Jay's Brick Blog

A blog about LEGO bricks

  • Home
  • About Me
  • LEGO Reviews
  • News
  • SW Advent Calendar
  • HP Advent Calendar

Review: LEGO 75945 Expecto Patronum

June 16, 2019 By Jay 4 Comments

We’re well into the second half of 2019, which is when LEGO typically pulls out their big guns for the year, which includes the second wave of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter sets.

I’m really keen to dig into all the new Harry Potter sets soon, but I’ll start my series of reviews with one of the most anticipated and accessible sets – 75945 Expecto Patronum, which is also the smallest set in the wave.

We’re lucky enough to be in Australia where the new 2019 Harry Potter sets launched in June, but for those of you in the USA, you’ll have to wait till 1 July 2019 for them to be released.

This review is a collaboration with Build & Play, they’re an Australian online LEGO retailer run by upstanding people. Most of my H2 2019 sets have been purchased from them, including a few of the new Harry Potter sets, which are priced very competitively.

Name: Expecto Patronum
Set Number: 75945
Pieces: 121
Price: AU$29.99 | US$19.99 | £19.99 – Buy from LEGO.com [AU] [US]  [UK] [Amazon Australia]
Exclusive to: NA
Theme: Harry Potter
Release Date: 1 June 2019 | 1 July 2019 (US)

At first glance, 75945 Expecto Patronum might seem like a glorified minifigure pack, and in many ways, it totally is, but it doesn’t feel like your typical Marvel or Star Wars cash-grab set.

The set’s name is a reference to the Patronus charm, which was introduced in the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

It’s a particularly tricky defensive charm to ward off Dementors, relying on the wizard or witch to recall a particularly happy memory to counteract the Dementor’s soul and joy-sucking nature.

The set depicts a moment in the books and movies, where Harry saves Sirius’ life by successfully casting a Patronus Charm, with some time travelling shenanigans thrown in for good measure.

There are 4 minifigures in the set, including the much anticipated Sirius Black minifigure, Harry Potter and of course Harry’s Stag Patronus. Two Dementor minifigs round out the set, and are very welcome as you can never have enough of these soul-sucking spectres in your Harry Potter collection.

Here’s a look at the Harry Potter and Sirius Black minifigures. Harry is dressed up in a casual navy zip jacket and tan trousers. His outfit is pretty accurate to the movie version which is a big plus for those into getting the details right.

Harry comes with the now-standard Daniel Radcliffe hairpiece which has volumes of texture, that also allows his lightning scar to peek through.

Sirius Black is the star of the set, with this being only his second outing as a LEGO minifigure, and a vast upgrade to the original 2004 version. The 15 year wait has been worth it as I’m really happy with the minifig design.

Sirius’ facial features are pretty spot-on, with his rugged and slightly unkempt facial hair, wild shoulder-length hair and kind, almost-fatherly eyes tying it all together.

His tattered Azakaban robes are also remarkably accurate to the movie costume, and it’s really cool to see Sirius’ tattoos (a movie thing) on his chest. I also love the small details such as the brown/faded bits on the edges of his coat.

Here’s Harry’s smiling face, and a look at Sirius Black’s alternate angry look. You can also see more distressed details on the back of his coat.

Special mention to Sirius Black’s hairpiece, which is ridiculously detailed with texture. It’s new to this dark brown shade, and previously has been used for Luke’s hairpiece in the Ahch-To Island Training set.

Here are the two Dementor minifigures included in the set, which are great for a relatively affordable set. They were previously only available in the Hogwarts Express set and I’m a big fan of their designs, with their detailed printed torsos and “Spectre feet” and their large tattered black capes.

Here’s a better look at the Dementor’s face, with their creepy gaping mouths which is the last thing you see before a Dementor’s Kiss is performed, and your soul gets sucked out of your body. ?

The highlight of the set, and what makes this a must-buy for any LEGO Harry Potter fan – a beautiful, sparkly trans-blue Stag Patronus! 

