Tariq j

Yeah, whilst I love the current HP theme I can definitly see that. I always thought (like you said) the 2010 line struck a good balance between being movie accurate but still maintaining that whimsy/magical feel. Like in the 2010 Hogwarts set you had stuff like the hidden objects in Dumbledore’s office, Sirius Black’s face in the common room fire, the diary hidden behind a knight etc. Things like that are missing from some of the more recent sets. That being said I do love the reboot line, as many others have said it is the “gold standard” for reboots and has given us pretty much everything you could ask for since coming back. The Star Wars line could learn a lot from it at the moment. Indiana Jones is a weird one. Because the three sets we got were brilliant and I genuinely can’t think of a single thing to criticise about any of them. But it was so disappointing that they stopped there. They could have done some Brickheadz and more sets based of the other films. Toy Story had a fantastic line in 2010 (as did Cars for that matter). But the 2019 4+ stuff was very disappointing. I also never really loved the use of the minifigure heads for Buzz, Woody and Jessie as opposed to the moulded heads they used in the original line. The 2026 sets are ok but still a far cry from the OG sets. The Incredibles wasn’t a revived line but it did get caught up in the 4+ stuff. One thing I will say (and perhaps this is my own nostalgia talking) is that it does feel like 2008-2014ish was like a golden age for licences themes. Films like Crystal Skull, Stranger Tides and Toy Story 3 got a good range of sets whilst previous films in their respective series also got good coverage. In addition there was also a healthy balance of sets too, like there’s weren’t themes composed of exclusively 4+ or exclusively £300+ sets like we sometimes see today.

I actually really like the sound of those. It’s the anniversary year after all so they may as well go all out. Hopefully we get pink shorts guy in the Landspeeder set!

Not usually interested in the buildable figures but yeah that looks fantastic!

I’m sure it will be good but it is a bit of a dull choice seen we’ve had quite a few versions so far. Would have been cool to get something more related to the Ministry.

1. Realistically I think the Adults Welcome/18+ stuff will continue and I could see them going down the skyline option like you mentioned. I think they’ll also still do the buildable figures like Greivous/IG-88/AZI-3 etc. Maybe even stuff like the book nooks as well. I can’t say I want to get more 18+ stuff but I don’t think any of it going away either. 2. I’d love to see that range of good <£50 sets. We’ve actually had some good sets recently like Cobb Vanth’s speeder, the BARC speeder escape etc. But I hope to see a return to some of the sets from the late 2010s. Things like Yoda’s Hut, the Jedi Interceptors, the carbonate freezing chamber, the Duel on Starkiller base. 3. Agree with what you said and I’d like to see more sets that take inspiration from the Hogwarts system that the HP line has been doing. Playsets that prioritise detail and accuracy but aren’t locked behind some insane £500+ price point. Like if they wanted to do the Battle of Endor for example, they could have a set containing the shield generator and some speeder bikes and then another set that focused on the Ewok Village and the various traps they set up etc. In general, I really want them to bring back the “wow!” factor in the theme. There was a time when sets really felt like they were bringing something new to the table whereas now they often feel the same or sometimes inferior to the previous versions (like Mando’s speeder or the Turbo Tank).

Yeah, there were quite a few themes that didn’t really get featured at all.

I don’t know about a film but I actually think a line of sets could be quite cool. Like you have a story where a bunch of universes get pulled into one or something like that and then you have different build that are a mash of various themes.

