The Battle of the Licensed Advent Calendars begins! Last year’s face-off pitted newcomer Harry Potter bursting onto the advent calendar scene versus incumbent Star Wars. In a day-for-day roller coaster, it was newcomer Harry Potter taking the inaugural battle by a score of 13-11.
This year, the question is: Will the upstart Harry Potter match its marvelous calendar from 2019 and go back-to-back, or will long term mainstay Star Wars take back the season’s top prize? Let’s see who draws first wand/blaster on Day 1.
Harry Potter- Day 1
Behind the first door of the 2020 HP Advent Calendar is none other than The Boy Who Lived himself. Dressed in his wizarding dress robes, Harry is setting the tone for the overall scene included in this year’s calendar, which appears focused on the Yule Ball from the Goblet of Fire. This minifigure is not an exclusive, but has only appeared once before. Highlights include a double-sided face, spare dark brown wands, and medium legs (Yes!). The real bonus here is a exceptionally detailed 2×3 tile featuring the Yule Ball promo poster. Inscriptions on the poster reveal metallic printing and a tremendous amount of detail. This day’s entry also includes a side table of sorts, with a candle. Extra parts include a wand sprue and candle flame, which are very welcome. Overall, this is a very strong start for the HPAC.
One of the things that HP has going for it is that each day the calendar is building toward a coherent scene. We will keep an eye on how this plays out moving forward and consider each build within the context of a greater scene.
Star Wars- Day 1
Star Wars opens the Advent Calendar battle in an equally strong manner – the microscale A-wing for Dec 1st is one of the best microscale ships we’ve seen in a while. Strong lines, very recognizable and some really nice SNOT construction techniques make today’s selection a great addition to any microscale fleet. In fact, the build is far superior to the A-wing that was included in the May the 4th Death Star promotional set. After Christmas, I think I’ll replace the one in the set with the one from the calendar.
Verdict
Both calendars come out swinging on Day 1, and fans of both themes are going to walk away happy today. If today’s entries are any indication, this is going to be a close battle all the way. It’s hard to choose a winner here, but in a world where minifigs are coveted as well as printed pieces, the tie goes to HP, the titular character himself! The score starts with:
HP-1
SW-0
To be continued…
NewfoundLUG 