditch Supplies (a nice way to get Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Quidditch robes), Eylop’s Owl Emporium and the Magical Menagerie, the Leaky Cauldron, etc., etc. I totally disagree. I appreciate you sharing your opinion, but you have no way of definitively saying “there’s no way” about something like this. Don’t underestimate the power of the Harry Potter brand.

They could’ve at least given us four different colored baby Norbert molds! I guess that mold is retired now though I’d love this actually.

I tend to agree, but then again I never thought we would get two Ford Anglias either . I think we’ll probably see the Ukrainian Ironbelly before we see another Hungarian Horntail, but a dragon based set for each of the champions would be amazing. Even though we don’t see them in their challenge against the actual dragons, we see the miniature dragons they each pull out of Barty Crouch’s bag so there is cannon design LEGO could base each dragon off of.

Draco’s encounter with Buckbeak is a really good idea. The snowball fight was in Hogsmeade, though. The other scene I’m thinking of is when Hagrid takes Madam Maxime and Mad Eye Moody into that clearing in the forest to see the dragons for the tournament and Harry is in his invisibility cloak. It would be a way for LEGO to redeem itself with a new dragon build after that ghastly bird of prey they tried to pass off as a Hungarian Horntail.

Haha very true. A boy can hope though! Based on the success of the LEGO Harry Potter line, I can see it continuing for several more years with releases in the same general formula (castle sets, modular building sets, vehicle sets, forest sets) as we have seen for the last three series. That means we could have a few more Forbidden Forest sets coming down the line. I think a set similar to the final forest scene set (4865 w Narcissa, Hagrid, Harry, and Voldy) is almost guaranteed. I think a forest set with Luna, Harry, an adult thestral and a baby thestral is also likely given Luna’s popularity. Some version of the scene with Draco, Harry, and Fang would be my favorite though. Are there any other iconic forest scenes I am forgetting?

You never know! They could be creative on the packaging so the centaur and Fang are protecting Harry, Draco, and the live unicorn from a cloaked Quirrel / Voldy. LEGO seems to be more open to including some darker elements in its themes lately. Look at the inclusion of the skeleton corpse of Sam Sinister in the new Haunted House set! I agree. LEGO is all about creativity. Who’s to say they couldn’t throw a new mandrake baby into the mix and just attach a little pumpkin leaf to its head instead of a full stem. They can always recolor a cauldron piece to be the pot. Never say never. Talk of a mandrake baby mold has got me thinking more and more about the possible Cornish pixie element we could be getting in the CMF series if we get Professor Lockhart. What do folks think this element will look like? A baby mold with wings? An entirely new mold? A brick build? Personally, I’m hoping for a new mold. I want loads of these little blue suckers to fill the MOC Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom I’m working on.

I agree. This is my dream set. But the etc here is very important to me! It could mean the first ever LEGO unicorn!

Thanks! I am building the Astronomy Tower this evening and will try that out. Can’t wait to connect it to the rest of Hogwarts. I was examining the box this morning and am now more convinced than ever that the designers never intended for those white doorways to be used. The LEGO Astronomy Tower has such a beautiful, delicate design that I imagine it didn’t probably pass the safety/playability test that all LEGO sets have to go through before production. The unsophisticated solution was to add all these white doorways to give the build additional support and stability. Whatever the case may be, all of those white doorways are going straight into my spare parts bin. I won’t be using any of them.

I think you’re underestimating the influence of the US market. Hogsmeade is the most popular setting in the Wizarding World here, second only to Hogwarts itself. Before covid-19, you couldn’t turn on American TV without seeing a commercial for Universal Studios featuring the beautiful angular snow-covered rooftops of Hogsmeade. Merchandising based on the village is crazy popular, too. The most popular right now is probably the Bradford Exchange illuminated Hogsmeade Christmas village, which resales for big bucks and features Three Broomsticks, Honeydukes, the Hogsmeade Train Station, the Shrieking Shack, and Hogwarts. Some of these pieces are incredibly hard to find. Americans have come to associate Hogsmeade more with happy memories of family vacations and less with the books and films themselves. It appeals to a very wide audience. I think a Hogsmeade D2C would sell like hot cakes. Here is a link to the Bradford Exchange sets: https://www.bradfordexchange.com/products/918041_harry-potter-village-collection.html Personally, I am much more excited about the Department 56 Hogsmeade sets which are coming out next month:

I think we’re almost guaranteed to get a D2C Hogsmeade set next. While it may not have been a prominently featured location in the films, it is the original setting of the Wizarding World at Universal Studios, which (at least here in the US) has become the most iconic Harry Potter setting after Hogwarts. I imagine it will feature Honeydukes, The Three Broomsticks, the Hog’s Head Tavern, and the Shrieking Shack - all covered in snow.

@Mariella I’m planning to do the exact same thing, but I don’t have an extra tan column. What are those tan columns called? Did you have to order an extra one from BrickLink or did you just have them in your parts collection? Thanks.

