The largest set of this original line of Harry Potter lego sets definitely afford great playability, buildability and hours of fun for those who love a good set to look and pose. Great tricks and hidden compartments, height and width and detail make this a must have set for any lovers of HP!

Build

The build is simple mainly a stacking kinda job, which I found relatively harmless as you know it'll create something pretty spectacular. You start with the small castle bridge in which the boat sails beneath, nothing taxing. Secondly you build small owlry and what seems to be a small classroom featuring a folding out staircase (I wish there was a stopper that would fix the stairs in one position when extended). The classroom features a bookshelf that tips, a desk with storage for a small book; and a clever fireplace with rubber band mechanism that when turns reveals a transparent chest with jewels; it's really charming!
Third stage of the build is my favourite section, it has the revolving Fat Lady panel, a balcony, the revolving knight statue with hidden jewel and a pulley system that when used opens a secret key safe (another great trick). In the tower above the observatory with telescope is super cool.
The next stage of the build is the great hall. It's pillars, arches and gargoyles make this feel really grandiose and capture the essence of the hall with its floating candles and smart revolving banner. The hidden compartments within this section again offer really nice playability, along with gadgets such as the crystal ball, letter and holographic chocolate frog card add some HP magic .

Minifigures

Classic yellow faced minifigures with the core characters make this set feel right. You can add others in as your collection builds to make this more comprehensive. The uniforms of the students are all matching which I appreciate, and the three professors feel the right choice, Snape with his glow in the dark face is a nice touch. Lots of animals complete this set nicely and add character. Peeves ghost is really plain and boring and is the worst minifig in my opinion, the knight is by far the standout minifigure! Super cool armour!

Pros:

Playability, hidden compartments, mechanised gadgets, the knight. Core minifigures.

Cons:

Peeves, stairs could do with a stopper to stop them spinning. Other than that. Love this.

This is a really cute set, made all the better for getting an awesome debut from Madame Hooch in her black robes and goggles. Playability is pretty cool with the hoops and great for posing your minifigures against the hoops to make it look like they are flying.

BUILD

Easy stacking build for the tower, nice printed bricks with the house crests on and a couple of hidden compartments hiding a spells bag and a quidditch book. I really like the chest with the quidditch balls, it goes hand in hand with the Quality Quidditch Supplies Shop set as a lot of the same bricks are featured.

MINIFIGURES

All of these these minifigures are unique to this set with the quidditch robes and capes, they are really nice and add some colour to some of the plainer sets in this line. I love Madame Hooch's cape!

PROS

Quidditch balls. All the minifigures, hidden compartments.

CONS

Only Slytherin and Gryffindor colours , no ravenclaw or Hufflepuff (unless you grab the TRU exclusive set; a rare piece).

I really like this small but perfectly formed set, I really like the colours and it's rare playable pieces, there's something very charming and 'ye olde worlde' feeling about it. Very nice

Build

The build is real easy, again a stacking job mainly with pillars and angles roof blocks. The bricks have an unusual colouring, a red/brown and the recognisable green featured in the Potter sets of Year 1. The Quidditch supplies themselves are really sweet, featuring quaffle, bludger and a covered golden snitch as well as slytherin and Gryffindor banners and matching capes (ravenclaw and hufflepuff don't get a mention). The shop externally looks very sweet and quaint with a printed window and a printed sign from Quality Quidditch Supplies. lots of lovely little postable pieces such as printed parcel flat and quidditch book. .

Minifigures

Draco Malfoy in his day clothes looks like the early versions of Luke Skywalker but that's by the by, still he's only in this set in this outfit. Could have done maybe with a shopkeeper.

Pros

Great charming set, nice interior and lots of pieces to pose with. Printed window and snitch are very sweet.

Cons

easy to topple cape stand, maybe another minifigure would have been nice.

I really love this first Hogwarts Express it's a really nice train that does capture the essence of the famous train. It felt that there were some parts that could have been a little more complete such as the flooring in the carriage. The station itself has some really cool features such as the spinning hidden wall and the stickers which really add character.

Build

The build is enjoyable, it's a pretty easy stacking kinda job, but I liked it built up to something really familiar. The vibrant reds black and yellow are fresh and haven't faded over the years. I loved the train engine that houses the chest and inventive way you can pop the chest up with its hidden key stash (unsure of the relevence of them both). I felt the two lights on the front were a little bit unstable and come off or twist quite easily. The train carriage is quite cramped but only fits 4 minifigures maximum you can only pose them by sitting them. I really disliked the difficulty in taking the roof off the carriage, I often break it removing it which is annoying. Loved the holographic Dumbledore chocolate frog card. Oversized but pretty cool.

Minifigures

Ron, Harry and Hermione have the traditional Lego yellow faces, they are pretty cool in their outdoor clothes apart from Hermione, who is in her School uniform. I like that their capes are packed away and ready to go.

Pros

Vibrant colours, great popping mechanism of the chest. Station and it's various implements. Having the three protagonists!

Cons

Easy to break to remove carriage roof, lights to front are flimsy. Perhaps the train feels a little too high.

I really like this set as opposed to its earlier sets. It's great playability, really nice pieces and some great minifigures make this a must for any collectors of the earlier sets.

Build

The build is real easy and involves mainly stacking the regular cream, black and dark grey pieces. The set combines with its counterparts in this line to make a larger Hogwarts and its surrounds and I really like that aspect. I loved the little secret table hiding Trevor underneath and also the potions cupboard that drops to reveal the house ghost. The potions cauldron is an interesting piece but doesn't really explain why there is a manuscript hidden beneath it; a little bizarre. The ladle is pretty cool though!.

Minifigures

Ron has the traditional Lego yellow face with some nice freckles and an uncertain facial look, always a fan of the starred capes; not a huge fan of his grey wand. Glow in the dark Snape is super cool as is Peeves (they could have made him glow too perhaps?).

Pros

Great playability with some neat little pieces such as the glass and the ladle. The drop down potions cupboard and desk are neat. Scabbers and Trevor!

Cons

Roof feels a little unfinished if not combined with the other sets.