strangely

I don't mind that they didn't give Doc Ock the green coat, I think all the greens in the Lego library are too vibrant to really capture how it looks in the film. I do think this was a missed opportunity to include a battle damaged version of Spider-Man. I hope they at least include a better face for Tobey Maguire's face. I still might get the set depending on the build and civilian minifigures. It would be great if they could make 2 of the civilians Aunt May and Mary Jane. While neither of them appear in the train scene, they both do have up close encounters with Doc Ock that are memorable, so I think it would make sense to include them here. Also it would just be a waste to have all of the civilians being unnamed, unimportant characters. Granted, we probably won't get that lucky, but a guy can dream...

I'm quite impressed with the build of the castle so far. It seems like the ballroom might actually be two floors like the movie. Definitely looking forward to seeing more of the build. I don't know if this has been brought up, but Belle's dress is a new print. Her collarbone is different on the torso, she now has chest lines. The ruffles on the dress are different and there's sparkles added to both pieces. It's interesting that they decided to update the design so quickly after the first version. Beast is a little bit of a letdown, a larger torso piece would have been much better to represent his beast form. The legs are also clearly colored for the end scene as the prince, rather than matching the ballroom dance scene. I'm hoping they include alternate outfits for Belle and Beast. The ballroom outfits are nice, but I'd like to have variations that represent how they look for the majority of the movie, not just that one scene. I would like to see them include Gaston, Lefou and Maurice too since they're important to the story of the movie. I expect all the servants that have appeared in the minidoll sets will appear here, I hope they improve Cogsworths design (he's the only one I haven't really seen them perfect as of yet). I don't imagine they'll include the human versions of the servants since they have so little screentime (I also just imagine they'll be stingy with the minifigure selection).

The hall of Armour set is okay by itself, but stacked up against previous versions it's a bit lacking, it doesn't really bring anything new to the table. I do really like this Iron Patriot variation though, I might bricklink it. The new orange color for Peppers hair looks pretty good. The choice of hairpiece doesn't work for her as she pretty much always has bangs. It's too bad they didn't recolor the Dreamz ponytail instead, it would have been closer. I love the Hulk set, it is campy and wonderful. When a sale hits I might actually pick it up. The legs on Hulk are a downgrade and I also think Thanos is a pretty boring choice of villain for this. I think the Oscorp minifigure lineup is okay, but definitely might end up sucking depending on what variations they go for. I'm happy to get another Kraven. And Norman Osborn is exciting if they give him a comic design, but could be terrible if he's all recycled pieces. I'm hoping the presence of Spider-Girl means that Gwen is a civilian. And if they could do a ASM #121 inspired look for her, that would be perfect. If they can give me comic versions of Gwen and Norman and even a halfway decent build, then I'll buy it.

Sorry I wasn't clear. I meant that I'd rather they just sell these classroom modules all as standalone sets rather than including half baked versions in bigger sets just to pad out space. I would have rather they left the two spots open and charged $50-$60 for the flying lesson instead.

I wasn't saying that the Charms classroom should have been in the set instead. I'm saying that the classroom they included in the $80 set is lackluster in comparison to the $20 classroom of the same size they put out at the same time. This is a recurring issue with the new modular Hogwarts. They included a crappy portrait hallway in the Great Hall to fill space, and now they've created a crappy classroom for the Flying Lessons set. And then they're creating $20 sets to replace the crappy modules they make in the big sets. It's just kind of a waste to include crappy classrooms that they suggest you replace with better sets for additional money. I'd have rather they not include the transfiguration classroom in the first place if they weren't going to bother to make it any good.

I really enjoyed the Charms Class set, I found the build very satisfying. Building it made me realize what I don't like about the Flying Lesson set; the Transfiguration class and Quidditch storage builds suck in comparison to the charms Class. They could have created modules with the same level of detail as the Charms Class, but instead cheaped out. They didn't even bother to include cat Mcgongall (which is funny that all these years later they still haven't done).

Dueling Club looks great. I love that it fits in the Great Hall and I love the new Lockhart variant. Definite first day buy for me. Charms Class is a slight upgrade on the previous version. Minifigures are pretty boring though. The stickered parts are great though. I will end up getting this one too. Might wait for a sale though.