When this set was announced, I didn’t think most fans expected to see LEGO produce a full-sized Patronus, and in a whole new stag animal mould as well.

There’s just something extra special about transparent LEGO elements, and I love how there are sparkly bits in it, to give it an extra magical vibe.

The stag is stunning, and I was surprised that the antlers were made of soft rubbery plastic, and can be wobbled around fairly easily.

As a standalone piece, I’m very, very surprised that LEGO would place it in the cheapest 2019 Harry Potter set, which is a very positive fan-first move.

They could’ve popped it into the most expensive set, like what they tend to do with LEGO City Animals, and most fans would probably still go gaga over the Stag Patronus, but it just makes me so happy to see such an incredible Harry Potter element in such an accessible set.

The rest of the set is pretty sparse, but all things considered, not too shabby for a AU$30/US$20 set. You get two brick-built trees which I admit, were a lot more fun than I had expected.

The two trees give the set a sense of place, and does well to setup plenty of different scenes for the minifigures.

The trees in particular were very fun to build, as they are constructed flat/horizontally before being hoisted upwards and attached to the base which was a very fun surprise.

The build technique makes the trees look rather different from traditional tree-building methods, which involve arches and slopes, and as a result the trees look much narrower yet with more detailed textures for the trunk.

LEGO were also very generous with the foliage with 12 leaf pieces, and even the brown flower terms on the ground, making it look quite lush indeed.

Attached to one of the trees is a stud blaster, which is attached to a speckly blue dish, to simulate the Patronus Charm blast.

Normally, I’m not a big fan of stud blaster play functions as they can be quite gimmicky, but the dish is a pretty large projectile and you can aim it and knock out a Dementor or two with ease.

There’s also a small rocky section, with place for Sirius to lie down, while Dementors hover menacingly in the background.

Again, the accuracy of the set can be really commended, as there’s a bit of water where he lies down, which matches the Patronus scene that occurs next to a lake.

Now for accuracy sake, it would be really brilliant if LEGO had included another Harry Potter minifigure (from time-travelling shenanigans) but that’s just being greedy on my part!

What I liked:

  • The brand new Stag Patronus piece
  • Updated Sirius Black minifigure
  • Two Dementors
  • Trees were fun to build

What I didn’t like: 

  • Nothing at all!

Final thoughts: This is such an easy set to like, and LEGO nailed pretty much every single part of the Expecto Patronum set.

You get 4 minifigures, of which none feel like fillers. Sirius Black is the star, making his first appearance after 15 long years. For a fan favourite character (I’m still salty about his death, after all this time), this makes it almost a must-buy for any LEGO Harry Potter fan, and I’m really glad at how well the minifig design is.

Harry is Harry, but the movie-accurate outfit is a very nice touch. The two Dementors are also amazing inclusions, especially for a set at this price range.

The Patronus is also outstanding, and yet another wonderful addition from the Harry Potter universe into the LEGO Harry Potter world. The design is inspired, and it makes me really excited to see this stag mould being used in other sets.

The build, while looking deceptively simple was actually a pretty fun experience thanks to the creative way the trees are designed.

All in all, this is a very tight set that excels from every single angle. Great minifigures, exciting new elements, brick-built elements that accentuate the context of the set – all wrapped up in a pretty affordable package.

It’s one of the no-brainer must-buy sets, especially if you’re a fan of LEGO Harry Potter. Even at full price, but of course, it’s always a much nicer feeling if you can get it below RRP.

Actually, if you’re a LEGO Harry Potter fan, you’ve probably already made up your mind to buy this set once you saw the Stag Patronus and Sirius Black minifigures!

Sets like these just make me so happy. The kind of happiness that I could probably use to conjure my own Patronus if only I wasn’t a lousy Muggle!

Rating: 5/5


Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the review! I’ll hopefully be able to cover more of the new Harry Potter sets in the coming few weeks, so please keep a lookout for them.

