Is the LEGO Attack on the Burrow (75980) a Good Investment Set?

2nd August 2022

By the end of this year we’ll be waving goodbye to a bunch of Harry Potter sets, one of which is the Attack on the Burrow (75980). This means time is quickly running out to pick it up at retail price. Therefore, in this article we take a look at the investment potential of Attack on the Burrow and whether it’s one of the sets you should be prioritising.

The set

When Attack on the Burrow was announced back in 2020, it was met with much excitement among the LEGO Harry Potter community, as there had only previously been one version of the Burrow. The first edition of the Burrow (4840) was released ten years before, meaning many of today’s collectors won’t have been on the LEGO scene back then to buy it. A brick-built Burrow was therefore absent from many collections, so unsurprisingly, Attack on the Burrow was difficult to get hold of in the first few months following its release. The higgledy-piggledy house is also one of the most popular locations in the book, due to its charm and eccentricities, and because it’s home to the much-loved Weasley family. Secretly I think many Potter fans, myself included, wish they lived there.

From the outside this set looks great, with some clever building techniques being used to offset the top half and give the house its slightly ramshackle look. The interior is equally impressive, as every room is packed with detail and references to the movie series. All the warm colours and accessories capture the cluttered, homely feeling of the Burrow’s on-screen depiction remarkably well. The only criticism we have on the design is that it feels somewhat compartmentalised as there is a lack of connectivity from one floor to the next. The inclusion of some stairs would have really elevated the set, but we appreciated this would have been difficult for a build on this size. All in all, the Attack on the Burrow delivers as both a play piece and a display model, and it eclipses the original Burrow on every front.

In terms of value for money, the set retails for £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99 and has a piece count of 1,047. This equates to a price per piece of 8.6p / 9.6c, which is on the cheaper side relative to other large Harry Potter sets.

Unique Parts

With the exception of minifigure parts, Attack on the Burrow contains no unique pieces and most of the part list are fairly common. One of the reasons sets appreciate in value is because of the presence of rare and desirable parts, so this is definitely a negative when it comes to the Attack on the Burrow’s investment potential.

The Minifigures

The Attack on the Burrow comes with eight minifigures, which is pretty respectable for a set of its size. The cast of characters is the same as those included in the original Burrow, except for the addition of Tonks and Ron. The Tonks here was in fact the first to be produced, and up until the recent release of 12 Grimmauld Place (76408), was the only version of the witch. Beatrix Lestrange is also another rarely seen character, having only appeared twice in regular sets and once in a collectable minifigure series. The version of her here is on a par with the first edition, which now sells for a decent sum on the secondary market. All the minifigures are nicely printed and seven are unique to the set, but none truly stand out, so for that reason they’re not expected to skyrocket in value following retirement.

Looking to the future

The popularity of a franchise on which a set is based can be a key factor determining its future price. If you plan to hold on to a set for a long time, it’s also worth considering how this popularity will change in the medium to long term. We don’t think there are many concerns here for Harry Potter, as it has unquestionably been one of the most successful and adored franchises of the past two decades, and it’s still going strong today, despite the last instalment of the original series of films and books having been released long ago. It’s hard to imagine that this will not still be the case ten years from now. This evergreen nature means this set is likely to appeal to both current and future collectors.

Due to the scarcity of Burrow sets, it’s unlikely that we’ll get another in the near future. Based on the past release schedule, we could be waiting another 10 years or so!

Conclusion

Investment opportunity: GOOD

Attack on the Burrow is a successful recreation of one of the most popular and rarely seen locations from the wizarding world. Compared to other Harry Potter sets, Attack on the Burrow has been given a relatively short shelf life (2.5 years) which is another factor in its favour as an investment set. Harry Potter has also traditionally been one of the better performing themes on the aftermarket over the past few years. It should be noted that the minifigure selection is nothing special so most of the value is going to come from the build itself.

Despite the average minifigures and lack of unique or rare parts, we recommend adding this set to your collection before it enters retirement as it's likely to be the cheapest opportunity to do so. A new version of the original Burrow now sells for over twice its retail price, so it’s not unreasonable to expect a similar trend from this set, although it may take a while to get there.

Disclaimer: This article or any others on brickranker.com should not be considered financial advice and investing in LEGO is risky.

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