Review: 76385 Hogwarts Moment: Charms Class
Posted by CapnRex101,76385 Hogwarts Moment: Charms Class offers an updated Professor Flitwick minifigure which takes inspiration from the character during the earlier Harry Potter movies. The classroom has drawn attention too, focusing upon something overlooked in previous sets.
This design demonstrates impressive attention to the onscreen Charms classroom, which memorably appears during Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Copious details from the movie are included, although the Cho Chang and Harry Potter minifigures appear comparatively bland beside those available elsewhere.
Minifigures
Several minifigures depicting Professor Flitwick are available, taking inspiration from his appearance during later Harry Potter films. This minifigure is instead inspired by the character during Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone and therefore features an enormous white beard! This intricate element was originally created for Dwalin from The Hobbit range and has not been produced since 2014.
The beard appears unusually bushy when compared with the onscreen character, although its extension around the sides of Flitwick's head is authentic. Moreover, I love the olive green and metallic gold waistcoat that corresponds precisely with the professor's attire during the Charms lesson where he is introduced. However, I believe a short cape might have been beneficial to represent his gown.
Removing the beard element reveals extensive detail underneath, including various wrinkles and additional facial hair. In some respects, this design seems more accurate than the larger beard component but that was required to convey appropriate volume. Unlike other Hogwarts Moment sets, this book lacks an exclusive printed tile but does feature suitable instructions for performing the levitation charm.
Professor Flitwick heads Ravenclaw house and a prominent Ravenclaw student is therefore included. Cho Chang has appeared fairly frequently during recent years, always featuring the same flesh skin tone which appears strange for this character. Additionally, her short legs seem incongruous because Cho was not introduced onscreen until the fourth film. However, I like the Ravenclaw uniform which is only available here.
Harry Potter sports the same uniform, albeit featuring Gryffindor colours on the crest, tie and above the hem. The same component appears in two other Hogwarts Moment sets but looks splendid and I like the tousled hair component as well. Of course, Harry is extremely common throughout the theme and another character would perhaps have been preferable, although he needed to appear somewhere between these four sets.
As usual, Harry carries his standard dark brown wand but Cho is not displayed with her wand within the instruction manual. Of course, you can simply equip her with the spare dark brown wand to match her accessory from other sets. Further accessories are provided, including a teacup and a cookie, presumably to assist when practising Wingardium Leviosa.
The Completed Model
Comparatively muted colours appear throughout the Hogwarts Moment selection. Vibrant blue and bronze are traditionally identified with Ravenclaw but I think sand blue appears impressive here. Additionally, this shade looks good in combination with the flame yellowish orange corner protectors and complementary stripes across the spine, corresponding with the other books.
The cover features a metallic gold Hogwarts crest with the school's Latin motto, sagely advising students never to tickle a sleeping dragon! The crest is surrounded by symbols associated with Charms. These designs appear unusually generic, although the feather is certainly appropriate. The golden patterns look marvellous as well, matching the shapes of LEGO tiles.
The wand and feather symbols appear again on the spine, albeit represented by stickers here. The back cover lacks printed decoration but does incorporate several dark tan elements which are required to unite this book with others, either when open or closed. The dark tan 1x1 round tiles with vertical shafts visible here have only previously appeared in 10276 Colosseum.
Unlike other Hogwarts Moment sets, this book is divided almost symmetrically and I think the available space has been exploited efficiently. The upturned workbenches appear particularly unusual and the panel across the top splits in half, uniquely. The resultant structure feels less secure than others within this range, although not to the significant detriment of the model.
Reconfiguring the classroom creates an impressive display, featuring numerous bookshelves and benches for the students which reflect the onscreen location. 76382 Hogwarts Moment: Transfiguration Class includes folding walls which wrap around the central furnishings and a similar arrangement exists here, featuring a doorway and a perfect fireplace on this occasion.
