Brickset Bouts: Old Fishing Store vs Hogwarts Castle
Posted by Huw,
Welcome to the second match of the quarter-finals in our knockout competition to find the best set released since Brickset was founded at the turn of the century.
This bout features one of two Ideas sets still in the running, 21310 Old Fishing Store, and the microscale masterpiece that is 71043 Hogwarts Castle, which saw off the Roller Coaster in the first round by just one vote!
The advocates have, once again, put up strong cases as to why you should support their set, so read what they have to say and cast your vote after the break...
21310 Old Fishing Store
Advocate: kimblejay
Being up against Hogwarts Castle is a tough call for the Old Fishing Store. At more than twice the price and almost three times the bricks, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Hogwarts Castle is automatically better. Well, you're wrong. And let me tell you why.
Sure, there's no denying that Hogwarts Castle is a sight to behold. It's huge. It's a castle, for crying out loud. What's not to like about it? Well, it's microfigure scale to begin with. Pah! Microfigures? Get outta here. What fun are they? We want castles for our minifigures to live in, not tiny microfigures. Sorry Hogwarts, but you're outta here!
The Old Fishing Store, on the other hand, is a beautiful piece of minifigure-scale architecture. It's almost three years old now but it's still one of the finest sets to come from LEGO Ideas, and one that packs in an incredible amount of detail.
There's one thing I always look for in a building set: tiled floors. The Old Fishing store is full of 'em, instantly making its interiors truly striking. The shop itself is jam-packed with more detail than most LEGO sets; from SCUBA diving sets to fishing rods, oars, hidden treasure chests, this little shop has practically anything you could possibly need for your fishing excursion. Even, uh, dynamite. Hey, we won't judge. It's truly a treasure trove of wonder and it's absolutely beautiful to look at.
The outside is no slouch, either. It's wonderfully constructed with a panelled effect - and with a colour of brick made especially for this set. Can Hogwarts Castle make any such claim, with its mass of boring beige and grey? Didn't think so! The roof of the Old Fishing Store is a work of art in itself, with printed (yes, printed!) planks of wood creating that lovely ramshackle effect. Then there's the deck, the rocky effect at the base of the building, and the extra details that bring it to life. Anchors, ship wheels, crabs, flags - every single inch of this set is crammed with detail. Back in 2017 it was genuinely the best set your money could buy. And it'll remain one of the best sets ever made for quite some time.
Plus it has seagulls and a cat. What more could you possibly want from a set? Do the right thing; vote for the Old Fishing Store as your LEGO Set of the Millennium!
71043 Hogwarts Castle
Advocate: BooTheMightyHamster
It’s gloves off time as Brickset Bouts reaches the quarter finals. In the first round, haldir explained to you just why Hogwarts is such an epic set. The design, the build techniques, the minifigs, the mahoosive piece count… the sheer scale of the thing! And yet it squeaked through, beating the Roller Coaster by a single vote!!!
Now we’re getting serious. This time around it ought to be a walkover, right? An enormous magical castle against… a tumbledown hut that stinks of fish! Yes, the old shed looks nice. Yes, it’ll appeal to the modular brigade. Yes it’s got some clever construction methods. (Yes, I bought it.) But if both sets are side by side when you have people to visit, which one do you think they’re going to make a beeline for?
Hogwarts every time!
This is an epic set that represents an epic building. Too often we’ve seen Lego be cautious, and sets that are supposed to represent grand constructions turn out to be pale imitations that just hint at what they could have been. But this time, management stuck their head round the design team’s door and said “Go big or go home.” And go big they did. It effortlessly crosses the boundary between fun set that a child can play with and superb model that an adult is proud to display. The old fish and chip shop? It’s beautiful, but it’s destined to spend its life behind glass, or on a shelf in an architect’s office.
