MaxHeadroom

Must have if it's a large-scale version of the 1x2 tile from the original Dobby's Release set, complete with grey rectangle. Absolute have if the rectangle is the old grey. Alternatively, I'd buy it if the sock is functional. That way I could have two and wear them out and about! As the person who originally leaked the info that a UCS Dobby's sock set was planned (pretty sure that was me but that was a year ago and my memory isn't the best) I think I need to step in to remind everyone that the UCS Dobby's sock set isn't planned for release until at least 2022, and even then with how they're delaying other important sets I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't get released next year either. LEGO may even delay it until the very end of the HP line so they can keep us buying these sets for awhile. Really hate to lower everyone's expectations even more after the main august wave but the 2021 D2C will not be a UCS Dobby's Sock.

I've always assumed those sets were released as a separate wave because they were meant to be retail exclusives but were upgraded to full releases due to the success of the line. The carriage is very niche and the graveyard is a bit dark for LEGO so I wouldn't be surprised if LEGO weren't initially as confident in those sets as the others. Also something I've never seen mentioned anywhere online is that the Hogwarts Express was originally meant to be a ToysRUs exclusive in the US and that's why it was incredibly hard to find and constantly sold out in the US when it was first released. I wasn't able to track down the set until I found it in a LEGO store where the cashier told me the original plan. Not sure how true it is though.

I understand that you're just trying to be positive but I think collectors (and from what I've seen, kids) have a right to be disappointed in these sets. You said these sets matched their leaked descriptions and while that is true they don't match the mostly realistic expectations people have had about them. It's completely valid to expect the staircase tower to be vaguely circular, the same way it's valid to expect the wheels on a LEGO car to be circular. LEGO has had the ability to make circular towers for decades. Similarly it's valid for people to expect the trio included with the forbidden corridor to be wearing the clothes they wore in that scene. LEGO has almost always given us the appropriate variants of characters so there's no reason that should change here. There is no rule that people need to own everything but these are sets people have wanted for years. If LEGO released sets that were complete throwaways like the buildable hedwig or released sets that were completely irredeemable then I don't think people would mind whatever issues they have with the sets as much. Imagination and building whatever you want has its place in LEGO but the sets exist for a reason.

Honestly I wouldn't mind the wave if it was true. A $250 microscale anything would be amazing and a very easy skip for me. I'd rather have an easy skip over an uneasy purchase. The quidditch pitch isn't great but at least it wouldn't be too expensive and it's better than a D2C quidditch set like some have suggested. The rest of the wishlist/wave is solid. Under normal circumstances it would be rather weak but knowing what we know... I'm expecting the actual august wave to be far worse.

This seems rather unlikely to me. I'd not only recommend taking it with a grain of salt but with an entire salt mine.

I have plenty of nostalgia for the 2001 castle and love it, but I hate the new Hogwarts castle/great hall/chamber of secrets set. The staircase tower on the 2021 set is somehow considerably less accurate and looks far worse than the 2001 version. Why is there a rectangle of tan castle under the courtyard and tower? Why the courtyard on the right? Why is the tower a square? Curved panels have existed since 2001 and angles panels have existed since the 80s. It looks more like a 1971 build than a 2001 build. I'd love to know what "botched polyjuice potion" the designer was drinking when they designed the tower. I'll also take the arched gaps of the 2001 set over those ugly brown window squares covering the tower sections of the build any day. I hate being so negative about LEGO, especially LEGO Hogwarts sets. I love the rest of the set for the most part but everything above the rocks on that right section of the build is abysmal. I'm fine with made up castle sections like the forbidden corridor set as long as the sections that are actually from the films look vaguely how they did in the films. This is how it was done in 2001 and I don't understand why it wasn't in 2021.

Have you ever seen the modern sets? It would be incredibly difficult to make something structurally stable that would fit under the GH and not be ridiculously expensive. Also how would the dock on the GH work? How would you explain the dark blue plates representing water? The largest issue of course is that the chunks of the 2018-2020 Hogwarts all have specific and unique shapes. Any rock set would need to fit under a specific set which would be a nightmare for casual consumers who don't buy everything. What is a kid supposed to do with the astronomy tower and rocks for the Whomping Willow? While the interchangeability was taken too far on the new sets with the square staircase tower there does need to be interchangeability both horizontally and vertically for sets meant to be placed below other sets to work.

