hunnybunny

Hospital wing and Flying lesson are good indications that at least for now there is a plan to have a more complete castle than 2018 micro build. We are missing bigger sets: 1. Clock tower 2. Viaduct entrance (likely with bathroom and Chamber of Secrets) 3. Bell towers 4. Central tower (maybe with library) 5. Astronomy tower / defense tower - depending on the castle version portrayed 6. Quidditch pitch Smaller sets: 1. Similar set to hospital wing to enclose the Quad (possibly North tower with divination class) but it might remain open for playability functions 2. Transfiguration Courtyard - I imagine a square set with thin walls to which would Bell, Astronomy and flying lesson towers would attach. 3. Dark tower where Sirius was held prisoner (unlikely if we get castle version with Astronomy tower) 4. Viaduct 5. Wooden bridge 6. Stone bridge 7. Suspension bridge

It is not wrong, this is how viaduct looked in the last movie. Remember Hogwarts is a magical castle of which parts are constantly moving :)

So will hospital wing set also represent Clock tower or will it be a movie accurate set enclosing the Quad and we will get Clock tower that attaches to the hospital wing later on?

Wait, it makes no sense, you assume grandparent will google to compare physical heights of all sets to determine which one is the tallest when built and will make purchasing decision based on that? Or you assume shop assistants suddenly start pushing products based on technicalities and not on which has the bigger price tag? But you are right about minimizing complications, title of one says "MAIN tower" and the other will say "Astronomy tower". Their exact heights when built are not indicated on the box and there is no reason why one can't be taller than the other. There is nothing more to it.

Gryffindor common room will probably be with Gryffindor tower which won't be included with the Grand Staircase Tower. My guess we get the tower and a castle section that connects to either Faculty/North tower or Lookout tower but does not include those towers. There might be Dumbledore's Office, room of requirement, challenges in the dungeons and big open section with moving staircases, maybe some slots for future modular sets. I don't expect it to have much more despite the price/piece count.

Are we sure this is going to be a normal set and not some nano scale village layout?

I'm almost certain that Flying Lesson will represent Training grounds tower which is exactly what you call "a shrunken Alnwick Castle". I understand some might be disappointed hoping to have something more majestic in that place but 99% it won't happen and there are still many many other parts of the castle that await.

I am already thinking about final design of my castle and I come to a conclusion that I will want these rooms open and I will want to keep (and improve) original rooms that come with larger sets too. I will simply add and extra layer of dungeons where I will stash everything extra.

What is average price in US for Great Hall? Few days ago I got lucky and picked up Great Hall for 130 euro from Lithuanian eshop on time limited deal. I have got so many great deals thanks to website which tracks prices of all local eshops and you can subscribe for notification if price drops somewhere below your set threshold.

That would be complete out of place, I believe flying lesson will represent Training Grounds tower so it should connect to a set like Transfiguration/Middle Courtyard. Not sure if we will get one but it should be a central part of that side of the castle to which places like Defense/Astronomy (depending on which movies they choose to represent) tower, Long Gallery (with Central tower), Bell towers connect to. At first I though Owlery set would be in that place but they ended up making a set from movies where Owlery is stand alone tower further away.

Possibly twice as big as Owlery so maybe Training grounds tower?

Yes, to me it seems that attaching few round 1x1 transparent yellow plates to imitate stars was a low hanging fruit or maybe I just imagine it would look nice. They might be a bit too big as stars considering the size of the roof...

Need to see Great Hall from the other side but so far it lacks details, design seems primitive while at the same time it is not clear what is going on with courtyard, looks like a mess. Do we even have entrance doors and if yes, how narrow are those? Dungeons are underwhelming, I wasn't sure I would like switchable room concept (it is LEGO, I can make myself anything how I want) but now that I see implementation I am sure I don't like it, looks too random. If I can grab a new one on secondary market for €100 I might get one just for the minifigs. Honestly in my personal case it is quite a blow for the whole modular castle system but maybe some other set will change my mind, maybe Marble Staircase Tower will save it?

Sorry I didn't make myself clear, it would be an unofficial 'extension' which could be combined with the original set but could also be a standalone set with its own track and platform.

I think LEGO should release a Hogwarts Express Collectors' Edition extension set that would include two passenger carriages, extra track, platform, missing epilogue minifigs, some new minifigs and maybe printed replacement bricks for some stickers in the original set with lets say an RRP of around 300 euro. Both sets could be combined into a one long train with one long platform, extra two carriages would allow to fit both original and new minifigs inside the train. It would also boost the "collectible" feature and make first set much more valuable and worth its original price tag which in my opinion was overpriced for a set as it was. I almost bought a second set with a discount just so that I could make a longer train but I wasn't so sure if it was worth it even after selling duplicate minifigs and if there was a market for a standalone locomotive with tender...