Subject:
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Re: Review of Hogwarts Express
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.loc.au
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Date:
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Mon, 12 Nov 2001 14:46:44 GMT
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Viewed:
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343 times
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M & F Schroeter <schroter@netspace.net.au> wrote in message
news:GMDJqn.Fv4@lugnet.com...
> I feel that the Hogwarts Express would have been better off to have come • with
> proper train wheels and bogie plates, even if the designers planned it as • a
> push-a-long model. In the past Lego had trains that came as push-a-long • and
> then could be turned into battery operated or electric trains later on, • and
> I feel they would have done better to do this with the Hogwarts Express, • it
> would still have had the same or even better play value.
As a non-train-head, I know not of these "proper train wheels" and "bogie
plates" of which you speak, so I did not suffer any sense of disappointment
regarding these aspects of the Hogwarts Express. Generally I found the set
quite satisfying both in structure and colour. However, I think there should
have been glass for the windows. Clearly Lego designers have never travelled
on steam trains, and experienced the amount of soot and other muck that
blows back onto the carriages. Of course, maybe magical trains don't
generate soot, or wind, or anything else to inconvenience their passengers.
This would be consistent with the engine being used for luggage storage,
instead of its more traditional Muggle purpose.
Actually I found the pop-up luggage the weakest aspect of this set. Apart
from the issue of "why did they do it at all?" as nobody seems to recall any
tie-in with the books, I found the mechanism rather unreliable. You seem to
have to be very careful when putting the trunk in, but I never got the knack
it seems and often the mechanism didn't work for me. Admittedly, from
remarks on lugnet, I had formed the impression that the luggage would fly up
with sufficient force to open the top of the engine. It never did this, and
on closer inspection of the instructions, it seems that you are supposed to
open the top of the engine before activating the mechanism, whereupon the
luggage pops up a bit, but not in a particularly spectacular manner. The
whole idea seems weak in both concept and execution.
Nor did I bother applying the stickers. Admittedly I think the set would
look better with the stickers, especially the platform, so I might still do
it. But I dislike having to face the subsequent agony of whether or not to
peel the stickers off afterwards (to make the parts more reusable in MOCs),
so I tend to defer the decisions about putting the stickers on until I've
reached the correct emotional state ("tired and emotional" to quote Yes,
Minister).
One thing I found quite mysterious about the set is the long black plate,
used as base of both the engine and carriage. This piece is clearly a
special part with its holes and its unusual underside. However, as used in
the Hogwarts Express, any normal plate the right size would have sufficed.
Are these plates used in "real" Lego trains? If so, what is the purpose of
its curious shape?
The other slightly strange thing is the use of a 1x4 grey arch in the engine
in a place where frankly there is no aesthetic benefit to be derived from it
(completely out of sight). While I am always pleased to acquire more arches
(although some recent BrickBay and the S@H castle expander set purchases
have reduced my insatiable demand somewhat), it just seemed a strange piece
to include. Maybe it's just that arches are "in" for Harry Potter sets, and
Hogwarts Express has to do its bit in delivering them, even if it lacks
natural opportunities for arches.
Ditto why are 2x2 tiles used in the wheel mounts? Generally the use of a
tile instead of a normal plate suggests that you want something to come
apart easily, but in this case, there appear to be neither aesthetic nor
structural reasons for the use of tiles. I think it's just Lego trying to
increase the range of parts you get in the set. Admittedly the HP sets are
good for a range of parts; you can't fault them for that. Even the humble
Sorting Hat comes with an extraordinary selection of parts, not an
"ordinary" brick to be seen. Again, the base could have been ordinary
plates, but no, it's one of the big ventilated plates (as used in the UCS
Tie Interceptor amongst other things).
Kerry
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Review of Hogwarts Express
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| The Hogwarts Express my daughter won recently arrived today. As it rained all day, we spent the afternoon putting it together. Kathryn (aged 5) was able to put together the Hogwarts train platform, and also perfectly able to put all the stickers on (...) (23 years ago, 6-Nov-01, to lugnet.loc.au)
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