Harry Potter Advent Calendar - Day 13
Posted by CapnRex101,
Day eleven produced a fireplace which includes two clips. One was occupied yesterday and I am expecting another model that connects with the fireplace today.
Let's open door number thirteen...
Christmas trees are even more prevalent than fireplaces across the selection of LEGO Advent Calendars and this rendition looks absolutely fantastic. I love the white colour scheme which is consistent with Christmas trees which appear during the Yule Ball and the shape is marvellous, employing multiple wedge plates to create authentic texture. The same technique appeared on another Christmas tree in 75964 Harry Potter Advent Calendar.
Moreover, the 2x2 cone element also returns from Christmas trees in the 2019 Advent Calendar. Combining these techniques here is somewhat effective, although the transition between them is rather abrupt. However, the trans-clear and trans-light blue highlights which decorate this tree are wonderful and the golden star is cleverly attached on top, also returning from the last calendar.
Overall - 4.5 - LEGO Christmas trees have improved dramatically during recent years and this design looks excellent, although the wedge plates and cone seem slightly odd together.
53 likes
11 comments on this article
Loved the tree today but this has been overshadowed by noticing the moon in our HP Day idents is waxing... Which is now adding to my advent excitement
So far I think the 2020 Harry Potter advent calendar has been very good. This year I got 75270 the Star Wars advent calendar which has also been pretty good so far. Out of all the advent calendars this year I'm gonna say 75270 Star Wars is the best only because of Darth Vader wearing a christmas sweater.
I believe the trans-clear and trans-blue highlights are supposed to alternate from side to side - at least according to the instructions.
This christmas tree is a real highlight, even though the techniques used to build them every year are somewhat repetetive.
It's a different design for sure, but inferior to the specimen from last year's HP calendar. The combination of the square-ish lower half and rounded top half just doesn't sit right with me. The parts aren't particularly special either.
Very bizarre they didn’t do the third and final section of the wall build. Expecting that segment tomorrow.
Last year had two types of trees, both designed to look more natural (and neither was actually decorated like a Christmas tree). The large tree used 2x4 wedge plates where this has 2x3, and the top of the tree was another Kunce brick that had cheese wedges on all five studs. It was the smaller pair of trees that used a cone as the top, where the bottom was just a Kunce brick surrounded by four cheese wedges.
For this tree, I don't really like the combination of cheese wedges and pyramids (and @Greshi is right about the decorations, where the blue pyramids and clear cheeses should be flipped on the sides). The color scheme definitely works for the scene that's being depicted, but I got a bunch of the previous HPAC to build a forest with the trees, and I don't have any intention of doing that with this one.
City had a similar tree this year, and a few people posted to various sites saying they had difficulty getting the sides to connect. If anyone is having the same problem, you need to put two of the pink 1x1 round plates between the 1x1 bricks w/ studs on 4 sides, and the ornaments should line up with the studs when you attach the sides.
@Jelippo:
I thought the same thing, but they may have wanted to break it up a bit instead of spending three days in a row building a single fireplace. Or more to the point, the fireplace and the panel that followed are very different builds, but a third panel is absolutely going to feel repetitive of one of the previous two.
@Th3_3m3rald_M1n3cart said:
"So far I think the 2020 Harry Potter advent calendar has been very good. This year I got 75270 the Star Wars advent calendar which has also been pretty good so far. Out of all the advent calendars this year I'm gonna say 75270 Star Wars is the best only because of Darth Vader wearing a christmas sweater."
All Callendars are great for this year.
*sigh*
I just realized I mixed up my description of last year's large HPAC tree. I was thinking in terms of the stripped-down version I'll be using to make a forest. I removed the gold 1x1 round plates and replaced the star at the top with the spare dark-green cheese wedge from the small trees that came in the same calendar.
I just wish they would make a decent star for the Yule trees, something like the heart with a bar underneath.
I was surprised we didn't get the second window today, but I do love this tree build. It'll go perfectly with the one in the Clock Tower set, and I really love the all-white color scheme with the trans light blue highlights. It makes them much more interesting than regular green Christmas trees to me!
@LAKAbricks:
What's wrong with this solution? Anyways, on a tree like this, there _is_ a solution like the one you suggest. The cone at the top has a fully hollow stud, so you can actually drop the old minifig wand all the way down to the star. It's an imperfect solution, since the shaft of the wand is too narrow at star end to be gripped by the inside of the stud, and the actual handle will hang below the axle connection on the inside of the cone, but it's as close as you can get to what you're referring to.
Alternately, there are other options. Tree toppers often consist of a star, but angels are the other common choice. You can use a trophy minifig of some sort.
@GoldenNinja3000:
The white trees in this set and the Clock Tower are supposed to represent the decor from the Yule Ball. It works for a stylized fake tree, but I prefer last years trees for an actual nature scene.