MaxHeadroom

GOOD. They should be boring to adults who own the previous versions because that’s would be the point. They shouldn’t be the target audience. Sometimes remakes are naturally different from earlier versions because of substantial changes in LEGO’s techniques (Hagrid’s hut 2010-2019) or in substantial changes in the in-universe design (Hagrid’s hut 2019-2023) but many sets are often remade purely to keep sets accessible to kids and keep the boxes interesting and refreshed for retailers. Sometimes LEGO will throw in a new side build or minifigure in a lazy effort to tempt collectors into buying a remake they don’t need. What we’ve gotten with Hogwarts is a total redesign of the whole system to temp collectors into buying the remakes. We’ve literally just seen what the effects of change for the sake of being different gets us with the 2021-2023 system. It was unfocused and they clearly lost the supposed interest in the interiors early on. Some of the later sets (especially the Battle of Hogwarts and Sirius’ Escape) feel forced into the style out of tired obligation. Not to mention they seemingly didn’t plan the theme out and cannibalized it by introducing multiple other competing interior focused lines which used up all the classrooms and common rooms leaving the proper sets with less interesting interiors to make sets around and forcing it to focus on the exterior (to the detriment of the sets) to differentiate itself. That’s not mentioning it ending the previous system before it needed to. Surely it would be better to let a castle system survive for 4-5 years and just release similar versions of the sets that need rereleases. I would feel no real sympathy for the adults with infinite money and space who would be disappointed in a remake set not having anything interesting for them or having a real reason for them to buy it. If a set’s worth actually redesigning then they should go for it (Hagrid’s hut 2024) and if it’s not then just make the minor updates and leave it at that (Flying car 2024). Not every remake needs to appeal to collectors who own the previous versions.

IMO as much as I loved finally getting DH2 sets, it didn’t fit well with the doofy child oriented 2021+ castle block style. The graphic design on stickers in the RoR (along with the existence of the pixie sticker) and things like Harry’s bright blue pants make it feel like a set designed for kids too young to see the movie. Meanwhile the BoH seems like it’s almost embarrassed to be a 2021+ block set doing everything it can to break the 8x8 format. The new highly detailed 2024+ style seems far better suited to the later films. We’ll see what the future holds but if we do get sets from the second half of the series, I think they’ll work a lot better. The change in system and the lack of foldout sets makes it seem like the kiddie focus we’ve seen in recent years is being dialed back a bit. Lego could easily just remake certain segments in the same style, especially with the 2021-23 format. No need to totally reboot unless they specifically want to try something different.

Just because they can, doesn’t mean they will. They just had a supposedly interior focused Hogwarts line and almost immediately pivoted to (often feeble) attempts at making decent exteriors. Not to mention they even had most the figures they’d need already in production thanks to the chess set. Now that they’ve got an intentionally exterior focused line again I wouldn’t get my hopes up for any large underground only levels. If they wanted to do another gimmicky fold out line they probably could make the stone challenges. Based on this spring wave not consisting of a new wave of fold out builds I’m guessing that won’t be the case though.

It’s too late for a troll on the loose or philosophers’ stone challenges set. Those would’ve been released for the last system when they could do large interior and underground based sets. It’s possible but I wouldn’t hold out hope. Only thing that could point to a troll on the loose set is the Polyjuice Potion set being off the market, leaving room for a new bathroom. I do hope this new Hogwarts system features a level of rocks under all the modules. Ideally they’d plan things out and have the chamber of secrets and stone challenges (probably split over multiple sets?) underneath them all but I’m not holding out hope.

At the end of the day LEGO is a toy for children. Had LEGO used larger boats the boathouse would’ve needed to be scaled up and the cost of the set as a whole would’ve increased. The goal of the set is primarily to help kids recreate the scene in the film where multiple boats of students pull up to the boathouse while still keeping the set around a $37.99 price point (which is already a relatively high price point for such a minimal scene which we’ve seen get recreated in the past with just a boat and a 2x6 plate to represent a dock). The designer decided to represent two smaller boats instead of one to prioritize the visual of multiple boats of students over the visual of exactly four students in a boat. You may prefer the other option, but the one they went with was undeniably a valid way of representing the scene and is visually appealing even if it isn’t 100% accurate. As always with smaller minifigure scale things like vehicles, it is important to remember that minifigures do not have human proportions. Creating a vehicle to hold a certain number of figures can result in them being oversized. They probably chose not to build one big boat because it would be too big. When it comes to the oars, they’re literally horizontally hung up on the walls in the movie during the only scene in the series which shows the interior of the boathouse just like they are in the set. Like your earlier issues with the doors, you’re complaining about the mere existence of something LEGO has accurately replicated from the source material. Really if you want to talk accuracy the walls should be covered in them instead of only having one on each side. McGonagall is included because she is the teacher waiting for the students as they arrive at the castle. Children playing with the set will want her to be there to take students into the Great Hall. Hagrid wasn’t included because Hagrid is an expensive to produce figure who has never been included in a set less than $50USD since the 2018 revival of the theme. Additionally the inclusion of Hagrid would necessitate an extra boat to be designed for him as kids would expect to have transport for all the characters included in the set who rode the boats into the castle in the film. Gluppy Plank isn’t included because they’re not in the film at all during the boat scene or the scenes immediately preceding and following it. I am usually one of the people here most critical of the HP line and inaccuracies (especially around Hogwarts) and honestly I don’t get your negativity around this set at all. The lack of doors and inclusion of paddles are both accurate to the film designs being recreated and they look good aesthetically. In general this is one of the most accurate Hogwarts exterior recreations we’ve had in years. The decision to include two small boats instead of one large one seems easy to understand and they look good aesthetically. The choices of characters included are also obvious choices for a set based on this sequence of the movie and for a set sold at this price.

