Capping off the weekend with Day 19, HP has a three-point buffer going into the battle today. Can they extend their lead or will MCU come within striking distance? Let’s find out:

Day 19- MCU

Steve: Day 19 in the MCU – it’s the final run to 24!

Door 19 is a microbuild for Avengers Tower. This is the best micro-scale build so far in this calendar. Great use of just a few pieces to evoke the building from the films, including a printed element (but alas it’s not a new/unique print).

My only complaint is that the build only has one “good side”, with the back having visible anti-studs.

Overall, solid design.

Day 19- SW

Patrick: Day 19 of the Star Wars advent gives us another great micro model, this time of Boba Fett’s Firespray-31 Starship, the Slave 1. Boba’s Slave 1 was received in both 2011 and 2016 advents, though this seems to be the cleanest version with the crispest colours. The green and brown really pops, whereas most previous Slave 1s used dark red and grey, and therefore weren’t as flashy. The shaping is really accurate to the in universe ship, I think due to the use of the newer 1/4 tiles in green to round the studded edges. Overall, I’m really happy with this model, though without some prints it might have a hard time vs HP and MCU…

Day 19- HP

Matt: I’m continually impressed by the mid calendar offerings from HP, despite a few hiccups here and there. As such, they’ve forged ahead to a 3 point lead deep into the season. The question will become, do they have enough to hang on?

Day 19 gives us a Platform 9.75 archway. This is actually an impressive build for a single entry, owing to its SNOT (Studs Not on Top) design technique, not always seen in HP calendars. The build itself is not quite what I’d call “minifigure scale”, but nor is it micro, so that gives it a mid-scale designation, which is about all you’d expect out of an AC entry.

The main event though is clearly the PRINTED 2×4 Hogwarts Express/Platform 9 ¾ tile, exclusive to this calendar. With its Hogwarts crest, dark red, and gold accents, it’s another great get this season. HP continues its amazing trend of offering printed tiles in their calendars, whereas expensive, hard to find retail sets are still getting sticker sheets. That’s been a huge advantage for HP throughout the season, and I suspect it’s more than enough to get them the W here again today. Also, the complete Platform 9.75/Hogwarts Express scene is definitely poly-bag worthy (pictured below).

Verdict

HP continues to shine with a mid-scale build and printed exclusive tile on Day 19, capturing another 2 points for the calendar. The battle of the microbuilds was close, but the edge goes to MCU once again, with its microscale Avengers Tower, complete with its own printed tile. SW brings up the rear yet again, a disappointing trend for that calendar this season. HP has opened another impressive gap, and the scores are now:

HP- 23

MCU- 19

SW- 15

To be continued…