Best Harry Potter Lego sets

There have been a number of Lego Hogwarts sets released over the years, and while the currently available big castle is a juggernaut, we like the smaller Hogwarts Castle and Grounds even better.

With this set, we find it truly impressive how Lego has managed to replicate the majesty and detail of Hogwarts Castle on such a micro scale. While it’s definitely a display item rather than a toy, we love the number of references and easter eggs rendered in tiny form, from Ron’s car stuck in the Whomping Willow to the Chamber of Secrets below.

This is a great Lego set for adults, able to easily fit on a shelf while looking no less breathtaking for its somewhat smaller size. At over 2600 pieces, there’s plenty of fiddly building fun to be had putting it together.

Check out our extensive Lego Hogwarts Castle and Grounds review for more information.

The amusingly titled Polyjuice Potion Mistake is a really small Lego Harry Potter set, but it’s attractive, fun, dirt cheap, and comes packed with detail. The set does a really good job replicating a scene from its movie: Hermione’s disastrous accidental transformation into a cat-person around halfway through Chamber of Secrets.

For a small Lego set, there’s a lot crammed in here. We like the way it creates the impression of a complete room in cross section, and in fact you can collect other sets in its range to kit out a larger Hogwarts.

The minifigures can all transform – from Harry, Ron, and Hermione to Crabbe, Goyle, and freaky cat Hermione – which adds loads of play value. You basically get six minifigures for the price of three – and that’s not counting the promotional golden Harry minifig that also comes in this box (for some reason).

The only thing missing is a Moaning Myrtle, since this is her bathroom after all.

We went pretty small with our Hogwarts recommendation, so now we’re going big with the iconic, scarlet school train. The bold colors and sheer scale of the Lego Hogwarts Express Collectors Edition make it perhaps the most eye-catching HP set you could possibly display in your home – and it’s big, too. Featuring station 9 ¾ and the locomotive itself, this 5000+ piece Lego set is officially a whopper.

It has an interesting footprint however, enormously long but pretty thin, so you may be able to stick it up on a shelf, mantelpiece, or cupboard, where a bulkier model might look out of place.

Once complete, the Lego Hogwarts Express Collectors Edition features light up compartments which display various Hogwarts Express scenes from across the Harry Potter franchise. The train takes you on a trip from the beginning of the franchise, with the golden trio’s first meeting, to the end, with Harry and Ginny sending their own kids off to school.

Once again, we stress, other Hogwarts Express models are available. You can get a diddy one that has better play value and won’t break the bank. But this is our pick for the best around and for good reason: it’s a feast for the eyes.

There are lots of good Lego Harry Potter creatures and figure builds available, but our favorite of the bunch is Harry’s beloved snowy owl, Hedwig. This build, clearly designed for display, is adorable, but still has a certain cool factor. Standout features include the level of detail on the face and wings, as well as the head you can turn to pose the snowy owl.

But the star of the show is the ingenious motion built into this design. By turning a handle, you can make Hedwig’s wings flap, and the movement is really well done. We’ve seen some awesome tutorials for motorizing the build, making it flap all by itself at the press of a button. Overall, this build has a nice, naturalistic look to it with a lot of detail. It’s surprisingly affordable as well.

If Hedwig never struck a chord with you (perhaps you were cheering when she got blasted; were you, you monster?) there are two similar Harry Potter sets which also feature flapping winged creatures for display. These are the Hungarian Horntail, and Dumbledore’s pet phoenix Fawkes.

Lego has been seriously upping the ante on the ambition and scale of its builds in the last few years, but there have been very few models as majestic as the new Lego Gringotts Wizarding Bank. With its unique, towering shape it gives the impression of an ornate wedding cake on its stand. The amount of content in this Harry Potter Lego set is nigh on unparalleled.

There are 13 Lego minifigures in the Gringotts Bank in total, including lots of new ones. You get a posable dragon, a working rail track, and lots of cute series references, ranging from the large (the Magical Menagerie shop next door) to the small (a tiny chocolate frog hiding in a nook).

The downside to this model is it’s so tall that it’s quite hard to find a suitable display space for the Lego kit. And you definitely don’t want to leave it out ; we can only imagine the disaster scene if the lofty build toppled. Everyone’s annoyed about the entrance sticker, where two stickers were used instead of one for the Gringotts Bank name, creating an unsightly gap. Overall though, this bank is a Lego masterpiece.