The Wizarding World is filled with many forms of magic. One such spell is Expecto Patronum, a defensive charm which cast a protective projection. This difficult spell is taught to a young Harry Potter by Professor Lupin to protect against attacks by Dementors. The most common form of a Patronus conjures an animal-like projection. These have previously been featured in LEGO Harry Potter as transparent blue animal elements. This set transforms a Harry’s Patronus into a large-scale buildable display model which can be rebuilt into Remus Lupin’s Patronus. Here’s a closer look at the recently released Expecto Patronum set.
Product Details
Set Name: Expecto Patronum | Set Number: 76414 | Pieces: 754 | Theme: Harry Potter
RRP: £62.99/$69.99/69.99€ | Number of Bags: Bags x 8 | Instructions: Paper booklets x 2 + Builder App | Stickers: N/A | Minifigures: Harry Potter & Professor Remus Lupin
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail
The set has the ability to be built into two different creations, but the lead model is inspired by Harry’s Patronus, a stag. You begin by creating a display stand, this is largely constructed from black elements but does have a few transparent and pale blue elements to help tie it into the rest of the build. The stand section features a scroll-like plate, featuring the set’s name. This is a printed plate.
The creature part of the build is mostly built from pale blue elements. Although Patronus are transparent projections, creating the entire build from transparent pieces wouldn’t be as effective as a mix of pieces. That being said, the set does include a fair few transparent elements, with many of them quite rare or appearing in decent quantities. The legs are all mounted on moveable joints, but they aren’t strong enough to hold the weight of the stag if not mounted on the stand.
Although the lead model is Harry’s stag, there is the option to rebuild it into Professor Lupin’s Patronus, which is a wolf. When building the stag, you go through the build step-by-step using the numbered bags. When creating the wolf, you’ll need to have all elements spread out. Also, when building sets, you often get extra pieces, this also happens with this set, however, a couple if transparent blue cheese slopes which are left over when building the stag are required when building the wolf. You’ll also have a fair few elements left over after building the wolf.
As with most of the other Wizarding World displayable sets, Expecto Patronum also features some minifigures. Both the Harry and Remus minifigures are exclusive to this set, this is due to both characters having unique torsos. Their heads have been used in other sets.
The set also features a new style wand element. This is similar to the standard wand element but features an extra connection point at one end, so it can be held differently by a minifigure. The opposite end features a clear piece fixed to the wand. This is similar in shape to a flower bud stud and allows different elements to be fixed to the wand, in the case of this set it’s a simple transparent blue 2×2 curved disc.
Overall
The Harry Potter sets continue to offer unique builds and sets ripe for display. The appearance of a Patronus is a special moment in the Harry Potter films. Although several characters conjure their respective magical creatures across the films, Harry’s stag is the most iconic. The fact Harry is taught the skill by Lupin also makes the inclusion of his wolf quite befitting. I prefer the look of the stag over the wolf, but I quite enjoyed building the wolf a little more than the stag. Maybe it was the old-school sense of having a load of elements to search through. However, if the set was any bigger, this approach wouldn’t be as enjoyable.
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This set was provided to BricksFanz.com by the LEGO Group for review purposes. The thoughts within this review are that of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group or Warner Discovery. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set. Featuring Harry Potter sets, are not an indication of support for the series’ author or their views.
