Harry Potter Advent Calendar - Day 1
Posted by CapnRex101,
Christmas is described across the Harry Potter book series and appears in several of the films, thus the annual Harry Potter Advent Calendars remain an exciting prospect.
Four equivalent calendars have been released since 2019 though, risking repetition between them. Fortunately, 76404 Harry Potter Advent Calendar seems to offer something new, based upon the front of the box.
Let's open door number one and see...
Opening the Advent Calendar reveals an intriguing scene, located in Dumbledore's office and with the mysterious Pensieve at its centre. Eight symbols adorn the doors, each denoting a film in the Harry Potter series. Matching symbols appear on the display board and relate to a board game played with this Advent Calendar, instructions for which are available on LEGO.com. We will revisit those later in the month.
Each symbol presumably relates to the item behind them and that definitely appears to be the case on day one, as the first door displays a symbol representing The Philosopher's Stone and Ollivander's is found inside. This tiny recreation of the wand emporium looks brilliant, comprising an impressive 33 pieces and perfectly duplicating the shop's distinctive windows.
The drainpipe and sign hanging outside look great too, with the drainpipe also strengthening this model. The tan plates comprising the base appear out of place to me, but are seemingly required for gameplay.
Overall - Ollivander's is instantly recognisable, including surprising detail at this scale!
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25 comments on this article
Simply leave the transparent parts out for that post-Death Eater attack look.
It’s impressive for its scale, but “instantly recognizable “ seems a big stretch
@Legonk said:
"It’s impressive for its scale, but “instantly recognizable “ seems a big stretch "
I didn't know what it was until I saw this post.
I like it. Kinda dark. Good parts.
@Yellowshirt said:
" @Legonk said:
"It’s impressive for its scale, but “instantly recognizable “ seems a big stretch "
I didn't know what it was until I saw this post."
Yeah, when I built it I couldn't really make out what it was supposed to be. I know each symbol represents the movie each set came out of but I genuinely couldn't remember anything from Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone that this was supposed to represent. It's a fine build, lots of detail for such a tiny thing but yeesh, very hard to make out.
That’s what that is? That is riddikulus. It thought it was the Hall of Prophecy within the Dept of Mysteries.
It looked like an ultra double deluxe espresso coffee machine to me as I was building this thing. Not once did the wand shop occur to me.
But now I see it. Good one.
i had no idea what this was. Until I read the article I thought it was the perennial favorite--weapons rack--but for potions.
@LuvsLEGO_Cool_J:
Wrong movie. The color of the base corresponds with one of the eight positions on each side of the playmat. While they aren’t all super obvious, most of the years are easy enough to figure out that the rest should be easy to figure out. That said, I’m not familiar enough with all the movie environs that I would have picked this out as Ollivander’s without firing up the movie and watching it with nose pressed to the screen, and this model clutched in my hand for quick comparison.
@ohrmazd:
For empty potion bottles? Wouldn’t that make it a recycling center?
I liked it, it replicates the elements from the Diagon Alley kit. Nice to have a challenging build
@Yellowshirt said:
" @Legonk said:
"It’s impressive for its scale, but “instantly recognizable “ seems a big stretch "
I didn't know what it was until I saw this post."
I still don't know what it is :-)
It seems I have overestimated how recognisable this design is! I suppose it might not be apparent if you were approaching the set without knowing that several of the models are assembled at microscale, but I think the shape of the windows gives it away once you are in the microscale mindset.
I still think I am going to add this to my Hogwarts display as a twin deluxe double drip coffee maker.
Maybe Snape will get it for the back of his class.
A really weird build to start the calender with IMHO. I at first thought it was the Grimauld Place somehow because of the color and it vaguely looks like two identical buildings. Wasn't Olivanders in warmer colors? Maybe I misremembered...
Bad start to the calendar.
So glad I didn't get this one this year. Pretty ugly, uninspired microbuilds and no prints like pervious year's.
@CapnRex101:
I like the movies, and own two copies of the series, but honestly the only buildings I’d immediately recognize at this scale are Hogwarts Castle, probably the Burrow, and maybe Azkaban Prison (assuming I knew the context, and didn’t just stumble on it).
@CCC:
Having just demonstrated that I am by no means an expert on the architecture of Harry Potter, I’m seeing this as a two-story building. There’s a plate mounted on edge that should be the sign over the door. The large black patch below it would include the door, but might be more than just a door.
@gatorbug6:
I remember that there should be two exclusive printed tiles. I only remember what one of them is, though.
I just built it, and had to read this article to find out what it was supposed to be.
And that's after having watched part one again with my daughter just recently.
Still, could be worse. It's quite a substantial build for an Advent calendar.
@Legonk said:
"It’s impressive for its scale, but “instantly recognizable “ seems a big stretch "
I agree. Had no idea what it was...maybe I think I would recognize it more if it was like brown??? Or maybe...crazy idea THEY LABEL IT XD
Well no worries, I instantly recognized it. They recreated it pretty well at this scale, so I'm impressed.
I think it would have looked better if the light bluish grey bricks were dark tan. From the promotional images I could find it just never looks this ominously colored. Although it sometimes looks a bit dark, dark tan is usually how it would be depicted. Even 75978 Diagon Alley did it like that. And it's not masonry bricks have never appeared in dark tan before. You know, the color they first appeared in...
@Binnekamp: It was depicted in grays in 40289, though.
Same with me. I had absolutely no idea what it was supposed to be until I read this post.
Great review as always Cap! However, where are the scores? I really look forward to the banter between fans and agreeing / disagreeing with you on point (forgive the pun). Please consider including scores out of 5 as you are reviewing multiple Advent calendars, cheers!
The only reason I recognized this is cause it reminded me of the equally-bad representation from the 40289 microscale set. Otherwise I would've thought "sooper-fancy espresso machine" or "something from a chemistry room", and probably landed on "advanced potion-making apparatus". The drain pipe doesn't work at all on this scale and would only made sense if it was something prominently featured in the movies, like a secret escape similar to those "chain-o'-buckets" trash chutes used on construction sites.
And most of all, Diagon Alley buildings *don't have flat roofs*. It really annoys me how Lego just cuts off these buildings above the second floor (instead of just making them a bit lower with sloped roofs), 75978 looks more like the main street of a small American town than Diagon Alley.
If they'd gone with colors and shapes from 10217 rather than 40289 I'm sure more people would've recognized this as Ollivander's.