Today we are doing a group shot and we are very quickly interested in the content of the LEGO Harry Potter sets 76435 Hogwarts Castle: The Great Hall (1732 pieces) and 76431 Hogwarts Castle: Potions Class (397 pieces), two products available respectively at the public price of €199,99 and €39,99 since June 1.

It is indeed difficult to dissociate these two products which are complementary with a potions course which is designed to join the construction of the other set by slipping into its foundations.

A little thought for all those who are already fed up with reboots of the range with this new playset version of Hogwarts which will inevitably expand over the course of the releases, we will now have to deal with this new vision of the school and its extensions.

LEGO does not hide it, modularity is required here around the central set of this new interpretation of places with three niches available in the foundations of the school and the possibility of connecting other sets such as the scene of the set 76426 Hogwarts Castle Boathouse (€37.99) which takes place at the foot of the stairs and the tower of the set 76430 Hogwarts Castle Owlery (€44.99) which can be installed nearby.

This is well seen, we feel that everything has been intelligently thought out from the start and I am sure that many fans are already looking forward to the many possibilities that the overall playset will offer once all the expansions are released. Waiting for the next one reboot.

Nothing very complicated regarding the assembly of the Great Hall of 44 cm long by 21 cm wide and 40 cm high, we start with the foundations of the premises with their respective niches and the secret entrance to the dungeons, we then go up in the floors and we end with the roofs.

Playset obliges, LEGO is not necessarily architecturally finesse and the interior of the main room remains largely accessible on one side of the construction, just to be able to install a large handful of figurines there.

The layout of the Great Hall remains relatively basic, no chairs and tomato salad or cupcakes for everyone. The entrance courtyard is probably a little too big considering that there is not much to do there in terms of fun at this stage and we should not expect here a finish on the level of the Architecture range with which the walls of Hogwarts ultimately share only one characteristic: the repetitive side of the construction.

The three niches finally accommodate their respective modules: a basic bathroom that the Mountain Troll can easily reduce to dust, the corridor which leads to the dungeons and the Hufflepuff common room. These three modules can be deployed to improve playability, they must then be folded back to be inserted again into their respective housings. We can't say that all this lacks fun possibilities, we are dealing here with a real playset for young fans.

The icing on the cake is that it is possible to integrate the potions class into one of the two side niches, this is planned for. Unfortunately, you have to remove the previous module which then becomes a bit cumbersome but the possibility deserves to exist and this is a good thing for the modularity of the overall playset.

The potions course is also designed in such a way that it can be deployed to facilitate the game sequences and it is once again a success with a classroom which then becomes completely accessible to be able to really exploit all the elements that are there piled up.

It is rich in diverse and varied accessories, LEGO offers here a truly accomplished secondary and complementary product which deserved to be sold separately while the three modules delivered with the Great Room are much more symbolic and summary.

In the set 76435 Hogwarts Castle: The Great Hall, the supply of figurines is substantial with a very successful Mountain Troll which makes a reappearance at LEGO even though it had been absent since 2002, new versions of Albus Dumbledore, Professor Quirinus Quirell, Professor Septima Vector and Fat Monk, the ghost of Hufflepuff, the last two characters being new to LEGO and six students representing the four houses of Hogwarts: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Leanne, Daphne Greengrass and Terry Boot, the last three also being new in this range.

In the set 76431 Hogwarts Castle: Potions Class, we settle for Severus Snape, Pansy Parkinson, Seamus Finnigan and (again) Hermione Granger. A single double character by bringing together the two products is already excellent news in itself.

Each of these boxes also offers some of the fourteen collectible portraits which have been supplied with certain sets of the Harry Potter range since the start of the year: five in the set 76435 Hogwarts Castle: The Great Hall and two in the set 76431 Hogwarts Castle: Potions Class. There is no guarantee that you will get seven different portraits, these pad printed pieces are inserted randomly into the boxes and the risk of getting duplicates or worse is very present.

I point this out but you already doubt it, there are large handfuls of stickers in these boxes, it is at this price that the level of detail is visually refined.

It is clear that LEGO is not pulling out all the stops to launch this new version of the Hogwarts playset, which from the outset promises to consume more exhibition space, judging by the volume already occupied by this Great Hall.

You have to pay €200 to buy the main module of the thing and go back to the checkout, adding €40 to obtain an integrable extension which has the merit of being credible and detailed. The bill is already steep and that's without taking into account the two other portions of the playset marketed at the start of the year mentioned above.

