krimimimi

Nice work, @Alchemist! Welcome to the forum.

I can picture just this being behind revealing the "Hogwarts" plan now. Previous official layouts / stages didn't look at all like the castle and were often greeted with indifference or a strong desire to MOC. By contrast, this does look like Hogwarts, which increases the appeal, and as long as they let people know where the theme is headed while the sets are still available, that's fair, likely to curb frustration and encourage sales of sets before they go EOL. (Like how Sirius's rescue suddenly became a whole lot more appealing. lol)

@Textorix Yeah! Thank you! It looks great. Proof of concept. They can easily still add a few sets yet to the monster build of Hogwarts before starting over again. Hopefully they'll be willing to stretch the shelf life of the sets a little in order to give us greater variety in between Hogwarts cycles.

@NostalgicBricks, the last HE was a TRUs exclusive for the first year or so, until Smyths replaced them and then it was basically a Smyths exclusive for a long time, so it wouldn't surprise me if they went that route again. (May not be true globally, though.) @Textorix, iirc, you have some digital Bell Towers lying around. If it wouldn't be too much bother, could you add them to the new grand Hogwarts layout, behind the Clock Tower and courtyard, maybe with a greenhouse in there, too? I'm betting we could get one or two more sensical years out of the 2021+ modular scheme, particularly if they stretch it with BoH foe sets. (Y'know, the sort of thing they'd need to take it from the Epic Disagreement of Hogwarts (Epic D'oH) to an actual Battle.) I suspect the reason for the releasing the Hogwarts plan at this time is to encourage people to get the sets for the mega build before they retire. I believe PPM is the only one officially retired at this point, and it's still available on many store shelves, but by next year that status should be true for more of the sets. Anything else to come would be added on the edges of the build, like a new Quidditch set (2025?), Bell Towers, Herbology, the wooden bridge, the Forbidden Forest, the Slytherin and Hufflepuff dorms... But I have to agree with so many others, how lego ever thought designing a school with nearly no classrooms made sense... We should have seen those DADA classes with Lupin, and we're long overdue for another one of Snape's Potions classes. (On the other hand, it's fair to say the Moment sets gave us reasonable interiors for those MOCs without too much waste, but still...)

Well we finally have our answer for why the hinges in the Hospital Wing seemed to be on "backwards". It's nice to know it was in service of a plan. We could still see them like we had a Grawp set with Umbridge, or an Acromantula set with Harry and Ron. There's nothing to say they wouldn't tackle it that way and let us mix and match our combatants.

Where are you seeing the interiors, @NostalgicBricks?

See that's what I like, that different sets suit different needs, different budgets, both financial and spatial... That strikes me as some good planning for a line of products. I also like when the pieces in a set are basically so well selected that buying two makes for a better single build, without too much left over, and from the look of it, most of these pieces will be useful in larger WWW & Owl Post builds, although I'll reserve final judgment until I see what they're doing with the floor plates. 😋 I would be very pleased to have a B&B as well. @Clone OPatra "Theowl/post shop is pretty funny how small it is." The funny thing to me is that was my exact reaction the first time I saw photos of the Owl Post office in the amusement park. And then I gave it some thought and couldn't really come up with why it should be larger, it's not like they store packages there (and in the WW they would simply shrink them if necessary), so when the lego version was similarly sized, it somehow "fit" with my preconceived notions. It's a glorified bird coop with an employee who rubber stamps your letters in exchange for galleons. You might need some mice and assorted owl treats, perhaps a broom to sweep droppings, but there again, there must be charms for that. Maybe for the lunch breaks when the intern is left to manage the office... 😆

I love the Umbridge toy.

Good chap, Sammy. You're a "the glass is not completely and utterly empty" type, aren't you?

What? They all close with all of the accessories inside, which is a major part of the reason they're permanently close by my workspaces. I really like that about them. Tbf, the minifigs go on those studs on top, though. (Still better than the banners where they don't even do that.) As for @chris6507's question, Icons, for the same reason, the Sirius' Rescue set (because I was looking forward to the remake, it shouldn't be that hard to make either a decent courtyard or a decent tower, and this set flaked on both, especially the "fountain" from the original description), the 2022 HP AC (because nanoscale is some evil stuff, and now it even looks like they're reusing the minifigs after the fact, which grates).

