LEGO 76393 Harry Potter & Hermione Granger Review

Giant minifigures? Yes please! This isn’t the first time we’ve seen LEGO attempt to create giant versions of their iconic minifigures – that accolade goes to LEGO 3723 from way back in the year 2000. LEGO has come a long way since then, though, and the blocky, edgy textures of Minifigure 3723 have been replaced by smooth lines, articulated limbs and impeccable detail. One look at at LEGO 76323 Harry Potter & Hermione Granger and it’s easy to believe that these are, in fact, actual minifigures that have been blown up to giant proportions.

What’s in the box?

Inside the box for LEGO 76393 Harry Potter & Hermione Granger you’ll find eight sets of numbered bags, two instruction booklets, and one cloth cape, folded neatly into its own plastic bag.

Handily, there’s an instruction booklet for each of Harry and Hermione, so if you wanted to build this set with someone else, it’s very easy to do so. We’d perhaps recommend that if it’s an option – both models are remarkably similar aside from their hair, so it can get a little repetitive.

The build

Once you’ve built one of the figures – likely Harry Potter, since he encompasses bags 1-4 – you’ll know exactly what to expect from the next. As we just mentioned above, LEGO 76323 Harry Potter & Hermione Granger can get a bit repetitive. The bodies of both giant minifigures are practically identical, aside from Hermione’s grey socks on her legs, Harry’s cape and, of course, their differing hairstyles. But when it comes to building the torsos, the shape of the legs, the arms, and the hands, it gets very familiar.

That’s not to say this is a dull build, though. Seeing the large minifigures come together is a delight in itself, especially when it comes to their articulated joins. Their arms and legs move exactly how an actual minifigure does; that means you can stand them up, sit them down, have them doing the splits, and whatever else you can think of. Their heads also turn, and thanks to cleverly-placed studs within their hands, they can also grip a wand each.

It’s true, the novelty does wear off slightly by the time you’re onto the second minifigure, and the differences between the two are so slight that it doesn’t add much variety. As we mentioned before, this is the perfect model to build with a friend or partner, thanks to the inclusion of two instruction booklets.

There’s nothing overly challenging in either build; the limbs work by using very simple Technic arrangements and are held in place by slotting onto an axle. The most difficult part of both models is without a doubt their hair – Hermione’s especially. A wash of the same colour means the instructions aren’t always very clear to see where new pieces are being placed. It may take some extra care to ensure everything goes in the right place, especially if you’re not working in the best light. The finished effect is rather nice though, with lots of layered, flowing locks.

Happily, there’s nary a sticker in sight. All details, including their faces and uniforms, are printed onto the bricks. The stripes at the bottom of their jumpers are created by a clever layering of bricks. It’s a very nice effect.

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Play or Display?

This is a hard one to call. On the one hand, thanks to LEGO 76323 Harry Potter & Hermione Granger’s age rating of 10+, this is very much in playset territory. But on the other, it makes the perfect display set thanks to the unusual nature of these oversized minifigures. We suppose they could be played with just like dolls, and their moving parts make them ripe for posing. In our mind though, these should be thought of more as a display curio, perfect to accompany any existing LEGO Harry Potter display.

Value for Money?

The price versus piece count of LEGO 76393 Harry Potter & Hermione Granger (£119.99 for 1,673 pieces) makes this very averagely priced. £120 is not cheap and it makes it one of the more expensive sets in the Harry Potter range. But the uniqueness of this set makes it much more worthwhile if you ask us.

We really hope this set becomes a gateway for other giant minifigures; we’d love to see some Star Wars characters or Marvel characters – even some of LEGO’s own brands, like Ninjago, would make excellent fodder for oversized minifigs. We’re all for having an army of these guys at some point.