This year's Polybag!

[gingerwitch.livejournal.com]

We now have pictures of this year's lego Harry Potter Polybag, and on the heels of last year's Cho in her Quidditch kit, it's frankly a little unexpected, although it makes more sense looking at some of the older ones. I think it won't be unwelcome, however, especially for people new to the theme.





30677 Draco in the Forbidden Forest will clip onto the new 2024+ Hogwarts and grounds modules, and continues the new Forbidden Forest aesthetic introduced in the winter 2024 wave's 76432 Forbidden Forest: Magical Creatures set (see below). It nicely expands the Forbidden Forest detention scene from Philosopher's Stone in that set; although we're missing Fang and Harry (both can be found in this winter's 76428 Hagrid's Hut: An Unexpected Visit set (also below); although Harry's out of uniform there, and obviously if you have it, you wouldn't precisely need another Draco, but then don't we always? 😉) and of course a unicorn, and possibly a dark!Quirrellmort and Firenze. All that's enough for a whole set in itself, however, so who knows, although I suspect they'll try to keep Fang exclusive to Hagrid's Hut, at least for a while yet.

It includes Draco in Slytherin uniform, giving newcomers a chance to expand their student bodies (combined with the assorted heads and hair pieces in either the Quidditch Trunk or Hogwarts Trunk sets) and an owl to help populate either our Owlery or Owl Post builds (the latter is part of the Diagon Alley: Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes set). The lantern contains a glow-in-the-dark piece, and we get another spider (not GitD), also useful to help flesh out our Forbidden Forest scenes with the Ford Anglia (also also below). In retrospect, looking at the forest and Hogwarts Express on the box art, I think it isn't just a question of currently having the train but not 4 Privet Drive on the store shelves, but that the prominence of the forest is also something of a nod to that later scene with Aragog in Chamber of Secrets as well. Coincidentally, this summer we're also expecting to see what will presumably then be our third set in the new look: 76434 Forbidden Forest: Aragog. (No pictures yet on that last one, and there probably won't be until Aprilish.)

Apparently the polybag won't include a collectible portrait tile, and I wish they had, much as they've done with the Chocolate Frog tiles in the past, but I guess that's in keeping with its inclusion only in sets where it would logically also be displayed. (It's not in the Forbidden Forest set either, for example, but can be found in Hagrid's hut.) Here's hoping they relent on that front in the future. I do like the more accessible approach they've taken with things like that in the recent past, and it made it possible to deliberately purchase specific pieces missing from your collection thanks to the see through strip on the back of the polybags.

Below, the three aforementioned sets from this winter's wave, available in March:

Comments

[erexen.livejournal.com]

I see what you're saying about Draco Polybag, nice additional dark forest pieces & owl, but Really would have liked it better with fang. By keeping Fang exclusive to the Hagrid's set, they pretty much get us to buy Another hut set. And what's with the spider, but you're right (as always) that it helps flesh out the Aragog's lair scene. Especially if you're correct on a new version of Aragog's lair.