Last year, LEGO celebrated the 20 year anniversary of its Harry Potter line and as such, we were gifted with a plethora of sets themed mostly around the first and second movies. In addition to a brick-built Fluffy and new Basilisk design partnered with a castle reboot, we also got massive still life Icons and Moments from classes throughout the series presented as compact little book-style playsets. While the latter made for a good balance between display and play, the former gave us a reboot of the modular Hogwarts castle. Or at least it seems that way given the repetition of the Great Hall and Astronomy Towers in the Chamber of Secrets sets. The addition of the new 76398 Hogwarts Hospital Wing further suggests a reboot as it features a new version of the iconic clock tower above the beds in the infirmary. This 510 piece set comes with four exclusive minifigures and will be available March 1st for US $49.99 | CAN $64.99 | UK £44.99.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Inside the box

While Hogwarts sets usually feature a decent amount of stickered pieces for added detail, this set only comes with three. That being said, there are quite a few printed pieces that make for nice grabs, namely the Time-Turner stud and Skele-gro bottle. There are four bags in the box in addition to the sticker sheet and instructions.  The back of the box includes an inset image of the main play feature, the moving clock hands, and another inset that suggests an iconic scene between Madame Pomfrey, Harry Potter, and Skele-Gro.

The minifigures are also a delight as we’re finally getting one of Madame Pomfrey! Seeing as this is clearly supposed to be the scene when Hermione reveals her time traveling pendant to Harry in order to save Sirius and the hippogriff, the trio’s outfits are dirtied up versions of their prints from set 75947 Buckbeak’s Rescue. Ron’s sweater has even been removed and he’s got a cast from Sirius attacking his leg. The chest holding the two Chocolate Frog cards that came with the set also features a flatter lid than the classic treasure chest. That may actually be new to this year, because we also get a black version in the new Defense Against the Dark Arts set (which we’ll discuss in another article, I promise). Other notable prints are the Bertie Botts containers with red pyramid tops, a chocolate bar to fight the effects of dementors, and a new color and print for the owl with outstretched wings. That mold was first introduced with the flapping Hedwig set to recreate a scene from the first movie in minifig-scale. This is another element that is repeated this year, being used in the 76399 Hogwarts Magical Trunk (which we will also be discussing in another article) to carry a letter.

The build

The use of these particular baseplates is more for structural function than anything but I still can’t help thinking of how many bodily fluids still manage to escape the influence of a good Scourgify charm. Especially after the windows go up and you put the beds in.

From there the instructions focus on the rafter structure and the facade on the opposite side. One of the stickers is used to make a patient chart that Madame Pomfrey can kind of hold but looks better at the foot of a bed. Meanwhile, the outside portion uses arches and drill bits to create the stonework of the castle exterior. In the former Clocktower set from 2019, similar beds (with blue curtains between them) suggested the top floor was the Hospital wing (at least to me) but lacked any other details. Nothing about the exterior really suggests that this may be the top of a larger structure, but given the modular set-up of this line, I imagine it’s up to you.

Next up are the lower rooftops, some furniture, and light decorations. Flowers for Ron, lamps on nightstands for two of three beds, and a cart of potions and medications for Madame Pomfrey. The remaining two stickers are used for the texture of the movable curtain build. The Skele-Gro, Bertie Botts, and Time-Turner prints are all new, by the way. Hermione’s old torso featured a printed version of the Time-Turner under visible around her neck but it’s been removed for this roughed-up version of her since that’s what she does in the scene. Bertie-botts has only appeared on the side of the trolley for the Hogwarts Express but this design mimics the style we see at the foot of Harry’s bed in the Sorceror’s Stone. Skull baby heads were not a move I thought LEGO would make but here we are since that’s another new piece used to top off the Skele-Gro bottle.

The lower rooftops use hinge plates and cheese slopes to achieve the angle and hold it.

The last part of the build focuses on the Clock Tower section. This style somewhat matches the smaller version from 2019 but the mechanism to move the clock is different. I’m sure they were trying to match the movie version better but there are always sacrifices with LEGO scaling. While the larger clock print is the same as the previous one, they opted for a fixed round plate instead of the printed shield they had before.

The last bit before you finish is the final part of the moving clock mechanism. A vertical transfer gear attaches one of the cosmetic spires to the lower gears, just like it shows on the back of the box. The final bits of the roof are attached with hinge bricks that are fixed underneath the spires. It’s worth mentioning that you get four of those arch POOPs (Piece Out of Other Pieces). The two sandgreen drill bits in the spires continue the use of these in Hogwarts sets to achieve a more realistic angle. The texture doesn’t exactly match but suggest a spiral shingle pattern which really suits the LEGO version of Hogwarts.

Final Build and Conclusions

These sets have always been fun. I was eleven when the Sorceror’s Stone premiered and as such ate up all the Harry Potter sets I could. I swear I carried that old Troll figure and my Hagrid keychain everywhere with me for years. Even back then, the sets relied heavily on stickers and new molds to work in detail. It wasn’t until the eventual redesigns and Collectable Minifigure lines that LEGO really captured the easter egg-style of building they’ve adopted. Now we have tons of prints and pieces specific to this line that builders the world over seek to collect. All that being said, often enough the layouts and sacrifices that LEGO makes leave some of us wanting. Switching to this stackable, modular style often balances wonderful minifigures, prints, and stickers with lacking architectural design. The old sets tried to minimize features, working towards a midi-scale on the outside while sacrificing detail and scale on the interiors. This style might lack some obvious cohesion, at least this early in the process, but this set alone suggests a better match for outer and inner scaling.

Once you stack all the little builds inside, playing or displaying as your heart desires, the build comes to life. While there’s obvious overspill that would make this difficult to stack on top of others, there’s still display potential here. I’d say for some fans it’s definitely a set worth getting just for the minifigures, printed pieces, and molds alone. Of course, that price point for just those things isn’t going to work for everyone. There’s more value to be had here, of course, whether you’re a model builder or a set collector. Sets like this are great starting points for our own homebrew versions of Hogwarts, allowing us to build that world as we imagine it just as readers did the first time they met the boy who lived.

76398 Hogwarts Hospital Wing contains 510 pieces and 4 minifigures. It is available from the LEGO Shop and worldwide starting March 1st for US $49.99 | CAN $64.99 | UK £44.99 or from Amazon. It is also available from third-party sellers on eBay.

---

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Check out the gallery for even more images: