Review: 30651 Quidditch Practice
Posted by CapnRex101,
LEGO has produced various superb polybags for Harry Potter recently, including some desirable minifigures and attempting multiple scales, with appealing results.
30651 Quidditch Practice seems very interesting too, neatly combining a unique minifigure with a microscale Quidditch pitch!
Summary
30651 Quidditch Practice, 55 pieces.
Buy at LEGO.com »
30651 Quidditch Practice is cleverly conceived and contains a brilliant minifigure
- Creative idea
- Neat function
- Excellent minifigure
- Middling use of forced perspective
Minifigure
Gryffindor and Slytherin have generally been the focus of Quidditch-based Harry Potter sets, as their teams often appear onscreen. However, 75978 Diagon Alley introduced Quidditch robes for the other houses and Cho Chang sports her dark blue Ravenclaw garb here, finally ending this torso's exclusivity to 75978 Diagon Alley!
The reddish brown gloves look good and I like the blue jumper, which matches Cho's minifigure in 76411 Ravenclaw House Banner. The double-sided head also returns from there, displaying a smile and a more neutral expression, while the black hair component has become a mainstay of Cho's various appearances.
After producing a piece specifically for broomsticks in 2022, the older accessory has returned in 2023. The modern broomstick looks much better, although this dark brown broomstick serves its purpose and is stronger than the later piece. I presume that tendency to detach was the decisive factor in returning to the classic broomstick.
The Completed Model
Cho plays as Seeker for Ravenclaw, chasing the Golden Snitch whenever it appears, often high above the Quidditch pitch. Microscale and minifigure-scale are therefore combined here, similar to the wonderful 30652 Doctor Strange's Interdimensional Portal. Forced perspective is unusual in official sets and I think the Marvel polybag is more successful, but this example is fun too.
Despite its tiny size, the essential features of the Quidditch pitch are provided. These include six golden goalposts and four spectator stands, featuring the colours of the four Hogwarts houses. I love these splashes of colour and their angled arrangement works well, although a couple more stands would have been appreciated. For a polybag though, the pitch looks splendid.
A green 4x4 round plate occupies the middle, rotating on a white 2x2 plate with Technic pin. Cho and the Snitch are connected using trans-clear aerials, so appear to fly in circles as the plate is turned underneath. This function is quite satisfying and I am pleased to see the Golden Snitch in a polybag, although there are very few options for posing the minifigure attached to the aerial.
Overall
Polybags are always a difficult prospect, given the severe limitations surrounding the number of pieces. However, such challenges often trigger creative solutions and 30651 Quidditch Practice encapsulates this ingenuity. Combining microscale with minifigure-scale is clever and I think this example is appealing, especially given the detail on the tiny Quidditch pitch.
Admittedly, the forced perspective is not as effective as it could be with taller supports, or a clear frame to separate the scales, which 30652 Doctor Strange's Interdimensional Portal used. Even so, this polybag is enjoyable and the minifigure alone is fantastic, including the uncommon torso from 75978 Diagon Alley.
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45 comments on this article
I am excited to get cho chang in a Quidditcht suit.
I was debating getting this for the Ravenclaw robes until someone leaked the new Quidditch set, I'll hold off and see if I can get that one at a good price second-hand.
Yet another fantastic polybag! Hopefully this trend will continue. I nearly bought it, but I already have enough of the minifig that it's not worth it to buy it just for the aerials. Hopefully the next polybag will have the sword of Gryffindor, because that will be a must buy.
I bought 5 of these and built an expanded quidditch field with multiple chos... and one Dr. Strange. Only bought one of those
The kind of LEGO I have been fiscally forced to enjoy. Still love it though.
Mixed feelings. On the one hand the minifig looks useful, with hands and face that can be nicely repurposed elsewhere, as well as a wig which... exists. Plus five pyramid pieces (I presume there's a spare in there) is the right number for making a whacking great mace, so there's that. Gold pieces always come in handy for decoration, and green plates are easily reusable, especially with curves.
But on the other hand the model itself doesn't look great, I wouldn't ever want to display it or play with it, I don't know if I'd ever find a use for the minifig torso with a whacking great Hogwarts logo on it, and... y'know, it's Harry Potter, so it has that whole godawful stank about it.
