Once upon a time......

......I bought a lot of 4 used 2001-2003 Harry Potter sets from eBay. I've had a number of bad experiences buying Harry Potter sets from eBay; maybe it's the fact that they tend to have been originally owned by a predominantly younger, less careful demographic, but the boxes have generally been 'tired' at best, and pieces are invariably missing, regardless of whether the sets are described as 'complete' or not. On this occasion, I was delighted to land the sets for a very good price, and waited with bated breath for them to arrive. To my amazement, 3 of the sets were complete, and the boxes were in pretty good condition. I wasn't so lucky with the fourth, however - Set 4720 Knockturn Alley. Again the box was in a surprisingly good state, but there were pieces missing. Lots of them. About 80, to be precise, which is around 40% of the total.... A brief and cordial e-mail exchange with the seller ensued, and it yielded an appropriate partial refund which was offered unprompted. And so it was that I began my quest to replace the missing pieces....

As ever, if you need to replace missing pieces then you pay Bricklink a visit, and all your wishes will be granted. If you take a look at the inventory for the set, however, you'll maybe see why it wasn't quite as simple as usual on this occasion - this set contains more than its fair share of sand blue pieces, which being one of the more uncommon colours produced by LEGO over the years, can be harder than average to track down. Anyway, to cut a long story slightly shorter, partly as a result of the need to track down some uncommon pieces, but also partly because I just dragged my feet, it took me 18 months to track down all the missing parts. Finally the job is complete, however, so it's time to build....

You can see a picture of the box above. It's smaller than the box for 2010's Harry Potter Set 4737 Quidditch Match despite containing significantly more pieces. So clearly there's been some LEGO box inflation since 2003 to go with the price inflation.... As well as a picture of the finished set, the front of the box also features a photo of an oh-so-young-looking Daniel Radcliffe wearing his Hogwarts uniform. I was pleasantly surprised to see a photo of an alternative build on the back of the box - I thought they'd stopped doing that long before 2003, but clearly not.

The instruction booklet is unremarkable, featuring identical artwork to the front of the box minus the youthful face of Daniel Radcliffe. The are 34 pages of building instructions plus a couple of pages of adverts, including one for the PC CD-ROM game Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Some of the colours in the printed building instructions look distinctly odd - dark grey pieces look light grey in the instructions, for instance, and black looks like dark grey. It threw me slightly to start with, although I eventually got used to it.

You can see a selection of pieces from the set below (click to enlarge). None of those pesky sand blue pieces are available in more than 2 or 3 sets, and the sand blue 1 x 1 plate can only be found in this set, which is also the case for the trans-green goblet and the 1 x 2 tile with the "spooky green hand" printed on it. That "brain in a jar" piece has only ever been available in this and one other set, and the same goes for the 1 x 1 bricks with the eyes printed on them.

The set contains two minifigures - Harry Potter and Lucius Malfoy - which obviously pre-date the appearance of flesh-coloured heads in the licensed sets. In contrast to his smart appearance on the front of the box, Harry is wearing a crumped sand green top. Villainous or not, at least Lucius had the decency to get dressed up for his appearance in this set, and his tie, waistcoat and jacket are pretty dapper. Neither figure has any back printing, though. Both figures are unique to this set, although their prices on Bricklink seem surprisingly reasonable considering, so minifig collectors need not despair.

At a mere 209 pieces the build is predictably quick. After assembling the minifigures the next task is to build the chimney section (pics below - click to enlarge). This has a rudimentary play feature to allow Harry to travel through the "floo network" - lift the dark grey 4x8 plate on the front, pop Harry inside and then pull the dark blue handle on the front whereupon the floor slides out from underneath Harry and he tumbles out the chute at the back. Hardly rocket science, but I'm sure the kids love it....

Chimney - front

Chimney - back

The other part of the build is the shop itself. From the front this is dominated by a large bay window on the right, though which you can see the elusive trans-green goblet and other treasures, and an arched doorway flanked by flames and a couple of owls on the left.