The workbenches include a pleasing combination of reddish brown and dark tan elements, recreating their dark colour during Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Unfortunately, minifigures with short legs cannot actually use the accompanying seats but they look nice. I prefer these designs to the desk from 76382 Hogwarts Moment: Transfiguration Class.
Other furnishings include an opening display cabinet that contains a pearl silver goblet and a key and a chest which stores two white feathers. Furthermore, I love the stacked books at the centre of the room, corresponding with the stacked books which Professor Flitwick stands atop during the film. Exposed studs are included to accommodate the professor.
Stickers appear throughout the Hogwarts Moment collection and are sometimes employed to good effect. However, these simple bookshelves did not require stickers in my opinion. The neighbouring archway is designed to fold across the bookshelves and brick-built books could easily have been included, without compromising the folding function. Stickers rarely bother me but these examples are disappointing.
The blackboard and fireplace, on the other hand, each make appropriate use of stickers to represent details that might otherwise have been omitted. They compare favourably with the original classroom and I am glad to see the Wingardium Leviosa diagram again, matching the aforementioned printed tile. Moreover, the dark blue and silver Ravenclaw banner is provided beside a window with an accurate diamond lattice.
Wood panelling surrounds the Charms classroom and the designer has neatly replicated that feature using stickers. These two stickers display numerous spells from throughout the Harry Potter series, including many which are surprisingly obscure! For example, the Verdimillious charm which appears on the top row originates from the Harry Potter video games and emits green sparks from a wand. Others were introduced during the LEGO Harry Potter games and several are only mentioned in the books.
These models can easily be displayed together when closed, closely resembling real books. Alternatively, you could open each book and retain their connected covers, as demonstrated below. The resulting shape is unusual but might look appealing when displayed to be viewed from every side. These also look reasonable when positioned separately but alternatives are always welcome.
Overall
76385 Hogwarts Moment: Charms Class captures fantastic detail from the original classroom and manages to accommodate substantial furniture, despite the limited space available when this book is closed. I like Professor Flitwick's perch atop the stacked books and the spells that decorate the walls are excellent, demonstrating remarkable attention to Harry Potter lore.
The new Professor Flitwick minifigure is also appealing, although Harry Potter and Cho Chang seem less interesting. Taking that into consideration, I think this set is overshadowed by others from the Hogwarts Moment range so I would recommend 76384 Hogwarts Moment: Herbology Class above this example, unless you particularly identify with Ravenclaw house!
This set was provided for review by The LEGO Group but the review represents an expression of my own opinions.
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22 comments on this article
Thank you for your reviews. Getting all 4 sets. Do we think they will sell out on the first day?
This is cool.
@elisewong18 said:
"Thank you for your reviews. Getting all 4 sets. Do we think they will sell out on the first day?"
Temporarily as there will be those that 'have to have them' while many will wait for them to be released and eventually discounted and then purchase them. Neat books, but man... the stickers... ugh. I just think LEGO missed an opportunity to put in lesser known characters into these than who they have put into all of these book sets.
I feel like there wasn't quite enough substance with this concept to justify 4 sets and this one got the short end of the stick.
Not sure what the point of including the benches is when the characters can’t use them. Seems like those parts could have been used to better effect in some other way.
I think Cho ran into a weird problem with these wands, which is that the sprue was designed to give you two, in part, to bulk up the size of the element so it wouldn't get lost before you even built the set, but also so you have a spare in case it goes missing later on. However, in cases where they give you two characters who use the same color wand, they don't just give you a second sprue. They just make you put the second want to use right away.
Cho's CMF came with a Reddish-Brown wand, but she got a Dark-Brown one like Harry in the new HPAC, and all four of the characters in the Hogwarts Student blister pack had to share the Dark-Brown wands from two sprues. If either of them loses their wand, they'll just have to ask Professor Flitwick if they can borrow his spare, or learn to cast spells with a metal key. Or dig into that box of spares that everyone is rapidly accumulating.