Now that I've had the chance to look at the photos more (only saw them briefly before they were taken of Instagram) I'm able to analyze what I dislike/like. I'll get it out of the way and say that Hogsmeade is flawless. My only hope is that there will be an upper level/attic or something on both buildings that will take advantage of their large amount of vertical space. As long as there is plenty of candy inside honedukes I'll be happy though. Bathroom is fine, hopefully the sink can open and will line up with a chamber of secrets slide entrance. Forbidden corridor looks fine so far. I'm surprised the outside is what's being displayed on the box though. I don't like the golden barrier but hopefully that's just a placeholder for a tan version. Really can't comment much until I see the interior. I'm not sure about Fluffy either, he appears to have a bit of a hunchback for some reason, although maybe that's just because of the oversized back legs? I'll need to see the final pics to really judge it. And now for Hogwarts Castle which should've been my favorite set since the 2001 and 2010 castles are some of my most nostalgic LEGO sets. First I'll start with the positives, the chamber door is very evocative of the boat archway from the 2001 set. Having it displayed like this is a nice touch. This is the best Great Hall exterior since 2010. It's nice to finally have it closer to the shape in the films unlike the flattened 2018 version. The window in the center tower is a nice reference but very blocky and clunky. They should've made a modified version of the piece underneath it and included a window or not bothered trying to add a window at all. It's nice to see rocks under the castle and the bassalisk is also great. Now onto the issues: 1. Tower windows. Why? Who thought this was a good idea? What is this referencing? What Hogwarts tower set had giant blocks of square brown windows? The arches above the lower ones remind me of the 2010 astronomy tower but the window there was a single curved one not this! The only thing I can think of is the 2019 clock tower but those were black and looked nothing like these. This issue continues with 2. The square tower. Minecraft castles aren't even this blocky. The curved window which strangely pokes out of the top tan section doesn't fix this (the slopes and angled pieces around the window only make it look worse and even more like a knock-off). Curved panels were used in 2001 and they are still used in almost every 2018+ castle set. USE THEM. I'm sure this is just so these modules will be more interchangeable but this is LEGO Harry Potter not LEGO Minecraft. Every Hogwarts building can be square except this one. It's less versatile but it has to be circular, even the 2001 designers knew this. 3. Left tower. This is another one where I genuinely have no clue how they messed this up. Above the rocks next to the great hall is a courtyard and a circular tower. This is true for both the film and the original 2001 set. So why is there a giant tan rectangle above the rocks, followed by a square on the left and a courtyard on the right? How do you mess this up? How does this inaccuracy help the set in any way? The worst part is I can see the courtyard and the block are separate plates. It could've been placed on the right very easily. How does this even happen? 4. Turret. I know the single turret is a reference to the 2001 set and the film (then again the film had three like the 2010 set) but it just looks so wrong here. Obviously the original tower piece with the indent for it is no longer in production but if this is the best they could do with the parts they have then they shouldn't have bothered. It looks so pasted on and last minute. 5. Nougat. This color looks very strange in the preliminary photos but I know I won't be a fan of it in decent photos either so I'll complain about it now. I'm not a fan of the nougat in the modern castles because it just doesn't work as well as dark tan which is already being used for texture anyway. Considering this 2021 reboot doesn't fit perfectly with the 2018+ sets they should've ditched the color. If they can go back to sand green for nostalgia why do we still have to deal with nougat. 6. Little flag. This is a completely silly point but I miss the little flag on top of the main tower and I wish they would've brought it back. Well I'm finally done, sorry for the length. I adore LEGO Hogwarts sets (especially interior focused ones) and I'm very happy to see so many this summer. I really hope we get more sets like the forbidden corridor and girls bathroom and I'm looking forward to seeing the interiors of all of these sets and hopefully there will be a full spiral staircase like in the 2001 sets. That Hogwarts staircase tower is just unacceptable to me though. This will be the first time in half a decade that I modify a LEGO set. I have a spare 2011 Hogwarts set so I'll use the parts from that to make my own and I'll stick Minecraft version somewhere else (maybe on top of the bathroom?). Technically I'll have two staircase towers in one display but that won't really matter since the 2021 version looks nothing like the staircase tower anyway.

