First peek at the official photos of the summer HP wave!
We've seen Dobby and the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes pix already, now we've got a peek for you at the remaining four sets. I'm still expecting the full reveal sometime today, because you don't release the first ever Battle of Hogwarts set the week of the 25th anniversary of the BoH without somehow reflecting that fact, darn it. (Or if you do, you need fire your marketing peeps and come speak to Ginger, just saying.)
76414 Expecto Patronum $64.99 $69.99 or 69.99 EUR | 754 рieces (14+) | 2 minifigs (Harry Potter and Remus Lupin) This is a 2 in 1 set to build either Harry's stag Patronus or Lupin's wolf. Interesting detail, we never actually see the wolf Patronus cast in the films. I have hopes the marketing folks might see the value in encouraging people to submit designs for their own Patronuses, if they don't straight up release alternate builds themselves.
It looks like it will be mostly light blue bricks with some trans blue elements. (erexen, note the picture of Lupin's wolf Patronus on the box in the last picture.)
76416 Quidditch Trunk $64.99 $69.99 or 69.99 EUR | 599 рieces (9+) It's still not possible to say how many different figures you can build, but from the look of things we can have a Harry, Draco, Cho and Cedric built simultaneously even if no other parts were included. In the far right of the picture, blurry behind the House Cup trophy, are what look to be a variety of hairpieces. Given that, it's not unlikely we have different face pieces as well. UPDATE: and now that we have a photo of the box, we can see that, like the Hogwarts Trunk, there are in fact 14 heads (in five skin tones) and 14 hairpieces to make your own custom minifigs, but it appears the total number of figs you can build at any one time is four, which is a definite downgrade from the previous trunk, and disappointing as this one is more expensive as well. I like that they're trying out new things, but the 2018 Quidditch set feels far superior, especially at the sets' respective prices. On the good news front, however, the expressions on the heads in the Quidditch trunk are more mature (and in keeping with the adult leg length) than those in the Hogwarts trunk, and by and large (probably with the exception of the cotton candy pink bun) the hairstyles are also a lot more useful, so I do appreciate that.
Capes! Excellent. I like the new neck piece for them, that's a cool addition. It looks like it might be the new Ravenclaw robe piece, which will be met with very mixed feelings. I hope that doesn't mean all the other uniforms have been updated as well. There's a good chance the legs are brick yellow (tan) (and yes, they are) instead of white or the light blue from Cho's polybag; having a third colour in this short of a product cycle definitely won't go over well. This set and the Banners sets are far too expensive to use to flesh out your student body. If the uniforms are new, unless I can get this at a very steep discount, it will be a definite pass. (And even then...) I've seen people online far in advance saying they wanted just this set; it will be interesting to see how many meant it. Let's face it, compared to the Moment sets, the trunks are expensive. That's a lot of overhead for the "container". All I can say is give us the Quidditch teams Accessory Pack so we can build our own teams without breaking the bank. Star Wars is loaded with them, and by contrast not a single set for the Harry Potter theme is under 35 EUR this year. That's kind of bonkers.
The interior of the buildable chest contains a small Quidditch pitch play set with Quidditch accessories like brooms, Bludgers, Bats, the goal rings and House Cup. At a guess, the 2x2 round tiles means they've reworked the "Quaffle" and the dynamics of the game. I'll reserve judgment until I see it in action. Frankly that's not the way I play with things anyway, so as long as it doesn't waste a lot of parts, it probably doesn't matter much one way or another.
76423 Hogwarts Express & Hogsmeade Station $129.99 | 1074 pieces (8+) | 8 minifigs (Hagrid, firsties (or possibly second years): Hermione, Harry, Ron, what I assume is supposed to be Lee Jordan, Draco, and the Trolley witch with her sweets and treats cart, a conductor (because magic can only take you so far, and derailments are suboptimal), and a Hedwig) This is the first time since 2004 we're getting the Hogsmeade Station. You can just make out the second car of the new Hogwarts Express to the right. Hagrid comes with a large tile in hand, I'd be surprised if that isn't the photo album he made for Harry. There's a Hogwarts Express ticket included, and Harry may be holding what I believe could be our first printed Galleon, which with a Gringotts set due out this summer and a rumoured Gringotts Vault GWP would see some mileage in the months to come. (There are also rumours that it's a fig-sized chocolate frog card. We'll probably need to wait to see the official descriptions.)
