Review: LEGO Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts minifigure series
The LEGO Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts minifigure series is aboslutely one of my favourite and I really enjoyed in doing this review.
The first Harry Potter series is a combination of two series of minifigures and the official title is: Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts. This combination makes the series the most numerous, so far: 22 minifigures. A huge amount of minifigures, with really great characters and new accessories.
It includes 16 minifigures from the canon Harry Potter saga and 6 minifigures form the spin-off movie: Fantastic Beasts and How to Find Them. Based on the book that Harry Potter and his mates use at school to study the magic beasts.
In my opinion, it is one of the most interesting and let say expensive minifigure series. On one side there is a super rare minifigure (only 1 minifigure over the box of 60), and on the other hand some characters are really double characters. If you want to show both, you have to show 24 minifigures! I will do with 23 in my personal collection. So, if you go further reading, you will discover why.
As for the Minifigure Collection Series 18 and the Minifigure Collection Series 19, I bought all the single packets. For this collection, it was tough to find all of them and I had also to buy some of them on Bricklink.
Box and leaflet
Coming back to some general presentation: the collection was in this fantastic bags, which already revealed some characters.
The leaflet shows all the minifigures. On the front side, there are the 16 minifigures of the Harry Potter saga.
On the opposite side there are the 6 minifigures of the Fantastic Beasts book and instructions on how to assemble some of the minifigures.
As for the other reviews, I have inserted the direct links to the character, so you can jump immediately to the one of your interest. You can also jump directly at the end of my post to read my summary and conclusions.
For each minifigure I have included my personal rating in a scale 1-5 scale. 1: I really don’t like it, 5: I really like it.
Let’s go to the list of the minifigures and I hope you will enjoy my review of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts minifigure series 1.
- Harry Potter in School Uniform
- Hermione Granger in School Uniform
- Ron Weasley in School Uniform
- Draco Malfoy in Quidditch Uniform
- Luna Lovegood
- Cho Chang
- Neville Longbottom
- Dean Thomas
- Lord Voldemort
- Dobby
- Professor Sybil Trelawney
- Cedric Diggory
- Professor Flitwick
- Professor Mad-Eye Moody
- Harry Potter with Invisibility Cloak
- Professor Albus Dumbledore
- Newt Scamander
- Porpentina Goldstein
- Jacob Kowalski
- Queenie Goldstein
- Credence Barebone
- Percival Graves
Harry Potter in School Uniform
As expected, the first minifigure of the series is Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived is the uncontested main character of the J.K. Rowling fantasy saga. Likewise, it is the main character also in the Harry Potter minifigure series.
This minifigure has the school uniform of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: a black robe with dark red interior and the House Gryffindor marks.
Harry is represented as a teenager, probably at the age of the third or forth book. This minifigure has a new medium size leg.
You can see the different leg sizes comparing with other minifigures.
He has only one face and the iconic lightning scarf on the forehead. It is a pity that it is not possible to set the hair in a way that the scarf will be visible, like in other minifigures.
The back side is very accurate with the rear of the robe and the dark red interior of the hood.
The accessories are the 11″ Holly, phoenix feather wand and Hedwig, the faithful Harry’s snowy owl.
I like that minifigure, even if it is quite expected. It is very well done, but no special accessories or paints. I was expecting something more unique for this collection.
However, I think that the real value of this minifigure increases considering it together with Herminone and Ron, where all the three are in the school uniform. You will see them together in Ron’s description.
Minifigure rating: 3/5
Herminone Granger in School Uniform
Then there is the second main character of the saga: Hermione Granger: the “insufferable know-it-all” companion of Harry and Ron. She plays a crucial role in the story and she is absolutely a great character.
Likewise Harry, Hermione has the school uniform. The minifigure has the same medium size leg and the black robe with all the Gryffindor marks. It is nice to see the print on the torso personalised for each minifigure.
