Always wanted this set as a kid. I finally bought it sealed without the box last summer, but still haven't built it :(

Wait, why IS Hagrids head just floating there?? And Malfoys body is abnormally absent as well...

Malfoy is there, dressed as a Death Eater. No idea about Hagrid. The inventory shows the whole minifig.

I got this set for one of my sons to build, but it was missing a few key pieces — always the way, right? — so I came across another one right before Christmas in a bulk lot. Paid less for the whole lot than the original copy! Hopefully between the two I’ll have a full set to share with that son.

Looking at the blank environment, the set definetly benefits from that cobblestone base on the box. If I were to display this set, I would think about a print of a similar look. Then again, if you are just playing around with it (since it's a toy), why bother?

Oh man, this was a set I wanted so badly back then. But 8-yo me could only dream.

I bought this back in the day, loved the grand look it has, but never built due to no space to display it. So it is still on the shelf with a few others that I will probably not build due to the value of it being sealed. I have other sets less valuable that still need to be built.

Of course the new one is better, but this one has Gringotts. Hopefully they’re saving that concept for a set similar to Diagon Alley.

Another great set from my favorite designer Nicholas Groves :D

Still need to build it but I don't have a nice display spot.

I love this set! It didn't really need the "update" it got with 75978. I wish they'd followed the template of loose buildings for the new one as well, like they did with 76388 Hogsmeade Village Visit. This original set would have benefited from a companion set featuring Flourish & Blotts, The Leaky Cauldron and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, as I always thought it peculiar that a set called "Diagon Alley" consisted of 1/3 Knockturn Alley, but I hope 75978 never gets a companion set in any other form than a stand-alone Gringotts, as it would be way too space-consuming and expensive.

The two side buildings have some interesting building techniques around the bay windows and still look great today. Gringotts needs an update to look more like the triangular based original, where the pillars may be bent but are still parallel.

@J0rgen:
75978 is clearly designed to have a matching Knockturn Alley run down the backside, with a small alley connecting the two. I’m just not sure how Gringott’s will fit into that layout. Maybe a big standalone that’s two baseplates wide and faces the DA/KA end unit?

@legoDad42 said:
"Still have this set sealed. Always loved the look of the architecture."

Not enough to build it though!

The Goblins are quite creepy without any painted features.

@Lucsha:
They will, if they can. Unfortunately, they don’t have limited storage/production capacity, so parts that don’t remain in production don’t remain available as free replacements. They hang on to them for a little bit, and then remove them from inventory, probably to be destroyed.

@PurpleDave said:
" @J0rgen:
75978 is clearly designed to have a matching Knockturn Alley run down the backside, with a small alley connecting the two. I’m just not sure how Gringott’s will fit into that layout. Maybe a big standalone that’s two baseplates wide and faces the DA/KA end unit?"

It's not «clearly designed» to have a future Knockturn Alley attached, it just allows for something to be connected at the back. You can't do a four baseplate Knockturn Alley set when there's only one known shop. Also, it would make no sense display-wise as you don't buy a big D2C add-on to hide it behind the set you already have. I hope they only make Gringotts if they add anything more - and shudder at the prospect of them making another half of the street, in an even bigger D2C than 75978.

@Rimefang said:
"I remember when this was available, only online and in Lego official stores, for $150 new and it seemed so expensive. I agonized over which to get, this, the Star Wars Tantive IV, or the Green Grocer modular. Ultimately I chose Diagon Alley for the charming buildings, but mostly for Mr. Olivander, Fred & George Weasley, and it made my Harry Potter collection 100% complete. I figured they were done with the theme lol."

*In Alan Rickman's voice* L.O.L. Indeed.

@J0rgen:
When that set came out, there were some design choices that raised eyebrows, and the most logical reason to do them was if they planned to back something else up against it. Could it be more Diagon Alley? Sure, I guess, but DA was a single road in the movie, with a small side alley connecting it to Knocturn Alley. That set has a small side alley, so that, too, spoke to the likelihood that KA will end up being released as a companion set. As for what to fill it with, I’ve never read the books, so I don’t know what shops were made official, but the theme is based on the movies. They had a two-sided alley in the films, and I would guess they came up with some original shops if there wasn’t more than B&B on the official side. The irony, then, being that a future KA set could be the first one that features a significant amount of material that didn’t originate with Rowling.

@Lucsha said:
" @MeisterDad said:
"I got this set for one of my sons to build, but it was missing a few key pieces — always the way, right? — so I came across another one right before Christmas in a bulk lot. Paid less for the whole lot than the original copy! Hopefully between the two I’ll have a full set to share with that son."

(For future reference) LEGO sends you replacements for missing/broken pieces for free!"

The parts I need are unavailable through LEGO now. Licensed themes as a rule are unavailable there, but I have managed to get some replacement parts that were broken. As I tend to buy used sets, my first choice is seldom LEGO to fill in the missing pieces.

Brilliant set with amazing architecture in that scale. Not least Ollivander's. It is probably my favourite Harry Potter set. Unfortunately not part of my collection, though.

The best representation of Diagon Alley is Mould King's Magic Series. They are fully original builds, Modular-compatible, with no licensing (which is a plus IMO). The clone bricks have a quality on par with 2010s Lego, with no minifigures.

But, 70470 is neat because it is compatible with the non-HP 10193 if you want more buildings of this particular scale.

I've a pair of them, still sealed.
My idea was to enlarge the bank with the second set, before or after I will have the time to do that! I hope, at least.

@MeisterDad:
As a rule, IP-locked parts are supposed to be unavailable to purchase through B&P, but they sometimes slip past the guards (I got 60 Green Lantern torsos and almost 60 matching legs through B&P when the Sinestro set was out, as well as some Nightwing heads, and the plastic Batman wing capes). And they should all be available through the free replacement service at some point, but they probably limit how many anyone can get that way so people don’t abuse the system.

This is the biggest set my not-really-a-LEGO-fan-but-enjoys-building-sets-sometimes wife ever bought herself, and it was pretty handsome up close. I had to disassemble it when we moved and it's still sitting in bags in the basement, I think. Something to pull out when the urge strikes her--instead of dropping $150 on something new.

With Ollivander's getting an update, I wonder how close to building a Green Grocer you could get with the old Ollivander's rare sand green bricks.