Interesting details: a flower box / station sign, the red street light post, the signs directing you to Hogsmeade or the castle, and it comes with tracks the absence of which in the last HE set met with some complaint. Here again the train is in red and not dark red, and complaining ensued (because people clearly aren't thinking it through and frankly are given to whinging). Here's the thing, the dark red bricks have had shelf life issues. Lego isn't cheap, but it is a multigenerational toy. We have lego sets in the family from the 70s, you hand them down to your kids, and they'll hand them down to their kids, and suddenly they're not quite so pricey anymore. You DO NOT want a set where the main feature has potential shelf life problem and an unproven track record. It's all well and good for details in a build that can be cheaply replaced, but not for your whole darn train. Be smart. The next factor is keeping the colour consistent between models means if you already have an Express but quite like the Hogsmeade Station, say, you can still pick it up and use the extra parts to expand your previous set. And finally the tracks. We really didn't need them included, because they're only really useful when you lay out track for your own Express line, and you'll need to buy extras for that anyway, and it's one of the easiest things to change after the fact if you want them, but congratulations on complaining until they wasted budget on that. Well done. (<- definitely snark this go round)
The station is charming, the second carriage welcome, and if that's Lee, I'm pleased (although it looks like he has one of those comical Hogwarts trunk faces, but gift horses... maybe we'll see an older version at some point.). And it is Lee. I just wish they'd have used the new Dreamz piece for him (see below) instead of a recolour of the piece from the LoTR theme.
Here are some pictures of the first version of the Hogsmeade Station from the film. I think they've done a good job of capturing it.
And now... For the very first time ever in the lego Harry Potter theme... Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the historic Battle of Hogwarts...
76415 The Battle of Hogwarts $84.99 | 730 pieces (9+) | 7 6 minifigs (Harry Potter, Voldemort with Nagini, Molly Weasley, Bellatrix Lestrange, Neville Longbottom with Gryffindor's Sword, Scabior, UPDATE: Professor McGonagall and a "guardian statue") It's still unclear if the last is buildable or an 8th minifig, as the Guardian (and McGonagall) isn't/aren't visible in the picture. It seems we won't be seeing McGonagall in this set, there's still a small chance the Guardian Statue might be included, but I definitely wouldn't count on it. That's a real disappointment. Dead chuffed about Scabior, Molly's new print looks nice. The new spell effect looks like the piece I expected, and in the background it appears we have a few more, an excellent choice for a battle set. The castle exterior looks fine, and if the Clock isn't wanted, it's the difference of a single stickered window arch insert, which is nice, because it gives us maximum usage of the bricks included. It has connectors that will definitely allow it to attach to the 2021+ modular system, but I expect with a bit of tweaking it won't look out of place in the 2018+ castle layouts, which is considerate design. The windows / courtyard arches are a little odd, trying to do both things but neither correctly, as is the nature of compromise, but it means the ramparts are wide enough to allow characters to fight, so I think there were some good choices made here. While I suspect some of the MOCs will appeal to me better, this is a far better scene for a battle than anything we've had before, and the parts included will really allow people to explore the Battle in their builds.
UPDATE: Now that we have a couple of extra pictures, they're definitely reinforcing the impression that this set will be something we can easily recombine. Those arches look a lot like the aqueduct bridge (site of one of the battles), the new "hinge" is just weird, so I'm assuming that's because it's removable. The Clock Tower part of the build could be placed at ground level, and by removing just a single piece (the Clock arch insert), it becomes another entryway, so I imagine this will serve also as courtyard and the Great Hall. Through the archway I can see what I am sure is meant to be the fireplace from the Great Hall. I look forward to seeing this demonstrated. (It compensates (a little) for my disappointment about McGonagall.)
UPDATE TO THE UPDATES: We now have the rear of the BoH box where we can see that the bridge is definitely one of the official build variants (woohoo!), as is the entrance to the Clock Tower (or Great Hall) both in pristine and mid- / post-battle rubble-ised versions. One of the things I like about 2 (or 3) in 1 sets is it helps get people over the tendency to just leave things built according to plan. If you want a static plastic model of the castle, you're probably better off buying one. Lego is about embracing the ability to change things, to make your world according to your vision. And of course the idea of knocking towers and turrets around is lovely. Embrace the chaos.
