Lego Harry Potter Privet Drive: Aunt Marge’s Visit (76451) review: "So detailed and compact, the designers must have used an extension charm"

Lego Harry Potter Privet Drive: Aunt Marge’s Visit (76451) is only the third Privet Drive set in the theme’s nearly 25-year history. Both the very first incarnation, way back in 2002, and the fairly recent 4 Privet Drive (75968) focused on Ron’s daring Ford Anglia rescue in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. This time, Lego has mixed things up by focusing on Aunt Marge’s ill-fated visit to the Dursley household at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

If you find yourself lamenting the absent motor, fear not, because (at the time of writing) you can pick up the Lego Flying Ford Anglia (76424) separately for just $14.99 / £12.99. And as somebody who has the set, I can heartily recommend it! But, back to Privet Drive’s latest incarnation. Is it one of the best Lego sets, or is it just a muggle in wizard’s clothing? Let’s find out…

Lego Harry Potter Privet Drive: Aunt Marge’s Visit: Features

• 639 pieces
• 8+ age rating
• Four exclusive Minifigures

This set is a prime example of why a price-per-piece ratio is an unreliable way of measuring a Lego set’s value. I cannot believe it has 158 fewer pieces than 2020’s 4 Privet Drive (75968). This latest incarnation seems so much more detailed, and I do think the fully enclosed build increases the perceived value. That said, I still think $89.99 / £79.99 is a bit expensive. However, I’ve seen this set on sale for a decent chunk off the MSRP, making it a very good-value set indeed.

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Lego Harry Potter Privet Drive: Aunt Marge’s Visit: Build

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• Build took one hour and 45 mins
• Simple but fun construction
• Whopping 27 stickers!

This set comprises 639 pieces, split across six bags, and took me one hour and 40 minutes to put together, which is a lot slower than my usual pace. I can partially put that down to the amount of detailing involved, and how many times I stopped to admire what I’d put together (a good thing). However, it’s also due to the sheer amount of stickers. I counted 27 stickers – a huge amount for a set of this size. The window panes, in particular, required careful application (more on those later).

The build itself is mostly very simple. After all, it has an 8+ age rating, although younger builders will likely require supervision (especially when applying stickers). Most of the build is spent constructing walls and adding in small details. Concentration is required when building the roof, as it’s easy to build it the wrong way around – I’ll hold my hands up on that one…

Instructions are split across two booklets, tackling the rear half of the house with the conservatory first, and the front half of the house second. And while there are lots of stickers, I’m pleased to report that there are quite a few printed prices, too.

The mechanism for opening and closing the house is simple, yet effective. You have two hinges on one side and a single 1x1 clip on the other. This makes it easy to open and close, although do make sure you hold the building shut when moving it to ensure it doesn’t swing open. Another neat, but simple addition is the tree at the front of the house. It sits on a 1x1 clip, so it can lean slightly when the building is opened up to somewhat hide the gap.

Lego Harry Potter Privet Drive: Aunt Marge’s Visit: Design

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• Enclosed building
• Full 'dollhouse' interior
• Five minifigures, plus an inflated Aunt Marge

I think this set’s overall design is a bit of a marvel. It easily betters the two Privet Drive incarnations that came before it, because it’s a fully enclosed building. Lego tends to maximize the size of buildings in smaller sets by using shallow facades that are open at the back, but Privet Drive: Aunt Marge’s Visit is a three-dimensional building, opening up to reveal a cutaway interior, like a dollshouse.

In many ways, it reminds me of a miniature version of Lego’s larger and more expensive modular buildings. These are some of Lego's most consistently fantastic sets, so I mean that entirely as a compliment. And while it’s certainly compact, the frontage at least is near enough minifigure scale. Obviously, the designers had to make some compromises - most notably, there’s no garage. The real Privet Drive house also has a single window to the right of the front door, and the single upstairs window is a double window.

The rear of the house is a similar story. This is the first time a Privet Drive set has included a conservatory, and it really looks the part. To the left is a secret door that opens to reveal Harry’s former cupboard under the stairs. I would have preferred this to be a window, like in the movie, but this is a set for youngsters, and it's a neat play feature nonetheless.

The designers have done an excellent job with some of the details around the house, including the bars on Harry’s bedroom window, a bird table next to the conservatory, various plants and items of foliage, as well as a downpipe on the frontage. You also get a little side build, featuring the famous Privet Drive sign, a lamp post, and Hedwig.

