Set Review - #75946-1: Hungarian Horntail Triwizard Challenge

This should be it for the 2019 Harry Potter serts. #75946-1: Hungarian Horntail Triwizard Challenge was released on 1 July 2019. It retails for $29.99 in the US. At 265 pieces, it works out to be $0.113/piece which seems a bit steep to me. Let’s dig into this one to see if it is really worth it.

The front of the box shows the built set in animated action. I think it would be better if the design was all brick built, but I figure they have to split out the bricks to show what you actually get in the set. The back shows some of the play features to include the tent opening and the movement of the dragon.

The contents are 2 numbered parts bags, a small sticker sheet, the instruction booklet, and the dragon’s wings.

---

The first bag builds Harry, Fleur, and the dragon itself. Given the scale of the set, I think the dragon was done quite well. The details and coloring are fairly close to what you see in the movie and thankfully it was not just a giant BURP that you attach to the wings.

---

The second bag finishes up the set with the tent used by the Triwizard Champions and then the chain to hold down the dragon that is guarding the golden egg.

The tent is a very simple build and doesn’t have much exciting to it. The stickers go inside the tent.

The egg and the holder are rather plain. From a play standpoint, it meets the mark, but it could also go well as a part of a larger MOC recreating the scene from the book/movie.

---

This set comes with 4 minifigures. They are the 4 Triwizard Champions… Harry, Viktor, Cedric, and Fleur. They are all in their uniforms for the dragon challenge. I think this is the first time they have appeared in these outfits, but I’m not sure. Each one has wands and Harry has his broom.

Overall, this set doesn’t have much to it. The price is a bit steep in my opinion for what you get even with the 20% off sale from Amazon.com. If you’re looking to pick this one up, definitely wait for a sale. The dragon is a pretty cool, but beyond that, the set lacks anything exciting. However, it could be a good start to a larger MOC if you are looking to re-create the scene from the movie/book.

What are your thoughts on this one?

Happy building!

Another LEGO Ideas Train Submission Reaches 10,000 Votes!

Back in July 2019, I brought up a submission by the builder Bricky_Brick on the LEGO Ideas platform. It’s an incredible looking train station with a train at the station. The details are impressive and the top clear piece is very cool. I’m not sure of the exact date (maybe 31 January 2020), but it achieved 10,000 votes and is currently marked as achieved support. Here’s a picture of the build, but go to the Ideas site if you want more photos.

Now we have to hope LEGO selects it for review and then actually picks it up for a set. While it would be incredible to have this as a set, I don’t have high hopes. We’ll see… maybe they just need an amazing set to change their minds and inspire sales. I know I would definitely be in line to buy this one if it came out.

What do you think? Should LEGO make this set and would it sell? Or is this just another cool AFOL design that will remain in electronic form?

We Need Another Train - Latest LEGO Ideas Submissions

If you’ve followed my blog at all you may have seen some of my posts advocating for train sets. I’m a big LEGO train fan and I really want to see more Creator Expert type train models. As I have mentioned previously, LEGO doesn’t make a lot of money on these types of sets so they have stopped making them and they look for other ways to incorporate trains like with Disney or the Hidden Side.

Another option is to use the LEGO Ideas platform to bring a train model to the public. Currently the Toronto Rocket subway train by LegoVader217 is under review awaiting an announcement. Additionally, the creator BrickyBrick has a station he titled “The Train Station: Stud Gate” and it is rapidly approaching 10,000 votes (under 200 votes left at the time of this post). I wrote a post on that one here.

I don’t have high confidence that LEGO will produce either of these, but maybe they’ll get the hint given the number of train submissions on the Ideas platform. Or maybe they’ll move the train ideas to the BrickLink AFOL program now that LEGO has purchased BrickLink?

With all of this being said, there is another idea out there that I really like.

Train Collection by papat08
A Diesel-electric locomotive GE Dash 9-44cw BNSF on a track with some ballast on a display stand with the name on the front similar to the Architecture line. This one is a cool idea where you could just display the engine or use it as an engine on a train layout. There’s over a year left on this one and it has over 600 votes at the time of this post, but a lot more to go to get to 10,000. So go vote for this one. I think a train line for display would be awesome. So what do you say LEGO?

