This is a great set. it is my first Harry Potter Lego Set. I am a HUGE x googolplex fan of Harry Potter. I think it is a good way to start the Lego sets as Harry's first adventure in Hogwarts is with the Sorting Hat.

Sorting Hat / Wheel:

Pros:

*Spins easily

*Torches

*Spinning seat

*Shelf, list of names (really is gibberish)

*Goblets

*Hedwig! (R.I.P.)

Cons:

*List of names falls easily

Harry and Hat:

Pros:

*The Sorting Hat is at a strange yet cool angle when on someone's head

*Harry has his uniform, a cape, and a tiny scar

*Wand

*Thick, messy hair

Cons:

*Harry wears the Hat, but what do you do with the hair?

Overall a great set that I just love and highly recommend to any Lego-Lover

P.S. Now, after months of saving up for this as I don't have an allowance, time to save up for the more expensive Forbidden Corridor!

to make the set more fun for kids lego added a sorting wheel. AFOL's might not like this but I do not mind

figure
pros: harry with black tie and collar can only be found in this set, comes with extra hair
cons: none

sorting wheel
pros: seat turns, hedwigs stand turns, wheel turns
cons: none

pieces
pros: hedwig,
cons: none

build
pros: strong, easy, quick
cons: none

price
pros: cheap, worth it
cons: none

I recommend this set to any harry potter fan
I hope you found my review helpful

i have just started liking Harry Potter agian and i love this set. the hat is good but could do with being brown. for lego this is the best way to the sorting my town's favorite T.V. show uses this a game for the guests on the show (guests are people like the king, Indaiana Jones Harry Potter etc, Famos poeple.

I actaully think this set is well thought out. The wheel does spin which makes the choice for the incoming Hogwarts student to go to which group. You get Harry Potter and the Sorting Hat which is just a wizard hat. This is a well thought out set and deserves a 5.

Set #4701 Sorting Hat: Ah Harry Potter. I sold off my entire collection for the sake of making more storage space for my LEGO that I was keeping and I truly don't regret the decision. The newer Harry Potter sets will be much better for my display as opposed to these older sets. That being said however they are still a great Theme and fun to collect.

As far as Theme's go Harry Potter is akin to a Fantasy based Castle Theme. And as far as this set goes... Well it isn't much to look at. In order to make for an exciting sorting hat based set LEGO gave us a strange looking pedestal/platform combination on which the hat rests. Using a spinning plate printed with the images of the four houses you can choose which house Harry (Or any other Mini-Figure) will be sorted into.

This play feature is all well and good for the first few times, but after a while there really isn't much you can do with this set. Points going for this set however are:

It is a cheap set. It offers a unique Harry Potter Mini-Figure with un-sorted Hogwarts uniform. You get a snowy white owl (Hedwig), the black sorting hat, a nice printed circular piece with the four houses pictured on it, an old Castle plate printed with the scroll element that all Majisto sets came with, two yellow goblets and two different wizard's wands. (The black one is used as the sorting tool.)

Overall I'd have to say that this set can be skipped over in any Harry Potter collection and you wouldn't be missing out on much. But if you're particularly fond of the gimmick of this set or desire a regular Hogwarts uniform without any house crests for MOCing Mini-Figs you might not want to skip over it. The pieces may also be useful in creating some sort of addition to your Hogwarts Castle. If I was to buy back all of the yellow Mini-figure sets I once had I'd probably skip this one myself though because really how many Harry Mini-Figures does a single person need? This set would have been much better if LEGO had also offered up a cheap method for getting Professor McGonagall with it.