The LEGO Harry Potter Great Hall set has been a cornerstone for fans, offering a detailed expansion to the Hogwarts Castle. Priced at $200, it stands as a premium addition to the Harry Potter series. Let’s delve into what makes this set noteworthy.
Minifigures
The set boasts a diverse lineup of minifigures:
- The Trio: Harry, Ron, and Hermione appear in familiar designs, each with dual-sided faces showcasing scared expressions, ideal for recreating the Mountain Troll encounter.
- Hogwarts Students: Terry Boot (Ravenclaw), Daphne Greengrass (Slytherin), and Leanne (Hufflepuff) add variety, each adorned in their house-specific uniforms and featuring secondary facial expressions.
- Professors: Professor Quirrell stands out with his signature purple turban and a dual-sided head revealing Voldemort’s face, reminiscent of “The Philosopher’s Stone.” Dumbledore and Professor Vector are also included, each with detailed designs and dual-sided faces.
- The Fat Friar: Hufflepuff’s house ghost is represented with a ghostly gray color scheme and distinctive hairstyle.
- The Mountain Troll: This large figure captures the essence of the troll from the movie, complete with a brick-built club, allowing fans to reenact the iconic bathroom scene.
While the selection is robust, some notable characters like Draco Malfoy and Professor McGonagall are absent, likely included in other sets to encourage collection.
The Build
The set’s design captures the essence of Hogwarts:
- Exterior: The Great Hall features a sleek, modern aesthetic with a sloped roof and numerous windows, adding depth and detail. The tan-colored walls are interspersed with brown bricks, breaking the monotony and enhancing visual appeal.
- Interior: The open-back design facilitates playability. The Great Hall includes two rows of tables laden with food, floating candles achieved through transparent clips, and house banners represented by stickers. Above, a depiction of the night sky adds to the ambiance.
- Modular Design: The castle is built on a rocky foundation, with sand green elements simulating moss. A removable staircase reveals a secret entrance, and the courtyard, though minimalistic, serves as a functional transition from the base to the castle.
Additional Features
The set includes several rooms:
- Hufflepuff Common Room: Detailed with a desk, fireplace, and sofa, it offers a cozy representation of the house’s quarters.
- Bathroom: Features a scene from “The Philosopher’s Stone,” complete with a destructible sink and toilet stall, allowing reenactment of the troll encounter.
- Hogwarts Hallway: Adorned with collectible portraits and a secret entrance, adding layers of intrigue and playability.
Inside the Great Hall
One of the first things you might notice is a slight difference from the movies—while Hogwarts’ Great Hall typically has four rows of tables, this set includes only two. Given the limited space, this choice makes sense, but it’s still worth noting.
The tables themselves are packed with delicious-looking food, including a standout roast chicken. However, one unusual design choice is the absence of benches. Instead, LEGO has opted for simple tile placements where you can position minifigures. While this makes sense—considering most student minifigures have non-bendable legs, making sitting on benches awkward—it still looks a bit odd.
The walls are decorated with house banners representing Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. These banners, however, are stickers rather than printed pieces. While this might be a downside for some collectors, the inclusion of all four houses still adds to the set’s charm.
Of course, no Great Hall would be complete without floating candles! LEGO has used transparent clips to create the illusion of them hovering midair, and the effect is fantastic. Above the candles, a beautifully printed night sky with deep blue tones, scattered clouds, and a moon adds an extra layer of atmosphere. A glow-in-the-dark moon would have been an amazing touch, but the existing effect is still visually stunning.
Higher up in the Hall, you’ll find the Hogwarts crest, which, like the banners, is also a sticker. And at the very top of the tower, there’s a small but exciting detail—a piece that seems to represent the Philosopher’s Stone, a nice nod to the first movie!
My Overall Impressions
The LEGO Harry Potter Great Hall is priced at $200 (or €200/£170) and includes 1,732 pieces, along with 10 minifigures and one troll. The set also comes with multiple instruction booklets—one of the highest numbers I’ve seen in a single set! Each booklet focuses on a different section of the Great Hall, which is then assembled together for the final build.
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I was genuinely surprised by the size of this set—it’s impressively large! My first reaction after completing the build was, “Wow, this looks really good!” The structure has some visible connection points on each side, suggesting that it’s designed to be part of a larger Hogwarts display. While it works well as a standalone set, I’m eager to see how the full castle will look once all the sets in this new series are released.
If the rumors are true, we might be getting a Gryffindor Tower set before the summer, and it’s expected to be even larger than this set. I can’t wait to see how everything comes together!
A Few Small Issues
One aspect that puzzled me is the scale of this set. I’m not entirely sure if it’s truly minifigure-scale, as the minifigures appear slightly too large when placed inside the Great Hall. What do you think? Let me know in the comments!
Additionally, if you’re looking for a challenging build, this might not be the set for you. Aimed at ages 10+, the construction process is straightforward, with many large pieces making assembly quick and easy. Despite its size, I was able to complete the build in about two hours.
Final Verdict
Overall, I’m thrilled to have this set in my collection, and I’m looking forward to the larger sets in this series. It’s a great display piece and a fun addition to any LEGO Harry Potter fan’s collection.
Thanks for reading! Until next time—happy building! 🚀
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