That said, I'm still rooting for the Bell Towers at a later point, though, as long as the 8x8 format persists, just in case anyone is listening... 😉
76414 Expecto Patronum $64.99 $69.99 or 69.99 EUR | 754 рieces (14+) | 2 minifigs (Harry Potter and Remus Lupin) This is a 2 in 1 set to build either Harry's stag Patronus or Lupin's wolf. Interesting detail, we never actually see the wolf Patronus cast in the films. I have hopes the marketing folks might see the value in encouraging people to submit designs for their own Patronuses, if they don't straight up release alternate builds themselves.
It looks like it will be mostly light blue bricks with some trans blue elements. (erexen, note the picture of Lupin's wolf Patronus on the box in the last picture.)
76416 Quidditch Trunk $64.99 $69.99 or 69.99 EUR | 599 рieces (9+) It's still not possible to say how many different figures you can build, but from the look of things we can have a Harry, Draco, Cho and Cedric built simultaneously even if no other parts were included. In the far right of the picture, blurry behind the House Cup trophy, are what look to be a variety of hairpieces. Given that, it's not unlikely we have different face pieces as well. UPDATE: and now that we have a photo of the box, we can see that, like the Hogwarts Trunk, there are in fact 14 heads (in five skin tones) and 14 hairpieces to make your own custom minifigs, but it appears the total number of figs you can build at any one time is four, which is a definite downgrade from the previous trunk, and disappointing as this one is more expensive as well. I like that they're trying out new things, but the 2018 Quidditch set feels far superior, especially at the sets' respective prices. On the good news front, however, the expressions on the heads in the Quidditch trunk are more mature (and in keeping with the adult leg length) than those in the Hogwarts trunk, and by and large (probably with the exception of the cotton candy pink bun) the hairstyles are also a lot more useful, so I do appreciate that.
Capes! Excellent. I like the new neck piece for them, that's a cool addition. It looks like it might be the new Ravenclaw robe piece, which will be met with very mixed feelings. I hope that doesn't mean all the other uniforms have been updated as well. There's a good chance the legs are brick yellow (tan) (and yes, they are) instead of white or the light blue from Cho's polybag; having a third colour in this short of a product cycle definitely won't go over well. This set and the Banners sets are far too expensive to use to flesh out your student body. If the uniforms are new, unless I can get this at a very steep discount, it will be a definite pass. (And even then...) I've seen people online far in advance saying they wanted just this set; it will be interesting to see how many meant it. Let's face it, compared to the Moment sets, the trunks are expensive. That's a lot of overhead for the "container". All I can say is give us the Quidditch teams Accessory Pack so we can build our own teams without breaking the bank. Star Wars is loaded with them, and by contrast not a single set for the Harry Potter theme is under 35 EUR this year. That's kind of bonkers.
The interior of the buildable chest contains a small Quidditch pitch play set with Quidditch accessories like brooms, Bludgers, Bats, the goal rings and House Cup. At a guess, the 2x2 round tiles means they've reworked the "Quaffle" and the dynamics of the game. I'll reserve judgment until I see it in action. Frankly that's not the way I play with things anyway, so as long as it doesn't waste a lot of parts, it probably doesn't matter much one way or another.
76423 Hogwarts Express & Hogsmeade Station $129.99 | 1074 pieces (8+) | 8 minifigs (Hagrid, firsties (or possibly second years): Hermione, Harry, Ron, what I assume is supposed to be Lee Jordan, Draco, and the Trolley witch with her sweets and treats cart, a conductor (because magic can only take you so far, and derailments are suboptimal), and a Hedwig) This is the first time since 2004 we're getting the Hogsmeade Station. You can just make out the second car of the new Hogwarts Express to the right. Hagrid comes with a large tile in hand, I'd be surprised if that isn't the photo album he made for Harry. There's a Hogwarts Express ticket included, and Harry may be holding what I believe could be our first printed Galleon, which with a Gringotts set due out this summer and a rumoured Gringotts Vault GWP would see some mileage in the months to come. (There are also rumours that it's a fig-sized chocolate frog card. We'll probably need to wait to see the official descriptions.)