75945 Expecto Patronum is now available on LEGO.com or Amazon Australia if you’re in Australia or Europe, but if you’re in the US, you’ll have to wait till July to pick the set up.

As always, be sure to let me know what you think of this set down in the comments!

Don’t forget, you can find many more reviews in the Jay’s Brick Blog Review Hub. To stay up to date on the latest posts, you can follow the Jay’s Brick Blog Facebook page or subscribe to receive email alerts for new posts!

I also post behind the scenes content, and teasers on my Instagram page @jayong28, so give me a follow if you’d like to see more!

Subscribe to receive updates on new posts & reviews!

Filed Under: Harry Potter, LEGO Reviews Tagged With: 2019, 5/5, expecto patrinum, expecto patronum, harry potter 2019, harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban, lego, review, sirius black, stag

« LEGO 75936 Jurassic Park: T. Rex Rampage is every Jurassic Park Lover’s dream set
LEGO Jurassic Park: T. rex Rampage now available for VIPs »

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Anthony Christian says

    June 17, 2019 at 3:10 PM

    100% agree this is a really strong vignette.

    Reply
    • Jay says

      June 20, 2019 at 8:59 AM

      Yeah, very complete set overall. In fact, most of the HP sets have been very well designed.

      Reply
  2. Daniel says

    June 16, 2019 at 9:40 PM

    Love your work, and your website Jay, but how is 16th June “well into the 2nd half of the year”?!
    July 1st is more like the mid-point.
    Just sayin’ ?

    Reply
    • Jay says

      June 20, 2019 at 11:03 AM

      Sorry, haha, I meant second half of LEGO’s year (2HY), which is when all the new second half sets come out.

      Reply

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Jay's Brick Blog. In here, you'll find independent LEGO set reviews, commentary on LEGO trends & news, bargain hunting tips and an inside look into the life of an average LEGO fan. Find out more about me here

Subscribe for updates

Enter your email address here to receive updates about new posts from Jay's Brick Blog - straight to your inbox!

Join 1,906 other subscribers

Like my page on Facebook

Facebook Pagelike Widget

Buy LEGO

Buy LEGO

jayong28

Jay Ong | Jay's Brick Blog
Lots of stickers, lots of teeth and not enough Sym Lots of stickers, lots of teeth and not enough Symbiote tendrils.

My early review of 76199 Carnage is now live on the blog, hit the link in bio to read, or swipe through the gallery to see more photos!

If you enjoy LEGO’s Helmet collection, or are a big Carnage/Spider-Man fan Carnage will be a no-brainer addition to your collection.

With all my helmets currently on display, Carnage is the ones that stands out the most, in a good way, and I like that they’re expanding Marvel’s helmet collection.

I do think that there’s a wasted opportunity here with the lack of tentacles, or Symbiote tendrils sticking out from the back. I know it will technically break the Helmets’ style and design language, but for a character like Carnage, it feels like a massive miss to not have anything stick out.

Will you be picking up 76199 Carnage?

#LEGO #carnage
Hope you're having a Hoppy Easter 🐰 Hope you're having a Hoppy Easter 🐰
🚨 BREAKING: Effective immediately, the LEGO Gro 🚨 BREAKING: Effective immediately, the LEGO Group announced that it would be strengthening its commitment to Child Safety and Safe Play by mandating that proof of age identification be presented when purchasing all 18+ adult-focused sets, online or at LEGO Brand Retail Stores.

LEGO sets being purchased by adults have quadrupled in the last year compared to a decade ago, as adults flock towards the LEGO brick, a trend that was accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

To prevent these 18+ sets from falling into the wrong and age-inappropriate hands, The LEGO Group will now require its customers to provide the following proof of age documents: driver’s license, passport, social security card (USA) or any other valid government-issued form of identification.

“At the LEGO Group, child safety is our number one priority” says Søren Christiansen, Senior Child Safety Compliance Officer.

