Home› Collecting
Shopping at LEGO or Amazon?
Please use our links: LEGO.com • Amazon
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

General Harry Potter Discussion

1…1516182021…44

Comments

  • Baby_YodaBaby_Yoda Member Posts: 1,295
    edited August 2018
    ^ Indeed. It's also big with teenagers and young adults who grew up with the films, so that's virtually all bases covered. I think Fantastic Beasts is merely an effect of the newfound popularity, rather than the cause.
    catwrangler
  • Jern92Jern92 Member Posts: 890
    SumoLego said:
    Can I interest you in a bunch of intersection roadplates?!?!?
    I wish Lego would just stop producing them altogether. Most of us probably have enough by now to build a city consisting entirely of endless intersections.
    SumoLego
  • Patrik78Patrik78 Member Posts: 142
    edited August 2018

    Fascinating how they come up with plants from plants as an eco measure, but on the other hand they produce almost useless roadplates or train track pieces nobody really wants with each box / package sold...


    Back to the HP topic, I believe most of us simply missed the HP lines few years ago and are happy to get our hands on great updated HP sets for a good price.

    sklambcatwranglerpharmjodLEGO_Dad77
  • Pumpkin_3CK5Pumpkin_3CK5 Member Posts: 805
    I bet if Sarah Winchester was alive today and had a LEGO city, she'd have plenty of ideas for those intersection road plates. 
    davetheoxygenmancatwranglerBaby_Yoda
  • catwranglercatwrangler Member Posts: 1,894
    edited August 2018
    It's weird how they don't realise what a money-spinner it would be to make the straight sections more easily available - I'm sure kids want them for race tracks, for instance... a row of them on a shelf would be a nice way to display a Speed Champions collection, too. 

    As for Harry Potter, I'll be satisfied if it stops after this, but how wonderful if they do keep bringing it back! :)

    I wonder also how much this is driven by the fact that their customer services must get a lot of calls from parents looking to buy the Hogwarts castle their kid wants, and being told it's discontinued. I'd imagine they pay attention to large numbers of requests from parents, because that in itself is indicative of a trend...
    Mr_Cross
  • J0rgenJ0rgen Member Posts: 591
    In the Whomping Willow set, are all the parts of the set spread throughout the bags, or is it like «Bag 1: Ford Anglia», «Bag 2: Whomping Willow», etc. I'm thinking of buying two, and selling the car plus the excess minifigs, and if the car + Harry and Ron are together in one bag, that would be perfect to sell as a «mini set».
    omnium
  • mdtvandymdtvandy Member Posts: 61
    I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but the Hogwarts Great Hall is the #1 seller in "Model Kits" and #3 seller in "Building Toys" on Amazon US, so it appears the theme is doing pretty well.
    omniumcatwranglerSeanTheCollectorpharmjodBaby_YodaAstrobricksMr_Cross
  • stluxstlux Member Posts: 2,450
    J0rgen said:
    In the Whomping Willow set, are all the parts of the set spread throughout the bags, or is it like «Bag 1: Ford Anglia», «Bag 2: Whomping Willow», etc. I'm thinking of buying two, and selling the car plus the excess minifigs, and if the car + Harry and Ron are together in one bag, that would be perfect to sell as a «mini set».
    Haven't bought the set yet, but according to the instructions available on TLG's site (manual 1 and manual 2):
    • Bag 1: Harry, Ron and the Ford Anglia
    • Bag 2: Whomping Willow
    • Bag 3: The tower (and owl)
    • Bag 4: Filch, Hermione, Seamus and most of the wall
    • Bag 5: Snape and the remaining of the wall
    The 1st instruction manual covers bags 1-3, with bags 4 and 5 covered in the 2nd manual.
    omniumJ0rgenbandit778davetheoxygenmanAstrobricksMr_Cross
  • LyichirLyichir Member Posts: 1,017
    nexander said:
    dannyrww said:
    I have been teaching for 20 years and since it came out Harry Potter has always been big with the kids.
    I think the big difference now isn't just fantastic beasts but timing. People who grew up reading Harry potter are now old enough to have their own kids and it's something they can all enjoy.  I can see it lasting for a long time.  JK's pile of money is only ever going to get bigger (I have visions of her having a scrooge mcduck style vault)
    I think a big part of it might also be that, unlike many other Lego licensed themes, it's based on a series that is based on books. I feel like books (especially children's books) are a little more "timeless", so to speak, than movies tend to be. I know that when I was a child in school I spent time not just reading the latest and greatest series like Harry Potter, but also older books from the library (whether or not those were required reading). For a kid, that sort of thing can also be more accessible than older movies—I feel like my taste in books growing up was shaped more by my own personal interests and less by marketing or recommendations from friends and family than my taste in movies tended to be. That might just be because I was a big nerd, though.