Have You Ever Purchased Your Bricks at Smyths?

Many Americans looking at LEGO fan media sites may have heard of a store called Smyths before and have never actually seen one. It is usually mentioned on some of the European sites. Well for those of you who are curious here’s a short peek into the store.

First, a quick overview… Smyths is a toy store located in the UK, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. While they have a physical presence, they also have an online presence too. You can order to have it shipped to your house with free shipping starting at 29€ or you can order online and pick up in the store.

The short story… it felt like a Toys R Us store back in the US before they closed only the words were not in English and there wasn’t a giraffe.

Let’s focus on the important part… or parts… or bricks…

The store I went into had one side of an entire aisle (maybe 75 feet long) full of LEGO sets. They appeared to have most of the themes too and the sets they did have were well stocked. They did not have the very large sets like the #75192-1: Millennium Falcon, but their online store lists the stock at each store. That way you can see where they have sets and go to another store to get what you want.

Some specific things that caught my eye:
-They did not have the latest collectible minifigures (the DC Super Heroes series). They still had Disney Series 2 and Series 19 and both were still at full retail of 3,99€
-They had the #42056-1: Porsche 911 GT3 RS from the Technic line still. This has been retired in Europe for over a year. I’m tempted to go back and get it as a set to hang onto to sell later since it has been retired in the US for a while now.
-#21046-1: Empire State Building was on sale for 69,99€. The regular retail price is 99.99€ according to Brickset so that’s pretty good. The regular retail in the US is $129.99 so the sale price works out to be around $77 with the currency conversion. That’s not too bad.

Overall, I’m not an expert on LEGO set pricing in Europe or Germany so I don’t know if the prices were on par with LEGO or higher or lower. I know Toys R Us used to raise prices on LEGO to above what you could get at Shop @ Home or in a LEGO Brand Store. If any Europeans are reading this, let me know what you think on pricing at Smyths.

My closest Brand Store is about 30 minutes away and this Smyths is about 25 minutes away in the opposite direction. I don’t have a pull to hit one over the other, but I do have to pay to park to visit the closest Brand Store. Also I still buy most of my bricks on sale from Amazon.com or through Shop @ Home so unless I find great deals on the local economy, it isn’t worth it with the exchange rate between the dollar and the euro.

Where I live in Germany, they do have Walmart/Target type big box stores, but their LEGO set selection isn’t very large. From the last time I was in the US, I recall that Walmart and Target have boosted their LEGO set offerings as Toys R Us went away. Smyths definitely seems like a decent option if you don’t live near a Brand Store and don’t want to shop online. I’ll have to pay attention more to see what their sales are like or if they ever have special offers.

In the meantime, happy building!

(and no, I was not paid to build this post or to advertise for the store… especially since my blog is written towards American LEGO fans and most Americans don’t have a Smyth’s nearby to visit)

Set Review - #75948-1: Hogwarts Clock Tower - Harry Potter

I am finally reviewing the last of the Harry Potter sets from 2019. This one is #75948-1: Hogwarts Clock Tower. It was released on 1 July 2019 for $89.99 in the US. With 922 pieces, it works out to be $0.098 per piece. This isn’t too bad, but I obviously would have preferred a lower price. I have not seen this one go on sale yet, but I did get it for double VIP points before Christmas so I can’t complain.

This set is based on the the fourth book/movie in the Harry Potter series titled “The Goblet of Fire.” The set itself portrays the Tri-Wizard’s Tournament Yule Ball. Onto the review…

The box front shows the front of the set assembled with the minifigures by tables and a Christmas tree. The back shows the internals of the set and some of the features to include the moving clock and how you can set up the minifigures to “dance” on one of the set pieces.

The set contains six parts bags and 2 light gray octagon pieces (not sure of the official name). The instructions are sealed with the stickers. The instructions are just instructions and no extra details or anything. The stickers are one sheet with multiple stickers and one with a larger sticker (ugh!).

The first bag builds a part of the ball room area. In seeing the pieces ahead of time, I was curious how it would all get assembled. In the end it turns out that there are System gear pieces versus Technic and they are linked together. You spin the light gray octagon around and the white circles rotate. Then you can position the minifigures so it looks like they are dancing. Definitely an interesting way to do this, but I’m not sure it adds much to the set. The set is listed as ages 9+ so maybe the younger crowd enjoys setting up the minifigures so they can dance.

