[REVIEW] 76387 Hogwarts: Fluffy Encounter

[Clone OPatra]

After the big Chamber of Secrets, here's the second largest (but much much smaller) Hogwarts set of the June 2021 range. Straight out of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, it's:

76387 Hogwarts: Fluffy Encounter | 2021 | 397 Pieces | 3 + 1 Minifigures

USD $40 | GBP 35 | EUR 40 (variable) | CAD 50 | AUS$ 70

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With 397 pieces, 3 minifigures plus a special golden one, and a USD price of $40, this set looks like a good deal on paper. However, Fluffy looks a bit iffy in the official pictures, details appear to be lacking. Will that be the case in actuality?

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THE BUILD & PARTS

The build is split over just three bags, and progresses quickly and unremarkably. Besides Fluffy, you can easily tell how this set is built just by looking at it; secrets do not lie within.

There's little in the way of truly interesting parts, though what is here would be good for castle builders. The clear flag piece used in the harp is cool, though I stickered it as instructed for the review. Here are the leftovers:

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THE MINIFIGURES

The minifigures here look good for what they are. They sport both new designs of Gryffindor robes, and are appropriate for the scene where the trio encounter Fluffy (just like the set name, hey!) for the first time. This whole wave has less Rons and Hermiones, and arguably even Harrys, than usual, so it's always good to have a set available with all three of them. Golden Hermione is a nice novelty, based on the Hogwarts Moments design with added sparkles.

While all of these figures are good and appropriate, they're also not exciting. Gryffindor robes are available in the larger Chamber of Secrets and smaller Quidditch Practice, and LEGO has done a bunch of iterations of them including in the first and second CMF. The character faces also remain unchanged for this age since 2018.

The harp build looks quite out of not too many parts, and the solution for the strings is great. That sticker is thankfully easy to attach.

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FLUFFY

Fluffy is actually the first build of the set (before the harp, which is in bag 2), and I must say, despite earlier reservations.... he's truly delightful.

In photos, it's easy to look at the build and think too hard about it, noticing all the choppiness that comes with being a brick-build as opposed to a mould. However, in person Fluffy is just so pose-able and fun that that doesn't matter, because he wouldn't be anywhere near this playable as a moulded creature even with separate new heady, body and leg pieces.

I had way too much fun posing him for the review, so here's a dump of photos if you're not convinced:

Now, there are two negatives to him, one which is pretty objective and one which is a matter of personal preference. The first is the light-grey, colour locked small ball socket pieces (originally from Mixels). They stand out like such a massive sore thumb. If LEGO could even tolerance test them in black, that would be so beneficial in so many builds; light grey just does not integrate with this colour scheme at all.

The second possible negative is that they've done three different head prints to make it so that Fluffy is awake from one side and asleep from the other. Some might prefer him to be all awake and menacing, or have a disconnect about it, but personally I like and it maximises his potential, even if from only one side at a time.

You might have noticed that his heads are hollow. They won't fit over every minifigure hair, though they do Ron's, and I'm sure an optimal one could be found for this purpose:

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HOGWARTS

I've covered Fluffy, who is the thing being encountered, so now it's time for where he's encountered: Hogwarts. This set is $40 after all, so it can't all be for Fluffy!

This new for June 2021 Hogwarts system revolves around modularity, and this contains a total of five modules: two 8x8 rooms, an 8x16 hallway, an 8x16 roof, and an 8x8 tower top. Before I get into arranging them, let's look at each on their own merits or lack thereof.

The Corridor

The corridor looks rather bare from the outside as seen above, with large gaps and relying on stickers to add some detail. This is unlike the Chamber of Secrets, which had no stickered exterior detail.

The interior is just as bare, simply containing a chicken leg and trap door. The candles on the roof module do the job just fine (though the black liftarm-like pieces would have been more magical in trans-clear.

I must say the bareness isn't inaccurate, just uninteresting, though it leaves room to fit Fluffy inside along with the harp (for which a leftover stud could be used to stick it down at an angle.

Fitting Fluffy with the trio presents a trickier proposition, but we'll come to that later.

The Balcony and Devil's Snare

The 8x8 section contain a random Hogwarts space with a balcony and removable torches, and a very pitiful Devil's Snare. When something from 2001 looks a whole lot better, that's usually a problem (like the laughable Basilisk in the 2018 Great Hall, though that's been rectified now). There's a single extra bone for detail, and that's that. One word: sad.

I haven't touched on the use of 8x8 grill plates, which I initially balked at. While Marcos Bessa mentioned it was for budget reasons, they actually work better for dynamic posing of short-legged minifigures. I didn't take any pictures to that effect, but it's true, as minifigures with short legs can't be stood on only one legs and thus are contained to right angles on full plates.

The Tower Top

The tower top contains a little room with some potion-making going on, and includes that same printed jar head from the Chamber of Secrets set. I found the sticker difficult to apply and had put it on askew before I knew it, but since it depicts hanging parchments it luckily still looks fine even at an angle.

There's enough space to play with some figures here, though they are mostly outside of the physical tower, so you have to stretch your imagination as to whether they're inside or outside.

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ARRANGING THE MODULES

Perceptive fans will notice that the official pictures display this set in two different arrangements. The front of the box shows the corridor segment on its own, with the others arranged into a tower. (The set does contain technic pins for attaching them together.)

