brickbride

Thank you! Yes, those 8x8 lattice plates suck. Especially for HP because there's already so many minifigs with either short legs or dresses that you cannot pose on just one stud, and then there's barely any studs thanks to those sucky plates. Whoever came up with that particular combination?

Quoting myself because now there's pics: - two kinds of mermaids (Triton with the old straight tail, everyone else with the new curved tail) - fish in several unusual colours - the wrecked ship in the bottom left corner would make a nice addition to any beach or cove, I'd think

Yeah, I'm kind of baffled by all the enthusiasm, too. What's with the ears? They're barely connected to the head! I'm also glad that the second building with WWW is a random (and tiny!) owl post office no-one's wanted instead of something cool I might actually have to get. :-)

The Three Broomsticks isn't that exciting either. I'd have guessed that the LC would be at least as big. And that set was called "Hogsmeade Village Visit", not "Hogsmeade: Honeydukes". Still, you might well be right. If it is the LC, though, I wonder when it would be set, and with what characters. The LC mostly appears in the books in first and third year, but WWW was only established in sixth year.

If the connection we cannot see is the brick arch, that might make sense. And it would also be a somewhat fitting pick for the first new DA set. Plus the LC has only one noteworty figure (Tom), so it would not take too much from the fig count. Points against it: The LC has a pub on the ground floor and rooms to let above, it would have to be much bigger than that. Plus, the LC, like B&B, is a building people have been asking for for years, so they could probably soll it seperately or at least would presumably include it in the set name.

Another blurry mystery: It's hard to say because the roof of the Hogsmeade Station is right in front, but to me it looks as if WWW and the grey mystery tower thing were somehow connected on the lower levels. There's a little dark "bump" in the middle between them. It could be a decoration on the back of the Hogsmeade station roof, except that I'd be surprised if the Hogsmeade station roof HAD a back to begin with. If they buildings are connected on the lower levels, that'd probably narrow it down what the grey mystery tower could be.

I really think the side-build is too narrow for B&B, as that has two rounded windows with a door in between (similar to Ollivander's). I've found some pictures of Diagon Alley in Orlando and there's a narrow building on the right-hand side between Ollivander's and Gringotts that kind of looks like it might be the right one. No idea what that is, though. It has a green rectangular sign hanging from an upper storey and and rounded sign saying "Diagon Alley Arts Club" below. Given that, it's probably not right, since I don't see how an Arts Club would lend itself to a playset, so never mind me ...

Except that the set is still called: "DA: WWW", isn't it? Last we've heard. And if you look at the sizes, whatever the darker building is it's clearly a side-build. Somehow I cannot see them assigning it three characters (who are all bad guys, too) when that would mean that WWW, for which the set is named, would only get four (and two of them are the owners, so that leaves only two others). For the same reason, I'd expect it to be a less exciting building, say Broomstix or Scribulous, not B&B which people have actually been asking for.

Thanks again for the link, @krimimimi! I agree with most posters so far. Train and BoH look surprisingly good, not that I have room (or the money) for either set. Dobby and the stag to me look about as bad as expected, the stag's form seems pretty unnatural and Dobby looks more like a traditional fairy than a House-elf. Also the proportions seem way off. You cannot even display the stag and Dobby together all that well, as opposed to the last series of buildable creatures. (I realize that an owl, a phoenix, and a dragon should not be the same size, but they still look good together. This doesn't. Especially given the tiny Harry minifigure next to the stag and Dobby.) I still have zero interest in Quidditch. I'm pleasantly surprised that they've added a second building to WWW. Not that I want either of them but hopefully we'll get other such side buildings (which they think wouldn't hold our interest on their own) in the future. I'm wondering which minifigures will actually be included with the train and WWW sets. Promobricks' guesses for the train have already been proven wrong (she didn't expect Hagrid). And all of her guesses for WWW were based on, well, WWW. If there's another building, presumably that would have at least one shopkeeper and/or customer, as well. Isn't that set, together with the train and I guess Gringotts, supposed to be a LEGO exclusive? Or is it just supposed to be exclusive to a specific chain of stores? Either way I guess that means it won't get as steep as discount as others might.