There are 2 tables for drinks. The legs are icicle pieces and they have some fun “ice” decorations on top.

This bag also contains Viktor Krum and Madame Maxine, but I’ll go over the minifigures later.

The second bag adds a tower which can be attached using Technic pins to the ball area. The tower has 2 floors. The bottom floor is the bathroom where the students have to bathe to hear what the egg is telling them. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just watch the movie. The large mermaid sticker goes here and you get the fun of having a large sticker and trying not to get air bubbles in it. I was successful, but it took a few tries.

The upper level is Dumbledore’s office. The phoenix and sorting hat are stickers on the wall. The sword of Gryffindor is above him and the pensieve is there too (had to look up what a “pensieve” was). In terms of the actual locations in the castle, I’m not sure if they are all correct, but then again I am not sure of the floor plan of the actual castle so who knows? I think they were looking for the chance to re-create as many scenes as they could from the book/movie with this set.

Fleur Delacour and Albus Dumbledore come in this bag, but more on minifigures later.

The third bag starts the build of the actual clock tower. This bag builds the first floor of the clock tower. I think it is the room where students can put their names into the cup to be chosen for the Triwizard’s Challenge. I’m not actually sure and I’m not certain why the treasure chest is there. Either way, it serves as the base to the tower.

Ron Weasley and Cedric Diggory come in this bag.

Bag 4 builds another room. This one appears to be the defense against the dark arts classroom. I am a fan of how the external part of the clock tower looks. I’m not sure how accurate it is compared to the movies, but the design is simple, yet it looks like it is part of the castle. The build is mainly stacking bricks, but the designers get the detail across with some difference pieces and color changes.

The inside has details from the movie to include the chalk board with a sticker that tells from things from the book/movie, the glass where Mad Eye put something inside, and then there are a few items along the wall as well as one chair for a student.

Hermione Granger is in this bag even though I didn’t include the minifigure in the picture.

The fifth bag almost finishes the clock tower and it includes the Harry Potter minifigure. The outside includes the clock face which is a cool printed piece. The clock hands are pieces from the standard LEGO tool kit (and you get the extra tools for other MOCs). The roof slopes here or at least you complete part of the slope.

Inside this floor is the hospital or clinic or whatever they call it. There are 2 beds for patients. This is the first time where I’ve seen LEGO use jumper plates so the minifigures can actually lay on the bed.

Also, based on watching the movies, the clock is near the hospital area so this is somewhat accurate to have these two sections nearby each other.

Much like #75954-1: Hogwarts Great Hall, this set has a decent number of minifigures which makes this set a must have for fans of the Harry Potter minifigures. All of them are in their Yule Ball attire which I’m not sure has been done before. Does anyone know?

I’ll use the order of my picture below to go through them:

Cedric Diggory - This minifigure last appeared in the Harry Potter collectible minifigure set (#71022). Not bad considering he only makes an appearance in one book.
Fleur Delacour - This character is also in #75958-1: Beauxbatons' Carriage: Arrival at Hogwarts™ so the second time she’s appeared in a 2019 set.
Viktor Krum - I think this is the first time since the return of Harry Potter in 2018 that we’ve seen this minifigure.
Madame Maxine - This character is also in #75958-1: Beauxbatons' Carriage: Arrival at Hogwarts™ Hermione Granger - I’ve lost count of how many of the big 3 we’ve seen. Hermione has on a dress and instead of giving her a slope bottom to show the dress it is just printed on. There is a printed 1x2 brick with a 1x2 plate below it. I’m not sure why they didn’t go for a smaller slope piece like Fleur has on, but okay.
Harry Potter and Ron Weasley are in a lot of sets. Now you get them in their Ball garb.
Albus Dumbledore - Dumbledore is in his Ball garb as well. What I found interesting is the head of this minifigure has his glasses on one side and no glasses on the other.

Overall, a good collection of minifigures in my opinion. Everyone has a wand too.

The sixth bag completes the build. The roof and the last turrets on top of the clock tower are built. You also get a small Christmas tree for the ball room. Additionally, a second, smaller clock is added to the main clock face.

