Another week, another Harry Potter LEGO review! This time I’m looking at The Knight Bus (set 75957), one of my favourite sets from this round! It’s not the biggest of sets, but that makes it perfect for sticking it in a bag and taking it out!
Whilst I’m not at all fussed about the inside of the bus, that magical purple really makes the bus pop when out on the streets. Taking it into London in the early twilight hours, it came to life with the addition of fairy lights and handy street light bokeh.
– Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, page 30.
Whilst all the signs are stickers (urgh), they look quite nice from a distance. I love the little touches of the stars on the wording and the movie-matching number plate.
In general, I ended up shooting the bus from the rear as I never worked out how to effectively illuminate the headlights with the tools I had on hand. I really need to invest in some brick lights at some point!
I did break out Photoshop in an attempt to light the headlights through use of a tutorial I found online. I don’t think it looks all that great, and they look wrong to me. If anyone has any further tips for lighting headlights, or some good real-life effects tips that don’t break the bank, I’d love to hear them!
Before 
After
The minifigures
Whilst the bus is the highlight of the set, you also get a few associated figures that are quite fun.
First up is the standard third-year Harry, who comes with a trunk full of supplies. This figure is the same one we get repeated throughout the Summer 2019 wave of sets, so nothing particularly special to report here.
Next up we get Stan Shunpike, dressed in the same violet purple as the bus. I like the addition of the pimples on his face! A nice touch to match his book description.
– Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, page 31.
Along with Sam, we also get Ernie Prang, the bus driver. Not much is said about Ernie in Prisoner of Azkaban, but compared to his movie counterpart, the figure looks pretty good.
– Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, page 32.
No Knight Bus would be complete without the Shrunken Head to help Ernie avoid little old ladies! Whilst not part of the books, the head does add a certain something to the set, swinging back and forth in front of Ernie! The printing creeps me out a little, but it is well done, with an all-round print.
Final thoughts
This is a great little set for a toy photographer. Transport often makes for a good toy photo whilst out and about, and thanks to its wonderful colours, the Knight Bus is no exception. Whilst the figures didn’t do so much for me, the bus was a joy to photograph and I wholeheartedly recommend that you pick up this set.
~ Lizzi
Disclaimer: This set was provided by LEGO for review.
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Lovely pics Lizzie. The bus is so alive. I want this set I’m awaiting some magical price point currently only in my mind. Fun post!
Hi Lizzi, the bus immediately had my attention – and with it, your review. As for the headlights, are there some transparent bricks you could hide a LED behind? Also, for all it mght help, I’ve been experimenting with optical fiber cables. Here in Germany, they sell them at stores carrying electronic components… I posted two shots from my first experiment on MeWe so you can see where I am going with this, well knowing there’s room for improvement. Thanks for the review!
I’ve been looking at the bus wondering when I would decide to add it to my collection. Those fairy lights inside the bus work beautifully – I’ll be watching for ideas on lighting headiights. That’s something I’ve never done anything with.