Matn

The Shrieking Shack is an abandoned house in Hogsmeade and it is rumoured to be the most haunting building in Britain. It's a favourite stop on any Hogsmeade visit. . People believed the building was haunted because of the wails once heard, but in fact is was Remus Lupin transforming into a werewolf. The Shrieking Shack was built so Remus could transform a safe distance away from the Hogwarts students. It was in this building Harry Potter learned the true identity of Sirius Black. Voldemort used this as a hide-out in the Battle of Hogwarts. More pictures at: Brickshelf: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=446610 MOCpages: http://mocpages.com/moc.php/227974 Flickr: I liked the original set (check out Cutlass Iz's excellent review of the 4738), but I had to make my own interpretation so it fits in my Hogsmeade village. As described in the book, it stands on a hill surrounded by a fence. I didn't want to make it too big because it's a shack, not a mansion. I hope you like it!

I am in desperate need of an Utility Belt, those designed by Brickforge. I could order them at their shop, but I'm afraid it won't arrive in time (and I'm waiting on them to release other centaurs). I'm searching for a white Utility Belt, but it the colour doesn't matter much (white is just the easiest for me). I hope someone in Europe has the Utility Belt for me, as from outside of Europe it would take too long. I'll pay the price on the Brickforge shop for it (1 dollar or 0,75 euro) plus, of course, the shipping costs to Belgium. Oh, and if the person happens to have an extra light flesh minifig head, it would be welcome. I'll pay by IBAN or PayPal. I hope someone from Europe has this Brickforge Utility Belt for me, it will be greatly appreciated!

Alright, I have a great idea. I've been thinking about one for the last couple of days, but it was right in front of my eyes when watching a few clips (after listening to the soundtrack the whole week) of a great film. The idea is great, now I just have to hope things work out great also. And thanks to the ones who managed to bring in such great prizes, wow!

The main trailer for the Deathly Hallows: part 1 has been released. And it's epic! It will be so awesome, let's hope the film is as good as this trailer and everything will be alright. Some very nice scenes, including the house of the Lovegood family (I imagined it like a tall tower, I built one like that, but I'll probably adjust it a bit to look like the one in the film), Voldemort stealing the wand, the wedding and of course the seven Potters. I loved the trailer for the Half-Blood Prince, but I was a bit disappointed in the film itself (mostly because they left out so much stuff). But from seeing the trailer they already did a lot of things right.

As I participated in the first MCW Contest, I think I'll keep the tradition alive and enter this one! (and make my second custom minifigure ever) There are so many choices which can be made here, so thanks for the freedom. I'm looking forward to all the entries.

I'll try to make something for this contest, just for the fun of it! I own a couple of Bionicle figures and a few Technic sets, so I'll try to make the best of it of what I have. It's a whole different theme as I'm normally into LEGO System only. But I have some nice ideas I'd like to work out. We'll see.

Although I'm not interested in Hero Factory, I think I'll try to participate in the contest, just for the fun of it. I have a few Bionicle figures, and a couple of Technic sets, so I'll try to finally make good use of them. It's a whole different theme for me. And on the LEGO Harry Potter month subject: I can't say I'm not disappointed in hearing that it hasn't even been brought up in the staff forum. But it's not a big deal to me: every month is LEGO Harry Potter month for me!

Happy birthday I Scream Clone! I hope you'll have a great day! The others too, happy birthday.

Again, thanks for the kind words! I totally forgot to say this, but this was actually going to be an entry for the Eurobricks Train Contest, a year ago! I made the roof in August, then the ground floor of the building and a small part of the second floor, but it wasn't ready in time and I felt bad for not entering then. I ought to have worked harder on it back then, but I've adjusted a lot of things I probably wouldn't have incorporated a year ago. Oh, and I'm also going to make a topic in the MCW forum with my custom decals in the future, when I have made decals for other shops. I'm sure people could use them of someone would make something of the grounds of Hogwarts.

This is really great, Cutlass Iz. At first glance I didn't really notice it's 'just' a facade. Running out of bricks, it happens to all of us, but you managed to make something very good with it. Great colours and I like the details of the brickwork. Perhaps you can finish it one day, I hope.

You did indeed a decent job without LEGO Harry Potter parts. But isn't so hard to make something that could resemble Hogwarts, I still remember I did it myself when I only had the Final Task set back in 2001. I used all the light and dark grey I could find in my collection to make castles, with some splashes of black. Hogwarts doesn't have to be tan, it can be grey, but this mixture of colours isn't really appealing to the eye. But it works as a playset. You said you didn't put much thought in this, next time put in some thought and only when you yourself are satisfied, upload it.

