AFOLguy1970

I like it, especially if it does not go north of $99. Since it is not a Disney license, there is no reason why it cannot stay at the $99 level. It blends well with the Gingerbread House to the point where it is likely the neighbor. It will be interesting to see what the interior is like. As for the reindeer, the sight of me makes me feel like Lego is planning some type of future set with a proper Santa sleigh. I can see maybe a future set with four of those reindeer so that you will have to buy 2 to get the full 8 (not counting Rudolph). Nevertheless, the reindeer will probably be the most lucrative Bricklink part in this set.

Yep, like the others said, Lady E now joins Lord Vortech. Sauron, and the Witch King for winning the "I Cant Believe Lego Never Made This Villian" award. Maybe the key bad guys need to be ensured a first wave appearance regardless of how optimistic marketing is about the series. Your point regarding the Juice Bar is interesting. That could in fact have been the biggest mistake, even more than the box design. Had the Juice Bar been usable in the app, it could have been the "gateway drug" to this series for those unsure how it works. By not making it app compatible and just a display set, there was really a missed opportunity here. Hidden Side really needed a hook, and it just did not seem to be there. I guess the Tree was the basic starter set that offered Lady E in the app, but offering an app compatible GWP set would probably have drawn in more people. Also quite surprised there was not a haunted house set. I know it would have competed with the Creator one to some extent, but you would have me believe that every public place and vehicle in Newbury is haunted, yet the homes are all safe?

I am torn on this one. It really looks nice. I will probably buy it. What surprises me the most is that they made this into a fairground set when you have (1) a rather large number of people who really wanted a Disney Haunted Mansion. Space Mountain is iconic too, but I do not see how you could do it justice in Lego without needing a loan officer to purchase it. With this in existence, I do not see a HM anytime soon. And.... (2) you have a whole line dedicated to ghost hunting--The Hidden Side. That line is screaming out for a haunted house, and I cannot see that happening with this one out there. Again, it looks great. I just think there were at least two better options for a haunted house out there.

Another problem with the closed in plan would be that no matter how you looked at the whole castle, half of it is being viewed from the outside, and half of it will be an open backed view showing the interior. That is not going to look so good IMHO. As I get more parts of the castle, I will probably just connect it in linear fashion in the best way possible and place it on a long shelf.

Harry had it pretty well at Privet Drive. He is the only one who gets his own room, two if you count the area under the stairs Astronomy Tower looks good overall. A little bit surprised/confused with the character selection, but not too bad. I am glad the greenhouse was kept very small not to take away from the rest of it.

I would think that Professor Aurora Sinistra would be highly appropriate for Astronomy Tower. In fact, other than appearing in a collecibile series, this would probably be the only set that would make sense having her.

If this is a $100 set, it sounds like they are trying to do too much if they are combining a greenhouse with it. I agree it is going to have to be really slender in order to make it appear taller than what we have so far. Its best details are of course at the top. It does look different enough to distinguish it from the clock tower, but I fear that having to get it high enough, include a greenhouse, and put in a lot of minifigs is going to force the designers to dumb it down somewhere. I hope I am wrong.

So far, Astronomy Tower would be my highest priority. Also might have to save up for Diagon Alley when it comes out. As for Privet Drive, I just hope the car is not significantly better than the one in Whomping Willow.

It is probably the limited capacity/workforce as you stated along with increased demand due to everyone being bored and stuck at home. Some thing is true for Harry Potter as well.

Yeah, that would be kind of cruel if they brought in something that many people would really want and offer it for a limited time in the middle of an economic slowdown. As for demand, I can totally see an increase of demand from those sitting at home AND with incomes. At the same time, I can see a loss of demand from those who can no longer afford anything nonessential. How that is going to impact overall demand is anyone's guess.

I can see them doing some of the lower chambers, perhaps even having it where an existing set can be mounted on top. This would be similar to how Star Wars had Jabba's Palace mount on top of the Rancor Pit.

Bought a couple of baseplates and the Hidden Side Graveyard Mystery from S&H Monday. They are sitting in the warehouse, which is totally understandable since essential items should get shipping priority. I have this image of the Lego warehouse being similar to the one at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Just buy the white one and expose it evenly to strong light and you will have your yellow baseplate. Probably not a bright yellow, but it will be there.

If I get to keep my job (so far, so good), I am considering getting another set in order to have two locomotives and four cars. I would probably gut the interior of one and place the battery box where the whole bat wing assembly folds. The train motor would then be used below that. The top would need to be modified for easy access to replace the batteries. Nice thing is the the cars are basically the same at the bottom and the "cargo" is detachable. You could easily swap the cargo out to have them carry the containers or something else.

