I like the idea behind this set, but I count 15 visible stickers and it doesn't look like it's compatible with the new Hogwarts system. Couldn't they have made this work as an 8x8 module that's twice as tall as the usual ones? Hopefully it has some compatibility once complete but I don't see any connecting points in this image.

@dbbunny said:
"In the UK I also got 30435 as the extra freebie for £40 spend"

That could have been the shortest promotion ever. My Pc went to the US site this morning and they got the 2nd freebie. Nothing on the UK site advertising it in the UK. I added two items to see if the Staircase appeared and they both did...… but I then got distracted and now only the staircase is there...…. How strange.... deal less sweet now.

@dbbunny said:
"In the UK I also got 30435 as the extra freebie for £40 spend"
Got 3 freebies here in Australia. This, 30435 and the Amusement Park set.

I wonder: why faces on the portraits are literally white ? Are these ghosts or what ?

I do like the actual staircase build. May have to build a few for my building MOCs. Also the first time I’ve seen that skirt piece for the minifigure.

@Lego34s said:
" @dbbunny said:
"In the UK I also got 30435 as the extra freebie for £40 spend"

That could have been the shortest promotion ever. My Pc went to the US site this morning and they got the 2nd freebie. Nothing on the UK site advertising it in the UK. I added two items to see if the Staircase appeared and they both did...… but I then got distracted and now only the staircase is there...…. How strange.... deal less sweet now."

It was advertised as something like Harry Potter gift but obviously they only had about 5 available and I was just lucky! :)

Sometimes LEGO's GWP decisions baffle me. This one, okay, probably limited interest unless you're a Harry Potter fan and wanted to get other HP sets anyway, sure. The threshold seems high to me, but ok. That's a separate-ish issue.

30435, though-- assuming it's not also available at regular retail (sometime GWP polybags are, which makes no sense to me), is exactly the kind of thing people (including me, and I don't care about HP) would want multiples of. The package even encourages it!

Yes, it's LEGO, and instructions are available online, so, sure, I can use my own pieces, but it just strikes me as odd. (Then there's the issues of some parts being less common, or too new for me to have enough, or rare colors...)

Sorry for the rant, but I just had to get that out there. (Is it just me? Am I the weirdo here?)

I mean, I probably would've gotten an extra of that new Forestmen set because I'm me, but it doesn't scream "parts pack" or "army building."

(The term "Ebay exclusive" popped up years ago in another fandom, and I gotta say, sometimes it's very apt.)

@dbbunny said:
"In the UK I also got 30435 as the extra freebie for £40 spend"

No extra polybag in France:-(

Thanks for the reminder! I forgot what day it was so this was a pleasant surprise. Ordered and got both the polybag and the staircase.

This is why I don't buy anything on day 1...granted, you never know if it will be out of stock for these sales either, so it's a gamble either way.

@Lance_McCormick said:
"Sometimes LEGO's GWP decisions baffle me. This one, okay, probably limited interest unless you're a Harry Potter fan and wanted to get other HP sets anyway, sure. The threshold seems high to me, but ok. That's a separate-ish issue.

30435, though-- assuming it's not also available at regular retail (sometime GWP polybags are, which makes no sense to me), is exactly the kind of thing people (including me, and I don't care about HP) would want multiples of. The package even encourages it!

Yes, it's LEGO, and instructions are available online, so, sure, I can use my own pieces, but it just strikes me as odd. (Then there's the issues of some parts being less common, or too new for me to have enough, or rare colors...)

Sorry for the rant, but I just had to get that out there. (Is it just me? Am I the weirdo here?)"

For what it's worth, about a month ago, I purchased a copy of 30435 from the Legoland Discovery Center in Columbus, OH. So they are in the wild, but possibly in limited quantity.

@Lance_McCormick said:
"I mean, I probably would've gotten an extra of that new Forestmen set because I'm me, but it doesn't scream "parts pack" or "army building."