How exactly is this "proving me wrong?" Obviously there are many characters who haven't appeared yet. I didn't ask for a list of Harry Potter characters, the question I asked was do we really need another CMF series in the next 2 years which will only include (at the absolute most) 6 or more realistically 2-3 new characters? The most obscure characters we got when there were 16 figures were Harry's parents, do you really think LEGO will make a Mundungus Fletcher figure now that there are only 12? Our main source of obscure characters will continue to be larger sets. There are still a few interesting characters and variants left that could work for a CMF series but I'm not sure if it's worth another trio, Dumbedore, Luna, Neville, and a few filler figures to get them. I'm not opposed to us getting another CMF line at some point but I think doing it every other year will quickly oversaturate things. Also if we were going to get CMF figures for Marge and Pomfrey we would've had them in series 2 where they would be relevant to sets on the market and if we we were going to get a CMF Lockhart we would've gotten him before the DA so the faceprint could be reused like the series 2 Fred and George figures.

Do we really need another HP CMF series? Half the figures will just be the trio, Luna, Neville, and Dumbledore anyway now that we're down to 12 figures. I think some of the Series 2 figures were already a bit pointless like Harry's parents. I'm not saying there should never be another series but I would be fine if we had to wait more than 2 years.

That's what gives me the biggest headache, why do they suddenly change course like that after three years? Couldn't they first finish what they started before doing something else? It's perfectly reasonable to be upset at them for abandoning their own patterns like that. I hope the designers at least address their reasoning at some point. And I can't wait to see how fans outside of our little bubble will react. I can see the social media campaigns already #giveusDHsetsyoucowards To be fair we already knew the plan was being abandoned when last year's sets were revealed. OOTP was almost nonexistent.

A $250 sock set could be called many things but I don't think it could be called boring. With how low my expectations are after the messy 2020 line and the warnings we've gotten the only way these sets could genuinely shock me is if they were actually good.

Do we know if the dueling club feature from the Great Hall prototype is being revived for the new set? I'm sure there needs to be a brick or two between the great hall and chamber of secrets for stability so it wouldn't be too difficult to add the DC play feature. Then again LEGO may just want to have a standard great hall to make the set as definitive as possible.

For the time being at least I'm going to assume sets 76392 (59.99) and 76393 (119.99) are standard minifigure scale sets like the small 2019 wave. As for the other three sets... $249.99- Half of Diagon Alley- A rerelease of half of the existing Diagon Alley set, but oh no! It's the half with QQS! $39.99- Ford Anglia battle pack- 3 Ford Anglias all different from the existing ones and slightly different from each other (saying which one is best would give us plenty to argue about). $29.99- A Little Great Hall: As a Treat- So far 2021 has been the first year without a product based completely around the Great Hall (The Great Hall-2018, Advent-calendar-2019, polybag-2020) that changes here. This set includes 2.5 tables and a few small great hall themed accessories that will go perfectly with your existing Great Halls/collection of other small unused great hall related builds. Whatever we get I just hope it isn't minifigure scale (or Dobby's Sock related) so I don't feel tempted to buy any of it. My more realistic predictions would be a large buildable Ford Anglia and Niffler.

Seems like a lot of people want remakes to include new and exciting figures but for me at least that's the worst possible way for LEGO to do remakes. If LEGO does remakes I hope the remakes either make up less than half of the new set (Privet Drive and the Great Hall by its descriptions) or are practically rereleases made up of stuff that's already available elsewhere in the reboot. For example instead of a Hogwarts express with a small build of the hogsmeade station we could get a Hogwarts express with another flying car. The only real exception to this (other than the original great hall) would be the Hungarian Horntail which does actually need to be remade and not just rereleased.