This competition is about the best set released in the last 20 years. Pretty little buildings will come and go, but a castle? A castle that actually looks like a castle? That’s rare. You only have to spend five minutes on the forum to realise just how beloved the original Castle theme was, so not only does this appeal to Potter fans, AFOLs looking for a display centrepiece or youngsters looking for one of the greatest play sets ever released, but it also appeals to the nostalgia market too. It might look like Hogwarts if you follow the instructions, but a bit of judicious tweaking and it’s Camelot. Or Gormenghast. Or the Castle of Ultimate Darkness. Fiddle about with Captain Birdseye’s bachelor pad and what do you have? A garden shed on a bad day.
I’ve had a dig at the Fishing Shack with my tongue firmly in my cheek, and let’s face it – all the sets that took part in the bouts are some of the finest that Lego has ever produced – but Hogwarts stands above them all. Before you click that ‘Vote’ button, do me a favour. Go and find Hogwarts in the Brickset database and click on those 67 images. Because while some might say ‘It’s just a lot of beige bricks.’ (And I suspect ‘Just being a lot of grey bricks' won’t stop a certain spaceship doing quite well) just look at the interior. The rooms, the windows, the details…
You’ll find something new every time you look at it, no matter how many times you go back, and that’s why it deserves to be the best set of the last 20 years!
Cast your vote!
Having read the above, which of these two sets do you think should go through to the semi-final for a chance to be crowned "best set of the millennium" ?
Voting for this bout will remain open until midday BST Sunday and I will announce the result shortly after.
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77 comments on this article
I'm no Potter fan, but that castle is simply stupendous!
A nearby neighbour has it in their front window and I swear it makes passing traffic slow down.
I gotta go with the old fishing store, it’s just a lot more interesting, also it’s more than half a building
I don't own either (although I have seen them both in person multiple times), and Old Fishing Store EASILY wins for me. Mostly it's because I think the modulars are the greatest sets of all time, I love minifigure scale builds, and I'm not a Potter fan to say the least! Go Old Fishing Store!
Seriously though, I'm very much wondering as to which one will win.
Well done @kimblejay you have recruited me to your side! I was originally going Hogwarts but that was sensational. I don’t own either of them, so it was down to personal preference (Hogwarts) and the advocate speeches (Fishing Store).
Nice job!
I voted fishing store.
On another day it might have been Hogwarts...
However, iirc there's a slight error in the construction. The Viaduct is connected under stress. It has a geometry problem that leads to an illegal connection.
JANG pointed it out in his main review and then followed up on it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTjMu68FIpo
I'm not sure that a set that puts parts under pressure and breaks LEGO's own rules regarding illegal connections deserves a win... particularly one that represents a significant financial investment.
@Mr_Cross said:
"I voted fishing store.
On another day it might have been Hogwarts...
However, iirc there's a slight error in the construction. The Viaduct is connected under stress. It has a geometry problem that leads to an illegal connection.
JANG pointed it out in his main review and then followed up on it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTjMu68FIpo
I'm not sure that a set that puts parts under pressure and breaks LEGO's own rules regarding illegal connections deserves a win... particularly one that represents a significant financial investment."
I think that there are many people who didn’t have this problem. Indeed, I built the set after Jangbricks did his review but I didn’t experience the same problem. I was looking for it. Same with the Haunted house drop tower - Jangbricks experienced problems that I didn’t. May be he can’t build properly!!!! Heehee! ;-)
Anyways, I think Hogwarts wins this round for me. Castle. Massive. Unique. Epic! Love it!
Not into micro-scale , so the Fishing Store is an easy vote for me.
The Old Fishing store is a wonderful set BUT the UCS Hogwarts Castle is probably the best LEGO display set ever released. It's just breath-taking.
An easy vote for Hogwarts.
Do not own either, as dollhouses are not my thing, so did as @BooTheMightyHamster advised - checked out all the available images of both sets. This made it easy to decide - in the Hogwarts Castle images I could see two things only: tons of STICKERS and MICROFIGS. Sadly that is not a quality item in my eyes...
