Page 1 of Lego Hogwarts 71043 - second biggest set ever - Finished!

And I went and bought one!



Officially released tomorrow, but VIP members have been able to buy theirs from the 15th. I got mine last Saturday (tattoo was Friday) but only started assembling on Tuesday. I had a little dilemma about actually assembling it at all, as Lego never depreciates in value, so I wondered about sticking it in the attic for 5 years and selling it for double what I paid once it's discontinued. This didn't go down that well with Annie, so I broke the seals and started small with bag 1 of 40 (37 numbered bags, 3 extras for structural blocks), which was Godric Gryffindor & the boathouse. There's been some griping about the model not being minifig scale, but given the size of the model, and the microfig scale it's based on..





...to base the model on Minifig scale would be insanely large, plus it'd cost at least £1500, and take up most living rooms.

So far it's taken 3 shifts of 3-4 hours to get through 2 instruction books - you get 4



It's slow going, and the 16+ age guide on the box is pretty accurate. Luke kindly offered to help, but I can guarantee that this model isn't for kids with short attention spans. I think I'm 10 hours in and I've just finished the first half







I'm a big fan of the clever stained glass window effect in the Great Hall (lit from behind)



I'm hoping to get it finished over the weekend, but parenting responsibilities may get in the way.

It's £350, so while the second largest, it's not the second most expensive. The largest set is the recent UCS Millenium Falcon, which is around £650. I don't think an outlay that large for 'a pile of plastic bricks' would do wonders for any marriage, so I'll just have to wait for my numbers to come up before getting that one.

If there's a criticism, it's that the main tower is a little unstable, and the trees around the base keep pinging off as you're instructed to put them on before finishing the model, so as you grab the base to turn it around, they tend to vanish under the table.

Other than that, if you have the funds, time, patience and space for the finished model (2 feet wide & tall), I'd heartily recommend it (not sponsored, honestly!)

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Writer`s Release

This item was edited on Sunday, 2nd September 2018, 22:40

Maximum nerd points.

Quote:
alfie noakes says...
"Maximum nerd points."
I think the tattoo helped


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Writer`s Release

I must admit, I've no idea about the significance of the tattoo. I know next to nothing about Harrold Potter.

Despite the criticism of the scale of the model, I'd have to say it works to its advantage. The microfig scale has made the designers pull out all the stops and use every trick in the book to get as much detail in as possible using the smallest blocks available. I'd say this set was totally worth the cost for the experience of building it alone. 14 hours total, I'd say, in several shifts.
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Writer`s Release

Well done, looks amazing
:-)

a friend of the missus has gone halves with her husband and bought Diagon Alley

https://www.lego.com/en-gb/product/diagon-alley-75978?icmp=HP-SHH-Standard-HP_Hero_75978_Harry_Potter_Exclusive_Still_Life_HP-EX-HP-8K6DKNL513

justification - couldn't go on holiday, so bought Lego instead :)

https://admars32.wordpress.com/

https://mobro.co/admars?mc=1

Well done in constructing that. I never had the patience for Lego building as a kid (we had a few dozen miscellaneous bricks in a cardboard box). Same goes for jigsaws as an adult. Used to just shove the stuff off the table after an hour, and walk away.

I've been summarily banned from getting the Diagon Alley set. Partly due to the cost, but mainly as there's nowhere to put it. Bugger's a metre long and the display shelf is looking pretty full.



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Writer`s Release

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