56 replies to this topic

[SuperChris]

By pure luck, I manged to get my hands on the latest Harry Potter LEGO set, Hogwarts 4867 from Waitrose in Hull (Hull does have good things). We've had a review of the forest set, and of the Knight Bus, but it's time for a review of the biggest set from this line! And for my 1 hour spent building it, it didn't feel that big at all!

To save time and rather than lag your internet with huge images, I'll hotlink them from my personal blog - http://chris-bradley.org. All images can be found in high quaility at the links under the pictures. You'll see what I mean.

Set Number: 4867
Name: Hogwarts
Theme: Harry Potter
Release Date: June 2011
Pieces: 466
Minifigs: 7!
Price: £49.99 GBP
S@H description: Hgwarts™ castle is a place of magic and mystery. Explore the castle to discover your favorite moments from the Harry Potter films including the Room of Requirement, Professor Lupin’s office, the Astronomy Tower, the Divination Room and the Mirror of Erised.

The box is a pretty one! lovely artwork on the front showing the Battle at Hogwarts! Very exciting stuff.

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The back shows whats inside the buildings. Again, exciting stuff!

And here is what you get in the box. Stickers, 3 bags and the instruction booklet (that smells lush, by the way).

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The minifigs! They are lovely, and a near great selection. Another Harry, wonderful, and another Mr. Malfoy. We do get a Neville (With a double sided head), Sprout, Lupin and Goyle. I'd rather of had a Tonks figure instead of Mr Malfoy, but hey, you win some, you lose some. Also, I'm not sure why Harry is wearing his uniform. Seems odd, but I'm sure it will make sense when we all see the final movie.

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Sprout

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Lupin

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Goyle

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Neville

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The instruction booklet is like any of the other booklets. A large picture of the trio looking all emo serious in the top right. Don't mess wid us.

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The build is in 3 parts. The bridge, then the two towers. The bridge is pretty cool.

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A neat thing is that it explodes. Poor Nev is just chilling on the bridge...

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...Then bam! Spell! Everything blows up, and he still hasn't changed his expression. That's how hardcore he is.

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The first tower adds onto the right side of the bridge.

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Here is a look inside. Nothing really to see, apart from the globe and the bunk-beds. Bunkbeds are cool (That's for you, Doctor Who fans!)

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And the second tower connects onto the right. Simple as that.

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The set looks quite nice all together, wouldn't you say? It looks a tad plain without the figures though. I'll fix that after I've had a look at the features of the right side.

First up, the mirror! It's about as good as my skills at sticking stickers onto LEGO. (Not that great). If you remember the mirror from the 2001 set, this doesn't look as great. Just my view though.

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We get a classroom, which I guess is meant to be Lupins. It's rather empty, but hey, at least he has a chair.

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And the bottom room is just empty. I'm not sure what the point of it is.

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Finally, the complete set! From behind, and then from the front!

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And here are the pieces left over. Nothing too exciting.


I really like this set, it's great and all, but it seems a little bit expensive for a £50 set. One thing I will say, if you have the other Hogwarts, get this set, but if not, maybe get the other Hogwarts Castle first, then this one.

Now, I know a lot of people will be wondering how it all fits together, and I thought it just wouldn't look right, but I have been proved wrong. See for yourself below.


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Personally, I think it looks great. It fits together really nicely, and just makes the Castle look so much more epic! (I love that word, epic). I can't wait to get this set into my collection, and when I get the Knight Bus and the Forest set, I'll be sure to take pictures!

Time for the final scores!
Design: 7/10 - It's okay. It looks a little odd by itself, but I'll go with it.
Build: 7/10 - I enjoyed it, but it was a bit short, and there was nothing great about it. The last set I built was Diagon Alley. If you're looking for an awesome build get that, not this.
Minifigs: 7/10 - Some great new figures like Neville and Sprout, but did we really need another Mr Malfoy? The answer is no.
Playability: 6/10 - I'll give it 6, just because of the bridge. That's really all there is too it, and it's not that exciting. It can be fun to arrange the Castle layout though.
Parts: 9/10 - Some cool parts here. The globe I love, and you get more tan bricks, which is always good.
Price: 6/10 - A little too high for my liking. I'd say £40 is more reasonable.
Overall: 7/10 - A good set, but nothing too ground breaking. Or should that be bridge breaking?

