Hogwarts Castle - Magical, Mystical & Simply Breathtaking!
Written: Sep 13 '02 (Updated May 26 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
|
Pros: I only get 15 words to tell you how incredible this set is!
Cons: A little difficult to follow some areas of the instruction book.
The Bottom Line: Barring a few new sets that are soon-to-be-released, this is one of my all-time-favorite Harry Potter sets. The final product is more than worth the time needed to assemble it.
|
|
|
| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle 4709 |
One of the largest sets in the Harry Potter Lego series, Hogwarts Castle is a most impressive sight when completed. Not since the Star Wars Millennium Falcon have I seen a more detailed set of truly mammoth proportion. Of course, with all the splendor comes the hefty price tag of $79.99, which is on the low side of the pricing spectrum. Looking at the photo n the front of the box you only get to appreciate about one quarter of the detail that has been put into this set.
To say that this is a colossal building project is an understatement. Allow yourself plenty of time to go through the pieces, separate out the different elements and read through the directions because a few minutes of planning will keep you from going completely insane while building this. Personally I think that this is one of the best Harry Potter Lego sets to date however I will let you in on a little secret – the next series to be released shortly before the film will have a Quidditch Practice and Slytherin House! Not to mention the enormous Chamber of The Winged Keys!
The Castle
So many people totally trashed the design of the castle – some said it looked horrid and too wide open and others said that it didn’t represent Hogwarts in the best possible light. Putting aside my love of castles I will say this, you are dealing with Lego elements so unless this was a 5,000 piece set there is no way the designers would be able to adequately be able to provide the detail to recreate the castle in it’s entirety. Within the confines of the castle there are room, chambers and hallways, all of which have secret little hiding places for magic books, the Nimbus 2000, the crystal ball, the keys and even magic wands. Since there are so many different options and ways to build these internal hiding places – chances are that this set will get a tremendous amount of use. Even after the initial thrill wears off there are over 650 pieces that can be used to make other scenes, adapted for use with other Lego sets or added to other Harry Potter scenes.
There are three main sections to the castle however there are many levels and floors to each individual section. My personal favorite is the observation deck that is housed in the third floor chamber of the main part of the castle. It’s not very big and most people will think it’s rather basic in it’s design but it gives the castle a very ‘old world’ feel to it. Within the confines of the castle there’s a magical staircase that moves of it’s own free will [ok, it requires a little human help], a portal that requires a secret password [Fat Lady portrait], Dumbledore’s workbench, a very nice secluded balcony and several very nice hallways that would make great hiding spots if Harry had his invisibility cape. Outside the castle there’s no shortage of adventure either. Some of the more interesting points to ponder are … one of the small journeymen boats used to ferry the students to the castle,
Figures
Included in this set are four students and three teachers from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There is another figure included with the set but I’ll leave that as a surprise! I can’t exactly give away all the good parts of the set now can I? If you really want to know what the figure is or just can’t stand suspense, feel free to email me.
Harry Potter
Just like every other set, the Harry Potter figure comes with stenciled glasses, scar on the forehead and a nicely done Gryffindor uniform. The one thing that sets this Harry Potter figure apart from the others is the blue cape he is assigned instead of the black cape with stenciled gray stars. Harry’s accessories include a magic wand and his trusty Nimbus 2000 broom.
Hermione Granger
Presented in her Gryffindor uniform, Hermione Granger is the epitome of cute! Her red lipstick, charming smile and long brown sculpted hair make her an essential to the set. Her uniform is the same as Harry and Ron’s so you shouldn’t worry about trying to pick out which figure gets a certain torso. She comes complete with the standard issue students black cape with stenciled star pattern, magic wand, yellow hands and gray legs.
Ron Weasley
It’s a little hard to imagine Ron Weasley without his trademark red hair and I’m so glad the Lego designers took this into consideration. While he doesn’t have much detail to him, it’s the hair that completely makes this figure. Just like Draco and Hermione, Ron comes with the black stenciled cape and magic wand. His Gryffindor uniform gives him a very crisp look and is a snap to assemble.
Professor Snape
Out of the three adults included with this set, Snape has the least amount of detail to him – but let me say this – he is impressive nonetheless. The purple stenciled design on the torso carries over to his legs and gives him a sinister feel. Personally, I think Snape’s face should have looked a little more pasty than it does in this set but this is just a small minor personal irk and nothing that will take away from the figure. Snape’s cape is supposed to be straight black according to the instructions however since there are a number of capes available within the set, you have a lot of choices available to you. Snape doesn’t come with any preassigned accessories but you can easily have him holding one of the magic books, crystal ball or even Harry’s Nimbus 2000.
