We have already had BrickHeadz of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid all at the standard size, but LEGO has decided that we didn’t have enough Harry Potter. So they came out with this new version of Hagrid with the three most famous first years in Hogwarts’ recent history. What might not be clear at first glance is that these kids are not built on the 4×4 main character standard but rather on the smaller 3×3 buddy standard. This helps to maintain the proper scale when they gather around the lovable groundskeeper, Rubeus Hagrid. The set includes 466 pieces and will be available on June 1, 2021. LEGO has not released pricing information at the time of writing this review, but based on previous BrickHeadz sets with multiple characters, I would guess that the set will be around $24.99 US.
The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
The box and contents
The extra-wide box features the entire line-up of Harry (139), Hermione (140), Ron (141), and Hagrid (142), along with the Harry Potter and the Wizarding World branding. The side shows the 4 characters from the first movie, while the back of the box shows the characters in a different line-up, along with photos of each character with their stands.
The set comes with five numbered bags (2 of bag 1), many featuring additional bags for smaller parts, and 4 instruction booklets, one for each character.
The set also includes some printed parts: the gray school uniform collar on a narrower 1×3 brick, some new printed eye tiles for Harry, and a shirt and undercoat brick for Hagrid. The set also comes with a bunch of 1×1 tall bricks with 2 studs on one side and a bunch of tiles in dark nougat.
The build
We’ll start with Harry since it’s his name on the box. One thing we see right away is that brackets are used on one side to attach outstretched arms with the new wand part, while the left arm will be hidden inside their wizard robes. The rest of the build is fairly predictable, consisting of a tall core of outward-facing studs.
Ron and Hermione are much the same structure, with one notable exception. Ron wears pants, while Hermione wears a skirt. (although it would be very easy to make the mistake of building Ron on Hermione’s base, not that I did that, wink). We finish out Harry with his signature tousled hair. There is a neat trick used for both Ron and Hermione using 1×4 plates for both their hair, which attaches to the hollow studs of the core bricks using the small pipes between the anti-studs, something that would not be possible using a larger plate.
Last we get the back of the kids’ robes, which are only held in place by a single stud, so they tend to wobble quite a bit.
Hagrid starts out pretty much as you would expect, with another core of outward-facing studs. At the top of the central core, there are these two corner parts that left me puzzled until I saw the next step, where a bracket and a sloped part give Hagrid his bangs.
Next, we get Hagrid’s long overcoat and sleeves, followed by layers and layers of black shaggy hair. Compared to the 2020 version of Hagrid from 40412: Hagrid and Buckbeak buddy pack, this smoother hair is an improvement. Finally, Hagrid holds his wand, concealed in the handle of his pink umbrella.
The finished model
Once you get over the shift in size for the three heroes, the completed figures are pretty cute, and they look perfect in scale when gathering around Hagrid. I have mixed feelings about the huge glasses for Harry since they give him an almost cartoony look. I can’t stop seeing Dexter’s Laboratory in my head when I look at Harry. Ron and Hermione are very cute. As I have already said, this version of Hagrid is the best so far, looking much more natural than the previous version, which had a very straight top of the head, with no shaggy bangs, looking more like Kubla Kraus (from the Rankin & Bass Jack Frost).
Conclusion and recommendations
In my opinion, this latest batch of characters from the Harry Potter franchise would make a great addition to any BrickHeadz collection; plus, it would be fun to display this smaller version of the main trio from the series alongside their larger (older) versions.
The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