Mainly voting for the fishing store for originality.
My heart doesn't beat for any of these two sets — that's why reading the advocate speeches was pure fun and a real learning experience for me! Thanks, advocates!
Well, I own both, and I parted out Old Fishing Store without building it, so....
The Old Fishing Store is a great representation of the subject. Just the right amount of detail.
Hogwarts is a great set but the scale is wrong. It needs more detail and size.
I think The Old Fishing Store wins this bout.
I already voted for Hogwarts in the first round to make sure the Rollercoaster didn't make it, but now the castle is out of luck.
For a start, it's only a bit more than half of Hogwarts, plus even at microfigure scale and not even complete it is just a large dust-gatherer.
The Old Fishing Store otoh is near perfect. And it is one of the few Ideas sets that didn't deviate much from the original submission.
Definitely my number one of these two.
The Old Fishing Store does not only deserve to win because of its impeccable design and beautiful color scheme, but also because it embodies what Lego is about: offering an alternative, miniature world, where everything goes well and everybody's happy: pirates are happy to fight; firemen are happy to put out fires; criminals get arrested. Most licensed sets (Harry Potter, Star Wars, The Simpsons) and sets representing objects (cars, piano) fall short in that dimension.
Whenever you take a few seconds to look at the Old Fishing Store, it takes you to this quiet and beautiful world, offering you a short seaside-holiday. Time slowly passes by and the fishing store does decay a bit, but everything is in its right place. Yes, the captain is getting older, but a kid is there. You can hear the ocean and the seagulls. Everything is in its right place. Everything is awesome.
"Or Gormenghast. Or the Castle of Ultimate Darkness."
Deserves my vote purely for both of these. Bravo.
Fishing Store shouldn't have even got through to this stage. An easy win for the wizard's college
I have both of these sets so a difficult decision to be had as both have so much about them, you have the iconic Hogwarts castle which at any angle looks fantastic, you can look at the castle and instanley remember parts of the film, but my vote goes to the Fishing store its just such a quirkey set with so much detail, the colour pallet used is one of the best, it tells a story without a back story to fall back on and is to minifig scale. so Vote for the Fishing store its just great.
Best set of advocate reviews yet! Well done.
One of them is a massive castle and one is not
@The_Toniboeh said:
"One of them is a massive castle and one is not"
Your perception skills are amazing
Really hard to decide, but the Castle is such a stand out piece so had to choose that set.
Toughest matchup of the quarterfinal round for me. Fishing store is so original, creative, and well executed. Hogwarts is gorgeous, breathtaking, and massive. But if I had to pick one of these two sets to impress somebody what LEGO is capable of, itd be Hogwarts.
My vote goes to Old Fishing Store. The castle is impressive but I'm not much into micro scale. I just find the fishing store more colorful and visually interesting, plus lots and lots of little details for the minifigures to enjoy.
Hogwarts has more shock and awe value, but I have to go with the Fishing Store. I love the attention to detail and I wish Lego would make more sets in a similar vein.
fishing store, because the interior is even better than the exterior.
I think the HP castle is great and an impressive model but really only for HP fans, whereas the fishing store has a much more universal appeal
The old fishing store means a lot to me, I'm really hoping it makes its way through
Minifig scale beauty! The Old Fishing Store! Full of details and and trully amazing! Mini scale? Harry? 100% Fishing!
Old Fishing Store, I love the run down 'old' part of it. Lego hadn't done anything like it before. Also it's minifigure scale and that's what makes it better.
The Old Fishing Store is much more pleasant to build with all these small details.
And this is a master piece for display or to play with.
Not to small, not to big, just that is needed.
OFS 1 - HC 0
Hogwarts wins hand down for me. I have both the fishing store and the castle... the fishing store is no match, it pales in comparison in every single way
This is really difficult!