(The term "Ebay exclusive" popped up years ago in another fandom, and I gotta say, sometimes it's very apt.)"

My timing was lucky, and I had a run of birthday presents to buy for my kids' friends, so I ended up with four copies of the Forest Hideout. Together with my original Forestmen crew, they make great "army builders"!

Yay! I was able to get both promos today will no issues.

@TheOtherMike said:
"When someone says :Grand Staircase," I think of the one on the Titanic This one... does not seem very grand at all by comparison. For reference:
https://titanicdatabase.fandom.com/wiki/Grand_Staircase_of_the_RMS_Titanic?file=Grand_staircase.jpg"

Agreed, especially as in both movie and book, this staircase is pretty magical, and from what I can see, this doesn't look like there's a lot of play features you'd expect from this topic (e.g., the stairway could at least swing, but it looks fixed in this image).

It's a great time to be a Lego Harry Potter fan.

tbh getting it on second market right now costs me same-ish if I got some sets from lego site with this one free... so yeah... it's kind of possible to just buying it... with extra steps and limited time

(and I just got it on allegro for 230PLN and hope it all will be fine, didn't have funds for lego right now, not THAT much)

@Lance_McCormick:
Nothing about polybags makes sense. Offhand, I can’t think of a single polybag that was available across the board, so they’re not regular retail sets. But they’re also not store exclusives, as several have been available at two major chains in the US, sometimes even at the same time. They’re also almost never available through direct sales (excluding Xtra sets), but one or two slip through. A few even make it to LEGOLAND stores, but not LEGO Stores.

@Padmewan:
Look at the top of the staircase. See how it’s resting on those “knuckles”? There’s another pair on the wall to the left. The octagonal plate can serve as a turntable when paired with the right base. I don’t see anything about this that suggests it’s fixed in place. The painting on the upper left wall is also the secret entrance to the Gryffindor dorms, so you can’t get in if you can’t stand in front of it.

@Bricky_Dee_Williams said:
" @CC said:
"I miss the monthly calendars. They have to give more notice before these GWP come out. Now the people who already bought new wave on Day 1 are screwed."

If you have the receipt, just buy those sets again and return them off of the old purchase. I always consider this.
"

From experience, this doesn’t work. They’ll refuse the return. Don’t waste your time

@StyleCounselor:
I was able to get two of the Forestmen GWP shipped, no trouble. Of course, I ordered one right away and waited on the second until late during the promo, so they had plenty of stock. On the other hand, I ordered _ONE_ copy of the Ferrari book at 12:30am, when they were still allowing multiple copies per household. My order got cancelled, but two people who ordered at 1am and 1:30am after they restricted purchases to one copy got theirs shipped. I’m guessing they blanket-cancelled all orders before the switch, but because I had already placed one, I was prevented from even adding it to my cart after the restriction was applied because I still had an open order until they cancelled it half a day after the book was sold out.

As for envelopes, I just ordered some from online PAB to go with the tan flying owls I got from BAM in store. I do have enough envelopes already, but I want the tan owls to carry white envelopes and save the tan envelopes for the sand-blue and dark-orange owls. That way they’ll show up better at a show (one member of my LUG made a minifig-scale version of 71043, which is based on the Florida theme park). And yes, that means I figured out a way to have the flying owls carry a letter tile.

@PurpleDave

Interesting take. My book was canceled as well. I also was able to get multiples of the last couple GWPs. So, for now, that policy seems back where it belongs- in the dustbin. I still wonder why they enforced it for something as underwhelming as the Year of the Tiger.

A minifig Hogwarts is quite an undertaking. Did you get the sand blue and orange owls from the BAM as well? Are the tan envelopes available at the online PaB?

