$500? :'D

I'm really desperate for new lego steam engines especially ones based off real designs that I might fold and pick this one up.

An absolutely superb train. I would have preferred no station, no minifigures and therefore a bit cheaper.
It's on the wishlist but there are quite a few above it, so it had better stay available for a good while!

@Romans122 said:
"Pretty much all of the set images that you'll find on Lego.com today are renders. Now, the two interior shots that they show are pretty unrealistic, so I assume that the wrong pictures were put on the website or something like that."

Yes, but the images on the actual box (that was incorrectly shipped out) are renders.

Can we expect specially dedicated GWP by buying this set similar to star wars big UCS sets?

I usually get all Harry Potter sets, I try to get most of them at a discount, but I just can’t bring myself to buy this, even discounted. I don’t have the space to put it as a display model (as it’s intended) and I already have the last Hogwarts Express and station integrated in my lay-out.
Sad to be missing out on those epilogue figures though…

At the very least, this new Hogwarts Express might bring down prices on blind driving wheels! (since they comes in packs of two flanged and one blind as they come off the mold)

Also, those of you making "Singles" will have a new source for prototypical XXL driving wheels!

...just think how this 1853-vintage 4-2-4T (with 9 foot driving wheel) would look on YOUR layout: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_and_Exeter_Railway_4-2-4T_locomotives

Really nice model, but not worth that price.

Have any Lego trains had this larger gauge before?

@Murdoch17 said:
"...just think how this 1853-vintage 4-2-4T (with 9 foot driving wheel) would look on YOUR layout: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_and_Exeter_Railway_4-2-4T_locomotives "

Why settle for something with such small driving wheels if you can have bigger ones? And even 4 of them!
(well, it wasn't much of a success...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRRCJtdwcdE

I've already got a Hogwarts Express train...don't need another...especially at this price point.

@Murdoch17 said:
"At the very least, this new Hogwarts Express might bring down prices on blind driving wheels! (since they comes in packs of two flanged and one blind as they come off the mold)

Also, those of you making "Singles" will have a new source for prototypical XXL driving wheels!

...just think how this 1853-vintage 4-2-4T (with 9 foot driving wheel) would look on YOUR layout: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_and_Exeter_Railway_4-2-4T_locomotives"

Yeah there are some wild Singles and even high stepped 4-4-2's that could use those massive wheels.

@CapnRex101 said:
"Still, one questions how such mistakes remain unnoticed through development."

They sent one to a customer in NZ by mistake!

It's a large company, so parts of it will be like a leaky sieve. But thankfully their mistakes are rare and they generally release a high quality product.

Looks nice and all but honestly prefer the current Hogwarts train, mainly due to the playability of it. Not scared to throw that one around. This one will take up too much space. And I’m saving space for the Titanic.

@Faefrost said:
" @JayCal said:
"Seems like Lego shot themselves in the foot: 75955 is still out here as ResIpsaLoquitur said. Therefore, this train HAD to be a very big and impressive display model to set itself apart from that... And so they went all out. As far as my opinion goes: They should have waited 2 more years and give us a 8 wide train (like the Disney Express) that runs on regular track, could be motorised AND give us a very detailed and longer platform. That way they could have cashed in on selling more Powered Up motors and not having 2 Hogwarts Express trains on the shelves at the same time. But then, who am I. My girl is crazy about all the huge Harry Potter exclusives but will pass on this one since I've modded and motorised het 75955 plus adding 3 more carriages. The model looks nice but I'm having low expectations on sales for it right now."

I’ve been thinking on why Lego didn’t give us a nice full motorized train set. Which would be an instant Christmas Sellout. Even at $500. I wonder if they can’t due to potential conflict with Lionel’s HP license? "

they did it in 2004. 10132

I usually try to get all minifigure-scale Harry Potter sets, but there’s no way I’m buying this one. It’s really beautiful and all, but honestly the only thing that appeals to me is the epilogue minifigures. And, even so, not including Ron and Hermione is ludicrous.

Unfortunately I don't want this. As many pointed out this set is missing the 19 years later Ron and Hermione and their kids.

Also I no longer accept the 19 years later chapter as Canon. If it wasn't written we would have the cursed child and other stuff.