Overall, the build is not too complicated, but it does have some interesting techniques like the gears used for the dancing area. There are some decent pieces for other MOCs although not a wide range of colors. The designers crammed a lot of play features into a small area that were probably spread out across the castle, but I get why they did that. It probably doesn’t match the actual castle from the movie, but again it is designed for play and not as a Creator Expert type set. In terms of price, the set is about average in terms of price per brick and I have yet to see it go on sale. Like #75954-1: Hogwarts Great Hall, this set has not been on the active sale list on places like Amazon.com. If you are looking to pick it up, look for other opportunities like discounts at specific retailers or promotions from LEGO itself.

Like most of the other Harry Potter sets, if you’re not a fan of the series, I don’t recommend picking up this set. The build wasn’t that great, but fans get some great minifigures and another piece of the book/movie series.

What are your thoughts on this one? Just another play set or a well designed version of Hogwarts?

Happy building!

$8,299 Raised For the Red Cross in Australia

If you missed my initial post, Jay’s Brick Blog, run by an Australian AFOL, kicked off an impromptu campaign to collect funds for the Red Cross in Australia. The goal was to raise funds to help those impacted by the bushfires going on. Thanks to 302 people from around the world, Jay reported the following:

You can read Jay’s campaign post here. Bricks for Bricks got a call out so thanks Jay for the mention!

It’s great to see the LEGO fan community come together to do good in this world. Not only do we enjoy building, but we’re good people who like to use our brick hobby to help others.

Thanks to those of you who supported Jay’s campaign!

Happy building!

Bricks Supporting the Australian Bushfires - Your Chance to Help!

If you haven’t been watching the news or reading the news online, there is a massive fire burning in Australia. This is their summertime (for us northern hemisphere folks in the cold) so it is hot and dry which has not helped. The damage and destruction have been pretty awful and it is still ongoing.

Sometimes you see things like this and think how awful it is, but then you move on with your life since the news you are reading about is happening very far from you. Well some members of the LEGO Fan Community in Australia are trying to make a difference. Thanks to the BrickBlogger.com for sharing the post that alerted me of this effort.

Here’s what you need to know…

Jay’s Brick Blog is a LEGO Recognized Fan Media site run by an AFOL in Australia. Jay and some of his fellow Aussies have reached into their collections to hold a raffle. For each dollar you donate to support the Red Cross through his link, you get one chance to win some pretty cool sets. Not all are available internationally, but that’s okay. It’s awesome to see AFOLs getting together to do some good around the world.

If you’d like to support Jay’s effort, you can go to his Blog here to donate.

The raffle will be held on 12 January 2019 so support now if you want to be a part of the raffle.

If you’re not sure about giving to someone you don’t know in another country, Jay also posted a link to the Red Cross so you can donate to them directly.

Thank you Jay and fellow AFOLs for giving!

Set Review - #40337-1: Mini Gingerbread House - Creator - Limited Edition

I’m a little late on this one, but I wanted to catch this set before it was too late. #40337-1: Mini Gingerbread House was a gift with qualifying purchase from LEGO in December 2019. It contains 499 pieces and is a mini build of #10267-1: Gingerbread House from the Creator Expert line.

The front of the box shows the set in front of a winter scene. It also has a red ribbon with a “Limited Edition” marking on it. The back of the box shows set #10267-1. I guess it’s so you can compare the two. Or maybe they needed some advertising space?

The contents are six parts bags, 2 instruction booklets, and a sticker sheet with one sticker on it. The parts bags are labeled one through three with three number ones, one number two, and two number threes.

As expected with any mini build, the pieces are rather small. As you can see, most are tiles or plates and most are 1x1 or 1x2. There are very few bricks as compared to plates and tiles. The 2019 sticker goes well on the set and helps to make it a true limited edition for the year. I’m actually a fan of this one. Probably because it is larger and there is only one sticker.

The bag labeled number two completes the first floor and you can see most of the details from #10267-1 miniaturized in this set. I think the designers did a great job at capturing the main details while still making it somewhat realistic. As you can expect, they didn’t build the internals of the house since there is not a lot of room. The back is instead just closed off as a wall with no details. I’m okay with this choice versus adding in extra details as you will probably just display the front of this set anyways.