A few brown 1x1 half-circle pieces are used to suggest roof tiles, along with a few green leaf pieces to represent mosses. Given the more intricate roof featured in the aforementioned 4 Privet Drive (75968), the newer roof seems like the only backwards step, although it's much bigger, which would have boosted the piece count considerably.

What I don’t like is the stickers on the window panes to represent the building’s lattice frames. Stickers never look good on clear pieces, because fingerprints and bubbles almost always leave them looking rather ugly. This is especially frustrating because Lego does make 3D lattice window frames, the only trade-off being that there’s no ‘glass.’ Personally, I think this would have looked much better, but others may feel differently.

The exterior is only half the fun. The house opens like a dollhouse to reveal a fantastic cutaway of the interior. On the ground floor, you have the hallway, living room, cupboard under the stairs, and kitchen, with the conservatory beyond. Up the stairs, you’ll find Harry’s room, a toilet, and Dudley’s room.

The interior is full of little details and Easter eggs, too. There’s Marge’s umbrella next to the front door, the cake from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in the kitchen, a letter underneath the fireplace, various sugary snacks in Dudley’s room, and a Gryffindor flag in Harry’s room. Such is the size of the interior, you’d have a hard time trying to recreate the infamous inflating scene within the kitchen itself. Thankfully, the dining table is removable, so you can replicate the scene with more room.

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You get five minifigures in this set, as well as Ripper the bulldog, and the inflated Aunt Marge, which I consider to be a small buildable figure. All four Dursleys are exclusive to the set, while Harry also features in Knight Bus Adventure (76446).

This is the first time Lego has made an Aunt Marge minifigure, and we kind of get two! She’s a basic figure, with only one face print, and while the torso print is nice, it’s a shame her tan blazer isn’t a dark pinstripe green like it is in the movie. The inflated Marge doesn’t rectify this, but at least they're both consistent. Overall, though, I think the inflated Marge is a fantastic inclusion, and I love the printing on both the half-spherical torso and the 2x2 dome piece that’s cleverly used for her head. You also get a clear rod, so you can attach the inflated Aunt Marge onto the exterior of the building, as if she's floating up into the sky, which is a lovely touch.

Aunt Petunia is very similar to her appearance in 4 Privet Drive (75968), but with updated printing. It’s a shame her hairpiece isn’t darker, like it is in the movie, but her updated torso and back prints exquisitely replicate her floral blouse, which I personally think is excellent. As for her two faces, gone are the wrinkles present in the 2020 figure, which does feel a little like a slight downgrade.

Vernon gets a whole new torso and back print, as per the movie. His subtly updated face prints look great, and his new ruffled hairpiece certainly looks better than his previous figure’s combover. Speaking of combovers, Dudley’s hairpiece is a lovely representation of his hair in the movie, along with his torso print that includes his bib. He also gets dual face printing. And finally, Harry looks as good as you’d expect, with lovely face prints and a great hairpiece. However, it is a shame he’s wearing a blazer instead of the plaid shirt he’s wearing in the movie.

Should you buy the Lego Harry Potter Privet Drive: Aunt Marge’s Visit?

I can only imagine Lego’s designers have been studying the dark arts. How they managed to create a fully enclosed representation of Privet Drive with a full interior and fewer pieces than 2020’s inferior 4 Privet Drive (75968), is frankly mind-boggling. The result is the best brick-built representation of Privet Drive yet. The exterior boasts a fantastic likeness, complete with a conservatory at the rear. Inside, it’s arguably even better, with seven rooms, including the hidden cupboard under the stairs. The minifigure roster, while strong, isn’t perfect, but the presence of an all-new buildable, inflated Aunt Marge is the icing on the cake.

Ratings

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested the Lego Harry Potter Privet Drive: Aunt Marge’s Visit

I built the Lego Harry Potter Privet Drive: Aunt Marge’s Visit (76451) on my own, and in one sitting. It took me one hour and 45 minutes. The set then sat in my living room for a couple of weeks, so I could enjoy it.

I tested the build’s stability during the photo shoot by positioning the minifigures in different rooms around the house, opening and closing the exterior, and moving the set around.

I’ve been collecting Lego since the early ‘90s and have amassed a large collection of both modern and classic sets. As such, I've got a wealth of brick-building knowledge to draw from, so you can bet your bottom brick, I know what I’m talking about.

For more information on our procedure, take a look at how we test products.

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