Oh dear... I guess that means the $250 set isn't UCS Dobby's sock then? I'm disappointed but a bit relived. I think $400 is a better price point for the sock as it really does need to be large to get any good stitching detail. Jokes (I'm not sure if it's a joke anymore I think I genuinely want a UCS Dobby's sock set) aside I'm a bit relieved that we're not going to be getting much more in the August wave, I was close to selling my sealed MBOM so I'd have money to afford all of it. It makes sense though, I was always a bit suspicious of the way the prices were arranged for the August sets.

Getting next to nothing for DH1 makes total sense to me. I at least assumed this would be the case after we learned that the Room of Requirement and the FF Encounter were the only OOTP sets in a year that was meant to be focused on OOTP/HBP. I got my hopes up for more once we speculated that the full wave would be DH themed but now that that is less likely it's safe to go back to assuming we won't get much. I have no insider knowledge but I really wouldn't recommend expecting more than one or two small sets. We'll likely either get the main tent or the burrow tent (wouldn't be surprised if LEGO wanted to create another party set to aim at girls). I'll also say I think the D2C being a motorized Hogwarts express would be a terrible idea. We will be seeing a playscale remake of the train in a few years regardless of a D2C train since LEGO will want to have something more accessible to kids. I wouldn't mind if it was a motorized Hogwarts express though since this year is already shaping up to very expensive and a $250 train remake would be very easy to skip.

It's a bit hard to have a nuanced discussion when people are being compared to kings who believed they were chosen by god and "some former president" for... wanting a LEGO minifigure to be exclusive to a certain LEGO set. I personally didn't believe the figure would remain exclusive forever (although I had hoped the head would only be included in the DA and a potential KA set) but I don't blame anyone for thinking it would. LEGO didn't say the figure would be exclusive but they also didn't say it would even be in the set. You've mentioned they said it would be included somewhere else but I had never heard that and I'm sure that's true for most people. Where exactly did you hear that discussed?

Plenty of people (including myself) are unsure of their future. If you're financially secure enough to be able to spend $400 on something as frivolous as LEGO without ever considering the possibility you may have to sell that it or part of it then you are very fortunate. I did not buy the DA to sell the figures (I didn't even buy it for the figures in general) but knowing that the set and the figures would hold some of their value was a factor for me. It was nice to know that if too many unexpected emergencies piled up I would be able to sell the set, or even a single minifigure to get some of that $400 back if I really needed to. I completely agree that the DA set is too alienating to casual collectors because of its price/size but acting like the issue is that kids can't get a third variant of young Harry in casual clothes is absurd. Kids haven't spent the last three years begging for a figure Harry in Dudley's clothes with smiling face/sooty face, they've been begging for Diagon Alley. Framing this like LEGO helping kids against the mean collectors who selfishly want to have their purchases retain value is also ridiculous. The figure was included with the DA as an exciting new secret figure as a selling point and its being included with the AC as an exiting (formerly) rare figure as a selling point. If LEGO actually wanted to help kids they would rerelease rare characters like Hooch, Moody, and Trelawney.

Well I had plenty of catching up to do today. I won't bother trying to make these flow into each other since this is already too long. 1. While it would be disappointing for LEGO to release less than 5 DH sets I wouldn't put it past them since they did only release 4.25 sets for OOTP/HBP. However since we're already getting a wave for older films this seems unlikely. 2. Kids would be interested in a tent set. I know because it's something I always wanted as a kid. At the time I imagined a simple fabric tent like the one in the Indiana Jones sets but now I think we could get something similar to the Tardis from the doctor who ideas set. Maybe LEGO would skip making the main tent in favor of a burrow tent as an excuse for anotter party themed set but I hope they don't. Making a DH1 line without the main tent would be like making a doctor who line without the aforementioned Tardis. 3. I'm in favor of a large DH castle set to round out the current castle system. It would be great if we got the remaining dormitories (just having Griffindor would have been fine but also having Ravenclaw makes the exclusion of the other two a bit odd) and if LEGO really wants to please me they'll throw in a Zabini figure and a small representation of the DH room of requirement. 4. Hogsmeade figures. I'm usually in favor of adding Ron/Hermionie figures (especially if they're from year 3+) but I think the shop owners are necessary inclusions for play. If kids want to act out a shopping scenario they need to be able to have someone to buy things from. Something I haven't seen discussed yet is Harry's invisibility cloak (which I assume will be included). A repeat of the CMF one? Something new? Either way I'm sure it will look nice but become frayed with any amount of handling. 5. The leaked figure isn't anything interesting, it looks exactly how I expected. I've really missed getting obscure Hogwarts characters since all of the sets became based around including characters we already had in new dresses though so I'm glad we're getting her. The only interesting thing about the leaked figure itself though is imagining what this forum would be like of some people got their way and we had to guess the sets based on the leaked figures.

