Exclusive LEGO Harry Potter Dictionary Minifig Revealed

Smashing Bricks and Eurobricks share that the exclusive minfigure that will come with DK's LEGO Harry Potter: Building The Magical World book is...dress robes Harry Potter. Based on the conversation on Eurobricks, this is a bit of a mixed bag. The torso design is really the only new bit here and it's...OK.

If you disagree and feel you must add this dapper wizard to your collection you can pre-order the book which comes out May 30th on Amazon.com.

You can also read more at Smashing Bricks and Eurobricks.

Hi-Res Pics of New LEGO Harry Potter Sets

Ace of FBTB points the way to SnitchSeeker.com, a Harry Potter fan site, who have been given hi-res photos of three upcoming LEGO Harry Potter sets - Battle for Hogwarts (4867), The Knight Bus (4866), and The Forbidden Forest (4865).

There are a few new minifigures, and hi-res photos give you a great look at the designs.

You can see the pics of all three sets at SnitchSeeker.com.

Good Luck, Harry Potter

This shot by PteraFloDem is simple in its composition, but powerful in emotion. A great recreation of a pivotal scene at 4 Privet Drive.

(Via PteraFloDem's Flickr stream)

Quick Hits: New Sets, Plan B, and More Arealight

A few bits of news coming across the wire today...

Toys N Bricks has more set pics for LEGO Cars (not the Duplo sets), CITY Harbor, Harry Potter, and the Sith Nightspeeder (above). Aside from more pics of the new LEGO Star Wars figs, there's not much else to report. Does anyone else think that the Hogwarts set is a little wierd?

UPDATE: A Modular Life has more LEGO Cars, Star Wars, Kingdoms, and Technic set pics collected from Kris Kelvin (he's the Eurobricks member who has been providing the shots). The Star Wars sets shown include Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator, the Podracers, and Republic Frigate. The Kingdoms set is theMill Village Raid and has some great views of the printed horses, goats, chickens, and pigs!

Brickset correspondent Yellowcastle shares a 'Series B' dot code sheet for Series 3 Collectible Minifigures. We had heard rumors that the dot codes may have been changed with later shipments. Now you have the ability to find the figs you are looking for. The packages this pertains to should have a 'B' on in the batch code along the bottom where the dots can be found. You can find the form in all its glory on Yellowcastle's Flickr stream.

Finally, we have more details on the Arealight printed helmets. Bluce has been so kind to put up more shots of each helmet in 360 views (Hey! That's my job...just kidding). This is a fantastic way to see as much of these great products before you buy. I can tell you from personal experience that the helmet molds are fantastic. Bluce also states that he's still working on the Mando helmets which he will try to make available very soon. I highly recommend checking out the 360 pics of the printed products on the Arealight Flickr stream.

That's all for now. More as it becomes available...

Cygnet
Minister of Information
Ugly Duck Command Center
Minifig Nation

Brickset Initiates New Minifig Galleries

Huw has some exciting news for all fans of the fig. He will be working on photographing his collection of minifigures from various sets including Indiana Jones, Superman, Batman, Prince of Persia and Toy Story. and placing them on Brickset. His first volley of pics are for Harry Potter, and can be viewed at the new gallery page.

What's nice about this effort is that the pics are all of the same high quality, unlike BrickLink where they need to depend on broad user support and participation. Some nice functionality has be built into the interface as well.

So if you would like to take a stroll down minifig memory lane, or get a peek at newer figs before you buy, you have another visual resource at Brickset!

Quick Hits: Aussie Series 3, Contests, and How-to's

A lot to report this morning...First up Bricks Down Under is reporting that Target Canberra Centre has Series 3 Collectible Minifigures in stock. This is the first reported sighting of this of Series 3 in Oz. The site provides the standard dot 'cheat sheet', but with all the questions swirling around, I'll be interested to hear how accurate they turn out to be. See Bricks Down Under for more details.

Eurobricks is holding a Harry Potter Original Wizard Contest. It would appear that this contest takes a purist approach according to the rules, so start sorting through your collection. The prizes are a bit of a mystery, but entries must be in by February 1st. Check out the thread on Eurobricks for more details.

If you recall, Victor (eclipseGRAFX) had an amazing Star Wars MOC a few days ago with amazing lighting an digital effects. He provides a detailed behind the scenes tutorial on the CABG forums. You can see just how much work went into this creation and hopefully have it inspire your works of your own.

More coming later today, so stay tuned...

