After yesterday’s point, HP has squared things back up again with SW as we approach the back 9 of the Battle of the Licensed Advent Calendars. Who will be our new leader after today? Let’s dive right in:

Harry Potter- Day 17

Matt: After a string of mediocre offerings, HP has somehow managed to tie the competition up, winning strategic daily matchups when they count. Behind Door #17 is a piano! This build continues the Yule Ball trend despite not screaming HP outright, in my opinion. Eschewing the standard black colour that’s associated with pianos, the designer has opted for dark grey with pearl-silver 1×1 cones for the feet. I actually think this colour choice works here, offering something slightly different while blending with the overall color scheme of the Yule Ball. The highlight for me is the 1×4 printed (yay, no sticker!) piano keys tile that adorns the front. In terms of scale, the piano is not too far off minifig scale, albeit not quite there, as this build is slightly too small. Nevertheless, today’s offering is a usable build that can be transferred to other themes as desired. Overall, a unique, solid offering today and one of the better ones of the last five days.

Star Wars- Day 17

Steve: For Day 17, Star Wars gives us a buildable Pit Droid minifig. While the Pit Droids go all the way back to Episode I, they have been seen most recently on-screen in “The Mandalorian”. This is a unique version of the figure for the advent calendar, as previous versions have used a slightly different build. In my opinion, this new version is the most screen-accurate as well. It’s a good build, but if we are not counting buildable figures for our automatic win criteria (and I don’t think we should) then I think the piano build from HP is better today – it’s a nice, compact build with a relatively rare printed piece for the keyboard.

Verdict

Both calendars offer solid builds today which is a refreshing change of pace as we enter the single digit countdown to Christmas. Based on its compact, clean build and printed 1×4 tile, HP takes the point today and with that, its first lead since Day 7! The score is now:

HP- 9

SW- 8

To be continued…