Clone OPatra

Yep, not exactly sure what the intention was here, but Harry Potter discussion is staying the 2020 thread. We're now breaking up the discussions by year because it was getting too confusing before with too many threads. So, even once we start to have info about 2021 sets, we're going to keep discussion of it in the 2020 topic until we get closer to January. This will now be locked.

Ah, the iconic Stormtrooper. Can LEGO hit the mark with a model of this very smooth, rounded helmet? 75276 Stormtrooper Helmet | 2020 | 647 Pieces USD $60 | GBP 55 | EUR 60 (variable) | CAD 80 | AUS$ 90 ___________________________ This is one of four review topics for the Helmets Collection: an individual detailed build and review for Boba Fett, Stormtrooper, and TIE Fighter Pilot, and an overview review looking at the whole line including the packaging, all three together, value and the concept in general. These sets were kindly provided by LEGO but all opinions are my own. Now, let's look at the Stormtrooper! __________________________ Bag 1 Much like the the other two helmets, bag 1 is all about building the core and contains a lot of SNOT parts. A couple of teal 1x2 tiles snuck in too, since everything now needs some teal. The core is comprised of two semi-hollow levels, which is just fine and goes quickly. This is the bottom one: At the end of the bag you've just got a lot of SNOT bricks at the ready and a bit of the top of the head. Bag 2 Bag 2 has the parts for the stand and the back of the helmet, and gets a lot more black and white. Start saying goodbye to colours. The stand is more symmetrical than the TIE Fighter Pilot one because it doesn't need attachment points for anything. It's also exactly the same as Boba's besides for a different colour for the technic beams. At the end of bag 2 we've attached the helmet's core to the stand and added the back of the helmet, which doesn't look like much at this stage. Captain Rex is standing in again as a size comparison. At this point the model is of course not getting any taller, so you can already get a sense of how large (or not large) it is. Bag 3 Plenty of white in bag 3, with the parts for the eyes, mouth, and upper parts of the sides. You can see the only printed parts in the set apart from the display plaque - the 2x2 dark grey tiles with black stripe print for the mouth. The builds for the eyes and mouth are pretty much the same as the TIE Fighter Pilot's, but with all of the colours swapped of course. The white bracket with four anti-studs on the side is semi-rare in that colour, appearing in only six sets, which makes it the rarest part in the whole set. Voila - the top of the helmet has been finished all around, eyes are attached, and the mouth is ready to be put on. Bag 4 This bag heads into nearly all white territory, finishing off one side. The build here involves a lot of stacking, and doesn't look like much of anything as you go along. Here it is at the end of bag 4 with the whole side slab, ready to be attached. Bag 5 Bag 5 builds what's left: the other side, the air filters, chin, and plaque. The chin has a bunch of clever direction changes, and the air filters are cleverly attached with ball joints to sockets that have been waiting patiently since bag 2 to receive them. Completed Model - Without Stickers Just like with the TIE Fighter Pilot, I decided to leave the stickers off while building so that I could show you what the helmet looks like without them. It's annoying that there are stickers in a set like this anyway, but LEGO seems to have their rules, like 4+ sets get a bajillion prints but a high-end product line like this for adults, which doesn't introduce any new pieces or parts in new colours, can't. The TIE pilot looked fine without stickers, but the Stormie.... doesn't. You can do without the little blue lines on the side, but the mouth looks quite off this way. Completed Model - As Intended To be honest, which I'm going to be, since it's my review, it still looks off even with the stickers. The mouth is way too chunky and steep, almost like the Rebels show design, the air intakes seem a bit too prominent, and the whole thing really just looks ugly. It'd be nearly impossible to capture the complex curves of the Stormtrooper helmet in LEGO, especially at this scale, but a big problem here that works against it, unfortunately, is the colour. Whereas the TIE Pilot has the benefit of being all black, so your mind smushes everything together, in white in almost any lighting every detail is laid bare: every seam between parts, every shadow of one part against another, heck even the little shadows of the studs. The blockiness becomes really apparent, and the stepped bows at the side are never going to look like they're supposed to be one continuous smooth section. The side profile looks ok, but the model does feel slightly too flat at the sides, especially nearing the eye area. And here's the plain back, for those who care. Final Thoughts and Rating The Stormtrooper helmet is one of the most iconic Star Wars images. I think that most people who have heard of Star Wars can recognise it, so it's a good choice for a line like this. Unfortunately, I don't think the model works. The whole thing looks flattened and squished in at the sides around the eyes; the mouth part is too large and sharp and subsequently looks too close to the eyes. Like I already wrote about, the blockiness is laid bare by the colour. Obviously there's nothing that could be done about the colour, since Stormtroopers are white, but that doesn't make the problems go away. I saw someone suggest that it looks like a buildable model of LEGO's Stormtrooper helmet, and it's a good suggestion. For sure it looks like a model of a stylised cartoon Stormtrooper helmet, and not the movie one. Above all, it looks ugly. Parts: Once again, I can't give this a rating. There's nothing exciting in the parts, but if you like white especially and want a bunch of SNOT, it's good. Build: 8/10 - It's the least interesting and most tedious of the bunch because it's relatively plain. The front of the face has some clever techniques, but the rest is primarily just stacking. Design: 6.5/10 - While nothing could have been done about the issue of it being white, the angle and size of the mouth certainly could have been improved, as could the overall dimensions. If it was just widened a tad, it might be more convincing, but the mouth area especially is what throws it off. Overall: 7.25/10 - As a build, and as a completed model for display, the Stormtrooper helmet is the one I'd recommend the least of the bunch. I'm really not a stickler for "accuracy" or something like that, but I'm looking at the model and something looks wrong about it. It is recognisable of course, but it just doesn't look nice.