The third set of bags finishes off the set. Overall it’s a fun build. I actually built it with my 5-year old and she did a pretty good job at getting it right. I had to guide in a bunch of spots, but she managed to get the hang of the SNOT techniques used on the roof pieces.

Overall, I think LEGO did a nice job with this set. Sadly, you’ll have to look on the secondary market for this one now. Usually these sets go for $25 to $30. Do they go higher? On some occasions in the past, LEGO has done a Christmas in July promotion where they have brought back Christmas sets the following July as a gift with purchase. No telling whether that will happen in 2020, but if you missed out, pay attention to in the summertime to see if that deal returns.

What do you think of this set? Did you get it with a purchase and was it worth it?

In the meantime, happy building!

Set Review - #75947-1: Hagrid's Hut Buckbeak's Rescue - Harry Potter

It’s 2020 and I’m still working my way through the 2019 sets. With a goal of getting sets of sale, I usually wait to purchase so I don’t buy at full price. #75947-1: Hagrid’s Hut Buckbeak’s Rescue was released on 1 July 2019 in the US for $59.99. With 496 pieces, it works out to be $0.121/piece. This is a bit high, but I picked it up for 20% off at Amazon.com in the US so it made it a bit more affordable.

Onto the review…

The box is pretty standard with the front showing the set while the back shows the play features. One note you’ll see is this one has a light brick which is not normal for most Harry Potter sets.

The contents include 3 parts bags, a small bag with Buckbeak, an instruction booklet, and a sticker sheet. The instructions and the sticker sheet were shoved into the box and they were pretty beat up. Despite the folded up stickers, I was able to apply the stickers without showing any of the damage permanently. Of note, the first bag includes a piece separator.

The first bags start construction on the main part of the hut. It builds up the initial wall along with some of the interior furniture. The outer wall looks a little too squared off in my opinion. I’m not sure how I would re-design it, but I think it would be better looking if it look like a stone hut versus having squared off blocks in it. The sticker on the front door helps with the details some, but I’m never a big fan of stickers.

The interior so far has a chair, a candle, and a container that holds a shovel and umbrella.

The second bag finishes the first part of the hut. I like how the roof is built to match how it is portrayed in the movie. I also think it would have been better if the whole building was built versus just half, but I’m sure it is for the play factor and price point.

The interior is fun with a table and chairs, a sack, some utensils hanging from the ceiling, and a broom. I haven’t done the research to see how accurate it is as compared to the movie, but it seems like it is close from my limited memory of what the hut looks like in the movie.

The light brick is added here and shines down on an egg in the fireplace area. Not sure if he is supposed to be warming it to eat or if he’s warming it to incubate it. Either way, I think the light brick is unnecessary in this set. I’d rather remove that part/expense and add some additional detail to the set.

The third bag finishes off the set. It adds a second room that looks similar to the first room only is slightly smaller. There is a doorway to pass from the larger part of the hut to the smaller room. The exterior of this part of the hut looks similar. The interior has a desk with a candle and a copy of the Daily Prophet newspaper as a 2x2 tile. It also contains a chest with a brown frog inside and a spider crawling around on the ceiling.

Externally, there is a small pumpkin patch with pumpkins growing on vines. There is also a chain to attach Buckbeak to as seen in the movie “The Prisoner of Azkaban.” For a simple pumpkin patch, I think it looks good with some larger pumpkins and some smaller ones still growing.

This set comes with six minifigures. According to Brickset, from left to right and top to bottom there are the following:
Executioner - Walden MacNair: The movie does not give his name. Maybe the book does? Either way I think they captured this character who plays a small part in this book/movie well. The large ax like tool that he has matches what is used in the movie well.
Rubeus Hagrid: This character is similar to other LEGO versions and again he carries a lantern.
Minster of Magic - Cornelius Fudge: I think they got this one right. I am a fan of the hat.
Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter are all mid-size minifigures. They have the smaller legs, but not the tiny ones that do not pivot. The outfits seem to match the movie outfits well and they each have 2 facial expressions and a wand.

For Potter fans, the Buckbeak figure is the bonus for the set. I think LEGO captured the likeness of the character well. The head can move up and down and you can angle the wings. There are studs on top of Buckbeak as well which allow minifigures to sit on top for a ride.

