LEGO Fantastic Beasts 75952 Newt’s Case of Magical Creatures review

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter LEGO theme takes inspiration from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in 75952 Newt’s Case of Magical Creatures

Price: £44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99 Pieces: 694 Available: Now

This LEGO set takes Newt’s suitcase from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and uses it is an excuse to do something a little different. In the film, Newt Scamander carries around a regular sized suitcase that he can step inside to a world where he can keep various creatures safe. The LEGO version is a buildable suitcase that opens up to reveal the magical menagerie, with buildable beasts and key minifigures.

The set contains an impressive 694 pieces. There’s a beautiful array of colours including dark purple, glitter-trans purple, neon green, pearl gold and medium azure. 75952 Newt’s Case of Magical Creatures comes with three buildable beasts, four minifigures, a Niffler, a Bowtruckle and Newt’s magical case itself. It is one of the best value sets on the market.

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There are two instruction booklets in the set, the first tasking fans with building the three beasts. I am terrible at building wildlife in LEGO form so for me this was going to be something of a teaching experience, which I was rather looking forward to. The three beasts themselves are all fairly quick and simple to put together (the Erumpent has the greatest number of steps to it) but I did manage to pick up one or two techniques to help with future animal building.

Looking at the Occamy, its colours are absolutely stunning and incredibly accurate to the film. Frank the Thunderbird uses the same head piece as the Occamy, but with a different colour scheme and pattern. The white and pearl gold looks equally striking and rich. The rhino-like Erumpent was my favourite to build, although in the film the legs look bigger at the back and smaller at the front. In LEGO form that is reversed. Once completed, the trio looks very impressive standing next to one another, with the scaling of the beasts to the minifigures pretty much spot on.

In the film, Newt’s suitcase is packed full of fantastic beasts so choosing which ones to include in the set must have been a difficult decision, but I definitely think the LEGO design team made the right selections. All three beasts feature in major moments in the film and the addition of the Niffler and Bowtruckle means that fans get five creatures in total to play with or display.

So with the beasts built, the question is, where to find them? The answer in this case is in Newt’s suitcase. When the case is opened up there are three main areas. Newt’s hut, complete with an array of magical potions is wonderfully represented by trans-clear glitter cones. The hut has a clever folding roof and ladder, which can be angled to create a sloped roof when the case is opened or folded down when the case is closed.

On one side of the hut is a feeding and cleaning area complete with pearl gold taps, wash basin and feeding trough. The other side, the better of the two, has an area for the Niffler to stash his gold trinkets, the Bowtruckle’s tree and the Occamy nest complete with egg (although not in silver).

Newt’s suitcase is definitely the most magical thing about this set. When folded down the lid is cleverly held in place with two 1×2 plates that are easily unclipped to open it up. As an adult I drew immense pleasure transforming the set from the suitcase to the fantastical zoo and back again. I can only imagine the excitement and joy a child would derive from it.

The only downside is that the fantastic beasts themselves do not fit into the case when closed (maybe the Occamy cannot always squeeze into the space that’s available), although the included accessories and minifigures do.

Speaking of the minifigures, all of the major protagonists from the film are included in this set, which makes this a perfect way to get the four main characters. Newt is dressed in his waistcoat, which is perfectly in keeping with the film. The detail is okay but nothing incredible. His legs are just plain brown, which is a little disappointing. In fact, with the exception of Queenie, all of the minifigure legs are just a solid plain colour with no printing.

Tina comes with a rather nice teapot accessory that is perfect for trapping those run-away Occamys. Neither Tina or Newt are as good as their Collectible Minifigures iterations, but that is probably to be expected.

Jacob is wearing his protective Erumpent armour. On one side of the head piece he is wearing the chin strap for his hard hat, which is included – after all, his skull is susceptible to breakages under immense force. The black umbrella makes for a nice accessory, although I am not sure what good it would do against an amorous Erumpent.

Finally, Queenie is the highlight minifigure in 75952 Newt’s Case of Magical Creatures – and not just because I have a soft spot for the character in the film. She has a brilliant facial expression capturing the beaming smile of the Goldstein sister. Her ginger hairpiece is wonderful and accurate. The torso recreates her fur lined coat and pink dress, which continues down to her legs.

Overall this set is an enchanting experience, to build and then enjoy. Not only is the opening case playset a clever concept, but it is well executed too. The three giant beasts are brilliant recreations, the two smaller beasts are worthwhile inclusions – the Niffler is possibly the cutest LEGO creature around right now – and with the four main characters as minifigures, it includes everything necessary for a full Fantastic Beasts experience. This set is truly fantastic by name and fantastic by nature.

This product was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

75952 Newt’s Case of Magical Creatures is available now at shop.lego.com. You can help support Brick Fanatics’ work by using our affiliate links.

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