Thanks for the review Ras 74, it's great to finally see decent pictures of this wonderful set. Now it's time for an elaborate reply. I just love it. This is definitely one of the best LEGO (Harry Potter) sets ever. It's the best Hogwarts version, but I don't think it would fit very well with the other versions as it's a different scale and a different (better) colour scheme. The first version was alright (focusing on the Great Hall and the biggest tower), the second version was very good (focused on a good designed clock tower and, again biggest tower). And the third set was good for it parts and minifigures, but the design was mainly focused on random little towers and because of that it didn't look outstanding (the greenhouse was excellent though). So: if you put a sand green roof on the second Hogwarts Castle and lower it down a bit (but using all tan parts) it would certainly fit together. This version seems to focuses again on the Great Hall and the biggest tower, including some other parts of the castle. The design looks great and the colours are just excellent with the splashes of dark tan. I think the architecture is outstanding and it would fit even in a regular town as an old castle. It's great to finally see there aren't any holes in the design, it looks way better! The interior is also very good, with all those details. Great printed pieces like the detailed papers, nice stickers too. This set also looks like a great parts pack. The minifigures: ! I love the new Dementors, they look more detailed and darker: I'll try and mix them with the old designs. I'll have to get used to Voldemort, he has a strange grin and I expected him to be Light Bluish Grey. Snape looks good to, although the 2007 version looked more tormented. McConagall looks great too with a dark green version of the dress of her older minifigure, but her face looks a bit younger. Filch looks great and so does Flitwick! They even improved Dumbledore: he looks very much like Michael Gambon's Dumbledore, I love the details on the figure, what an usable figure. Hermoine looks alright. Like I've said before: Harry Potter looks a bit childish for this 6th/7th film set. I also like the cat very much, it looks great. The invisibility cloak looks weird though, perhaps a cape in the same fabric with a trans-clear cloak headpiece would've looked better. The owls look great too, the printing and new design is just wonderful, although they look a bit big in my opinion (but I haven't seen them in real life, so I'm not sure). Phew! I can't wait to get my hands on this one. I probably won't buy it, but I really hope I'll get this set as a Christmas and New Year gift. It's pretty expensive because it's a licensed set, but it looks like it's worth it though. Again, thanks for this review, now I want it even more!

Wow! Thanks everyone! I really appreciate all the nice comments. For those who said it would fit in a LEGO town, it certainly would. I'm probably going to place it in my own (now messed up) table town. Actually, it's only Hogsmeade Station in name as it doesn't bare resemblance to the Goathland Station, used for filming in the first film. In the middle of the building process I thought of building the Goathland Station instead, but I'd thought a tudor styled building would look nicer together with other buildings of the same style. Perhaps I'll try it in the future, but I'm satisfied with my made-up Hogsmeade Station for now. Now, let's answer some questions. It's indeed with Travis bricks. On each Travis bricks there is a technic 1x1 brick with hole on the sides. I did it like that so it also looked good from the inside, because with technic 1x1 bricks you could see the pin sitting. Ah, yes, it would have been nice to added the train. But I don't own any of those great steam train wheels (or Big Ben Wheels). For my layout in November I'm probably going to use a modified official LEGO Hogwarts Express, unless I get myself some of those wheels. And perhaps the train would have been a distraction here. I had a tough time deciding where to put the station, actually. It's only Harry Potter in name, but then again the Licensed forum needs more LEGO Harry Potter. Perhaps it could be added to the train index? I've thought about that, but then I already bought the boxes of red slopes. Perhaps when I have enough dark red slopes to put in some variation I'll do it. It would look nice indeed. Weird, it's not even based on the Goathland Station. The footbridge looks a bit the same, though. As for the next buildings: I'm not sure yet. I'm running out of (mainly reddish brown) bricks and plates, so it will probably be the Shrieking Shack and then when I've made some Bricklink orders a couple of other ones. We'll see. The Hogsmeade Station is actually on the opposite side of Hogsmeade, the lake in between them. But for my layout, I'll just place it all together with a track around the little village. I'm going to build a lot more buildings, but it'll hopefully be spread over next year. If it looks good with only the shops, then I won't build any regular houses. I'll only put the town together a few days before the next BeLUG event (on the table or floor or so), so I can see what fits best and I get pack them immediately to take them with me. All the separate MOCs are currently spread in my room and LEGO corner. Glad to see a creation of made has convinced you to join! That makes me happy. Again, thank you all very much for all these nice comments!

A tiny, dark platform where the Hogwarts Express ends its journey north from Platform Nine-And-Three-Quarters. The station is located near the lake, and from there a road extends around the lake to Hogwarts Castle. The station is actually quite a distance from the town itself, being on the opposite side of the Hogwarts grounds. People are waiting for the train to arrive. Some of them have been to Hogsmeade for business, others for shopping. Hagrid is waiting to welcome to first years and then go with them to the Hogwarts Castle with the boats. As you can see, this is not the tiny and dark platform. Let's say, after the defeat of the Dark Lord the Ministry of Magic invested in a new Hogsmeade Station. They upgraded the whole building and it now not only serves as a railway station, but also as a restaurant and hotel. The custom decals are made by myself and I was inspired by bricktrix for the footbridge. More pictures at: Brickshelf: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=444853 MOCpages: http://mocpages.com/moc.php/225027 Flickr: I hope you like it! I've started building this in August 2009, the roof was then ready. In February it was almost ready, but then I lost interest in it. In the summer holiday I placed some orders and I finally finished it last Sunday. A lot has changed in a year, I kept adjusting it until I was satisfied (unfortunately I've deleted WIP photos and I can't find my first sketches). It's my biggest (and most expensive) project ever and I'm happy with the result. It's going to be a part of my Hogsmeade layout.

