Just in time for a magical Christmas comes set number 16066 another clone of a magical Lego set based on the world (wolrd?) of Harry Potter. This time its the massive 6700+ piece Hogwarts Castle, complete with dozens of micro-figures and chock full of details that will please Harry Potter fans no matter which house they claim membership in! This is a clone of Danish set 71043, retailing for 400 USD or more, especially as we approach Christmas and the set appears to be in short supply and selling from upwards of 500 USD! If you’re not set on needing the major brand version, buying the clone version will save you some serious cash.

To start with, the box is incredibly huge, as you might expect for a set which measures 71 cm wide by 43 cm deep by 60 cm tall. Yes, before you buy this one, make sure you’ve got suitable space to display it or store it between play sessions! The box claims 6,742 pieces. I jokingly told my wife I was going to count to make sure that figure was correct. I didn’t even try. Maybe if I take it apart I’ll count it as I do so. Maybe. By the numbers, set 16060 contains two large boxes inside its outer huge box, 144 bags including three bags of spares to be used across 37 numbered building stages of 2-5 bags each, two thick books comprising 383 pages of instructions, 771 main steps with who knows how many sub-steps, and three sheets of decals. Yes, building this is a commitment. I took a little over a week to finish it and found that a stage could be completed in a leisurely manner at about 30 minutes or so, sometimes longer depending on complexity. So figure on maybe 20 hours of solid building here!

I should mention that even though this completed model is 71 cm wide, and therefore deserving of the adjectives ginormous, colossal, humongous, and monumental, it is still only the scale necessary to accommodate play with the micro-figures, of which nearly 30 are included (inclusive of the dementors). It’d be fascinating to contemplate a mini-figure scale Hogwarts castle, but that will likely never be an official set as none of the brick manufacturers has yet released sets with piece counts in the scores of thousands. But it’s also important to note that even though this model is micro-figure scale, there’s nothing at all micro about the pieces in the set. These are all standard, regulation size clone bricks the same size as traditional LEGO system elements. Building this model is not at all akin to Nanoblocks or the like.

To begin my latest building odyssey, I sorted all 144 bags into their respective building stages and lined them up on the table. I was happy to see so many stages in this set because by breaking the building process down like this, sorting pieces becomes more or less unnecessary. Within each building stage, the included bags are basically already packaged such that like pieces are with like pieces so that dumping out a bag results in a level of sorting already completed. This not only saves time initially but it also helps keep the building moving along. When you can finish a stage in 30 minutes or so, you can feel some success and then decide whether to proceed or take a break at a logical breaking place.

This set truly is full of magic and wonder. It was a delight from start to finish to build, and discover all of its secrets. Before I go into great detail on the build, let’s get the minor complaints out of the way first:

The first instruction book had decals taped inside, as most clone sets I’ve built have. I am sad to report that it was in this set that I encountered my first problem with the cloned decals. Now, I say that aside from the usual issue of the decal background colours not always being a perfect match to the brick colour to which they will adhere. If you’re looking for a perfect match, you can still save a fortune if you buy this set and then buy a second-hand set of decals on Bricklink or a like trading site. In this set, the colour mismatch really only applies to those decals on a light tan brick. Of course, that’s most of the decals in a build that is largely light tan. But the other colours, such as the house emblems and the brown doors as well as transparent stickers were just fine! The problem I encountered was a die-cut misalignment, which rendered all the stickers on one sheet unusable. (See photo in the gallery below.) Because time was of the essence for me in getting this built, I opted to procure a Danish-branded sticker sheet from Bricklink for 5 USD, which arrived within several days. If I had not been in a hurry, I’d have contacted the vendor, as most vendors are very good about supplying replacements for missing or damaged elements.

Aside from the decal problem, which is in all likelihood an isolated issue, I encountered only one brick that was moulded incorrectly. This is the first time I’ve encountered such a thing in a clone set, so again, this too is likely an isolated issue. Again, I could have requested a replacement, but I opted to solve the problem myself which was achieved with a small file, which I used to slightly widen the underside of the brick, to allow it room to attach to a stud. Having done this, and then attaching the part to the castle, it’ll never be noticed again, so I’m good with that!

The other minor issue is that, as is sometimes the case, the cloner has opted to use a different mould for a hairpiece. This time Godric Gryffindor gets the ill-fitting toupe. Were it not for his beard piece, it actually would fit just fine and would not be noticed aside from the slight stylistic difference. But because the beard juts up the sides of the face, the included hairpiece doesn’t go all the way down on old Godric’s head. Since the mini-figures are meant to be statues on a display of sorts, if you don’t have to play with Godric, the ill-fitting hair will not matter as it is hardly visible. If you want to engage the founders of Hogwarts in your play, then you may want to find a way to stick the hair on a little more solidly.

Aside from those details, I am pleased to report this was an incredible experience in brick building! All printed parts were crisp, smooth, and look very nice! The microfigures even have their own characteristics and features, and each is discernible from the next due to clothing colour, eyeglasses, and the like. I am very happy with the quality of printing on the mini-figures as well. They look classy like you’d expect the founders of the pre-eminent school of wizardry to look. There are also a few dozen printed window panes included, which are snapped into window frames. Each was printed clearly and the windows themselves were of very transparent plastic. All in all, no problems there. Continue reading after the photos!

I’ve included stage by stage photos in a gallery below, and for those who love to see the interesting techniques–especially whilst awaiting their set to arrive–the gallery is full of images you’ll enjoy. Some of the highlights for me were the A-shaped plates that comprise the very beginning of Hogwarts’ foundations. I’d never seen those before. There were also some other interesting special elements in this set such as the large rocks/cliff faces, the conical tops for the towers, and the curved smooth bricks that are used on the exterior of the towers.