So much missed potential. Adult Hermione and Ron are the big ones, but why only one carriage and the thing is absolutely massive.

Not that I'm much of a UCS collector anyway.

@blokey9 said:
" @TheAnalogKid said:
"I'm sorry but $500 is nuts for this"

it's going to be equivalent to $560 US in Australia, which makes it even more nuts."

I've just checked our price in Australia. $800 !!!

That's a lot of cash in anyone's book

This likely explains why the Big Boy didn't get selected in the last Ideas round. I get Lego's hand was forced by the shipping snafu, but the timing is kind salt in the wound for those hoping for a Lego Big Boy model. Even worse for those who also don't like/despise Harry Potter.

This is way too expensive and really doesn’t look worth that price - the smaller model is so much better in every way

And people were saying that the Lion Knights Castle was too expensive! Jump into this new bandwagon instead!

I’m not a Harry Potter collector so I am not familiar with some of the elements that are common to the theme, but is that a new element for a wand box on the luggage cart?

Honestly, I think its beautiful. It's not for me, nor I suspect for those who actually have Lego tracks. That's ok, I don't need to want or own every set.

@vader11 said:
"Do we really need 5000 pieces for a HP train set...would be be better if it's 2000 pieces for $200.
$500 is way too much, again...
Small sets and big sets shouldn't have the same ppp. Big sets should have a lower ppp since you are buying in "bulk"."

Yup! I've been saying that for so long. For proof, look at the modulars and their success. They're big builds with lots of parts for the right price because they follow this formula.

In Aussie pricing, $800 for 5000 pieces is pretty reasonable and compares well with other licensed huge sets. I think the size of this thing is lost in the images.

Why is LEGO using terrible digital renders in their official set pictures now? I mean I'm sure they've used digital renders for a long time, but they've always been photorealistic. Some of these images just look awful. The set itself is pretty cool though.

I was so hoping for a more detailed, accurate Hogwarts Express, perhaps even engine only at the same scale as the current iteration. I would think this could have sold for close to $200 rather well much like the fantastic Crocodile. The existing HE carriages could even be used with the powered engine on a layout.

Instead now I really wish LEGO would reissue Emerald Night in a different color or something. Any Creator Expert steam engine for those with layouts would be so great.

Is this the '90 years of play' version of Thatcher Perkins 396?

Would you like grey https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=3230b&idColor=9T=C&C=9 or blue https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=3230a&idColor=7T=C&C=7 curved tracks for this?
Although I am not sure if the engine train can handle the curve. @CapnRex101 any idea if it's possible?
If it can we can only wait for a lug group to add an engine and display it running on a brickcon. Would be great to see.

Amusingly, I think there are actual working steam models for similar prices?

A quarter of the price is the floor. Again. LEGO has found a thing here, and I don't like this.

Only interested in the train, with the huge wheels! Although the platform is very detailed it looks way too short next to the train, and maybe a less detailed longer platform and simpler track would have being better. If money was no object, I would display in the Victorian station from the Bricklink limited edition run as these would look fantastic together. Maybe one day I will take the kids to see at a show who will ask me why it doesn't move when their 75955 does?

I like it and I am going to buy it for my girlfriend :-)

I'm not a Harry Potter fan, but I'm buying this. Its not as expensive as the rumour mill was suggesting, and I paid £700 for the Emerald Train as it was only on ebay by the time I returned to lego. I don't care about the minifigures or the platform or the mistakes and as its red, it might be possible to adapt it to fit a track. I work with the old tracks anyway.

Alot of trains sets only have one carriage. I had to outsource two carriages for the Emerald Train. The Crocodile doesn't have a carriage, the orange train only has one carriage. Considering how much the Titanic sells out and that's more expensive, it depends on the set.

@MugenLazlo said:
"$500? What parent is going to buy this for their kids?"

Lots, I suspect. I imagine this will be hard to get for a while. It's fantastic.

Ridiculously overpriced. For this price I can get a second-hand Emerald Night and it looks just much better.