They're not up for preorder from LEGO in Australia, but they're also coming on the 1st of June, so only a month to wait (sorry to trigger all of the US people again - don't worry, plenty of the world pays a lot more and has to wait for other things). Some individuals retailers might have pre-orders going, but none of the major ones from what I could see.

Over the coming days, Clone OPatra will be looking in depth at all three of the new sets in the Star Wars Helmet Collection, which LEGO has kindly sent us to review, and then sharing his thoughts on the lineup as a whole. Click below to check out the build and review of 75274 TIE Fighter Pilot. What do you think of this new line?

When it was revealed that the third of the three new Star Wars helmets would be the TIE Fighter Pilot, I was puzzled. Against Boba Fett and the Stormtrooper, a TIE Fighter Pilot is hardly that iconic. Pictures looked pretty good, though, so I was left curious about this one. 75274 TIE Fighter Pilot Helmet | 2020 | 724 Pieces USD $60 | GBP 55 | EUR 60 (variable) | CAD 80 | AUS$ 90 ___________________________ This is one of four review topics for the Helmets Collection: an individual detailed build and review for Boba Fett, Stormtrooper, and TIE Fighter Pilot, and an overview review looking at the whole line including the packaging, all three together, value and the concept in general. These sets were kindly provided by LEGO but all opinions are my own. Now, let's dive into the TIE Fighter Pilot! __________________________ Bag 1 Bag 1 has quite a colourful assortment for an all-black helmet, some of the biggest individual pieces to be found in the set, and plenty of foundations for SNOT. The only semi-rare part is the blue 1 by 1 and 2/3 brick with two studs on the side in blue, and you get 14 in this set. The core of the helmet, like the Stormtrooper, is comprised of two semi-hollow levels. That keeps the beginning build moving quickly, and doesn't feel like it's cutting any corners since there's really no need for a fully solid interior. At the end of bag 1 we're left with lots and lots of studs ready for SNOTing, and a teensy bit of the top of the helmet. With Captain Rex for size comparison, you can see the model isn't going to be very big. Rex will continue with us for reference throughout as it takes shape. Bag 2 Somehow I missed taking a picture of the contents of bag 2, but it would've been a bunch of black. The build starts with the stand, which is slightly different from the Boba and Stormie stands because it has attachment points for the gas transfer tubes. It's reinforced through the centre with technic beams. The rest of bag 2 has you attach the core to the base and build the back of the helmet, which is mainly just a lot of plate stacking and not particularly interesting. The height of the model has now nearly doubled. Bag 3 Here we've got a lot of black and a few bright flashes. Some newish parts like triangular tiles, but nothing rare. The eye portion has clever direction changes using the new-ish bracket with four anti-studs on the side, and clips for angling. It turns out well. By the end of bag 3, those eyes are attached as are the tops of each side. Bag 4 Here we've got - surprise! - a lot more black, for the mouth-piece and one side. The mouth includes two of the four prints in the set: two 2x2 tiles with black lines. Almost all the different sorts of small wedge plates also make an appearance. The mouth build uses more interesting colours for no particular reason, and is attached using a dark red riot shield, which has turned into quite a versatile piece - I wonder if the part designer could've anticipated that when it was first created. The side of the helmet entails a lot more stacking with just a few direction changes. Bag 5 Bag 5 simply builds the mirrored other side of the helmet. Here's where it ends up: Bag 6 Bag 6 contains the parts to finish off the tubes, the top of the head, the plaque, and the insignia. The chin section is a fiddly little build with a bunch of small slopes and SNOT, but it comes together nicely. But there's nothing as tedious as threading 18 little train wheels onto a flex tube - twice! And with the Imperial emblems attached and a bit on top, we're done! Here are the leftovers, not much to speak of: Completed Model - Without Stickers This set only includes two stickers, to extend either side of the mouth. I wondered what it might look like