General Harry Potter Discussion

kez

https://www.instagram.com/lego_world_club_3.0/

dannyrww

I am guessing they are all from the still to be seen Suitcase set since they seem to be based on the first movie.

readersam

Do we have an estimate on when these will be available?

Lobot

readersam said:

Do we have an estimate on when these will be available?

@readersam - 1st August, if I recall correctly.

readersam

Thanks, Lobot.

Mr_Cross

#75952 Newt's suitcase on instagram. Sorry for doubling up from the leaks discussion, just covering the bases.

kez

https://youtu.be/CgtlKITTHzU

Gooker1

I watched the first 30 second and was like what?  Why'd you post this if it wasn't in English...then I watched some more of it. hahahahaha

Thanks for sharing!!

kez

Gooker1 said:

I watched the first 30 second and was like what?  Why'd you post this if it wasn't in English...then I watched some more of it. hahahahaha

Thanks for sharing!!

Haha, I thought the same when I stumbled upon it too! Nothing too exclusive revealed within the interview, but its still informative nevertheless - also some cool prototypes are revealed. :-D

Fizyx

At 10:55, he calls the big Hulkbuster that just got released 'the UCS one'.  That's it, it's canonical now, UCS isn't just Star Wars, and doesn't require the UCS seal on the box.

*sits back and watches the fireworks*

monkyby87

I'm impressed with the number of mini-figures.  I feel like many larger sets nowadays still skimp on the number of characters, but that seems to be a decent number.

kez

Supposedly someone purchased the Quidditch set in WHSmiths today (£39) :-D
https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/8pjran/haul_for_the_day_is_75956_meant_to_be_on_shelves/

Jern92

So from what I can conclude from the interview, it seems like the connection points are meant for future sets in the second wave, rather than the D2C. I personally feel rather disappointed by that, because I was hoping for a massive UCS-style Hogwarts, but I guess if they release more sets in future it will slowly become that way.

This does make me wonder; will the D2C be something other than Hogwarts then? It would be odd for them to have 2 separate Hogwarts, one D2C and one built by combining several waves of sets.

LukeSkywalker

I would rather nicely detailed sections released separately than a massive D2C that takes shortcuts in detail. Plus it helps the wallet to pay in smaller increments than one big payout (I’m looking at you new Millennium Falcon...). :)

dannyrww

LukeSkywalker said:

I would rather nicely detailed sections released separately than a massive D2C that takes shortcuts in detail. Plus it helps the wallet to pay in smaller increments than one big payout (I’m looking at you new Millennium Falcon...). :)

Couldn't agree more....tired of $300-$400 or more direct to consumer sets. I would rather purchase Hogwarts in segments.

Jern92

LukeSkywalker said:

I would rather nicely detailed sections released separately than a massive D2C that takes shortcuts in detail. Plus it helps the wallet to pay in smaller increments than one big payout (I’m looking at you new Millennium Falcon...). :)

I guess that makes sense. I wouldn't mind gradually amassing parts of a castle that come together to form a really massive one.

Bumblepants

It would almost certainly cost more overall in segments though. Lego would have to bake into the price the additional packaging, storage, store shelf space, production costs. Also many average Lego customers would see a half section of Castle and have no idea other parts would come later or want to wait. Design might also suffer from having to be separate chunks that hook together.

J0rgen

They'll show you how to combine with the other current sets on the back of the box, like with the Great Hall and Whomping Willow or the modulars. I think this is much more consumer friendly, especially for the kids!

SumoLego

Jern92 said:
I personally feel rather disappointed by that, because I was hoping for a massive UCS-style Hogwarts, but I guess if they release more sets in future it will slowly become that way.

I'd be interested to see if they did a smaller-scale, higher detail architecture-style Hogwarts that skews to the rather sizeable AFOL/HP audience.

(Said the guy secretly wishing for a line of small-scale LotR buildings.)

madforLEGO

Jern92 said:

So from what I can conclude from the interview, it seems like the connection points are meant for future sets in the second wave, rather than the D2C. I personally feel rather disappointed by that, because I was hoping for a massive UCS-style Hogwarts, but I guess if they release more sets in future it will slowly become that way.

This does make me wonder; will the D2C be something other than Hogwarts then? It would be odd for them to have 2 separate Hogwarts, one D2C and one built by combining several waves of sets.