@CapnRex101 said:
" @1265 said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
" @Reg said:
" @CapnRex101 said:
" @xboxtravis7992 said:
"GWR 5900 class? That is the WORST Lego typo I have seen in years on an information plaque, there is no such thing as a 5900 class. Or as Wikipedia says:

"GWR 4900 Class 5972"... yeah"

Also, the plaque makes reference to "King Cross Station" under the schedule category, rather than "Kings Cross Station".

I have forwarded corrections to LEGO, so they can fix the errors for future production runs. Still, one questions how such mistakes remain unnoticed through development."

It's King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross (note the apostrophe)... "

Actually, it can be either. I wrote this article while sitting in the Kings/King's Cross Station concourse and the name appears with and without the apostrophe, all over the place.

In any case, it is definitely not 'King Cross Station'."

It's King's not Kings. Just because you saw some names reference Kings doesn't mean it's spelled either way. Those are wrong as well."

I understand the grammatical purpose of apostrophes and that 'King's' would be correct in general usage. However, place names do not always follow standard grammatical rules and I assure you that both King's Cross and Kings Cross are acceptable.

Personally, I tend to think of the name without the apostrophe because that is usually how it appears on maps and train schedules, but I have no objection to the apostrophe because both versions are common."

It's King's in the books so for me that outweighs anything else.

@SearchlightRG said:
"I do believe I spy adult Harry and Ginny with their kids!"

Yes, but and adult Ron and Hermione with their kids are strangely (and annoyingly) absent.

Are you sure that's a 8 wide studs wide ?

Seems 7 to me with a 2X1 middle stud on each side...

Very happy that the minifig selection is meh so i can skip this without any regrets. The train itself is beautiful, i am just not into trains, ergo its an easy pass. I agree with all the comments about the base/track, those parts seem to raise the price and partcount without making the set actually better....

How hard the price tag is to swallow will depend on how big it looks outside renders.
Price to Piece just rarely is a good measure, I will wait until the first Lego reviewers have it on video.
I personally like the brick built rail for the vignette.

@The_Sly_Fox said:
"I like it and I am going to buy it for my girlfriend :-) "

I'm sure she'd appreciate a nice diamond ring instead (same expense, but perhaps more commitment) XD

@marsenal said:
"Are you sure that's a 8 wide studs wide ?

Seems 7 to me with a 2X1 middle stud on each side..."

BTW, have you all noticed just how minifigures are much more proportioned with the bigger gauge? Just like Speed Champions, LEGO should be bold enough to switch its train (and track) production to 8-gauge. They'll never do it.

It will sell well even at that price. Lots will wait for a decent sale. I don't intend to buy unless you can motorised and use with current Lego track, plus I would want at least 30% discount. I think it would have been better if they reduced the number of Minifigures and done like the Hogwarts castle and had just a few unique figures. Like the idea of adult harry gang with their kids as the unique figures. Let's see if it makes it to retail and gets a big discount?

@djcbs said:
" @sipuss said:
" @djcbs
You do you, and I mean no disrespect, but reading your passionate... dissatisfaction, if not outright hate, for this set, endcapped with what is basically "I'll pay 400€ for it" is kinda hilarious."

That's because you didn't get the point. Re-read it and you'll understand my issue is with the price tag."

@djcbs said:
"Not only for the continued use of stickers on such an expensive set, but because IT'S LAZY. This set offers NOTHING new. Nothing. It's the same boring composition we've had since 2001 (locomotive, coal wagon, passenger cart), and the platform is pathetically small.
Then we have the minifigures.
4 Harry's? Did we really need 4 Harry minifigures? No.
Then we get nice exclusives like old Harry, old Ginny, old Ron and old Hermione...oh wait, NO WE DON'T, because as usual, in their pursuit of pushing their woke BS, LEGO decided to replace old Ron and old Hermione with two random no-name students to fit the "diversity and inclusion" quota on their little virtue-signalling boards."

Yea, I can read just fine. Maybe stop paying hundreds of € for boring, repetitive sets with minifigs that "offend" you, so LEGO loses money on them and stops making them?

I've no interest in the Harry Potter angle on this set but that is a beautiful rendition of a Hall class. If I ever see it cheap enough to knock off the HP licensing extra, I'm very interested in this one, especially as I can recoup a bit selling the minifigs and stickers. Too much as it stands however.