But we can also consider that LEGO is launching this reboot in a very good way with obvious playability, studied accessibility and a very balanced supply of figurines rich in new characters. Something to delight the youngest but also minifig collectors. In my opinion, the contract is largely fulfilled, too bad for our wallets.

Discount -13%

LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle: The Courtyard

39.99 € 34.99 €

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Discount -23%

LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle: The Gran

199.99 € 154.98 €

BUY

Note: The set of two products presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 20th June 2024 next at 23:59 p.m. Simply post a comment below the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. Avoid “I’m participating” or “I’m trying my luck”, we suspect that this is the case.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.

Today we are very (very) quickly interested in the content of the LEGO Harry Potter set 76427 Buckbeak, a box of 723 pieces sold since June 1 at the public price of €59.99. I'm not going to go very long, I'm frankly still unsatisfied with the contents of this box which promises us to be able to assemble a "replica" of Buck the hippogriff with his movable wings and his articulated legs, all accompanied by " Hagrid's vegetable garden.

On paper the contract is fulfilled, the creature is well constructed, it is correctly articulated to allow it to take various and varied poses and the vegetable garden is very present with its crow and its two pumpkins which are a little cubic but which have the merit of 'be there.

In fact, it's a little more complicated and I definitely can't imagine the majestic creature seen on the screen through this reproduction in LEGO bricks which seems to me more like something out of the video game Horizon zero down.

I actually have more the impression of being faced with a robot with metallic reflections aping an animal than anything else and the clearly visible joints at the level of the wings or the tail do not attenuate this sensation. The legs are also too stiff to convince me that I'm facing Buck and the back of the animal's head doesn't help matters.

I can understand the designer's choice to prioritize playability over aesthetics since a choice apparently had to be made and sacrifice a little grace for the benefit of the mobility of the construction.

I simply do not agree with the direction taken by LEGO on this issue, it is much too crude and simplified to convince me, the trap undoubtedly being in the scale chosen which imposes for example the thickness of the wings, a head with a very basic finish and a very coarse tail. The youngest will perhaps find what they are looking for, Buck being easily manipulated to stage him in various configurations.

We could also discuss the choice of colors for the creature's coat with a mix of shades more or less well distributed over the body of the animal, it was undoubtedly difficult to do better and many fans will be happy with it. to be able to display this reproduction on their shelves.

Can we really play with this construction? it is probably yes if we consider that there is room for a little fun thanks to the possibilities offered by the numerous integrated points of articulation.

Can we exhibit this creature as is? No doubt yes by being moderately demanding on the overall rendering of the object which in my opinion frankly sacrifices its finish for the benefit of its mobility. For my part, I remain completely unmoved by this bias, but I am not the real target of the product.

It will obviously be without me, especially for €60. However, we can count on Amazon to reduce the price of this box a little in the coming weeks, it will always be a few euros saved and the feeling of having paid what Transformers at the right price:

Discount -24%

LEGO Harry Potter 76427 Buckbeak

59.99 € 45.56 €

BUY

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 16th June 2024 next at 23:59 p.m. Simply post a comment below the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. Avoid “I’m participating” or “I’m trying my luck”, we suspect that this is the case.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.

Onward to the second “big” wave of new products for 2024 with numerous sets available today in a slew of different ranges. there is something for all tastes and budgets, it's hard not to find what you're looking for among the long list of new boxes available. I am listing here all the qsets which are actually available today even if many sets were already offered for pre-order for several weeks.

As is often the case, there are some nice things in this wave, but the majority of these boxes will be available quickly for much less expensive elsewhere. As usual, it is therefore up to you to decide whether you should go ahead and pay the full price for these boxes or whether you should show a little patience and wait for the inevitable reductions that will be offered in the weeks and months to come at Amazon, on FNAC.com, at Cdiscount, at Auchan and at a few other resellers.

ALL NEWS FOR JUNE 2024 ON THE LEGO SHOP >>

(All links to the shop redirect to the version of the official shop for your country of connection)

Today we take a very quick look at the contents of the LEGO Harry Potter set. 76434 Aragog in the Forbidden Forest, a box of 195 pieces which will be available on the official online store and in LEGO Stores from June 1, 2024 at the retail price of €19.99.

I'm not drawing you a picture, there isn't really a Forbidden Forest in this box, at least no more than in the LEGO Harry Potter set 76432 Forbidden Forest: Magical Creatures and the star of the product is obviously the spider Aragog.

The latter is for once rather realistic and well designed, LEGO has really focused everything on the design of this Acromentula to impress the children who will receive the product. You would almost believe it and the object could possibly be used to make a few jokes during Sunday meals.

