Is the LEGO Harry Potter - 12 Grimmauld Place (76408) a Good Investment Set?

10th February 2023

12 Grimmauld Place is one of the many summer 2022 Harry Potter sets that are due to retire at the end of this year, which means there's a relatively short window in which to pick it up. In this article, we look at whether this is a set you should be investing in or not

The set

This set depicts the secret headquarters of The Order of the Phoenix and ancestral home of the Black family, located in the Borough of Islington, London. This is the first time the location has been visited in a LEGO set, which meant it was highly anticipated.

The exterior street front looks good, especially when you compare it to the set used in the movies. I really like the black numbered doors, despite the facts they're not printed. These are three stickers you definitely want to take your time with!

The interior space is somewhat awkward as there's not much floor space and what there is is quite disjointed. This was the compromise for accommodating the set's expanding feature that can be used to reveal and then hide 112 Grimmauld Place. This is excellently designed and operates very smoothly, making it a good selling point.

Although the inside doesn't quite work, it includes some nice references to the fifth movie, such as the Black family tree and the piano where Hermione plays Für Elise. The bedrooms of Sirius and Regulus are also interesting areas and there's some good playability to be had.

12 Grimmauld Place retails for £114.99 / $119.99 / €129.99 and has a piece count of 1,083. This equates to a price per piece of 10.6p / 11.1c / 12.0c, which is pretty expensive and the proportions of the final build don't seem to justify this. However, when you turn to look at the minifigures, you start to see where the value is in this set.

The Minifigures

There is a good selection of minifigures on the whole. The most desirable of the lot are Kreacher, Sirius Black, and Tonks, which all look fantastic. Sirius and Tonks are my two favourites, and they benefit greatly from some very nice leg printing. The details are also accurate to the costumes we see in the fifth movie, which is a bonus. All three I think are well worth buying separately if you don't want to shell out for the whole set

Unique Parts

12 Grimmauld Place boosts an interesting array of unique and uncommon pieces, such as the brick yellow bats, the broom ends, which were newly designed for summer 2022 wave of sets, and the long flexible tube that's used in the Weasley's extendable ear accessory. Most of the intricate details are created using stickers rather than prints, but they still add to the appeal of this set.

Outlook

Harry Potter is not the most collectible theme, as it's not aimed exclusively at the adult market. However, being a collector of these sets, I can testify first hand that there are profits to be had when buying them as investments.

A number of the 2019 and 2020 sets can now be sold for a good return when you consider that Harry Potter sets are often discounted heavily by retailers. I think the same story is true here: if you see this set at a good discount I would recommend buying it, but I would advise against paying full price for it.

TLDR

Investment opportunity: Good/Fair

This is one of the most interesting Harry Potter sets to come out in recent years and I think the fact that this is the only set depicting 12 Grimmauld Place is a big boost for its investment potential.

There are also some excellent minifigures that could also help push up the sets value after it retires, and which are also worth picking up separately. If you can buy 12 Grimmauld Place for a good discount, I think it will be a decent investment.

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

Comments