without those stickers, since they're quite small and not necessarily easy to apply in an ideal position. Given that the model is so black, to me it looks completely fine without those stickers applied. It doesn't look like something is obviously missing. Completed Model - As Intended Now here it is "all stickered up". The helmet looks quite menacing, like it should, and since it's all black any blockiness or awkward stepping of the parts kind of blends together in your mind when you look at it. Here's the back, in case you're interested. While it's complete from all angles, there's nothing to see back here. The side profile is quite good, though, and shows the interesting interplay between studded and smooth surfaces. In my mind the contrast between the textures makes the studded areas read as fabric, which of course they aren't meant to be, but overall the balance is fine and doesn't look messy, which perhaps is a risk. The stepped bows leading to the tubes are a bit abrupt, and don't look great close up, but from a distance they look ok. Final Thoughts and Rating I opened by saying that on face value, a TIE Fighter Pilot helmet seems like an odd choice for an inaugural line of three Star Wars helmets. As far as subject matter goes, it feels like something that would turn up in a second or third lineup, not the first one. However, having now built it and looked at it for a while on my table from a distance, like one would with these display pieces, I have to say it's a really good choice for the medium and well done. The TIE helmet in universe has a great deal of different angles, all very smooth and rounded, which is obviously going to be hard to pull off in blocky, angular LEGO with lots of little pieces working together. But like I said, since it's all black and there's nowhere for light to go, all of those little bits meld together and look pretty seamless. The proportions aren't perfect, of course, but unless you hold up a picture of a movie still or real-life prop next to it, it looks right. And, above all, it looks cool. Parts: This rating is too subjective to give. If you like slopes, black, and/or SNOT parts, there's plenty here for you, but otherwise it doesn't feel like what I'd call a "good parts pack". Build: 8.5/10 - The majority of it is stacking stuff, and there are (necessarily) tedious sections. Also, while all new pieces each step are outlined in yellow, I found it somewhat hard to keep track of what was being added at times (though I do have a hard-wired tendency to ignore the piece callouts, but I'm not holding that against the set). Design: 9/10 - Besides the areas with the bows leading to the tubes, for which there must be a somewhat more elegant solution even at this scale, the overall design looks great. Overall: 8.75/10 - This model is good. The build isn't the most fun or instructive, but it does the job, and the completed model looks excellent. Plus, it has the most parts of the three, so value-wise it's up there. In my review of the complete series, I'll talk more about value, as well as if I think people want a TIE Fighter Pilot helmet model anyway. Looking at it on its own, I would certainly recommend it for anybody who likes the source material, or wants a cool and mean-looking all-black thing to display. Up next: the Stormtrooper helmet.

Totally agree with you on this part. I watched the entirety of Clone Wars as it was coming out, and the majority of it was cringe (not to mention the god awful "movie" that launched it). The collective online memory that Clone Wars is an amazing show was either born out of people simply not having watched it all besides good recommended arcs and episodes, or having remembered only the good to such a degree that everything else escaped their minds. The new stuff is pretty much in keeping with the overall quality of the whole show, though with superb animation. The Bad Batch was standard Clone Wars fare of middling quality - ok action, clunky dialogue. The Martez sisters arc should've been at most two episodes. It probably could've even been accomplished in one. I've like the Mandalore episodes so far, and I want to see what these characters were up to between Clone Wars and Rebels, or in Maul's case Clone Wars and Solo and also between Solo and Rebels. I don't think we'll really get that, but I'd be interested to see it. Knowing what happens to Mail and Ahsoka doesn't undercut stories about the interim.

