New info on upcoming sets...

[gingerwitch.livejournal.com]

Hello, my lovelies! We have some news on this year's D2C (Direct to Customer, lego store exclusive) for the lego Harry Potter theme and it's going to be a Hogsmeade Village set, 76457 with a confirmed piece count of 3228, to be released in September, presumably as part of the now annual "Back to Hogwarts" event on 01 September. No word yet on the price.

We're also getting a Retail Exclusive set 76458, as part of the summer wave, with 548 pieces and expected to retail for $70 with a 01 June release date.



with thanks to fateful, presumably also for the graphic (unfortunately the platform wasn't mentioned, so I can't check)

I could see where the piece count on the D2C might give rise to some trepidation that it's another nanoscale set like the recent 76444 Diagon Alley release (2750 pieces, EUR 200). On the other hand, the UCS / D2C Burrow had only 2,405 pieces (EUR 260) and Hogwarts Icons had 3,010 (EUR 300), so it still fits with the D2C sets on the smaller end of the scale. The more curious issue is how they might effectively cover Hogsmeade Village at roughly the scale of the D2C 75978 Diagon Alley buildings for the piece count (ca. 60% of the 5544 pieces in the previous DA D2C EUR 450). There's some room to be had in the roofs, which could be simpler than the DA roofs and still true to canon. Then again, it's supposed to be above the snow line, and that does take a fair few pieces to generate. Given we have had serviceable Shrieking Shack and Hogsmeade Station sets, and both have ben depicted as outside the town proper, that leaves the question what we might see in town. Small things we've seen before and may well see again: benches, wanted poster, another mailbox... I think that could be expanded by a fountain, the arch into town with some signage, perhaps a cart, maybe a carriage, or the footbridge, any or all in addition to three or four buildings / shops depending on the size. Frankly I'd probably be disappointed if it isn't four. As far as what we've had, The Three Broomsticks was alright; Honeydukes, on the other hand, was a bit thin. There's the Hog's Head, Zonko's, Puddifoot's, a quill shop, although we have one in DA...



That brings us to the following sets for the Summer and Autumn waves (bear in mind, the effect of potential tariffs at this point remains unclear). We only have piece counts for the information released last night:

01 June 2025 release (largely still rumoured and not officially confirmed):

76445 Hogwarts Castle: Herbology Class ($59.99) EUR 49.99 - NOTE: there's been some adjustment in the pricing, according to StoneWars; conceivably, the EUR and USD prices could still be the same
76448 Dumbledore’s Phoenix ($19.99)
76449 Book of Monsters ($59.99)
76450 Book Nook featuring Hogwarts Express ($99.99)
76451 Privet Drive Aunt Marge’s Visit ($89.99) see previous post for preliminary picture
76452 Quality Quidditch Supplies & Ice Cream ($99.99) this should be part of the smaller scale Diagon Alley series
76454 Hogwarts Castle: The Main Tower ($249.99)
76458 Unknown 548 pieces ($69.99) retail exclusive


01 September 2025 release:

76456 Advent Calendar 278 pieces (7+) the information comes from the BrickMerge listing, and is almost definitely an AC based on the piece count, age group, and the fact that its EOL date is given as 12/25
76457 Hogsmeade Village Visit D2C 3,228 pieces

I'd still expect there to be a GWP in there somewhere, but obviously they don't have to release that information this early on.