Lego story #045: My first Harry Potter set (76412 Hufflepuff House Banner)

They huffed and puffed, but the house would not fall.

While I'm a Harry Potter fan, I didn't pay attention to Lego HP sets until recently. 

I had dismissed the entire line because of the price point (and also because most HP sets just don't interest me).

So I wouldn't have gotten the Hufflepuff House Banner, my first HP set, if I hadn't stumbled across it used on Merukari for a sweet price of 3,000 yen (60% of the MSRP).

I like the concept of a highly compact, foldable set. That was the first thing that drew me to Hufflepuff House Banner, which depicts the Hufflepuff common room when unfolded.

The House Banner series isn't the only fold-it-up series in the Harry Potter line, but it's the only one that doubles up as wall decor. Yep, when folded up you can hang these on a wall.

I was interested in the Hufflepuff one (as well as Slytherin, but not the other two Houses), so this was a lucky find. 

Color-wise, it's the most cheerful of the four banners.

Each House comes with three characters who belong to it. In Hufflepuff's case: Cedric Diggory, Susan Bones, and Hannah Abbott.

The set comes with a few items to play with. 

Besides gardening items, there's a chest for keeping tools, a couch, and an elegant low table full of baked goodies. Plus fork and spoon. 

Susan Bones looks like she's digging into this sugary feast (cookie, tart, donuts, and muffins?).

I wonder if these nibbles are a nod to Helga Hufflepuff, founder of the House. It's said she was skilled at food-related charms.

I'm guessing the plant/gardening theme was chosen for Hufflepuff because Professor Sprout not only teaches Herbology but is also head of this House. I don't recall if the books said anything about Hufflepuffs having an affinity for herbology or nature.

Another item to note here is the Hufflepuff Cup, a magical artifact created by Helga Hufflepuff. Or is it just a trophy?

Clever: the hinges connecting these yellow triangular flaps double up as couches. Unfortunately the connection isn't strong, so the flaps fall off easily when handled.

But other than that weak connection, the set is otherwise stable.

Another nice gimmick of this set is the lenticular sheet. 

Look at it from two different angles and you'll see two different pictures. The flames flicker, the badger peeks out, the mandrake emerges, and so on.

The lenticular sheet is held in place by four gold water taps. 

All objects can be attached to the common room before it's folded into a banner. But the minifigures don't fit in the closed banner. Sad!

To turn the playset into a decorative banner, lay it flat, then close the side flaps.

There's a loop at the top of the banner. You can hang it on a hook.

Any faults are outweighed by how cheery the Hufflepuff room looks. This set really brightened my display cabinet.

Reselling on Merukari was a difficult decision. I bought it with the intention of reselling soon but was almost swayed to keep it. In the end, I remembered that I'm trying to not accumulate too many sets.

As a consolation, I'm hanging on longer to another Harry Potter set with a folding gimmick -- I'll show you that one another day.

Meanwhile, I'm pleased the sale of Hufflepuff House Banner netted back 95% of what I originally paid for it!