@StyleCounselor:
Sand-blue is only in 76398 and 76399. I picked up one copy by buying the latter when it first came out, and snagged the other in a parts order (but I meant to buy more and forgot to up the quantity). Dark-orange just came out in 60353, which I also bought to get one owl. Tan is exclusive to BAM. The only two other colors right now are white (Hedwig) and pearl-gold (also Hedwig, but unprinted). So I have fifteen tan, two sand-blue, one dark-orange, and I’m currently avoiding using any white owls to carry mail (I pair Hedwig with the flying motorcycle).

Tan does not appear to be available online. Both that and the sand-blue owl show up in Replacement Parts for the trunk, but don’t show up as an Out Of Stock item for that set in online PAB. White envelopes with the red wax seal are $0.23 (element 67835, definitely a better deal on the PAB wall), and have appeared in several different non-HP themes, where it appears to have replaced the version that has cursive script above the seal. Tan, for the moment, is exclusive to six HP sets, and looks to be IP-restricted.

If you want to create an owl mail service, besides equal quantities of owls and letter tiles, you need to give the owls claws (I’m using robot claws paired with Apollo studs, but Technic half-pins were my first solution), and you need something to hold them aloft (perennial favorites flight sticks and jump studs, paired with whatever other clear parts you may need to mount the flight sticks, like headlight bricks). Attach one end of the letter tile to the stud on the jump stud, and clip the owl’s claw to the other side (ideally snugged up to the jump stud so the letter is gripped close to the center).

And for YotT, I did manage to get two copies of that…but one of them was obtained in store. I think I bought two copies of the big tiger to qualify.

@PurpleDave said:
" @StyleCounselor :
Sand-blue is only in 76398 and 76399 . I picked up one copy by buying the latter when it first came out, and snagged the other in a parts order (but I meant to buy more and forgot to up the quantity). Dark-orange just came out in 60353 , which I also bought to get one owl. Tan is exclusive to BAM. The only two other colors right now are white (Hedwig) and pearl-gold (also Hedwig, but unprinted). So I have fifteen tan, two sand-blue, one dark-orange, and I’m currently avoiding using any white owls to carry mail (I pair Hedwig with the flying motorcycle).

Tan does not appear to be available online. Both that and the sand-blue owl show up in Replacement Parts for the trunk, but don’t show up as an Out Of Stock item for that set in online PAB. White envelopes with the red wax seal are $0.23 (element 67835, definitely a better deal on the PAB wall), and have appeared in several different non-HP themes, where it appears to have replaced the version that has cursive script above the seal. Tan, for the moment, is exclusive to six HP sets, and looks to be IP-restricted.

If you want to create an owl mail service, besides equal quantities of owls and letter tiles, you need to give the owls claws (I’m using robot claws paired with Apollo studs, but Technic half-pins were my first solution), and you need something to hold them aloft (perennial favorites flight sticks and jump studs, paired with whatever other clear parts you may need to mount the flight sticks, like headlight bricks). Attach one end of the letter tile to the stud on the jump stud, and clip the owl’s claw to the other side (ideally snugged up to the jump stud so the letter is gripped close to the center).

And for YotT, I did manage to get two copies of that…but one of them was obtained in store. I think I bought two copies of the big tiger to qualify."

Thanks, as always, for the detailed info. I'm definitely going to borrow your designs.

Yeah, I headed back to my store to get more envelopes (such a good deal). Also,had to go back because the Asst Mgr let me know that a 'damaged shipment' was coming in. Apparently, their store is one of the larger ones who receive consolidated shipments of damaged boxes from a lot of other stores (and, here I just thought Lego had a lot of damaged boxes). They're still doing 10% off for smaller sets that were out of stock (republic fighter tank, orchids, and succulents), but giving $25 in VIP points for larger sets like the DeLorean. A good ol' Lego deal!

When the U.S. list discounts on exclusives, all we had left were damaged box points. I’ve subsisted on them as much as possible.