@marsenal said:
"Are you sure that's a 8 wide studs wide ?

Seems 7 to me with a 2X1 middle stud on each side..."

Here is what I see for the 7 stud wide track :
https://imgur.com/spVOG8a

Yes definitely closer to the good ratio !

Maybe we have to compare to the flying Weasley family car ^^

there are expensive base for the rails and the 9 3/4 platform, mostly useless, better add another wagon, instead. Interesting thing I see : Very large train wheels.

@Iguanaboy said:
" @SearchlightRG said:
"I do believe I spy adult Harry and Ginny with their kids!"

Yes, but and adult Ron and Hermione with their kids are strangely (and annoyingly) absent."

True; no sign of adult Draco with Astoria and Scorpius either. They were all in the same scene.

Not that I want more content with ties to the Cursed Child than can be helped.

Now I have a dilemma - I was ready to buy the Castle, and I totally understand that's a way better set, but! I'm really more in to HP! I'm not so old to remember castle (only 35), I just think that's a great set, but at the same time this train on a shelf will bring me so much joy)

@CapnRex101:
We have a similar problem in Metro Detroit, where crossing some city borders causes the street signs for Middlebelt (correct) to change to Middle Belt (not so much).

@Murdoch17:
Dorky. Poorly planned. Like Ryan Lochte and Flava Flav could roll up in this thing, wearing matching grills.

@Hamster_Productions:
Remember that there are two DeLoreans with a wider wheelbase. I don’t know about the new one, but the Cuusoo model includes tireless red rims that are meant to serve as train wheels, but they sit on 10-stud rails.

@Reltron:
Um…what? I haven’t actually read the books, so I’m not sure what exactly you’re saying here.

@1265:
To add to what @CapnRex101 said, names of places can get tricky, depending on who has final approval. In the US, the United States Board in Geographic Names has to approve all city names. Martha’s Vineyard is one of five places in the US where you’ll find a possessive apostrophe in the name. The apostrophe was removed, for a period of time, and then restored. Several other locations have had their apostrophes taken away and remain that way now. The USPS also has some say, apparently, as I was told that when the USAF and Army combined their Anchorage bases, the USPS balked at the idea of delivering to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, so mail has to be addressed to JBER instead. The UK has gone through some apostrophic (that’s an actual word!) elimination of their own, but getting everyone to agree to abide by changes to long-standing tradition can be tricky.

@Librarian1976:
Recent, and rarely used, but not new. Neither is the updated lid for the chest.

@PDelahanty:
I just picked up 2x 75955 on clearance at Walmart for $64 each. I think there are some incorrect assumptions being made here by several people.

@Lego_lord:
Rolling in the pieces? That sounds extremely painful.

@elangab said:
" @SummerSanta said:
"As someone who loves trains* I always want to like every new train release...but all three trains this year have major red flags. After the poor sales of the Disney Train and Crocodile I'm surprised to see Lego double down on things people didn't like. I was crazy excited for an expert Harry Potter train but this doesn't deliver on anything I wanted except for expert level building techniques (I assume). I'll reserve finally judgment until I see it in person but this is the oddest train release ever(certainly in the last 20 years).

*I own about 30 Lego trains"

What was problematic with the other two?

As a Lego Trains collector myself I feel the pain, but I think we're done now.
We'll get the 2 city trains every 4 years and hopefully 1 "Expert" every decade or so. "

What "other two" are you referencing?

@SummerSanta said:
" @elangab said:
" @SummerSanta said:
"As someone who loves trains* I always want to like every new train release...but all three trains this year have major red flags. After the poor sales of the Disney Train and Crocodile I'm surprised to see Lego double down on things people didn't like. I was crazy excited for an expert Harry Potter train but this doesn't deliver on anything I wanted except for expert level building techniques (I assume). I'll reserve finally judgment until I see it in person but this is the oddest train release ever(certainly in the last 20 years).

*I own about 30 Lego trains"

What was problematic with the other two?

