I got down to some serious business over the last three nights: Harry Potter LEGO building.





First I delved into the brand new version of Hogwarts Castle. With nearly 1,300 pieces, I had to call in my kids for reinforcements. There are loads of beautifully detailed rooms to play in that come in four main sections that can be locked together to create one giant castle, or kept separate for individual play.



The first section houses the Headmaster’s office, including a cool moving spiral staircase and the Trophy Room. One of the best things about this set is the attention to detail: The trophy case includes with a James Potter’s Quidditch plaque. There are also a bunch of nifty items on Dumbledore’s desk and bookshelves, which have hidden compartments (keep an eye out for the Sorcerer’s Stone).

The second section is the Great Hall, which features stained glass windows, Gryffindor and Slytherin House banners, student tables, benches, food and goblets, as well as a place for teachers to sit.



The third section is a three-story tower that contains the Owlery, and Slytherin and Gryffindor Common Rooms, the latter of which includes Sirius Black’s face in the fireplace. There’s also a room with knight guarding Tom Riddle’s diary, which I think is meant to represent the Chamber of Secrets.

The final section is the Astronomy Tower, complete with a telescope on the roof. The second floor leads the Restricted Section of the Library and includes keys that unlock a bookcase concealing a secret book, and the bottom floor is the entrance to the Room of Requirement.



In addition to all the great locations mentioned above, the set also has loads of minifigures: Dumbledore, Harry, Hermione, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Voldemort, two Dementors (with creepy skeletons hidden under their cloaks) and two figures that are brand new to the LEGO line: Professor Flitwick and Argus Filch (with a tiny Mrs. Norris).


Besides those mentioned above, this set comes with tons of accessories. Among them are three owls, an Invisibility Cloak, basilisk fang, Sorting Hat, Sword of Gryffindor, Marauder’s Map, a Hogwarts crest, a Vanishing Cabinet and issues of The Quibbler and The Daily Prophet.


I got a chance to try out the new Burrow play set as well. Not only is this the first time the Burrow’s been featured by LEGO, but this set also includes several new minifigures: Harry Potter, Arthur (new), Molly (new) and Ginny Weasley, Bellatrix Lestrange (new) and Fenrir Greyback (new). Sadly, there is no Ron in this set.

(And yes, I did move the Molly and Bellatrix figures over to the Hogwarts Castle play set to reenact their final battle. You know you would have, too.)

Although the Weasley house has that wonky asymmetrical look we’ve all come to know and love, don’t worry - it’s only cosmetic. The LEGO bricks themselves are straight and I had no trouble putting it together. Attached to the house is a pig pen, complete with pig. The set comes with several windows and a couple of bushes.


There are three floors and there is no wall on the back of the house, making it easy to play with the figures inside it. On the bottom floor of the house is the Weasley kitchen, which includes dishes, utensils, mock food and a seating area. There’s also the living room that houses the famous Weasley family clock. There is a bedroom is on the second floor, along with a Hogwarts trunk, and another bedroom on the third and final floor.


The set comes with a neat Floo Network fireplace that actually works. I dropped in Harry, flipped the handle and the fireplace dumped him out the back while an image of floo powder flames appeared in the front. It also comes with a little area you can build that represents the reeds outside the Burrow, where Ginny was nearly attacked by Fenrir Greyback. This Burrow set also comes with a copy of the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler.

Both of these fantastic building sets can be purchased online at the following links:

Hogwarts Castle: Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
The Burrow: Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

KP1

GinnyFan

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Fireball