Reviewed by Riëtte Badenhorst (SAFOLs Member)
| Set number | 76394 |
| Theme | Harry Potter |
| Pieces | 597 |
| Age | 10+ |
| Released | June 2021 |
| Cost (Lego SA) | R 829.99 |
Disclaimer: I’m not used to building sets with a lot of Technic™ pieces and some of the gear placements I found a bit tricky but my son built the Hedwig set on his own at age 10 and this set has the same difficulty level, so that could just be me!
Build Process
The set comes with 4 bags and the instruction booklet.
Bag 1 contains mostly the base and the central pedestal structure around which the bird is built. First up is old Dumbledore and his Fawkes of course who would patiently keep an eye on the build.
This part of the build was straight forward but the turning mechanism used in the wings’ motion proved a bit of a challenge to me with the gears and such to get them aligned and in place. I would not rush this build as I did at times and then had to reverse some steps when I realized things weren’t lining up correctly, but was still easy to follow if that should happen.
The Fawkes plate is printed and not a sticker. (sigh of relief)
The rest of the build focuses on the phoenix itself. The wing structure is quite intricate, and looking closely, it seemed odd how it was designed that way. When you look at the build as a whole, it is really beautiful and truly makes the mechanics work.
Here is what it looked like from the top after bag 3.
Once the build was complete, these were the spare pieces left over. Subject to change of course.
Pros:
I liked the challenge of building something different from modular buildings and at the lower price point it was a financially forgiving alternative.
The displayability (that is a word now) of the piece is great, especially to pair it with Hedwig. I’m not a collector/builder of Harry Potter sets in general but these two can be displayed without being too heavily “HP” themed.
It’s a beautiful set with bright colours that will surely be an eye-catcher when displayed.
The wing-motion works very well but I would treat it carefully so you don’t have pieces flying off.
Cons:
As mentioned I struggled a bit now and again to keep gears and other technic pieces in place.
A strange thing that happened a few times was that pieces would dislodge themselves from elsewhere as I tried to put sections in place. It was as if some parts’ ‘click’ didn’t ‘grip’. The wing pieces that connected to Technic™ parts also had to be treated with patience at times.
Under Pros I noted that the set is bright. It is VERY bright which might not be everyone’s cup of tea. I might have preferred a slightly deeper red and orange.
Final Thought
I’m very happy with my Fawkes. I had a company registered as Red Phoenix as I identify personally with the phoenix because of my life story. Getting it was an absolute no-brainer. I truly hope Lego will make more sets like these to display together.