On the one hand, I'm a big Harry Potter fan and I've been working on my own custom Hogwarts, so I have great appreciation for the accuracy and building techniques used in the Hogwarts Castle design. That section of the castle has been rendered pretty perfectly. However, the microfigures do detract from its appeal. It was the right design choice, but seeing them doesn't spark the same joy that seeing full size figs does. Nonetheless, it's an awesome set. Wish I could afford it.
On the other hand, I see the Old Fishing Store as a work of art. It's beautiful in its use of parts and colours. While the subject matter is very niche, unlike Hogwarts, it is so authentic, detailed, and well-drawn that it's difficult for a non-fishing-fan not to marvel at it. It's a rare perfect set.
Hogwarts for me. The Old Fishing Store has some cute details, but in terms of construction it's just a boring old box.
Arr, the salty sea dog’s shack be the perfect choice for me. She be an object of beauty!
I own both of these and they’re both on display so it’s a tougher choice for me, but there is something about minifigure compatible sets that do it for me over micro / trophy figs every time. Being able to have minifigs inhabit your set adds so much more character and role play - imagine if modulars had no minifigures and you’ll know what I mean.
If anyone’s seen the original model that was used for Hogwarts in the Warner Brothers studios in the UK though, you’ll know how accurate the Lego Hogwarts is, even if not every part of the school is present.
Never understood the love for the faux-modular, it just coasts (ahem) on the love for sand green. You call it "packed with details" and "ramshackle," I call it "overstuffed" and "tiles are hard to align, aren't they?"
My vote goes for the old fishing store. It set the precedent that Lego Ideas is more than capable of doing bigger, more complex builds. This paved the way for sets like the Treehouse and Barracuda Bay. The impact of this set reaches much further than it’s design.
I remember buying the OFS at late 2017 along with Ninjago City, it's definetly a must for me as I remember buying it durimg the time my military tour was almost out on Puerto Rico helping after hurricane Maria hit. Old Fishing Store for the win.
I totally agree that the microscale is an immediate turnoff. I am obsessed with anything minifigure-scale, and though I missed out on picking up the Old Fishing Store, it is the more compelling set, in my opinion.
Hogwarts is immense, but I can’t vote for it. It doesn’t hit one of my criteria, and in this case it is the micro scale. I know a lot of other people have also picked this out so I know I’m not alone.
That said I am connecting all the minifig scale sets currently with some custom connectors etc trying to replicate the glory in minifig scale.
I have fishing store, it does gather dust on a shelf, but I loved the build, detail and design.
Although I really like the Harry Potter sets and just Harry Potter overall, I had to go for the old fishing store because it’s just so... special! It’s really amazing (I have to say the Hogwarts Castle is too) so it has my vote this time. :)
As someone who grew up using Lego to supplement a friend's HO scale model train layout, I'm tired of having minifigure-scale building treated as the only "proper" scale. (The first Lego garage doors were perfectly scaled for Matchbox cars, and worked better than many "real" automatic garage doors of the period!) Hogwarts is not only a fabulous example of a huge Lego layout, but a salute to the versatility of microscale in the hands of an expert. I don't have it, but only because I have never been able to scrape that much money at one time out of my Lego budget. A clear winner for me in this contest and my choice for the overall title--HOGWARTS!
Super tough choice for me. But the dozens of stickers in the Castle made a difference. So Old Fishing Store it is !
I've gone for the Old Fishing Store.
It's just such a satisfying model and ticks all the boxes; incredible attention to detail, play features, few repetitive steps, great parts and, above all else, it's a novel idea.
Both great looking sets. I very nearly bought Hogwarts Castle, despite having no interest in Harry Potter.... nearly. The Old Fishing Store on the other hand... 1st day purchase.
This is easy. Old Fishing store. I picked it in the round of 16. HC won by only a single vote last time. IMO RC should have beaten HC. HC is just another architecture model in micro scale which is not my cup of tea. OFS is way more appealing and in minifig style and is something more unique since it's an idea set and no other fishing store was created. There are already many HC sets and this is just one of them. And never a fan of open back/doll house style. You can only display the front and is unrealistic to me.