I still see a D2C Castle set being done (especially since the rumors, many of which since confirmed true, also mention a large D2C set if I recall correctly), it may either just be missing the grand hall and the gate from the smaller sets (that you can attached later), OR it will have alt instructions that allow you to build a mega castle with those parts as well (something akin to Port Royal instructions for PoTC).

I would rather see a large castle, as long as it has a LOT of figures and it done to a larger scale than something like the grand hall.

The modular type build has been around since the 80's Castle stuff though and would also be nice to see them slowly build up a castle with the smaller sets.

Though I will say as much as I like the large D2C sets, I'm getting this 'elitist' type vibe from LEGO lately with the likes of the Classic Batcave, Roller coaster, Assembly Hall, Chiron, GB HQ, and of course the UCS falcon (with the 'exclusive' limited black VIP card of special deals just for those members).

I mean while they are great sets, but LEGO is getting pricey and my salary is not going up.

77ncaachamps

Boardshorts85 said:

Lobot said:

First image of the box (from The Brothers Brick):

I'm really impressed by the new sets - this could be my first ever train!!

It looks great but only one passenger car is a bit disappointing.  Hopefully nothing too unique in the build so additional cars can be BL'd reasonably

In the tradition of Mos Eisley Cantina, Disney castle, et al..., Lego wants you to complete the build by buying two sets or more!

CCC

77ncaachamps said:

Boardshorts85 said:

Lobot said:

First image of the box (from The Brothers Brick):

I'm really impressed by the new sets - this could be my first ever train!!

It looks great but only one passenger car is a bit disappointing.  Hopefully nothing too unique in the build so additional cars can be BL'd reasonably

In the tradition of Mos Eisley Cantina, Disney castle, et al..., Lego wants you to complete the build by buying two sets or more!

Or, they want to make it as cheap as possible by only including one carriage. Most kids won't care that there is just one carriage. Add another and the price goes up by probably about 20%, which will mean less sales for essentially the same set.

77ncaachamps

CCC said:

77ncaachamps said:

Boardshorts85 said:

Lobot said:

First image of the box (from The Brothers Brick):

I'm really impressed by the new sets - this could be my first ever train!!

It looks great but only one passenger car is a bit disappointing.  Hopefully nothing too unique in the build so additional cars can be BL'd reasonably

In the tradition of Mos Eisley Cantina, Disney castle, et al..., Lego wants you to complete the build by buying two sets or more!

Or, they want to make it as cheap as possible by only including one carriage. Most kids won't care that there is just one carriage. Add another and the price goes up by probably about 20%, which will mean less sales for essentially the same set.

Fair enough.

But we all know that if we wait long enough, that 20% increase eventually becomes a 20% discount. ;)

CCC

Full RRP for the one carriage version also becomes a 20% discount too. Or 30% here.

playwell

I do think 2 carriages would have been a lot better and does add to the play value. It also might make buying multiples more appealing as you could make a larger station and have 4 carriages. Also adding more of the same bricks to a set cost less than adding different bricks to a set. So although the price would have gone up the price per piece and therefore value of the set might have got better. Saying that I can understand why Lego did only have 1 carriage in this set as it also has a station and is already a large set, the Emerald Night on the other hand I still dont understand the thinking.

CCC

SMC said:

I do think 2 carriages would have been a lot better and does add to the play value.

Give a kid a train with one carriage and what do they do with it? Give a kid a train with two carriages and what do they do with it? There is no difference in play value.  Of course, aesthetically there is a difference that will be noticed by adults and probably older kids, but younger kids will push that train around whether there is one carriage or two. If there were two carriages, some adults would still complain that it is not long enough and not movie realistic. It is LEGO, it never will be. Having the tender in place at least lengthens it a little and makes it look more realistic, which has not always been done in the past.

I imagine that adding another carriage would bump the price by probably £20. That would dent the sales, and adds nothing to the play value. People picking up the box see a train and a station, whether the train has one carriage or two.

