Harry Potter Advent Calendar - Day 4
Posted by CapnRex101,
Three magical schools take part in the decennial Triwizard Tournament and the second and third days have yielded items representing Hogwarts and the Durmstrang Institute.
I am therefore anticipating something from the third participant, Beauxbatons, today...
As expected, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic has arrived today in their elegant carriage. This vehicle is pulled by twelve winged Abraxans onscreen, although the model only offers room for one. Nevertheless, the carriage looks excellent in my opinion, incorporating appropriate colours which correspond with the larger 75958 Beauxbatons' Carriage: Arrival at Hogwarts.
The golden highlights appear effective and I love the enormous wheels which are formed using 2x2 dishes. Moreover, the Abraxan is certainly recognisable and includes angled wings, despite only consisting of five pieces. It is perhaps unfortunate that the wheels cannot roll but I think that would have been difficult to achieve at such a small scale, without affecting the shape.
Overall - 4.0 - Much like the Durmstrang ship from yesterday, this stylish model is immediately recognisable and features appealing detail.
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18 comments on this article
I've loved these microbuilds, they're going to make brilliant little easter eggs to hide in the Astronomy Tower build.
We've saying, we just see minature ships and chariots floating around as part of Yule Ball decorations.
That's a swan.
I built it with the piece representing the front of the Abraxan inserted by its middle; that way you can at least simulate the front "legs" of the animal. It look better than the way you assembled it, which does look like a swan.
I'm lucky, I got two bags of it.
@jnscoelho said:
"I built it with the piece representing the front of the Abraxan inserted by its middle; that way you can at least simulate the front "legs" of the animal. It look better than the way you assembled it, which does look like a swan."
That is certainly an option and I did consider it when looking at the instructions this morning. However, the Abraxan is displayed in this configuration in official images so I thought it best to assemble the 'official' design.
I think the Roof Tile 1X2 45° W 1/3 Plate on the front should be on the medium of height.
Good enough I suppose, even to the layman it looks like a chariot of sorts. Do wonder why they included a microbuild for the third day in a row, whereas the 2019 calendar had some decorations on day 3 already.
@CapnRex101:
I had a hard time trying to figure this out myself. In favor of building it the way you've shown is that it does appear that way in promotional images, and the carriage doesn't unbalance itself if you do. But there are more reasons to build it with the slipper slope attached at the center. Shifting it lower does make it look less like a swan and more like a pegasoid, in the single instructions image it very much looks like the arrow connects the pin on the slipper slope to the hollow stud on the Kunce brick, and the geometry works out such that the forelegs actually rest on the table surface.
It's not unheard of for promotional images to show a build that's inconsistent with the way it's shown in the instructions, but this one gets particularly messy as the "instructions" consist of a single image where the part is not actually attached, and the outside of the box doesn't include a single image of the model. You'd pretty much need the person who designed it to chime in to get an official answer.
This is one of the best microbuilds they did.
@BrickBob09 said:
"That's a swan."
It's just the one swan actually
I like this mini build, but it's my least favorite of the three. I don't love the exposed studs on the side. I was hoping for some decorations today instead of the third mini build in a row, since I thought they would be spread out a little more.
I used the extra gold stud from yesterday on the roof of the carriage, and it looks great, even more like 75958!
@Gustoffr2d2 said:
"I used the extra gold stud from yesterday on the roof of the carriage, and it looks great, even more like 75958!"
Me too
@GoldenNinja3000:
Windows. Unless you're talking about the swan-horse, in which case I've got nothing...
Oh wow given that these advent builds often tend towards being simplistic and blocky, this one is fairly intricate and impressive
@jnscoelho said:
"I built it with the piece representing the front of the Abraxan inserted by its middle; that way you can at least simulate the front "legs" of the animal. It look better than the way you assembled it, which does look like a swan."
Very true! I was going to post a comment saying it looked like a swan until I saw yours.
The last two days of this calendar have been really nice. For me this is what I love most about the Advent calendars, the fun and cleverly built micro models.
I tougth the day before when i got the Durmstrag ship that the next one up is the wagon and abraxes. Likes it.
On the note. Should not the frontpage text be non spoilers?
It comes out and say what the next was (but then maybe no seceret after the ship previus day if you know your HP)