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That's quite alright!  I'm an 'old guy' who doesn't spend much time in either section!  LOL  The toy section sure looks different from when our grown daughters were young!  As for DVD section; I guess the equivalent was the record section when an album cost about $10 for 10 songs back before double digit inflation of the late '70s early '80s.  LOL  thank you for broadening my horizons!!

Thanks, Ballz2, for providing Mark and Eilif with the UPC code. My wife and I are, and have been for the past week, about 200 miles away from my Hogwarts stuff to be with my wife's sister in the hospital.  

I had previously seen the Burrow-Weasley home puzzle mentioned by KJ356 on-line, but I can't tell how it would scale out with the Diagon Alley puzzle we already have.  I would probably have room on the train table for both if the Burrow was the about same scale as Diagon Alley, but I think that would be a pretty small puzzle.  My wife hasn't had time to put Diagon Alley together yet, but the dimensions stated would seem to indicate that the Burrow is pretty big in relation to D Alley.

Maybe someone will put them both together and post a pic. If my wife builds D Alley and then wants to build the Burrow, I'll be back.

On second thought, when has accurate scale ever been the hallmark of our beloved TOY trains?

Cheers!

Alan

Alan, you do have the hogwarts castle right? If so, How does that measure up with diagonal alley?  I just know that the two set hogwarts castle is a must have for the hogwarts express! I’m wondering if I should pick up diagon alley..  

Mark, it’s not too different than a regular puzzle - it’s just several smaller puzzles that you put together. Pretty fun if you ask me. 

No, Ballz2, I do not have the Hogwarts Castle puzzles.  What I know about them is limited to the posts I've seen on this topic and from looking at them on online shopping sites.  I may be wrong, but my impression is that they make up into fairly large footprint structures, but the actual "scale" is rather small.  

That said, I am sure they are adaptable to a layout, but, again, the area I have now and anticipate having later to dedicate to HP is limited, and I think Diagon Alley is the best fit with the most "play value" on my pike along with the Burrow if it is not too large.

From what I saw on the earlier posts, I am sure someone can set us both straight here.  

My wife and I (mostly my wife) have also put together a 3D puzzle, ironically a Bavarian Castle that came out years ago.  These Webbit Puzzles might be a little different because of the "extra" pieces Referred to in the instructions, but I am sure the process is about the same.  

If D Alley goes together well, I likely will glue it to foam core  or cardstock to make it more "permanent." The Bavarian Castle was displayed on a shelf at home for awhile then pulled apart and put back in the box.  

Come to think of it, maybe I should try to find that old puzzle and take another look at it.

Cheers!

Alan

 

Just scored the 20 pack.  It was at Target by the DVD's just as others have found.   Various other Metalfigs also.

Very interested by the uncoming wave 2 singles preview on the back even if there's only a couple figures that aren't already available.  I'll snap a pic and put it up this week if no one beats me too it.

As I haven't seen an of the Wave 2 singles in stores yet, I think I've finally managed to acquire all the currently available figures!

Mark B-

I get the impression that has to do with role playing games and things like that. Back in the day it was Dungeons & Dragons. Military figures reenacting battles, etc. Think it's more of a literature type item in this case than a toy. Not something a young child would really play with.  If it was it would be plastic.  I could be totally off the mark but that's my opinion.  

Thanks Mark!

As for the location at Taget I'm not sure why. Walmart puts their Nano Metalfigs of all types right in the middle of the action figures area and they seem to be selling very well.   Target does have a smaller toy section than Walmart so maybe it's just thier way of testing the waters while saving toy  shelf space for toys they know sell well?  At Target's around here the DVD/collectible section is just across the main aisle from the toy area.

Regarding kids today, they certainly like their big action figures and don't play with plain green army men as much, but there's alot of smaller scale toys that sell well also. My son has lots of hot-wheels and a fair number of star wars micro machines.  Of course he likes toy army men too but that's probably my doing.

Slightly off-topic, but for those who like fantasy or sci-fi and army men there is considerable hope. They are certainly not as popular as 40 years ago, but much like when I was a kid in the 80's, they are around and there are actually a number of options these days that we didn't have (or were very hard to find).  Currently there are buckets of army men for around $10 in Fantasy, Mythological creatures, pirates, Sci-fi style army men, aliens, zombies and others.  I picked up a Piates vs skelletons exa at the resale shop yesterday. 

I recently reviewed an army man bucket that has a distinctly Starship Troopers (movie version) or ALIEN look.  The review is aimed at wargamers and mostly focuses on the terrain pieces, but you folks might find it interesting.

They're shorter (40mm to the eye)  than some other toy soldiers and so might look good alongside O-scale stuff if your layout is in need of defense against an alien invasion.

Last edited by Eilif

Finally got my review of the 20 pack posted. Full review here:

https://www.chicagoskirmishwar...k-and-next-releases/

Great deal and very convenient. I'm most pleased about these 4 figures, which are of Ginny, Neville, Moody and Hagrid that are currently not available outside this set.

 

The back of the box also even has some pictures that clearly deliniate which figures are availble singly now and which will be part of wave 2.

