Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle
Coming soon!Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts CastleThis is the fourth iteration of the famous Hogwarts in Lego form. The previous sets, though containing some great elements, never managed to bring it all together in the way this one does. The level of detail, from the ------------------------------------------ , should impress even the most die-hard Potter fanatic. The joy of assembling this set, for me, was in discovering all the little details the designers slipped in to every part of the build. There are a few weak elements (a vanishing cabinet that doesn’t vanish anything) but overall it is a delightful build.
To start, Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle features 11 minifigures. 11! That's great for a set this size, and we get a great assortment. Of course, the obligatory Lego Harry Potter is present and accounted for, with his school uniform on featuring the Gryffindor crest. Nothing new about this guy, he's identical in a thousand other Lego HP sets. Moving on.
To round out the lot, we also get Lego Severus Snape, Argus Filch, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Hermione Granger, two Dementors, the inimitable Albus Dumbledore, and, of course, Lego Lord Voldemort himself. And the suit of armor in the hallway apparently counts as a figure as well. A great haul for minis!
Severus Snape looks appropriately miserable, and is a vast improvement over his previous Lego versions. Dressed all in black, he is also wearing a cape that helps give the impression of a set of robes. His facial expression and hairpiece work together to help give the impression of a brooding, angst-filled meanie. Perfect for Snape.
Filch's minifigure is new to Legos, and he works well for the part. The long gray hair is a bit much for the character , but from the front he looks suitably creepy. He comes with a lantern and also his true love, the cat Mrs. Norris, who is printed in brown and white. The printing on his torso is nicely detailed.
Lego Minerva McGonagall is here as well, and she is wearing the sloped brick generally used for Lego dresses. Also, her stately witch's hat gives her the tall look that is appropriate for her character. Her robes and hat are in dark green, which looks good, and are all nicely printed, but I can't remember if she dresses like this in the movies or if she's pretty much always in black? Probably the decision to go green was made to introduce some variety into the character color scheme, which is fine.
Next up is the diminutive Filius Flitwick, a character that I don't recall having much significance in the books or the films but hey, whatever. He is exclusive to this set, which is nice. He features the shorter leg piece most often used for children or Lego Yoda, and it helps to match him up with his movie namesake. The foppish hairpiece is a great choice for this figure.
Lego Hermione Granger is here as well, with the same torso and legs as Harry. She is the same as the figure that appears in several other current Harry Potter set, and is satisfactorily Hermione-looking. She has a double sided head with alternately angry and normal expressions, and, while not a perfect representation of Hermione's look, is sufficient for a Lego version.