Dumbledore
This is the figure that has the most amount of detail and the most number of individual pieces. Made up of six pieces – hair, head, beard, cape, torso and legs – he is a visually stunning figure. The purple cape almost completely matches the color of his torso and the stenciling that starts at his shoulders flows over onto the leg piece. His facial detail is nice also – and it just wouldn’t be Dumbledore without the puffy white eyebrows and beard to match.
Hagrid
The loveable Hagrid is depicted nicely in this set. Only available in three Harry Potter sets, Hagrid is a little larger than the rest of the Lego figures. His full beard almost completely covers his face but you do get to see a little of his eyes and mouth peeking through. Hagrid is rather plain looking with the only notable amount of detail being the red stenciled shirt that can be seen under his enormous brown burly coat.
Draco Malfoy
Draco is the only non-Gryffindor student included with this set. His Slytherin uniform is easy to spot out of the four torsos that you are provided with so building him shouldn’t be too hard. His facial expression is one of the best parts of his figure and is identical to the ones he is shown with in other sets. Draco has the very cool black cape with stars, light brown hair and sadly, his only accessory is his magic wand. If you have other Harry Potter sets you can use some of the elements for Draco if you choose but it’s not completely necessary since his figure is impressive in itself.
Animals
There’s no shortage of animals in this set that’s for sure. There are four different owls in this set in the following colors; white, gray, black and brown. The two cute little rats [white and gray] are easy to lose so make sure you keep a close eye on them. There are only two small bats provided with this set however these are the same one featured in the Harry Potter Forbidden Corridor [4706] as well as all of the older Fright Knights, Knights Kingdom and Bat Lord sets. All of the animals that are included with this set can be purchased from brick vendors and brokers if you wish to add more to the scene or end up losing a few of them. I took all the owls from all the other Harry Potter sets and attached them to all the flat posts on the castle walls and ledges. At first I didn’t care for the overabundance of owls I added to the scene but after giving it a few days I couldn’t bear to remove them.
My Favorite Pieces
The clear treasure chest is without a doubt on of my favorite pieces in this set. This is the only set, so far, that features a clear treasure chest and to say that this is highly collectible is an understatement. The abundance of animals is clearly a plus and of course the bats rank amongst my favorites. The goblets that are included are always great pieces to have and have a tremendous number of uses. Couple these with the transparent round pod elements and you can easily create trophies or your own "cup 'o jewels".
The castle pieces and rock formations are simply wonderful and in all honesty, you can never have too many of these. They are great for building background scenes, beachfronts and providing a sturdy base from which to build a huge structure. If you have other Harry Potter sets you can easily use the pieces from this set to extend or enlarge buildings or scenes.
The magic books are a great addition to the set and when combined with the books from other sets you can build a small library. There are four books included with this set [black, green, blue and red] but my favorite is the black one with the very cool silver stenciled pattern on it. These books are a little delicate and shouldn’t be handled roughly so make sure smaller kids are aware of this fact.
The Downside
I really hoped that there would be enough accessories for all of the included figures. There are four students but only one broom, one magnifying glass and one crystal ball. While each of the students has his and her own magic wand that hardly makes up for the missing accessories. It seems a little foolish to skimp on the accessories when you are charging upwards of $80.00 - $90.00 for a set. I would have rather seen some of the castle elements reduced or made as inclusive pieces and received more accessories instead.
People who haven't had much experience building sets might find this a bit overwhelming when they first open the box. The instruction book is enough to scare most people away let alone the number of bags that the items come in. Take your time, read through the instruction book and if you get frustrated take a break.
Instructions
Please don't fall over when you see the massive instruction book that comes with this set. If it weren't for the extensive amount of detail placed into the illustrations chances are even seasoned Lego builders would have a hard time completing the castle and all the extras. It’s best to look through the book first and become familiar with what you will be building, which areas will be covered first and how all the individual sections come together. It’s better to take ten minutes to look over the steps and stages than to have to rip apart a section that was built incorrectly.
The first stages of assembly deals directly with the construction of the figures included with this set. Hagrid and Dumbledore are the only two that receive any type of step-by-step illustrations however Harry, Hermione, Ron and the rest of the figures are easy enough to figure out. The next phase is Hagrid’s boat which is a piece of cake. Even though it shows Harry and Hagrid in the boat, these are just guides to show you what can be done with the elements, not what has to be done.
The first portion of the scene you will build is the archway that is shown on the far right hand side of the box. The smallest of the components of the castle, this is the easiest to build. There are a total of eleven steps to build this side piece to the castle which leads you into the next section of construction to complete the side of the castle as well as the archway.