In the first stage, we make little boats out of windows, which is quite clever. The build also has many splashes of colour throughout the foundations, used to help you orient your building primarily. I also always think those are fun little touches. Just as the real Hogwarts, this model is perched high atop a rugged cliff, overlooking stormy seas. You’ll have to either imagine the stormy seas or provide your own, but the clifftop is fun to build. There are two basic moulded elements from which the cliff is constructed. The basic forms are then added upon with all manner of cheese slopes of varying shades of grey and green, as well as some larger triangular elements. The result is quite stunning. Further adding to the realism of the cliffs are some scraggly-looking pine trees, made from inverted, stacked flower stems. This method of construction results in the sort of trees you’d expect to find clinging precariously to a jagged cliffside, exposed to the elements. The Whomping Willow is an expansion of this construction, with the addition of being able to turn its branches.

The castle, and great hall especially, features loads of stained glass windows. I enjoyed seeing the method of building these from transparent plates attached to the backs of grate elements and topped with tiny arches with hollow centres that can keep the “glass” in place. What a clever way to add some brightness to this model. If you can put some LEDs in your castle, it’ll look very impressive indeed.

Building all the many towers employs a method that utilizes the shallow tubes on the bottom of plates to attach to studs that are placed at angles. This allows for a more squarish look to be utilized within the tower, rather than the entire tower being perfectly round from top to bottom. Similarly, 1×1 bricks with holes are often used as receptacles for the studs on the tops of “tooth” elements, which then point upward. I can’t help but think some of these would be considered “illegal” building techniques ages ago. At any rate, they are very functional and useful techniques.

Of course, a build of over 6,000 pieces wouldn’t be fun if it didn’t include at least one or two challenging moments. Hogwarts has you covered here! Building the very tall tower includes making three separate sidings that run the entire height of the tower. These then attach at four connection points from top to bottom. As you might imagine, stacking a bunch of plates together then trying to vertically mount them against a tower with limited connection points might just be one of the more challenging parts of the build. After trying several different methods to get it all together, I ended up finding a point in the middle of the sidings where I could disassemble it into two halves, attaching the two halves separately, one from the top, and one from the bottom, then pushing the middle together and using a brick separator behind it all to provide the necessary support and counterpressure. See photo below for more detail.

There are tons of tiny details in the various rooms, which every Harry Potter fan will enjoy building, playing, and displaying. The attachment of the two halves of the castle is by means of non-fixed pins inserted into a technic beam, which keeps the halves from sliding apart, but not from being easily separated for movement of the model from place to place. In order to carefully move the model, you really must take it apart in the middle, so it’s nice that the design is such that this can be done without pressure or difficulty.

With nearly three dozen micro-figures, there’s no end to the scenes you can play out in Hogwarts Castle. Overall, the build looks brilliant both up close and from a distance. It’s well designed, sturdy (within limits of course–don’t go grabbing the top of a tower to move the castle, obviously), very attractive, very creative throughout, and with so many little touches of detail. I’m really glad I had the chance to build this model. It was great fun to build and it’ll surely look nice on display! I like that this model has both playability and display in mind throughout its design. The stickers inside the great tower add some whimsy with their portraits likewise transformed into brick figures. The Griffin statue outside Dumbledore’s office is made from tiny plates and clips–another cool touch.

If you’re convinced it’s time to add Hogwarts to your collection, now’s the time! Order quickly to allow time for Christmas delivery from China, which can take a couple weeks. Of course, if you’d like to help support Alt-Blocks, a purchase from our partner BuildingToyStore not only gets you great service and a set complete with the retail box, it also helps keep these reviews coming to you.

And to sweeten the deal, our friends at Building Toy Store are offering a coupon for $10 USD off your order, exclusively for readers of Alt-Blocks, in addition to other discounts on their site. Just go to BuildingToyStore.com using this link, create an account (which gets you a 10% discount), and use coupon code K7CXYREL. You may also find a coupon code on their site for an additional 5% discount.

Check out the in-progress build photos below:











































































































































































And, just to be complete, here’s the feature listing:

• Accessory elements include Helga Hufflepuff’s cup, Sword of Gryffindor, wands, house banners, potions, fires, two magnifying glasses and a cauldron.

• Features 4 minifigures: Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin, with display stand.

• Hagrid’s hut includes Aragog the spider and buildable pumpkins.

• Hogwarts Castle includes the Great Hall, chairs, tables, shifting staircases and flaming torches; potions classroom with racks of jar components; Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom with various potion jars, a cupboard containing a boggart and gramophone; Chessboard Chamber with chess piece components; Room of Requirement with various elements, such as the Goblet of Fire along with the vanishing cabinet; Tom Riddle’s Diary and Chamber of Secrets with the Basilisk; concealed Devils Snare space with vine components; Gryffindor shared area with fireplace and seats; library with bookcases and desks; Professor Dolores Umbridge’s very pink office ; and Professor Dumbledore’s office with Griffin statue and Memory cupboard.

• Also features 27 microfigures: Ron Weasley™, Harry Potter™, Hermione Granger™, Albus Dumbledore™, Draco Malfoy™, Professor Snape™, Professor McGonagall™, Professor Dolores Umbridge™, Argus Filch, Remus Lupin, Lord Voldemort™, Bellatrix Lestrange, 3 students from each of the 4 houses, two chess pieces along with the Architect of Hogwarts™ and Dementors, also a buildable Hungarian Horntail dragon, plus the Basilisk figures and Aragog the spider.

• And, the Whomping Willow™ can catch the buildable blue Flying Ford Anglia car in its spinning branches.

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