B2Brixet

How about I admit to being a bit wrong? ? The connectors were there to give people options so I never said they couldn’t be placed back to back. I was wrong about it appearing back to back in the promo shots though. 100% stand by my main points that I don’t understand why anyone would want to and it looks awful. Anyway the set looks even better in the official release and I can’t wait to build and display it (not back to back obviously!!!) Edit: stupid fat fingers, quotes the wrong post.

??? The set clearly isn’t designed to be back to back, it would look awful. They added the connectors to give options, hardly a great deal of effort. The similarity in size between 1st/3rd and 2nd/4th is just because of the baseplates. They obviously wanted 4 modules, 1 per base plate. With 6 shops (not counting the DP door and entrance to KA) that meant two would fill a base plate each and 4 would share 2 base plates. QQS and WWW are portrayed as bigger shops in the films so they got a base plate each. This then forced QQS to fill a base plate which may explain why it seems slightly larger than it perhaps ideally would. But we’re into the constraints of designing and building in Lego here, nothing more. It is interesting to read about all the theories behind the design, appeal to girls, display back to back etc. when it seems obvious to me it’s just based on the films. I’m trying to work out where to display this. Looks like the best bet will be a book shelf so hoping the depth is no more than 20cm. Do we know what the depth is? A 16x32 baseplate would be 13cm but looks like the stairs come back beyond the baseplate.

Totally agree. It’s pink because it’s based on a pink building. The question isn’t why did Lego make it a pink building but why did the filmmakers? I suspect the answer is simple, they wanted to create a colourful/vibrant fantasy scene, and this was the shop that got to be Mr Pink. People either like the way the first two films portrayed DA or they don’t. If not then this set probably isn’t going to be for them.

Just been taking some time to absorb those new pics. That one picture of Florish & Blotts store front seals it for me...favourite set ever. I’ve always loved Lego buildings ever since I was a kid. The modulars have fascinated me for years but never pulled the trigger. The closed backs, depth, mash of architectural styles, the cost to get 3 or 4.... I’ve always felt Lego could do with something slightly smaller and easier to form a street diorama...but with more detail and realism than City or Creator 3:1. Now we have it, a ‘midi modular’ format that gives a cohesive street scene equivalent to four modulars in one set...and it’s Diagon Alley! Literally can’t wait.

Just finishing work for the day, so catching up. All very confusing...but also strangely exciting. Is it by accident or design that they've got Fred and George leading the chaos?

Good shout, for some reason I’d overlooked it. Was probably thinking more about scenes from films rather than ships...but you are right the Falcon is up there.

The sets are based on the films so in that sense we do know what they should look like, and we also know the set is very accurate. DA actually didn’t change much, one film set for the first two films and a slightly altered one for HBP. ...but its Lego so MOC away! The set makes a great starting point for people to recreate their own image of the scenes from the books.

Thanks Chris6507 for sharing those screen grabs. We watched the scenes from PS and CoS a few times the day the leak appeared and couldn’t believe how accurate the set is. I had faith in Lego but they really have surpassed my expectations. 100% the shops from F&B down to Ollivanders are a replica of those two films. After that DA only appeared in HBP and the scenes are focused on Ollivanders and mainly WWW. The set used in the movies did change for that film and is the one at the studio tour in the U.K. The order of the shops on the WWW side of the alley for HBP was WWW, F&B, FF, Wiseacres, Ollivanders, Scribbilus. QQS had moved to the other side of the street. With the set’s focus on the COS scene it made sense to go with the layout of the first films plus WWW as a nod to the alley as it appeared in HBP. It only meant swapping Wiseacres back to QQS, which is a more recognised shop anyway. DA in those first two films was pretty close to how I imagined it when I read the books, so I’m very happy with what they did here. Can anyone recall a set that is more screen accurate? Have been trying to think of one and can’t even get close...

Yep, apart from WWW the order, size, colour, structure of all the shops is based on the first two films and appears to be very screen accurate. Personally I think this amazing...but of course this is Lego so people can change it to match their own image, or the the theme park etc. Which is cool but I’m not sure why anyone would want to make it less accurate to the source material used. Got to love Lego, make the most screen accurate set ever and then we all start working out how we can change it!!!

Sorry, for some reason I read your post as why are the windows bigger. I see what you mean now though, the position of the window is a touch higher than in the films. I'm guessing this was just to do with build/structure etc. And sorry about my little rant, which was aimed at you...your post was just where I got to in my catch up when I decided to to chip in. I do think when we see HD pics people will warm up to it. I think the set looks incredibly screen accurate and I love it for that because that's a priority for me. I also love Lego buildings, more than minifigs, and I've spent years wishing for more detailed buildings and locations from films/books etc. Someone else mentioned the Mos Eisley set, if it is at this level of quality I'm going to be in trouble picking which one to get...but really I know it won't match DA.