    Nonetheless, for Lego, I think that might have a big impact, since it keeps a series like that in the youth consciousness for far longer than a flash-in-the-pan movie series. That's not to say "books=better", since after all, few book series have had as massive a cultural impact as Harry Potter (much like how few movie-licensed Lego themes have had the cultural longevity of Star Wars). And Lego's other main book-based license, Lord of the Rings, had far less success (though that could probably be partially explained by the series being targeted less toward children).
    LostInTranslationcatwranglersnowhitieMr_Cross
  • J0rgenJ0rgen Member Posts: 591
    Thanks @stlux! That was just what I was hoping for :)
  • SumoLegoSumoLego Member Posts: 15,229
    Pumpkin_3CK5 said:
    I bet if Sarah Winchester was alive today and had a LEGO city, she'd have plenty of ideas for those intersection road plates. 
    I have to admit, I had to look that up.  She'd stack them up and shoot them?
    Baby_Yoda
  • tamamahmtamamahm Member Posts: 1,987
    Qdannyrww said:
    omnium said:
    You only have to wonder around Alnwick Castle, where some of the films were shot, to see hoards of young kids obsessed with Harry Potter. It's still exceptionally popular.
    I have been teaching for 20 years and since it came out Harry Potter has always been big with the kids.
    Yup.  It has been popular here in the elementary forever. This is not new. I guess because of this, I never bought the argument that HP Lego would never come back if Lego has anything to say about it.  It was always a question of when. Lego has always done well with HP, and right now people are eating up the fact that for the first time there is really a ton of HP items out... not just Lego, but there is more HP stuff out than I have ever seen.  I have one kid that basically is getting all HP for Christmas.

    Fantastic Beasts has adult characters, not kid characters. It has a darker cinematography look. While I absolutely loved the first one, it is not targeted to the same audience as HP was. While my kids enjoyed it, again, it is not the same as HP...   but, we will still be at the theater opening seeming of FB2.
    pharmjoddannyrwwSumoLegoomniumgmonkey76snowhitieMatthew
  • Pumpkin_3CK5Pumpkin_3CK5 Member Posts: 805
    SumoLego said:
    Pumpkin_3CK5 said:
    I bet if Sarah Winchester was alive today and had a LEGO city, she'd have plenty of ideas for those intersection road plates. 
    I have to admit, I had to look that up.  She'd stack them up and shoot them?
     She'd arrange the plates similarly to how she did some of the doors in her mansion. Probably place one in the middle of a bridge haha
    Baby_Yoda
  • ShibShib Member Posts: 5,469
    Went to see Harry Potter & the Cursed Child yesterday...all sorts of things I want to build from that now!
    LostInTranslationMegtheCatsnowhitie
  • Jern92Jern92 Member Posts: 890
    Shib said:
    Went to see Harry Potter & the Cursed Child yesterday...all sorts of things I want to build from that now!
    I'm still deciding if I should splurge on a trip to Australia just to catch the play. Very very tempting, but also really expensive.
  • FowlerBricksFowlerBricks Member Posts: 1,731
    I'm not a fan of Harry Potter. Never read the books or watched the movies, but I'm having a lot of fun with the Harry Minifigure from the CMF series. He's an excellent minifig and Hedwig is so awesome! The new medium legs are a miracle!