The face is intended to match Emma Watson’s appearance and it has a single side. Finally, the back of the minifigure is similar to the one of Harry, no significant extra prints.
Also Hermione comes with some accessories: her personal 10¾” wand and her pet cat Crookshanks.
I like the minifigure, even if Crookshanks has not the same relevance as Hedwig or some unexpected secrets as Scabbers. Hermione is mostly seen with books and scrolls, so maybe a book as accessory would have been more appropriate. However, I admit that it is nice to see the three main characters with their pets.
Minifigure Score: 3/5
Ron Weasley in School Uniform
Last but not least the best friend of Harry Potter: Ron Weasley. With Ron, the trio is complete. The Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts minifigure series indludes the three friends with their pets and the school uniform.
Likewise Harry and Hermione, Ron has his personal torso. The black uniform is partially open and he has no jumper. Of course, the minifgure has the iconic red hair, and the face with Ruppert Grint‘s appearance.
The back side is exactly the same as the others with the robe and the dark red interior.
As accessories, Ron has his wand. Ron changed several wands during the series and in book three he had the 12″, Ash, unicorn tail hair. Moreover, Ron has his pet: Scabbers which was secretly the Animagus Peter Pettigrew. The mouse minifigure has a characteristic mark which personalises Scrabbers.
I think that Ron’s minifigure less accurate compared with the others. However, as mentioned, the trio has a great value considering them together.
Minifigure rating: 3/5
Draco Malfoy in Quidditch Uniform
The number one nemesis of Harry Potter is here: Draco Malfoy.
In this Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts series, it is represented in the green Quidditch uniform of the Slytherin’s house. The minifigure has the painted patches of Slytherin on the front part of the torso and string details. It has also the cape as an accessory which improves significantly the quality of the minifigure.
It has the medium-size legs, which places Draco on its second year at Hogwarts. More or less at the same time as the previous three minifigures.
The rear is quite simple, but the presence of the cape improves the quality.
In the Slytherin team, Draco plays as Seeker, so its accessories fits perfectly: the broomstick and the Golden Snitch.
I found a bit odd the Golden Snitch with Draco, mostly because the books doesn’t report how many times Draco caught the Snitch against Harry. On the other hand, it is funny, to give to Draco the Snitch at least in this contest.
Even if it is not my favourite minifigure of the series, I found it very accurate and detailed. So, for me it deserves a very good rate.
Minifigure rating: 4/5
Luna Lovegood
Luna Lovegood is another mysterious and mystic character of the full Harry Potter saga. She is one year younger than Harry but she shares some feeling with him.
When she joined Hogwarts, the sorting hat sorted Luna into the Ravenclaw House. However, she became very friend with Harry and the trio. I found nice to have some relevant characters coming also from the other houses.
The minifigure comes in the dress she had on the Hogwarts Express at the beginning of the Half Blood Prince movie. This minifigure is a perfect and accurate version of the opening scene of the movie.
The torso has the pink jacket, the legs are purple and in between the shirt with horses, stars and hearts.
What I like the most is the face, it is the first minifigure of the series with a double face. On one side there is a normal face, on the other Luna wears the spectrespecs: the magical googles that makes the wearer look like a “demented, multicoloured owl.” However, they make wrackspurts visible to the wizarding eye, according to Luna.
The spectrspecs go together with the other accessory of the minifugure: the 2×3 printed tile with the front page of the Quibbler: her father’s magazine. If you are fan of Luna you can download the front page from here.
Then, the minifigure has also a purple crossbody bag and her wand.
I like a lot this minifigure, it is really one of my favourite and it add a unique contribution to the collection.
Minifigure rating: 5/5
Neville Longbottom
The shy and introverted friend of Harry: Neville Longbottom. He was always described as a clumsy boy, but it turned out to be another important secondary character in the story and he also fought well in the final Battle of Hogwarts.
The minifigure represents the young Neville at the second year during herbology class while handling the Mandrake root.