I hope you've enjoyed this review. Sorry the pictures aren't all that great. My camera is about as lame as my photograph skills. This is only my 2nd review! Go easy on me!

Lame bonus picture.

RUN NEVILLE RUN!

Edited by SuperChris, 29 May 2011 - 06:46 PM.

[Fives]

Thanks for the review of this great set! It looks awesome attached to the other Hogwarts set. Do you think that you could take some more pics of the new figs, and in more detail?

[SuperChris]

Yup, sure thing! I can't believe I missed that out  .

Sprout

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Lupin

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Goyle

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Neville

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[Nick Wolfe]

Great review! Could you take some pictures of it attaching to the other Hogwarts?

Also, I think that Lupin would look better with Neville's hair instead of that orange Lockhart hair, it makes him look like a Weasley.

[SuperChris]

Nick Wolfe, on 29 May 2011 - 06:52 PM, said:

Great review! Could you take some pictures of it attaching to the other Hogwarts?

Also, I think that Lupin would look better with Neville's hair instead of that orange Lockhart hair, it makes him look like a Weasley.

His hair is a little bit darker than Ron's hair. It's just the flash! Sorry!

And by other Hogwarts do you mean the 2001/2003/2007 versions? Because I would, but they are packed away in the loft and would be too much of a hassle to get out and build again. Sorry!

[Masked Builder]

A great review!  I knew I was right in wanting this.    Now I need to get this....

[Nick Wolfe]

SuperChris, on 29 May 2011 - 06:53 PM, said:

And by other Hogwarts do you mean the 2001/2003/2007 versions? Because I would, but they are packed away in the loft and would be too much of a hassle to get out and build again. Sorry!

No, I mean how it connects to last years Hogwarts, It seems like it should come with another little connecting wall segment, like were included in last years Hogwarts to give it some modularity, otherwise something would have to be left out.

[SuperChris]

Nick Wolfe, on 29 May 2011 - 07:12 PM, said:

No, I mean how it connects to last years Hogwarts, It seems like it should come with another little connecting wall segment, like were included in last years Hogwarts to give it some modularity, otherwise something would have to be left out.

Oh right, I think I included what you mean at the bottom of the review :).

[Nick Wolfe]

SuperChris, on 29 May 2011 - 07:13 PM, said:

Oh right, I think I included what you mean at the bottom of the review :).

Alright, I think I see it now. It just seems like there's a connector piece missing. Never ming, I'll find out for myself when I get the set.

[SuperChris]

Nick Wolfe, on 29 May 2011 - 07:15 PM, said:

Alright, I think I see it now. It just seems like there's a connector piece missing. Never ming, I'll find out for myself when I get the set.

Oh, yeah. I noticed that. No extra connect piece included, so you'll have to MOD one yourself.

[Gregorovich]

Thanks for the good review, SuperChris! Good pictures and some funny commentary! However, could you please take a close-up picture of the bunkbeds room and Trelawney's class?

I do like this set quite a lot. I think it looks quite impressive by itself, and even more so when connected to last year's castle. There's a lot of interior details crammed inside, but I think they should've made the dungeons at the bottom have something inside(chamber of secrets?), and that they should've made that empty room the Ravenclaw common room or something like that. Also they should've made the bunkbeds different colours (black with yellow or blue with brown) to show that it's the Room of Requirement, and not just a Gryffindor dormitory. And I think that the cups in the Divination Classroom should be white, not random colours, and there should be a cushion for someone to sit on.  The figures are nice, and although people complain about another Mr. Malfoy, I think they chose the figures wisely. I like the new Lupin, and Sprout is excellent (although I do wish she had a dual sided head, she looks wierd with that odd smile all the time). Overall though, I think TLG did a good job with this set.

