LEGO Harry Potter 75969 – The Astronomy Tower

When LEGO Harry Potter came back in 2018, it was with a large set of modular Hogwarts sets that can be connected in different ways. This includes the use of Technic pins to allow for different configurations of the buildings. 75969 is the fourth set to add significant size to this growing castle, and it’s a good one. Does it measure up to the standard set by previous sets?

The Astronomy Tower is one of the tallest in the castle, being located directly above the front doors. It is the site of several important scenes in the books and films. Most importantly, it is the location where Harry and Hermione climb to send Rubeus Hagrid’s dragon Norbert away to Charlie Weasley in Romania. It’s also where he duels a Death Eater in the fifth-floor hospital wing corridor, and it’s where he and Ginny recover the locket Horcrux that Dumbledore created from his own blood and stored in the room.

There is no answer in the book or film about how high the Astronomy Tower actually is, but from a muggle-build perspective it’s unlikely to be more than a few hundred feet tall. The actual building itself is made up of a series of rooms, starting with Slughorn’s office at the ground level, then a Ravenclaw common room, and finally two levels of Astronomy classrooms at the top.

As you might expect from a set that contains a room where students learn about the stars, there are lots of cool details to enjoy. In addition to the tower itself, there is a table with a chocolate fountain and an astrolabe, plus several other small details like a couple of printed tile envelopes and a few gems. The tower itself features two sets of doors (one in the base, and one on the upper floor), and there are plenty of windows to let in the light.

Another great thing about the set is that it comes with a nice selection of minifigures. There are eight, including Harry, Hermione Granger, Horace Slughorn, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, and Draco Malfoy. The figures have the standard LEGO face printing, and half of them have leg printing as well.

Overall, this is a solid set that tells a good story of the first half of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It’s an excellent example of the LEGO Harry Potter theme going from strength to strength as a result of its approach to quality building and story-based design. Where other LEGO themes — like Star Wars, City and NINJAGO — have to incorporate play functions to reflect action and conflict, Harry Potter is able to build its sets around story, character and environment. As such, the sets are a joy to look at and play with.