Love this story. And welcome to the wonderful Wizarding World! When I was really little, it was a toy bantha (the big wooly yak-like beasts that the Tusken Raiders ride) that caught my eye and carried me into a fullblown obsession with Star Wars. Later it was the first LEGO Adventurers set with Johnny Thunder that launched a lifelong fascination with Ancient Egypt. The power of toys - especially LEGO - to open imaginations and introduce new worlds is incredible. I can only imagine how many kids are going to walk past LEGO stores in a few months and see the D2C Diagon Alley set in the window and have similar experiences!

DHL Express

Haha I’m going insane waiting for this set to be revealed!

Same. Every time I close my eyes and try to imagine it, I get that same feeling I do on all my Halloween visits to Universal Studios’ Diagon Alley. I hear the Weasley Wizard Wheezes’ music playing, I smell the Leaky Cauldron’s fish n chips frying, I see the Ukrainian Ironbelly atop Gringott’s breathing fire - I can even taste the butter beer! I truly believe that the D2C Diagon Alley has the potential to be one of the greatest LEGO sets of all time. There are so many fun magic elements that the designers can incorporate... From the moving brick wall, to the WWW’s mascot with his moving arm and top hat and bunny, to the wand boxes flying off Ollivander’s shelves, to the Gringott’s vault cart, to the dragon and the flying owls and the random witches and wizards (like Doris Crockford, Daedalus Diggle) hustling and bustling through the alley. I’m probably setting myself up for disappointment, but at this point I really don’t care. Even if it doesn’t include every single little detail and check everyone’s individual wishlist boxes, a $400 LEGO Diagon Alley set is going to be absolutely amazing.

No bother! I got an initial shipment notice from Steinchenwelt, and subsequent tracking updates have come via emails directly from DHL On Demand Delivery. You should be able to click the tracking number on that original email, though, which will take you to the DHL website.

Quick update for the US folks ordering from abroad: I ordered the Forbidden Forest centaurs set from Brickshop on Tuesday 6/9 and it just arrived. Looks amazing! I ordered the Room of Requirement and the Hedwig set on the same day from Steinchenwelt and it is scheduled for delivery on Monday 6/15. And I ordered the Astronomy Tower from Zavvi yesterday (after canceling an overpriced eBay order) and it’s already shipped. Also big thank you to @Falconfan1414 for confirming the good news about the D2C Diagon Alley set! Can’t wait to see some pics!

It has said “coming soon” for a while now... I doubt they would move up the release date last minute, but I hope I’m wrong.

No offense, but if you don’t have anything to add to the convo, there’s really no need to respond. As I said in my post: I’m curious what other folks on here think. Yes!!! Haha exactly. I will have to dig through my storage bins to find those old star spangled capes again. Major nostalgia trip. I also love the old LEGO Harry Potter video game with all of the students running around and their black capes (solid black - not star spangled) floating behind them. Love it. I do think there’s a pretty good possibility that we will get both younger and older versions of some characters. There is precedent for it with the D2C Millennium Falcon set. Now that it sounds like we won’t be getting Borgin & Burke (I’m just inferring this from falconfan’s recent comment), I have a feeling the set will be less HBP focused than I originally imagined. And I agree ? - I think if we get some younger COS students, the only younger Harry we will get will probably be the PS Harry since that outfit is so much more iconic. Thanks for your thoughts. If you haven’t noticed, the wait for some more info on this set is killing me. Can’t wait to see the first leaked photos.

This is a totally random and relatively unimportant question, but I’m curious what other folks on here think... If we get minifigs of Harry, Draco, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny in the rumored D2C Diagon Alley set, what are the chances that they will include their black capes? Those little black capes are so iconic in that scene from Chamber of Secrets, and they were one of my favorite aspects of the old school LEGO Harry Potter minifigs as a kid. All of them came with a little black cape! If they are included, I hope they are the same length and material they used for the capes in the Quidditch set - they were perfect.

I do want to give credit where it’s due. @2lazeetomakeaname and @RogueTwo were instrumental in my decision to buy the sets from Europe as a US citizen. All of my sets are now scheduled for delivery between this Friday 6/12 and Monday 6/15. Can’t wait to start building with the rest of you all!

I ordered the Forbidden Forest set from Brickshop last night and it shipped out first thing this morning. Already got a tracking email from DHL saying it’s ETA is Monday 6/15. I ordered the Astronomy Tower from eBay seller in the UK yesterday, too, and the seller said ETA is Friday 6/12. I haven’t received tracking to confirm that though. Also ordered the Room of Requirement and Hedwig from Steinchenwelt, but there was a mixup on combining the shipping, which they are getting sorted now so I don’t have an ETA yet.

Thanks for the recommendations @Retro Brick Reviews @2lazeetomakeaname @RogueTwo ! I just ordered the Room of Requirement and Hedwig from Steinchenwelt, the Forbidden Forest set from Brickshop, and the Astronomy Tower from eBay. I will keep folks posted on arrival times from each of these shops. The ETA on the Astronomy Tower is this Friday June 12! It says it’s shipping from the UK so I have no idea how that’s possible. We’ll see! Edit: Also ordered the Hogwarts students minifig pack from LEGO S@H and it arrived in 4 days.

Thanks! Shame about the Astronomy Tower, but I’m going to go ahead and pick up Hedwig and the Room of Requirement.