Review: LEGO 75956 Quidditch Match

October 21, 2018 | 9

One of the smartest things that LEGO did in 2018 was bring back the Harry Potter license. It was a smart commercial move by LEGO because fans have been clamouring for all things LEGO Harry Potter, and frankly, LEGO needs whatever boost it can get from sales with slumping results and overall consumer fatigue with our beloved plastic toy brick.

The return to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter started off strongly, with the Harry Potter & Fantastic Beasts Minifigures series which was an excellent licensed series that was pure fan service.

That was followed by a bunch of retail sets at different sizes and price points with something for everybody, even fans who wanted to drop a ton of money on the 6020-piece Hogwarts Castle set.

I’ve been fairly busy, but finally got around to building some of the new Harry Potter sets, starting with 75956 Quidditch Match!

This review was made in partnership with Build and Play Australia, a local specialty LEGO retailer who generously provided this set for review. I’ve also been making some of my recent purchases from them (Great Hall!) and have been very happy with the speed of delivery, prices and service.

Check ’em out if you’re thinking about Christmas gift shopping I highly recommend them!

Name: Quidditch Match
Set Number: 75956
Pieces: 500
Price: AU$49.99 | US$39.99 | £34.99 – Buy from LEGO.com [AUS] [USA] [UK] [Amazon]
Minifigures: 5
Theme: Harry Potter (2018)
Year of Release: 2018

I picked Quidditch Match as the start of my return into LEGO Harry Potter 2018 for a simple reason – I feel that this set is the most accessible and value-packed out of the entire lineup.

It’s a pretty decent gateway set for new and old Harry Potter fans alike, and who doesn’t love a miniature Quidditch pitch and to re-create the classic Gryffindor and Slytherin rivalry in LEGO bricks.

For a AU$50 / US$40 LEGO set, you get a very respectable number of minifigures – 6 in total which is something almost unheard of in this day and age. Four of these minifigures are exclusive to the set which is also a nice bonus.

They’re not all side-characters either, with Harry, Hermione and Snape, rounded out by the Quidditch players Oliver Wood from House Gryffindor and Lucian Bole and Marcus Flint from House Slytherin.

The set captures Harry’s very first Quidditch game in the Philosopher’s Stone against Slytherin, in which (spoiler warning) Gryffindor emerged triumphant thanks to Harry’s heroics.

Team Gryffindor is represented by Harry Potter, who plays in the Seeker position, and Oliver Wood, the captain and keeper for the Gryffindor squad.

They’re both attired in identical Scarlet and Gold Quidditch robes, with white pants and brown broomsticks. As he’s in his first year, we get the “kid” version of Harry with short legs (not the new medium ones that can swivel) and the new Harry Potter hairpiece, which is suitably messy but still allows his lightning bolt scar to peek out.

Here’s a look at the back printing – I like the hoods of the Quidditch robes, which has a golden inner trim.

Harry has a startled alternate face. Or it could be the face he makes when he catches the Golden Snitch in his mouth, which was how Gryffindor won the game.

Here’s a closer look at the LEGO Golden Snitch, which is far and away one of my favourite new accessories introduced in the LEGO Harry Potter theme.

The ridges on its wings, and the lines across the sphere are spectacular, and I’m really pleased that this level of accuracy was made possible on such a small element.

On team Slytherin, we have Lucian Bole on the left and Marcus Flint on the right. Bole plays as a Beater, hence the black club, and Flint is a Chaser for the team.

Like their Gryffindor counterparts, they both have Slytherin Quidditch robes, which has the crest on the left breast, and a bit of brown string tying the robes together.

I’d say their appearances are relatively accurate. I cannot for the life of me remember Lucian Bole in the movies, but Marcus Flint definitely had a bigger role in the books and movies, with the latter being the kid with really bad teeth – accurately portrayed by the minifigure, which has quite a sleazy expression.

Here’s a look at the back printing, which has the same design as the Gryffindor robes with the hood and some fabric detail. Lucian Bole also has a concerned/shocked alternate face.

Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter Minifigure series is almost a necessity in the set to round out the Slytherin team. Do note that he has a green broomstick, which could identify it as the Nimbus 2001, which he used to bribe the team to let him join in Book 2.

Up next we have Professor Snape, with his all too familiar sour-faced scowl and trademark greasy hair. He’s dressed in his trademark black robes with a purple inner shirt and comes with a black wand.

Here’s Snape’s back printing and an alternate angry/constipated face. As a whole, the Professor Snape minifigure does a decent enough job of capturing Alan Rickman’s character but I find his neutral face with the quizzical expression quite odd – I’d much rather Snape with a neutral face, or on expressing disdain.

Do note that Snape isn’t exclusive to this set and also shows up in the Whomping Willow set.

Finally, rounding out the cast of minifigures is Year 1 Hermione Granger, who is as cute as a button with her short legs, well-meaning face and wild brown hairpiece. I’m a huge fan of the new hairpiece, which made its debut with this very minifigure as it best captures Hermione’s messy, frizzy hair.

