On Thursday afternoon I cast an Apparition spell and decanted to London, where I was invited by the LEGO Group to the Picturehouse Cinema to check out the new LEGO® Wizarding World range. This new collection of LEGO sets are due to arrive in stores this August and I was able to get up close with them along with the recently released new LEGO Harry Potter BrickHeadz. The area where the sets were on display was kitted out with various magical doohickeys and a couple of LEGO Big Builds of both Harry and Hermione. One of the first surprises of the event was a suitcase filled with a previously unseen LEGO Harry Potter polybag called Harry’s Journey to Hogwarts. A closer look at this little set can be found here.
To add to the magical feel of the event, fun looking snacks were on offer along with ice cream made from dry ice. There was also a wand making class, where you can delve into a surprisingly limited amount of bricks to build your own spell conductor. But the main aim of the event was to give us a better look at the new LEGO Wizarding World range. This includes seven playsets – two based on the two Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movies and five based on the first two Harry Potter movies, plus three BrickHeadz.
The ideas of the Harry Potter sets are to convey a ‘Return to Hogwarts’ message, which will form the focal point of Warner Bros. Pictures promotional campaign this year. Therefore many of the Potter sets are based around the school of witchcraft and wizardry. You may notice than none of the ‘young’ characters include the new ‘teenage’ short but poseable legs. This has been done on purpose, LEGO Designer Marcos Bessa, was on hand to discuss the sets and mentioned that they wanted to clearly show the different stages of ages, the Harry Potter characters go through across all the movies. So in the first films they are younger and have the standard short legs, if further LEGO Harry Potter sets are released, which seems incredibly likely, then future versions of the same characters will have the newer legs and so on.
Of all the sets on display, the most impressive were the Hogwarts Express, Hogwarts Great Hall and Newt’s Case of Magical Creatures. Hogwarts Express was definitely my favourite, the train engine is very impressive and the addition of a section of platform is a nice touch. Hogwarts Great Hall is also highly detailed and includes an amazing line-up of minifigures and a brand new Hagrid bigfig. This can also be connected to the Whomping Williows set, to expand it even further and comes with a great little Ford Anglia. From the Fantastic Beasts side of things Newt’s Case is a fantastic idea, capturing the moment Newt heads within his mini zoo and all those crazy looking beasts, which dwell there, extremely well. Although we have to wait until August 1st in the UK to get our hands on these amazing sets, you can get your LEGO Harry Potter fill with a trio of LEGO BrickHeadz based on characters from the Harry Potter movies.
75950: Aragog’s Lair RRP: £12.99 | Pieces: 157
Who dares enter LEGO® Harry Potter™ 75950 Aragog’s Lair? Help Harry and Ron escape the giant spider and his army of offspring in the Forbidden Forest. Use your magic wands and lantern to fend off the colony of spiders, flying cobweb and Aragog’s fearsome fangs—then escape the creepy hollow!
75953: Hogwarts Whomping Willow™ RRP: £59.99 | Pieces: 753
Travel to Hogwarts™ castle with Harry and Ron in the flying Ford Anglia, but watch out for the LEGO® Harry Potter™ 75953 Hogwarts Whomping Willow™! Too late—the flying Ford Anglia has crashed and is caught in the branches. Make your escape and sneak into Hogwarts before caretaker Argus Filch and Professor Snape™ spot you. Run to the dormitory, jump into bed and get ready for your first day back of learning spells, mixing potions and lots more fun Harry Potter adventures.
75954: Hogwarts™ Great Hall RRP: £89.99 | Pieces: 878
Build and recreate a magical fantasy realm from the Harry Potter™ movies with this detailed 4-level LEGO® 75954 Hogwarts™ Great Hall Harry Potter building kit, featuring a fireplace, benches, tables and reversible house banners, plus the Grand Staircase tower with a spiral staircase, potions room, treasure room, sorting hat, Mirror of Erised™ and lots of magical artefact accessory elements. This fantasy role-playing castle toy includes 10 minifigures and buildable Basilisk and Fawkes™ creatures, plus Hedwig™ and Scabbers™ figures
75955: Hogwarts™ Express RRP: £74.99 | Pieces: 801
All aboard the LEGO® Harry Potter™ 75955 Hogwarts™ Express! Vanish through the brick wall on Platform 93⁄4™ at King’s Cross station and join Harry, Ron and Hermione on their journey to Hogwarts. Find your seats in the carriage and get a chocolate frog from the Trolley Witch, but watch out for the Dementor™! Luckily, Remus Lupin is at hand to cast a powerful spell and shield Harry from the terrifying creature, so you can get back on track for more magical Harry Potter adventures.
75956: Quidditch™ Match RRP: £34.99 | Pieces: 500
Jump on your broom and enter the LEGO® Harry Potter™ 75956 Quidditch™ Match! Join Harry, Hermione and Professor Snape™ for some magical mischief, and experience the thrill as you fly through the Gryffindor™ house tower hatch and onto the pitch. Score a point by throwing the Quaffle past the keeper and through the ring! Fire the Bludger to knock your opponents off their brooms and catch the Golden Snitch™ to win the match! Whether you’re a Keeper, Seeker, Chaser or Beater, there’s always plenty of fast- action fun at the Quidditch Match.
75952: Newt’s Case of Magical Creatures RRP: £44.99 | Pieces: 694
Step into LEGO® Fantastic Beasts™ 75952 Newt’s Case of Magical Creatures, there’s room for everyone! Help Newt take Jacob, Tina and Queenie on a tour around the different magical beast habitats, and teach them how to look after the Erumpent, Occamy, Thunderbird, Niffler and Bowtruckle. Have lots of Fantastic Beasts fun exploring, mixing potions and caring for the magical creatures.
75951: Grindelwald’s Escape RRP: £19.99 |Pieces: 132
Wands at the ready! Prepare for a magical LEGO® Fantastic Beasts™ 75951 Grindelwald’s Escape battle and help Seraphina Picquery™ stop the evil Grindelwald from escaping in the flying carriage drawn by a Thestral. Summon your most powerful magic before the Dark wizard conjures his own dark spells and escapes from MACUSA with the winged horse.
A big thank you to Mischief PR and the LEGO Group for inviting us to the event and allowing us to check out the sets in person. Sorry some of the images are too great, they were set against a window and one of the sunniest days of the year, which wasn’t great conditions to take pictures.
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