This is certainly the most serious economic threat I have seen, even more so than the 9-11 aftermath or the 2008 crisis. Both of my brothers have lost their jobs. My governor of my state just issued a declaration that all schools will now remain closed until April 3. I work at a public school. Since I am on contract, I do not see a problem with this school year, however we do get paid from taxpayer money. And from what I am seeing, there is not going to be a whole lot of taxpayer money in the foreseeable months. Simply, people that dont have jobs are have been told to stay home do not get paid, so they will not pay taxes. Unless you work in a critical industry, your livelihood is probably threatened. Since the thread is about how Lego is impacted by all this, I would say there will be a short term crash in sales as disposable income is dried up in many markets. Lego is certainly a premium toy and far less essential than house payments, food, utilities, etc. As the worst blows over, I would imagine that sales will get a little bit better. We are certainly experiencing something historic, so everyone, Lego included, is going to have to adapt to a new set of rules. The good news is that the China stores remain open. That would mean that China, the original epicenter of the virus, is now on the road to recovery. My hope is that a sense of normalcy returns by summer in the sense that we will not be kept from working, traveling, not have to wait in line just to get in a store, and function as a normal society.

It is probably time for the Lego Stores to suspend the Pick-a-Brick walls, Build-a-Minifigure bins, and any other interactive areas in the store with bricks. We are starting to get cases where I live, and the above mentioned things would be a perfect breeding ground for the stuff to spread. It is not like you can disinfect every element after someone sticks their hand in the bin. Better safe than sorry.

Are you referring to something like this? https://www.lightmybricks.com/collections/lego-modular-buildings-light-kits I think these are battery based and therefore will not depend on where your outlets are. I cannot say I have ever tried a kit as they are not cheap, but they might be something to consider.

I can verify that these are indeed popular. My son and I were researching this at the entrance to the Lego Store just before opening. I told him if he wanted one to go straight to the Star Wars section and get one to examine. Basically, this and the Bookshop were the two most sought after sets at opening. My son got this and the Sith Trooper BP. He really likes them both, but now is craving "The" Mandalorian. In the meantime, I am sure these will do!

Well, we got there early before opening, and by the time the store opened, I would say there were 20 people in line. They had maybe 6 BS on the shelf and then they stacked another dozen or so on the floor near the entrance. When the doors opened, 75% of the stock went right away. I saw a few still on the shelf when we left, and as of now the store is showing out of stock. I spent the rest of the day building it. Definitely, it was a fun build, and there are some new techniques as we would expect to find in the modulars. The singled roof, Dutch/Flemish gable, the beds, and the variety of useful parts were among my favorite part of the experience. Hope you all enjoy the build when you get them.

Ok, I am calling it now. Baby Yoda will appear, but it will be in a set that is more than 100 pounds/Euros/dollars. No way Disney/Lego let you have him in a small or midrange set. If they are really feeling the pull of the Dark Side, he will end up being the San Diego Comic Con exclusive. You would not need to be force sensitive to feel the galactic disturbance that would cause.

I doubt this is going encourage that many people to wait to buy the BS on the 8th, because most of us will assume there will be no BS in stock at that point. To have both, I would have to buy Bookshop on the 1st assuming it will go out of stock imminently, then go back and register on the 6th (Monday) at the store, only to go back for the build (Wednesday), assuming I was successful on the 1st and the 6th. I dont even think I would go through that much trouble for a Lego Baby Yoda, let alone a newstand that can probably be mostly made from available parts. According to the app. I am 26 miles away from the Lego Store, and there are some horribly congested highways between here and there. Not gonna happen. I remember the Dallas store enforcing limits before and have never seen anyone try to walk out with multiples on Day 1. To really ruin everyone's day, you would need some help as big as those boxes are, and probably a van to wipe out the stock for the day.

So who else is going to be there before opening tomorrow? I really really wish Lego had a preorder option. The last time I went in on New Years was during the release of Downtown Diner. It was not too hard to get it, and I assume last year was easier compared to some years with the mixed reviews and price increase of CG. However, I have a feeling that this thing is going to be on backorder online and the stores are going to be out shortly after opening. I hope there will be a limit of 1 and there will be some order to tomorrow. This scaled down Black Friday approach is not for me, but it is really the only way to get one before the regular job starts up again next week.

It is as if Lego read my mind. I even predicted the "Moby Brick" gag upon hearing the rumor it was a bookstore! This is everything I hoped for. A return to older styles and curb appeal. I agree with others that the somewhat smaller size is due to the necessity of having two walls in the middle so that the buildings can be separated like the Pet Shop. It might be tempting to buy two of these to get a townhouse row. Maybe someone will customize a printed 108 or 109 tile so I do not end up with two 107s? The details inside and out are fantastic. I like the colors, and the part selection looks very interesting. I will have to save up for this, so wont be able to achieve it on New Years Day, but it is my first priority to buy after the new year. This might be the best one since PR, which is my absolute favorite. If Lego is reading these boards, I now ask that the book piece that you used for "Moby Brick" be made available on online PAB. I would like to stock up my bookshop when I get it Otherwise, well done Lego!

The challenge to a book store would naturally be getting a detailed interior without having to budget too many parts to it. It is hard to visualize the interior without imagining a lot of parts for books and bookcases. I just hope the exterior is eye catching and not too plain in the sense of DO or CG. I really like the new book piece and hope it is utilized well. I imagine printed parts with Legocentric titles, like a "Tale of Two Bricks" or "Moby Brick". There are some exciting possibilities.

As both an occasional buyer and seller, I figure this will either be very beneficial or it will be a disaster. I really hope it continues to be a place I can sell an occasional set or buy something Lego no longer offers at a reasonable price.