As a Lego Trains collector myself I feel the pain, but I think we're done now.
We'll get the 2 city trains every 4 years and hopefully 1 "Expert" every decade or so. "

What "other two" are you referencing? "

The one you mentioned here - "but all three trains this year have major red flags" :)

@watcher21:
If you take two piles of 9v/RC/PF/PU track and build a simple loop with one, look at how the second loop goes together. Every sixteen studs you add to the diameter of the loop, you also add 16 studs of length to each straight section of track. Center each loop on a 16x baseplate, and you increase the diameter by 32 studs, so you have to add two pieces of straight to each straight section. Move one loop in or out two studs, and things don’t work right anymore.

Why is this important to this discussion? 4.5v/12v track has curved rails that were designed for what we call L-gauge. On curves, they share a common center. On straights, they leave just enough room for full sections of (unmodified) straight rail. If you spread them apart by two studs, now you need to accommodate a difference of four studs per side. Also, while you increased the gauge by two studs on the straights, you increased it by 2.83 studs in the midpoint of each curve, which is going to derail the crap out of your train.

@CamberbrickGreen:
Maybe on the low end. I knew someone who was into hobby trains back in the mid-90’s, and he said there were premium level engines that you’d have to preorder if you even wanted a copy, and they cost four figures. In the mid-90’s, when basic minifig themes still peaked at $100 sets.

@marsenal:
Hmm, you’re right. The rails aren’t centered on studs, but offset by half a stud towards the center. I count twelve studs on the width of the plate the track rests on. The outer stud on each side is empty, and the next stud is a basic cheese wedge. That leaves eight studs in the middle for the rails, except they’re on jumpers, so it ends up being seven.

@dingbat591:
I’ve certainly noticed that they’re not. They look like little Chucky dolls next to Speed Champions. You’d need the TS3 Woody/Jessie arms and legs to match the increased width.

@scottd:
The Bonsai could work in a cityscape, if you remove it from the planter.

For everyone complaining about the price, just thank your lucky stars you dont live down under... the Aussie price converted for reference: £463.49 / €549.56 / $566.04 USD $723 CAD... I think laughing emoji would be appropriate here

@scottd said:
"There's a lot of people bemoaning that it won't run on standard L gauge track, this is very obviously a display piece, did they complain that 76209 Mjolnir is too big for a minifig to hold, or any of the botanical range is too big for a LEGO city?
Not everything revolves around the City theme, Friends have too many bright colours, speed champions are not to scale for the streets. Yes City is a cornerstone of the LEGO company but they are allowed to do other things.
Not everything LEGO do is a hit, Vidiyos looking at you, but we should be celebrating the fact that they are doing these sets, bringing in a new AFOL community and making the company stronger so they can continue to make the sets or just the pieces we do like."

Well said.

@CapnRex101 said:
" @xboxtravis7992 said:
"GWR 5900 class? That is the WORST Lego typo I have seen in years on an information plaque, there is no such thing as a 5900 class. Or as Wikipedia says:

"GWR 4900 Class 5972"... yeah"

Also, the plaque makes reference to "King Cross Station" under the schedule category, rather than "Kings Cross Station".

I have forwarded corrections to LEGO, so they can fix the errors for future production runs. Still, one questions how such mistakes remain unnoticed through development."

How do you get LEGO to listen? When I forward corrections to them, all I get is a canned response from customer service that they're sorry I don't understand the instructions, maybe I should be more careful.

@PurpleDave ty for the explaining, damn I underestimated the curve effect (I only took into account cutting the tracks a bit to fit)
Sadly than only a straight track if someone gets this beauty running.

@B_Space_Man said:
"I’m not seeing more than a Lion Knights’ Castle here. "

You don't need a licence fee for the Lion Knight's Castle ;)

@PurpleDave
Thank's a lot, I was checking again to be sure of what I was looking at... I'm not nuts ^^

@scottd
No, I think you're wrong, Lego's are for two types : minifig or humans...
76209 Mjolnir don't fit to a minifigure but human hands.
Same thing for botanical.

SO If lego do not fit HP train for ... lego train... and not for human scale ... you've got your problem.

And worse like I've said before, it's not a 8 stud but 7 stud wide instead of 6 ... why ?

The real market for this is either collectors who want to display Harry Potter stuff in their lounge (as shown in the video) or for the garden railway community. 5-wide track is G-scale and Gauge 1. There is no way that such a large loco could negotiate the tight curves of Lego track, but people with garden railways in Gauge 1 already have the right track with gentle curves (*). This model is scaled at 1:32, which is also Gauge 1. There are some stunning MOCs made to this gauge (see Eurobricks).

