Harry Potter Advent Calendar - Day 5

Printed pieces are always great in these calendars. Though could include more than just a tiny cake :(

@PurpleDave said:
" @Hybryda:
They did include more than just a cake! You also get a box. And a typo."

but Imagine, this year there are round 60 pieces less tkan last year... they could add more to each day, dunno what but more

This year is the smallest one of the three sets and it makes me a bit sad :<

@Hybryda:
That was intended to be a humorous response, but, sure, we can discuss it in a serious manner. There’s been some discussing recently that prices aren’t strictly based on piece-count, but more on what people will pay. I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know that price-points are established before many sets are designed. Advent Calendars are a great example of this, as licensed ones consistently retail at $39.99 US, while the other two are always $29.99. Inevitably, one will always be called out for having a really low piece count, and one (sometimes the same) will be called out for having really weak design.

I personally felt the 2019 HPAC had the best value (so much so that I went out and bought a copy in the middle of December and built three models a day from the 17th through 24th), in spite of four days being house pennants. The next year it was even better. One of the big appeals of the HPAC is the inclusion of so many rare and exclusive minifigs. The box only shows five minifigs, but it seems that tradition will continue for 2021. People have already commented that the Harry Potter minifig is based on one that’s exclusive to the very expensive Diagon Alley set. On the box, I see two more characters who have had one appearance each, and they got new outfits this time. I did just peek ahead, and the rest of the minifigs are common characters, but they are at least unique variants. For uniformed students, while probably not as appreciated as actually expanding the student roster, it does at least present an opportunity to figbash your own students (albeit mostly Gryffindor) and have them actually look like they have individual styles of dress.

When I buy one of these, I either get it for the set or the parts (often one copy for each). I also cheat the value where possible. These are the only sets that I will pointedly seek out reduced prices for. This year, my dad was able to snag a couple for me at Costco for $29.99, and I was able to get a couple more at Walmart for $31.99, which is almost one free calendar. I regularly see EU AFOLs saying they do this for regular sets, which negates any perceived value bump they’d be able to get by doing on select sets like me. When will buy it for the sets, they go back in the trays for storage, so piece count isn’t generally something I pay attention to. When I buy them for parts, I find that many of them contain rare parts. 2019 HPAC was a phenomenal source of parts (and this is coming from someone who regularly scratches his head when reading similar comments about other sets). The mini chessboard in particular had several trophy figs in new colors, plus a pile of 1x1 plates. I ended up buying ten extra copies on clearance just to get the trees, sold off all but one extra set of minifigs (excluding the gold Hogwarts Architect) for about half what I’d paid for the whole lot, and have started dipping into the pile of extra parts I got out of the deal. I felt 2020 was designed better, but ultimately decided to just get two copies at first (and apparently bought a third that I still haven’t opened). I don’t yet know how I’ll feel about 2021 HPAC, but I did get a second copy for parts, just in case.

My guess is kids will get a lot more value out of this than AFOLs, partly because they may have missed out on one or two of the characters previously, and partly because they’re far more likely to play the board game that was developed for this year’s HPAC. That game, in turn, may have contributed to the lower piece count, both because they had to factor in paying someone to come up with the game and play test it, and because it may have informed some of the contents, resulting in days like the Privet Drive sign.

@PurpleDave said:
" @Hybryda:
They did include more than just a cake! You also get a box. And a typo."

Not sure if you know it but just in case someone doesn't: it's not an accidental typo. "Happee Birthdae" is how Hagrid wrote it on the cake in the film, which is what LEGO is allowed to adapt into sets.

@djcbs:
Yup, I’m aware. As far as I know, the only thing that made it into the sets but never appeared in the films is Peeves. He was cast, and filmed, and ultimately left on the cutting room floor, never to be brought back for any sequels. But because he had been planned for the first film, they were allowed to include him in the first wave of sets. And because he got cut, he never made it into a second set.

@PurpleDave said:
"But because he had been planned for the first film, they were allowed to include him in the first wave of sets. And because he got cut, he never made it into a second set."

I never heard the license was solely based on the WB films. I reckon it's not because of only film content being allowed, but simply a priority to cover the films over the books because more people have seen the films. I think they still could (and should!) offer more content from outside of the films, it still credits JKR on the boxes, as well as WB.

@Norikins:
Rowling owns the IP, but the licensing deal was signed with WB. If they wanted access to content from the books that didn’t make it into the films, they would have needed to license the books from Rowling.

For DC, SW, and Marvel, the studios that make the films are mostly in-house, so getting a license generally involves bundling print in with films, or films in with print. In a few cases where Marvel film rights are held by other companies, they probably have to sign a side contract for those films, or have a clause addressing it in the primary contract.

For LotR, I’ve seen action figure lines that were licensed from both the Tolkien estate (for the books) and WB/New Line (for the Peter Jackson films). The LEGO sets were based on the movies, so again had to skip anything that didn’t make the cut (like Tom Bombadil).

I like what this calendar is doing this year. Going through the first book storyline with various small representations. Great idea!

@Devineone:
The issue is, the first HPAC, from 2019, was also based on the first movie*. 2020 was based on the fourth. Some of us expected the Slug Club party to show up this year, because some of the movies don’t feature Christmas scenes at all. 2021 looks like it will focus more on Harry’s journey to get to Hogwarts, which isn’t Christmasy at all, and continues their long tradition of largely ignoring the back half of the movie series to whatever extent they can.

*specifically, it featured Harry and Ron in their Christmas sweaters, Hermione right before she shipped home for the holidays, and the last big group meal at the end of the semester.

@PurpleDave They also made the secret passage beneath the one-eyed witch in 4751, which might have been a deleted scene, but could be a straight up book reference. Also Harry has a flute, and Hermione has a blue flame in 4706, which are book references too.