Blocks Magazine Issue 144: 25 years of Harry Potter

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The 144th edition of Blocks magazine lands in UK stores on 2nd October 2026 and as always it’s packed with the latest news, reviews and interviews. This month you’ll find articles celebrating 25 years of Harry Potter LEGO, a deep dive into writing Bionicle books and if you subscribe in print before 9th October, you’ll get a FREE 2026 Blocks brick AND FREE Christmas cards. Don’t forget, a one-year print subscription in the UK is just £64.90, for a saving of £52.10, and if you subscribe before 6th November, then you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win 43031 Olivia Rodrigo’s Dual Guitar!

Blocks, the monthly magazine for LEGO fans, is going back to the beginning of LEGO Harry Potter to mark 25 years since the theme brought the Wizarding World to the brick. This edition also includes an extensive profile interview with professional designer and Brickmaster Boone Langston, plus a deep dive into writing Bionicle books with author Greg Farshtey.

Issue 144 is available to order worldwide as part of a subscription or as a single issue at blocksmag.com and will be in UK stores from October 2.

Blocks subscriptions are great value! Every month you get a new 116-page magazine at a much better price than buying a single issue. If you subscribe in print before October 9, you’ll get a FREE 2026 Blocks brick AND FREE Christmas cards.

If you take out a two-year print subscription, we’ll also throw in a copy of 100 Incredible LEGO Builds, a special one-off edition packed with inspiration for your next build.

Every month there’s a prize to win for subscribers – and Blocks is giving away 43031 Olivia Rodrigo’s Dual Guitar! To be in with a chance of winning, take out a subscription before November 6, 2026.

It’s 25 years since the first Harry Potter sets debuted and a fan-favourite theme was born. For the LEGO creatives though, it started even earlier than that – before it was going to be a film franchise, the LEGO Group was talking to the publisher about releasing builds based on the books.

Blocks has the full story, told in detail for the first time, with the key people who were working on it. Find out how it happened, what the challenges were along the way – and why Warner Bros. employees rushed out of a meeting to make sure that Hogwarts Express really was a red steam train.

Of course there’s a review of the massive new Potter set – 76476 The Ministry of Magic – Collectors’ Edition. Find out if the towering new 3,491 piece build deserves a place on your shelves.

Sometimes books inspire LEGO sets, but LEGO sets inspire books too – when Bionicle debuted the same year as Harry Potter, it introduced a huge amount of lore alongside the Toa action figures so that children could engage in an expansive fictional world. Greg Farshtey spent almost a decade telling that tale and in Issue 144, he reveals what it was like to craft Bionicle lore, work on LEGO Club magazine and dabble in Hero Factory books.

Boone Langston is a LEGO creative like no other – when he became a star contestant on LEGO Masters, it was no surprise to anyone who had watched his energetic videos for Beyond the Brick back in the day. He has been involved in amazing experiences as a fan, including the original AFOL Designer Program, and is now working in Billund creating Star Wars sets. In an extensive conversation, he tells the full story of going from passionate fan to professional designer.

There’s a whole range of hands-on build projects to try this month – you can build a mini version of 11383 Mayor Manor ready for Halloween, construct a tree using barrel elements or experiment with a SNOT sausage technique. If you prefer to merely admire impressive models rather than put them together yourself, then you can marvel at an absolutely show-stopping Halo collaborative build.

That’s just a taste though – the 116-page magazine also includes an interview with new LEGO House Master Builder Justin Ramsden, check out imaginative medieval fantasy MOCs, count down the spookiest 10 LEGO ghouls and much more.

When you visit LEGO House, be sure to check out Character Creator. You can put your own unique minifigure together and then make them a Blocks magazine cover star! Share your image with the hashtag #blocksinlegohouse and tag @blocksmagazine too.

Blocks is giving away 43031 Olivia Rodrigo’s Dual Guitar! To be entered into the prize draw and to get Blocks magazine delivered every month – ahead of the shops – visit blocksmag.com and check out the money-saving subscription deals available.

For entry into the prize draw, you must have an active Blocks subscription at 5.00pm UK time November 6, 2026 (existing subscribers will automatically be entered into the prize draw).

Free bonus items promotion ends October 9, 2026, or while stock lasts.

Mark Newbold
Mark Newbold
Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in '81 and has been a presence online since webpage Fanta War in 1996. He is the EiC and Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and currently contributes to ILM.com, SkywalkerSound.com, Star Wars – Das Offizielle Magazin, Journal of the Whills and Starburst Magazine, having previously contributed to magazines Star Wars Insider, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia, Model and Collectors Mart, partworks Build Darth Vader, Star Wars Encyclopedia, and Build The Millennium Falcon, and websites Jedi.net, Jedi News, StarWars.com, Lightsabre.co.uk, and Wirezone. He is the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since it began in 2015 (hosting it four times), and is the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

The 144th edition of Blocks magazine lands in UK stores on 2nd October 2026 and as always it’s packed with the latest news, reviews and interviews. This month you’ll find articles celebrating 25 years of Harry Potter LEGO, a deep dive into writing Bionicle books and if you subscribe in print before 9th October, you’ll get a FREE 2026 Blocks brick AND FREE Christmas cards. Don’t forget, a one-year print subscription in the UK is just £64.90, for a saving of £52.10, and if you subscribe before 6th November, then you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win 43031 Olivia Rodrigo’s Dual Guitar!

