krimimimi

I guess the question is are you trying to limit your all-time investment / expenditure, or just what you spend now? If you like the look of the 2018 Hogwarts architecture, I agree I'd purchase the Astronomy Tower to try to complete the castle as much as budget permits. As long as there are Harry Potter sets, there's sure to be a Hogwarts Express, so I wouldn't make that a priority, just pick up Lupin off Bricklink/ebay/etc, because the next Express will probably shift the focus of the scene again. (Hogsmeade Station? Maybe the scene where Hagrid picks them up with Thestrals, because we haven't had a Thestral in an actual Harry Potter set yet this series (it was FB)...) Likewise, I'd bet the Knight Bus and some version of Hagrid's hut will also be reissued sooner as opposed to later. They've improved with every iteration, and it doesn't matter if their style changes for your overall HP display, so waiting is almost an advantage. The Burrow, on the other hand, is less likely to appear again soon, so if you really like it... The positive spin for you from what the designers have said is that they're 1) soft rebooting the series, and 2) more focused on the early films, which should mean any eventual DH sets they sneak in there are unlikely to be very expensive. The Bell Towers seem very unlikely (not "iconic" enough), at best maybe we'd see something like the Battle of Hogwarts set 4867 Hogwarts from 2011 (and even then, I'd expect it to fit in with their new design scheme more than the 2018 one). So what does that leave? Mostly small sets. Forest of Dean wouldn't be expensive, a new take on the scene with Narcissa Malfoy and Harry in the Forbidden Forest also isn't pricey, and both are independent of the castle design. The only thing I think is both probable and pricey is a Gringotts orientated towards first year Harry's visit, with a small extra set of the Trio from DH with a dragon. While the DH set likely wouldn't be a major budgetary commitment, it wouldn't make sense without the PS Gringotts.

Thanks for answering. Yeah, Star Wars has Watto's Junkyard and Factions as sub-forums, and Pirates has Pirate MOCs and Brethren of the Brick Seas, so I assumed (multiple) sub-forums were technically possible. Somebody had asked a question recently about modded HP minifigs, and I knew I'd seen a thread dedicated to it, searched and in the process discovered new HP content I'd overlooked because most of the licensed lego posts just don't interest me, and I assume I'm not the only one (if only because the other user hadn't seen that thread either ). Compounding the problem, if you display forum results by recent activity and there isn't much going on in those threads, they quickly move back to later pages, and sort of disappear from sight, and moving through them irregularly tends to show you active things you've already seen, not necessarily the content you've missed. And on the flip side, if there isn't much response, people usually don't continue to bother posting things which reduces the overall content as a result. Anyway, that was my thinking on it (my two Knuts, if you will), but if you guys don't see much point, then clearly it's moot. Thanks again for taking the time to explain.

I think it will help flesh out Gringotts builds, because (speaking as a Muggle, obviously) the goblins looked mostly alike, just a little different, so a number of Griphooks with different expressions is probably the least expensive option they could have come up with to achieve the best results. They were hardly going to give us a bunch of head moulds, and I think this is more satisfying than the previous versions which basically swapped out the torsos or legs, although I won't mind some options there, too, when the set inevitably comes. hp078/hp079 or hp117/hp118 (where they even share a torso with Flitwick (nice way to suggest a tie in to the Goblin blood, though)) @Clone OPatra, sorry if this isn't the place to ask, but is there any chance of getting a subforum for Harry Potter material in the LEGO licensed forum like the pirates and Star Wars themes have in theirs? I feel like a bunch of neat content often gets overlooked buried as it is amongst other themes, and that that in turn may discourage people from posting content, both of which seem like a shame.