I don't think it's Lego being cheap, I think it's Lego knowing what price point they can get the consumer to pay out for a product. For Gru's house, you'd be looking at $200+ to turn that into a modular style dollhouse and is any Despicable Me consumer seriously going to pay that much? I think Malfoy Manor has a similar issue: how many people were going to pay $200-$300 for a modular dollhouse version of it. It doesn't even appear very much in the movies and only a handful of scenes take place there. Then you have a second issue: the scenes that do take place there involve murder, kidnapping and torture. So already the set is less kid friendly, alienating a large section Lego's usual consumer base. So you have a set that's basically more palleteable for adults, but also is not a popular location from the films. So was Lego really going to put out a high priced set for this? It just feels like a modular version of Malfoy Manor would have been a big gamble. I actually really like the set the way they did it. The facade is flat, but so is the actual facade of the building it's based on, so that works for me. If it has the long table and a few other things like a dungeon, balcony, etc then I'll be pleased with it.

Probably a budget constraint for the Disney 100 sets I imagine. Or possibly they listened to the criticisms and added it to Belle for this year. I'm just glad she doesn't have the random sparkles that the Disney 100 Princesses had and as a result is actually accurate to the movie.

Looking at the new leaked Burrow photos, I am heavily relieved that Molly finally has a unique face print. I don't like Percys face/hair combo. I love the build of the Burrow, I definitely feel like I'm going to get this after seeing all the details up close.

Wednesday dorm set leaked (assuming it's real). Looks pretty good. Two variations of Wednesday and Enid included I believe and Thing.

I feel like it's going to appear in an unrelated set (Jean Grey was theorized in the Marvel topic). Even though the original piece is still around, they probably don't have that color in stock at the moment, so using a similar piece in the right color that's in production was probably the cost cutting move.

I give them credit, they managed to take an extremely difficult art style and put it into system scale and still be recognizable. This turned out better than I expected.

That list is pretty funny, it includes aliens and characters with synthetic shades of red that don't even exist in nature (looking at you MJ). Also the little mermaid was never specified as a red head in the original story, people just associate it with her because of the popularity of the Disney version. The gingercide debate is made funnier by the fact that Barbara Gordon wasn't the first version of Batgirl, it was Bette Kane (as Bat-Girl). So literally the red headed version of batgirl is just a favored version, not even the original. Even the live action debut of Barbara portrayed her with dark hair (though her batgirl mask did include a red wig).

BTAS is pretty much the definitive version of most Batman characters, so I think it's wise that this new show is going for twisted/different versions of these characters. While I agree that it seems lazy at face value, I also don't want to judge it until I see the show. Minnie Driver is an interesting casting choice, I feel like there's definitely potential for this version of the Penguin, but only time will tell. Personally I would love to get these variations in Lego form someday (preferably in a set geared more towards adults).

Even at his most 'realistic', he's still a guy dressed as a bat, unable to turn his head, somehow never taking fall damage no matter how hard of a landing he takes after gliding at high speeds, fighting bad guys who at any point could just shoot him in the face. Frankly, the explanation of Superman being an alien and has powers and that's how he can fly makes more sense to me than Nolan explaining that Batman has electric gloves that makes his cloth cape turn into a cartoon outline of a bat and that just so happens to be so aerodynamic that he can chase cars with it. Lol

The Lego version of the trailer dropped. It doesn't seem like they show any set builds, but they do show off a handful of the minidolls. Honestly, i think minidolls were the right way to go, I think they really capture the costuming and overall look of the characters. The hairpieces are a highlight, but face prints look good too, Glinda especially bears a good resemblance. Based on the minidoll variations featured, it seems like we'll get a set for their arrival to Shiz, potentially the dance and something in the Emerald city (just a guess though).

Interior photos of Ollivanders have leaked. Looks like either 3 or 4 new wand molds I think (I could be wrong).

Thanks for clearing up my confusion, that makes more sense.

Advent calendar pictures are out. It basically is a great hall booster pack. Additional tables, a fireplace and christmas decorations. There's a statue for each house too. New winter sweaters for each house and another ghost.

I really like the Great Hall. The proportions are pretty good, though I will probably adjust the exterior columns from 1x1 to 2x2 and do fewer rows of windows. I will also probably create a platform for the teachers table too. I do like the rooms in the rock base can pull out. It's nice to have the option to display them separately if I so choose. My main complaint is the courtyard, I don't understand the design of it at all. The colonnade design makes no sense and doesn't look anything like in the movie. I really don't get what they were going for here.

Two new wand molds. I'm surprised, but it's nice to have wand options now.

It just leaked on Insta. New wand molds, it looks like potentially it's a wand handle add on (like in Hogwarts Legacy), but not completely sure. New Troll mold too.

I audibly laughed when I saw the Joy minidoll in the new Inside Out set. They just gave all the way up on that design lol.

I don't mind new starter courses so long as the figures look better, hopefully less blocky.