Harry Potter Legos – Hogwart’s Castle Review
If you’re a serious Harry Potter fan, or even just a serious Lego castle set fan, Hogwart’s Castle should be at the top of your list. Of all the Harry Potter Legos, this set is the biggest and is full of amazing details taken right from The Philosopher’s Stone movie. In this article, I’ll review the Hogwart’s castle Lego set.
First, let me say that this is a big, intricate kit. The box says that it is suitable for children aged 7 and up, but I don’t agree. There are 682 pieces to put together and some of them are fiddly, so I would set the lower age limit at about 10. The nice thing about this though is that the set is really fun for adults to build! It’s a challenge, and makes a great family project. So if you do have younger kids, plan on being the ‘contractor’ for this project.
The instructions are very good and detailed, but you don’t have to stick to them exactly. You can build the castle in several different ways, which is nice if you’re the creative type. The pieces are all separated in different bags according to which part of the castle they are for, so it is easy to stay organized and figure out what goes where, and why.
The payoff for assembly is well worth it. This Lego castle is truly a replica of Hogwart’s and is a real centerpiece. It’s size alone is impressive, but the features really make it: a lifting trap door, secret rooms, spinning fireplace and spiral staircases, treasure chests, a clock tower with a swinging pendulum and moving portraits. The details and textures are top notch, with architectural details familiar to many other Lego castle sets, such as grated windows, arches, multiple towers, a balcony and stone texture.
The designers paid attention to the Harry Potter movie, and included small details that really add to the whole experience. The spinning fat lady portrait in front of Gryffindor is there (and if you have the Gryffindor House Lego set, this is where you’d attach it for the figures to enter and exit), as is Scabbers the rat, plus owls (with letters to carry) a real magnifying glass, a telescope and torches. But the best feature, in my opinion, is the boat that brings the first year students to Hogwart’s!
The kit includes a lot of characters. If you already have other Harry Potter Legos, then some of these will be doubles: Harry, Ron and Hermione of course. But if you’re looking for Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy, Professor Snape or Hagrid (my favorite), you’ll find them here! You also get a Gryffindor Knight and the ghost, Nearly Headless Nick.
A couple of minor things with this set are that it isn’t as durable as some of the other sets, because some of the pieces are flimsy and can break off more easily, and that the inside areas are fairly small once the whole set is built so there isn’t much play area compared to other sets.
If you’re looking for Harry Potter Legos that your kids can play with, Hogwart’s Castle might not be your best choice for young kids. But if your kids are real Harry Potter fans and love to build or collect, Hogwart’s Castle will let them go wild!
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