It’s a few months too early for Halloween! But we didn’t complain when LEGO announced its latest addition to the Fairground series - the new Haunted House!
Now, it’s no secret that over here at Light My Bricks headquarters we like a good fright. The original Haunted House 10228 Light Kit is one of our favourites and that build had LEGO firing on all cauldrons, so we wondered if it was possible they could top that effort.
Well, it turns out they can and did! The brand new Fairground Haunted House is over a whopping 50% bigger in brick size at 3231 pieces compared to the original’s 2064. Not to mention all of the extra features, but don’t worry we’ll get to those in two shakes of a newts tail.
When we received the set, we couldn’t help notice again, the impressive package it came boxed in. Similar to last month's A-wing release, the Fairground Haunted House is another LEGO set that seems to be aimed at an older builder. It has a premium look and feel and really emphasises the complexity of the build.
Again this set has been slapped with an 18+ difficulty recommendation. But, just like the A-wing, we think there would be quite a few LMB kids out there that could handle the build, no problem. Having said that, the amazing amount of detail in the build does make it quite fiddly.
Of course, the mechanical elevator adds another variable to the picture, which to function correctly needs a precise build. Getting that chain to rotate smoothly was a little frustrating and might be the main reason for the 18+ rating, as it does take some concentration to assemble correctly. Especially if opting to engage LEGO’s Powered Up App.
The build was a real scream, we took a couple of breaks to really admire the different sections as we assembled the set.
The interior detail is really to die for. The pipe organ is genius and the collapsing fireplace is a favourite feature, (also noted The Orb of OGEL… he’s back to haunt us!) but that very gothic roof is also very impressive once completed, we really love the way LEGO’s designers have used mini-figure swords as tower spires on the roof
The LEGO light brick is an interesting feature, as it’s muted like an old antique oil lamp and contrasts interestingly with our striking LED-based light.
While it’s technically an amusement ride and officially part of the Fairground series, it’s such an imposing build it could stand on its own. The fright factor is also so high that you’d be forgiven for thinking the lego set is actually haunted by the Baron’s ancestors themselves! All of us here at Light My Bricks wonders what will be added to the fairground next? We’d certainly love to see these mini-figures pop up again, they are really great characters.
With the build complete it was time to play to our strengths and light this creepy castle! The first design challenge we faced was taking advantage of all that amazing detail highlighted earlier, which means more applying more lights (hello! look at all those individual candles)… and this, of course, means more wires! It was important to us to make sure all these extra wires were appropriately concealed as to retain the playability aspect of the set. The Haunted House opens up much like a classic dollhouse and begs you interact with it.
The foundation of this lighting system is built upon the green and white contrasting bit lights used throughout the set to give the house a spooky illuminated glow, straight out of Transylvania. Of course, our Scary Flicker Effects Board was perfectly designed to suit a set up like this. Are you sure you want to step foot inside?
The second major hurdle in design first presented itself when it came to building that darn elevator chain! Not only was it tricky to assemble, it made lighting the carriage difficult without hindering the functionality. This was solved by lighting it independently with an additional flat battery pack, stuck underneath with some trusty adhesive squares (everything can be fixed with our adhesive squares!)
Next up were the finishing touches, in the way of some patented Light My Bricks modification. We wanted to draw attention to both the awesome nameplate (it’s what a Baron deserves after all) and the centrepiece of the interior, the Head Of The Sphinx. We built a simple spotlight out of a small number of LEGO pieces, to shine creepily on said nameplate. Then, lit the Sphinx’s eyes with two white bit lights under two trans dark blue round plates. Now the unblinking eyes keep watch wherever our mini friends may be inside the house! *creepy organ music plays in the background*.
Finally, after reviewing our haunted handy work, we decided to switch out the Green Strip Light inside the carriage for a more traditional Warm White Strip Light to make it really stand out as it’s in motion. The change provided some much needed contrast and really makes that elevator shaft pop! You can almost hear the screech of the wheels and the clank of those rusty chains. Did someone hear that evil laughter coming from upstairs?!