Where can I find the pics? IG does not show me any.

First picture courtesy of StoneWars: Though the dragonhead prow, which according to Promobricks should be there, is missing. Also, presumably there's a way to make the ship look more like one piece.

According to StoneWars, yes: https://www.stonewars.de/geruechte/lego-marvel-2023-neue-infos/#lego-76261-spider-man-no-way-home Google translation of the relevant part of the article: LEGO 76261 Spider-Man No Way Home The Spider-Man film No Way Home may have been out of cinemas for a long time, but a 900-piece set is still coming out in August this year, which could make fans' hearts beat faster. Because the final fight between the three Spider-Mans against the large number of opponents could of course not be spoiled before the film, so that a LEGO set can now be released with enough distance. The fight takes place at the Statue of Liberty, which is why this New York attraction is partially rebuilt with the scaffolding around it for 104.99 euros. After there were initially rumors of 9 No Way Home minifigures, we currently expect only 6 minifigures to be included with the model. In addition to all three Spider-Mans (played by Tom, Toby and Andrew), the opponents Green Goblin, Doc Ock and Electro are likely to be included. Sandman is also supposed to be there, but due to his size he will be implemented as a brick-built character. Summary of the information so far: Set number: 76261 Name: Spider-Man No Way Home Parts: 900 Minifigures: 6 Age recommendation: Price (RRP): 104.99 euros Release: August 1, 2023

Well since you've asked (WARNING: LONG RANT TO FOLLOW): Not all of us care that much about minifigures to begin with. Sure, I need some to populate my Hogwarts Castles :-), but I care much more about builds. And play functions. I prefer the old yellow-headed figs anyway. I don't need a complete line-up. I don't care that like two-thirds of them were Harry in the exact same outfit. Those were sets that were fun to build, that look good on the shelf, and that had a decent amount of parts for their price - especially since the parts were much bigger then. And if you got lucky they came with functions where you'd use a rubber band to turn a column and show the treasure chest behind it, or the genius clock-and-door mechanism from the 2004 castle. (Yes, I'm an adult. So what? :-)) Now, I realize that this was like twenty years ago, but that's kind of what I'm looking for now. Sets (in the sense of classic LEGO sets, not buildable creatures or objects or weird banners wiht like one stud breadth) that are fun to build, that display well, and that - if possible - have decent play functions. And there aren't many of those around these days. Plus, LEGO has gotten REALLY pricey. Even the big and expensive flagship sets these days feel like they're cutting corners. Like, they'll make a EUR 500 Hogwarts Express but can't afford dark red pieces? Or they'll make a EUR 150 Chamber of Secrets with those weird lattice 8x8 plates where you cannot pose anything because they won't afford a regular 8x8 plate? The parts counts may have gone up, but the parts have gotten so much smaller, and I often don't see the value in them. You spend such a lot of parts on small details and decorations, and the rooms are so small and overcrowded. Or, in the case of the worse sets like Fluffy Encounter and Sirius Black's Rescue, completely empty. :-) So, basically: I won't buy new sets unless I feel like the end result is worth the money, regardless of parts count or "But there's an exclusive new minifig in it!" And I'm not interested in non-sets like buildable patroni, buildable Dobby (plus I hate Dobby), and stuff like the Quidditch Trunk you cannot display. If TLG cared about making me happy, they'd just continue making play sets with functions that also look good. They don't have to be big. They shouldn't be that expensive. They don't have to be all new stuff - like I've said, you can never have enough Hogwarts Castles -, but the 2018 series overall looked way better than the modular one and that's not that big an endorsement either. I don't mind them re-doing stuff so much, but more often than not the end result doesn't work for me. With the way the prices are going up and the way they've been cutting corners, I don't see that changing anytime soon. And given that Harry Potter is a series still supposed to be mostly aimed at kids, I frankly don't understand why they keep doing what they're doing. I mean, I suppose that many kids would look for the same stuff I'm looking for! Like with the modular system: If they re-did some of the old sets like the Final Challenge or the Chamber of Winged Keys or the Troll in the Bathroom in a fun, affordable way as single rooms, I would buy it. Marvel regularly gets EUR 10 sets with two minifigs and a small build. I've been tempted to get some of those and I don't even collect Marvel. I own a Millenium Falcon microfighter with stud shooters (again, with a list price of EUR 10) and I don't even care for Star Wars. It still looks good on the shelf! Why doesn't Harry Potter ever get EUR 10 sets? There's only two with a "cheaper" price point (EUR 20) and those have been out since the start of 2021 and the start of 2022 respectively, which as you've said is a long time in LEGO terms! Those are at least sets that kids might buy. But no, all I'm hearing is "Have another EUR 90 addition to the modular Hogwarts - it has exclusive minifigs in it!"