@elisewong18:
Doubtful. LEGO Stores might, but they should have sufficient stock on LEGO.com to last through to the next shipment, and they will probably be available through other retailers before their official street date, which will help temper demand.
@madforLEGO:
They're regressing to their "have to put Harry in _EVERY_ set" mentality, for sure. But as someone who has watched the movies but never read the books, we learn the names of several Gryffindor students, a handful of Slytherin students, and only a select few Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students. They've pretty much exhausted the list of students from those Houses that I can recall being named on-screen, while tons of Gryffindor students got screen time due to being regularly present with the main trio during scenes taking place in the common room or during meals. Slytherin gets even more problematic because Crabbe got excised from the films following the actor's legal problems, but you can't really put Goyle in a room by himself prior to the final film.
@Snazzy_Bricks:
All four of these represent scenes we actually see in the first film, and they each include the Head of the associated House. The films only ever depicted two of the common rooms, and it sounds like the books only took the story to three. They could base the sets on the LEGO video games' depiction, but this was probably chosen because we've seen all four locations, and they can sneak a Gryffindor into every scene.
@CapnRex101, Any chance of showing an image with all 4 together arranged in the way Lego said we could? Thx
Great review as always Cap'n. As someone with limited space to display my models, I really appreciate these books. I've been contemplating what to do with a small vertical section of space I have by the door. I will construct some shelves and display these in a bookcase. Perfect for storage, attractive on display and perfect for taking down and opening up for play. I think these are excellent for this purpose. Any idea if there are plans to expand this concept to other themes? Star Wars, Avengers, a reboot of the LOTR or Hobbit perchance?
That beard would look really good on Jan Dodonna in 75301.
I know it'd be weird to do a weird without Harry, but wouldn't Seamus make more sense for this particular set? I'd say they should replace Cho but then there'd be no Ravenclaw student in this Ravenclaw-themed set. In any case, I'll probably get this on discount, and the Flitwick Minifigure looks extraordinary.
Speaking of Flitwick, why is he younger in the later ones? I'm aware that they changed directors every few movies but that was probably the strangest alteration made in Prisoner of Azkaban's film adaptation.
I'll get all four, but only once they get heavily discounted. That RRP is just gross.
@Trigger_:
This is the original design for Flitwick, as he appears in the first two films. Rowling said he has a trace of goblin ancestry, but described him as looking like a small human and was shocked at his original appearance. Flitwick wasn't included in the third film script, but one of the producers included a role for an unnamed "Choir Director" specifically so Warwick Davis could still appear in the film, and the third director preferred that look over the original when filming HP4 so he adopted it.
In terms of watching the films in quick succession, it's a bit less jarring than the cast change they were forced to make for Dumbledore. Especially for those of us who haven't read the books, it's a bit easier to just view them as two different characters than you can with a major character who is so central to the story.
I'm not sure what all this means for Davis' minifig count. Lots of people credited him for Griphook when the first goblin minifigs were released, but those minifigs were never identified by name and could have been anyone. There was also confusion over whether his character in the first film actually was Griphook, even though dialogue during the last two films confirms that he was. Only when he finally got a CMF minifig did Davis get a provable Griphook minifig, though. But based on movie credits, you could argue that one of the Flitwick minifigs is the Choir Director character instead.
This really be a hogwarts moment
Interesting packaging. For me Harry Potter has been done to death.
This set has most usefull stickers!
Ah. The classic "if you aren't european you can't possibly be Light Nougat" (talking about Cho). Somebody at LEGO should really take this issue to mind.
I am middle eastern and as pale as snow; I usually get offended when toys, video games and media think I should be dark skinned by default (that doesn't -really- bother me all that much, but still).
Seriously, region of origin should not be the the determining factor for a minifigure's skin color...
Will definitely buy them, but only on sale, because €34,99? Sorry, no.
