REVIEW: Harry Potter and Hedwig Brickheadz

Set 41615 – Harry Potter and Hedwig

In 2018 LEGO literally flooded the market with Brickheadz figures of pretty much any licensed theme they had, including three from the Harry Potter universe. They are getting pretty hard to find now. Are they worth chasing up? Here’s my review of the first one…

Brickheadz – a history…

Collectible figures have been a big hit among toy collectors for many years. In recent years, the big-headed Funko-pop style figures in particular have been popular and it is not surprising that LEGO in 2016 started to tap into that market. For the San Diego Comic-Con 2016, LEGO created four different sets to go on sale exclusively at the event. Based around the DC and Marvel universes, the interest was huge and LEGO followed up with a series of Brickheadz figures in 2017 – releasing 22 sets across its most popular themes: Star Wars, Superheroes (including the LEGO Batman Movie), Disney and Ninjago.

They most have sold pretty well, so in 2018 LEGO went all in with another 44 sets released. With the revival of the Harry Potter theme it LEGO’s portfolio, this included three sets (with a total of five figures) from the Harry Potter universe and yet another one from Fantastic Beasts.

• 41615: Harry Potter and Hedwig
• 41616: Hermione Granger
• 41621: Ron Weasley & Albus Dumbledore
• 41631: Newt Scamander & Gellert Grindelwald

Being a bit overwhelmed by the whole Brickheadz series, I initially decided to skip the series completely to focus on the normal Harry Potter sets instead (and the huge Hogwarts castle I was building at the time being a big money drain). Luckily, 2019 was a relative quiet year when it came to Brickheadz, only 14 released for general retail – and with my Hogwarts castle reaching completion, I spend the year sourcing the three Harry Potter Brickheadz sets, which I now finally have in my collection (having yet to decide if I need the Fantastic Beast one too).

LEGO indicated in 2019 that they would return in 2020 with more releases, including from licenced themes, so it is likely we may see additional ones from the Harry Potter universe coming later this year as discussed here.

But I better get on with the review of the first set…

Box and content

Firstly, let’s look at the box. The front has the misty blue colour used for Harry Potter sets in recent years, has the Brickheadz logo, and otherwise a large photo of the two models included, Harry Potter and his owl Hedwig. The retail Brickheadz sets come with the figures numbered, with Harry being number 49 and Hedwig number 50. The numbers are printed in red bricks under the figures, making it easier for collectors to keep track of their collections.

The back of a LEGO box is normally used to show the play features of the set. As this is not relevant for Brickheadz, it has in this case instead been used to show the figures from a different angle, and illustrate that they come with black brick-build plate for display.

One one side of the box is a photo of Harry Potter and Hedwig from the movie. This – along with the design of the box in general – adds to the “collector item” experience.

Inside the box you find three un-numbered bags with bricks, a single instruction manual – and best of all, no stickers.

The instruction manual is similar to a normal set. Given the set is targeting (teenage and in particular adult) collectors, it would have been nice with a bit more “high end” feel to it, for example some background about the figures or the design process. All that comes with a cost of course.

The build

But let’s open the bags and start building. First up is Hedwig. With no numbered bags, you get to use all three bags from the beginning.

All Brickheadz figures are based around a square “core” that is built up with exposed studs on the four sides to add details later on. Hedwig is no exception to this. Being a small figure however, the core is only 3×3 bricks in size, not the typical 4×4 of the normal Brickheadz figures.

The photo above shows the completed core along with the detailed “skins” to attach to the sides to give the finished figure shown below.

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Next up is the full sized Harry Potter Brickheadz figure. This has the typical 4×4 core for the torso with studs to attach the arms and in this case the Gryffindor scarf.

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On top of this comes the head, again 4×4 with studs in all directions to add detail as shown below.

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Compared with Hedwig, there is a lot more detail, in particular the hair, to be added to the sides and top of the head and it is interesting to follow the build from being an anonymous core to a well-known character.

Conclusion

Overall, I think the figures look great – and it is obvious that we are looking at Harry Potter and Hedwig. If anything negative is to be said, the size of the glasses is on the large size, but I guess the design is really for those who otherwise appreciate the “big head” caricatured figures, so it is part of the style.

The build is simple. While there is plenty of “SNOT” (studs no on top) applying plates and tiles to the sides for decoration, it is not complex or impressive. Simple and effective is how I would describe it. Targeting collectors, I appreciate that it comes with printed tiles/bricks rather than stickers.

Surprisingly, these Brickheadz figures doesn’t come with printed base tiles as the early ones (listing the number of the Brickheadz figure). It would have been a nice touch for collectors.

But should you get it? It really depends whether you are attracted to collect figures like this. So if you don’t have this yet, but really like to collect things to display, it may be a good idea to chase up a copy soon. On Bricklink, recent sales (as per mid May 2020) average around US$30 for new in box sets, about twice the original price. However, looking at those for sale right now, prices start from around US$37 but with the average price of those for sale being ~$57. As always, you may be able to find it cheaper used, in particular on local sales pages should you have the patience to look for it.

Next up for review is the smaller set with Hermione Granger, followed by the biggest of them with both Dumbledore and Ron Weasley. Look out for these in the coming weeks as I try to finish reviewing the remainder of the 2018 and 2019 sets I haven’t got around to do yet, before the 2020 sets hit the shelves.

Till then, Build the Magic!