Went online last night to try and build a Harry Potter order. The horntail and dumbledore came to $129.98 and didn’t trigger the stairs. So I slept on it. The staircase is now no longer being offered, on Day 3 of a potential 16 day offering and after the forestmen were available forever…

@yellowcastle:
I wasn’t excited about the staircase, but I had wanted the dorm to display the chocolate frog tiles.

@yellowcastle

Yikes! That was fast. I understand your frustration over the $.98 not triggering the GWP. Seems quite petty to me. Hopefully, they'll bring back the staircase as a GWP closer to Xmas or in Jan. They did that with the dorms.

I bet they still have it available at most Lego stores.

US Lego site does not show this as an added gift for purchases above $130 anymore. They must have ran out already

@StyleCounselor said:
" @PurpleDave

I also was able to get multiples of the last couple GWPs. So, for now, that policy seems back where it belongs- in the dustbin. I still wonder why they enforced it for something as underwhelming as the Year of the Tiger."

Oops. I spoke too soon. My 2x VIP points plus GWP purchases have just had the GWPs canceled (40484) - except for the first purchase I made.

Incredible! This arbitrary usage of a policy could really get them in hot water! You can't arbitrarily enforce a policy and do it without any notice whatsoever. I again received no notice that the GWPs in 2 orders were canceled. I had to look at the order detail page online.

That is literally classic 'bait and switch'. In other words, you 'bait' the consumer with a deal that cannot be obtained (or has a lot of arbitrary or hidden requirements), the 'switch' the deal after the consumer has made a significant effort to obtain the deal. Traveling to a store (not even making a purchase) is considered 'significant effort' to base liability. Maybe, it's time to test the true strength of the Lego legal dept. Who's up for a class-action lawsuit?

It is so bizarre that they enforced it on a GWP that even had a prior release?! Maybe, it has something to do with 'seasonal' GWPs? Yet, I've never had a problem prior to now and Year of Tiger.

I also had no problem with Jane Goodall, May 4th, Kid's Fairground, Forrestmen Hideout, and even the one after- Hogwarts Staircase. I got multiples of all of those without issue.

Edit: now, all 3 of my Santa's Front Yard GWPs have been canceled. They were also sold out in my Lego store. Perhaps, this is another Lego poor on-line logistics issue rather than enforcement of the dreaded 'policy.' I'll update when I learn more.

Can't believe the stairs are off the site already. That would be a really useful set for the modular castle. Also was the only way Lego was getting me to consider paying full price for any of those sets.

Omg I was literally gonna go for this and its already gone on day 3??? LEGO I don't check your site everyday... But this was actually gonna get me to buy a bunch of sets, guess I'll keep thinking on it again...

Here's the update to the saga of the 'dreaded policy.'

The CS representative had no clue why I had multiple orders canceled for Year of the Tiger and Santa's Front Yard. He said seasonal GWPs have no special status. His questioned whether I had received one last November (I had). Yet, obviously, this has no relevance for Year of the Tiger.

He understood that it is silly to run a Christmas in July GWP offer and exclude those of us who bought it last year!

Nevertheless, he said that the one-family-one-GWP was 'The Policy' and that the only reason it wasn't enforced every time is because their software system is in need of improvement.

Yet, he had nothing but an apology for why this was the case, and that Lego cancels GWPs from orders after they have been confirmed, and with no notice.

Unlike the last time, this CS rep was very polite and courteous. He didn't argue that its enforcement was completely arbitrary (but, then again, I had already brought up the last 5 specific GWPs where I had been allowed to purchase multiples).

Finally, he agreed to povide me with $20 worth of VIP points for each canceled GWP. So, I suppose it's better than nothing. Still a lot of valuable time lost that I could have been building Lego or billing clients.

@StyleCounselor:
I asked about the HP envelopes at the local LEGO Store, and I was told they were part of the BAM assortment recently, and when the employee I was talking to said that even when the PAB wall was depleted, he wasn’t allowed to stock the envelopes to those bins.