I don’t think I’ll ever understand the appeal to the fishing store.
Many don’t like HP, but the details they crammed in there at that scale is marvelous.
I voted with what I own (Fishing Store) and I find I have now voted against the micro scale sets all three times. I never realized how biased I am towards microfigures!
This is the most conflicted I've been in the voting so far! I decided not to read the comments before I came to my own conclusion, and in the end I decided that Hogwarts is a more worthy bearer of the 'best set of the millenium' title. However, the comments seem to be backing the fishing store here, and I can acknowledge the positives on that side of the argument too, especially after the compelling advocacy! What I will say is that if the roller coaster had clinched it in round 1, it would've been a vote for the fishing store without a doubt, and I expect to see more close probabilities come into play in later rounds. Either way, it's certainly not the most important choice I'll ever make, but I'm glad to be a part of a decision that is, at the end of the day, all in good fun :-)
Gotta get back to Hogwarts.
Gotta get back to school.
Gotta get back to Hogwarts
Where everything is magic-cooooool!
Yeah, my vote wasn't going any other way. To me, being micro-scale isn't even a deal breaker; we'd never have got a set with this level of detail in minifigure scale, purely because in that case everything would have needed to be at least twice as big to make the same percentage of the castle, and the 'non-playable' areas would have been cut down on a lot. Like in 75954; which, don't get me wrong, is a great set! I even own that one! But compare that set to the Great Hall in this masterpiece, and the sacrifices in accuracy needed to make it suitable for minifigures become obvious.
tl;dr: I specifically like the fact that it's micro-scale. And while I'm sure the Fishing Store is a great set, I have no personal interest in it; so the direction of my vote very easily becomes clear.
For a while I struggle to define the criteria of the "best set of the millennium." Someone mentioned about something being a head turner when a set is on a display window. I don't own either set or any HP sets, but I think the castle has an edge over the fishing store in this bout.
Old Fishing store was a joy to build. The same AFOL build other sets to match it - Boat House Diner, Boat Repair Show. It would have been awesome to have these as part of a series. An easy pick for me. Hogwarts is just too big and most of it is just too plain.
The fishing store embodies everything great about Lego and creativity and art. The castle is great as well, but at the end of the day, it is just another licensed product.
Both sets that I am fortunate enough to own, but Hogwarts was the easy winner for me. In fact, the Old Fishing Store is probably one of the only sets over 1000 pieces that I regret getting. It just doesn’t look great on display, and it doesn’t blend in with the modulars as well as I had hoped. Granted, it is as detailed as HC, but it feels like detail for the sake of detail rather than contributing to an impressive image. For $150, it was still extraordinary value, but I might end up parting it out eventually.
Regarding the stickers on 71043, I am surprised they don’t bother me more. I hate when Lego uses stickers for UCS sets, but that’s because they’re representing major details on the body of a ship. Since the exterior of HC uses only a few small stickers and prints for the windows, the stickers on the interior, which I rarely see since the set is on a high shelf, aren’t a problem.
Wizards > fish, easy.
I think it's funny how the Hogwarts Castle is stated as the one people will make a beeline for over the Old Fishing Store, as that it what I said about the Roller Coaster set over the Hogwarts Castle. The Hogwarts Castle does look good, but people go wow over the coaster. In this round I am still not convinced that the Hogwarts Castle is a better use of LEGO than the Old Fishing Store, even though I am a Harry Potter fan & it does look good on display, but it is the set that will be destined to live behind glass & on a display shelf, not the Old Fishing Store. I have the Hogwarts Castle but the minifigs included with it are what tipped me into buying it. I prefer the minifig scale of the HP Great Hall, Clock Tower & Astronomy sets & can't wait until they can all be united together, outdoing my old HP Castle sets.
