How about taking a quick look at the new set that comes to flesh out the LEGO Winter Village? The LEGO Creator Expert set 10263 Winter Village Fire Station (1166 pieces - 99.99 €) is now available and if you are in the habit of bringing out your sets Winter village at the end of the year, it will be difficult not to add this one to your collection or you will regret it when resellers ask for triple the price on the secondary market.

No chalet or cabin this year, but a very urban fire station that will certainly have a little trouble finding its place among the other elements already marketed on the same theme, but which will fit perfectly into a mini-town based on "classic" LEGO Creator sets.

First of all, we must underline the good idea of ​​this box, mentioned by the designer of the set in the presentation video uploaded a few days ago: Instead of a single instruction booklet, LEGO provides two booklets in this box: the bigger one allows to assemble the building. the other, everything else. It's a smart choice that allows you to share the assembly experience with your family.

While parents concentrate on the fire station, children can have fun building the ice rink, the tree, the bench with its lamppost and the fire truck. Or the reverse, the idea being here to allow a family and convivial activity.

Another detail which facilitates the participation of the youngest in the assembly of this set: the parts to be installed during each step of the assembly are surrounded by a green line. It's readable, well done for that.

Nothing very complicated to build here, even the small fire truck is surprisingly simple. It is also matched with the set bus 10259 Winter Village Station (2017), the transport truck of the set 10229 Winter Village Cottage (2012) and the postal van from the set 10222 Winter Village Post Office (2011)

It's coherent and all those who have obtained these different sets in due time now have something to liven up the streets of their village with these different vehicles matched with vintage accents.

The main building is here accompanied by several small elements that come to dress its environment. The tree, the bench with its lamppost and the fountain transformed into an ice rink are all small modules to be placed wherever you want in your village. The same goes for the snowman placed at the foot of the barracks who only asks to join a snow-covered square where a few children are having fun.

As you will have noticed, the firefighters are only called upon to fill the ice rink and fix the star at the top of the tree. This is not a set from the LEGO CITY range, so there are no fires going on or people to save from the flames.

The barracks will delight those who love the sets of the LEGO Creator range with their simple constructions but sufficiently detailed to allow creating a LEGO city much more affordable than by lining up Modulars LEGO Creator Expert.

On the assembly side, we stack from bottom to top, nothing rocket science. MOCeurs will also find some original techniques that they can reuse on occasion. By the way, we add here and there a few traces of snow and other decorations which can be removed and replaced by neutral parts to use this barracks outside of festive periods.

Too bad for the lack of depth of the building despite the projection which houses part of the rest room and the porch. It's better than what you usually find in the LEGO Creator range, but you only have to park the truck on the ground floor to realize that it really protrudes from the construction. It's a shame, because you can't store the truck properly, you'll have to play with the presentation angles to obtain an acceptable effect.

The garage has no floor covering. It's a shame there too, a few plaques would have been welcome, just to park the truck somewhere other than on the placemat of the dresser or on the ground at the foot of the (real) tree.

Even if the interior of the firefighters' rest room looks a bit like a Parisian maid's room, the designer still managed to integrate many details, such as the mini-kitchenette and the retractable bunk, and to make the very accessible first floor by offering a removable roof. It's really playable, a good point for that.

I still have a bit of trouble with chairs placed on the floor, but we'll do with it. The bar that allows the firefighters to shift quickly is in fact a pipe that is a little too flexible and the side door is of little use when you think about it, no one will go upstairs through there ... Once the truck parked downstairs, you also have to go out and walk around the building to take the stairs that lead to the second floor.

On the minifig side, we get seven characters in this box, including the baby. And a Dalmatian (giant). Of the six minifigs provided, only two of them, the hockey player and the young babysitter, are "civilian" characters. Nice sweaters for the two minifigs.

The rest of the small troop consists of three firefighters with neutral legs and whose torsos are strictly identical. Significantly, the set allows you to obtain four golden helmets, one for each of the fire soldiers and one for the statue placed on the edge of the ice rink. The member of the municipal band is a bit lonely and his outfit is not very exciting.

The luminous brick placed on the roof in front of the bell illuminates the room below. For those who are wondering, you only enjoy the light effect when you press the button but you can block the brick in the on position by holding the button down via a few well-placed pieces (or tape). It is also possible to replace the two LR41 batteries of this brick, do not throw it away when it no longer works ...

