krimimimi

Congrats on the new addition, @Brick Wiz. (Is it too early to start them on Duplo?) It was a very nice MOC, btw. As for expectations... 2001 4708 HE 1st edition - PS Platform 9 3/4 2004 4758 HE 2nd edition - Hogsmeade Station (lite), PoA Lupin & Dementor 2004 10132 HE (2nd edition?) motorised - Hogsmeade Station (more proper), PoA Lupin & Dementor With the exception of 5378 (released in 2007), there were no new sets in the theme from 2006 through 2009. 2010 4841 HE 3rd edition - CoS Ford Anglia (but also Ginny and Luna?) There were no new sets in the theme from 2012 through 2017. 2018 75955 HE 4th Edition - Platform 9 3/4, PS / PoA Lupin & Dementor 2022 76405 HE Collectors' Edition - Platform 9 3/4, PS / PoA / HBP / Epilogue I'd say we were overdue for a Hogsmeade Station, plus it allows them to continue their Hogsmeade sets (without having to commit to it in a larger fashion as stand alones). The next HE should have the Anglia again if they stuck to the rota. They're fond of it anyway. I wonder if they'll bridge the gap with the Forbidden Forest spiders / Anglia rescue scene?

Out of curiosity, I'm wondering how many people would rather see the Gringotts budget spent on the dragon and the vaults / rail cars, or on extra shops instead (like KA Borgin & Burke's and Phalanges, or DA Eyelops and Madam Malkins)? Does the possibility of a DA:WWW set make you hopeful or worried about what appears to be a new direction they're taking? Also can't help wondering about the impact of Marcos Bessa's departure on the development.

I don't have the UCS HE, and that won't change. No space nor budget for it. I'm grateful they release the mega sets staggered, so people more interested in just the system scale sets, say, have some time to save up for the next one. I certainly hoped they'd include the Hogsmeade station instead of 9 3/4 again when they got around to another HE, and thought that was likely, but I don't know if I'll spring for another Express any time soon. If someone puts just the station on ebay at a fair price, I might pick it up, though, especially if it isn't the version I'd already MOCced together. I thought Promobricks said Gringotts was going to be DA D2C compatible? Which doesn't mean they couldn't be wrong, of course.

Well if the rumours of another Express are true, nearly two months ago @BrickMatit asked ... I think a few more sets in rotation is a more fitting / probable model, but either way the question stands, which subjects / locations / characters do you think seem likely for permanent shortlisting?

@joeee, have you tried playing with digital models at all? Because you can basically download the models of the Hogwarts sets other people have already built, and then stick them together pretty easily so the configuration works for you. Stickers are sometimes a bit of an issue, but it's surprising just how much material is finished and waiting out there for you to use. Run it through Blender, and you can even make your own animations...

@cehnot Thank you for the exquisite hat geeking. I appreciated your qualified and enthusiastic analysis. I think the hat, train, dinosaur and car people (probably in that order) provide some of the best insights as to the moulds / builds. If nothing else, this thread has made me better understand why lego hates leaks and so aggressively guards against them, beyond just the increased risk of fakes flooding the market. It's a pity, as I quite enjoy speculating off them. I'm not concerned about "harassing" a large business, but from an entirely pragmatic standpoint, I have to wonder if the climate is such that they find themselves facing calls to justify product decisions for lines that have never even been announced, won't that just lead to more crackdowns on leakers moving forward? Without the leaks, that conversation never takes place. Whatever else happens with this theme, I'm grateful for the release of 77015 alone. It's a thing of great beauty, and better than much of what most of the other themes can boast.