The body represents the protective coat during the class with the Gryffindor’s tie under it. Also for Neville, the legs are the medium size.
Furthermore, Neville has several other nice details. First of all the double face: on one side the characteristic face expression of Neville. While on the other, he has closed eye, likewise during the herbology class. Also the headgear is great: dark hair with the brown earmuffs to protect from the cry of the mandrake.
The accessories are great as well: his wand and the mandrake root. The mandrake root is a unique combination of parts, in particular, the root is a brand new part with the green plant stem on top. As in the movie, the mandrake is in a light brown pot.
It is really a nice minifigure this Neville in this Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts minifigure series.
Minifigure rating: 4/5
Cho Chang
It is the time of Cho Chang: one of the most gentle and attractive girl of the entire school. J.K. Rowling describes Cho as attractive that also Harry was in love with her at the very beginning.
She was a Ravenclaw, however she was mentioned several time because she was the girlfriend of Cedric Diggory during the 4th book and she also continued to be considered in the Harry Potter’s group of supporters.
The minifigure represents Cho in her Ravenclaws’ school uniform, with the tie under the jumper. In the movie, Cho wears a skirt and it is here represented with a paper skirt between the torso and the legs.
As accessories, Cho has her wand and her owl. The owl refers to the meeting of Harry and Cho at the aviary in Hogwarts.
It is nice to see in the collection some characters of different houses. But more than that I don’t see further interesting aspects.
Minifigure rating: 2/5
Dean Thomas
Dean Thomas is a minor character of the entire story. I admit that I had to google a bit to find something relative to him. Anyway, he was a student of Hogwarts, of the same year of Harry Potter and also sorted in the Gryffindor house. He was mentioned a few times in the books and he survived the entire saga.
He was a supporter of the Quidditch team, that is why the minifigure comes with the Gryffindor’s flag. The minifigure torso has the Gryffindor uniform with the house colors scarf. The torso is really nice and detailed.
It very well represents the actor: curly dark hair and black skin.
I was a bit surprised about this minifigure of a minor character, however I think that the uniform can be nice to have to be used to create a kind of supporting team of Gryffindor.
Minifigure rating 3/5
Voldemort
It wouldn’t have been a good series without You-Know-Who! Voldemort has become one of the known villains nowadays. The Harry Potter collection series focuses mostly on the good guy, however it is great that there are also some bad guys.
Voldemort is in his dark green robe with a terrifying noseless white head. The minifigure is quite simple and it reflects the movie character. I really appreciate the white13½” yew, phoenix feather core wand. Of course the shape is always the same, but it is a white one.
The other accessory of the minifigure is the snake Horcrux Nagini. It is a new pet and quite unique to this minifigure.
I was a bit surprised about the snake and its size, to display in the minifigure base. It looks like the issue with the mountain biker on the minifigure series 19. However, I am not really impressed by the minifigure of Voldemort. I was really expecting something more from the main villain in this Harry Potter and Fantastic Beast minifigure series.
Minifigure rating: 3/5
Dobby
The next minifigure is the magic house-elf and friend of Harry: Dobby. He became free from the Malfoy house by Harry in the book: The Chamber of Secrets. The minifigure refers exactly to this moment.
The minifigure of Dobby is very nice and accurate. It has its dirty rag with several details on it. The head of the minifigure is rubber made and it represents very well the elf.
The accessories are a clear reference to The Chamber of Secrets. It has the diary of Tom Riddle and inside a 2×1 tile decorated with the Harry Potter’s sock.
Also the front of the TomRiddle’s diary is extremely accurate, and it has the big scratch created when Harry hit it with the Basilisk’s fang.
I find it simply great and well represented. It is a nice combination of simplicity and accuracy in details.
Minifigure rating: 5/5
Professor Sybil Trelawny
Professor Trelawny is one of the most bizarre Professor of the entire school of Hogwarts. It is the professor of Divination and so it is different form the other Professors.