Happy birthday, I hope you had a great day!

Ah, yes, it looks great with that outfit! Thanks for showing that, this means I'll have to buy a few of that set to get a couple less expensive generic Death Eaters.

Thanks for the nice review! I like the set, although there are a few nitpicks. On a whole the set is good and the building is nicer than I thought. I liked the 2002 version, but this one is equally nice because of the figures. A shame the diary isn't printed. The figures are great, Malfoy has a good headprint but the back of it isn't so good. It's just too small and there's something wrong with the eyes. The one in the graveyard set was nice, but the best generic Death Eater is the one in the 3rd Hogwarts Castle set (you just can't top that). It's like a too small mix between the two previous masks. So the Lucius figure is great, except for the back. Harry looks better than I thought with his angry face, but it's still a bit too young to be used in all of the sets. It fits perfectly here though, as it's for the second book. Dobby is great! I like the new flesh colour and of course the nice details of his eyes. Only downside is that he's looking up a bit too much. Thanks again for this review!

Okay, although this isn't really Harry Potter news, it's related. Ronald Moore, the writer of the Battlestar Galactica (2004) series, is working on a new television series inspired by Harry Potter. It's "described as an adult Harry Potter set in a world ruled not by science but by magic", it's made for Sony and they already pumped in 2 million dollars for the series. Now, I'm not very familiar with BG but I heard it's pretty good. I love this idea, althought book seven had an adult feeling because it was written for those who grew up with Harry Potter. I'm thinking it will involve wizards, unknown for the normal people, in the world we live in today. ...which also makes me a bit unhappy as I'm currently writing something like that, but I bet Moore will work it out greatly (he's got the experience and of course a big pile of money behind him). And my idea will never be visually realised. I'm looking forward to this. After all the Harry Potter madness, fans will probably enjoy this as a replacement. Now just hope this is good. EDIT: forgot the link.

Thanks for the High Resolution pictures Grogall! I'm looking forward to them. The folder of the Burrow is already online. I just love it! Everything about it is perfect (okay except Harry's face considering it's in the 6th film but I'm not going to ramble more about that). I'd like to think the upper bed (in Ron's room) has a Chudley(/Cambridge) Cannons bedspread on it. The Daily Prophet looks great too, so detailed, so perfect (look at the drawing of Azkaban!). The clock is nice too, very useful! And the figures just finish this great set. I can't wait to get my hands on it, this is certainly my most wanted set of the new LEGO Harry Potter line! EDIT: Hogwarts Express pictures also online. Very decent set, the figures are lovely. Luna Lovegood looks very nice, love those prints! The owls are also great and so is the copy of the Quibler. The car looks great too, it looks actually cute.

I almost did that too. I was going to pre order them for 330 euro instead of 390 euro for them all. But then I said 'no' to myself. I'll just buy the Burrow when it's out and I'll hope I get the two smaller ones as presents. Hagrid's Hut, Hogwarts Express and the beautiful Hogwarts, sadly and probably, won't be in my collection unless someone in my family wants to make me extremely lucky around christmas and in January my birthday or I win unexpected lots of money. How beautiful they are, I've decided to put my money in my own wizarding world instead of the too expensive official one. For now, that is. And I also agree on the joy of getting one LEGO set at the time. I almost never buy different sets at once, if I do it I put a lot of time between them when I build the sets. I'll do the same with the LEGO Harry Potter sets. The anticipation makes is even more fun when you finally get them in your hands.

Just take your time with the pictures and try to get the most out of your camera, that's what I did a couple of years ago (although it didn't last long ). I'll bet we'll still discover some new things because of your reviews. I knew I wasn't going to be the first to review them, sets always come later here. But I'll do it anyway I think. The products site looks nice indeed, although I'm not a big fan of the 3D images. I really like the commercial with the model building scenery around the castle!

I'm looking forward to your reviews!

I'm also very excited to see what it is. The Hogwarts Mafia game has me really made interested in these kind of games and an even more new concept of mafia games certainly has my attention. And I've finally remembered which game these mafia games resemble: Weerwolven van Wakkerdam (Die Werwölfe von Düsterwald). A German cart game which is well known and fun to play. A quick look at Wikipedia learns that Weerwolven is based on Mafia, the original Russian game.

I paid 29,99 EUR, which seems fair to me. The store also had the yellow one for 29,99 EUR althought I've seen it in Belgium for 19,99 EUR.

I went to a Toy'R'Us in France and found this. I thought, why not, it's an exclusive and the shop looks nice to be put in my town. I'm going to build it tomorrow. I'm not sure though if I'll buy his yellow brother.