Harry Potter

Borgin and Burkes: Floo Network

A tiny slice of Knockturn Alley's creepiest shop, done up with real atmosphere.

Brick Rated Score

3.7/5

Set 40695 · 2024

Pieces190

Minifigsn/a

Year2024

Set number40695

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The verdict

I love that LEGO went to the darkest corner of the wizarding world for this one instead of another version of the same bright Diagon Alley storefronts.

Borgin and Burkes is cramped and shadowy in the films, and this little build actually captures that, cursed trinkets on shelves, a fireplace rigged for Floo travel, the sense that everything in the shop wants to hurt you. It is a small, quick build, so it will not satisfy anyone hoping for a weekend project, and at this piece count you are paying partly for the theming rather than sheer brick value. For a shelf of Wizarding World builds it is a genuinely fun oddball, for someone who wants a big centerpiece it is the wrong set entirely.

Best for: Harry Potter collectors who want the dark, gritty side of the wizarding world represented on their shelf

The full review

What it is

I have a soft spot for the sets that skip the obvious, cheerful locations and go straight for the parts of this world that feel a little dangerous, and Borgin and Burkes is exactly that. It is the dusty, overstuffed dark artifacts shop tucked into Knockturn Alley, the kind of place Harry stumbles into by accident and immediately wants to leave. LEGO's version keeps that same unsettling charm in miniature, packing shelves and a fireplace built for Floo Network travel into a compact little diorama.

The catch

I will be straight with you about the scale here. At 190 pieces this is not a weekend build or a shelf centerpiece on its own, it is a companion piece, the kind of thing you slot in next to a bigger Diagon Alley set to round out the street. If you come in expecting a substantial build you will be finished before you know it, and that quick turnaround is worth knowing going in. It also tends to show up as a promotional or gift-with-purchase release rather than a standard shelf item, so availability can be spottier than a normal retail set, and once a promo window closes it gets harder to track down.

Who it's for

Get this one if you are building out a Harry Potter Diagon Alley collection and want the darker, weirder corner of that world represented rather than just the cheerful shopfronts. Skip it if you are looking for your one big Harry Potter build of the year, this was never designed to be that, and it will feel thin if that is what you are expecting.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build itself moves fast and leans on stacking small shelf sections and dressing them with clutter, which is really the heart of what makes a dark artifacts shop feel believable. You are not fighting complicated techniques here, you are layering in detail piece by piece until the little room feels lived in and slightly wrong, which is exactly the tone the source material calls for.

The fireplace built for Floo Network travel is the standout feature and the clear reason this set exists, giving you that green-flame wizarding transport moment in brick form. The rest of the piece count goes into shelving and shop clutter that dress the space out, which at this size means every included piece is doing real work toward the atmosphere rather than padding out a bigger build.

Fun facts

01Borgin and Burkes is the dark artifacts shop from Knockturn Alley first introduced in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, where Harry accidentally arrives via Floo powder.
02The Floo Network is the wizarding world's fireplace-based travel system, and this set is one of the few LEGO Harry Potter builds to give that transport method its own dedicated model.
03LEGO has used small promotional Wizarding World sets like this one to fill out corners of the map that its larger flagship sets, like the Diagon Alley collection, do not cover in depth.