Cygnet
Minister of Information
Ugly Duck Command Center
Minifig Nation

Diagon Alley Now Available at UK Shop at Home

It would seem that the UK Shop at Home site has just released the LEGO Harry Potter set 10217, Diagon Alley, ahead of schedule (perhaps to get some additional sales on the books before years end?) This is a LEGO exclusive, so unless you have a bricks and mortar LEGO store near you, this may be difficult to come by.

Retailing at 132.99 GBP. The set comes with 11 minifigures including exclusives of the Weasley Twins and Mr. Olivander. I still can't tell from the pack shots if the Gringott's Goblins have facial print, but I would be surprised if otherwise.

Pick up the new Diagon Alley set at Shop at Home today!

Lego-fied Harry Potter Movie Posters

Another gift from FBTB.net today...It seems that TLG has reimagined several Harry Potter movie posters with rendered minifig designs. Okayaraman was kind enough to track these down and post on Flickr. Jump on over to his Flickr stream to see them all.

Some Site Updates

I've been doing  some housecleaning here on the site. I've gone back and tried to correct and update the minifigure guide for LEGO Harry Potter. Some image and information fixes, as well as updating which figures will be in set 10217, Diagon Alley. As with any of the guide entries, if you notice an error, discrepancy, or out of date information, please just drop me a line and let me know. I'll fix any issues as soon as I can.

I have also moved the 'Retailer's Bazaar' section lower on the sidebar, as it had been starting to crowd out the main site information. The affiliate sites will continue to remain at the top of the sidebar. I have also added another banner to the bazaar, BrickTW, in advance of their new product launch later this week.

As you may have seen in the previous post, I've started to collect the product reviews for Tiny Tactical. The post entry below will be updated over time, but if you ever want to make a quick jump to it, go to the 'Product Review' tab at the top of the page. There you will find links to all of the product reviews we've conducted to date. We have one more TT review planned for the near future, then we will branch out to reviews of Arealight and Amazing Armory Ltd. product. If there are certain products you would like to see reviewed from any custom house, just let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Given that I'm moving and shifting items around, if you experience any issues while viewing the site, please just drop me a line.

That's all for now, citizens, more to come once it's available.

Cygnet

Minister of Information

Ugly Duck Command Center

Minifig Nation

uglyduck.bricklink@gmail.com

LEGO Harry Potter Minifigures: Owls

Although not minifigures themselves, I felt these minifigure-scale owls deserved a little bit of attention.

The molds for these owls are new, the former piece being part 40232. What really sets them apart are the prints that have been added as part of the 2010 Harry Potter lineup. There are three owl designs in all - A snowy white owl with yellow eyes and a ruffled feather pattern, a dark blueish gray owl with yellow eyes and a vertical feather pattern, and a reddish brown owl with yellow eyes and tan chest feathers.

There's nearly an owl in every 2010 LEGO Harry Potter set, save Freeing Dobby and Quidditch Practice. Early pics would also suggest that the 2011 set, Diagon Alley will feature at least two of the three owls.

Here's to hoping that these new printing techniques continue to be used to update many of the classic LEGO animal designs.

(Picture via FBTB's Flickr stream)

Quick Hits: Cobra, The Weasleys, and Tiny Tactical

I came across a couple of things on Flickr I thought I'd share. The first is this concept for a Cobra Trooper from Roaglaan. A blue BrickArms Stahlhelm is a key piece in this concept, that and Roaglaan's decals, of course. It looks like Roaglann will have to paint one as blue isn't a currently option. Maybe Will and Badger can revisit their inner 'children of the 80s' and see to adding this color to future production runs.

The other nice piece are some blending of current and future TLG minifigs and custom pieces to bring the entire Weasley clan to minifigure form. Justin (aka Tin_7) really has some nice pieces for representing the three 'lost' Weasley boys, Bill, Charlie, and Percy. I'd argue that Fluer Delacour (Bill's wife) would round things out, but then you'd also have to add a few others due to marriage too [SPOILER ALERT]. Let's just say this is the 'immediate family'.

One last TT update before we go...I just saw on the Tiny Tactical BrickLink page that Steve will reopen today at 12:00 PST, and new items will be included. Only a couple more hours to go...

(Via Roaglaan and Tin_7's Flickr streams)

LEGO Harry Potter Minifigures: Gringotts Goblins

The Gringotts Goblins are exclusive to the upcoming LEGO Harry Potter set 10217, Diagon Alley. This will be the second time these goblin minifigures have been available with some differences.

Minifigure Parts and Accessories

Both of the Gingotts Goblins are composed of three parts - head, torso, and short legs.

The heads are light flesh and appear to be the same molds as the original minifigures. Although not shown in the picture, I would expect print to be added to these heads before launch.

The torsos shown here appear to be the same as the one which appeared on the 2010 Professor Flitwick. Again, the prints and or torso colors may change before the official launch.