From the back (below) you can see inside the shop, where a glowing neon spider lurks in wait on the roof, and spooky artefacts and potions sit on the shelves. The bay window and doorway pivot on a hinge allowing some basic reconfiguration.

You can see the various elements of the finished build below, complete with Harry, and Lucius with a dodgy looking potion.

Although I've seen all the Harry Potter movies, I have to confess that I wasn't familiar with Knockturn Alley. According to Wikipedia, turns out that it's "a dark and seedy alleyway" leading off from Diagon Alley, and that many of the shops in Knockturn Alley are devoted to the Dark Arts, the largest of these shops being Borgin and Burkes which sells "sinister and dangerous objects". I guess that explains the spooky green hand and brain in a jar, then.... As you probably know, 2010's Set 10217 Diagon Alley included a version of Borgin and Burkes (pictured below), and it's pretty evident that the Knockturn Alley set is basically Borgin and Burkes under a different name. The two versions share the "chimney with floo network" play feature, the bay window shopfront, and the Lucius Malfoy minifigure, but the similarities end there with the modern version being a massive improvement on its predecessor.

Set 4720 Knockturn Alley contains 209 pieces and would have set you back an expensive £19.99 / $20.00 when it was released in 2003. Standouts for me are the colour scheme featuring sand blue and dark blue, a number of unique pieces, and 2 minifigures which were never available in any other set. You'll pay at least £30-£40 (or the dollar equivalent) on Bricklink for a used, boxed example now, and truth be told, unless you're a Harry Potter collector I reckon you'd be better off saving your money for the spectacular Set 10217 Diagon Alley which, while more expensive, contains a far superior version of Borgin and Burkes plus Ollivander's Wand Shop, Gringotts Bank and 10 excellent minifigures.

The 2011 Gimme LEGO Readers Choice Award.....

....goes to Set 10217 Diagon Alley !

574 people voted in the end, and the final result was in doubt literally right up until the final minute of voting. Three sets - Diagon Alley, Set 7066 Earth Defense HQ and Set 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van were running pretty much running neck and neck until the last couple of days, at which point the VW camper van fell away somewhat, leaving Diagon Alley and Earth Defense HQ to fight it out; in the end, Diagon Alley won by just one vote !

While I have to confess that I voted for the Alien Defense HQ set, Diagon Alley is a worthy winner of the award. As I stated in my Gimme LEGO Awards blog posting a couple of weeks back, "The design of the buildings brings to mind the revered modular building range, and the variety and quality of the minifigures means that there's something for everybody".

The final rankings can be found below (click to enlarge) :

It was pleasing to see that all the nominations got some votes as every one of them is a good set IMHO. I have to admit to being surprised that "None of the above" didn't get more votes, however. Furthermore, only a handful of people who chose this option gave details of their favourite set; Alien Conquest Set 7051 Tripod Invader was the most mentioned set in this regard.

And here's something for the statto's out there. The poll ran for a total of 10 days, during which time there were 4,689 unique visitors to Gimme LEGO who between them racked up about 11,500 page views. Given that 574 votes were placed, that means that only 12.2% of visitors, or approximately 1 in 8, voted. So the conclusion ? Gimme LEGO readers don't seem particularly interested in polls....!

Thanks to all who voted, and hearty congratulations to those within the LEGO company who were responsible for taking the winning Diagon Alley set from concept to reality - we salute you !

The Gimme LEGO Awards 2011

So, Christmas and the New Year are upon us, and many are already looking forward to the first wave of 2012 sets which are starting to appear on shelves. It's therefore as good a time as any to reflect upon the past 12 months.

Overall, I think we've been blessed with some truly excellent sets in 2011, some interesting new themes, and a largely high standard of set design which puts many previous years to shame.

