Lego's Troll on The Loose - Another Great Harry Potter Set!
Written: Jul 31 '02 (Updated Jul 31 '02)
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Pros: Extremely unique Troll figure, interesting backdrop, some very fun pieces.
Cons: A little disorganized, scale of the building / structure is completely off.
The Bottom Line: The only good troll is a dead troll...
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| Freak369's Full Review: LEGO Harry Potter Troll on the Loose 4712 |
You would think that Harry Potter would have learned by now, trolls are nothing but bad news. Have you ever met a friendly troll? I didn’t think so I was more than ecstatic when I learned that Wal-Mart had finally gotten the second wave of Harry Potter Lego’s in stock – we’ve managed to collect almost every single set so far and when I saw the cool pieces that were included with this set – I knew it would be a huge hit with the boys! Oh who am I kidding? I was just as excited to get to the store and check out the packages as they were. And the addiction grows…
For those of you not into Lego, Harry Potter or the combination of both; here is a brief run down of what you have missed. Most of the major characters have been immortalized in plastic as well as the major buildings within the film, the most impressive being the castle itself. The sets contained the mini figures of the characters as well as magical items, animals mentioned in the book and seen in the film and a wide assortment of unique pieces that were created just for the Harry Potter And The Sorcerers Stone Lego series. This set marked the second wave of sets that were due to be released from Lego however they missed the big rush of the video / DVD release so the reception from fans was far less than expected by the Potter camp as well as the Lego company.
Troll on The Loose
If you have seen the film, you will recall the scene where the troll is on a rampage and Ron and Harry set off to get to the bottom of the dilemma and save their friend Herminie at the same time. This set helps to capture some of the movie magic – but not all of it. The set itself contains some very nice pieces but the design could have used a little work before it was released. I would have sacrificed some of the background structure for another Lego figure or possibly Snape. But then again, if you are a collector – chances are you’ll buy this set and not make too much of a complaint about it.
The Troll
Be sure you check the box closely before you pitch it in the trash, the troll isn’t bundled with the rest of the Lego elements – which really does make him a troll on the loose! [ok, that was a really bad pun] With a light blue hue, the troll literally towers over Harry Potters figure. He has no movement in his arms or legs and there are only two body parts that need to be connected [the body and the face peg]. The face peg is rather silly if you ask me – it needs to be a bit more evil looking but as it stands he just looks constipated. The clothing for the troll comes in a small white box [the same as the capes for Harry Potter and the Jedi capes for Star Wars] and is packaged along with Harry Potters cape so don’t freak out if you only see one small white box. The elastic that keeps the clothing on the troll is nice and will hold up to some moderate use, but rough and tough kids will snap the elastic in under a week [yes, I am guilty of that].
Overall the troll figure is a very nice addition to the Harry Potter And The Sorcerers Stone Lego series. If you want to purchase more trolls, try checking out some of the online brick brokers – average price is $3.00 - $6.00 so think twice before you pick these up individually. You might be better off waiting until they go on sale or clearance and using the other pieces for stock – or selling off the Harry Potter figures for a few dollars.
Harry Potter
This isn’t the first set Harry has appeared in and I am sure it won’t be the last. Since he is one of the main characters in the book and film, you can never have too many figures of Harry so this was a little added motivation for me to pick up a few extras of this set. Harry is easy to assemble and features a very nice, albeit stiff, cape with very cool little gray stars on the outer portion. His magic wand fits neatly in his hand and could possibly double as something to beat the troll with if he gets backed into a corner.
His stenciled torso features his Hogwarts uniform [Gryffindor crest of course] and his face peg is nicely detailed with his glasses and trademarked scar on his forehead. This is the same figure that appeared in several other sets, so don’t expect to get something out of the ordinary. I would have liked to have seen Ron or even Snape added to this set, but alas, Lego never asked for my opinion on the matter.
The Structure
Taking the most amount of the time construct, the building featured in this scene is adequate, but nothing spectacular. The best pieces have to the door that features a nice bit of detail as well as a key [ok two keys] and the ‘tip over’ platform that rests above the doorway. When I first saw the photos on the front of the box I thought why is there a flower arrangement in this scene? and then I came to realize it’s a sink [duh]. While this provides a little background for the troll and Potter to duke it out, I really feel that it should have been enhanced by about another 50 pieces [taking the retail price to about $ 14.99] or that the designers should have used larger pieces and at least given it three walls instead of just the front face of the bathroom. Then again, I don’t design the sets; I just buy them, play with them and review them.
Instructions
The 16 page booklet carries you through the construction of the troll, building and necessary steps needed to build the structure as it is shown on the front of the box. Several alternatives appear on the box as well as in the booklet, but no detail is provided on how to construct them. The first two pages deal with Harry and the troll and how they are built. This is a nice feature for those who are new to Lego figures or who have just crossed over from the Duplo series. The troll requires a little more work than Harry with most of the time being spent on the clothing.
The Bottom Line
Since this is part of a large series from Lego, chances are if you have purchased other sets in the Harry Potter And The Sorcerers Stone family you’ll want to pick this up to complete it. The troll figure is an asset to any Lego lovers collection and you can never have too many Harry Potter figures. If you can hold out a little while longer, chances are you’ll be able to find this on sale or clearance and save yourself a few dollars – or reinvest the money into picking up a few extra sets.
The Stats
Set Name: Troll on The Loose
Family Set: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Lego Set: 4712
Number of Pieces: 71
Age Recommendation: 6 - 10
Ease Of Assembly: Moderate
Time Of Assembly: 20 minutes
Cost: $9.99
As always, thanks for the read!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2002 Freak369
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $9.99
Type of Toy: Blocks
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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