    J0rgenPumpkin_3CK5LittleLoriMegtheCatsnowhitieMr_CrossLegopants
  • blakusdkblakusdk Member Posts: 44
    Completed the minifigures series today, fastest we've completed a set 
  • Coolguy5000Coolguy5000 Member Posts: 1,585
    blakusdk said:
    Completed the minifigures series today, fastest we've completed a set 
    Me too! It's a really nice set, and they were generous on the number of accessories too. 
    blakusdk
  • Gibbo1959Gibbo1959 Member Posts: 548
    ^ & ^^ At the risk of bragging a bit, this is the first set I completed before they were 'officially' released thanks to a super deal here on Brickset and then finding PG at my local Smyths who had everything on shelf a day early. Hasn't stopped me buying more since then of course!
    blakusdkFowlerBrickssnowhitie
  • Patrik78Patrik78 Member Posts: 142
    Found another Percival today feeling the bags at our local Tesco :) And ofc because I already own him, I happily left him on the shelf...
    J0rgenRSHU
  • dannyrwwdannyrww Member Posts: 1,394
    I think this may be the first cmf line I buy all of...at first I started with only the ones I really wanted, but every time I find some (which is not often) if they have any I don't have I buy them. I only need Voldemort, Cedric, Invisible Harry, and Malfoy.....I really did not see this turning into "got to have them all" but when I stumbled on Graves right away......
    blakusdk
  • dannyrwwdannyrww Member Posts: 1,394
    Feel I need to get a second Mad Eye and Graves though :D
  • Gibbo1959Gibbo1959 Member Posts: 548
    ^ Yup, it's a slippery slope...
    gmonkey76
  • OdeinoichusOdeinoichus Member Posts: 361
    I've wound up with 17 so far and still need 5. Of the two orders I got through LEGO S&H the first was all unique, the second gave me triples and doubles and not a single new figure. I left a few sealed for future trade fodder.
  • veign06veign06 Member Posts: 136
    dannyrww said:
    Feel I need to get a second Mad Eye and Graves though :D
    Yeah I settled on just a second Mad Eye until I stumbled upon a newly opened box, so I got the set of 24.
    dannyrww
  • madforLEGOmadforLEGO Member Posts: 10,787
    The Gods smiled upon me, out of the 20 CMF packs I ordered from LEGO I got only three duplicates, and I got a Percival Graves, Potter with cloak, Luna, and Neville among the figures. That, or LEGO packers are not just grabbing a line of CMFs, but picking random packs from the boxes at the warehouse
    fourstudBumblepantssnowhitieOnebricktoomanystluxMynatt
  • ShibShib Member Posts: 5,469
    Jern92 said:
    Shib said:
    Went to see Harry Potter & the Cursed Child yesterday...all sorts of things I want to build from that now!
    I'm still deciding if I should splurge on a trip to Australia just to catch the play. Very very tempting, but also really expensive.
    Obviously I can't comment on the value for money you'll get as the prices will be different. 

    For us it was an anniversary treat, so the money involved felt justified. There's a some interesting stuff added to the existing Harry Potter lore, and some of the stage magic is pretty clever.

    Benefit of going to London to see it at the minute is that there's a lot of other Harry Potter stuff going on to tie in. Obviously we went to the Leicester Square LEGO shop and got the see the #71043 set up which was nice. Also Hamleys have got a big Harry Potter department set up, we popped in and laughed at the prices (e.g. #75955 for £100) but again nice enough to see all the ranges of stuff they had. 

    I know Rowling insists it won't be made into film/TV, but I really wouldn't be surprised if it does after the London and US runs have had their time, but with the way it's constantly sold out and has been for a couple of years we could be talking 10+ years before that happens. Perhaps once the Fantastic Beasts franchise is tied up and WB are pushing for more money on the frachise they might try to convince JK to do something else with it. 