Even if this set doesn't really have muchConsultant, so it's a pretty box on the theme of winter and the end of year celebrations to build as a family. I say yes.

For all those who do not let their children touch their collection, it is as a bonus the opportunity to make a truce and to enjoy together a moment of sharing before exhibiting the set for a few 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 30 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. I won't be relaunching from now on. No response within the time limit, it's lost.

Today we are interested in the other big LEGO Star Wars novelty of the fall, the set 75230 Porg with its 811 pieces and its public price set at 69.99 €.

After the Ewoks in their time, it is now the turn of the Porgs to ensure the quota "cute creature that kids will love"in the Star Wars universe. Jar Jar Binks was unfortunately not so lucky in his day, but that's a misunderstanding.

If you do not know where the Porgs come from, know that they are in fact seabirds that swarm on the island of Skellig Michael (Ahch-To in the movies) digitally re-made up so you don't have to. delete many shots shot on this protected sanctuary.

Obviously, since we had to deal with these invasive puffins and there was no question of eradicating them even for a Star Wars, we might as well transform them into "bankable" creatures.

E that is called Porgs.

Like many other manufacturers of derivative products, LEGO therefore sells us an interpretation of the creature in question. But this is not a simple plush toy or a soft plastic figure. It's LEGO, with bricks to assemble a Porg about twenty centimeters high.

The Porgs have already been entitled to their rather successful little figurine and present in a few sets already marketed (75200 Ahch-To Island Training, 75192 UCS Millennium Falcon), but someone at LEGO thought that out of a misunderstanding and to make the concept as dry as possible, a buildable maxi figure might appeal to fans. The future will tell if this is the case.

As much to tell you right away, I sincerely think that the designer did what he could. The creature seen in the film is not of a crazy charisma even if several manufacturers of cuddly toys have been able, with more or less success, to transform it into a pretty radioactive penguin that can eventually serve as a blanket. With the LEGO version, it is immediately less obvious.

The LEGO Porg is a bit creepy and it has this particularity that it makes you look like it's watching you from any angle thanks to the reflections on its huge black eyes. The presentation plate that comes with the creature only enhances the feeling of having a stuffed alien fowl on the shelf.

What to say about the design of the thing? I know other reviews are sure to emphatically highlight the designer's exceptional work on this product, but as I said above, I think whoever lost in the draw and was given the project just did their best. He applied himself to trying to keep the shapes of the creature and adding some features to it, so as not to lay a bad model and offer a real toy.

From there to doing "... the perfect centerpiece of a LEGO Star Wars collection ..."as the LEGO trumpet, one shouldn't exaggerate either.

The internal structure based on Technic elements houses the mechanism that is activated by moving the tail of the creature, which has the effect of making (a little) move the wings and opening the mouth of the figurine. It is well designed but there is nothing to marvel about.

The coat of the Porg is fixed on this structure by means of panels to assemble which make their small poultry effect. It's detailed and beautifully executed, nothing to say about it. Nothing very complicated in this box and everything is assembled in less than an hour, even while watching TV.

Tip of the day: If you want the Porg to stay with its mouth open and wings outstretched on your shelf, use a rubber band to block the tail like in the photo above.

At LEGO, when validating the project, someone must have had a doubt and proposed to add a classic Porg figure and an identification plate which has no interest but which has its little "collector" effect, the whole thing to maximize the chances of triggering in many fans a sudden urge to draw their credit card. This guy deserves a promotion.

In summary, I don't think anyone would have missed this LEGO-style Porg if it didn't exist. But as it is available for sale for the modest sum of 69.99 € (pre-order here at amazon, soon at LEGO), you will have to learn to live with it. I say no because for a lot less I can afford a pretty plush that doesn't scare my dog.

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 29 at 23:59 p.m.. You have every right to disagree with me, this is not eliminatory.

Time to take a quick look at the LEGO Star Wars set 75222 Betrayal at Cloud City, which becomes with us Betrayal at Cloud City, with its 2812 pieces, its 18 figurines and its public price set at 349.99 €. An entire program.

Fans of the Star Wars universe who also love LEGOs were impatiently waiting for the manufacturer to offer us a new interpretation of the mining complex that floats in the atmosphere of the planet Bespin and which is the scene of many scenes that have become cult for a whole generation.