The only design decision was what source material to base the buildings on. They very clearly (to me at least) choose DA as it appears in PS and CoS, which used the same set. There are dozens of pictures and versions of DA out there but if you look at QQS in the first film it has pretty large windows upstairs. On a general note - I appreciate this is a forum and obviously we’re all going to have our own opinions but I’m still baffled by some of the reaction. This has to be the most screen accurate film based Lego set ever...by miles. I really can’t think of another set that even comes close. Is it perfect? No, it’s Lego and subject to the constraints that come with that. But as Lego/HP fans we’ve just lucked out. Why isn’t everyone celebrating this?

The beauty of books is that we all create our own mental image, and nobody can tell anyone else that their vision is right or wrong. However, the set is based on the movies (specifically the first one) and not the books, or an artist impression, or the studio tour, or the theme park. If you watch the scene from the first film the set is undeniably accurate and faithful to that movie apart from WWW. The shops are all in the same order and look the same. As the wall open up you can see Flourish and Blotts with the same sign, double fronted facade, and even the boxes of books outside. The ice cream parlour is the same colour, with the door and window in the same place, the awning, and the table and chairs on the roof. Then comes the door for the DP office, which is integrated with the pink facade of QQS. Then Scribbilus (which Hagrid points out to Harry) and then Ollivanders. As far as I can see there are only two departures from the film set. WWW shouldn’t be there, and the buildings should possibly have a 2nd floor. I accept the set doesn’t fit with your own imagining of the alley but I think we can all agree it is incredibly accurate to the first film? I say this because I think the set designers deserve credit for that achievement, whether it fits with our own image of DA or not. Also, and I don’t know how well everyone on here knows London, when I saw the straight on view of the set (back of the box) I instantly thought how well it could be adapted to be a generic London street scene. I might have to leave out WWW and I would repurpose QQS as an old London Pub (The Red Lion I think) and Ollivanders as a posh perfume store or similar. The others are fine as bookshop, ice cream parlour and stationary store. Point is I think it’s pretty cohesive architecturally. I genuinely hope it grows on you, would be a shame if you can’t find a way to love the set.

I hope and suspect you’re right. The rumours about a third Ninjago City set has to be a good sign in terms of the direction Lego are willing to tale with these kind of sets. Would love some future expansions beyond Gringotts!

Hi everyone, another newbie jumping on board. Been using the forum for years but never got around to posting before (not sure why). Inspired to now because early impressions are this could be one of my favourite ever sets. My son and daughter are both growing up fast, so we don’t buy much Lego anymore. Any sets we do buy have to be a theme all three of us love so we can enjoy them together, and they have to be cohesive display pieces (none of us want to go back to the days of loads of random Friends and Star Wars sets kicking around). To give an idea we’ve only got two sets in the last three years - Hogwarts and the Upside Down - both themes all three of us enjoy. Been following this thread for months and I know how much a lot of you care about Lego, about HP, and about this set in particular. I know we all had very high expectations and want things to be just so...but I’m surprised by the overall response to the leaks. Seems to be quite a bit of disappointment (?) with many wishing something about the set was different. I’m worst that most for being critical but I’ve got to say I think Lego knocked this out of the park. A few years ago we couldn’t have dreamt of getting a DA set like this. It’s screen accurate (apart from WWW) to the first time we (and Harry) saw DA in the films. We get 100cm of detailed modular style street, with variety of size, shape, texture and colour. The interiors look really detailed with loads of cool touches. The minifigures are completely appropriate and look fine to me. Are there things Lego could have done differently? Of course. They could have included Gringotts instead of WWW for greater screen accuracy....but WWW is so cool it would be a tough call to leave it out. They could have changed the colour for QQS, or included other shops...but then they lose even more screen accuracy there. Personally I’m happy to accept the design choices they made and appreciate this for what it appears to be from the early pics. a superb recreation in Lego of one of the most evocative locations in literature/film. That said, I’d have liked a DP office above the QQS shop, and Arthur alongside Molly. Our ranking of the four builds is: Ollivanders/Scribbilus, WWW/KA, QQS/DP (even with the pink!), F&B/FF. We’re just hoping they come with separate instructions so we can enjoy an afternoon building them together. Looking forward to better pics and a designer vid.