Ideas for a second wave:
Care of Magical Creatures: Earth Green, gives the feel of the Forbidden Forest when opened rather than an interior space. With Hagrid (or Prof. Grubbly-Plank if they can't include a large specialized figure) and students (perhaps Harry and Draco given their contrasting attitudes to the class) with Monster Books of Monsters. Nifflers or Blast-Ended Skrewts as the magical creatures being studied, both featured in later books and wouldn't require large molds
Defense Against the Dark Arts: Would work with pretty much any teacher other than Moody, who got his classroom in the Clocktower. Of course most people would want Lockhart in an affordable set, it could come with pixies and the book itself could be "Magical Me" in contrast to an actual textbook. Neville and Hermione would be appropriate students given the former's misfortune and the latter's initial infatuation with Lockhart. Second best choice would be Quirrell (glad that auto-correct knows how to spell it!) based on the "Could I borrow wood for a moment?" scene as he could bring us a new iguana.
Divination: Pink cover, Trelawney, Ron, and Bem (not Dean Thomas, the student in the PoA movie who reads from the textbook about the Grim.) Colourful interior with teacups and crystal balls.
Now we've run out of well-known classes. Flying lessons with Hooch could be a possibility, but the model would end up being a basic castle courtyard, and the class could easily be recreated if Hooch turns up with brooms in another Quidditch set. Astronomy with a black cover and stickers with stars on the inside would work well, but was only in the books and we just got the Astronomy Tower. Muggle Studies and Arithmancy didn't even get a class scene in the books or any video game. The best remaining class would be History of Magic with Professor Binns, given being in pretty much every book and that one JRPG-style Philosopher's Stone adaption on the Gameboy Color, which provided the Verdimilious spell mentioned in the article. So...
History of Magic: Prof. Binns, students with sleeping faces, chalkboard and books. Boring brown cover.
I don't mind the stickers used to represent books, they add lots of life, and keep the set within piece number limits.
My question though; Is the large diamond window a sticker or printed? Probably not see-through right?
The 2 bookcase stickers in 2x2x1 panels when put together look like the periodic table, even with Hydrogen marked with a white square.
@HappyLEGOfan said:
"Ah. The classic "if you aren't european you can't possibly be Light Nougat" (talking about Cho). Somebody at LEGO should really take this issue to mind.
I am middle eastern and as pale as snow; I usually get offended when toys, video games and media think I should be dark skinned by default (that doesn't -really- bother me all that much, but still).
Seriously, region of origin should not be the the determining factor for a minifigure's skin color..."
When I was comparing movie stills to determine colors of HP figures attires I noticed that in most shots Cho actually is noticeably darker than Harry.
I came to accept the medium nougat for Cho even though they might as well have used light nougat but it really isn't as weird as I thought during the CMFs first release. I have a larger problem with the Patil twins since they are far darker than Cho and even without comparison of skin tones within the movie they should clearly be dark nougat, yet are the same as Cho.
But you can't really do anything against Legos stubbornness. Lando is still reddish brown yet his actor was made in dark nougat for the Lego Batman Movie. That they can make useless changes to costume details every year but not the skin tones is really stupid.
@Anonym:
Yeah, I did suggest that the Patil twins should have been Medium Nougat (even though I don't know how "medium" ended up being darker than "regular").
Lando vs Gordon is a bad argument, though. Lando is based on a live-action portrayal, and the most accurate color in the current palette is reddish-brown. Commissioner Gordon in TLBM was a minor character compared to Batgirl. Rosario Dawson played Batgirl, which is why Batgirl was depicted with that skin color, and it was probably decided that it made more sense to make Gordon the same color as his daughter just to keep things simple. Ultimately, the decision may have been forced on them by WB and the film's director, Chris McKay. WB owns the characters and had a lot of influence over what The LEGO Company produced in terms of sets (including forcing them to make sparkly capes for Robin and Batgirl, which they did _NOT_ want to do).