Too bad for the slightly missed forest scene with a simple extension to possibly connect to the modules of the set 76432 Forbidden Forest: Magical Creatures and polybag 30677 Draco in the Forbidden Forest to start getting something really more substantial.

We are used to it with LEGO, many references are in reality only extensions of products with which they should in principle have merged to obtain fewer boxes on the shelves but more sets with convincing content.

The manufacturer absolutely wants to maintain a range effect covering all price brackets and addressing all budgets, this type of box with interesting but minimalist and incomplete content is therefore unfortunately inevitable.

We will therefore salute the creation of the spider which even benefits from a pad-printed face, movable legs and an adjustable abdomen, we will note that the outfits of the two figurines of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley with their frightened expressions are consistent with the outfits seen on screen in the film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and we will appreciate the presence of two additional small spiders for the same price.

We will regret the absence of Fang who could have made an appearance in this box and we will possibly consider adding the vehicle from the LEGO Harry Potter set 76424 Flying Ford Anglia to replay the flight of the two heroes pursued by a horde of threatening spiders. You will therefore have to recover the dog from the LEGO Harry Potter set 76428 Hagrid's Hut: An Unexpected Visit to get the full cast seen in this scene and flesh out the diorama.

You will have understood, this box has difficulty existing on its own, it needs to be combined with other products to make a convincing and really fun set. The fact remains that the €20 requested by LEGO is almost justified in my eyes, just to salute the efforts undertaken to offer a spider with a look that seems very convincing to me.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 24th May 2024 next at 23:59 p.m. Simply post a comment below the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. Avoid “I’m participating” or “I’m trying my luck”, we suspect that this is the case.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.

Today we quickly take a look at the contents of the LEGO Harry Potter set 76433 Mandrake, a box of 579 pieces which will be available on the official online store from June 1, 2024 at the public price of €69,99.

We have known for a long time that the plastic variations of flowers and other plants regularly offered by LEGO have largely found their audience among the brand's adult customers, we therefore understand that the manufacturer wishes to capitalize on this popularity by adding a license which is also very popular to a product that imitates a plant seen in the Harry Potter saga.

Was it absolutely necessary to stretch the license to this extent by marketing a simple plant? Many fans will think that this is a good idea and it is not me, who regularly settles for products with sometimes even more anecdotal content marketed in the LEGO Star Wars ranges, who would contradict them.

We therefore assemble a Mandrake and its pot to replay the famous botany lesson and we can then have fun removing it and setting it in motion. However, don't expect to hear it scream, LEGO hasn't bothered to try to integrate a sound brick into the heart of the construction and you will have to shout instead of the plant.

However, there was undoubtedly a technical solution that could be used on this product to offer it a little more interactivity, similar to what was done earlier in the year in the LEGO Harry Potter set. 76429 Talking Sorting Hat which features a vaguely interactive Sorting Hat.

That being said, the result obtained here seems rather convincing to me with a plant whose root is quite faithful to the version seen on the screen and some large green leaves which can be adjusted as you wish. Pressure on the torso of the root sets the mouth and arms of this Mandrake in motion. It's fun for five minutes and the effect is guaranteed during your evenings with friends.

However, we regret that the sheets are flanked by huge stickers, they would have benefited from being properly pad printed to guarantee the product aging in the best conditions under the onslaught of the sun and dust. Especially for €70.

The Mandrake comes with its pot whose label confirms what it is, it is aesthetically very successful and the accessory will allow you to display everything in a very suitable way on the corner of a shelf. To store the plant in the pot, simply fold the legs of the figure and find the right angle so that the construction fits perfectly into the pot.

The product will undoubtedly seem too anecdotal for many fans who will prefer the sections of playsets available elsewhere within the June 2024 wave, but there will be quite a few fans of the Harry Potter universe who will be satisfied with this nod. have an eye for accomplished aesthetics and not be burdened with constructions intended to amuse the youngest.

It's well executed, the product has the essential functionality that allows it to make sense, all that was missing was that the Mandrake really screams that LEGO is making the effort to pad print the leaves of the plant. As is often the case, I remain a little mixed because the manufacturer quibbles over details which should no longer be an issue given the high-end positioning of its products, which is a shame.

This product is currently on pre-order at the public price of €69,99, I think we should wait carefully for its actual availability scheduled for June 1st to try to get it for a little cheaper from Amazon and others.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 17th May 2024 next at 23:59 p.m. Simply post a comment below the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion. Avoid “I’m participating” or “I’m trying my luck”, we suspect that this is the case.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.