In the Harry Potter movies, Emma Thompson plays the role of Professor Trelawny and the minifigure is really a very nice representation of her.
The minifigure is full of details. Starting from the headgear it has the hair and the bandana. They really represent the actress in the movie.
The face is nice and well detailed. A masterpiece is the full body of the minifigure, with olive green color with a lot of details: necklace and pendant. There is also a well continuation between the torso and the legs.
The back part has no details, but the lower part is done with the rounded slope which better represent the dress rather than the slope brick.
Also the accessories are remarkable: her wand on one side, but also the tea cup and saucer she used in her divination class.
I think that this is one of the most interesting elements of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts minifigure series.
Minifigure rating: 5/5
Cedric Diggory
It is nice to have Cedrid Diggory in the collection. A character with a sad short story in the book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Cedrid is a good guy, he was in the Huffelpuff house and he was also the captain of the Quidditch team.
He was selected as the Hogwarts Triwizard Champion and minifigure has the uniform of the last competition: the maze. Actually, it is also the last dress he had since at the end of the maze Peter Pettigrew killed Cedric.
In general, the minifigure is quite simple: the main accessory is the Triwizard cup which is a standard LEGO cup with the print out “Triwizard”: but I was expecting a dedicated accessory. Then, as for all the other magicians also Cedric has his wand.
It is nice to have Cedric in the collection, but it could have been represented with some more details.
Minifigure rating: 3/5
Professor Fliwick
Another professor included in this collection is Professor Filius Flitwick. He is the half-goblin, half-wizard who taught Charms at Hogwarts and he is also Head of House Ravenclaw.
The minifigure has the short leg to represent the half-goblin nature of Professor Fliwick. This is the version from the 3rd movie onward where he looks quite human rather than a goblin. He is well represented with his frack and bowtie.
The minifigure has also the wand and the bullhorn that Professor Fliwick uses to catch the attention of the students.
A similar minifigure appears also in Day 18 of the Harry Potter Adventa Calendar 2019, but with a little different dress.
It is a nice to have, simple and detailed. But compared with other minifigures it has nothing special.
Minifigure rating: 3/5
Professor Mad-Eye Moody
This is one of my favourite minifigure of the entire Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts minifigure Series 1. This is one of the two double minifigures of the series. It has a double face and two sets of accessories because it is really represent two characters in one. I think, it is a great representation, but to have the very full set, you should have two minifigures in your collection.
This minifigure is both Professor Alastor Moody and Bartemius Crouch Junior, when he kidnapped the professor on Book 4. Another reference to book 4!
The body and legs of the minifigure are the ones of Professor Moody, with his shabby leather jacket. The legs have also the metallic leg, since Alistor lost it in one of his wars.
To combine the minifigure as Alistor Moody, it is required to use the face with the Mad-Eye and the blonde hair. As accessories, Alistor has its wand and the walking stick.
The alternative minifigure is Bartemius Crouch Junior and you have to use the second face and the dark hair. For Bartemius the accessories are the polyjuice potion and the wand, of course.
The face of Bartemius is really nice since the character has a strange tick with his tongue that makes him easy to recognise.
I think the LEGO designers made a great work with this minifigure. So, despite the double character, it is really a unique minifigure. I decide to keep two minifigures in my collection in order to show both Professor Alastor Moody and Bartemius Crouch Junior. The both deserves to be displayed.
Minifigure rating: 5/5
Harry Potter with Invisibility Cloak
This is another great element of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts collection. The cloak of invisibility is really the dream tool of everybody. I checked a bit on the previous sets of Harry Potter, but I understand that this is the first time the minifigure comes with this variation.
Harry Potter her is in a young version with short legs. The clear reference is with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, where Harry get the cloak.
Harry is dressed with the pijama and also this refers to the first time he was walking inside Hogwarts at night. Differently with respect to Harry in school uniform, this minifigure represents a young Harry at the very first year at Hogwars. So, the minifigure has the small legs.