Just a few days ago I caved and ordered 3/4 moments sets and the GWP, kind of wish I hadn't now that we're hearing about all of this. Im very excited for this new wave, Hogwarts is my favorite part of this line so it will be nice to get so many sets based on it. I'm also actually looking forward to getting a remake of the Great hall because while the 2010 version had nice colors and nice details the overall shape is noticeably wrong and the staircase tower is missing the smaller turrets (now if only we could get a remake of the Horntail). Also I'm going to take Ron's exclusion from the Great Hall set as proof LEGO is attempting to give us an equal number of Ron/Hermionies. I do however hope that the nostalgic additions we are seeing this year like sand green roofs and Hogwarts crest torsos (which I assume will be reused for these sets giving us a Hufflepuff version with JF-F) will be confined to these anniversary sets and not impact the August wave and future waves.

I can not find the promo bricks article. Can someone link it?

It's important to just use your head with rumors like this. Even excluding what we know about prices we know there won't be a wave of Hogwarts moments sets based on the houses. The HM sets are aimed at children even more than the regular sets. LEGO struggled to find a single character recognizable enough to include in the existing sets for Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, I doubt they will make entire sets for those houses. The main sets have given us a handful of obscure characters and builds but I don't see LEGO releasing a $30 set based on a room that wasn't in the movies at all (at least for Hufflepuff).

I think it would be unwise for LEGO to make much for FB3. The general public (ie: not you if you're reading this) seemed to enjoy the original but weren't too crazed about it and FB2 killed what little interest there was in the series. The number of people interested is then decreased even further by those who don't want to support JK and those who support Johnny Depp. The demand for the film is low and the demand for merchandise will be even lower. I could definitely see them making a brick built niffler and maybe a small-medium sized set or two if the minifigure parts from 2018 are still readily available and reusable but nothing more. Especially since the original sets are still incredibly easy to find online and even in stores (I went to a few Barnes and Noble stores at the start of the year and they all had more of the two FB sets than all of the HP sets combined). In terms of a new TV show I think making it a chapter by chapter exact recreation of the books would be an absolute disaster. Books always require some work to adapt to screen even if they're perfect books and while our nostalgia may tell us the HP books are perfect they aren't. The fifth film for example did an excellent job of fixing some of the issues with the issues with the book. A modern TV show is also appealing to a completely different audience than the books were 20 years ago and it would need to be more inclusive. Rowling even seems to realize this to some extent with her retconning Heroine's race and making Dumbledore gay. Unless changes are made to the source material a TV show would be an interesting novelty but nothing more. Most importantly though if a remake was made you can guarantee they would make some changes to some design elements which means even more remakes of LEGO sets we already have. It will be far easier to skip a new Great Hall if its based on the same design but what if the roof is now blue in the TV show? People who want the HP line to end soon and not do any remakes should be very afraid. Personally I want WB to just release extended cuts of the existing movies with updated effects, it would be a good way to celebrate the 20th anniversary for each film. The only ones we've gotten extended cuts for are the first two films and even those are still incomplete. It's interesting to speculate about the future of the franchise and what it would mean for LEGO but at the end of the day the only thing that matters is which set will be the long-awaited UCS Dobby's Sock?

Almost certainly fake. Mainly because there would be no reason to release another hedwig statue when we just had one last year.