I think we have a tendency to see it that way, that the earlier films have so many more sets, without it being completely accurate. If you bought the 2018 Great Hall, I think the only things making it a first / second year set (PS, CoS) were the basilisk, Quirrel, Mirror of Erised and the short minifig legs, which isn't a substantial investment in parts, and yet the GH is a much needed starting point for your Hogwarts build. Any sets from subsequent years allow you to easily fix the leg and face issues, and just like that, it's updated. Likewise, Hagrid's hut and the Hogwarts Express wouldn't require much to change to update them, and even Privet Drive only suffers from the lack of an older Dudley that makes it a poorer stand in for later years. We don't really see much change in the adult characters. So I don't see the sets so much as PS & CoS builds as a Wizarding World starter kit. Moving forward, I'd appreciate more small sets that permitted us to update the existing sets on our own. For instance I'd much rather have a Forbidden Forest set with Fang, Harry and Malfoy and some trees than yet another Hagrid's hut (bonus points if they throw in a dead unicorn...) any time soon. A single car from the Express with Harry under his cloak and Luna coming to his rescue would extend our trains, as many have asked, without requiring a substantial investment. (And if they really want to make it larger, include the Hogsmeade Station, just don't needlessly keep covering the same ground.) Or instead of revisiting the Hogsmeade builds, how about some planks to shutter the windows and more wanted posters with grubby fugitive Harry, Hermione and Ron? (Or better yet, extending them with a couple more shops and extra planks.)

There's a thread dedicated to HP minifig mods,

No, @chris6507 is right. According to Stonewars, it and the other Accessory Pack are both expected to retire at the end of the year. Also of note, the Bellatrix / Voldemort / Nagini set is going EOL, which also won't have been around long, and both the Charms and Herbology Moment sets released last January (not Transfig or Potions, though). I noticed they aren't even listing the Great Hall anymore, so I assume that's already EOL for us at the S@H.

It did mine as well. But! Then we had Umbridge in a 30 EUR set just two years after the Bricktober pack, got Sluggy that same year, and Hooch in another 30 EUR set just a year later. The Boggart!Snape is the only one who hasn't been re-released, so I'm presently rather hopeful actually, especially as the set was still TRU, iirc, at a time when they were in the process of shuttering their doors, so I think it was even less well distributed than the Bricktober sets usually were. I'd love more of the Moment sets (they could easily get away with making a DADA set for each year, really), although I wouldn't mind seeing the DADA in the Fluffy format so we could squeeze in a suspended skeleton build as opposed to just getting a sticker. Moody is the only DADA instructor except Carrow (who was technically Dark Arts anyway) not to appear in a regular set since the 2018 theme revival, so I think he's overdue, especially as he plays a key role in the Order. He Imperiuses Viktor in the maze, so perhaps a small set with him, Krum, Harry and some beast? We've had Voldemort's rise twice, but never the actual task... (Alright, so I'm a book person and have played some of the HP video games over the years and have some fixed ideas as to the events that took place in the third task. I just rewatched the scene on youtube for the first time in well over a decade, and I can't believe there were no creatures. I'd remembered they'd remove the Skrewts from the films, but none at all? Hmpf. It makes Krum and Moody more important, so I guess there's that, but no wonder there's no set, though. Here! Build a menacing hedge! ) Well, fine, I want Ferret!Draco anyway. A D2C Quidditch Pitch leaves me cold. Too boring, too expensive, too large a footprint to do properly, I find the Icons more charming (and yet won't be buying that either (too expensive / large)). That said, if a pitch helps anyone else complete their builds, I'll be only too happy for them if they get it eventually. (Unless it comes at the cost of a Borgin and Burkes or Gringotts; then I'll be properly petulant.)

Ferret! Yes! I want the Draco!Ferret!

Great job, BrickMatit! That definitely improves the front and makes better sense of the interior space. I like it. Nice Zonko's, @thenightman89. Fits in perfectly in Hogsmeade by dint of the starting point obviously, but the scale is just right, too. A worthy expansion. The list of needed parts is always helpful, as well. @Micmac, your ship is gorgeous! I've never once been tempted by a ship, but your build is something else. Well done you!

The list is rubbish, but I think we'll eventually see one of these Boggart / DADA classroom sets anyway because it fits neatly in the new modular size and doesn't take a lot of minifigs. We'd get a cabinet, the Snape Boggart, Lupin and Neville. They might count on us having the gramophone from the AC, and apply the pieces to something else, if they make it a slightly larger set, maybe Ron, his spider and roller skates for it. If we're lucky, a skeleton to hang from the ceiling of a pitched roofed room. I wouldn't mind a jack in the box and whichever twin, either, but that quickly becomes a more expensive set than it's worth for the scene. Basilisk doesn't track either after the CoS this summer. Ironbelly... maybe '23? No, the list really doesn't make any sense at all, even as a wild guess. Looking forward to seeing it, BrickMatit. I think MicMac had made one with photoshop when the pictures first leaked that was really good, too. Immediately improved the whole street. There's a lot that can be done there just by changing that segment. Guesses for the future... I imagine they'll move on to focus primarily on PoA and GoF. Aside from all the obvious ones we'll surely see eventually (Hagrid's Hut (we're overdue for a Fang), Hogwarts Express, Knight Bus, Ford Anglia in some combination or another, perhaps with Aragog this time?), the Durmstrang Ship and Second Task both seem likely to happen again. Lupin's Classroom. Moody in some set or another. (Anyone have any ideas as to what scene?) They've never done the third task (mazes, hmm), but maybe a sphinx build? I can also see them going back to the troll from PS, because that could easily fit in the new format, and they had no issues mixing years / books / films in the past.

