Harry Potter Sets, Marketplace Missions & Midweek LEGO Adventures
What do most families do after dinner on a Tuesday evening? Wind down with a book or a bit of telly? Not this crew. At Redmond’s Forge, when the stars come out, so do the bricks.
After back-to-back Zoom calls and emails, with the clock ticking toward bedtime, we did what any reasonable LEGO-obsessed family would do, or as Christy Moore might sing it, “Grab the wife, throw the kids in the Datsun (well, a Nissan), and head for Inch and the Strand Hotel (or the Spawell in Templeogue)!”. So with that I loaded the kids into the black Nissan X-Trail and made a twilight dash across Dublin, on another midweek LEGO mission with Luke and Rose riding shotgun in the car, for not one but two second-hand LEGO Harry Potter sets picked up through Facebook Marketplace. A boot is about to get a whole lot more magical.
🏰 First Stop: Orlagh’s Hogwarts Castle & Grounds – €95
📍 Orlagh, Templeogue, Dublin 6W
Outside a quiet redbrick home in the leafy suburbs of Orlagh, Templeogue, we met a seller as friendly as the Sorting Hat. She had waiting for us the magnificent LEGO 76419: Hogwarts Castle & Grounds, we entered her house one she put her dog into the kitchen. This micro-scale architectural beauty is one of the most intricate and elegant display sets ever released in the Harry Potter theme. Complete with box, instructions, and every enchanted turret – all for just €95 – a magical deal.
This set captures the essence of Hogwarts in miniature, from the boathouse and the viaduct to the great hall itself. It’ll soon be featured in the Wizarding section of our LEGO museum at Redmond’s Forge, sitting atop a custom-built display shelf under warm spotlighting.
As Luke whispered holding the box, “It’s like the whole castle shrunk with a spell.” And he’s not wrong.
🚂 Second Stop: The Spawell Car Park – Hogwarts Express & Hogsmeade Station – €80
📍 Spawell Hotel Car Park, Templeogue
From cobblestone towers to snowy platforms, our second pickup brought us to the neon glow of the Spawell Hotel car park, an odd but oddly perfect place for this kind of deal. The kind of slightly surreal, slightly brilliant spot where all good Facebook Marketplace deals are sealed, not really knowing who one is going to meet or will it be a dud or a success.
Waiting there, our next seller, and we collected the 76423 LEGO Harry Potter: Hogwarts Express & Hogsmeade Station. A brilliant build, perfect for Luke & Rose to bring our city’s magical rail system to life. At just €80, this one was a no-brainer, a big red engine, a charming snowy station, and yet another connection to the Wizarding World. It’s a set that’s part of the new-generation Harry Potter wave, this version of the iconic red train is smaller than the massive Collector’s Edition but absolutely packed with charm. This will be perfect for our winter LEGO city dioramas, with mini-figures including Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the ever-iconic train conductor.
We’re planning to modify this set slightly for integration into our LEGO City rail line, it’ll serve as the magical platform hidden in plain sight from Muggle commuters.
🧙♀️ Why These Pickups Matter
Not only were both sets in excellent condition and at well below RRP, but together they expand our Harry Potter collection into a cohesive, immersive world. We’re not just collecting, we’re curating, and tracking on brickset.com and lego.com. From build to display, from scan to shelf, each haul adds story and soul to Redmond’s Forge.
Midweek LEGO adventures like this aren’t just about the bricks. They’re about chasing magic, in twilight car parks, under street-lamps, in the eyes of a 7-year-old and a 4-year-old who still believe a train can disappear through a wall.
📸 Haul Highlights
- Sets Added:
- 76419: Hogwarts Castle & Grounds – €95
- 76423: Hogwarts Express & Hogsmeade Station – €80
- Total Spend: €175
- Total Joy: Immeasurable
- Display Ready: Scanned, sorted, and ready for showtime
💬 Final Thoughts: When the Stars Come Out, So Do the Bricks
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, the best LEGO finds happen when you least expect them. And some of the best family memories happen not at theme parks or movie nights but in the back seats of cars filled with cardboard boxes, bubbling excitement, and the glow of magical bricks.
At Redmond’s Forge, our motto is simple:
“Every haul tells a story. Every set finds a home.”
And this Tuesday night in Templeogue?
A chapter worth retelling.
