The first wave of LEGO Harry Potter sets have been out for some time, and yesterday, LEGO announced another upcoming set, the #71043 LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle. Unfortunately, the press-release wasn’t sent out to LEGO fan sites, however the set is already listed at the Online LEGO Shop, so we can get all the details. So, let’s take a look at the beauty! 🙂

Here is the official description of the set: Make the magic come alive at the #71043 LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle! This highly detailed LEGO Harry Potter collectible has over 6,000 pieces and offers a rewarding build experience. It comes packed with highlights from the Harry Potter series, where you will discover towers, turrets, chambers, classrooms, creatures, the Whomping Willow and Hagrid´s hut, plus many more iconic features. With 4 minifigures, 27 microfigures featuring students, professors and statues, plus 5 Dementors, this advanced building set makes the perfect Harry Potter gift. 6,020 pieces. Price: $399.99 – SEE AT THE ONLINE LEGO SHOP

• Includes 4 minifigures: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Salazar Slytherin and Rowena Ravenclaw, with a buildable minifigure display stand.
• Also features 27 microfigures: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Albus Dumbledore, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Professor Dolores Umbridge, Argus Filch, Lord Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange, 3 students from each of the 4 houses, 2 chess pieces and the Architect of Hogwarts statue, and 5 Dementors, plus Aragog the spider and the Basilisk figures, and a buildable Hungarian Horntail dragon.
• Features a buildable microscale model of Hogwarts Castle, hut of Hagrid, Whomping Willow tree and 5 boats.
• Hogwarts Castle features the Great Hall with buildable ‘stained glass windows’, house banners, benches, tables, flaming torches and moving staircases; potions classroom with racks of jar elements; Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom with assorted potion jars, gramophone and a closet containing a boggart; Chessboard Chamber with chess piece elements; Room of Requirement with assorted elements, including the Goblet of Fire and the vanishing cabinet; Chamber of Secrets with the Basilisk and Tom Riddle’s Diary; hidden Devils Snare room with vine elements; Gryffindor common room with fireplace and seating; Professor Dolores Umbridge’s office with desk, chair and pink furnishings; library with bookcase and desks; and Professor Dumbledore’s office with the Griffin statue entrance and Memory cabinet.
• Hagrid’s hut features Aragog the spider and buildable pumpkins.
• The Whomping Willow includes the buildable blue Flying Ford Anglia car in its spinning branches.
• Also includes 5 buildable boats.
• Take a seat in the Great Hall and feast with the Hogwarts professors and students!
• Sneak your way into the Chamber of Secrets through the secret entrance and face the Basilisk!
• Attend a Defence Against the Dark Arts class to learn how to protect yourself from dark magic!
• Climb the moving staircase!
• Study for your Ordinary Wizarding Level exams in the library.
• Accessory elements include the Sword of Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff´s cup, wands, potions, house banners, flames, a cauldron and 2 magnifying glasses.
• Microfigure accessories include 2 chess statues and the Architect of Hogwarts statue.
• Hogwarts Castle measures over 22” (58cm) high, 27” (69cm) wide and 16” (43cm) deep.

This set is absolutely gorgeous! The rockwork, the unique angles of the structures, the intricate decorations, the detailed interior, the accurate representation of the locations from the film, all put this set on the must-have list of Harry Potter fans. And, even if you don’t care for Harry Potter, this is one of the most beautiful (in my opinion, the most beautiful) castle models LEGO ever released.

It is also very interesting that LEGO is using microfigures to populate the set. This is only the second time microfigures are the main characters (the first set was the #76042 LEGO Super Heroes Shield Helicarrier). Basically, microfigures allow a whole new building-scale, which is especially useful for very large structures. Instead of shrinking and simplifying the original setting to make the set reasonably sized and priced, LEGO designers can recreate a lot larger scene and include a lot more details by using microfigures. Too bad this technique wasn’t used in the LEGO Lord of the Rings collection! In the video below, JANGBRiCKS shows some other details and angles of the set.

The #71043 LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle will be released on September 1st, with early access to LEGO VIP members on August 15th. Prices are as follows: US $399.99 – CA $499.99 – DE 399.99€ – UK £349.99 – FR 419.99€ – DK 3499DK (Euro pricing varies by country). The set is already listed (along with all the other LEGO Harry Potter sets) at the LEGO Harry Potter section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle? Is it going on your wish list? And what do you think of the microfigure scale of the buildings? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

• LEGO Harry Potter Sets Overview & Thoughts
• How to Motorize the LEGO Hogwarts Express
• July 2018 – New LEGO Sets & Promotions