Here, then, for your delectation and debate, I present my own version of the Oscars - the Gimme LEGO Awards 2011 - which will hopefully give 2011 the send-off it deserves. These awards aren't voted for by a panel of experts, nor are they democratic, transparent, definitive or politically correct. They're just one AFOL's view of the best (and worst....) of 2011, and if you don't agree then tough, although there's always the comments field below if you want to challenge me on any of my selections.....

1 . Best Theme

Winner : Alien Conquest

I've made no secret of my love for this theme in previous blog postings (see here, for example) and it's therefore no surprise that Alien Conquest gets my vote for best LEGO theme of 2011.

No older LEGO fan could have failed to spot the cues linking these new sets to the classic space sets of the late 70's, but the ten sets which make up the 2011 Alien Conquest line-up don't just press the nostalgia buttons - many such as Set 7066 Earth Defense HQ (sic) and Set 7065 Alien Mothership are excellent sets in their own right.

The Alien Conquest sets feature a heady mix of bold colours, interesting designs, gimmicks such as light and sound bricks, tons of play features and even a face-hugging alien, not to mention vivid and deliciously retro box art.

Worryingly, there's no sign as yet of further Alien Conquest sets in the 2012 release schedules; let's just hope that we get a second installment in the Summer of 2012, and that the Alien Defence Unit get to fight another day...


2. Most Disappointing Theme

Winner : Star Wars

Contentious, perhaps, but if even a dyed-in-the-wool LEGO Star Wars fan like myself is shifting uncomfortably in his chair while reviewing the 2011 line-up then perhaps all is not as it should be.

For me, just too many of the 2011 Star Wars offerings are so-so sets based on the Clone Wars TV series or distinctly average remakes of classic ships, some of which are frankly almost identical to previous versions. As acknowledged in a previous posting here, with hordes of youngsters joining the hobby all the time, none of whom own the many previous versions of the iconic Star Wars craft and minifigures, I'm increasingly not the target demographic for these sets, but I still have to call it as I see it....

The 2011 line-up was by no means all bad - we were treated to some crackers such as Set 7962 Anakin Skywalker's and Sebulba's Podracers and Set 10221 Super Star Destroyer - but too many of the sets just didn't do it for me this year, and given the higher price of these sets compared with the average I really think they need to be giving us more of the 'wow' factor.

I can see some promising signs of creativity in 2012 such as the Planet Sets so let's just hope that I feel more enthusiastic when I review next year's offerings....


3. The "Medieval Market Village" award for Best Non-Licensed Set

Winner : Set 7066 Earth Defense HQ

This was hellishly tough to judge; despite LEGO's increasing focus on licensed properties, 2011 has been a fantastic year for unlicensed sets. In the end, the Earth Defense HQ set, which aside from the hideously misspelt name is a distillation of all that's great about the Alien Conquest theme and which is essentially 3 sets in one, wins this coveted prize by a nose.

Having chosen my favourite, however, I do need to acknowledge a number of other great sets which ran the winner very close. These include, but are by no means limited to, Set 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van, Set 10219 Maersk Train and Set 8110 Unimog which are also superb. Honourable mention too for Atlantis Set 7985 City of Atlantis - an underrated set which is beautiful to look at, high on play value and packed with interesting parts for the discerning builder.

Set 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van

Set 7985 City of Atlantis

Bravo to LEGO for providing us with such a wealth of magnificent unlicensed sets in 2011, and long may it continue.


4. Best Licensed Set

Winner : Set 10217 Diagon Alley

Much easier to judge this one - Diagon Alley stands out from the licensed competition like a beautiful shining diamond in a coal bunker. It shows that LEGO are still able to step up and well and truly do the business when it comes to the licensed sets. The design of the buildings brings to mind the revered modular building range, and the variety and quality of the minifigures means that there's something for everybody.