Oh, it's all academic anyway, since there's absolutely nowhere I know that even stocks polybags in enough numbers to ever find.
Giant Cho Chang. Why was this never a scene?
Honestly it doesn’t so much look like forced perspective so much as it looks like Cho is flying over cartons of milk. Perhaps less of the playing field could have been used to make it look more convincing?
I'm planning to just put Cho in my modular Hogwarts and otherwise add the Quidditch field next to my micro-Hogwarts polybag build from last year.
@CapnRex101 said:
"The modern broomstick looks much better"
I'm not so sure about that.
Personally, I think the forced perspective actually works quite well!
Only available in USA/CA it seems? Disappointing.
@wsmit99 said:
"Only available in USA/CA it seems? Disappointing. "
Across the pond you get all those foil packs.
I’ll say this is a decent polybag. Some of the colors on the towers of the pitch are off…but that’s whatever as this wasn’t going to be displayed anywhere. After getting Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff all with capes & white legs(even Ravenclaw in DA had white)…it makes no sense to suddenly change them here. Cheap easy way to get that torso counteracts the downsides of this set. Almost. The fact that it’s Harry Potter is fantastic though.
Everything good and useful, picked it up a while back and happy with it. Even entertained my 6yo for some time.
@Norikins said:
" @wsmit99 said:
"Only available in USA/CA it seems? Disappointing. "
Across the pond you get all those foil packs."
Correction: scalpers get all those foil packs. I've never seen any of the desirable ones anywhere except eBay.
Which funnily enough is also the only place most of the polybags turn up as well, even though they're never officially available here. The prices aren't too awful though. I'll pick this one up for sure.
Also the foil packs are paper now I think.
Finally! All four houses can have a full seven player Quiddich team!
Don't like that way of mounting a flyer by the hand nor really the forced perspective as a display item. But the minifig and torso element (for making other Ravenclaw mates) definitely roped me in for the few my local store had in stock.
@MisterBrickster said:
" @Norikins said:
" @wsmit99 said:
"Only available in USA/CA it seems? Disappointing. "
Across the pond you get all those foil packs."
Correction: scalpers get all those foil packs. I've never seen any of the desirable ones anywhere except eBay.
Which funnily enough is also the only place most of the polybags turn up as well, even though they're never officially available here. The prices aren't too awful though. I'll pick this one up for sure.
Also the foil packs are paper now I think. "
If this is in regards to the packs on the comics, then yes they have suddenly become very difficult to get (or at least the SW ones are).
Scalpers are buying all of the rare figure issues.
@MegaBlocks said:
" @MisterBrickster said:
" @Norikins said:
" @wsmit99 said:
"Only available in USA/CA it seems? Disappointing. "
Across the pond you get all those foil packs."
Correction: scalpers get all those foil packs. I've never seen any of the desirable ones anywhere except eBay.
Which funnily enough is also the only place most of the polybags turn up as well, even though they're never officially available here. The prices aren't too awful though. I'll pick this one up for sure.
Also the foil packs are paper now I think. "
If this is in regards to the packs on the comics, then yes they have suddenly become very difficult to get (or at least the SW ones are).
Scalpers are buying all of the rare figure issues."
Yep.
Also more common to see the magazines with the figures ripped off them than with them still intact.
Especially for Star Wars. Others don't seem as bad. There were loads of Golden Cole still around for weeks last month. Star wars ones are gone days after stocked.
If I get this one (and I'm tempted, but I'll have to find it first), it'll mainly be to get another Snitch. I've always felt that piece would make a great hood ornament on a vintage car.
@MisterBrickster said:
" @Norikins said:
" @wsmit99 said:
"Only available in USA/CA it seems? Disappointing. "
Across the pond you get all those foil packs."
Correction: scalpers get all those foil packs. I've never seen any of the desirable ones anywhere except eBay.
Which funnily enough is also the only place most of the polybags turn up as well, even though they're never officially available here. The prices aren't too awful though. I'll pick this one up for sure.
Also the foil packs are paper now I think. "
Yes, they are now paper.