The mistakes such as the loco number will not help however: these suggest that LEGO Group don't really understand this market very well. As other commenters have suggested, many of these rail fans are rivet-counters, and know every detail of the real thing. I think they would also expect this loco to be powered, especially at this price. Nevertheless, it actually represents quite good value for money compared to some of the Gauge 1 stuff that's out there.

(*) Lego train wheels have very deep flanges, so it remains to be seen if they bump on the sleepers on Gauge 1 track, (especially finescale). G-Scale track should be OK, but the corner radii might be too tight.

@monki:
Your conversion rates might be off, since the USD is trading almost 1:1 to the EUR, from what someone told me yesterday. Those prices would include VAT on EUR, but not sales tax on USD, meaning the EU price you posted is effectively quite a bit lower than the US price.

@Nytmare:
I submit them by phone. Even if it doesn’t go anywhere, at least the phone op can’t play a pre-recorded response. I’ve also been given points for my submissions.

@watcher21:
There are some 3rd party tracks of various radiuses, so there a slight possibility that there may be a viable solution out there. I wouldn’t bet money on it, though.

@Arpie said:
"I've no interest in the Harry Potter angle on this set but that is a beautiful rendition of a Hall class. If I ever see it cheap enough to knock off the HP licensing extra, I'm very interested in this one, especially as I can recoup a bit selling the minifigs and stickers. Too much as it stands however."

Top tip! Look for it on eBay with "no minifigs". I love Star Wars, especially the spaceships, but I'm not bothered about the minifgures, so buy lots of brand new sets on eBay without the figs for BARGAIN prices (e.g. bought 75336 brand new this week with no figs: forty quid delivered...)

OR... if you can be bothered, as you suggest, buy it complete and sell the figs yourself (though I'm a little too lazy to go down that route).

@marsenal said:
" @PurpleDave
Thank's a lot, I was checking again to be sure of what I was looking at... I'm not nuts ^^

@scottd
No, I think you're wrong, Lego's are for two types : minifig or humans...
76209 Mjolnir don't fit to a minifigure but human hands.
Same thing for botanical.

SO If lego do not fit HP train for ... lego train... and not for human scale ... you've got your problem.

And worse like I've said before, it's not a 8 stud but 7 stud wide instead of 6 ... why ?"

But what about Speed Champions, they don't scale to minifigs either, are they a problem? The Ironman helmet set or any of them, they're not large enough for a human to wear or a minifig, is there a problem with them too?

@scottd said:
"But what about Speed Champions, they don't scale to minifigs either, are they a problem? The Ironman helmet set or any of them, they're not large enough for a human to wear or a minifig, is there a problem with them too?"

Are you gonna really compare all the Lego themes ? :D
I bet that all the helmet can fit with a baby/child head... no the aim of course, but you're wrong ^^

The point is this train cannot use regular tracks (not a problem) , but cannot use any tracks because of bad ratio. This train is branded as 1:32, not the tracks... that the question

So disappointed :(

Have been looking forward to this forever (since I hoped/figured we’d get it someday and then once it was a real rumor.)

But definitely imagined an actual lego train set that could look good with other HP set.

Pretty hard to justify this. (And it doesn’t take much for me to justify buying legos…)

Really, though, who are they surveying that’s telling them kids and lego fans want lego trains that don’t run on train tracks. I’ve sorta always assumed that’s the whole point…but have always loved trains.

Lego is really into using big black bases to drive up the part count right now... I'd rather see them scale back the base and add a second train car.

@eth6113:
You know, it costs the same to produce those parts whether they’re used for a display base, or a spaceship. And the bases create a more uniform presentation, which will probably increase overall sales, even if it does drive a handful of AFOLs to swear off buying these sets.

@eth6113 said:
"Lego is really into using big black bases to drive up the part count right now... I'd rather see them scale back the base and add a second train car. "

"...and so do all who live to see such times."

