Review: LEGO Harry Potter 76429 Talking Sorting Hat

Today we quickly take a look at the contents of the LEGO Harry Potter set 76429 Talking Sorting Hat, a box of 561 pieces which will be available from March 1, 2024 on the official online store at the public price of €99.99.

We cannot say that the hat, 20 cm in diameter and 21 cm high (excluding base), was unanimously appreciated by fans when it first appeared, the promise of having a more or less interactive product in their hands. did not really stand up to the questionable aesthetics of the thing and its announced public price considered by many to be too high.

It is very quickly assembled with on one side the exterior surface of the Sorting Hat and on the other the internal mechanism which will trigger the sound sequences either by pushing on the tip of the hat or by pressing on the growth which protrudes under the hat. 'object. The assembly process remains interesting and there are only two stickers for the damaged parts of the hat.

The four coats of arms placed around the black base are therefore pad printed and they are nicely executed. The sound brick is embedded in the planned mechanism which will also synchronize the movements of the eyebrows and the opening of the mouth, it will then remain accessible via a hatch which will allow the three LR44 batteries provided to be replaced. I doubt you'll ever have to change them, we'll probably only play with this Sorting Hat for a few minutes before putting it away in a corner.

We can discuss the aesthetics of the object, I personally find it very ugly and a little sloppy but it's very personal. The fault undoubtedly lies in the chosen scale which does not really allow us to go into the detail of the texture of the hat and which requires us to simply interpret the broad outlines in a somewhat crude manner.

The base of the accessory is too flat and smooth and the rest reminds me more of the Great Crado from Fraggle Rock to the Sorting Hat seen on screen in the Harry Potter saga. The textured and pleated fabric or leather effect is definitely not there and the eyes are too symbolic when they are in reality made up of folds of the material of the object.

The classification of this product in the "18+" category therefore seems a little pretentious to me, we are far from having on hand a convincing reproduction of the Sorting Hat and I have the impression more of being dealing with a vaguely interactive toy for very young children. The latter will also be the only ones able to place the object on their little heads to reenact the scene; this hat is much too compact not to appear ridiculous on the head of an adult.

Inside the Sorting Hat, the designer still managed to slip in a more or less explicit nod on this scale to the relics of the four founders of Hogwarts with Godric Gryffindor's sword, Helga Hufflepuff's cup, which vaguely resembles Rowena Ravenclaw's tiara and Salazar Slytherin's "locket". These artifacts will still be visible after assembly if the need arises, but some parts will have to be removed.

The sound brick combines 31 different sequences ranging from a simple grunt to a few sentences indicating in which house the students concerned will find themselves, including a singing sequence. These are combinations using reference sounds recorded in the brick to produce audible sentences but of far from impeccable quality.

If you only know the different houses via their French names, you will have to get used to hearing Gryffindor instead of Gryffindor, Slytherin instead of Slytherin, Hufflepuff instead of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw instead of Ravenclaw. The sound brick only “speaks” in English and you will have to make do with it.

The Harry Potter minifigure in the first year student version only offers one new part: the head with its two facial expressions including a face with closed eyes. The torso was already delivered in the sets 76390 Advent Calendar 2021 et 76405 Hogwarts Express Collector's Edition and the Sorting Hat is a rather common piece within the range.

Concerning the public price of the product, one could imagine that it is the small sound brick provided which inflates the price, but here we are faced with an accessory from another age that we already found in the talking dolls of our childhood and In my opinion, there is no truly innovative technology here that justifies making us pay a high price for the element.

It is an understatement to say that I am not very enthusiastic about this product which in my opinion does not win on any of the grounds: the aesthetic aspect is in my opinion far from convincing, the integrated functionality is technically outdated and too limited and the high price requested by LEGO seems unjustified to me upon arrival. It is not a product for adults even if LEGO claims the opposite, it is just a toy for children without great possibilities but which will undoubtedly entertain them for a few hours.

Note: The product shown here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 28th February 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.

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