@Surge It's the 25th "anniversary" of the Battle of Hogwarts, so a perfect PR opportunity when you're releasing a set literally called "Battle of Hogwarts".

@Rolyat24 No clue, obviously, if it's the same piece as whatever they're using for the Patronus Charm, but I imagine for the battle they'd need something or another like that, and it explains the translucent blur nicely. It already comes in trans green and pink. here we go, I think I found the individual part https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=35032e&idColor=0#T=C&C=0 that's the large one, here's the smaller one https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=35032f&idColor=0#T=C&C=0

I suspect those are the spells he and Harry are casting at each other. Sort of like the things you see used in the super hero sets sometimes. Edit: like the biggest round(ish) one of these https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=35032&idColor=98#T=C&C=98

Ah, but they can sell me a Borgin and Burkes (and make it all nice and scary with the DE and the cabinet if they need to cover that era, or go back to more innocent times in second year, depending on the minifigs required). Broomstix is a much harder stand alone sale. That would be a reduction of the DA approach to bite sized morsels, that was the sort of logic that led to the inclusion of Scribbulus and the exclusion of Gringotts in the 2020 D2C. Or if it's really just the façade, they can do the tattoo parlour etc, that sort of corner across from B&B that's cool architecturally, all wonky and angled, but where the shops may as well be empty for all we see.

The sad thing is you're probably correct. I hereby grant you worthless internet points.

Cheers. 😊 Dobby looked better than I expected (I don't know why I doubted, Groot was adorable), the stag looked worse. I'm hoping more detailed pictures will change that impression, because he was a little scary. I'm, with Clone OPatra, I imagine the BoH will fold in on itself. They've been mindful of a set's footprint lately, which matters increasingly as my collection grows... 😆 For the HE, the German promobricks guys had guessed Hagrid and Harry, which look like the only two confirmed figs atm; they said it was a straight up calculation at the time, however. (We haven't seen Hagrid in x, so we're due...) It also looks like young Harry. Not that that has to limit the scenes included, but what do people think will be depicted in the two cars?

But they didn't release the final description of the set in that conversation. As far as I can make out there were three information streams, promobricks (German and English) and brickclicker -> Stone Wars (as a couple of bits of information varied, I assume they are distinct), everything else "appears" to have spread from there, and the Clock Tower mention seems to have occurred only with the German vlog / podcast / whatever that format is called. Both of the other two occurred later and yet didn't repeat that rumour, a good indicator it was discredited. At the least it was not reinforced. Familiarity with the theme makes a difference, too, otherwise at some point a tower with a clock becomes a the Clock Tower.

The 2 in 1 may have just improved the set for me. I wasn't particularly tempted by two mediocre animals, one of which played no role. A decent version becomes more tempting, however, and if they build (hee) on the "build your own patronus" concept, that could be interesting. That said, Hermione's otter or something we see would have made more sense to me. With the blue bricks, there's no issue of colours to rule out many animals. I could see them doing interesting, interactive things with fans on this. "Learn to cast your Patronus", submit MOCs here, etc. The other thing I was thinking about the other day was for all the ability to build whatever you like with lego, a portion of people's disappointment in the theme's lineup seems to come from what isn't covered, and that they'd do themselves a favour including an alt build or two in the castle sets. Encourage people to take them apart, be less precious and get more out of them, or more cynically, maybe even buy more copies so they can display all versions side by side. 😆 @Textorix it also depends on if you're working from a picture or a description. With a picture, regardless how fuzzy, I'd have mentioned the ramparts.

I'd tend to agree on that count, squinting it reminded me of MicMac's MOC. (That's sort of satisfying to say... MicMac's MOC...) DMed brickbride the link. If anyone else needs it, just DM me and I'll send it to you too (I'm around most of today). I believe that still fits within the EB leak rules. If not, please let me know.

