Yoggington

This is really lovely. Lots to like here - but I especially like the way you set the white pillars up so that you can have just the tip of the curve coming out in the centre.

It wasn't necessarily the 'most voted'. It was likely the most voted at the 3000 piece count level, but there may have been more voted castles at 4000 pieces, or 2000 pieces.They can't just release five castles though :P they need to balance a few themes and this is what they figured worked alongside the other models.

I rather like these announcements, as I'm not all that drawn to any of them. I think I can happily skip past all of series 9, 10 & 11 now, with no regrets.

I saw a few people speculating this might be released alongside the next big castle. But remember, it was a winner of the nostalgia competition on Ideas. How could it have worked that way had a spaceship won??

Well, I tickled my budget, and I figure I can get the University as well as the beaut of a balloon. No more multi-hundred euro sets until Christmas though! Looking at the reviews of the University, it's an odd mix of great looking sections, and super basic sections. Like the solid roof seems like bulk for bulk's sake - which is a bit hard to swallow with that price tag. I've no clue why it's built up by three bricks before you even get to the ground floor. But then the curved window section is really clever. I have vague ideas about melding it with the X-Mansion to build the mansion we deserved. No ragrets about the balloon though. Maybe I could have done without the clouds and it being a tenner cheaper? I do think I'll swap out the basket parts for a loop of 1x2 rounded plates and make it read more like wicker.

The designer hangs around Eurobricks, and posted a thread on it's details a few months back. Some images in there that show the scale compared to other sets:

I understand the one-of appeal for those two, and how these could be chase figures for that reason, but I can't see the army building aspect that say, the Falconer or the Beastmaster had. I'm surprised the Tuba Player isn't more in demand, as it has good reason to be wanted in batches.

What scandal ahead for us when they make it a boat for the Snake Knights to justify the 'Serpent' in the name. Nostalgic castle fans in meltdown!

I gave 13 'Love It's this time round, which is higher than usual. Unsure if the quality is better or if I'm getting less picky. The Sunset Hotel, Equestrian Elven Palace & Le Petit Bouquet mentioned above also made my faves reel. I think the Training Ground is once again the best of the medieval sets. I found one to rival it in 'Kingsburgh: Village fair', then realised it's the same designer for both. He's obviously got a style I like. As medieval sets go, there's a distinct charm to the smaller Pageant Wagon set. Look at those little stage props <3 A little more mid-range, but the Crossroads Stable is great too (although suffers from a poor choice for the cover image) In the Pirates category, I am very drawn to Dreadspire Isle - there's something chaotic in here that reminds me of my 90s pirates sets, in a way that the more polished AFOL submissions don't. It's got all the play features. ALL OF THEM. Like, why has no-one put bananas in a tree before? Now there's a whole monkey plotline brewing. We've a few definitely-not-a-modular hospitals in the running, and the redbrick 'General Hospital' would be my preference. Great colours. And some clever overall shaping to make it look a lot bigger than it's 4000 bricks. A fantastic smaller set, the Vintage Omnibus would fit the aesthetic of most modular towns. (Chekc out that compact spiral stair, *chef's kiss*) And not really in a traditional category for me, but the other three 'Love It's I gave; Mech Knight - big dumb fun. Globe mini - a stocking filler of sorts. Might not go out of my way for it, but if I was already buying something in the wave, I'd pick this up. Crimson Pagoda - great colour use, nice shaping and parts - a really clean standalone piece for a side table or something.

My first 'Love It' goes to the website for allowing us to use 'like it' and 'love it' as filters at long last!

Interesting, must have been an error. They were certainly there at one stage! A bit steeper than I was hoping for. As much as I thought this might be a multi-purchase round, maybe I'll be just getting the balloon.

Bricklink had the prices up for Series 8 earlier today. I can't see them any more, is it just me? For the record, US prices were as below, but it's Euro prices I'm looking for

I'm clearly doing something wrong so

Seagull with the wings tucked. So the flocks of seagulls people make aren't all identi-posed.

I'm afraid I have no idea what my item count is near, so I can't translate that to how many cabinets, sorry.