Harry Potter

Newt's Case of Magical Creatures

A battered brown suitcase that folds open into a whole menagerie of brick-built beasts.

Brick Rated Score

4.2/5

Set 75952 · 2018

Pieces694

Minifigs4

Year2018

Set number75952

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The verdict

This is one of those sets where the concept does most of the heavy lifting, and I mean that as a compliment.

Newt's case folds open into three little habitats, and then you get five creatures at wildly different scales to fill them, from a Niffler you could lose in your pocket to a 133-piece Erumpent that steals the whole show. The building is basic, so anyone chasing clever engineering should look elsewhere. But if you loved Fantastic Beasts, or you just want a display piece with genuine charm, this one earns its spot.

Best for: Fantastic Beasts fans who want a display piece full of creatures rather than a technical build

The full review

What it is

The suitcase is what got me. Closed, it is a scuffed brown case with clasps and a handle, the kind of ordinary object that hides something enormous, which is exactly the joke of Fantastic Beasts. Then you unlatch it and it folds open into three habitats: a grooming and kitchen nook on the left, Newt's little shack in the middle, and the Occamy nest with its egg on the right. Around all that you get five creatures. The Niffler is tiny and cheeky, the Bowtruckle is a spindly green stick figure of a thing, and then the scale jumps up hard to the three big builds. The Erumpent is 133 pieces on its own and honestly looks fantastic, all bulk and horn. The Thunderbird has four wings and a metallic gold beak that catches the light, and the serpentine Occamy is built around a run of ball joints so you can coil it into whatever pose you like. Combining two very different scales in one box could have felt awkward, and instead it feels like a proper collection.

The catch

Now for the honest bit, because there is a real one. The premise is a magical suitcase that holds impossible creatures, and yet there is not enough room inside the case to actually store the creatures. You display them beside it instead. For a lot of builders that lands as a genuine letdown, because the fold-away-menagerie fantasy is right there and the set does not quite deliver it. The building is also on the simple side. Both the case and the beasts lean on basic techniques, so if you came for the kind of parts wizardry that makes you stop and study a section, you will breeze through this in an evening. And the case is smaller in the hand than the packaging suggests, so temper your expectations on footprint.

Who it's for

Get this if you are a Fantastic Beasts fan, or if you love a set that is really about characters and creatures rather than architecture. It photographs well, it displays well, and the exclusive minifigures make it a nice anchor for a wizarding shelf. The original 49.99 price was very fair for what you get. Skip it if you build for the engineering, because the techniques here will not challenge you, and skip it if you specifically wanted the suitcase to swallow all the beasts, because that trick is the one thing it cannot do.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build moves fast and stays approachable, which makes it a lovely one to do with younger fans or as a relaxed evening project. You put together the folding case first, working out how the three habitats hinge and lock, and then you move on to the creatures one at a time, which keeps the pace varied. Nothing here will trip you up. The techniques are straightforward across the board, so the pleasure is in watching each animal take shape rather than in solving anything tricky.

The standout parts are the creatures themselves. That 133-piece Erumpent is the heaviest single build in the box and the most impressive on the shelf. The Occamy is assembled around a chain of dark bluish grey ball joints, which is what gives it that snake-like poseability for display. The Thunderbird's metallic gold beak is the piece people notice first, a small element that lifts the whole figure. Add the four exclusive minifigures, Newt Scamander, Jacob Kowalski, Tina and Queenie Goldstein, none of which appeared in any other set at the time, and the parts value tilts firmly toward character and creature pieces rather than bulk basic bricks.

Fun facts

01The set retired in December 2019 after a shelf life of just over a year, and its value has since climbed roughly 37 percent above the original 49.99 RRP.
02All four minifigures (Newt, Jacob, Tina and Queenie) were exclusive to this set when it launched, appearing nowhere else in the LEGO lineup.
03The Erumpent alone accounts for 133 of the set's 694 pieces, making it one of the meatiest brick-built creatures in the wizarding range at the time.
04The case folds open into three separate habitats: a grooming and kitchen area, Newt's shack, and the Occamy nest complete with a buildable egg.