  • AstrobricksAstrobricks Member Posts: 5,478
    ^ Maybe they’ll do something like I hear they’ve done with Hamilton - supposedly they filmed the stage production back in 2016, but aren’t going to release it until 2020 or 2021.
  • SumoLegoSumoLego Member Posts: 15,229
    Astrobricks said:
    ^ Maybe they’ll do something like I hear they’ve done with Hamilton - supposedly they filmed the stage production back in 2016, but aren’t going to release it until 2020 or 2021.
    Ooo... you read it here first - 'Hamilton' LEGO set for 2021!  
    snowhitieBumblepantsShibgmonkey76Jern92
  • paulmisonpaulmison Member Posts: 39
    At 4'50” in the video there are four new elements from the castle. Three are inverted half arches with half brick offsets, one with one spur, another with a right angle, and a third with a straight (so it’s a jumper brick that narrows to a single anti-stud underneath). The final one is a half version of the 2x2 to 3x3 cone / rocket engine. I wonder if there are any more- there was an earlier mention of stained glass pieces.
    Bumblepants
  • snowhitiesnowhitie Member Posts: 3,078
    Do I watch that Designer video and get probably more tempted or am I just happy with what I've got?

    Built 2 first bags of #75953 after my son had built it before and then broken down.


    FowlerBricksMegtheCatcatwranglerMr_CrossLegopants
  • omniumomnium Member Posts: 831
    I was at the LEGO store in Leicester Sq earlier and the big screen outside had something about "Meet the designer" and a photo of Justin with the set.

    They had the set in a display cabinet too. It looks *really* nice from the front. The back is pretty good too.

    I meant to go and look at the screen for more details and completely forgot!
    snowhitieMr_Cross
  • tamamahmtamamahm Member Posts: 1,987
    Yeah. That looks great. My kid is going to be just thrilled!
  • Jern92Jern92 Member Posts: 890
    Shib said:
    Obviously I can't comment on the value for money you'll get as the prices will be different. 

    For us it was an anniversary treat, so the money involved felt justified. There's a some interesting stuff added to the existing Harry Potter lore, and some of the stage magic is pretty clever.

    Benefit of going to London to see it at the minute is that there's a lot of other Harry Potter stuff going on to tie in. Obviously we went to the Leicester Square LEGO shop and got the see the #71043 set up which was nice. Also Hamleys have got a big Harry Potter department set up, we popped in and laughed at the prices (e.g. #75955 for £100) but again nice enough to see all the ranges of stuff they had. 

    I know Rowling insists it won't be made into film/TV, but I really wouldn't be surprised if it does after the London and US runs have had their time, but with the way it's constantly sold out and has been for a couple of years we could be talking 10+ years before that happens. Perhaps once the Fantastic Beasts franchise is tied up and WB are pushing for more money on the frachise they might try to convince JK to do something else with it. 

    Well I guess I do have my birthday coming up so that could sorta justify it...

    London does sound like it'll be a much nicer destination than Melbourne (I've been to Melbourne 3 times now, but never to London). Of course, it costs a lot more too and I'll likely want to spend a much longer time there, just so I can visit the Leicester Square Lego Store and various other things. 

    Would be great if they did film and play it in cinemas. I saw the filmed version of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and I must say it certainly felt like I was in the theatre watching it performed live; so good!
  • PowderfingerPowderfinger Member Posts: 74
    Saw Hogwarts in the Lego Store yesterday, NOT as big in real life as I had imagined, kinda turned me off buying it.
  • gmonkey76gmonkey76 Member Posts: 1,828
    ^I helped build the one at my Local LEGO Store, and now I'm just waiting for double points or a sale to get it.
    RonyarstluxPumpkin_3CK5
  • JRLJRL Member Posts: 86
    ^^ I felt the same after I saw it in Leicester Square, I was underwhelmed and I’m sad I feel that way as it looks like a great set I thought I really wanted. 
  • omniumomnium Member Posts: 831
    Conversely, I saw it in Leicester Square and thought it looked great. I'm quite happy with the size as I think it'll just about fit on a wide shelf.
    Shibbandit778stluxJern92Mr_Crosssnowhitie
  • BrainsluggedBrainslugged Member Posts: 2,245
    ^ I also like it more after seeing it in the flesh. It seems to have a lot more depth to it than the pics can show. Never really seen/read much Harry Potter, but half way through reading book one to my two little girls so looking forward to all discovering it together. I actually think I started on the HP books to justify future HP purchases. "But the kids really really wanted Hogwarts Castle so I couldn't say no". Just got to try to resist it long enough to score double VIP or at least a decent freebie.
    stluxomniumMegtheCat
  • milambermilamber Member Posts: 637
    Brainslugged said:
    ^ I also like it more after seeing it in the flesh. It seems to have a lot more depth to it than the pics can show. Never really seen/read much Harry Potter, but half way through reading book one to my two little girls so looking forward to all discovering it together. I actually think I started on the HP books to justify future HP purchases. "But the kids really really wanted Hogwarts Castle so I couldn't say no". Just got to try to resist it long enough to score double VIP or at least a decent freebie.
    I'm doing exactly the same. I've never bothered with the books, always seemed to be too much hype around the whole subject, but the sets are nice and I thought I'd fill in my knowledge gaps, which are about 100%
  • Bosstone100Bosstone100 Member Posts: 1,431
    A beautiful day in London, um, Universal Florida. Standing across from this right now.
    SumoLegocatwranglermsandersBaby_Yodasnowhitiedmcc0FowlerBricksMegtheCat
  • playwellplaywell Member Posts: 2,304
    People everywhere, need a lot of mimifigs to recreate that sceen!
  • snowhitiesnowhitie Member Posts: 3,078
    @Bosstone100 at least that weather is much more 'realistic' :) enjoy your trip!