Agree with what @CloneCommando99 said about capping the gimmick sets. Go back to what made the theme so good to begin with. I get why they won’t to increase the appeal to non-AFOLs but don’t lose the fans they’ve built up over the last 25+ years. Really like all of these but especially these two. It’s kind of insane that out of the three big acts in ROTJ, the Final Duel is the only one that’s been given attention. The Battle of Endor has basically had no sets for the last 10 years whatsoever aside from the odd 4+ set or the things like the A-Wing in the recent smart brick set. I suppose there’s been some good UCS sets like the A-Wing and this year’s AT-ST come to think of it. I've mentioned a couple of times on the main discussion thread that we’ve lost that range of <£50 sets. There are still some good sets out there but when I look at what Harry Potter is doing like the Privet Drive escape, the Sorting Ceremony, the Charms Classroom or the Dueling Club it does feel like we’re missing out a bit. Speed Champions type sets: Flash Speeder (£22.99): Captain Panaka and Naboo Security Guard Luke’s Landspeeder (£22.99): Luke and Obi Wan. Can include some accessories like the lightsabers, Leia’s hologram piece and the Jedi training droid. Rey’s Speeder (£22.99): Rey, BB-8 and Unkar Platt. Bail Organa’s Speeder (£22.99): Bail Organa and Yoda Captain Rex’s BARC Speeder with sidecar (£22.99): Phase 2 Captain Rex and Obi Wan based on his Season 3 Clone Wars attire. Some general sets: Duel on Tatooine (£17.99): Very similar to the Escape from Privet Drive set. Includes Darth Maul’s Speeder and a small rocky build. Comes with Darth Maul. Qui Gon, young Anakin and Shmi Skywalker. Encounter on Endor (£17.99): Again, similar to the above set. Comes with an Endor Speeder and a small forest build. Includes Endor Leia, Wicket and two Scout Troopers. Wampa Cave (£34.99): Comes with the cave and a mechanism to push the lightsaber out similar to the original. Comes with Hoth Luke, Hoth Han, a probe droid and a Wampa. Duel on Utapau (£34.99): Comes with Greivous’ wheelbike. Includes Greivous, Obi Wan and two 212th troopers. Anakin’s Jedi Interceptor (£39.99): Comes with Anakin, R2, Obi Wan and Dooku. Similar to the 2012 version where a few more figures are included to recreate the duel. Vader’s TIE Advanced (£49.99): Comes with Vader, Ben Kenobi and R2-Q5.

I think something like could work well actually. I like the idea of a UCS set, a “regular” set (maybe priced £80-£130), and then a microfighter/4 + type set. I think they really missed a trick there with the Sail Barge. I didn’t get the ‘06 Sail Barge and was so excited for 2013 version when it came out. I know if I was a kid I would have been so disappointed if the only viable option was a £400+ version.

I was thinking Shrek? That would make a good CMF series or maybe The Chronicles of Narnia.

That’s my biggest issue. At least if the sets themselves were “regular” I wouldn’t mind too much but the X-Wing as you said is downsized and judging the piece count the Falcom looks like it’s heading the same way. What’s also sort of frustrating is that characters like Greedo have the smart brick in them, so you’d probably have to wait years if you wants a regular one.

I think the theme has been a bit all over the place since 2020 but this year and next year have been/will be a very weak point in the theme. There have been some good/decent sets but those are few and far between. I feel like the theme needs a reset, less gimmicks and better pricing. I’ve said it before but I think the Harry Potter theme has the balance between gimmick sets (like the buildable creatures) and “regular” sets (like the castle). Since they’ve already done the B1 and the Droideka I could see a Super Battle Droid being the next one. I didn’t think about that but yeah I do wonder how these smart bricks will limit what we get for the 50th. The ones you’ve listed could all still be done but you would still miss out on a Falcon and the other regular versions of the “smart” sets.

It just feels very messy. I was initially excited when I saw the Falcon but that piece count obviously means it’s going to be massively downsized. What kind of sucks as well is that there are some figures like Greedo, Emperor Palpatine, Pilot Luke and Dagobah Luke are all smart figures. So you’d probably have to wait years for regular versions of those figures to reappear.

I could see them doing a smaller scale Hogwarts line. Like not as expensive as the current wave but not 4+ either, something in-between maybe. Like I could see a smaller Great Hall but without the rocky base. If the Philosophers Stone Collector’s set thing does well I could see them doing it for the other movies too. I feel like the new set also lacks the “magic” some of the older waves. Like in an older set I could see the bookshelf in the Ravenclaw common room leading to a secret passageway or revealing a hidden object but in this set it’s just a bookshelf.

Reviews have been popping up and I must admit it’s a great set. The splitting function that reveals the clock works really well and there’s some nice details scattered in the house. The figure lineup is pretty good. I actually think the younger cast plus Holly and Vecna/Henry look really good. It’s the older characters - Steve/Jonathan/Robin (and to a certain extent Nancy) that look a bit off.