That arrangement looks fine, though the corridor section itself is plain an a bit ugly no matter how you look at it. However, it presents a problem because it places the trap door over your surface, not over the included Devil's Snare. Therefore the back of the box shows this arrangement (though only from the interior):

Now the trap door is above the Devil's Snare, which is good, but the placement of the other two is a bit silly. We have a balcony at ground level and a tower top sitting by itself. Combined with the other modular Hogwarts sets, a better solution could be found, but looking at this set alone it's almost like you're stuck as to what to do with all the segments.

There is one solution for getting the trap door above the Devil's Snare and the other segments off the ground, but it's precarious and ridiculous in its own right. There's enough weight on the tower side to keep it upright, but if you started to play with it, it's probably topple over.

Here are two other possible configurations, though neither has the trap door above the Devil's Snare.

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THE PLAY FEATURE

Now howabout that Devil's Snare? It doesn't look godt, but does is Leg Godt (play well)?

First of all, the trapdoor is completely manual; you have to open it yourself. The "play feature" such that it is is also manual: you have to drop a figure down there and see if they're caught.

I tried this numerous times, and it proved frustrating numerous times. Finally Hermione fell in and plunked like this, but most of the time the figure simply bounced off the top.

So does it work? Not really. Is it fun? Definitely not.

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FINAL THOUGHTS & RATING

I mentioned above that the corridor had enough space for Fluffy, but not really with Fluffy and the trio. Another knock against it.

Overall, there's one great thing about this set, and only one: Fluffy. Even if he looks a bit wonky in pictures, he's so fun to play around with and has all the right choices in my opinion, besides the unfortunate grey joints.

Pretty much everything about the Hogwarts portions, on the other hand, let you down. They can't all be configured in a combination that works within this set alone, and everything besides the tower top is quite bare, plus it's just a small tower top that's not even enclosed. The Devil's Snare is pitiful and doesn't work; I don't think it'd even be recognisable without the context.

As for the minifigures, they're fine. They are correct but they do not uplift a poor set.

Now, if Fluffy is the only good thing, one could ask why a set with him should be injected with builds up to a $40 price point. The truth is, a Forbidden Corridor set could be a fantastic $40 set, IF it had some good play features to properly and enjoyable recreate the trio being caught in the Devil's Snare. This set isn't it.

Minifigures: 5/10 - Straight average for straight average minifigures

Pieces: 6/10 - All fine parts with a few gems and nothing else remarkable

Design: 3/10 - Fluffy and the harp are good, but the flaws of the rest are enough for me to feel justified bumping it down to this level.

Playability: 4/10 - You can play with Fluffy. You can't easily play with Hogwarts.

Price: 7/10 - This is a tricky one because the amount of parts and volume of stuff you get is a good value, so from that angle it should almost be 10/10, but it's not a good value when a good chunk of the set needs an overhaul.

Overall: 5/10 - To me a 5/10 is a failing grade, though you might also look at it as excruciatingly average. It's a shame because Fluffy himself is so fun, but I can't recommend the set as a whole as it is. Later on I'll see how useful the Hogwarts segments are when combined with the other sets, but by itself, this set doesn't work.

Up next...

[icm]

Thanks for this detailed review.  I asked for the original set for Christmas when I was a kid because it was the smallest set that had Harry, Ron, and Hermione all together.  I never liked the old molded Fluffy very much because it was so rigid, it didn't look very much like a dog, and the heads hinged up instead of having the lower jaw hinging down.  The new Fluffy is much better in that respect, but the old one could eat a minifigure head.  I guess being able to use the new Fluffy heads as Halloween masks makes up for that.  The hall+tower layout of the new set directly evokes the layout of the old set, which never made much sense to me.  By far the best part about the old set was the Devil's Snare, which was a nicely weighted lever-based trap that usually closed neatly around a minifigure that fell through the trapdoor.  Here, it's ... nothing.  And the play scenario is so cramped in the new model that it looks nearly impossible to use on its own, as in the second-to-last photo in the review.  Methinks I'll pass on this set.  It doesn't have much going for it besides nostalgia feels, and those are weak because the old one was never my favorite set anyway.

[MKJoshA]

Great review! Too bad the set stinks so much. I'll have to see what Fluffy goes for on the secondary market after this is released.

[Pulp Detective]

This set is only worth getting if you buy 76389 as well,where you can combine it with.As a standalone it isn't worth buying. 

[TheLegoDr]

Thanks for the review. I'd pass on the set otherwise (even though HP is my favorite theme). I don't need the figures. But I'll end up buying it anyway so I can keep my collection complete.

It has potential, but as a stand alone set, nah. Combined with other sets or part of a MOC, I could see it being useful.

[BrickMatit]

Finally I had time to deeply read this review and...

well...

only seeing the images, this is an ugly set! 

It's a pity, cause I've waited this set for a long time: when I was a kid, unfortunately, I didnt' have the Forbidden Corridor set... and I wished I had it.

I share what  Clone OPatra wrote: Fluffy is the best part of the set, but the grey pieces on his back are an eyesore! The rest is average (minifigures) or forgettable (building).  And the fact that the set doesn't work as a stand alone nore has a good playability lower further the rating.

Anyway, I'll end buying this set, not full price if possible, and add this to the other sets of the summer wave.