Lego Hogwarts Castle Review

Since Tiny Toy Reviewer #1 (aged 6) started really getting into the Harry Potter books Mr Toy Reviewer and I he's been desperate for a proper Lego Harry Potter set. So you can imagine the excitement when a kind hearted relative got him the Lego Hogwarts Castle (version 4842) for Christmas. Having had plenty of play time now, this is what we think of it.

What comes with the Lego Hogwarts Castle?

When it comes to themed Lego sets the most popular part in this household are the mini figures, so I'll start with them. Hogwarts Castle comes with:

Harry Potter also has his 'cloak of invisibility' which didn't particularly grab my attention, but Tiny Toy Reviewer #1 is particularly enamoured with the concept of invisibility cloaks so he was particularly thrilled with this little addition.

There are 9 rooms that make up the castle. These include a Gryffindor and Slytherin Common room, Dumbledore's study, the library (restricted section), the Great Hall, a trophy room, the Room of Requirement, the astronomy tower and a room containing a suit of armour.

What is good about this Lego set?

The selection of mini figures is relatively good (although see below for a criticism), and it is nice to have several of the teachers featured in this set. But where the Lego Hogwarts Castle really stands apart from other Lego sets is its unprecedented attention to detail. Everywhere are small details from the book, such as the Sword of Gryffindor in Dumbledore's study, Sirius Black's face in the fireplace of the Gryffindor common room, Tom Riddle's diary hidden in the knight's armour, a copy of the Quibbler with Rita Skeeter's article and a Quidditch trophy with James Potter's name on. The moving stair case is great too! Fans of the books and films will really appreciate these little touches.

The configuration of the castle can be changed, as with other Lego castle sets, with towers clipping together in whatever formation you like. There is a smaller Hogwarts Castle set (set 4867) which can be added onto this one. We've also find this feature useful for storage, as keeping the castle out at all times isn't practical in a playroom where visiting toddlers occasionally rampage, so we unclip the towers at the end of the day and store it neatly in an Ikea Branas basket. It also means that you can break up two squabbling children and they can both play with Hogwarts castle separately *mentioning no names, kids*.

Putting the castle together took around 2 hours and was very straightforward. Older children could probably manage with very little help.

Are there any criticisms?

The immediate criticism that comes to mind is where is Ron Weasley?! I understand that Lego are a business and they want to motivate you to buy as many sets as possible, (and so spread popular figures out between different sets), but if the product has a RRP of over £100 I expect it to feature all popular characters. If they can include all 3 main characters (as in Harry, Ron and Hermione) in the Hagrid's Hut set they can include them all in a set that costs twice the price. Since we happen to have more than one Harry Potter figure I've combined the Hogwarts uniform with the head from a Star Wars figure and a spare ginger Lego hairpiece we had among our spare parts, to make our own makeshift Ron Weasley. Take that Ron-omitting Lego Group.

I also feel that the set really should have at least one Slytherin student, since the castle features the Slytherin common room.

Where is the cheapest place to get the Lego Hogwarts set?

Tricky. Prices can fluctuate wildly, particularly in the run up to Christmas. Our set came from Amazon and was under £80, but prices there can vary widely between £69 and £97. At present everywhere else has it at either full retail or at way over the odds. The RRP (as you find in the Lego store or on the Lego online shop) is £102.99, so if you find it more expensive elsewhere avoid because they are trying to rip you off.

Verdict

Despite the fact it is a bit cheeky omitting Ron Weasley from their premier Harry Potter set, the Lego Hogwarts Castle is still an amazing Lego set. The thought that's gone into creating all the details and secret functions is amazing and it offers plenty of playability in addition to (many, many, many) hours of building fun. If we used a star rating on this site I'd give it 5 stars.