LEGO Hogwarts™ Castle 71043

The hints I dropped in the run up to Christmas worked - The Wife bought this amazing kit for me. It's a true showstopper, towering spires and sprawling gothic buildings recreating the wonder of the Hogwarts Castle. As ever, I find some customisation improves the finish - I've never liked the spiny plastic trees as they just look awful, and the roofline needed some additional work to do justice to the size of the building. And of course: lighting. This is a build that just screams out for lighting it up, and there are several aftersales options to choose from. I, again, adapted the lighting kit to enhance the building, rather than turn it into a flashing Blackpool illuminations. Great fun to build, engrossing, excellent instructions with just a couple of missing pieces (par for the course) and then the fun of personalising it afterwards - lovely. A bit of a beast to display - mine has to be in two parts to show it off, but that's OK.