I agree that it’s bad when LEGO is trying to sell fans on a whole lazy remake/rerelease for a new accessory, figure, or side build (see last summer’s remakes) but that’s not really the case with this wave. Outside of the new modifications to the flying car, there’s no new figures, creatures, or prints to tempt collectors to buy it if they have earlier car versions and are happy with those builds. The Forbidden Forest is exclusively existing figures and creatures outside of the minor changes of a winking pixie and probably some slightly different robe/skirt combinations for the figures which are negligible to even the most dedicated collectors. If you’ve already got buckbeak, a baby thestral, a pixie, and enough forest to make you happy, there’s no reason you would have to buy this unless you really like the new tree style. Those two sets are perfect remakes. They’re remakes that needed to happen for the kids and they haven’t forced in anything that collectors would want. The Hagrid’s hut build toes the line quite a bit between a remake only existing for the kids and a remake that’s a substantial enough improvement to be worth it for collectors. I think I’m comfortable saying it’s just barely improved and different enough to the 2019 version (mainly thanks to it being based on a very different design in universe) to be a worthwhile upgrade so the inclusion of new variants and creatures doesn’t feel like a cash grab. Even if you don’t think the build is enough to justify it, having 2/3 remakes not try to temp collectors at all is extremely refreshing.

“Oh look! Rocks!” I couldn’t care less about grey roofs but seeing rocks again makes me ecstatic. The tree, water, and shrooms in the boathouse set look great too. I really hope we get a new system this summer with all of those features. Especially if there’s a significant amount of them in relevant places like under the Great Hall. I know it won’t happen based on the boathouse but I’d also love to see the entire castle be covered in snow like the Owlery. I genuinely can’t wait to see more builds in this theme. I was thinking about what a rebooted system would be like to compete with the detailed 2018+ line after the (if nothing else) fun to mix up 2021+ line. Making a good base is honestly the only way I think a new line can compete, outside of things like an accurately shaped Great Hall and staircase tower. Now that it’s finished let’s take a moment to really reflect on the last Hogwarts system having only 2 classrooms in the end after 3 years of sets. Lockhart’s DADA and an astronomy class with only a single row of 8 useable studs. Isn’t it pathetic? As for the builds themselves, anything is going to look good next to the 8x8 squares. I wish the Owlery tower was a bit more complete. I get what they’re going for but it feels like we’re getting less than half of the cylinder with only one rounded corner included. Also the boathouse uses the 1x2 sloped grate instead of the (new?) flat 1x2 slope used on the new ford Anglia. Once we see more from this system and they’re on sale I’ll probably get these. Hagrid’s Hut is nice but the pricepoint was clearly too high. The doghouse is a nice attempt to add more parts but really I would’ve preferred to see the set without it retailing for at most $60 (same price as the last but with fewer figures no large animal). Might get it if there’s a sale. Forbidden Forest is vastly overpriced and the amount of stuff. There’s also a bit too much forest floor for me. Had they added a third tree on top of one of those empty mounds I think this could’ve been a solid set for the price. Maybe I’ll get it if there’s a significant sale. The flying ford is perfect. A slight improvement on earlier versions but no new figure or anything forced in to tempt old collectors into buying it for the third time. Just a good set for new collectors. I hope this set stays on shelves for a long time. So best winter wave (that’s a low bar) and it’s made me a lot more interested in seeing the eventual summer sets.

