Harry Potter Advent Calendar - Day 2
Posted by CapnRex101,
Harry Potter definitely seemed prepared for the magical Yule Ball yesterday and I am hoping for another marvellous item from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire today.
Alohomora...
A miniature rendition of the Hogwarts Express emerged on day two of 75964 Harry Potter Advent Calendar and another tiny model arrives today, depicting the most famous section of Hogwarts! The enormous Marble Staircase Tower seems reasonably accurate beside the Great Hall and I love the 1x2 tooth plate which creates the impression of arched windows outside the Great Hall.
However, the neighbouring building appears rather generic. This was presumably inspired by the Viaduct Entrance which is located near the Great Hall onscreen and features two conical towers which flank the doorway. However, the tiny scale has enabled the inclusion of extremely limited detail. I would rather this item had been separated into two sections and enlarged as it may then have appeared more faithful to the source material.
Overall - 3.5 - This model is certainly recognisable and includes some pleasing details, although there is considerable potential for improvement in my opinion.
71 likes
13 comments on this article
I thought the teeth were supposed to represent buttresses. (does the hogwarts castle even have buttresses?)
Separated into two sections? Do not try to turn nanoscale Hogwarts into the house banners of this year's calendar! ;)
Strength: some useful parts. It looks decent for that scale
Weakness: You really cannot use this to help set the scene of the Yule Ball itself.
A miniature rendition of the Hogwarts Express emerged on day two of 75964 Harry Potter Advent Calendar and another tiny model arrives today, depicting the most famous section of Hogwarts ... this is link to old Calendar
@Andysta:
Last year also had an even tinier Hogwarts Castle, with the Architect statue on Day 21. But I agree that this could be a running tradition for the HPAC. Harry on Day 1, Ron and Hermione later on (possibly always in that order). And a key component of the Harry Potter story on Day 2. Future calendars could include the Burrow, iconic Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade buildings, the Ford Anglia, or the Knight Bus in this position, depending on how long they run with this.
I think it's based on 75954 and 75953 rather than the movie.
@MisterBrickster:
That would have made more sense if they'd left the 1x1 round plate off of the tower on the far right.
And the movie Hogwarts gets very messy. The iconic silhouette you see during the rowboat scene was a matte painting. The artist wasn't happy with it, so he completely redesigned it for the second film. The first film couldn't afford to build sets, either, so they did a ton of location shoots, which is why the structures seen in all of the exterior shots look like they're part of different buildings. They actually are, as they found a lot of buildings that would work for one specific scene, but none that were suitable for the entire film.
Then the director of the first two films decided that he needed to step back into the producer role, and each new director came up with their own spin on the castle, adding components as they became necessary to the plot, or even shifting stuff around (the Whomping Willow was in a courtyard when the car crashed into it, but far outside the castle when it was thwapping birds out of the air in Goblet of Fire).
The microscale Hogwarts set, as determined by a fellow member of my LUG who built a minifig-scale version of the same design, turns out to be based on the castle at the Harry Potter theme park in Florida (easily proven from satellite views). And for all that people have argued about how such-and-such MOC or set is more accurate than another one, all of this is fitting considering it's established canon that the interior of the castle shifts around constantly. So the question is, why wouldn't the exterior as well?
I think the tooth element represents the pointy things that run along the base of the roof. They might have windows on them, but I always thought of them more as spires
Brilliant rendition of the castle, if a little basic.
@PurpleDave said:
" @MisterBrickster:
That would have made more sense if they'd left the 1x1 round plate off of the tower on the far right.
And the movie Hogwarts gets very messy. The iconic silhouette you see during the rowboat scene was a matte painting. The artist wasn't happy with it, so he completely redesigned it for the second film. The first film couldn't afford to build sets, either, so they did a ton of location shoots, which is why the structures seen in all of the exterior shots look like they're part of different buildings. They actually are, as they found a lot of buildings that would work for one specific scene, but none that were suitable for the entire film.
Then the director of the first two films decided that he needed to step back into the producer role, and each new director came up with their own spin on the castle, adding components as they became necessary to the plot, or even shifting stuff around (the Whomping Willow was in a courtyard when the car crashed into it, but far outside the castle when it was thwapping birds out of the air in Goblet of Fire).
The microscale Hogwarts set, as determined by a fellow member of my LUG who built a minifig-scale version of the same design, turns out to be based on the castle at the Harry Potter theme park in Florida (easily proven from satellite views). And for all that people have argued about how such-and-such MOC or set is more accurate than another one, all of this is fitting considering it's established canon that the interior of the castle shifts around constantly. So the question is, why wouldn't the exterior as well?"
Or it's a movie.
I don't think I've ever seen a 2x6 plate in an advent calendar before! Is this a first?
@vjl:
It's rare, but not unheard of. There are 27 models that included a single 2x6 plate over the years. There are also two mini-models that included _two_ 2x6 plates. Additionally, there are two AC models that include a single 4x6 plate, and one that even uses a single 6x6 plate. None have used a 2x8, 4x8, or 6x8 plate, nor a 2x6 brick. I think 2x6 is really pushing it for an AC model, but 4x6 and 6x6 are big enough that they only use them if there's no other way to construct the model. Of those three builds, the 4x6 plates were used to form a weird canopy bed and a rail handcar. The 6x6 was used to make a three-sided pen for a ball. All three basically needed one large plate because it didn't include a lot of support. The two models that used a pair of 2x6 plates were each tables. One looks like it was pretty stable, having 6x 1x4 plates laid across the top like 2-ply plywood. The other laid the 2x6 plates on top of a 2x4 brick, so any pressure on the long edges of the table would just pop them loose.
I find some of the buiilds in these Advent Calendar's amusing but after the sesason passes, what do you do with these miniature builds that doesn't fit with anything? Parts bin I guess?