The cloak itself is the most interesting part since it a kind of tissue dark on one side and silver on the other. It is also possible to cover completely Harry with the cloak.
Finally, the minifigure is then completed with his usual wand.
I like this minifigure, it is simple but really well done and accurate. I appreciate also the fact that it is the first time Harry is represented in this setup.
Minifigure rating: 5/5
Professor Albus Dumbledore
Last but not least Professor Albus Dumbledore is the 16th minifigure of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beast Series. It close the first section dedicated to Harry Potter.
The designers represente Albus with a light blue dress and it has the same leg part as Professor Trelawny.
The dress is very accurate, with a lot of details in the front side. As expected, the face has printed the beard and the cheracteristic half-moon glasses.
It has a very unique headgear, with hat and long hair which very well represents Albus. The beard also is an extra accessory and it complete the minifigure very well.
The extra accessories are the wand and the Pensieve, which is a dish used to view memories.
It is not easy to place this minifigure in the saga, but since the Pensieve appeared in the 4th and 5th book. I think, he should be placed in one of these books.
Albus is represented also in several sets, but it couldn’t be missed in this series.
Minifigure rating: 4/5
Newt Scamander
The first character of the second part of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts series is Newton “Newt” Scamander.
He is the author of the Hogwarts school book: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. He is also the main character of the spin-off movies: Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them and Fantastic Beasts: the Crimes of Grindewald.
The minifigure comes with the dresses of the movie. It is a typical dress of early 1900, as the story is set. The main surprising aspect of the torso is the print of the Pickett: one of the fantastic beast found by Newt and kept as a pet. The Pickett is seen a few time in the movie and it is hidden in the jacket of Newt. Likewise, the minifigure has the small fantastic beast popping out the jacket.
The legs are quite simple and the face has a single side. In general, the minifgure well represents Eddie Redmayne in the movie.
The minifigure has some remarkable accessories: as expected his wand, in a light reddish color. Then, the magic case where he collects all the magical creatures.
In this set the case is empty, but there is a dedicated set of the Newt’s case.
Last but not least in the minifigure there is also Niffler, another magical creature attracted by hidden treasures. It is a cute character in the movie.
The Niffler is a single special part and it appear only in this minifigure and in the Newt’s case set.
I like all the details in this minifigure of Newt Scamander. It represents very accurately the character in the movie. I also appreciate all the details, in particular both the Niffler and the Pickett. It really deserves the top rating.
Minifigure rating: 5/5
Porpentina Goldstein
Porpentine “Tina” Goldstein is an American auror who met Newt early when he arrived in America. She helped Newt in his adventures.
The minifigure fully represent Tina in the movie. It has the same dress: an auror dress with a long coat.
There is also a double face which make her serious on one side and happier on the other.
The most remarkable aspect of the minifigure is the headgear: a kind of waterproof rain hat with dark hair. On the other hand, it is a bit bizzarre to see the accessories: not really the wand, but the hot-dog. The hot-dog is a reference to one of the starting seen of the movie when Newt met Tina and she was eating the hot-dog.
I like that the collection includes Tina Goldstein. It is quite simple and no major remarks but it is nice to have it.
Minifigure rating: 3/5
Jacob Kowalski
The muggler (no-maj as called in America) friend of Newt: Jacob Kovalsky.
It is one of the simplest minifigure of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts series, however it is as simple as is. The character in the movie is exactly like the minifigure. I really appreciate its simplicity.
The minifigure has the same dress as the actor in the movie. The accessory is just a bag, the same as the one in the Newt’s minifigure , but with pastry in it. Jacob actually is a baker and he met by chance Newt due to a case exchange by mistake.
I was not expecting more than that, so I really appreciate the simplicity in this minifigure.
Minifigure rating: 4/5
Queenie Goldstein
Then the last of the friends of Newt in his maiden travel in America is Queenie Goldstein, the younger sister of Tina.
