Headmaster

Professor Dumbledore is one of my favorite characters from the books and movies of Harry Potter (but I will say, I preferred Richard Harris’ portrayal over Gambon’s). He was a total badass and knew it, but didn’t let it go to his head or flaunt it. There was a reason you-know-who was afraid of him. Builder Pate-keetongu has crafted a fitting version of the powerful wizard, and his venerable phoenix Fawkes.

#12 Grimold Place

I’m going to stop you right here, and tell you to watch the video below before continuing to read, I’ll wait…

I spend pretty much every morning, 365 days a year give or take, blogging LEGO creations. I can tell you that an audible reaction from me is pretty rare, but this brilliant little MOC by builder Inthert made me exclaim out loud “holy sh*t!” I’m a Harry Potter fan, and a LEGO fan of course, and I have a soft spot for micro builds and mechanical ingenuity. This sorta ticks all the boxes for me.

Dumbledore's Office

Thinking back to all the schools I attended (we moved around a bit, I went to many) absolutely none of them were anywhere even remotely as cool as Hogwarts. I mean not by a long shot. And while is only though the words of JK Rowling and the production design of the films that we get to imagine what it would have been like, they have been so well done that they feel distant but real. So this recreation by builder Legopard is a historical reproduction in my imagination, and it’s perfect.

Three Tiny Brothers

One of the most jaw-dropping works of animation I’ve ever seen is the tale of Three Brothers from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it’s a masterpiece of production design, lighting and animation. Builder Nuju Metro stunned us all earlier this year with his Three Brothers build, inspired by that animation, and now he’s back with a micro scale version of that MOC. Even small enough to fit in your hand it’s absolutely amazing.

Now Departing From Platform 9 3/4

While the notion of boarding a train to be taken off to a far away school is absolutely foreign to me, it sure seems pretty nifty. I don’t know if 11 year old me would have thought so, but then again I’m only a muggle. This micro scale of the famous Hogwarts Express by vitreolum boasts some of the coolest micro mountains I’ve ever seen (and the train is pretty spiffy too).

The Burrow

One of my favorite places in the Wizarding World, and a place I would genuinely like to visit, is the homestead of the Weasley family, the humble but wonderfully whimsical Burrow. While the books did a pretty good job of painting the picture of what this place looked like, the movies really completed it and make it real. This micro scale MOC by vitreolum captures the whimsy that makes this place so appealing.

Gleefully Evil

I think the thing that made Bellatrix Lastrange (or at least Helena Bonham Carter's portrayal of her) so creepy was just how much fun she had being so bad. She was gleefully evil (gleevil?), and took great pleasure in doing awful things. Speaking of great pleasure, this MOC by vitreolum gives me all the good wizarding world feels. It's a lot of cool techniques and style packed into a tiny package. And great evil has never been more cute before I believe.

A 4-6-0 Haul Class Heading North

I have a confession to make: I still haven't read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Sure, I've read the rest, but somehow missed the inaugural tome in Rowling's master work. Chalk it up to arriving late to that party (Please don't fire me, Tommy. I'll read it, I promise). This masterful micro rendition of the Hogwarts Express, by david zambito, captures the beautiful example of British locomotive history, as it rumbles it's passengers to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry.  The texture achieved through the use of dark and light bluish-grey in the elevated railway wonderfully contrasts with the lush vegetation in the fields below.  One could almost see a chocolate frog making it's leap to freedom. 

Quidditch

I've been to my fair share of Quidditch pitchs. I worked on the ride at Universal Studios, and just last week we were animating a small scale match in my studio. Luckily I'm a fan, and I'm also really digging this micro scale pitch by builder Oky - Space Ranger. I'm rooting for Gryffindor, how about you?

Demiguise

Magical beasts come in all shapes and sizes, and pretty much all are just that much better when constructed in bricks. The peaceful demiguise, brilliantly realized here by builder chris office, has the ability to make itself invisible, as demonstrated in the second image below. I'm guessing most of us wouldn't mind this ability at least a couple times a week.