The hinged pieces are the cornerstone of the next section – the movable staircase and the hallway. When building this section make sure that the stenciled stone columns are facing the correct way or you may have to end up tearing this portion of the castle apart to correct the error. This part of the instruction book is rather confusing so it’s best to take it slow and double check your piece selection and placement rather than rushing through it. You have to remember, this is an open backed structure, and any errors that you make during construction will be painfully visible when the castle is reversed. The movable staircase is by far one of the nicest features to this portion of the castle and care should be taken that it is assembled correctly.
The Knights Tower is the next section to be built, this is the section that features the Fat Lady portrait as well as the third floor observatory. This section of the in instruction book as a lot of side bar illustrations that might be viewed as a hindrance to some advanced builders but a godsend to those that are relatively new to Lego construction manuals. Within this section there are a lot of small details that need to be addressed step by step in order to have it come out perfectly. Make sure you have all the pieces assembled for the first floor before you move on to the second and third floor additions since most of the pieces will be hard to add once these levels have been added. When you hit pages 40 and 41 you should stop and take a close look at the steps you have covered since you are almost done with this portion of the castle. Check your pieces and placement before you go any further because thesis pretty much the point of no return.
The main section of the castle is what takes up a bulk of the instruction book and when you hit this section you might want to take a break because this is the largest section and can be the most confusing to some people. The instructions seem to be rushed – by that I mean they show several steps within each illustration, which makes it almost impossible to get through this without at least a few minor mistakes. Once you have gone through the first 28 steps for this section you are ready to attach the two roof tiles – these are not Lego elements but rather laminated cards that are used instead of plastic bricks.
The last ten pages of the book show you the complete castle, alternative designs and provide you with instructions for building the boat dock as well as several other small structures. As usual there is a plug on the back page for the Harry Potter CD Rom game but strangely no advertisements for other Harry Potter Lego sets. There is a nice color supplement provided in the box that shows the other Potter sets as well as other releases from the 2001 line up.
Recommendations
This is a massive scene so make sure you have enough room to build it. You will need about one half of an average kitchen table to build the set and join all the sections together so make sure that you leave yourself enough room to not only build the section – but to join them together. If you don’t have space on your kitchen table a nice sized piece of wood will do in a pinch. Building this on a carpeted area isn’t recommended since you need stability at the base of it. If you have 8 to 10 green base plates available you can use these providing that you can join them together to provide a stable base for the castle and accompanying pieces.
Things To Know
The capes. As with all other Lego sets, the capes for the figures come in small white boxes. These can easily get misplaced or tossed in the garbage by accident if you don’t pick them out and set them aside.
There are several castle elements and arches that aren’t clearly defined in the instruction book. This is where taking your time and pulling out the pieces for each section comes into play. I’d rather "waste" an hour breaking up the pieces needed for the individual structures than several hours tearing a section apart to retrieve one misplaced piece.
One might question the presence of the Sorcerer’s Stone within the castle and if it is being guarded by Fluffy. Depending on how you look at the "crystal ball" I’ve been talking about through the review – this could be consider or used as the Sorcerer’s Stone. It’s never really been defined or said outright this is the Sorcerer’s Stone so stop calling it a crystal ball. So each person is left up to their own interpretation of what this Lego element is and how it is best used within the scene.
The Bottom Line
Since I have a deep love of castles, I had to have this set. I figured that even if the set was a complete wash and I hated the finished product I could still over about 80% of the elements for my own castle scene. The boys had a great time building this and they all shared the different responsibilities of separating the pieces, double checking the instructions, keeping track of the small pieces and fixing small building and placement errors. If you have a child that loves Harry Potter as well as the Harry Potter Lego series, this would make a gift they’ll remember for a long time. Since this is an advanced set with a lot of intricate pieces, this wouldn’t be advisable for those just getting into Lego construction or those that haven’t had much experience with the Lego elements.
I am waiting for these sets to drop in price to stock up on them. Since they were a huge hit when they were first released I know that a few years down the road from now they will increase in value the harder they become to find. With the new sets just around the corner as well as the release of the Harry Potter film in 62 days it’s questionable as to whether Lego will push the set again or slash the prices to make room for the new sets. If you are ready for a real building challenge and have an extra $80.00 on hand – I highly suggest that you pick up the Hogwarts Castle and relive the magic of the film and book all over again!
The Stats
Set Name: Hogwarts Castle
Family Set: Harry Potter
Lego Set: 4709
Number of Pieces: 682
Age Recommendation: 6 - 12
Ease Of Assembly: Moderate to advanced
Time Of Assembly: 45 – 60 minutes
Cost: $ 79.99
As always, thanks for the read!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
Other Harry Potter Lego set reviews ...
Hogwarts Express
Troll on The Loose
Gryffindor House
Dobby’s Release
Quality Quidditch Supplies
Hagrids Hut
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $79.99
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.