I hope Lionel does some acc. to go with the Hogwarts Express train set. The Hogwarts school, platform 9 3/4’s would be fantastic. I am going to be picking up one of these sets soon and plan to do a train show display set up. Other than Thomas the Tank, this is one thing kids and adults can relate to. I may look into adapting some window material from the parts bin to give the impression of people in the train. I do wish lionel had done more than plain white windows, it cannot cost that much more to print people on the window material. Thats ok, gives me something to do on a borring winter weekend! I may also pick up a second loco only and repaint it back to correct GWR green Hall class. This is the cheapest way to get some HiRail UK power short of droping some major coin on the Ace Trains tinplate stuff! The real question, are the folks running this set Muggles or not? LOL
This is a licensed set. The license holder has a great deal of say in what you can or can not do. The original PE sets had to have the box art redone because the license holder didn’t like something in the way it was done.
I can see that, I know how picky folks can be when dealing with such a large image as Harry Potter. I am guessing if set sales go as well as they are hoping, that we will probably see add ons and some acc. by Christmas 2008. The set screams for add ons in the following years. Animated add on passenger cars, the 9 3/4’s station platform ect. I am surfing now for a decent castle to put on the layout. Something not to large but at the same time, not hugely expensive. I can fab up my own platforms to some extent. I am just glad to see Lionel doing this set. The bachmann one left a lot to be desired, the Marklin one is expensive and takes thier special track. I have a small Marklin HO layout but its not designed for a large passenger train. My HP set will look awsome under the Christmas tree this year. Mike
I fully expect them to come out with additional cars just as they’ve done for the Polar Express.
I too hope (and fully expect) to see tons of accessories for this. One other interesting thing happened to me today at the train store; my first in-person look at the HE and I was blown away by how good it looked. As many others have said, for the money it’s a fanstastic set. However, my daughter of 4, remarked all by herself upon seeing it, “Daddy, how come there are no people in the train cars?” She’s very familiar with the PE so that’s probably why she asked but I agree Lionel missed an opportunity to make this fantastic set perfect by omiting passenger silhouettes. Still wouldn’t hesitate to buy…
Roland