Hermione is in her Gryffindor uniform, which consists of a grey wool jumper with scarlet and gold trim, worn over a whiteshirt with a matching tie.

Here’s her alternate face, which has her with somewhat of a terrified or distraught expression. Like Snape, I don’t find this expression quite fitting Hermione’s brave and always-in-control character, especially in the context of this set – I would’ve rather have had a determined “I’m going to get shit done” expression.

Like Snape, this version of Hermione is also available in the Whomping Willow set.

For a set at this price point, the inclusion of a whopping six minifigures is something that I’d never thought I’d see in 2018 and you can’t really go wrong with the selection, with really good representation amongst characters.

Very generous of LEGO which is always nice to see.

What I love about this set is how it delivers on everything that it promises in spades.

The set features a miniaturised representation of the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. It features mini versions of the house towers, and one side of goalposts which is all you need for a Quidditch game.

It’s a charming enough set which doesn’t try to be more than it needs to be, and doesn’t rely on gimmicky play features and instead stays quite grounded to what its based on.

The House Towers are short, and most definitely not to minifig-scale, but they look brilliant, reflecting the two-tone primary colours of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin by way of the recognizable checkered patterns.

They’re not that tall – about 4-5 minifigures high, but pack quite a lot of cool details.

The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff house towers both have scoreboards to keep track of the match. The scoreboards are represented by 1×1 round tiles which have a thin black outline which is a really nice touch as it makes them slightly more visible.

Above the scores are 2×2 stickered tiles, each with the house crests.

The House Towers mostly have the same design, with a small seating area at the top, covered by a roof and flag bearing the house colours.

On the Slytherin house tower, there’s a small play feature which makes a flame piece appear on Snape’s seat, a nice nod to Hermione casting a spell to distract Snape, who was suspecting of jinxing Harry’s broom during the Quidditch match.

On the front of the house towers, there are slight variations between them, but they most have elements and emblems related to each house.

The Slytherin and Ravenclaw towers also have team mascot banners hanging over the walls.

Each house tower also has minor variations in terms of features. The Hufflepuff one has a small bookshelf at the base of the tower, which houses spare House crest tiles.

The front panel of the Gryffindor panel flips open, which is a neat little nod to the way in which Qudiditch players fly out of the tower at the start of the match.

Here’s a look at the goalposts, which are simple enough yet contain some really sensible play features, such as a transparent rod that you can attach Oliver Wood to.

At the base of the goalposts, there’s a small black “gun” that fires 1 x 1 studs which serve as Bludgers. I’ve never really liked projectile-based play features unless they make atual sense like real guns, but it’s quite easy to ignore the Bludger-cannons.

I also really like the play feature that allows you to swivel the Goalkeeper across the goals. Quite possibly my favourite play feature in this entire set.

*stack of transparent bricks are not included in the set. Those are my own to position Harry in a decent pose

What I liked:

• Amazing value in the set with a whopping 6 minifigures
• Quaint design that captures the most important elements of the Quidditch pitch
• Tons of house-specific emblems
• Legitimately decent play features

What I didn’t like: 

• House towers don’t really connect
• Except for Oliver Wood, most minifigs are “grounded” and can’t really fly in the air

Final thoughts: For my first foray into Harry Potter, Quidditch Match was an absolute blast and represents some really great ideas brought to life. Firstly, the price is brilliant for what you get, moreso if you manage to snag this on sale.

Getting 6 minifigures in an AU$50 licensed set is simply unbeatable value in 2018, and that alone should be one of the biggest draws of the set.

Unlike most licensed sets, what sets Quidditch Match apart is that it doesn’t rely on its fantastic cast of minifigures to deliver a great experience. The model, while a super shrunken down scale of an actual Quidditch pitch works remarkably well in capturing its look.

I love how the set stays really grounded in what it is, nothing more than 4 House Towers which have terrific designs, combining lots of fun little details that Potterheads will love, with a sound overall design that mimics the actual towers from the movies.

In terms of flaws, the set doesn’t have a lot of things that I quite dislike – more things I wish were added that would enhance the overall package. Oliver Wood’s transparent rod that allows him to float in the air to protect the goalposts is a brilliant touch.

I just wish that they had incorporated something similar for all the Quidditch players so that they can be posed suspended in the air.

All in all, a cracker of a set at a really accessible price-point. What I love most about this set is that it doesn’t get bogged down in gimmicky and unnecessary play features – it’s a great display model and has a ton of minifigs to really bump up the playability and displayability.

For those new to Harry Potter, or thinking about getting a Christmas gift for a LEGO Harry Potter fan, I cannot recommend Quidditch Match enough.

Rating: 4/5

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the review – I’ve got the Great Hall next on my build list after I finish the Roller Coaster, so look out for that, hopefully in the next few weeks.

Have you gotten this set? I’d love to know what you think in the comments.

Thanks again to Build and Play for providing this set for review. Be sure to check out their store, which includes LEGO Harry Potter

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!