There were a few other licensed sets in 2011 that I thought rose above the average - the Star Wars Advent Calendar was unexpectedy good, Set 7962 Anakin Skywalker's and Sebulba's Podracers was excellent, I liked some of the Cars sets, and the Pirates of the Carribbean Queen Anne's Revenge set turned out better than I expected.

Set 7962 Anakin Skywalker's and Sebulba's Podracers

Set 4195 Queen Anne's Revenge

Overall, however, I didn't think that LEGO really hit the heights this year with the licensed sets compared with their unlicensed counterparts, and I'm hoping for better in 2012.


5. The "Phantom Menace" Award for Most Disappointing Set

Winner : Set 7877 Naboo Starfighter

If you can't, or won't, improve on a set that you've already released on a number of previous occasions then please just don't bother, or at least wait more than a couple of years before re-releasing it.... There's nothing inherently wrong with this set, just that it barely if at all improves upon the previous version. Just a waste of a product slot that could have been better used IMHO.


6. Best Minifigure

Winner : Captain Jack Sparrow with Tricorne

Man, this award was hard to judge; it's been a fantastic year for the LEGO minifigure and there have been a lot of contenders for this award, with some really neat collectable minifigs released in 2011, not to mention a preponderance of high quality figures included in sets this year. All that having been said, I can still remember how impressed I was when I first saw the Jack Sparrow minifigure above. Seldom has a figure better captured the essence of the character it's supposed to represent, and it was a real stand-out for me, so it gets the gong.

Honourable mention must also go to this year's Star Wars minifigures which have been excellent - multiple remakes of old figures which have frankly blown their predecessors out of the water (I just wish I could say the same about the sets they came with....). I've also really liked some of the figures from the Pharaoh's Quest theme such as the Anubis Guard and Flying Mummy, not to mention the likes of the Hazmat Guy and the Punk Rocker collectable minifigures from Series 4, and many others.

And having had an early look at Series 6 of the collectable minifigures, I think 2012 could be even better....


7. The "Better than Expected" Award

Winner : the Cars theme

I initially had no intention whatsoever of getting any of the Cars sets at all - honest ! I figured the sets would be dumbed down for a younger audience and that I wouldn't find them of interest. And then I made the fatal error of buying the smallest sets in the theme - 8200 Radiator Springs Lightning McQueen and 8201 Radiator Springs Classic Mater - just out of curiosity, and realised that they actually weren't half bad at all....

Colourful, fun, lots of printed parts rather than stickers, and a more than passable rendition of the subject material. So I bought another set, and then another, and before I knew it I was collecting them all.

Runner up goes to the 2011 Star Wars Advent Calendar. I wasn't expected much from this either, and was therefore pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the contents.


8. Most Welcome LEGO-Related Announcement

Winner : Lord of the Rings and Hobbit licenses

This late-breaking announcement snatched victory from July's Superheroes reveal, and it's a dream come true for countless AFOLs. Honestly, were it not for the fact that in space no one can hear you scream, I reckon that the collective outpourings of joy from millions of LEGO fans around the globe when this tie-up was announced could probably have been heard on Mars....

Some of us have been pleading for this tie-in for years, and like a benevolent uncle LEGO finally came up with the goods. Clearly we'll have to reserve judgment somewhat until we see what LEGO will actually do with these licenses, but for millions this was still a superb Christmas present.


9. Gimme LEGO Reader's Choice Award

OK, so now it's your turn..... You'll have seen a poll on the right side of the page - 11 sets, some licensed and some unlicensed, which I consider to be some of the highlights of 2011. Cast your votes - one person, one vote - and at midnight on 31st December the poll will close and we'll have our winner.... I've also included a "None of the above" option - choose this if you feel strongly about a set that isn't listed and then please drop me an e-mail via the contact button on the top right of the screen or leave a comment below letting me know your unlisted choice; if enough people go for a specific, unlisted set then that set will, of course, be the winner.

Happy voting, and here's to a 2012 that keeps up the high standard !

Update 1st January 2012 : voting has now closed !