I went back and forth between these two. Both have fantastic details and are well designed for what they are, but they have their limitations as well. The Fishing Village is very niche and can be difficult to incorporate with other builds or playscapes. Hogwarts is just so massive that it can even be considered *too* big. In the end, I voted for Hogwarts simply due to the play factor: Even in microscale, it is designed in such a way that you can not only treat it as a display piece but families can have a ton of fun playing with it, recreating many scenes from the movies or making their own Hogwarts adventures.
@omnium said:
"Well, I own both, and I parted out Old Fishing Store without building it, so...."
How mean :-) Have to ask why did you buy such a relatively expensive niche set to part out ? Please tell me to make a larger Fishing Store.
I vote for Old Fishing Store because it's an original, not based on anything prior.
The castle is great, but I'm all about minifig-scale stuff, personally.
My way of judging a set is often very pragmatic... I look at the piece count and price, I look at how well the plastics are used, I look at the weight and size of the whole set given the piece count.
Essentially Lego is a pile of plastics.
The target is to make good use of the parts to create an artistic, inspiring, imaginative, and functional 3-dimensional design.
The higher the weight to piece count ratio, the better.
The clever mixture between constructional pieces (preferably more) and decorative pieces (preferably less), while still keeping the design fresh, the better.
So Hogwarts Castle it is. :)
Roller Coaster so much better than either of these. But thanks to both reviewers, even though you're supporting weaker sets. Gonna get spanked in the next round.
'Well, it's microfigure scale to begin with. Pah! Microfigures? Get outta here.'
WELL SAID!
Hogwarts is a beautiful display piece, but i haven’t heard anyone call it much of a play set.
Fishing store is a beautiful play and display set.
It’s Lego, not Skærmgo. (‘Play well,’ not ‘Display well’)
I don’t know if I’ll regret it, but I think the fishing store is just the better made set in general.
Looking through the Hogwarts images, it is amazing! The Fishing Store is too small on the inside; I wouldn't want to play with it.
I don’t get all the praise the Old Fishing Store gets over the Hogwarts Castle set... the Hogwarts Castle is a far superior build, the details are phenomenal, the building techniques used are so superior to the old fishing store and the display value should be considered one of the highest ranked LEGO sets released of all time. The building techniques used are incredible and the end result is just breath taking! A well deserved spot for the best LEGO set of all time!!!
Personally I have been to the Hogwarts Castle (Universal Studios) and a Fish shack. I liked the Hogwarts castle better but I enjoy fishing more. Hogwarts still wins in real life however the Fish shack is just such a beautiful set and I'm not a potterfan anyways. The fish shack is more beautiful and it;s less expensive. It's a no brainier.
half of hogwarts is stickers. if it wins its based off people being a fan of harry potter ad not people being a fan of lego.
The store is well designed, but too niche. Not only does the castle have greater appeal, but I love the risk they took on making it microscale when a minifig scale (with far less architecture) would have been more expected. And I say this as not even much of a Harry Potter fan.
I truly love both of these sets. The fishing store was an immediate purchase for me... but, at the end of the day Hogwarts is one of the most unique sets I have seen them make.
Now that's also very easy - Hogwarts of course. Way more special.
Old Fishing Store, being in minifig scale, is more inline with my taste. Sorry Hogwarts...
I own both. I bought Hogwarts before I'd even seen or read any Harry Potter. Hogwarts is still on display. Old Fishing Store is in my pile for taking apart.
Would the fishing shop have made it this far if it weren't Sand Green...?
By the way, apparently there's a pretty annoying flaw with the Hogwarts Castle. I've heard several people complaining about how one of the bridges doesn't align properly with the entrance to the Castle. That would drive me absolutely mad, and regardless I'm going for the Fishing Store.
My initial thought was "Hogwarts." I Love Hogwarts. The only set I am allowed to display prominently in our living room.
However, I feel the Old Fishing Store has more of pure charm, and this time I chose charm.
Therefore, my vote goes to the Old Fishing Store.