Managed to pick up one of the 212th clones a couple of months back, was going to get a couple but thought, leave some for others to have a chance, if still there the following week then I would get a second, they were all gone/packets missing the next time I was at the shop.
You need to use your brain and eyes a bit here but the forced perspective works well. I’m not a HP fan and I knew straight away what was happening here.
The pitch could be a lot better. For one thing, why are the box seats mounted diagonally? In the film, they sat square. There were also a lot more of them, plus the lower bleachers between them. The center goals could have been mounted higher, but I don't see that as being the case. And the rotating section just looks like a giant hill in the middle of the field, which definitely isn't accurate (I've seen flat and concave, but I'm not sure which is correct).
@Ridgeheart:
No, it does. While a 2-piece broom may not be the answer, this broom design looks really bad. The only brooms I've seen that are that shape have been standing upright in a broom closet for decades.
@Vindicare:
I can find three different uniform styles. The earlier design did have everyone wearing white pants. The other two had charcoal grey pants. Both of these uniforms were only featured in Year 6. One was for tryouts, and the other for games. Chang's design looks like it's based on the latter. I think the dark-blue legs are meant to represent the half-cape that hangs from the jersey. Since the Diagon Alley set includes the twins' shop, this is the uniform style that's accurate to that time, but it should never have white pants. Also, it appears this uniform style is only available for the two neglected Houses. The other two got multiple uniform styles previously, so they probably weren't as high a priority for the Diagon Alley set.
None of the current minfigs look truly accurate to anything. You'd need dual-molded legs for everyone, with shin guards in brown. At least some positions would need dual-molded arms, with forearm guards in brown. You'd need a cloaked torso like this, with a cloth skirt to form the lower half of the cape. The Keeper would need upper chest pads and helmet.
Anyways, there's actually one option to make matching uniforms for all four Houses. The new banner sets all include three different torso designs. The sweater is the same style they wear under this uniform. Pair it with a cape to represent the jersey that's worn over the sweater, and everybody can finally match.
@quixotequest:
Consider that she's a seeker with the snitch in sight. Harry flew with one hand outstretched as well.
@TheOtherMike:
I've personally seen them at both Target and Walmart in my area, so they shouldn't be too challenging to locate if you're willing to check regularly.
It would be nice if you could buy LEGO's own product on their website. Seems like a no brainer but still here we are.
@PurpleDave : The problem is that not only am I confined to a wheelchair and thus can't just make a quick trip to a store to check, but the area I live in seems to be behind other markets in when new waves of products arrive. Heck, sometimes, they never seem to show up at all! The local Walmart's polybag/CMF rack has been empty for some time. There were also some entire Transformers waves that I don't think I ever saw.
@TheOtherMike:
Target has been stocking these to the checkout aisles in some locations, which should make it easy for whoever picks up the phone to check directly. Alternately, the UPC for this set is 6 73419 37755 3, which either chain should be able to use to look it up in their system. Alternately alternately, you can just go on Target’s website and order it for delivery or local pickup. Don’t buy it on Walmart’s site, though. They don’t appear to have a direct listing, and the 3rd party price is $12.95.
@wsmit99 said:
"Only available in USA/CA it seems? Disappointing. "
It's available in Australia too!
I wouldn't be so quick to assume they've returned to the old broomstick piece as the standard, just because it appears here. Polybags don't always use the most up to date parts. It's possible it was cheaper including the old piece here
And now, my Quidditch teams are COMPLETE! The favorite word of all AFOLS such as myself. ;)
@StyleCounselor said:
"And now, my Quidditch teams are COMPLETE! The favorite word of all AFOLS such as myself. ;)"
Ah, cool. Who's the captain of your Muggle-team?
Nice review! I’m curious about how many pieces are left exclusive to that Diagon Alley set now��.
@PhantomBricks said:
"Yet another fantastic polybag! Hopefully this trend will continue. I nearly bought it, but I already have enough of the minifig that it's not worth it to buy it just for the aerials. Hopefully the next polybag will have the sword of Gryffindor, because that will be a must buy."
The Sword of Gryffindor is already widely available.