Let's be honest, the set 10123 Cloud City marketed in 2003 did not leave an unforgettable memory to the fans who for the most part today seek only to obtain the exclusive minifig of Boba Fett delivered in this playset without great interest, even for the time.

So it was about time that LEGO gave us a slightly more exciting take on Cloud City. Mission accomplished or not, everyone will have their opinion on the subject. As far as I'm concerned, I'm disappointed, but I like it. It is complicated.

I had undoubtedly a little too idealized what could be a Cloud City set in 2018 sauce, the fault among other things of the many very successful MOCs which circulate on flickr and which had given me hope for a reproduction with the small onions of the station. spatial.

Where the sets 10188 Death Star (2008) et 75159 Death Star (2016) are acceptable compromises because they try to preserve as best they can the general aspect of the place concerned, the set 75222 Betrayal at Cloud City doesn't even make that effort. The distribution and finish of the different spaces is debatable, with a landing platform for the Twin-Pod Cloud Car which probably did not deserve to occupy so much space and a somewhat minimalist reception room with its chairs placed on the floor. ...

I note that young fans aged 14 and over will be able to "have fun" re-enacting Han Solo's torture scene in the small, carefully furnished room. Even if the smuggler won't tell them anything because Darth Vader asks him absolutely no questions, they can simply give free rein to their sadistic impulses without their parents worrying more than reason.

I'm a little disappointed with the overall look of the set, in places it almost looks like a play space cobbled together by a young LEGO fan who hasn't yet mastered the art of finish and geometry, let alone the three-dimensional aspect of a reproduction. It's a bit flat, a few smooth plates are missing in some places, and there are way too many studs noticeable for my taste. at 350 € per box, I think we could legitimately expect a slightly higher level of finish.

Note that it is impossible to move the whole in one piece, the platform for the Slave I and the freezing chamber are not fixed to the main structure. It is practical to store everything, a little less to move the City of Clouds in order to make dust or try to raise it a little by creating a single support that would be positioned in the center under the construction ...

No big surprise during the construction phases, the set rests on a brick-based cross and is stacking dotted with the laying of plates and the assembly of small elements that come to furnish the different spaces. You don't have to wait until you're 14 or be a masterbuilder to take advantage of this box. Go even if you're too young for LEGO or have big fingers ...

So here I am with a slightly misshapen playset that is content to pile up references to the various scenes that take place in the places. No removable panels that would cover the whole and reveal a particular scene depending on the mood of the day, it's a shame.

Le fan service wreaks havoc here, as if LEGO was afraid of forgetting something and missing sales ... The designers certainly watched the various scenes in slow motion so that they could reproduce every detail and not then be blamed by a horde of bloodthirsty fans the possible liberties they might have taken. So much the better for all those who are sensitive to this fidelity down to the most insignificant detail.

Despite everything, you need a little imagination to recognize the City of Clouds with this assembly which does not take up its general form, nor architecture, nor the external appearance if we do not count the small set of parts placed symbolically. at the center of the construction.

Should we also use the name playsets for this box, the only real functionality being the mechanism which makes it possible to immerse Han Solo in the carbonite? I'm not counting the few movable doors and the secret hatch in the hangar, let's not exaggerate either.

And this is where the attention to detail takes a hit. Upon closer inspection, we can see that LEGO didn't even bother to update Han Solo's figure in the carbonite sarcophagus to make it consistent with the hairstyle on the two minifigs provided, just us deliver the version already seen in the sets 8097 Slav I (2010) 9516 Jabba's Palace (2012) 75060 UCS Slave I (2015) et 75137 Carbon Freezing Chamber (2016). It's mean.

The mechanism which allows the minifig to be retracted and the sarcophagus to appear is well thought out, it works, it's fun for five minutes and it's less laborious than the system delivered in the set 75137 Carbon Freezing Chamber.

In the description of the set, LEGO guarantees that "... Air combat between Boba Fett's Slave I ship and the Cloud Car Twin-Pod can be replayed with this set ...“I may have a bad memory, but I don't remember a clash between the two ships.

That being said, LEGO delivers two very compact interpretations of the ships in question here. You have to be careful to install their respective drivers. do not ask me why, LEGO insists with the red color for the Twin-Pod Cloud Car while the machine is obviously orange in the film.