It's a 2 in 1 set, so they're displaying the more sensical (as it actually appeared in the films) stag rather than the wolf version no one has seen outside of fan art. Why would we be seeing the WWW now? It's slated for later release, August, IIRC. The Hogsmeade Station looks like a kind of hybrid of the PS and later versions. Strange, but nice. I definitely won't be spending that much on it, but maybe ebay... Hey are those capes I see in the Quidditch set? @Vindicare, we may be getting those Ravenclaw capes after all!

I was taking about just this with a friend the other day, and had found some MOCs in roughly the target range. https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-7518/EthanBrossard/hogwarts-castle-miniature-model/#details 2832 pieces https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-31838/MOMAtteo79/harry-ptter-architecture-bundle-hgwarts-castle-and-hgwarts-express-at-hogsmeade/#details 2053 pieces And for something a little different, christromans has done lovely nanoscale versions of the 2018+ series of HP builds, including the Express, Knight Bus and 4 Privett Drive for a similar number of pieces, but at the expense of the grounds given the other sets covered. https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-115480/christromans/mini-h-potter-collection/#details 2831 pieces

Thanks for some of the excellent answers. (Keep 'em comin'...) @brickbride, a couple of thoughts while reading, 1) I miss the yellow figs too (and am annoyed that I now think about race while MOCcing Lee). If they were all yellow, lego could have concentrated on hair, and I'm sure we'd have had him and a whole lot more by now. That said, that ship has sailed, and representation does matter (full marks to lego on that front), but it still bugs me sometimes that we're no longer all just yellow, or that as a result it devalues other sets' usefulness as parts packs. 2) The 8 x 8 crosshatch thingy plates have grown on me. I MOCed part of my Hogwarts using the PPM, and had to go back to using tiles / grates on the edges to allow for more diverse fig placement. The matrix basically offers that from the get go, which is an advantage. 3) I miss the play features, too. Oh look! A scroll under the cauldron! No idea why it's there and it doesn't matter. That old Potions set was so much fun. I cheered the moving books in the library, and appreciated the random frog between stories in 12GP as it stood in for the pygmypuff nest and doxies and all spiders they cleared out. More please. 4) Thank goodness I'm not the only one who doesn't actually like Dobby. (I did tear up, though, but still.) 5) I have that Millennium Falcon for the same reason. Bring on the small sets! (see complaints in response to Slytherin Alumni above) I still can't believe we didn't see a series of 15 EUR ish modular tasks in the dungeons with one or two figs. Ron with a rudimentary chess board and the queen. Hermione with the logic task. Harry with Voldemort and the mirror, or flying with the keys, preferably both... And frankly I'd even appreciate a better version of the Devil's Snare. If you're going to do modulars, embrace it and run with it. @MaxHeadroom I wouldn't dream of asking anyone to find remakes exciting, and appreciated your well explained take. Thanks for taking the time to convey it. You're absolutely right, the changes in design have really advanced in leaps and bounds. That said, and I'm not trying to "convert" you , but there were two examples of mileage varying that stood out for me and amused me. 1) I actually liked the absence of framing in the RoR's pillar cabinets as it also stands in as those weird columns that end in mid-air for the regular RoR for me, so I was charmed by what I felt was an excellent compromise, halfway between each, but I accept that also means they did neither "correctly" either. 2) It's also funny because I appreciated the random turrets, as that's part of what makes Hogwarts Hogwarts for me. I've grown up around castles, some things about Hogwarts are normal, some are bonkers, and it felt like the designers finally remembered to insert a bit of the architectural fun. (That said, the weird thing in the upper left hand middle bugs me, but then I still haven't figured out what I would have preferred instead. It needs something just not... that?) But I find it interesting how the same thing works for one person and then falls completely flat for the next. @RODDY if it's still in their top 5 sellers, which it was last year anyway, then there's a far far bigger market than we think. I've never understood how they haven't the hit saturation point on the Knight bus and Express long ago, and yet it seems not. That's fine for me, because it works in my favour. (The more sets, the greater the probability I get things I like.) I found the world building often stronger than the stories, so I'm easily as happy with locations as I am with scenes. If they could manage to make small 40-50 EUR ish sets that represent a single store from DA, they'd have me on the hook for years to come, and I couldn't help noticing how many Christmas displays now have the Hogsmeade shops integrated thanks to their snowy roofs, so I think there's a lot of unachieved potential there as well. Forbidden Forest... We had the Thestral Carriage and the Shrieking Shack with the Whomping Willow (which means one of mine landed in the FF) in 2022, so maybe 2021 was a one year, treeless glitch? We'll have to wait and see if we get a tree in the BoH or something. They have a leafy tradition to uphold. Either way it obviously won't be the inexpensive set, preferably Forest of Dean, that I'd hoped though. How do you not do that set? Maybe next year.

