Random set of the day: Gryffindor House
Posted by Huwbot,Today's random set is 4722 Gryffindor House, released in 2001. It's one of 11 Harry Potter sets produced that year. It contains 68 pieces and 1 minifig, and its retail price was US$10/£8.99.
It's owned by 2193 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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17 comments on this article
I know I’m probably in the minority but I loved this and it brethren 4721-1 Hogwarts Classroom and 4723-1 Diagonal Alley Shops. I didn’t mind and enjoyed the cardboard backdrops. I played with these three sets a lot when they were released and I was in my twenties... I kind of want to dig them out now.
Wow. I forgot about those sets. The style is so different from the newer HP sets. The orange parts remind me of vintage 70s shag carpet.
Ha, I didn't realise until now that these sets had a cardboard backdrop - I assumed it was just the box art.
Wasn’t a fan of the fabric for the beds. Used to have this. Bought it for The Fat Lady. Can almost rerelease it with some minidolls...
Ah yes, the early Psychedelic Potter vignettes. Nothing says Diagonal Alley like neon lightsabers! (Truth be told, I think modern takes on these vignettes with a natural color palette and realistic details would make for some great low priced sets.)
These sets had some great rare colored parts in them.
@TransNeonOrangeSpaceman : like that super light purple plate that the bed is on? (if I remember correctly).
Found it in a mixed box of used pieces and was so confused. What is this color!?
There’s something really appealing about these bright early Harry Potter sets. I wonder why they went in this direction?
@ericjohn ... you're not alone. I absolutely loved these sets, and I bought all three of them. They were just *so* bright and cheerful and colourful. And sure, the overwhelming colour pallet of trans-pink and pastel orange and lavender was a bit ... strange, but they were such a treasure trove of interesting and colourful pieces. I thought they were brilliant.
oh look, its back when minifigs from licensed themes still came in yellow! how long have they been doing them flesh toned now? must be a while
When I see these sets and this year's Harry Potter ones, I can understand why Lego went almost broke around 2000...
Like there were great sets during the 80s and 90s, then 10 years of darkness…
Happy I started to collect again with the release of the original Death Star and formerly ended during the end of my childhood beggining of the 90s :) So let's assume this dark period of time in Lego's history did not even exist :)
I love Harry Potter sets.
Check out the actor picture in the lower corner of the box art: it's Herminone instead of Harry. These vignette sets were designed to appeal to the girls, which explains the Belville-like design styles and colors.
@thomsedavi same. I used to adore these sets until someone pointed that out about them, I still think I enjoy them more than most people but not as much as I used to.
@ArielHairRaph: Funny, for me the fabric curtain on the bed was one of the most appealing things about this set for me!
I get the feeling that the Harry Potter theme has always been one of the licenses with the strongest cross-gender appeal, with many of the sets throughout the theme's history having far more dollhouse-style features and slice-of-life play scenarios than typical licensed or non-licensed LEGO castles outside of strictly girl-targeted themes.
But it's very interesting to me how in this first year they had three vignette-style sets that were blatantly girl-targeted, with lots of bright colors including ones that were at the time rarely seen outside the Belville theme, peaceful slice-of-life play scenarios instead of more action-oriented or suspenseful scenes like the main sets for that year, and lots of animals and accessories.
Overall, I suspect the visual dissonance between these and the moodier-looking sets that made up the rest of the wave, as well as the feeling of inauthenticity with a lot of the color choices, probably hurt their success. Of course, it's also possible that LEGO just found these sets were redundant and that the girls they were aiming to appeal to with these sets were mostly enjoying the rest of the Harry Potter sets anyhow.
That said, I'm not ashamed to say I bought all three of these sets! My favorite features besides the curtain on the four-poster bed were probably the blackboard and Mirror of Erised in 4721-1 , the alternate costumes for Ron and Hermione (who simply wore their Hogwarts uniforms in all the other sets, and the rare wizard hat and cape colors.
@Brickalili: The flesh toned figures started showing up in the NBA sets in 2003, and in all other licensed themes in 2004.
Re: the cardboard backdrops, there were quite a lot of unusual uses of cardboard in the first year of Harry Potter sets. The roofs of Hagrid's Hut and the Hogwarts Great Hall were also cardboard.
This set is so cute. Is this the only set to have a minifigure blanket? It looks like a potato sack. I love the bed curtains.
I will always be grateful to my brother for grabbing it off eBay before the prices hiked!
The cardboard backdrop is so cathedral-like that it is mesmerizing as one's eyes follow the arches.
Oh, I also adore the lego and cardboard owls.