Overall, this set was middle of the road for me. It wasn’t bad, but not something I would go rush to buy at full price. The 20% off helped and even more would have been better. I’m curious as to how much the light brick adds to the price of the set.

For Potter fans you do get 6 minifigures as well as Buckbeak so that’s not too bad.

As a builder, I would have preferred a little more detail to the outside of the hut and potentially the full hut versus just part. Although half the set is a good start for those who want to build the rest on their own.

What are your thoughts on this one? How would you change this set?

Happy building!

Set Review - #10267-1: Gingerbread House - Creator Expert - Winter Village

LEGO has a few lines where they repeat the theme at specific times each year. The Winter Village is one of those themes with 2019’s set being released on 1 October 2019. #10267-1: Gingerbread House retails for $99.99 in the US. It contains 1,247 pieces which works out to be $0.068/piece. As of late, LEGO has been discounting these sets at their end of life time period which is usually after 3 years (but not always). You can look for deals at other retailers too so be on the lookout!

Here’s the box. The front of the box shows the full set while the back of the box shows the back of the set and some of the play features. The box also notes that you get a light brick with the set which seems to be pretty standard for the Winter Village buildings.

The contents are 10 parts bags. The bags are labeled 1 though 5 and there are 2 bags each. You also get a 16x16 white plate. Additionally, there is a sealed package with the instructions and a small sticker sheet. The instructions contain 2 booklets. The first is for the first set of bags and includes everything not attached to the gingerbread house. The second is the build for the house.

I was glad to see a small sticker sheet with only 3 stickers on it. The stickers were also decent sized so I’m glad I didn’t have to put stickers on 1x1 or 1x2 tiles. This set gets the detail by using bricks and printing. Yay!

The first 2 bags build everything not connected to the house. There is a small Christmas tree which has some similarities to last year’s set (#10263-1: Winter Village Fire Station). I like the star on top and the piece they used to create it is pretty cool. I’m not sure if it is new or not, but I hope to see it again.

The two minifigures are in this bag too. From what I recall, the gingerbread man first appeared back in the Series 11 Collectible Minifigures set. Is that from 2013? Now we get two different versions. The male version has a mustache and the female has a skirt on. There is also a 1x2 tile for the baby. Along with the baby is a bottle about the size of the baby and you build a small carriage with cookie wheels to push the baby around in.

There is a snow blower which is cleverly designed and it looks like it could be candy made.

The second set of bags starts the actual gingerbread house. The floor has some great tiling work. I’m also a big fan of the translucent, sparkled 1x1 bricks for the windows. I always like the 1x2 or 1x4 bricks with the brick texture on them. No complaints thus far in the build.

The third set of bags finishes up the first floor of the house. The fireplace reaches through the front of the house and into the first floor. I’m not sure I’m a fan of this, but I’m guessing it is so you can show the light brick on the inside and the outside. The inside has some good details to include a little kitchen, some furniture, and some decorations. Given the small space, I think the designers did a good job at making sure it was detailed without going overkill on details.

The fourth set of bags builds up the second floor. The use of white tiles and bricks to make the roofs look frosted is cool along with the 1x1 round tiles to make is seem like there are candies as well. You can see the bathtub and the start of the bathroom on the interior of the second floor in this bag too.

The fifth set of bags finishes off the house. The roof is completed and the upstairs details are completed. I’m a fan of the multiple slopes on the roof versus just one slope. The use of many angles makes it look more like a house.

The interior details include a lamp, a bed, the crib, the rest of the bathroom, and the toilet. Again, great use of parts to maintain the candy feel while adding details.

Here’s the final picture with everything from the set. Overall, I like this set and I think it was worth the price they set on it. It was a good build with some interesting techniques and some great pieces. The minifigures are fun and this set fits well within the Winter Village sub-theme.

Downsides to the set… I would prefer the full building versus just a half. I realize it would drive up the price or cut down on the detailing, but the builds limit how you can display the sets. Everything has to face one direction or you have to build your thoughts for the rest of the set on your own.

If you’re a fan of the Winter Village sub-theme, I recommend picking this set up. Look for opportunities to get it on sale or to get double VIP points or other bonuses if it is not on sale.

Happy building!