People are so concerned about naming of something. In my tiny 1000 person town I grew up in, one street is Fremont and on the other side of town it is Freemont, like they forgot they were spelling it the other way. Obviously these things happen. Kings vs King's, meh. I have bigger things to worry about in my life. If you're so concerned about something this small, consider yourself lucky.

With that said, the set overall looks awesome. The scale is a bit odd, but it captures the shaping really well. Now, $500, tough to swallow, so I will likely not pick it up, but I can look at lots of pictures. And I liked Cursed Child, unlike so many, so I'd love some of these figures, but I guess I'll wait and see what the aftermarket prices them at.

@Sethro3 said:
"People are so concerned about naming of something. In my tiny 1000 person town I grew up in, one street is Fremont and on the other side of town it is Freemont, like they forgot they were spelling it the other way. Obviously these things happen. Kings vs King's, meh. I have bigger things to worry about in my life. If you're so concerned about something this small, consider yourself lucky.

With that said, the set overall looks awesome. The scale is a bit odd, but it captures the shaping really well. Now, $500, tough to swallow, so I will likely not pick it up, but I can look at lots of pictures. And I liked Cursed Child, unlike so many, so I'd love some of these figures, but I guess I'll wait and see what the aftermarket prices them at.
"

The set does look awesome indeed. Maybe I'll buy the instructions to admire it.
But silly mistakes like King Cross are definitely something to get cross over for people with first world problems. And they keep making these mistakes over and over, never to learn.

@Sethro3:
I ran across a housing development in Holland, MI, where there’s a short NW/SE road called Appletree Drive, a loop off the SW side called Appletree Lane, and a spur off the NE side called Appletree Court. And a little to the east is a main road called Apple Avenue. Never let it be said that urban planners don’t have anything better to be doing on a Friday afternoon…

Yours is something else, though. At least Middlebelt/Middle Belt seems to be consistent within any individual city in the area, even when it runs through one of the ten largest cities in the state. My condo complex has private streets, and the names are unique to the property (they’re themed with the name of the association). When I first moved in, I would get mail addressed to both Street and (I think) Avenue, and on the off chance they’d find either somewhere else, or reject either as “undeliverable”, I started habitually skipping that part when submitting my address. Since then, Street appears to have won the battle, as that’s the only “we found this better address” message I ever get.

Paradoxically, price would be more acceptable if it was smaller and compatible with current tracks.
This does not count as train for me.

The train looks beautiful. I really love what this designer makes and buy many of his designs. At first I thought I would buy it first day. I buy all of these trains first day. Then I saw the scale of 1:32, no option to motorize, not on standard track. The platform cut off midway the arch. I can kind of accept the platform looking weirdly cut off, but the fact that it cannot run on standard track makes this just an expensive parts pack for me. I really would have hoped someone in Lego would have corrected this and made sure it fits in the rest of the Lego system. Perfect design would be 1:40 or 1:45 for the slightly larger scale to fit perfectly with Lego track. An extra carriage and longer platform could then justify the price point. I think I will just Moc my own and buy some of the pieces on bricklink. I sure hope they never do this scale again.

@scottd said:
"There's a lot of people bemoaning that it won't run on standard L gauge track, this is very obviously a display piece, did they complain that 76209 Mjolnir is too big for a minifig to hold, or any of the botanical range is too big for a LEGO city?
Not everything revolves around the City theme, Friends have too many bright colours, speed champions are not to scale for the streets. Yes City is a cornerstone of the LEGO company but they are allowed to do other things.
Not everything LEGO do is a hit, Vidiyos looking at you, but we should be celebrating the fact that they are doing these sets, bringing in a new AFOL community and making the company stronger so they can continue to make the sets or just the pieces we do like."

The problem with Vidiyo is very simple. I buy Lego to get the children away from the ipad screens. We have a big fuss in the house over Vidiyo an Lego Mario apps. So I just don’t buy the Vidiyo stuff for them anymore. The Mario, they can only use the ipad for instructions. I dont want Lego and ipad or smart phone screens to mix. I have the same struggle with the train controls. Anytime Lego mixes children toys with small screens apps I try to avoid that all together. My best guess seeing and talking to all the other parents at school they feel exactly the same as I do. That Lego doesn’t pick up on this bewilders me completely. A simple interview of parents would clarify this issue immediately.

