So this isn’t technically a leak since LEGO themselves are at fault here but…. some lucky LEGO customers in New Zealand who had ordered 10305 Lion Knight’s Castle from the online store got a bit of a surprise when their boxes arrived containing the 76405 Hogwarts Express Collector’s Edition set, a set that LEGO has not officially announced or revealed!
Update: Check out my review of 76405 Hogwarts Express Collector’s Edition
A Redditor who was the first to receive the set shared them online and has been updating his progress unboxing the contents of the 2022 version of the Hogwarts Express.
76405 Hogwarts Express Collector’s Edition is a massive 5,129-piece locomotive that looks absolutely brilliant, and is set to be one of the most detailed LEGO trains yet.
- 76405 Hogwarts Express Collectors’ Edition [US] – US$499.99
- 76405 Hogwarts Express Collectors’ Edition [AUS] – AU$799.99
- 76405 Hogwarts Express Collectors’ Edition [UK] – £429.99
- 76405 Hogwarts Express Collectors’ Edition [EU] – €499.99
- 76405 Hogwarts Express Collectors’ Edition [CA] – CAD$619.99
76405 Hogwarts Express Collector’s Edition has a release date of 31 August 2022, and will be available exclusively from LEGO.com or your local LEGO Store.
There isn’t a release date yet, or pricing, but as these are already in warehouses, I think it’d be safe to assume it will be available on 1 September 2022, or end of August. Expect this to be super pricey too, so prepare your wallets if this set calls out to you.
The Hogwarts Express departs Platform 9¾ on 1 September at 11 o’clock in the morning, so 1 September makes sense for the release date in my head.
If you’re thinking of purchasing the Hogwarts Express online, please consider using these affiliate links. This blog is completely reader-supported and I may receive a small commission with each purchase that goes a long way to keeping the blog running!
Here’s a look at the back of the box, with more details of the carriages, and dimensions of the train. It’s quite a sizable set, measuring 118cm (46.5 in.) long, 26cm (10.5 in.) high, so you need to make quite a bit of space for this behemoth of a train set.
The set is packed with minifigures, with 20 minifigures in total, spanning across 4 movies – the Philosopher’s Stone, Prisoner of Azkaban, Half-Blood Prince and the epilogue of Deathly Hallows Part 2.
Philosopher’s Stone: Train Conductor, The Trolley Witch, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger
Prisoner of Azkaban: Remus Lupin, Dementor, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger
Half Blood Prince: Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood, Draco Malfoy
Deathly Hallows Part 2: Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Albus Severus Potter, Lily Luna Potter, James Sirius Potter, Ravenclaw Student, Hufflepuff Student
Here’s a look at the sides of the box.
And here is the manual and sticker sheet – great to see multiple booklets, which means that you can build this together with a partner or group of your Potterhead friends.
And here’s a closer look at the Sticker Sheet. I do like the quotes from the movie, as well as the plaque.
And here are the contents. So many bags!
We’ll just have to wait for LEGO’s official announcement and reveal to see more of the set, and find out more about release dates, pricing and availability.
So how did this happen? This seem to have occurred to a small number of customers located in New Zealand (so far), who ordered 10305 Lion Knight’s Castle. I have independently been able to verify that this happened to a handful of my readers, so if you ordered a Castle… it might be a good idea to open the box to check if you got the Castle, or if there’s a very expensive LEGO Harry Potter train inside.
I’m not sure if this has impacted anyone else, those in Australia have not received their Castles they ordered from LEGO.com yet, and some may be en route, so I recommen checking just in case.
It’s incredulous that such a mistake could happen, especially for such a big release like this, but mistakes do happen, and my guess is that these large sets are shipped directly with their outer boxes intact, so someone might’ve confused the 2 very large brown boxes.
What do you think of 76405 Hogwarts Express? Will this be something you’d be interested in come September?
Personally, I think the model looks great, and I’m bracing to discover the final RRP. Even if you aren’t a Harry Potter fan, this is such a gorgeous steam engine, and a huge win for long-suffering LEGO Trains fans who haven’t got a set this detailed since 2009’s Emerald Night, and at certain angles, this doesn’t even look like LEGO.
Kudos to the design team for pulling this off, and a shame that the official reveal got gazumped by operational and logistics mistakes.
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Kelly says
I feel like another price increase is coming in the near future… I don’t own any Harry Potter sets but this might have to be a first.
Hlvt says
At first read I thought you meant that had sent out 76,405 sets. 🤣 That’s approximately one for 60 people in NZ.
Jay says
Hahaha, that would be like NZD$65m worth of LEGO!
Bas says
Am I the only one who is disappointed by this set? First of all, it is not a working train, and it is not compatible with current LEGO train tracks.
Secondly, I am not a fan of the quotes in each carriage, and the use of so many stickers, even for the plaque! Thirdly, instead of an adult Hermione and Ron, we get two nameless characters for certain reasons.
All in all, I would have preferred a working train with a bigger station and multiple carriages. Something like the Disney train plus station set.
Paul Carter says
Couldn’t agree more Bas – was very excited about this until I realiised the damn thing can’t move. What a disappointment.
Barbara Seaton says
Just had my Lion Knights castle delivered, However it turned out to be the Loop Coaster ☹️ no castle and no fantastic train set.
Reckon Lego warehouse is in some disarray.
Jay says
Oh no, so sorry to hear that. Hope you’ve been in touch with LEGO Customer Service, that’s shocking!
Barbara Seaton says
Oh yes. Now sorted. Lego awarded 120 VIP points for the problem. ‘‘Twas paltry I said, and Lego responded with 3200 points. Much better!
Kevin says
Day 1 for me but geez, this year’s slew of new releases is quickly chewing through what’s left of my tax return credit!
I was still in my dark ages when the Emerald Night was released but the H.E. will more than make up for that. I only wish that Lego would release iconic trains/locos on a more regular basis – once a decade is a long time between drinks!
Gina says
It looks fantastic, but stickers – ugh 😩 I may get this one day, depending on price
David Kessel says
I don’t have room for any more sets without buying a larger house but I am somehow going to make room for this one.
Wim Goris says
Well, that’s just telling you everything you need to know about Lego’s organization right now… But besides that, I have been waiting to see something about this train; and I have already mentioned it to the wife; this train is coming home no matter what the price tag is. For exact the reason you said, Jay;… Us train fans didn’t get anything (besides the Crocodile, that one is good enough) since Emerald Night, and I love Trains + Harry Potter + Lego = I’m going to skip the Technic Ferrari (Nothing new after the first three cars, which I all have) in favor of this one.
I guess it’s my bad for not ordering the castle here in the US, but picking it up in the store on opening day ? 🙂
Gerhard Schulze says
Was würde der Preis in € kosten?
Melanie says
WOW! This is like the Golden Ticket times ten! It is a beautiful set. I don’t have the room for a train this size, but where there is a will, there is a way!
John says
So I assume Lego will just ship them the Castle and they get to keep the train?
Luck lottery at its finest!
Allie says
I’d never get that lucky as to be able to have them both.
Nick says
I’ve had an incorrect set delivered in the past. They send you the correct set and the incorrect one is collected and returned to Lego. But if you don’t open the box or tell them about the incorrect set….?