Gringotts does not count to me, any more than the Lion Knights Castle would. Playsets are aimed at children, and a EUR 430 set clearly isn't. I don't think MaxHeadroom's point about the HE unreasonable either. Sure, there has to be a HE on the shelves, but if it's not about improvements they could just not have retired the previous one.

That would be lovely, thanks! And your ice palace MOC sounds lovely, too. Im starting to wonder if they do exist at all ...

Ninjago is set to have another ship, 71797, Destiny`s Bounty Race Against Time. No pic so far, but according to Promobricks the ship is red and black with azure details (including a dragonhead prow) and the sails are dark red. About 1.700 pieces, EUR 140.

For what it's worth, the Chamber of Secrets had a dark tan owl as well. The Hospital Wing had a sand blue one. I don't remember any others. Yeesh, I hope not. If that's the intention, that is a sorry admission in itself. "Hey, look, EUR 90 got you TWO Hogsmeade shops some years ago, and now it'll get you ONE Diagon Alley store! Isn't it great that we're keeping things nice and inexpensive?" Though I'm not saying you're wrong about this being the intention ...

As for the owl, you might get lucky with the Hogwarts Express? After all, Hedwig should be on that if Harry's taking the train to school. Though really, they hardly need a reason to stick an owl into a set, it's not like the Hospital Wing or the Chamber of Secrets required it. I wouldn't give up hope just yet. Also, like I've said, according to Promobricks the BoH has Voldemort with Nagini, if you're into snakes as well.

I'm not excited for any of these, to be honest. I mean I'm curious about how many of them will look (like if they get the stag's antlers and Dobby's ears to look halfway decent), but between the prices and the random assortment of stuff I have no interest in to begin with (Dobby, buildable patronusses, another Hogwarts Express, Quidditch trunk) I won't consider buying anything. The one that interests me the most is the microscale Hogwarts, and if it really looks very similar to an off-brand one AND costs EUR 170 that's a hard pass from me as well. Generally, it feels to me like the HP theme used to have a direction but now is floundering; like they're no longer just making good, connectible play sets and some well-received D2Cs for the adults, but are desperately throwing anything they can think of at the customers: Buildable creatures! House banners! Modular Hogwarts! Microscale Hogwarts! Another trunk! Re-doing sets from 20 years ago that don't fit in with any current system! Modular Diagon Alley! Just to see what sticks.

For what it's worth, she did say that we'll get Voldemort "with Nagini". And she did sound confident about the figs for this one, unlike the HE and WWW where she said that's merely what she thinks we'll get. I guess regarding what you said about dimension compatibility, they might include a baseplate for optional use (if you forego the lower level)? That's the only thing that springs to mind. As for the StoneWars article mentioned above, I'm pretty sure that they watched the video before posting it, or at least had information from Promobricks before posting it. They use the exact same screenshot from the movie to illustrate the Battle of Hogwarts set. And a lot of the information seems to be in reaction to the video - for example, they say that the Quidditch Trunk will contain minifigures from all four Houses but it's not clear how many; that's probably because previous speculation had said six, yet Promobricks made it sound like it only includes the four Seekers. So yeah, I do think that the "there might not be a minifigure in the Dobby set" part is a rephrasing of what Promobricks said.

@Roebuck I guess there might be an owl, and she might not have mentioned it? The more I think about it, the less I'm convinced about her figure guess for the HE. I mean I can see Pansy, Blaise, and Harry-with-broken-glasses for the reason I've said (plus they get Diversity Points for Blaise as there aren't many students of colour), and if you're going with that scene you kind of need Draco and Luna as well. A professor might make sense if, say, the Hogwarts Gates were included. But Ron and Hermione aren't particularly useful for the scene. And if the Hogsmeade Station is included, that would mean we get an entire train plus station with no personnel whatsoever. I'd find that odd from a play value perspective. The Hidden Side Ghost Train Express had only six figures, and two of them were personnel (though they doubled as ghosts). I wouldn't be surprised if the last two slots went to, say, a train driver, station attendant, maybe the Trolley Witch instead.

She did say that's who she thought it would be, not that it was confirmed. Though for the HE, her selection makes a lot of sense as it would allow TLG to get some more mileage out of their recent new Pansy, Blaise, and Harry-with-broken-glasses fics. I'm also curious about the new wand. The current wands come in twos, so if there's only one does that mean we're going back towards a bigger version (like the original lightsaber-style wands)? I didn't think of this. But given that we already have the Three Broomsticks and Honeydukes, it might make sense! Though it's a little weird that we'd be getting Aberforth since he'd have to be in a Hog's Head set as well.

EDIT: If someone has the instructions for 5836 Beautiful Baby Princess, these would also be much appreciated! Hi all, I've bought a second-hand copy of the Lego Belville set 5843 (Queen Rose and the little Prince Charming). There were no box or instructions. Since the Belville sets often have really cute instructions where the characters themselves "build the sets", I was hoping to have a look at this set's instructions. However, it's not on LEGO's official instructions site. When I asked, I got a rather vague reply that they do not seem to have it at the moment but might put it up eventually. The thing is, I'm not 100% sure that the instructions for this set even exist! I rather think they do, though, since I have several other Belville sets, even smaller ones, from roughly the same time period (like Madam Tussa the Witch) where instructions can be found online. So my question is: Does anyone own this set and know where I could get the instructions? I'd gladly take a PDF or pictures taken of the original instructions - I just want to have a look!

LOL Forgot to add: EP comes with Harry and Lupin figs, but only the one new wand. 10:04 in the video shows a Hogwarts Castle with the Grounds. I know these pics are not the real ones, but given that she says she's seen a castle much like the new one on Amazon and Alibaba, this might actually be the one?

Additions: - The new wand piece mentioned above is for the Patronus charm - apparently you can stick something to it that make it look like the minifigure is casting the charm. - Dobby comes with accessories: Tom Riddle's diary and the sock. - Gringotts is apparently compatible with DA but somehow also has the lower part with the carts. She doesn't know how that works either. :-) - WWW has seven minifigs. She thinks it's HBP themed. She also thinks there'll be new versions of the twins plus Ron, Ginny, Harry, Lavender, and Cormac. - Hogwarts Express hat eight minifigs. She thinks they'll be Draco, Pansy, Blaise, Harry with invisibility cloak and the broken glasses faceprint (from the CE Hogwarts Express), Luna, Snape or Flitwick, Ron, and Hermione. - Advent Calendar has minifigs of the trio with new torso printings (Harry with a hoodie and Ron with a hat) and Aberforth, also minibuilds of Zonko's, the Hog's Head (she calls it the Boar's Head), Honeydukes, and the Three Broomsticks.