Hogwarts Great Hall

Building this is a relaxed evening rather than a marathon. The bulk of the work is assembling the four floors and slotting them together, and because so much of it is stacking, it moves quickly and never gets fiddly enough to frustrate. That makes it a lovely build to do with a younger fan beside you, though an experienced builder will breeze through the towers on autopilot. The reward is really in the finished silhouette and in opening the hall up to pose the figures inside.

The standout here is the minifigures rather than any exotic brick. The five students (Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco and Susan Bones) all use short legs to nod to how young they are in book one, which is a sweet touch. Quirrell has a printed dual face that flips to reveal Voldemort on the back of his head, Hagrid returns with his signature pink umbrella, and there is a new lamp accessory scattered through the set. The switch of the towers and roofs from the old sand green to dark grey is the single best parts decision, instantly making the castle look right, and the reversible printed house banners give you real display flexibility.