She is a recognised Legilimens: the ability to read minds and feelings. She was attracted by Jacob Kovalsky and she impressed him with the creation of a big pastry with magic.
The minifigure is a good representation of the actress with the same dress as in the movie. There is a nice orange hair-set and a single face. I understand the potential difficulties to replicate the face of a character on a minifigure, but in this case the designed could have done better.
The minifigure is completed with its wand and the pastry created by Queenie with magic. The pastry is remarkable since it is a unique part.
I am not really impressed by this minifigure, however, it is nice to have in this collection.
Minifigure rating: 3/5
Credence Barebone
The main controverted character of the spin-off saga is Credence Barebone.
This guy was not a villain, unfortunately it tuned out he had a parassitic dark force in him called: Obscurus.
The minifigure quite well represents the body of the character and the hair-style. As far as the face is concerned, in the human version it is not very similar to the actor. On the other hand, the devil face is quite interesting.
Despite his magic power, Credence was part of the New Salem Philanthropic Society, and anti-witchery group. The minifigure includes a leaflet of that society, since in the movie he was used to distribute the leaflets in New York City.
The minifigure is again simple with a good representation of the double nature of Credence. I am not really impressed but it is a good inclusion in the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts minifigure series.
Minifigure rating: 3/5
Percival Graves
The most rare minifigure of the entire minifigure series, not only this one. Let’s discuss the rarity at the end and focus on the minifigure itself.
It is a nice representation of the Percival Graves character, who at the end it turned to be Gellert Grindelwald: one of the most terrifying dark wizards in history.
Grindewald assumes Graves identity through Transfiguration magic, and what happen to the real Graves it is unknown.
As for Professor Mad-Eye there are two pairs of hair and with the double face, so you can create either Percival Graves or Gellert Grindewald.
The minifigure has only the wand as accessory and it is enough, since in the movie the charme of the actors made the character self-standing.
The front torso is well detailed and the back is a well representation. No special details or accessories. It is really nice in this way.
A short comment on the LEGO decision to make the minifigure unique. Likewise in the Minifigure series 18 there was a one-in-a-box minifigure that I quite understood for the commemorative series. For this series, I think that the 22 characters were already enough for a series.
Since Graves has also a double face that completely create a second character. So for a great collection it could be worth to have even two of this minifigure, doubling the effort. I will not do it. One will be enough in my collection.
I understand the business decision for LEGO, but I found a bit exaggerated. Furthermore, in the boxes this minifigure was always in the same place making easy to profiteer. So, on one side it was hard to find the single minifigure, but if you know where to find it, it could be easy to find it and cumulate it. As expected, nowadays the minifigure is available on sale at very high price. Luckily, I succeeded to buy on Bricklink for a reasonable price.
Minifigure rating: 4/5
Final Comments
I think I stressed a lot the fact that this is one of my favourite minifigure series. There are plenty of nice characters and ideas for stories and dioramas in the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts world. However, despite the 22 minifigures, there are also several missing characters, like Ginny or Sirius Black or the dark side characters. However, at the time of writing mid-2020, I know that a second minifigure collection is ongoing by the end of the year.
I really like the 16 characters of Harry Potter section. Some of them could have been done better, but others are really detailed and very well done. I appreciate that some characters are unique and there is no overlap with the special set of Professors.
The fantastic Beasts section was a surprise. It is a small sub-series itself with only the mail characters. All of them are really accurate and detailed. Despite the disappointment of such a huge number of minifigure in this collection, I think that this was the only way to have the characters of Fantastic Beasts in a minifigure collection.
To summarize my review, my favourite minifigures are:
- Professor Alastor Moody
- Luna Lovegood
- Newt Scamander
- Harry with Invisibility Cloak
- Professor Sybil Trelawny
I hope you enjoy reading my review and you also check my previous review.
I am looking forward for the new Harry Potter Series to come and in the mean time I would really love to read your comments and thoughts about this series.