@Slytherin Alumni, yes, that would be the latest yet. Couldn't agree more about the small sets. Where are they? We need a buildable giant (or Acromantula or ogre; stuff like the Grawp set) attacking a random small bit of castle / courtyard. They could have sold them bit by bit and if you collect them all you'd have a decent courtyard to show for it (which you could then proceed to destroy in the BoH). They could alternate those with small segments / classrooms they really should have been giving us all along if they were going to go the modular route, instead of always making HP play sets so expensive. The Moment sets at least did provide a lot of detail to stick in MOCs without wasting too much, so at least there was that, but how expensive should a playscale Hogwarts classroom have to be? As for the brooms, the RoR and Gryffindor Banner both used clips to hold the brooms in place on the build, something that would matter for each (in the first instance so you don't lose an important part of the story, in the second as it's its design philosophy), and I think the new brooms don't lend themselves to that as well as the thinner, less likely to fall apart old ones. @Clone OPatra, not being able to hold onto a new broomstick (or broom, whichever) shape wouldn't even be so noticeable as most of the team have bludgers or quaffels to swing so there's a "hands full" feeling to them. @mark1991t I love your eye for detail. Holy cricket, as Hermione would say.

Well she's a Ravenclaw and they don't wear capes, don't you know. Capes only get in the way, flapping about inconveniently when you're trying to play some serious Quidditch, and anyway there are Spells for that kind of thing, Warming Charms to combat the cold, Tergeos and Imperviuses to sort the rain... It's just that the other Houses simply aren't studious, sensible or creative enough to come at the problem that way. 😉 (I agree, the lack of a cape was annoying.)

My joy at the Grey Lady nearly matches that for Pomfrey and Pince. They've given us some lovely minifigs lately. (I'm still hoping for the other two ghosts. pleasepleaseplease) I was also exceedingly pleased to see Zabini. (And elsewhere Angelina, Corner, and Pansy.) Rita Skeeter is lovely... Now they just need to do Narcissa Malfoy justice. 😁 Chair of Doom! Yes! Henceforth: CoD. 🐟 77014: postponed. Surely. (Not to say "doomed"... https://www.brickmerge.de/77014-1_lego-indiana-jones-the-temple-of-doom still some hope left.) re wait: I'm thinking twelve days at the worst for news. It's not long now. Thanks, @Seaber. As a non-SW person, except for the Falcon and Death Star, they all sort of blend together. (It's a lot of grey. 😆) Wow, that really is a lot of the same ground covered. I think if a theme goes evergreen, you either have to accept you won't own all the sets, or if you do, there will be repeats. Simple as. Re-issuing them instead of extending shelf time at least gives you a chance for new figs and add-ons. I admit to some curiosity about how that works out in terms of cost / benefit vs. issuing altogether new sets, but accept we'll never know and of course they're best positioned to have accurate feedback. The departure with the extended shelf life of the 2018 may have been a test. So I guess the questions are, if some of you are unhappy with WWW or the new HE, did you not collect HP lego back in its original ten year heyday of four Hogwarts Castles and four Expresses and three Hagrid's Huts and two Knight Buses, so the present redundancy feels new to you? Is this your first evergreen theme? Or are you just as unhappy with the others when they re-visit sets? Is the progress in covering the HP theme too slow for you? Do others (realistically) do it better? Subjectively I feel like few other fandoms can boast such thorough character coverage, for example. They've done a decent job tackling most of our wish lists, enough so I feel with time (although perhaps a lot of it) they'll get to many of the rest. So what is it that's bothering you about the theme?