LEGO Hidden Side Newbury Haunted High School 70425 Building Kit, School Playset for 9+ Year Old Boys and Girls, Interactive Augmented Reality Playset (1,474 Pieces)

I wanted an activity I could do with my grand daughters when they came to visit over summer break. I was intrigued by the interactive ghost app activity. Like others have said, the build must take place before using the app. I did this build with a 6 and 8 year old girls. They havent played with Legos a lot and neither have I so it was a bit challenging. However, the illustrated instructions were really helpful and we were able to figure things out. It did take us a few days getting all of the 698 pieces together. This really wasnt because we got bored but rather we ran out of time with our first visit. I was surprised at how excited the girls were to finish it when they came back for a second round. The pieces of this set fit together well and like they should. The train is a good size once put together at 5 high, 5 wide and 24 long. The girls liked the mini figures they could play with and put in various areas of the train. We all had a lot of fun with the app hunting for ghosts on the Haunted Train and playing the interactive games. So fun that its released in time for Halloween. Make sure to check to see if your device will work before getting kids too excited. It worked on my Samsung Galaxy S9 and my husbands iPhone 6s but it may not work on some of the older phones. Since were new to Lego building sets, I dont have anything else to compare this to but we had so much fun that we want to build another set. So fun that Lego has these interactive sets. Im having a hard time breaking down the set as the girls want me to leave it up so they can play the app when coming over without having to start over.

Best price from all the other WEBSITES and stores I checked.

GOOD: As usual LEGOs attention to detail really shines in the train set, which comes with the main train, 2 smaller cars, a rail and a station. Dont be fooled, each piece is intricately detailed and the even the station has both a front and back that the characters can interact with. Both the train and the station have the ability to transform into haunted versions of themselves - the transformation part is actually both surprising and satisfying. BAD: LEGO is clearly looking for a unique angle with AR app but as a parent, the point of toys like LEGOs is to exercise a childs creativity and take them away from playing on phones. While older children may have their own phones, younger children may feel need to immediately fiddle with the AR app right after they build the toy, which is a shame. As for the AR app itself, it wasnt as easy as a download, point and play and I found it a bit cumbersome to use. CONCLUSION: Unfortunately, it seems like LEGO built in the price of the AR experience into the price of the set - for $80, I would generally expect to get a little more from a typical LEGO set. That said, the train is beautiful and took my 10 year old nephew about an hour to put together, offered several more hour of play (without the AR app) and was a happy with the ability to change the train back and forth. If youre looking to purchase this, dont do it for the AR app but because you love LEGOs and want an awesome train set + station.

Our four year old is a huge fan of legos, and he was excited to put together this set. He was able to do it 95% himself, with just a little occasional help. This ghost train has so many fun features. The engine has wings that fold out and in using a lever in the roof. One of the cars has a clear jail-like compartment that mini figures fit inside. And the third car has a large weapon on top. Most of the mini figures can transform into ghost versions with a new head and hair. The winged train is definitely our sons favorite aspect of this figure, the wings snap in and out in a very satisfying way. It would be nice if more tracks were included so you could actually drive the train around. There are only enough tracks for it to sit in place. The set comes with a free augmented reality game you can download to a phone or tablet. The game didn’t work on the older tablet our son uses. So we played on a phone. It was fairly easy to capture a picture of our train, but you only really needed to use the LEGO set once during the game — you set a color dial then scan that color. After that, the game doesn’t really need the set at all, and in fact it would probably be more fun without it, since it’s annoying to try to keep the phone oriented on the train. You basically just tap the image of the train to find trouble spots, then scan a minifigure, then fight a ghost. It takes about 5 mins. Then it’s over. And that’s it. You can repeat with some variations, but there’s not much to it. So that was a little disappointing. But legos have always been plenty of fun with no bonus game, so no real harm done! It’s still a fun set. We havent touched the game since, but our son is still playing with the train.

The Lego 70424 hidden side ghost train express building kit, is comprised of 698 components made in Denmark, Hungary, Mexico, China, the Czech Republic, and the USA. In addition to building the ghost train, an app is used to add interactive play using augmented reality. This kit is built in 5 steps detailed in the included instruction book. Each step comes with a set of numbered bags containing the parts needed. While this kit can be built by a single person, it is far more fun to get a buddy to join in. My boyfriend’s niece helped me build this kit, where she built certain parts and more often found the parts for me to assemble. This build took place in one afternoon and was greatly enhanced by friendly chatter, joking around, and much laughter. The 5 steps were mostly broken down to building the station, the back portion of the engine, completing the engine, the science car, and the container cart. The wings of the engine are set to swing out with the flip of a switch, while the mouth opens by twisting a lever. The station also has moving parts to change from normal to scary. The app takes longer than normal to download and install. Getting started wasn’t difficult though. I opened the app and followed instructions. The most challenging part was when I had to line up the train with the outline for the app to recognize it. The table was lit with the light source behind the train, and the app didn’t recognize the train until a flash of light occurred. From there I could choose to be a hunter or ghost and play the game. Once game play is complete, I could spend points on things like upgrades and capsules. The game is fun and has several skill levels. If you’re searching for an interactive Lego set, the Lego 70424 hidden side ghost train express building kit is a fun option to consider. ► PROS: Fun to build with a friend Hidden transition parts Comes alive with game app ► CONS: Instructions could be clearer

Very disappointed. Seriously?! Passing off a previously opened Lego set as new?! Purchased this for my sons birthday. The box had been previously opened and was taped shut. My son opened it to find bag 5 had been opened. Being an excited child with his new set, he decided to build it, only to find pieces were missing as well as one of the sticker sheets. We will be returning, and will rethink any future purchases with this seller.

This Lego set is perfect for Harry Potter fans of any age. Whether theyre young enough to want to put it together, play with it, and then change it up, or they want to just put it together and display, its going to make them happy. It does have a lot of pieces, but my younger ones (7-8 yrs) can put it together without assistance. I would say younger, preschool-age kids would have some trouble doing it by themselves. The only drawback to this set is it only comes with enough track for the train to sit on. If you want it to actually move, youre going to need more track. I havent tried it, but Im told that the train will run on other tracks in the Lego world. Other than the lack of track, this set is everything I expect from Lego, and with my crew, we have seen a lot of those toys. The price is comparable to most Lego sets, maybe a bit pricier due to the theme, but if youre a Lego fan, you already know about the value.

This is so much fun to put together, I enjoyed all the hidden side monster effects!

My son loved this!

My son absolutely loves it!