"Additionally, the same sources detail a narrative-based Mandalorian DLC in development for Lego Skywalker Saga (the character is already available in the game as part of prior DLC) that is also said to be in jeopardy, along with another new title based on DC's Batman that has apparently been put to one side. It is suggested that development on both of these games has stalled thanks to another large project sucking up the studio's resources: a long-rumoured Skywalker Saga-style treatment for the Lego Harry Potter series." From https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2023/03/report-lego-disney-and-guardians-of-the-galaxy-projects-among-multiple-cancellations-at-tt-games

Right you are. Sorry, forgot about the Ameet figs. Afaik, there are only three exclusive figs in the Ameet books, but unlike the DK minifigs they are re-combinations of existing figs. In addition to that Cedric, there are exclusive versions of Hermione and Ron. (hp394 and hp395 from this year's yearbook. https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?B=b22hp04nl#T=S&O={"iconly":0})

Harry Potter - A Spellbinding Guide to Hogwarts Houses (2022) has hp375 Percy Weasley thus far exclusive both as a minifig and a version Harry Potter Magical Treasury - A Visual Guide to the Wizarding World (2020) has hp242 an exclusive teen Tom Riddle in old-fashioned Slytherin robes Harry Potter Characters of the Magical World (2012) has hp133 an exclusive Harry variant in black robes with a dark red shirt and tie Harry Potter Building the Magical World (2011) has hp125 an exclusive Harry in black vest and white shirt / bow tie

@Seaber, yes that was it. The vault and possibly the polybag.

@BacktoBricks as it's Thursday afternoon now, I imagine I'll be sat here waiting until Monday at the least. Here I'd hope I'd jumped the queue and might even see them arriving before the 1st, but no such luck. I feel thwarted. Weren't some of the CMFs midi legs dual moulded? I thought figs like Waldorf, Dr. Honeydew and Petunia Pig had been, but I don't own those and can't check. It might just be printing on the sides. Anyone? https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?pg=1&q=970cm&catLike=W&catString=1118&sortBy=N&sortAsc=A&catType=P&v=1 What other pieces are people using for water-swept hair? I think there might have been another promising one in the Vidiyo minifigs I now need to look for... Edit: No, unfortunately it was the unicorn and guitarist leopard's hairstyles, but those are part of the head pieces, so not useful here. Edit 2: Kai's hair might be useful (when he isn't wearing a hood). There are a couple of Hidden Things pieces that would also have been interesting, but they all seem to be only in that yellowish green.

That's a good point, @Clone OPatra, I wasn't trying to gate it behind actual purchases, I was more interested in the things people are intellectually pleased with, whether they're actually getting them or not. And realistically, a new piece here could mean it's more likely to turn up again elsewhere, or maybe folks will just bricklink it later. So if people are excited about that new tile in the Banners sets, even if they'll never own the set, that's what I was interested in hearing.

@BacktoBricks That's nice! I pre-ordered that set three weeks ago, and they've only just mailed that it's shipped, which is something of a disappointment. I think I'm looking forward to the Grindylow most, Krum's shark piece reprint is a close second though. Including the reprints, recolours and new moulds, which new pieces of the March sets are people most looking forward to do people think are the best (or just the most useful)? I think expanding the House uniforms is also very promising, and would have ranked first for me if they weren't gated behind such comparatively pricey sets (as opposed to Accessory Packs). Edit: because @NostalgicBricks gave me another idea, which is your favourite minifig / the one you're most looking forward to? I'm going with the Grey Lady, although Blaise Zabini is a close second, because we haven't as many POC parts to MOC him with.

@Rolyat24, yes the video from mid-January. We now have most of the set names, most of the piece counts and most of the prices of the sets from a reputable source, as well as the news about a GWP, but you're correct that the video was largely speculative as to what those sets comprised. (And they've already corrected one of their guesses re: the Knight Bus.) Other than that, I believe the only things that seemed to be certain as to the contents were that the Gringotts set would be compatible with Diagon Alley and yet somehow come with tracks that "went below", and the buildable Dobby comes with Harry's sock that frees the house elf and the cake he uses to attempt to keep Harry from returning to school in CoS. I believe for all the rest it was guesswork, although names like "the Quidditch Trunk" lend themselves to it, I should think. The two previous years we've had information on the sets from Promobricks in early- to mid-February, and official pictures of the sets were released roughly the second week of April.