On the one hand, the Cloud Car driver is a little cramped and on the other you have to orient the antenna of Boba Fett's helmet in the right position to be able to close the canopy of the Slave I. Some will find it cute and Chibi, others will find it barely acceptable. Tastes and colors cannot be discussed and we will do with it. Those who want a Slave I on a more consistent scale just have to invest in the set 75060 UCS Slave I marketed since 2015 and still available at € 219.99.

On the minifig side, the fan service comes into action again in a very beautiful way with a slew of characters including Leia and Han Solo delivered in two versions (Hoth and Cloud City, we often change in Star Wars). Collectors will be in heaven, although in my opinion those who just line them up in Ikea frames should instead be getting their favorite retail characters on eBay or Bricklink.

Once again, at 350 € a box, it's hard to gargle only on Lando Calrissian's pretty cape, Han Solo's legs with two-color molding, Lobot's new face, or the helmets of the Twin-Pod Cloud pilots. Because. These minifigs are great, but they don't do everything in a LEGO set of this stature. A good point, the inventory is rather complete, there is something to have fun and / or vary the staging.

We will also notice the significant difference in color between Leia's torso and the bottom of her outfit or C-3PO's off-center eyes. Too bad that in 2018, a manufacturer whose job it is still does not know how to solve these problems.

Luke Skywalker is delivered here with his right hand, you can obviously remove it to really replay the final scene of the duel (and put it back afterwards, it's LEGO, that's why).

The duel scene between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker deserved better than to be placed with forceps in a playset at 350 €. I hope that LEGO will deign one day to market a more affordable standard set reproducing this central scene of the saga. Other scenes, some of which are really anecdotal, have already had this honor ...

The specifications are respected here: This set brings together almost everything that makes the City of Clouds such an important place in the Star Wars saga. Perhaps it would have been more judicious to market several modular sets allowing to gradually reconstitute a City of the Clouds according to the desires of each one and the available budget.

LEGO has chosen to put everything in the same box, probably to get rid of the subject once and for all, at least for a few years. Many fans including yours truly will find their account there, exasperated that they were anyway by so much waiting to be able to finally declaim "No, I am your father"before knocking Luke down on the living room floor.

In the end, I say yes because it was about time that LEGO offered a new interpretation of Cloud City. While the set isn't the reproduction I dreamed of, it's an acceptable and comprehensive digest of what makes Cloud City such a key part of the Star Wars saga.

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 26 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. I won't be relaunching from now on. No response within the time limit, it's lost.

I had saved the best for last: We finally finished the rapid test cycle of the LEGO Technic novelties of the second half of 2018 with the reference 42082 Rough Terrain Crane (4057 pieces - 249.99 €).

LEGO announces the color in the description of the product, it is a "... immense play and build experience with the LEGO® Technic ™ 42082 All Terrain Crane, the largest and tallest LEGO Technic crane to date ...". And I must admit that I spent a few very long hours there to finally arrive at the final result and be able to take advantage of the different functions offered by this set. Review , it's true, quickly assembled, it's less obvious.

Do not count on me to explain to you why the designer did or not his job by placing such or such gear in such place. I am in the wrong position to have an opinion and that is not the point of this article. Don't get confused either by the number of pieces announced here (4057 in all), this is a product from the LEGO Technic range. We therefore find a little more than 1500 pins of all kinds in this box or more than a third of the total inventory.

If you like the LEGO Technic concept, you'll be in heaven here. As far as I am concerned, I must admit that I went through phases of great weariness in assembling the complex sub-elements which required constant vigilance. A small error even caused me to have to dismantle a whole set by methodically going back over thirty pages via the instructions.

The satisfaction of arriving at the end of the second instruction booklet (nearly 700 pages in all ...) quickly took precedence over the boredom felt during certain sequences of the assembly. The result is really impressive and we are eager to test all the features promised via the ingenious and didactic system of selectors, the function of which is visually indicated explicitly by a drawing (on a sticker).

I would add in passing that if you are not the type to stick the stickers on your sets because you keep them to make jams or that you stack them in a binder that you flip through from time to time while gargling in front of your friends on the impeccable condition of your boards accumulated over the years, you are missing something.

The pictograms that dress the control box are essential for everyone to be able to control this crane, except forcing your children or your passing friends to learn the list of functions by heart. So stick these damn stickers on me, it's for a good cause ...