The legs are the only areas of variation between these two figures. Both goblins are sporting the short leg pieces, but one appears in gray while the other is reddish brown.

Comparing these figures to the reference photo on the right, they are similar to the film versions but not quite right.

Army Building Potential
The ABP for these figures is moderate, mostly for the heads.

Big Draw
I'm guessing we have yet to really see the final variants of these pieces. I'm expecting the torsos to change and print to be added to the heads (similar to what was seen in the 2010 version of Dobby). If print is added to the heads, I would expect the heads to the the big draw here. LEGO Harry Potter collectors will also want an opportunity to have new versions of these minifigures to round out their collections.

(Pictures via FBTB Flickr stream and Harry Potter Wiki)

(Back to the LEGO Harry Potter Minifigure Guide)

LEGO Harry Potter Minifigures: Mr. Ollivander

Mr. Ollivander is exclusive to the upcoming LEGO Harry Potter set 10217, Diagon Alley.This will be the first time this minifigure wand maker has been available in the LEGO universe.

Minifigure Parts and Accessories
Ollivander is composed of four parts - hair piece, head, torso, and legs.

The hair piece is a light gray variant of part x67, a color that hasn't been available previously for this part.

The light flesh head features a new print with gray sideburns, aged features, and bit of stubble around the mouth. Although the hair piece can support it, it is unknown if the head is dual-sided.

The torso and arms are reddish-brown with light flesh hands. The torso print shows a coast, vest, and cravat tie. It is unknown if the torso also features printing on the back.

Both the legs and hips are gray with no visible print.

Comparing this figure to the reference photo, we see the torso print appears to be fairly accurate, and the head print captures his older, weary appearance in a cartoony, LEGO sort of way. The hair could have had a touch of additional detail, but TLG likely went with an existing mold to keep costs on the set down.

Army Building Potential
The ABP for this figure is low. Not much to stimulate multiple purchases of this minifigure.

Big Draw
The torso print could be attractive due to its unique and formal appearance. The hair may also have an attraction as this is a new color for this part. LEGO Harry Potter collectors will also want an opportunity to have a minifig version of this character to round out their collections.

(Pictures via FBTB Flickr stream and Beyond Hogwarts)

(Back to the LEGO Harry Potter Minifigure Guide)

LEGO Harry Potter Minifigures: Fred and George Weasley

Fred and George Weasley are exclusive to the upcoming LEGO Harry Potter set 10217, Diagon Alley. This will be the first time these trickster twins have been available in minifigure form.

Minifigure Parts and Accessories
Both Fred and George are extremely similar in design (what did you expect, they are twins after all). Each minifigure is composed of four parts - hair piece, head, torso, and legs.

The hair piece is likely color matched to the rest of the 2010 Weasley clan (dark orange). The part appears to be similar to part 62810, but may be a new sculpt.

The heads are what set these two brothers apart. George is seen 'smirking' with his mouth turned up to the right (facing minifig) and no teeth, while Fred's head print shows a toothy smile with his mouth turned up to the left (facing minifig). Again, this appears to be the only distinguishing characteristic between the two figures. These will be new facial prints in light flesh.

The torsos and arms are dark orange with light flesh hands. The torso print on both figures features a nice tweed jacket over a vest, shirt, tie combo. This would be a new torso print. It is unknown if there is any print on the rear of these figures.

Finally, the leg and hip assemblies are dark orange with no visible print.

Comparing these figures to the reference photo on the right, they appear to be rather spot on. Notice in this reference photo how the vest, shirt, tie combos are different. As with the last round of Harry Potter minifigure pics, the ones shown above may be preliminary and not fully reflect the final product.

Army Building Potential
The ABP for these figures is low. Not much to stimulate multiple purchases of the figs in total.

Big Draw
The big draw could be for the torsos. Such professional prints in a relatively rare torso color may be appealing for creation of 'sig figs'. As always, the opportunity to fill out your LEGO Harry Potter minifig collection can be a draw as well.

(Pictures via FBTB Flickr stream and Harry Potter Wiki)

(Back to the LEGO Harry Potter Minifigure Guide)

New LEGO Harry Potter Items in Store

I've just put up some new LEGO Harry Potter minifigures and minifig parts up on my BrickLink store. Highlights include Arthur, Molly, and Ginny Weasley and Dobby. Some school sweaters from Gryffindor and Slytherin as well.

While you are there I still have a few Series 2 Collectible Minifigures listed at $2.99 each. If there are a couple of 'holes' still left in your collection, this might be your opportunity. All accessories and stands are included (but not sealed in package).

