Harry Potter Lego: Dobby's Release
Written: Dec 19 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: unique minifigs, hidden panels, relatively inexpensive
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: This was my first Harry Potter set and one of my favorites, since Dobby is one of my favorite characters.
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| GravityGirl's Full Review: LEGO Harry Potter Dobby's Release 4731 |
Dobby's Release was the first Harry Potter Lego set that I purchased. I didn't even know that the set existed until I stumbled across the reviews right here on Epinions. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Harry Potter, Dobby is a character in the second book, Chamber of Secrets. In fact, Dobby is my favorite character. Some people are not very fond of him and have likened him to Jar Jar Binks, but I would like to remind those people that good ol'Dobby does not speak in an offensive patois. Dobby constantly praises Harry for being noble, but I think that Dobby is very noble as well because he looks out for Harry when people try to hurt him. Dobby is a house-elf who works for the not-so-nice Malfoy family and at the end of the book, he is set free by Harry. I suppose that's somewhat of a spoiler, but the set is called Dobby's Release, after all. Also, in case you couldn't tell, I am a huge Harry Potter fan.
Information
Set Name: Dobby's Release, La Liberacion de Dobby, La Liberation de Dobby
Set Number: 4731
Suggested Age Range: 6-10
Number of Pieces: 70
How does this set relate to the Harry Potter series?
As I mentioned before, Dobby is a house elf who works for the Malfoy family. "Works" is a relative term since Dobby performs hard labor and does not receive wages. Also, the Malfoys are cruel to their elf. Harry goes to school with Draco Malfoy, who is rude, racist and takes every chance he can get to make fun of Harry. Draco's father Lucius, the head of the family, is even more scheming than his son and he is allegedly still in league with Lord Voldemort, the dark wizard who killed Harry's family. But, I digress.
This set includes 2 minifigs: Dobby and Lucius Malfoy. I don't think you can find either of these characters in any other set, so this is definitely a must have especially since it is so inexpensive. I especially enjoy the Lucius mini-fig. He consists of 5 pieces- legs, a torso, a head, a blond hairpiece and a cape. I can't seem to get the cape on Lucius, so I make my husband do it for me. Lucius is wearing a 3 piece suit. I really like this because I saw a Harry Potter special on the Biography Channel in which Jason Isaacs (who plays Lucius in the Chamber of Secrets movie) talks about his character. Originally, they wanted to put Lucius into a suit, but Jason wanted a full out flowing robes long blond hair look for Lucius and he won them over with his vision. I think it's interesting that Lucius ended up this way. I looked in my copy of the Chamber of Secrets book and I couldn't find any reference as to what Lucius is wearing.
Dobby consists of three pieces- legs, a torso and a head. Dobby's facial features are built into his head- he has long ears and a long nose and a very sad expression on his face. Dobby is wearing a stained apron, which I suppose is the tea-towel that he wears in the movie and book. Dobby's legs do not bend.
Building the set
By following the instructions, you can build a small 8 block by 8 block room. To the unsuspecting person who looks at this set, the room looks quite unremarkable- it's just a room with a desk that opens up. But, there is also a secret panel in the wall where contraband can be stored. This is clearly a room in the Malfoy house- although it cannot be proven, Lucius Malfoy allegedly is in league with dark wizards and he has illicit items hidden in his home. There is a little flat block with a picture of a bag with a spider and a bone coming out of it. This is supposed to be contraband, I suppose.
The room also has two windows. My goodness, Lego windows have changed since I first began playing with Legos. These fancy windows are arch shaped and they actually open and shut although I doubt that Lucius Malfoy is the type who enjoys a pleasant breeze.
The set also includes a little book and a flat block (similar to the one described above) with a picture of a sock on it. Dobby cannot be freed until he is given clothing and at the end of Chamber of Secrets, Harry gives Lucius a book with a sock wrapped around it (in the movie, the sock is in the book). Lucius accidentally hands the sock to Dobby, who is freed!
Technically, this set doesn't make sense. Dobby is freed in a hallway at Hogwarts but I don't suppose the "Hogwarts Hallway" playset would be very fun- although I bet the Lego folks could do something really exciting with it. Anyway, I do appreciate the glimpse into the Malfoy mansion. Wait a minute, a Malfoy mansion playset….now that would be cool. Anyway, I am a big Harry Potter fan, but I'm not going to downrate the set because the scene doesn't take place where it does in the books.
I liked that this set was very easy to put together- I don't think it took me longer than 10 minutes. The directions were very easy to follow and the hidden panel was not that difficult to assemble. One of the things that I like best about the directions is that they are wordless, so you can follow them regardless of what language you speak. Also, a younger user does not even have to be able to read at all to be able to follow the directions.
Since this set is so inexpensive (as far as Lego sets go), it would make an excellent stocking stuffer. It is also one of the sets that would be good to start with before purchasing the larger more complicated and more expensive sets. I really like this set more than some of the bigger sets such as "Slytherin" and "The Dueling Club." To begin with, I like the secret hiding places and as if that weren't enough, Dobby' Release features two unique minifigs that cannot be found in any other set.
At under $10, this is an ideal gift for any Harry Potter fan.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 8
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