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Anywho... on we go.
Set Number: 4865
Name: The Forbidden Forest
Theme: Harry Potter
Release Date: June 2011
Pieces: 64
Minifigs: 4
Price: $11.99 USD £10.49 GBP
S@H description:
In Forbidden Forest, Lord Voldemort and his followers have captured Hagrid and tied him to a tree. When Harry Potter enters the Forbidden Forest to face his destiny, Lord Voldemort attacks. Will Lord Voldemort defeat Harry Potter once and for all? Will Narcissa Malfoy betray the Dark Lord?
Here we see the box, reminiscent of the previous Harry Potter sets from the current line with a delightful deep red, patterned background enhanced by some very serious looking cast members from the movies. The picture on the box gives you a great idea of whats inside though it seems to be missing the little snake fella!
The back of the box introduces us to the set as a whole and clearly shows what you should be getting on what seems to be a piece of parchment. Again the delightful red rolls over from the front of the box. Also shown here is the 'action' feature which seems to be quite common among the Harry Potter sets. A figure will stand next to the tree and get thrown across the surface by a spell. Its a wonder they manage to stay on their feet half the time with all these 'action' features around. As you can also see, the box is the standard push tab type.
The contents of the box! Instructions, folded I'm afraid with none of that lovely cardboard, and two bags.
The front of the instruction book, nothing new here. Just a crease!
Apart from the usual page of sets from the theme and the annoying child who wants us to WIN! all the time, there was this interesting page for an upcoming game. :)
Now, here is what makes this set and beefs up the price tag! The figures. I'm half and half on this one as we get two very common figures and two not so common. We have the delightful Narcissa Malfoy, mother of Draco and wife to Lucius. We also have the devious Lord Voldermort, it being nice to see him in a smaller set for a decent price tag! Then we have Harry Potter, the boy who lived (And cloned himself over and over and over and over apparantly) and the mighty Hagrid, who again, seems to have access to a cloning machine.
Here we have the villains in all their glory. Narcissa is the star of the set and doesnt dissapoint, with that lovely printed hair and intricate, double sided dress. She has double sided features, content and angry. She seems to bear a decent resemblance to the character with the eyebrows being particularly effective. My only real gripe is, like some other recent sets, her dress and torso do not align correctly.
Voldermort, is as always, grumbling about something. He is one sided in all respects and comes with that lovely, fashionable cape seen on many a themes catwalk. Like I said before though, its nice to get the films main antagonist in a smaller set as I couldnt afford Hogwarts. :(
The heroes! Or whatever you like to call them! Harry is your bog standard Harry that you've seen in every set in the current wave. Well, every uniformed Harry, which, correct me if I'm wrong here, he shouldn't be wearing in this scene as he isn't a pupil at Hogwarts at this time?
Hagrid, oh Hagrid, giant and friend to leading cast members! In this set, we see Hagrid without his beloved pink umbrella, but still with a cheery smile underneath that bushy beard. Nothing can get to our beloved Hagrid. Being tied to a tree is great fun for the big fellow.
The pieces! A decent selection of tree building parts including brown slops, black tiles, tan jumpers and a dark tan base.
Parts of note include the wonderful printed mushroom dish, four trans blue flames and cones, some nice brown slopes and of course, the critters. Harry Potter has bumped my spider collection tenfold!
The build is a simple affair with nothing too complex. You can easily see how the flicking mechanism is built and works ( Though if you call flying 2 inches working, then its right up your alley!) It all ends with poor Hagrid tied to the tree with blue flame singeing that lovely beard. He's still smiling though, bless his cotton socks.
Honestly, why would you need this many Potters... except for the Polyjuice scene! Shhhhh.
If you can't sort this out in a decent fashion, NOBODY gets the umbrella.
Meet the Malfoys.
Ratings
Design: 7/10 - The tree is nicely built and the mechanism works somewhat, but I think a little more could have been done.
Build: 8/10 - Nothing too fancy, nothing complex. Just a quick easy build.
Minifigs: 7/10 - The two villains as I have stated are an excellent addition, with Narcissa being extra good. However, what lets it down a bit is the repeat appearances of the heroes without any new printing.
Playability: 8/10 - For a tree, the playability is excellent. Not much else they could have done bar setting up a treehouse. And, as always the large concentration of figures helps the role playing element greatly.
Parts: 8/10 - Good tree building parts with some nice trans blue pieces. The printed mushroom is again, awesome.
Price: 7/10 - £10.49 for 4 figures and a tree seems a lot, but its not so bad if you consider what you'd end up paying for the rarer figures eventually. Right now though, its a bit pants, though it does have a printed mushroom!
Overall: 7.5/10 - A decent little set with a good selection of heroes and villains, though definitely better value if you lean towards the villain side of things.
And to finish off, a little comic to show what you can do with all your Potters!
Hope it wasn't too bad a read, and again, apologies for the photos! Advice is appreciated! Enjoy and take care!
Edited by Catanas, 19 May 2011 - 10:04 PM.
