Harry Potter is fun! The book series come movies, come contentious stage play prove to continue to be as insanely popular as ever, with 3 more spin-off movies planned for after Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald, and the Cursed Child moving to Germany soon. This popularity meant that new LEGO Harry Potter sets (now released under the Wizarding World banner), requested for by fans for many years, were warranted, and worthwhile.

The first wave released with 7 sets (5 from Potter, 2 from Fantastic Beasts), spanning over the first 3 books/movies, as well as a Collectable Minifigures Series containing 22 Minifigures from both the Harry Potter series and Fantastic Beasts series. (We would later get a Direct to Consumer release of the second largest LEGO set of all time, that being 71043 Hogwarts Castle).

I currently own 3 of the Collectable Minifigures (Dumbledore, Voldemort and Cloaked Harry), and 1 of the sets, that set, and the one I’m reviewing today, is 75955 Hogwarts Express.

The Minifigures

First off is the titular character of the entire series, that being Harry Potter himself.

Harry, for the new wave, has been given a new hair mould, that looks fantastic, especially when combined with the new Face Print, a parting revealing the lightning scar on his forehead. This Face Print looks a little too juvenile for my tastes, being more accurate to the first 2 films rather than Prisoner of Azkaban. He sports a shocked face on the reverse of his head.

The torso print matches his Prisoner of Azkaban get-up well, although some arm printing wouldn’t have gone amiss with the double white stripes he sports in the film.

All of the kids in the set use the short immovable legs, which I feel are inappropriate for their actors come Prisoner of Azkaban, and I feel the use of the new Medium, articulated, ‘teenage’ legs would have been better suited for this set.

Harry comes with the new Ball-ended wand piece in Dark Brown.

Next is Hermione, who, again, has a brand new hair piece, recreating the character’s bushy locks pretty fabulously, with some fantastic moulded curls. I’m not convinced by the face print as a match for Emma Watson, although it’s probably the best they could have done. The reverse, again, sports a shocked face.

The torso print looks great, being a good match for the outfit seen in earlier scenes within the movie, although there should be a dark red stripe through the middle (where that central pink line is on the minifig). Again, arm printing would’ve been nice, but it’s no big deal.

Hermione comes with a Wand in Dark Tan.

I think Ron may be the weakest of the Core three in this set, with neither the Hairpiece or Face print accurately representing Rupert Grint in Azkaban for me. The reverse features (You guessed it) a shocked face.

The torso doesn’t feel especially accurate to the scene in general, with the pattern printed, whilst fantastic, not feeling like the fleece Ron actually wears in the scene depicted, with the one in the movie being plainer. The detail of the maroon jumper underneath is lovely, however.

Ron comes with a wand in Reddish Brown.

Lupin is next, and look at that face print! The scarring, the stubble and facial hair are fantastic, although the little soul patch/goatee could have been reduced as it feels far too prominent compared to his movie counterpart. The hairpiece is too tidy for my tastes, although I’m not sure what else could have been used in its place. The reverse features Lupin mid-transformation, maybe that’s what the rest of the characters are so shocked about!

Lupin’s torso is fantastic, looking suitably scruffy, with plenty of realistic creases and the missing middle button is a lovely touch by the artist.

The legs should be Dark Bluish Grey, and I would have liked some minor printing on there, but it’s not too big an issue for me.

Lupin comes with a wand in Reddish-Brown, and a suitcase in the same colour.

Here the characters are in the actual movie.

Next up is the Trolley Witch, who looks lovely here. The hairpiece is great compared to her film counterpart (although it could have been shorter). Her face print oozes that lovable old lady vibe that the actual actor provides throughout the films, with some lovely wrinkles over her face. The reverse is again, just a shocked face.

Her torso is practically perfect, with the lovely knitted collar detailing, and pink arms look good compared to the film, although the same knitted detailing used on the collar would have been nice on the arms, although, again, it’s not a big deal.

There’s her in the film, with her bounty-laden trolley.

To complete the line-up is a Dementor. The face features a big ol’ anus…sorry, mouth, and nice cheek-bone detailing, which looks pretty freaky, and slightly terrifying. The Dementor is given a hood to complete the look, which works well for the character, although wasn’t entirely needed for the creature as it is shown in the films.

The torso print is deliciously gruesome, with goopyness all over, hanging off skeletal ribbing details, and seemingly torn off bits of skin, exposing a lighter fleshy underneath. The Dementor comes with a tattered cloak piece in LEGO’s more rigid, paperish fabric, which, in this case, feels preferable to the less creasy, softer fabric introduced recently.

The Dementor uses the ‘ghoul’ leg piece introduced in the 16th, ‘Monster’, Series of LEGO’s Collectable Minifigures, moulded in Black and Transparent, creating the desired flowing, ethereal, cloak effect.

There is no reverse face print, there doesn’t need to be, and no back torso printing, which is also perfectly fine, as the back of the torso is covered by the cloak anyway.

And there is the Dementor in its non-minifig form.

The Train

The Locomotive features two new printed elements, the front dish

and the side, curved ‘Hogwarts Castle’ plates.

Props to Graphic Designer Crystal Fontan, as these, and the rest of the decorated elements in the set (mostly stickers) look superb, and work well in relation to the film itself.