LEGO knows this, you only have to look at the history of Hogwarts Express sets:

#4708 tender missing, one carriage
#10132 with tender, one carriage
#4758 tender missing, one carriage
#4841 with tender, one carriage

This is the fifth time of having one carriage. If having two carriages would increase sales, they would do it. I know elsewhere people have complained that the station should be removed and the bricks used for an extra carriage to keep the price point the same. But doing this adds nothing to the play value of the train and removes all the action in the station, and the train has nowhere to stop.

playwell

I think one of the main characteristics of a passenger train is that they have identical carriages. You dont really get the same effect if you only have one carriage, that is why I like to see at least two.

Kids couple and uncoupling trains, they fill them with passengers and they crash them. All of these things are better with a longer train. With other train toys where there is an option you see that kids like to make long trains. Its the same as saying kids will play with a small spaceship in the same way as a large spaceship. Another question is how long will they play with them for and at what point (size) will they pick it over other toys.

Like I said it doesn't cost Lego much to add the same bricks to a set so could add value. Just because Lego does the same thing over and over doesn't mean its the best thing. We would only know for sure if there were two products on the shelf at the same time (a one carriage and two carriage version).

But if you still want to tell me I am wrong I would go with making the same model twice is boring which I think is the biggest negative to a two carriage train at this age range. This is where Lego has a problem other train toys dont have.

Still no excuse for you Emerald Night, there are a lot of creator expert sets with repetition.

CCC

SMC said:

But if you still want to tell me I am wrong I would go with making the same model twice is boring which I think is the biggest negative to a two carriage train at this age range. This is where Lego has a problem other train toys dont have.

This is also why having a station is better than an extra carriage. Similarly having a tender rather than an extra carriage. Different builds (for the same amount of bricks) means more play (here play=construction) value.

SMC said:

Still no excuse for you Emerald Night, there are a lot of creator expert sets with repetition.

EN probably would have been better with an extra carriage, but the result is similar, the price would have gone up and sales would have dropped for those that wanted the engine. Although it is an interesting one, in that it wouldn't have surprised me if there were less complaints if it had come with no carriages. (Non-LEGO) Train collectors often display trains as the engine plus tender, models like this are common ...



So having no carriages is not out of the ordinary for display. Of course, with model trains like that you can buy the carriages separately so if you want to run it, you buy what you want. If they did a range of sets of engines (plus tenders) and then a standard single carriage that could be used with any of them, then they'd probably sell well to adults, but I'm not so sure about kids. And there is the problem that adults would buy too many carriages then complain that the engine motor is not strong enough to pull them.

But removing the carriage for Hogwarts Express would remove significant play value (nowhere for Harry and friends to sit).

playwell

I agree that the Emerald Night probably would have had less complaints if it had come with no carriages. Because a train without carriages looks ok but a train with only one carriage looks odd (Ill come back to this). But I think sale would have only increased if it had two carriages, sure a few people would not have bought it because of the added cost but some might have bought it that didn't because it looked more complete. But I think the biggest factor would have been the number of people that bought multiple sets to make a longer train. This wasnt much of an option with only one carriage and you couldn't make more yourself because of the windows which were only in this set.

To quote myself I think this is important: "I think one of the main characteristics of a passenger train is that they have identical carriages. You dont really get the same effect if you only have one carriage"

I am going to call this "the thomas the tank engine affect" I think if you show someone a train with only one carriage the brain goes "somethings not right there" you might not know what but it just looks a bit wrong (like if the lip sync is out on a film). If you show them a train with two carriages (like thomas) even though it is much sorter than a normal train it doesn't jar anywhere like as much.

Outside of Lego you wont find many trains only 2 parts long however a 3 part toy train is very common even within Lego.

dmcc0

SMC said:

...I am going to call this "the thomas the tank engine affect" I think if you show someone a train with only one carriage the brain goes "somethings not right there" you might not know what but it just looks a bit wrong (like if the lip sync is out on a film). If you show them a train with two carriages (like thomas) even though it is much sorter than a normal train it doesn't jar anywhere like as much...

While Thomas does have 2 carriages (Annie & Clarabel), Toby regularly only has Henrietta...

playwell

dmcc0 said:

While Thomas does have 2 carriages (Annie & Clarabel), Toby regularly only has Henrietta...

True, you also do get toys like this:

What happened to clarabel? Maybe this:

bandit778

I was always more amazed that Thomas was a talking train and it didn't surprise anyone. :P

datsunrobbie

There was a series called "My Own Train" in 2001 that had separate sets for locomotives and rolling stock. Maybe LEGO will start selling sets with individual carriages again so people who want longer trains can make them without having to buy extra locomotives and stations.