Interesting details: a flower box / station sign, the red street light post, the signs directing you to Hogsmeade or the castle, and it comes with tracks the absence of which in the last HE set met with some complaint. Here again the train is in red and not dark red, and complaining ensued (because people clearly aren't thinking it through and frankly are given to whinging). Here's the thing, the dark red bricks have had shelf life issues. Lego isn't cheap, but it is a multigenerational toy. We have lego sets in the family from the 70s, you hand them down to your kids, and they'll hand them down to their kids, and suddenly they're not quite so pricey anymore. You DO NOT want a set where the main feature has potential shelf life problem and an unproven track record. It's all well and good for details in a build that can be cheaply replaced, but not for your whole darn train. Be smart. The next factor is keeping the colour consistent between models means if you already have an Express but quite like the Hogsmeade Station, say, you can still pick it up and use the extra parts to expand your previous set. And finally the tracks. We really didn't need them included, because they're only really useful when you lay out track for your own Express line, and you'll need to buy extras for that anyway, and it's one of the easiest things to change after the fact if you want them, but congratulations on complaining until they wasted budget on that. Well done. (<- definitely snark this go round)
The station is charming, the second carriage welcome, and if that's Lee, I'm pleased (although it looks like he has one of those comical Hogwarts trunk faces, but gift horses... maybe we'll see an older version at some point.). And it is Lee. I just wish they'd have used the new Dreamz piece for him (see below) instead of a recolour of the piece from the LoTR theme.
Here are some pictures of the first version of the Hogsmeade Station from the film. I think they've done a good job of capturing it.
And now... For the very first time ever in the lego Harry Potter theme... Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the historic Battle of Hogwarts...
76415 The Battle of Hogwarts $84.99 | 730 pieces (9+) | 7 6 minifigs (Harry Potter, Voldemort with Nagini, Molly Weasley, Bellatrix Lestrange, Neville Longbottom with Gryffindor's Sword, Scabior, UPDATE: Professor McGonagall and a "guardian statue") It's still unclear if the last is buildable or an 8th minifig, as the Guardian (and McGonagall) isn't/aren't visible in the picture. It seems we won't be seeing McGonagall in this set, there's still a small chance the Guardian Statue might be included, but I definitely wouldn't count on it. That's a real disappointment. Dead chuffed about Scabior, Molly's new print looks nice. The new spell effect looks like the piece I expected, and in the background it appears we have a few more, an excellent choice for a battle set. The castle exterior looks fine, and if the Clock isn't wanted, it's the difference of a single stickered window arch insert, which is nice, because it gives us maximum usage of the bricks included. It has connectors that will definitely allow it to attach to the 2021+ modular system, but I expect with a bit of tweaking it won't look out of place in the 2018+ castle layouts, which is considerate design. The windows / courtyard arches are a little odd, trying to do both things but neither correctly, as is the nature of compromise, but it means the ramparts are wide enough to allow characters to fight, so I think there were some good choices made here. While I suspect some of the MOCs will appeal to me better, this is a far better scene for a battle than anything we've had before, and the parts included will really allow people to explore the Battle in their builds.
UPDATE: Now that we have a couple of extra pictures, they're definitely reinforcing the impression that this set will be something we can easily recombine. Those arches look a lot like the aqueduct bridge (site of one of the battles), the new "hinge" is just weird, so I'm assuming that's because it's removable. The Clock Tower part of the build could be placed at ground level, and by removing just a single piece (the Clock arch insert), it becomes another entryway, so I imagine this will serve also as courtyard and the Great Hall. Through the archway I can see what I am sure is meant to be the fireplace from the Great Hall. I look forward to seeing this demonstrated. (It compensates (a little) for my disappointment about McGonagall.)
UPDATE TO THE UPDATES: We now have the rear of the BoH box where we can see that the bridge is definitely one of the official build variants (woohoo!), as is the entrance to the Clock Tower (or Great Hall) both in pristine and mid- / post-battle rubble-ised versions. One of the things I like about 2 (or 3) in 1 sets is it helps get people over the tendency to just leave things built according to plan. If you want a static plastic model of the castle, you're probably better off buying one. Lego is about embracing the ability to change things, to make your world according to your vision. And of course the idea of knocking towers and turrets around is lovely. Embrace the chaos.
That said, I'm still rooting for the Bell Towers at a later point, though, as long as the 8x8 format persists, just in case anyone is listening... 😉