Just a quick update if folks are still interested.  It appears that wave 2 single packs have made their appearance at Walmart.   From wave 2 I found the new Snape figure , Draco Malfoy (in regular school robes) which leaves the blue/green Robed Dumbleore year 3 as possibly the only figure I'm missing.  

Also of note, the third and final figure of the three listed on the back of the "Fantastic Beasts" metalfigs "Jacob Kowalski" (portly gentleman with a briefcase) is finally available and I purchased one of those also. Though not in the same era as the other HP figures, I think the 3 Fantastic Beasts charachters (Newt, Tina and Jacob) are nice figs to fill out any HP scene.   

Thanks Eilif, I’ll keep an eye out.  I also stumbled upon this pop up map book of Hogwarts that will be coming out this October. Might help with your gaming but the scale is probably too small for the trains.  It’s rumored to be the same size as the game of thrones pop up book which is pretty big and cool though. 

http://www.bestpopupbooks.com/...-potter-pop-up-book/

 

msrp is 70 however Barnes and nobles usually has a 30% -40% off making it 40ish. 

Hello Friends,

I went to my local Target store yesterday, where I had previously found the HP and other Nano Metalfigs behind the DVDs in electronics.  Unfortunately, the store is remodeling and relocating its displays, and no Nanos were to be found anywhere near the DVDs.  I also checked in toys in case they were moved over there, but that was not the case either. 

I found a manager who knew what I was talking about, and he seemed surprised that they were not still in the DVD section.  He checked his computer and found that Nano Metalfigs were now shown as "close-out," which in Target speak means: "We are no longer carrying these." 

So I don't know whether the new figures ever made it into any Target store.  Nuts! 

I guess I will need to drive across town to one of our local Wal-Mart stores to see if they still have any of the newer figures there.

Cheers!

Alan

Happy to help folks.

The pop-up book looks cool, but the price is a bit much for me. I like to stick relatively close to scale so if I do end up gaming HP it will all be with stuff between 1/56 the standard 28mm wargaming scale and 1/43  the actual scale of the HP figures and the size of many die-cast cars.  Luckily I've got alot of terrain in that size.  I was thinking about it recently and I bet my collection of Dickensian Christmas houses that have been rehabbed into old fantasy buildings might work especially well. If any of you folks want a fast and affordable option for european-looking buildings for your HP layouts, you might find the blog posts I did about them useful.

First batch and some how-to. https://www.chicagoskirmishwar...t-and-cheap-fantasy/

Second batch and a bit more how-to. https://www.chicagoskirmishwar...ieval-village-grows/

Maybe a smidge on the small side, but close enough and I did a second batch so I've got a whole town of these.  I went with a rather dark and dreary look, but with a lighter color varnish and brighter shades of flock, you could probably do a similar project that looked rural and quaint but not so dirty.

As for finding wave 2 in stores...

If you want the 2nd wave now I think you have to head to WalMart. I've not seen anything official, but there appears to be a deal whereby WalMart gets these lines a couple months before anyone else.  It was the case for the first wave of HP products, the Gryffindor tower playset and though I didn't pay too much attention, seems to be the same for the other nano metal figs lines as well.

You never can tell about Target stocking stuff. Alot of times it seems like they "stop" carrying a line and even clearance it, only to pick it up again when a new release comes out or the next retail season comes around.  I figure it's even odds whether they continue carrying the line when second wave becomes more widely available or drop it entirely.

Last edited by Eilif

Eilif, The Dickens Village buildings convey the mood and style that the Potter story/movies tries to portray.  We have a lot of Dickens Village buildings for our Christmas layout that would fit the bill.  I bought the big package of figures that was available last year after I bought a few singles.  I got it at Target.  I have the Great Hall puzzle and a base ready for it, but we never got to building it. 

Casco, good to know Target has them at 50%.  I'm not looking for more, but I'm sure other folks are!  

Mark Boyce posted:

Eilif, The Dickens Village buildings convey the mood and style that the Potter story/movies tries to portray.  We have a lot of Dickens Village buildings for our Christmas layout that would fit the bill.

 

You know, I never even thought about that. Which, of course, now threatens to broaden my interests into yet another Department 56 village series. 

Looks like amazon reduced the price to $45 and posted actual pictures of the book folded out.  Could probably cover the ground with "snow" but given its from a book and that it's paper it probably won't work out... the scale will probably be too small.  My wife is buying it from me though - prime day deal brought it down to 40.  Guess I'll find out.   

 

 

 

 

 

Large retailers only have access to certain licensed products intended for mass-market sales. The Peanuts line is one example.

The high-end items are made in very small quantities and are sold only by authorized dealers, who, as I understand, are restricted from heavily discounting them on clearances until the item is retired.

You won’t be finding the Hogwarts buildings on clearance this year.

Now, I did get lucky with a seasonal shop in a mall that clearances all of its products so it can close up by Dec. 31. I bought the spendy St. Paul Basilica building for half price more than a decade ago. The shop may have flown under Department 56’s radar because of its seasonal nature. Not sure if Department 56 ever caught on. I noticed the shop only stocks licensed items now.

Department 56 is owned by Enesco, the makers of Precious Moments statues, which also tries to protect its price structure on behalf of dealers.

Last edited by Jim R.

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