Blocks, the monthly magazine for LEGO fans, is going back to the beginning of LEGO Harry Potter to mark 25 years since the theme brought the Wizarding World to the brick. This edition also includes an extensive profile interview with professional designer and Brickmaster Boone Langston, plus a deep dive into writing Bionicle books with author Greg Farshtey.

Issue 144 is available to order worldwide as part of a subscription or as a single issue at blocksmag.com and will be in UK stores from October 2.

Blocks subscriptions are great value! Every month you get a new 116-page magazine at a much better price than buying a single issue. If you subscribe in print before October 9, you’ll get a FREE 2026 Blocks brick AND FREE Christmas cards.

If you take out a two-year print subscription, we’ll also throw in a copy of 100 Incredible LEGO Builds, a special one-off edition packed with inspiration for your next build.

Every month there’s a prize to win for subscribers – and Blocks is giving away 43031 Olivia Rodrigo’s Dual Guitar! To be in with a chance of winning, take out a subscription before November 6, 2026.

It’s 25 years since the first Harry Potter sets debuted and a fan-favourite theme was born. For the LEGO creatives though, it started even earlier than that – before it was going to be a film franchise, the LEGO Group was talking to the publisher about releasing builds based on the books.

Blocks has the full story, told in detail for the first time, with the key people who were working on it. Find out how it happened, what the challenges were along the way – and why Warner Bros. employees rushed out of a meeting to make sure that Hogwarts Express really was a red steam train.

Of course there’s a review of the massive new Potter set – 76476 The Ministry of Magic – Collectors’ Edition. Find out if the towering new 3,491 piece build deserves a place on your shelves.

Sometimes books inspire LEGO sets, but LEGO sets inspire books too – when Bionicle debuted the same year as Harry Potter, it introduced a huge amount of lore alongside the Toa action figures so that children could engage in an expansive fictional world. Greg Farshtey spent almost a decade telling that tale and in Issue 144, he reveals what it was like to craft Bionicle lore, work on LEGO Club magazine and dabble in Hero Factory books.

Boone Langston is a LEGO creative like no other – when he became a star contestant on LEGO Masters, it was no surprise to anyone who had watched his energetic videos for Beyond the Brick back in the day. He has been involved in amazing experiences as a fan, including the original AFOL Designer Program, and is now working in Billund creating Star Wars sets. In an extensive conversation, he tells the full story of going from passionate fan to professional designer.

There’s a whole range of hands-on build projects to try this month – you can build a mini version of 11383 Mayor Manor ready for Halloween, construct a tree using barrel elements or experiment with a SNOT sausage technique. If you prefer to merely admire impressive models rather than put them together yourself, then you can marvel at an absolutely show-stopping Halo collaborative build.

That’s just a taste though – the 116-page magazine also includes an interview with new LEGO House Master Builder Justin Ramsden, check out imaginative medieval fantasy MOCs, count down the spookiest 10 LEGO ghouls and much more.

When you visit LEGO House, be sure to check out Character Creator. You can put your own unique minifigure together and then make them a Blocks magazine cover star! Share your image with the hashtag #blocksinlegohouse and tag @blocksmagazine too.

Blocks is giving away 43031 Olivia Rodrigo’s Dual Guitar! To be entered into the prize draw and to get Blocks magazine delivered every month – ahead of the shops – visit blocksmag.com and check out the money-saving subscription deals available.

For entry into the prize draw, you must have an active Blocks subscription at 5.00pm UK time November 6, 2026 (existing subscribers will automatically be entered into the prize draw).

Free bonus items promotion ends October 9, 2026, or while stock lasts.

Mark Newbold
Mark Newbold
Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in '81 and has been a presence online since webpage Fanta War in 1996. He is the EiC and Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and currently contributes to ILM.com, SkywalkerSound.com, Star Wars – Das Offizielle Magazin, Journal of the Whills and Starburst Magazine, having previously contributed to magazines Star Wars Insider, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia, Model and Collectors Mart, partworks Build Darth Vader, Star Wars Encyclopedia, and Build The Millennium Falcon, and websites Jedi.net, Jedi News, StarWars.com, Lightsabre.co.uk, and Wirezone. He is the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since it began in 2015 (hosting it four times), and is the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.
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