I could imagine a build could become a bit more complex if it would be fully tiled which I think is a possibility. Mainly though, it’s just a marketing thing. The Harry Potter line has been dumbed down and made more kiddie in recent years (alongside other franchise reputation changes) but when the flying creatures started it was a franchise and Lego line with a lot of adult appeal second probably only to Star Wars. Minecraft meanwhile has generally been seen as a kids game for the last 10+ years and no offense to any of us here but the Lego line especially has been seen as entirely for children with minimal adult appeal since it switched to the minifigure line. Its only ever had two D2Cs, the 2016 one was 8+ and the 2017 one was 12+. A flying ender dragon display is targeting a nostalgic adult demographic which has never been a part of Lego Minecraft’s audience so it needs to be specifically marketed to appeal to them. Meanwhile the core HP line at the time was seemingly half for kids and half for nostalgic adults so it made sense to have a set aimed primarily at adults still marketed as usual. A better marketing/age rating comparison would be the Mario line. Not a set I’ve built but I doubt any 16 year old (do they still do 16+ sets?) or even any 12+ year old would struggle with the recent piranha plant set. But because they want it placed next to the other 18+ sets for adults to look at and because the Mario line is so kid focused it got the 18+ branding.

The Camel and (downgraded) phantom are nice to get, can’t say I personally strongly desire either of them though. That Steve is awful as expected and the build doesn’t really contain very useful parts (part of my criteria when buying a Minecraft set) but it looks fine. Frog house is basically what I expected. Not for me, but cool for people who want all the frog colors. I don’t see why including a drowned is a bad thing. I would’ve rather seen a witch than a drowned and zombie but the drowned makes sense and I don’t feel like we see them in sets that often. They’re uncommon in Java but very common in bedrock (although it’s possible they’ve changed that) which I assume is what most kids play and what Lego are trying to represent. That 18+ ender dragon plus ship rumor seems like a bit of a mess along with the rumor of an additional ship set. Are we sure there isn’t any confusion going on and the ship is one set and the 18+ dragon is another? I totally get an 18+ dragon and maybe it would be in the style of the Harry Potter flying birds/dragons we’ve gotten from that theme in recent years. Don’t know why an end ship would be included there though, as the dragon is nowhere near the end cities in game.

I mean if it goes with the botanicals I understand this more than most of these buildable sets. Definitely more sensible than our third hedwig in five years and the sorting hat.

I knew they’ve looked like that since their public reveal but if that was 6 months ago or 3 years ago I couldn’t tell you. Only explanation I can come up with is that they wanted to include a birch tree for symmetry with the build but also wanted a cherry tree to be relevant to recent updates.

The Armory - No trims? Surely that’s the whole reason this set should exist? I’m a bit disappointed to not see an armorer villager too. The 2x2 glazed terracotta tiles look nice (have we gotten those particular ones before?) as does the grindstone. The new Alex print is awful though. I get what they’re going for, and maybe kids will like it but it’s a terrible use of budget and looks ridiculous. The build itself is fine, but I don’t really get the point of including a nether portal. Overall this is a real disappointment of a set. Animal Sanctuary - the build is whatever but colorful enough I’m sure kids will like it. The tree is bad but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt as maybe the design wasn’t finalized when the game was (I don’t remember how long ago we first saw those trees with how long it takes for things to get added to the game). This set was always going to live or die based on the animals and going for all baby animals is a real shame. It would’ve cost them pennies more to do. Turtle Beach House - Its a big green square and does what it’s meant to do. Baby turtles is a nice surprise but it definitely won’t be enough for me to buy the set. Nether Portal Ambush - Only set I’m actually into. Hoglin is nice and I haven’t got a ghast yet. Definitely inferior to both the sets it’s replacing (Nether Bastion and Nether Portal) but it’s a solid little nether set good for people who have only got one or two.

Something I don’t think we’ve celebrated enough is the lack of foldout sets this wave. No books, banners, or trunks. It’s shocking to think just how many we had packed into 3 years. Maybe they’ve decided to stop them due to over-saturation or maybe they never sold well in the first place. Weren’t they all retired and on discount pretty quickly?

Sounds like a UCS Hogwarts is what the 2018 Great Hall’s designer made before it got whittled down. I’d love to see something like that if the rectangle mess continues. Maybe one $250 set per year. I also think that the great hall and staircase tower could be separate sets.

Do we NEED them though? I know people are desperate for new figures but are these worth the budget for new prints/worth the effort for collectors to track down? We’ve already got two different pairs of casual Harry and Ron from COS and both were in multiple sets over the years and still on the market just a year ago (2018 HE, 2020 Privet Drive). They escape outfits are not really the most iconic outfits either. Not sure I’ve ever seen them featured merchandise before. Outside of minifigures I’m sure that budget could go towards more useful prints instead of stickers either in the flying car set or elsewhere in the wave.