Shipping is flat rate, so buy all you want 'cause the shipping costs won't go up*.

*Different rates for international versus domestic shipping. See 'store terms' tab for details.

Rumors of LEGO Harry Potter Visual Dictionary

A Modular Life blog has been a font of LEGO information as of late. The most recent news? A listing of several LEGO books planned for the near and mid-term future. The listings were found via searches of Amazon and another book website called The Book Depository.

The most interesting rumor? A possible LEGO Harry Potter Visual Guide slated for May 2011 from DK Publishing. What's still to be determined is whether or not it will include an exclusive minifigure similar to the LEGO Star Wars offering.

If you would like to see the listings of the other LEGO books currently rumored/slated, you can head on over to A Modular Life.

Harry Potter 2011: Set 10217 Diagon Alley

I don't know if the press release went out in conjunction with The Great Western LEGO Show or just because the LEGO Harry Potter sets launched today, but we already have news of the first 2011 LEGO Harry Potter set - Diagon Alley. 11 minifigures, three buildings, accessories galore! This set and Hogwarts Castle are at the top of my personal Christmas wish list.

Now the pics that have been released today did not appear to be big enough for proper screen grabs of the minifigures, but we do know the Fred and George Weasly, Mr. Olivander, and two Gringott's goblins are all new figs! Once good images become available, we will update the guides.

This will be a LEGO exclusive and is slated to go on sale (according to the LEGO Shop at Home listing) on January 1st, 2011. If you would like to find out more you can see the listing for Diagon Alley on LEGO.com. Just look in LEGO Exclusives.

(Via LEGO.com)

Scenes from a LEGO Store: Double VIP, Harry Potter, New Magnets

I just got back from my local LEGO Store which was relatively busy and doing a brisk business in LEGO Harry Potter, which officially launched today. I personally picked up The Burrows, Dobby's Release, and a magnet set. That's right one of the new magnet sets!

Both of the Harry Potter magnet sets (852982 and 852983) were available for sale. The store clerk also told me that the new Star Wars magnet set (853037) featuring Clone Wars Anakin, Senate Commando, and Ashoka also came in, but an enterprising young man came in a bought them all up. No LEGO Store near you? Never fear, citizen, because these items are now at Shop at Home!

Not only does LEGO Shop at Home have LEGO Harry Potter, but it also has the new Tower Bridge set, a new volley of Series 2 Collectible Minifigures, the advent calendars, the list goes on and on. You are very likely to find something to suit your tastes! Plus all through the month of October, you get double VIP points on all LEGO purchases. This amounts, roughly, to getting 10% on all purchases made on LEGO.com or at LEGO Stores across the country.

If you do plan on making a purchase at LEGO Shop at Home, I so ask you link through our site. Because we are a LEGO affiliate we  get a small commission on sales from visits that originate here. All you have to do is click the LEGO banner at the top before heading to LEGO.com or you can click through to LEGO Shop at Home here. Place your order and that's it! The money we gain from programs like these go right back into building new features and content, and all it costs you is a quick trip here beforehand before making that purchase. It's that easy! So why are you still reading this. Head on over to LEGO Shop at Home today.

New HP and Star Wars Magents/Key Chains

(Click to Enlarge)

Originally seen on A Modular Life, the Singapore LEGO blog has pics of some new Harry Potter and Star Wars magnet sets and key chains. This has since been added to the Brickset database by Huw, so you know it's official now...

We knew magnet set 853037 featuring Anakin, Ashoka, and a Senate Commando was coming. There are also key chains featuring Anakin, the Commando, and a Clone Pilot, as well.

The surprise for me were the Harry Potter magnet sets featuring the new minfigs! Set 852982 features Harry in Quidditch uniform, Dumbledore, and Hermione in Hogwarts uniform, while set 852983 contains Harry and Draco in Hogwarts uniforms plus Professor Snape. I'll be interested to see if these figures have the dual-sided heads or not. These could be a good opportunity to get the new Dumbledore and Snape figs without having to buy a $120 set!

A few HP key chains are included as well. As we get more details, or better pics, we'll let you know. We'll also let you know when these hit Shop at Home.

(Via A Modular Life and Brickset)

Fantastic Hogwart's Castle Review on Eurobricks

Eurobricks member Ras 74 has put together a really fantastic review set 4842, Hogwart's Castle, from the latest round of LEGO Harry Potter.

Some of the highlights include great front and back shots of each of the 10 minifigures that come with this set. There are also some fantastic shots of the minifig-scale animals like Mrs. Norris the cat and owls.

Of course, I'll be using this new information to help inform the guides. Until then, head on over to Eurobricks and check out the review.

(Via Eurobricks)