I thought it'd be interesting to go through and count new Minifig prints vs reused Minifig prints. Here are my findings but I probably got a few wrong as there are too many prints out there for me to keep track of! RoR: New: 6 prints (All 4 torso, Luna & Dummy heads). Reused: 2 heads (Hermione & Harry) FF: New: 6 prints (3 torsos - Centaur, Umbridge, Hermione, 2 heads - Umbridge & Centaur, 1 legs - Umbridge). Reused: 3 prints (Hermione & Harry heads, Harry torso) 4PD: New: 5 prints (3 Dursley heads, 2 Dursley torsos). Reused: Technically 7 (4 torsos - Dobby, Harry, Ron, Vernon, 2 heads - Harry & Ron, 1 legs Dobby), but of those all are for their intended characters and ages besides 1 torso, Vernon. AT: New: 11 prints (All 8 torsos, 1 head - Neville not counting Luna in either new or reused since counted in RoR, 2 legs - Hermione & Luna). Reused: Technically 8 (6 heads - everyone but Luna and Neville, 2 legs - Harry & Draco), but Slughorn's head was created for that character in this film, so subjectively I'd bring it down to 7. Burrow: New: 9 prints (3? heads - Fenrir, Arthur, Tonks?, 6 torsos - Bellatrix, Fenrir, Tonks, Arthur, Molly, Ginny). Reused: 8 prints (5 heads, 2 torsos, 1 legs) Hedwig: New: 1 print (torso). Reused: 1 print (head), but subjectively I'd say 0 since it was created for that film/age. Totals: New: 38. Reused Real: 29 Reused Subjective: 21

Nope it's been around since I think Pirates of the Caribbean, but not used very frequently.

Personally I've got my Hogwarts sections just placed next to and behind each other in my display, since I don't have much space and that way they can be nearer together than if they were attached. I'm not going for any screen accuracy - Hogwarts is magical, they're LEGO, and they just look nice bunched up together!

Just so everyone knows, we are reading and assessing the reports coming from this thread, and thank you to those using the report button rather than carrying on an argument publicly, which derails the thread. I don't want to lock this discussion because there are new, exciting sets to discuss, and most people have been focussed on discussing them! So please, to the people not focussed on the actual Harry Potter LEGO in this Harry Potter LEGO discussion thread, please refocus, and please remain polite and kind to one another. You know who you are. Thanks everyone.

Now this is a fantastic wave! Seriously outstanding lineup of sets. For me, I'll be getting the Astronomy Tower, Privet Drive, Grawp, and the Room of Requirement, no questions asked (besides how cheap will Kmart Australia go or when's there a sale anywhere else). The AT build is stunning, just so distinctive looking and complex in shaping. Privet Drive looks a wee bit cramped on the inside and the stairs are awkward, but great exterior and figures. Grawp himself looks super cute and well done, and the overall set is wonderful with the figures and Centaurs especially. Room of Requirement, just a good one for parts and figures, kind of like Expecto Patronum but even better. The Burrow as a build is objectively better than the old one, but I'm still content with the old one and the old figures are mostly superior to my taste. I wouldn't have space to display it in any case.

Alright, this thread is off the rails. I've asked you all to steer it back on track. Nemo has asked you all to steer it back on track. The message hasn't gotten through. Look, we're all for lively discussion and enjoyment of the site, but EB has always ALSO been about readability and focus. If we let every discussion go the way this is going, pretty soon no discussion thread would be readable in the slightest, and anybody just popping in to discuss new sets would find a big old mess. Therefore, this is the FINAL WARNING to get it back on track, discuss rumoured new Harry Potter LEGO and just rumoured new Harry Potter LEGO, or I'll lock the thread for 24 hours unless leaks materialise on that time. Thanks.

That castle looks AMAZING and huge! I can't wait to see it in an unobscured view. The tower to the left looks quite reminiscent in style to the 2010 Hogwarts.

It looks to me like it could just be how the newer spongy capes bend if pushed down the right way in the middle. It doesn't look new on the 360 spin render. The bat-truck is kind of odd. If it was the exact same build in an action theme like Agents with a different colour scheme, it'd be cool no questions asked, but as a supposed Batman vehicle and in all black it looks dull and uninteresting.