@nrith:
Yeah, five sets so far. It debuted with the Griphook CMF from HP2, so it's not like it even started out being difficult to obtain. Chamber of Secrets, obviously, because Harry needs it to defeat the new basilisk. Last year Dumbledore had it installed in his office, and Neville got it as an Advent gift. This year it got nailed to a wall in the Gryffindor banner, just because they all got their House Artifacts (even though almost no Hogwarts students have ever laid eyes on anything except the sword, and then only because anyone called into Dumbledore's office has probably seen it).
Although, if you only buy sets (vs loose parts), and you're not very good at determining the contents of a CMF packet, the banner set is probably the cheapest it's been to obtain.
@nrith said:
" @PhantomBricks said:
"Yet another fantastic polybag! Hopefully this trend will continue. I nearly bought it, but I already have enough of the minifig that it's not worth it to buy it just for the aerials. Hopefully the next polybag will have the sword of Gryffindor, because that will be a must buy."
The Sword of Gryffindor is already widely available. "
While that is correct, I have no interest in buying any of the sets that it currently appears in. I'm a polybag fan, not a Harry Potter fan. I would buy the part online, but that would take me down a route I would rather not begin.
@Ridgeheart said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"And now, my Quidditch teams are COMPLETE! The favorite word of all AFOLS such as myself. ;)"
Ah, cool. Who's the captain of your Muggle-team?"
John Elway, of course. My Keeper is Timmy Howard, Beaters are Larry Walker and Todd Helton, Seeker is Chauncy Billups. The other Chasers are Nikola Jokic and Alex English.
Let's GO, Avnugbroxpids!
It will be nice to add this fig and several of the torsos to my HP collection. So relieved it isn't another Harry Potter or Gryffindor figure.
No cape though. The Cedric fig with activity book came with a cape and white legs. She's missing a cape and has dark blue legs.
It would be nice if these figs followed the same standard as a previous commenter mentioned.
@PhantomBricks:
So you don’t collect HP, but you want the HP sword? Do you just want it because it’s a fancy sword, or do you have something in mind for it? I actually picked one up a while back because I made KING BOB! from Minions 1, and that sword was almost a perfect match for the sword that Bob pulled out of the stone. I also gave him the original Scabbers rat as Poochy.
@PurpleDave said:
" @PhantomBricks:
So you don’t collect HP, but you want the HP sword? Do you just want it because it’s a fancy sword, or do you have something in mind for it? I actually picked one up a while back because I made KING BOB! from Minions 1, and that sword was almost a perfect match for the sword that Bob pulled out of the stone. I also gave him the original Scabbers rat as Poochy."
I'm thinking of using it for a specific character I created. I created superheroes when I was kid, and I'm planning on doing a series of MOCs based on their storylines.
@EtudeTheBadger said:
"Giant Cho Chang. Why was this never a scene?"
what did you mean by this
@Ignore_Me said:
" @EtudeTheBadger said:
"Giant Cho Chang. Why was this never a scene?"
what did you mean by this"
He refuses to have his perspective forced.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @Ignore_Me said:
" @EtudeTheBadger said:
"Giant Cho Chang. Why was this never a scene?"
what did you mean by this"
He refuses to have his perspective forced. "
I'm a "he"? How do you know that?
@EtudeTheBadger said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @Ignore_Me said:
" @EtudeTheBadger said:
"Giant Cho Chang. Why was this never a scene?"
what did you mean by this"
He refuses to have his perspective forced. "
I'm a "he"? How do you know that?"
I'm sorry, I went the ol' school of 'when in doubt.' Yet, that is undeniably a poor position to take because it reinforces oppressive social dynamics. And, that's all I will say here- especially since this is an HP Lego thread.
Simply, a more cumbersome way of putting it would have deadened my attempt at humor. ;)
@StyleCounselor said:
" @Ignore_Me said:
" @EtudeTheBadger said:
"Giant Cho Chang. Why was this never a scene?"
what did you mean by this"
He refuses to have his perspective forced. "
"Yes officer, this set right here. It tried to force my perspective!"
Careful though. Golden Snitches still get plain old stitches.
Disappointing set, the only good thing is the minifigure and the pieces. Not a good 'display' by itself, not an addition to anything (unless you mod it), and something I wouldn't spend my money on.