The proportions, and overall shaping of the Engine looks really good compared to the 4-6-0 Hall Class ‘Olten Hall’ Locomotive in real life, and, unlike past Expresses from LEGO

has the correct orientation and amount of wheels, as well as being way better looking overall (for the most part).

The smaller details of the Locomotive look decent too, with the Chimney, Regulator and Whistles all being positioned well along the top of the boiler, and the piping along the edge looks similarly fantastic. A few details are, unfortunately, missing such as the large, central lamp (seen below).

The wheels feature nice, if non-functional (Otherwise known as a Greeble) Crank-shaft detailing, although it is missing a proper cylinder.

The cab features nice gauge detailing, through some fairly common 1×1 printed round tile pieces, and an open furnace with some flames spilling out of it. (A door is missing, which is a shame, but isn’t at all difficult to rectify with a couple of your own pieces.)

The tender is probably the weakest aspect of the Express (and is conveniently hidden on the box-art), being quite stumpy, which, unfortunately, makes it inadequate for motorisation, as the usual 9V motor, nor the more modern Power Function’s battery box, will not fit in the space.

The stickers on the sides look fantastic, with the great riveting detail, Hogwarts insignia and the ‘Hogwarts Railway’ wording, again, props to the Graphic Designer.

The top hinges open and can be used as storage space, which is nice, I guess.

Only one carriage is included, which is a shame considering the 4-5 carriages seen in the film, although more carriages would have upped the piece count, upping the price, and making for a more repetitive build.

The carriage looks quite good, with the nice ‘bobbly’ top, which can be easily removed for ease of human access to put minifigs in.

There’s also a small Hogwarts insignia on the side, provided by a sticker.

The side, in a first for a LEGO vehicle (and a trend I hope continues) easily pops off, allowing even easier access for humans.

The carriage features two small booths, with two seats per booth, which can house one minifig per seat. Between the booths is a gap which can house the Trolley Witch’s Trolley.

The booths are recreated in Sand Blue, which is a suitable enough colour for the actual movie set’s booths. The use of textured elements also works well in relation to the corrugated fabric of the actual seats.

Due to the use of short legs on the core characters, they can’t actually sit in the seats, rather having to stand awkwardly on the seats.

The ends of the carriages feature tall window-frame elements, which look good for classic styled carriages doorways. The only problem with the use of these elements is-

-you can’t even fit a full short minifig into it…which is a shame. The buffers look good though.

The Station

The set could probably be more accurately named as ‘Hogwarts Express and Platform 9 and ¾’, as a good chunk of the set is made up of a section of Kings Cross Station and Platform 9 and ¾ .

The bridge features some lovely detailing, such as the handrails at the side of the stairs and the clock, with a, again, lovely designed graphic in the clock-face, which was an easier sticker to apply than I anticipated. The instructions have the hands positioned at 3 o’Clock, but I chose to (GASP) disobey them and set it to the correct 11 o’Clock departing time for the Hogwarts Express.

We have some lovely little details such as the small ‘Kings Cross’ signage and this small light, which uses a transparent Minifigure head. The use of masonry brick pieces in Medium Nougat makes for some interesting texturing throughout these sections.

There are two flag pieces, stickered to create the Platform 9 and 10 signage, although it is massively incorrectly positioned, as they are meant to come out from the side rather than go up, although this is not a major issue as it makes it easier to put on a thinner shelf for display.

Under these signs the wall can be flipped to allow passage between Platforms 9/10 and Platform 9 and ¾ . This is a fun little play feature that works well, whilst not detracting from the aesthetics of the completed set itself.

We have some more lovely graphic elements such as Sirius Black’s wanted poster (Hopefully we shall see him appear in Minifig form in a later wave), and

two Daily Prophet’s with the headline ‘The Boy Who Lived!’, which seems appropriate, if not wholly accurate.

We also have the Platform 9 and ¾ signage, which looks lovely on a large flag piece. Per the instructions this piece sticks outward, but would probably be more accurate oriented inward towards the centre.

The Express can comfortably fit underneath the bridge, and will fit beneath with track underneath it, although there are no points for track to attach to, so you will need to mod the station a little bit with your own parts should you want any track (not included with the set), to be secure.

Conclusions

At 801 parts, this is the largest Hogwarts Express that LEGO have thus far released, and is, in my opinion, the best. The addition of the station is an excellent one (and I hope they release a Hogsmeade Station in a later wave to complete the train’s journey), and the train itself is, apart from a few, minor nitpicks, gorgeous.

The Graphic Design is consistently incredible throughout, with some of the finer details being lovely.

The figure selection is a good one, although I would have perhaps liked a Draco Malfoy Minifigure to complete the scene to antagonise the gang after Harry faints, although he wouldn’t fit inside the carriage in its current configuration.

Would I recommend this set?

Absolutely! For the price (especially for a train set, so usually overpriced) it is a good value, and the build itself is enjoyable and looks great! If you’re a fan of Harry Potter and the £350 Hogwarts Castle is just out of your budget’s reach I would say that this is a superb set to get if you want to get the core gang and an instantly recognisable item from the films and books!

If you’re not a fan of Harry Potter, you’re probably not going to be interested in this set, although LEGO Train fans may get a kick out of getting a new, good Steam Train from LEGO.