That one was originally introduced in a City set where it has to be rescued from a forest fire, and it has one eye closed because of the smoke Pretty specific print, but it still fits into HP, I think Yeah I remember discussions around it at the time. It’s fine as a one off but not one I’d want to see multiples of. Just checked and apparently it was only in Diagon Alley so not much of a problem. There’s also the dark tan owl from a couple sets I forgot about (guess I assumed the tan and dark tan were the same). The owls are just lacking a certain consistency that the owls in both the 2001-2007 and 2010/11 lines had. The main things are flying ones since aside from obviously being a different mould since they’re not really posed to be flying which adds to the weirdness. The sand blue owl also looks really weird to me. Generally it’s a weird color, the orange eyes stick out, the print on the body has a lot of contrast, and of course it’s flying. It really sticks out like a sore thumb with all the other owls imo. Now that the new lead has probably seen all the sets this year through their whole development, I wonder if things will get less cartoonish. The reboot was always a bit more cartoonish than the earlier versions of the theme but it’s only gone further as time has gone on. The switch from blue pants to sand blue on DH2 Harry figures could be telling that they’re toning it down a bit, but that could just be wishful thinking.

That Hagrid’s Hut set still sounds crazy. One (possibly two?) new creature molds, Hagrid, an additional 4 figures, and somehow nearly 900 parts in a $74.99 set? Is it going to have a roof covered in 1x1 tiles or something? Maybe I’ll get it. Two modular Hogwarts sets is interesting. I guess they’ve realized they don’t actually need to reboot Hogwarts every three years. Wish they would’ve come to that realization back when we had a good Hogwarts system. Can’t see them releasing two more at the start of the year and then doing a reboot in the summer. Not sure if I’ll pick up these or not. So far I’ve only gotten the chamber, polyjuice potion, hospital, and Sirius’ escape. As for the buildings themselves we’ve now got 12 sets and two GWP for this Hogwarts system with a price of around $620 (estimate, since the prices have changed) and this whole thing features a grand total of two classrooms (DADA and Astronomy). For context, the last system contained twice as many classrooms for a bit over half the price (DADA, Astronomy, and two potions). With the battle of Hogwarts interior supposedly being the great hall, that means we’ve got as many great halls in this system as we do classrooms. Not to mention our endless supply of basically empty hallways. I can’t be the only one who finds this ridiculous right? Boathouse and Owlery are fine but could we get a bit more to show this is meant to be a school? The Forbidden Forest is the only one that really definitely appeals to me. Don’t need buckbeak but it should be nice getting a bunch of creatures and hopefully a decent tree. I’d expect like 3 or 4, and it could definitely just have 2 knowing Lego. I still think owls are a bit of a mess in this reboot and adding in a smaller owl won’t really help things. We’ve got white flying and sitting, reddish brown sitting, sand blue flying, and sitting tan with a bizarre closed eye. Personally a sitting version of the sand blue owl and a sitting tan owl with both eyes open would be appreciated.

Definitely seems like a molding thing and apparently they’re called marbled bricks. No idea where I’d really sell it so please lmk if there’s a specific community or something for them.

Dusting off Diagon Alley and saw that one of the dark red 1x2 cheese slopes outside QQS is a weird marbled dark red and burnt orange. I don’t remember if it was like that originally. It’s on the inside of the piece too so definitely not just sun damage or something. None of the other parts have that issue from what I can see. Maybe I’ll have to seek out a replacement. Did anyone else have a similar issue?

One last castle set in the current style would be interesting. Hopefully something based off DH2 so we finally get DH2 Ron. I don’t really have any good interior ideas but that didn’t stop Lego from making the Battle of Hogwarts set or half the Room of Requirement set this year.

What set would it be though? 76428 -$74.99 - 896 probably makes the most sense in terms of price but the piece count is way too high unless the walls are made of 1x1 plates. 76430 - $44.99 - 364 could maybe work but it would be odd for a remake of a 2018+ set to be 25% cheaper than the original even without counting inflation/price gouging.

Ok finally got it after 40 minutes. I’ve been sent an email saying they’ve got my order and told there will be another confirmation email later. I was able to see my cart maybe one out of every 50 refreshes and I was able to finally check out after trying five or six times. What a mess. Now I just have to hope it doesn’t take forever to ship and be delivered.

My bag has seven items based on the icon and I’ve exceeded the limit of Gringotts yet apparently I don’t have anything in my bag. Brilliant.

Absolute disaster so far. Had a few things in my bag already, added Gringotts and now I’ve got nothing. Trying on both my phone and computer and it’s not getting any better.

They’ll make Harry and Hermione mechs but no Ron. Actually let’s stop this bit now. We sort of willed UCS Dobby’s sock into existence, let’s not make the same mistake here.