Now back to this set. I am an afol and I play together with my two children. They can touch any Lego set they want. Even the expensive sets and the old ones from the 80s. We have a Friends section in our display, Disney princess, town, castle, space, and trains that run around it. My wife loves Harry Potter, me and my children love Lego. We all build from my collection and they can use any brick from my collection they want. We go to pick a brick shops together, army build, spend time in the Legoland parks. We would be, I think, perfectly in the target audience. I buy these expensive sets, build them with the kids and they can play with them and we add them somewhere on our tables. Now my daughter and son are extremely disappointed this doesn’t run on our Lego track. My wife likes the set and minifig collection, but insists it doesn’t fit with anything in our play attic. Since it doesn’t run on the track, she doesn’t like it collecting dust on a shelf. We just dont know what to do with an oversized static train. It looks nice, but if it doesn’t run on track, it just doesn’t fit anywhere. It should somehow fit in the Lego system and this is just too big for minifig scale. To me it makes no sense at all to be honest. I think it is perfectly positioned to be nothing and everything at the same time and to basically disappoint everyone in my Lego crazy household. I would have expected this issue to be raised in the design process.

76405
500$,five hundred Benjamin.
no, no, no. very expensive.
i am not idiot.

@Mr__Thrawn:
That’s actually a weird problem with Disney’s Princess IP. If you include Pixar, you’ve got Ariel, Merida, and Anna who are redheads, but Belle remains the single instance of a Disney Princess with brown hair. I think Snow White might also be the only white Princess with black hair, and remained the sole instance for decades, until Aladdin released. Since then, they added Jasmine for the Middle East, Pocahontas for Native Americans, Mulan for Chinese, Tiana for African-American, and Moana for Polynesian. It doesn’t appear that Raya (generic SE Asia) is part of the Disney Princess IP yet, and I don’t know if Mirabel Madrigal (Colombia, South America) even qualifies, but with Africa completely untouched, and other continents left with a single representative, I suspect black hair will remain limited to non-European characters just because it’s the only hair color that’s indigenous to much of the settled world.

@PurpleDave said:
" @Mr__Thrawn:
That’s actually a weird problem with Disney’s Princess IP. If you include Pixar, you’ve got Ariel, Merida, and Anna who are redheads, but Belle remains the single instance of a Disney Princess with brown hair. I think Snow White might also be the only white Princess with black hair, and remained the sole instance for decades, until Aladdin released. Since then, they added Jasmine for the Middle East, Pocahontas for Native Americans, Mulan for Chinese, Tiana for African-American, and Moana for Polynesian. It doesn’t appear that Raya (generic SE Asia) is part of the Disney Princess IP yet, and I don’t know if Mirabel Madrigal (Colombia, South America) even qualifies, but with Africa completely untouched, and other continents left with a single representative, I suspect black hair will remain limited to non-European characters just because it’s the only hair color that’s indigenous to much of the settled world."

Since Disney bought Fox, does Anastasia count as a Disney princess now? Are they REALLY wanting to open that can of worms, I wonder? The real-world Anastasia meant a... unpleasant end, after all.

I honestly wonder how long until somebody recreates the original engine's Great Western Railway / dark green paint scheme with this XXL sized set. Would be interesting to see just the loco in dark green instead of red!

@Murdoch17:
Princess Leia has apparently been declined a spot on the list, but the justification I read about that was based on the fact that she’s not the focal character in the OT. Anna and Elsa also have been kept out of the club, even though both seem to meet the requirements, but this time because the property is too insanely popular to shackle them to an ensemble like Disney Princess. Anastasia would seem to qualify, but to date, Merida is the sole member from a movie outside of Disney’s own house, and even then she came a few years after Disney had acquired Pixar, with lots of push from the fans to bend the rules. I very much doubt there would be many people demanding Anastasia be given similar treatment. Frankly, I remember watching it when it came out, and see the name pop up every couple years or so, but there doesn’t seem to be a huge fan following the way there is for Pixar.

Anyone know if it will have a motorized option?

Sorry, but the price make me sick.

It looks great but ick. The price is terrible and it actually includes the (completely wrong, weird, and unnecessary) epilogue. Not for me at all.