Review : LEGO Harry Potter 75953 Hogwarts Whomping Willow

Ideal companion of the set 75954 Hogwarts Great Hall, the LEGO Harry Potter set 75953 Hogwarts Whomping Willow (753 pieces - 74.99 €) is it just a bit expensive extension or a product that stands on its own?

As you already know, LEGO highlights the complementarity between the elements of this box and the reproduction of Hogwarts sold in the set 75954. On the packaging of the two products, in the instruction booklets and even in the official description (... Can be combined with the Great Hall of Hogwarts ™ Castle 75954 for even more exciting LEGO Harry Potter adventures ...), the manufacturer never fails to remind us that we have to go back to the cash register to take advantage of the possibilities offered by the combination of these sets.

The assembly is still so simplistic and relaxing with this set: We stack bricks until obtaining a construction identical to that seen on the box.

Nothing rocket science (!) In this set, even the youngest will easily reach the goal set by LEGO. After two weeks spent assembling the different sets of the second wave LEGO Technic 2018, I must say that I felt like I was in fashion Speed ​​Build right here...

The downside to this relative simplicity of assembly is that it is still so fragile, difficult to move and complicated to handle without dropping something.

Big batch of stickers in this box, the youngest or the less accustomed will have to appeal to the patience of their parents if they do not want to disfigure the whole with badly positioned stickers or large air bubbles under the bricks of the walls.

The potential of this playset comes down to landing the Ford Anglia in the branches of the Whomping Willow, except to find the fact of "...mix potions ..."or" ...patrolling the ramparts ...".

The Whomping Willow is the real star of the set. The ends of the walls and the few pieces furnished with accessories only form a taste of the box that we sorely miss and are ultimately only there to make us want to buy the set 75954 Hogwarts Great Hall.

The playability quota is here provided by the wheel which allows the shaft to turn on itself. With a little practice, it is even possible to eject the Ford Anglia. It's funny. Two very large stickers dress the trunk of the Whomping Willow, it's a shame but it's better with it.

The reproduction of the Ford Anglia 105E Deluxe seen in the film is correct. It is Chibi, almost cartoonish, but it's not a licensed LEGO Creator Expert set, so the vehicle does the job.

No seats inside, you have to be able to place Harry Potter and Ron Weasley there and the two characters will therefore remain standing, they had only to miss the train.

The two suitcases provided will go in the trunk, what an idea to want to put them in the hands of the characters.

Sorry for the purists, the steering wheel is not on the right, it is placed in the middle of the cockpit and LEGO does not provide cages for Hedwig (supplied) and Crustard (in the other set) ...

On the minifig side, alongside the unpublished versions and for the moment exclusive to this box of Harry, Ron, Seamus Finnigan and Argus Filtch, we obviously find characters common to several sets: Hermione Granger is also delivered in the set 75954 Hogwarts Great Hall and she is also accompanied by Severus Snape in the set 75956 Quidditch Match.

Double faces for everyone and two pretty "civilian" outfits for Harry and Ron, quite faithful to the movie even though Harry's pants are not the right color.

I read a lot about the designers' choice regarding the integration of plants (6135278) on the branches of Whomping Willow. They have an unfortunate tendency to unhook and fall at the slightest movement.

Scoop: It's done on purpose, as if the leaves of a tree were falling when the wind blows hard, for example ... The fundamentalists of the official LEGO assembly nomenclature and slayers of so-called "illegal" connections will only have to find a reason or to modify the construction.

LEGO praises the complementarity between the set presented here and the set 75954 Hogwarts Great Hall. There are two pine Technic which allow to connect the two constructions but it will be necessary to accept some inconveniences. The mobile staircase can no longer be fully deployed after connection because it comes up against a lantern. In any case, it covers part of the adjoining room, de facto limiting the playability within the premises.

Be aware that you don't have to follow LEGO instructions, no one will blame you. You can also connect the building to the other side of Hogwarts and you will get a right angle playset where you can park the Ford Anglia in front of the Great Hall as well.

Finally, I think that this set is indeed only a luxury addon (74.99 € all the same ...) for reference 75954 Hogwarts Great Hall. If the two boxes together offer a playset of a beautiful scale, the set 75953 taken separately does not offer many possibilities with its cramped spaces and the only notable physical functionality which consists in making the Whomping Willow turn on itself.

This is also the fault of these LEGO Harry Potter sets which do not clearly choose their camp: A little too coarse to make high-end exhibition products and a little too low in functionality to make attractive playsets. even if the official descriptions do not fail to remind us that "... Iconic scenes from the Harry Potter ™ movies can be recreated with these sets.."

As I said during the test of the set 75954 Hogwarts Great Hall, you have to spend 184.98 € to afford the total. What will do the vast majority of fans who will not stand for long to own only part of Hogwarts. If you have the patience, I bet LEGO is sure to offer the bundle at a discounted rate in the coming months.

Note: The set shown here is put into play as usual. To participate in the raffle, simply post a comment on this article before September 9 at 23:59 p.m.. You have every right to disagree with me, this is not eliminatory.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.