    @Brainslugged and @milamber I stayed away from the books because of the hype but then got the 4th as a birthday present (in 2003 or so I think)so didn't have choice. Loved it, bought all the other ones and actually read the next ones as soon as they came out. Even though I was already an 'adult' (well student anyway) at the time.

    The first book and film are very similar but afterwards a lot of backstory gets lost. And although i do enjoy the films and think they are very evocative of the atmosphere of the books, if you are just starting, books first!

    There's elements from worst witch and even some from lotr/hobbit but it's nicely written and the whole battle between good and evil is really nice and there are some unexpected twisys. I do think it also draws some nice similarities with everyday life.  Anyway, enjoy!
    LostInTranslationmilamberMegtheCatTkattBitsyww2catwrangler
  • snowhitiesnowhitie Member Posts: 3,078
    ^ got to apologise for the overuse of the word 'nice'. I was 'speech to text typing' and my phone didn't really want to let me get back to change things. Still, you got the gist I guess...

    I've finished building the Great Hall for the second time. Now I've got to patiently wait until my son builds the second one so I can start putting it all together. Might do the Quidditch Pitch tomorrow.




    bandit778MegtheCatcatwrangler
  • BrainsluggedBrainslugged Member Posts: 2,245
    Anyone know if there's a Hogwarts signing event at the Leicester square store? I'm down south right now so would consider going along.
  • omniumomnium Member Posts: 831
    edited August 2018
    I mentioned previously that I saw it on the big screens outside the store, "Meet the designer", but it didn't say when. I assumed it was release day, which is tomorrow, right?

    I am wondering why none of the sites like Brickset have any info about it, though. Seems to be another case of the mysterious London Bus signing event where everyone knew, but nobody advertised it.
  • BrainsluggedBrainslugged Member Posts: 2,245
    ^ Just called them. The signing event is from 4pm to 7pm!
    omnium
  • Mr_HobblesMr_Hobbles Member Posts: 321
    I got an email from Lego VIP a couple of weeks back about the signing and plan on going along tomorrow.

    I just passed by the shop after a couple of beers with a friend and there's already a small group of people spending the night! (Including a couple of UCS Falcon alumni, I stopped to say hi!) 


    dmcc0omniumSeanTheCollectorMr_CrossstluxMegtheCatLEGOFan2
  • BrainsluggedBrainslugged Member Posts: 2,245
    ^ I hope they know it's not starting till 4pm!
    omniumSumoLegoJern92AdeelZubairMr_Crossdmcc0LEGOFan2
Sign In or Register to comment.

Shopping at LEGO.com or Amazon?

Please use our links: LEGO.com • Amazon

Recent discussions • Categories • Privacy Policy • Brickset.com

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.

Sign In Register

Categories

Brickset.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, the Amazon.com.ca, Inc. Associates Program and the Amazon EU Associates Programme, which are affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.