Sets never look their best in those computer generated spin images, so I think the Helicarrier could be a tad better once we see regular set pictures of it. From the side it looks ok, though the back cutting off is very weird, like people have said. The rotors are just terrible, though. It's strange with Superhero sets. Other themes which are totally kid oriented like Ninjago and now Monkie Kid consistently get amazing-looking, detailed, well-shaped vehicles, yet when it comes to Marvel it's like "here's another bike thing and a blocky truck". Really eye-catching sets in this theme are now the exception and not the norm.

We've let this discussion meander quite a bit, and it's time to get it back on track. So please, no more discussion of what's going on on Instagram (unless there are Harry Potter leaks, which are relevant and ok to discuss). No more discussion of other themes you'd rather buy or not buy. This is the LEGO Harry Potter thread, for discussing LEGO Harry Potter. Thanks

Sorry to derail the conversation slightly, but I'll be reviewing the three helmet sets for Eurobricks in the next few days, so if anyone has anything they'd particularly like to know about them, let me know and I'll do my best to cover it in the review(s)!

Oh yeah, I knew I was forgetting something. Honestly Shell Cottage isn't so important so I'd definitely prefer Grimmauld place. They'd run into a scale issue with it to do it properly, since to get in three floors and a basement it'd turn out nearly as tall as the clock tower, I reckon. But anything is theoretically possible to do in a facade and interior style.

You're not in the majority? The majority doesn't want these two sets? The only negatives I've seen are people just confused about the timing of the Privet Drive set because it breaks the two movies per year trend, but I don't think people are unhappy about its existence. Now I hope we get Malfoy Manor, the Lovegood house and Shell Cottage to complete the Harry Potter homes that matter collection!

Based on that picture it looks like the Sabine Wren hair could work? And that's a piece they've already printed before if they want to go all out and do brown with purple highlights. EDIT: NINJA'D on the hair suggestion. While it is odd to have Tonks but no Lupin, Ron is essential to reenact the moment around when Ginny feeds Harry a pie. I'm looking forward to seeing this iteration of the Burrow, and if it's special enough to warrant getting given that I still have the old one built on display!

That set does sound like amazing value. The movie already screwed up Grawp with rushed CGI (the animators themselves were pretty unhappy about it as I recall from the behind the scenes), so in some ways it's possible LEGO can't do any worse than that. All the leaked figures look good. I'm still not thrilled that the Hermione face is reused in the first place but it is what it is and if she comes in the CMF, which seems likely, she'll probably have a new face there. I'll also be switching in the original Umbridge hair since it's still more accurate than that newer one.

The only thing that truly interested me from the Express was also Lupin, so I Bricklinked him. I think it was about $5 all up - felt like a good savings! Personally I have a pretty limited budget and limited displaying space, so I skip a lot. From the first wave I skipped Aragog, the Whomping Willow, and the Hogwarts Express (and the Fantastic Beasts sets). From the second wave I skipped the Knight Bus, Hagrid's Hut, and Hungarian Horntail. If I had broader funds and space I probably would have gotten the Whomping Willow and Hagrid's Hut, and I definitely thought about Hagrid's Hut, but it's dang expensive in Australia and I can only spend so much. The only thing I truly wanted from it was Buckbeak anyway. Also besides the Great Hall and CMF, I waited for a sale on everything (though 20-25% off sales are very common here).

I could have used our sarcasm emoji, but otherwise I don't know how I could have been more obviously sarcastic after adding my fake guess at minifigures and build. He's obviously not talking about the London Underground. Just poking fun at how people jump to conclusions surrounding these hints, that's all.

The hint says an iconic scene in "the underground", which is what the London subway is called, so it's got to be the scene where Arthur and Harry take the tube to get to the Ministry of Magic. Minifigs: Arthur, Harry, London Muggle. Build: half of an Underground carriage. You heard it here first folks. I've got to say, once again some of the decisions in this line baffle me. I wouldn't pretend to know how it really works behind the scenes, but new animal moulds for Patronuses at the expense of a fully fledged Bellatrix with unique face and printed skirt, for example? I don't understand the choice. The Patronuses are cool, don't get me wrong, but as far as the films go they appear in one brief scene and aren't super playable anyway. On the one hand we get some of this awesome new stuff, and on the other hand iconic characters go half baked.

It looks great! The picture is pretty close up. It's going to be on just two-three studs, so I think from above or a regular viewing angle the feet aren't going to look as large.