Then all you have to do is follow the visual indications to put the crane into service and check if this toy lives up to the promises made by the manufacturer. And unlike the content of other boxes which ultimately only offer very limited playability, the crane in this set allows you to have a little fun thanks to the many integrated functions.

We even take the space of a moment for this guy seen in a documentary on Discovery Channel which pilots a huge machine using a small box and about which the voiceover tells us that at the slightest error he will waste a lot of time and money on his boss.

A little regret for me, it's really painfully slow at all levels. It's probably very personal, but it lacks nervousness. Deployment of the stabilizers becomes really annoying, although I'm not sure that in real life the operation will be much faster. If you have a little more than a minute in front of you, I have filmed the sequence below for you:

It's hard to want to repeat the operation beyond the first phase of discovering the thing, especially when you notice that the stabilizers absolutely do not raise the crane by a millimeter. And it's kind of the same very slow punishment for other features like the boom deployment of the crane which "... deploys up to one meter high! ...". It's long, very long.

Some, anxious to find a ready-made excuse, will see a touch of realism in it. I rather see it as something to get bored quickly and put this crane in a corner until I have the courage to take it apart. If the assembly experience will be enough to delight fans of the LEGO Technic universe, I once again find the effort / reward ratio offered by this set a little disappointing.

To weight my reaction, I again make it clear that I'm not the type to marvel at a few well-designed gear sets. When I have a set from the LEGO Technic range in my hands, it is the purpose of the product that interests me even if I am aware that I am missing out on what makes this range so interesting for fans. the most assiduous. That certainly explains that.

I also regret that LEGO did not take advantage of the launch of the ecosystem products Powered Up to offer a product equipped with the latest innovations from the manufacturer in terms of engine.

The control panel placed at the back of the crane is extremely well thought out, but I imagine what it would have been possible to do by having the same controls within an application installed on a smartphone that would act as a remote control. , as with the type of documentary I mentioned above.

We therefore find here a single engine Power Functions L and a battery box which is also easily accessible at the rear of the crane and which incidentally acts as a counterweight. You only have to partially remove a pin and lift the black cover to access the box. It is this single motor which controls all the functions of the set via several gearboxes managed from the control panel. Why not, the designers have done their homework and a single motor is actually enough to put the crane in motion.

360 ° cab rotation, installation of the side stabilizers, lifting of the arm, deployment of the boom, winding and unwinding of the cable, everything is there. This crane will certainly delight fans of complex assemblies and public works machinery of all kinds, but it lacks a bit of fun for me especially since it is impossible to move the machine forward or backward other than manually, a feature that should be provided as a base in sets featuring vehicles.

This is only my opinion, but in 2018, if we want to attract a clientele a little larger than the fan hardcore of LEGO Technic products, we should no longer have to vroom-vroom on a toy at 250 €.

At 249.99 € the crane at LEGO ou 199.99 € at amazon, as elaborate and complex as it is, this big box is reserved for die-hard fans of the LEGO Technic range.

There must be a few kids who will dream of adding this machine to their collection for Christmas, but with the same budget we must be able to do more fun than a red and black public works machine whose fairing conceals most of the mechanisms that are at work during the various phases of operation.

The secondary model proposed by LEGO is even less sexy than the crane, it is about a "pile mast" whose instructions must be downloaded in PDF format, there are no small savings .... Reserved for fans who want to spend their free time pretending to lay a foundation.

For the rest, I have not noticed any obvious problem for the occasional constructor of LEGO Technic sets that I am, apart from perhaps the impossibility of putting the boom completely in the horizontal as on the real cranes of this type. . I rechecked that I hadn't made a mistake while assembling, it looks like it was planned like this.

This LEGO Technic set 42082 Rough Terrain Crane is ultimately not one of those about which one can be satisfied with having a peremptory opinion. Even though it's just a construction crane, it's still a pretty crane packed with features.

If you like complex assemblies, with lots of gears, various and varied gearboxes and pins of all colors, go for it. Otherwise, buy Star Wars or Harry Potter is good too.

I will now tackle the dismantling which promises to be fascinating and I indicate to you that the set presented here is as usual put into play. To participate in the draw, you just have to post a comment on this article before the September 15 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.

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.