“Following complaints from parents, we cannot afford to expose impressionable children or teenagers to adults-only sets like Winnie the Pooh. The LEGO 18+ label has allowed us to broaden our product portfolio and explore adult-themes like 123 Sesame Street, which would be highly inappropriate for children.”

Hit the link in bio to learn more
Did you know a group of sharks is called a Shiver Did you know a group of sharks is called a Shiver of Sharks? 🦈 🥶

That'd also coincidentally make a great #LEGOVidiyo band name!
Channelling my inner Kylo Ren - my Darth Vader shr Channelling my inner Kylo Ren - my Darth Vader shrine is coming together quite nicely.

#LEGO #LEGOstarwars #darthvader
New review up on the blog! Check out the new @LEGO New review up on the blog! Check out the new @LEGO Darth Vader and Scout Trooper helmets!

Hit the link in bio to read my review! 

Really loving the #LEGOStarWars helmet collection expanding - they make for such eye-catching display models that don't take up much space.

Can you guess which one of these 2 are my favourites?
Love it when @lego Bricks and Pieces orders arrive Love it when @lego Bricks and Pieces orders arrive!
🚀 LEGO continues to nurture its partnership wit 🚀 LEGO continues to nurture its partnership with NASA to reinvigorate interest in space exploration with the all-new 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery, launching into the your collection on 1 April 2021 – no, not an April’s Fools joke!

This ode to NASA’s Space Shuttle program is meant to commemorate the original @NASA STS-31 mission, over 30 years ago, which launched the Hubble Telescope – capturing images of our universe, to help us understand more about the great beyond.

Coming in at 2,354-pieces, the @LEGO Space Shuttle Discovery will be released globally on 1 April 2021 for US$199.99 / AU$299.99 and will be available exclusively from LEGO.com and your local #LEGO store.

Hit the link in bio to see more!
I reviewed the new #LEGOVIDIYO Bandmates Series 1! I reviewed the new #LEGOVIDIYO Bandmates Series 1! 🎵

Hit the link in bio to read the full review

They’re not the main characters in this wacky new #Vidiyo world, and most of the minifigure designs show – while I do like the cohesive musical-theme that these characters are based off, and the wild colours, I was left wanting a little more.

What did surprise me was just how much I liked the Beatbits. The artwork and design prowess that has gone into them are just sublime, and I love that we get to see the talents of LEGO’s Graphic Design team put to excellent use with these quirky LEGO takes on physical media.
Overall, I have mixed feelings about Bandmates series 1. 

It’s crystal clear that @LEGO funelled the most unique and promising designs into the more expensive Beatboxes (for $$$), and a lot of the characters here just feel like an afterthought.

That said, there are some gems such as the Ice Cream Saxophonist, Shark Singer and Genie Dancer, and while the animal minifigures don’t do it for me, they might bother other fans less.
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Recent Posts

  • Review: LEGO 76199 Carnage
  • Episode 1 of the Extra Pieces Podcast is now live
  • LEGO Harry Potter 20th Anniversary Golden Minifigures revealed!
  • CG Artist Stefan Muller recreates a classic LEGO 90s Pirate Poster in stunning detail
  • Amazon Australia Easter LEGO Sale!
  • LEGO Looney Tunes Minifigures are coming soon! Meep Meep!
  • LEGO Adidas Ultraboost DNA sneakers are coming in April 2021!

LEGO Reviews

Review: 40236 Romantic Valentine Picnic

Review: The LEGO Movie 70818 Double Decker Couch

Review: LEGO 21032 Sydney Skyline

Review: LEGO 76077 Iron Man: Detroit Steel Strikes

Review: LEGO 75317 The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda Brickheadz

Review: LEGO Minifigures Series 12 Part 2

Review: LEGO City 60073 – Service Truck

Categories

Archives

Jay

Jay is passionate about LEGO and the endless creative adventures made possible by this complex interlocking brick system.
Learn more →

Popular Posts

Copyright © 2021 · WordPress · Log in We may earn a commission when you use one of our offers/links to make a purchase.