Thanks. (When you translate back and forth, things sometimes get morphed.)

@El Primo to the best of my knowledge, none yet for 2022, and the designers had indicated DH wasn't a priority [<- can someone use a better word for that?] as it didn't seem to lend itself to toy making as well as the earlier films / books. My completely uniformed bet would be that they'll do something in 2023 to mark the 25th 'anniversary' of the Battle of Hogwarts, and when the inevitable Gringotts comes, I'm pretty sure we'll see the dragon in a set (hopefully something separate, like the Horntail) that allows the trio to escape from the bank. ETA: oh, but they've also confirmed that the 2021 style is to be seen as a soft reboot of the series, so presumably any future sets will be in that style. Troll in the Bathroom, Second Task, and Durmstrang Ship are still missing from the earlier book sets, so maybe those if you're looking for guesses.

OT = Off topic, as a generic GWP isn't HP lego. (Still, it looked boring in the little thumbnail online, it was nicely done IRL.) An HP but not lego mad friend of mine said the same. She's seriously considering it, so while I'd have preferred a Gringotts, I don't mind them spacing them out, and it might have been a clever choice for gaining new fans for the theme.

(emphasis mine) Not at all, RBR. I appreciated your take. I'm definitely in camp 2018, and the sets I have from the 2021 Hogwarts line (Fluffy, PPM, and FFL) have been extremely frustrating in their propensity to fall apart, but I haven't got the CoS yet either. I find the different views and reviews helpful, particularly as I'm only reacting to the set pics. Between what you and a few others have said, the CoS's minifigs I really want, and the MOC idea Modal shared, I can absolutely see myself ordering the CoS when the autumn GWPs go live. (And thanks for sharing that @Modal. It really helps knowing there's a good plan B if the set doesn't quite appeal.) (OT Was at the local lego store yesterday, the GWP sailboat (which I didn't get) is very cute. I wish they'd post better pics of GWPs online.) @Salix Hey there, next country over. I ordered mine a few weeks ago at amazon. It wasn't terrible in price, 8 EUR, and if I'd gone for a different source, albeit as a pre-order, then I could even have saved 2 EUR. (Instant gratification scotched that... )

They were sort of trending in that direction though. The Great Hall and Clock Tower both had some generous spaces for some of the scenes likely to play out there. By the Astronomy Tower, however, it was mostly this series of bitty spaces that were basically good for static minifig display and that was that. (It was frustrating enough that I made it part of my nanoscale Hogwarts display instead.) But at least the exterior still looked good. And of course now the 2021 system is both too small and has a rubbish exterior. It's not that you can't make a nice vignette in an 8x8 space (although it's unnecessarily more challenging than a less cramped space), but it isn't particularly suited for interaction once it's finished. You think the 2021 CoS Great Hall was an improvement over the 2018 GH or the original CoS?

@BigHobbit already discredited that. As they pointed out, the three golden minifigs are shown on the rear of the D2C box, so not a GWP.