Thanks again!

[SuperChris]

Consider it done!


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Any other picture requests; I'll be happy to help!

[The Spark That Bled]

Thanks for reviewing this and showing it next to the other Hogwarts set.  It's like a Lego expansion pack.  

[10or]

GREAT SET! cannot wait to get it next week! it looks great connected to the other Hogwarts!

from all the preview pics, i thought that the mirror would do something, like have the sorcerers stone or something. do Goyle or Lupin have double-sided heads?

[SuperChris]

10or, on 29 May 2011 - 08:58 PM, said:

GREAT SET! cannot wait to get it next week! it looks great connected to the other Hogwarts!

from all the preview pics, i thought that the mirror would do something, like have the sorcerers stone or something. do Goyle or Lupin have double-sided heads?

Nope, sorry.

[sok117]

wow, when it is all put together, it looks really good!  I'm so glad that Lego decided to make the castle modular!

[Legocrazy81]

Definite cool set, looks really good with the castle. You might wanna recheck your instructions. I'm sure those two 2x1s aren't extras... Also, that classroom(I think) may be Lupins office? Well done review, SuperChris, for only being your second. I can't wait to get this, sadly my castle is in pieces, so I can't witness it's majesty in all it's glory.

[SuperChris]

Legocrazy81, on 29 May 2011 - 09:29 PM, said:

Definite cool set, looks really good with the castle. You might wanna recheck your instructions. I'm sure those two 2x1s aren't extras... Also, that classroom(I think) may be Lupins office? Well done review, SuperChris, for only being your second. I can't wait to get this, sadly my castle is in pieces, so I can't witness it's majesty in all it's glory.

Yeah, I thought that, and I couldn't spot anything major.

[White Cat]

Nice review. From my point of view, I never like the portrait of Lupin in the movie nor Lego, but with beard now I think he's finally look good to me. Nice set for minifig lover although I still not own the any Hogwarts Castle.

[Aanchir]

Great review! Is the mirror sticker reflective?

My favorite Mirror of Erised was the one in the Belville-esque set that had Harry's reflection with somewhat ghostly images of his parents behind him. I was far less fond of the holographic revolving wall version. This version is definitely the most ornately brick-built of any of the versions, but at the same time I wish it were larger.

It really does look lovely together with the other one, and I look forward to getting this new one!

[Fives]

Thanks for the pics of the figs! I really think that Lupin is the star of the set. He is just awesome!

Its too bad that the Mirror of Erised is a sticker. Do you think you could include some pics of this set attached with all the parts from the Hogwarts Castle, not just the Great Hall and Gryfindorr tower?

[SuperChris]

Aanchir, on 29 May 2011 - 09:52 PM, said:

Great review! Is the mirror sticker reflective!

Nope, sadly not.

Fives, on 29 May 2011 - 09:55 PM, said:

Its too bad that the Mirror of Erised is a sticker. Do you think you could include some pics of this set attached with all the parts from the Hogwarts Castle, not just the Great Hall and Gryfindorr tower?

I think I did, like this?  

http://chrisbradleys...70722.jpg?w=468

[lightningtiger]

Thanks for the review 'SuperChris', oh yes the perfect set for HP to make Hogwarts castle more like well.....Hogwarts !
The figures are AWESOME, Harry in uniform ? a bit old now for school uniform eh ?.....oh, wait maybe he'll join AC-DC and replace Angus Young....'For those about to....cast spells !'
Yep, on the list to buy (plan is Kingdom's June, City July, HP August....goodness hope my money stretches ! ).
Keep on casting spells everyone !

[Ceroknight]

Thank you for the review!
It looks great when combined with the Castle but on its on it's only a meh  
Bunk beds ARE cool!  

[Fives]

SuperChris, on 29 May 2011 - 10:38 PM, said:

Nope, sadly not.



I think I did, like this?  

http://chrisbradleys...70722.jpg?w=468

Ah, I guess I didn't notice that one.  

This is by far the best set of the wave!