Lyichir

datsunrobbie said:

There was a series called "My Own Train" in 2001 that had separate sets for locomotives and rolling stock. Maybe LEGO will start selling sets with individual carriages again so people who want longer trains can make them without having to buy extra locomotives and stations.

Unfortunately, those sets sold pretty terribly. Sets tend to sell better when they offer a complete play experience on their own, which isn't really the case with individual train cars with no engine.

For adult fans who want to expand their trains without buying an entire additional set, there's always sites like Bricklink.

daewoo

I don't mind that the HEs have only come with one carriage.  As CCC said, Lego is going for the play value.  Us AFOLs will be the only ones to make complaints about it, but at the end of the day, we're not the target audience for these sets.  Now maybe if Lego did a UCS version (or Creator Expert) of the HE, then maybe we would see a longer train.

I would love it if Lego returned to the "My Own Train" idea and sold individual carriages and other rolling stock.  I don't think it will happen, but I can dream!

Bumblepants

I wish they would just put a trucks, couplers, and bogeys pack of some kind together as it can be frustrating figuring out all the bits you need to make a train car. Maybe the 'Xtra' line could expand to this but I doubt it will happen. What I have done is just bought extra passenger and freight trains when a great deal occurs for train MOC fodder. Ends up being a lot cheaper and easier that way.

(also please don't roast me if I used the wrong names for the train parts. Or do, whatever, I don't mind)

tomahawker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m82sy2vlCNc

If you watch this interview with Jamie Berard (around the 28 minute mark), its clear that train sets, especially ones that appeal to AFOLs, do not sell very well outside of train fans.  The only way to increase sales is to create a set that has cross market appeal (like the Winter Village Train).  Thus, I'm very skeptical that we will ever see sets like the My Own Train line again.

Legolis

I got excited when I saw there were 14 new posts. I thought something exciting had happened. Then had a laugh when I realised it was an in-depth discussion on trains! :) 

CCC

bandit778 said:

I was always more amazed that Thomas was a talking train and it didn't surprise anyone. :P

When you grow up watching Ivor the Engine, talking is not so unusual. He sings in the choir, looks after animals, knows where money is hidden, ...

playwell

^ Like I said train mostly come in at least 3 parts:


Oh wait...

Gooker1

Thanks for posting that vid!  I love these little in depth interviews!

bandit778

CCC said:
When you grow up watching Ivor the Engine, talking is not so unusual. He sings in the choir, looks after animals, knows where money is hidden, ... 

Completely forgot about Ivor the engine.
Ah, the good old days of hand drawn cartoons, none of this CGI malarkey. Feel old again.

CCC

Rather boring figure, given how many times it will appear in sets ...



https://www.thebrickfan.com/lego-harry-potter-activity-book-minifigure-revealed/

Interesting that he changes hairstyle and leg length on the cover.

benbacardi

CCC said:

Rather boring figure, given how many times it will appear in sets ...

thebrickfan.com seems to think it's only going to appear in one:

This version of him has the short legs and it looks like it will only be available with the Hogwarts Great Hall (#75954) set so this activity book will be the cheapest way to get the school uniform version of the character.

J0rgen

The version on the cover looks like it's based on the video game. He has the Chamber of Secrets torso and the Goblet of Fire head. Strange to still see those designs around today!

CCC

I imagine the book is prepared completely separately from the sets, and will have little in it based on the new sets. They tend to reuse lots of artwork for things like this.

Unless, they update the cover and have access to a whole load of new set material. But as it is done outside of LEGO, that is probably unlikely.

benbacardi said:

thebrickfan.com seems to think it's only going to appear in one:

Yes, although HP school torsos are not exactly rare.

It is a shame they did not do an exclsuive torso like the past few HP books. Although I guess there will be so many in the CMF series pus the sets anyway.

Lobot

Courtesy of Eurobricks - #71043

60 x 51.4 x 20 cm & 7.36kg!!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07BLDTWVW?tag=amazon0f54-21

nexander

^
That would tie in with a £300 price tag. Pity it's the wife that gets to build it :(

Bumblepants

^take it apart and build it again?

SumoLego

SMC said:

...with only one carriage looks odd...

... and two carriages would look even...