'mileage may vary'. Dipping into imperial units for the sake of the expression. (We should probably just translate it 'metre-age may vary'... )

Very much this. I don't need to like every set in a series. If the new sets help ensure the sets I want can eventually get made, then I'm all mostly for it. I would hope, however, that they keep the Second Task and the ship separate, as they did originally. The ship appeared for moments in the film and I'd happily skip it (plus ships themselves don't interest me in the least), but a remake of the Second Task, on the other hand, was actually a set I've been looking forward to. Not large, not hugely expensive, but very key to the film, so almost a diametric opposite to the ship. Given Hedwig's prominence, 'fowl swoop', surely? Not swayed in the least. I will say it looks much better than I expected, they've done a good job on that front, but it isn't worth the money or the space to me. (imho, mmv, obvs.) Extremely annoyed about the three golden figures, although it solves the issue I had with sourcing sparkly!Snape or buying the chess set I have no love for. I had been so pleased, too, with lego leaving off the chase figures in the last CMF and with the chocolate frog tiles, and now this. A solid 'T'. Boo. Pretty much my sentiments. I can easily ignore chess sets or art sets, but when it comes to the minifig scale, the biggest disappointment for me with the 2021 line is that the box units are just that touch too small to display things well (at the least, they really needed a little more depth), and that no matter how you try to configure them, they look disjointed from the other side. That said, the 2018-2020 line was growing increasingly large in its footprint, and this could have been a good way to rein that back in, a build that stood in the back facing outwards, had they only addressed those two issues. (Even if it's not the side on display, that exterior face mattered. But it's lego, so MOCcing it is.) I will say I was very pleasantly surprised by the Moment sets, and I hope to see more in that line. (I'm not sure how the rest of you are fixed for space, but even if we take lego budget out of the equation, display space is at a real premium for me, and I'd expect for many europeans.) Along the same lines, I hope that others have found things to like that they hadn't expected in 2021's unusual line-up, and that that helps pull new fans and keep the series alive. I could absolutely see them doing some DH sets in 2023 as part of a 25 year 'anniversary' of the Battle of Hogwarts. It could also make sense from the standpoint that the second generation HP fans who started as kids with the 2018 lego series will have grown into the more mature source material much as the original generation of young fans did at the time with the books and films. There are no further sets expected in the HP line-up this year than the ones already known (D2C, polybag and advent calendar are the known but as yet unreleased sets). The polybag is not expected to be included as a GWP. Obviously that's the sort of thing they can change with little notice, but that's what's known at present.

@Textorix , thanks. They look great. As a design choice (if one doesn't consider the source material) the sand green isn't so bad because it provides a good contrast to the rock base (we really should have more of). That said, it was still a disappointment after they'd gone grey in 2018...

Nice job, Textorix. I rather like the CoS Great Hall back there. When it's not on top of the base, it doesn't really look that much like the Great Hall. What did you use to render them?

Brilliant, cheers. You lot are the best , even if it's not an actual tease.

lol @BacktoBricks squib round describes it. I thought they could give up the polybag at least... @Metanoios did you happen to get a screenshot of the flowerpot / possible cauldron? We're about to do dinner, is anyone else going to stick with it and let us know if anything else comes up?

Well if they'd made a bridge for the 2018 sets it would have had to have stairs going up and down again because they were flat at ground level, so maybe we'll see one for the 2021 redesign? It would make more "sense" as objects go given the dungeons / rock base have been built into these sets, and maybe that increases the likelihood of such a set? (On the other hand, now we need to accommodate that height all the way across the bridge, and I'd have been happy with only a few bricks symbolically representing it instead...) Considering how early it is in the summer, the amount of material they want to cover, and the hype Star Wars is getting vs HP? I doubt it's likely. Maybe the polybag though?

Promobricks has reported the Great Hall as retiring this summer, not end of the year like the ones @lego_guyon02 listed. (That was new info added to the old.) The 2018 Great Hall is already gone from the S@H in Germany and the UK. ("Sold out" in May, as opposed to "temporarily unavailable".) It's safe to assume the US will follow suit in the foreseeable future. Sometimes they extend the run on one continent but not the others, however, and it had originally been expected to retire at the end of last year but was continued due to demand (caused in part by availability issues for many of the sets last year). As long as the sets are sold via retailers, we usually get some warning when they go EOL. It's S@H exclusive sets like DA and the AP we'll need to worry about.

I'm taking a little consolation from the fact that castles rarely match unless it's something fake castle-ish like Neuschwanstein, but then again they also tend not to change too radically within the same wall segment, so... (But even the bell towers and the Great Hall at Hogwarts are very different architecturally.) Mixing and matching the sets so they look anything like right is definitely proving something of a challenge, however. Looking forward to seeing what you lot do with them. (I'm already leaning towards a layout like @Clone OPatra's dollhouse variation and am determined to steal @Vorkosigan's Prefect's Bath. Thanks for the inspiration. )