Secret Treasures

I personally am enjoying the resurgence of Harry Potter's Wizarding World, I was a big fan of the books, enjoyed the movies and was starting to miss magic in my muggle life. Watching Magical Beasts brought back all those magical feels, and Niffler, brilliantly recreated here in bricks by DOGOD Brick Design, brought a few chuckles. And like all magic, there's usually an element of surprise, like the secrets hidden within this MOC. Click through to reveal all the fun stuff going on here.

The Proud Sons Of Durmstrang

When Hogwarts held the Triwizard Tournament the Durmstrang school arrived by boat, magical boat. Builder Swan Dutchman seems to have a little wizard in him too, crafting this tiny boat somewhere around 20 studs in length, but cramming 400 parts into it (not including the water). It's a wonderfully crafted micro scale ship from the wizarding world.

Newt's Case

So you watched the stores, tracked the delivery trucks, bribed the clerks and fought the kids at Walmart and managed to score some of the new LEGO Harry Potter Collectible Minifigures or the new sets, so now what? Well, if you're builder LEGO 7 you build a replica of Newt's case to carry Newt, Tina, Jacob and Queenie, and it's absolutely magical.

The Tale of the Three Brothers

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a compilation of children's stories from the wizarding world of Harry Potter. One of the most recognized stories in this book is the Tale of the Three Brothers. Aaron Newman has created this awesome representation of the three brothers meeting the incarnation of death itself, as told in the story (and read by Hermione in the films). This is the second recreation of this scene, the first being made in vignette form for the Harry's Magical Journey Project back in 2017. The image of death's looming presence in this scene really attracted me to the build, despite how scary its appearance is in this form. I really appreciate how this scene came together, with some excellent photography and positioning. 

Harry Potter Magical Creatures Music Puzzle Box

I was already in a magical mood this morning, thinking about the fantastical world of Harry Potter. It must have been fate, because moments later I discovered this, an absolutely wonderful musical puzzle box by builder kjm161. Inspired by the intricate and beautiful puzzle boxes from the game The Room, Karen has crafted a gorgeous tribute to Harry Potter, with many surprises. I won't ruin the fun, just watch the video, it's amazing.

Expecto-Abnorman!

Fresh from the campus of Hogsnorts comes a fresh batch of Rejectz from builder Melan-E. Features is Dumbledaft (with Faw-kAWKS), Harry Pooper, Herwhynie and Ron Weeeweee. They're going to learn spells, get oppressed by their potions professor, have some adventures and blossom into adulthood. All while trying to not get killed by he who must not be named.

19 Years Later. . .

It's the descendants of Harry Potter's first day of their term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Today in Harry Potter fan history marks the time in the final novel of the Harry Potter series where Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley return to Platform 9 3/4 to send their own children off to school. This scene, composed by Jonas Kramm, is the perfect build to feature today here on BrickNerd. It's quite creative and magically executed, with James Sirius Potter disappearing into the hidden column gateway. With Voldemort defeated, all witches and wizards can breathe a bit more easily. . .that is, until the next instalment of the series.

The Household of the Lovegoods

LEGO Harry Potter creations are still on the rise. The latest addition I have come across is this awesome model of the Lovegood house, seen in the 7th movie. I have never seen another model of the complete house, but perhaps that's just me. Brick Surgeon has peaked my interest with this intriguing build! The interior is truly amazing, but even the outside, though it's all black, is really interesting to me. The shaping, angles, and especially those windows are what make this build so pleasing to my eyes. Excellent work here! Make sure to take a closer look at all the interesting pieces used.

Potions

“I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper on death”

— Professor Severus Snape

I miss Harry Potter. We became fans around the time book two was out, so we were fairly early to the party, and what a party it was. While it was satisfying to see the series wrapped up, not having that next book to look forward to made me a bit sad. This scene from Snape's infamous potions class by builder CheeseyStudios brings back a lot of fond memories, both from my imagination and from the movies. It's packed with details and I highly recommend clicking through for a peek at the larger pictures, it's worth it.

No Bigger Than a Bowtruckle

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them gave us a brilliant look into the world of magical creatures from the Harry Potter universe. One of which we saw was this cute little bowtruckle, one of Newt's tiny companions. Designed by Jonas Kramm, this excellent model of the magical beast is executed perfectly. I can't help but think that bowtruckles and Groot could be distant relatives somehow.