@Gryffindor, there was a promobricks video that gave some initial descriptions of the summer (and possibly autumn) sets. We're probably not likely to see anything substantially better until April when the sets appear on the lego S@H, at least if they follow the last couple of years' pattern anyway.

Wow, I didn't think the Burrow was that popular or that the Great Hall would do as poorly as it did, it's such an iconic set. I wonder if / how the results would differ if they had all been released at once. Thanks, @evanevanevan, for taking the time to collate the results.

From an environmental standpoint, surely. But in their defense, the Ameet books were so fairly priced, it's very nearly break even here. (5 vs 4 EUR) With a bit of luck, though, we might see the polybag at 20% off in the near future.

Also a question of wrinkling the cloaks, I'd think. I can just hear the complaints if they put them in a polybag without a cardboard wrapper. (Or have there been loads in SW and I've just missed them? Speaking of, do they use those cardboard things in the SW ACs or just rely on the comparatively more robust packaging?) I'd love more of the new Banner Quidditch jumpers to diversify how the team looks. The uniforms are a bit too... uniform otherwise. 😉 Not so sure re the trunk right now though. Along those lines... Is Cho's torso really the same as hp257? I'm not sure the colours match, and the print just seems different. Dark grey instead of light grey and silver, and both the laces and the jumper's blue seem a bit lighter? Either it's a strange trick of the lighting in the render (shades both lighter and darker??), or they did something unintended with the digital file (remember the multicolour wands from the Transfig Moment artwork?), or lego have changed things up again. So instead of the anticipated build your own sigfig parts with the new jumpers from the Banner sets in this summer's Quidditch Trunk, now I'm wondering if the trunk will include new robes instead (or as BtB suggested, a mix), and this is a preview of what's coming?

Tonks is a welcome addition, although it's a bit odd they didn't include her in a pack with Lupin. Not that I don't like Kingsley by himself, but I thought it was a weird choice for a standalone when they paired Ron with Dumbles, and most others with someone or another. Hermione is the only one who pops to mind as being sold on her own. Were there others I've forgotten?

That's my dream CMF line-up, things I won't get elsewhere or are too expensive to do justice to in a set. Hermione in her red dress. Yes, please. They had some excellent costumes in those films, I'd love to see more of them. Excellent edit, @ZeLuiz08, very nice work. I agree with @Yopeon the dark brown. I'm not completely sold on the new hair piece for Tom, although when you place them side by side like that, I suspect it's more accurate to the source material. (I think some of the reluctance is probably just from being used to the original version of teen Riddle.) I imagine the proper hair might be somewhere between what they used and this new one, though. This feels a bit too... rough? (I think that's the word.) He feels like a character who'd be exceedingly keen to disguise his poor background and unlikely to look too un-taken-care-of. (It's a word if I say so?)

Definitely! I added one as well. I think the cloak was fully half the character. 😆 I love that so many of the minifigs have double-sided faces, but some of the expressions... 😐 Snape's is one where I feel they haven't captured him, and I agree Lockhart is another. But with all those beautiful, OTT costumes, Lockhart if CMF material. They can keep doing series of them and put him in everyone and I doubt I'd be disappointed.

With the exception of Werewolf Lupin (who had to double as Lupin Lupin 😉), which minifigs had capes that shouldn't have? To the best of my knowledge there were no Muggles, goblins, house elves, statues, suits of amour, chess pieces, half giants or trolls with capes - Muggles probably being the most critical of the lot. Capes were were simply plentiful. 😊 I wish they'd give them a revival. 😕

Which beard piece are you going to go with?

Went and had a look on BL, and you were correct. Spotted three capes in the Star Wars ACs, 2 Darth Vaders and one Darth Maul. Still, that makes me more hopeful for a skirt piece than no cloaks would. Aberforth's socks could be dark red, perhaps, with a strip of flesh visible for the knee. I agree the purple is likely a reflection (and simplification) of his robes.

There could still be a kilt piece though? The leaked fig needn't be complete. That said, has there ever been an AC minifig with a cloth part?