I must admit I’m not the biggest Lego Harry Potter collector, however I’m definitely into Lego’s floral offerings. 76433 Mandrake bridges that gap, for me, and might be the reason I finally get into collecting Lego Harry Potter!
| Set No. | Name | Theme | Released Date | Retired Date | Pieces | Minifigs | Retail (£) | PPP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76433 | Mandrake | Harry Potter | June-2024 | ~Est~ 2026 | 579 | 0 | £59.99 $69.99 €69,99 | £0.10 |
(The set at a glance)
76433 Mandrake comes with 5 numbered bags, instructions and a sticker sheet. My set came with the old style plastic bags.
Surprisingly for a nearly £60 set there are no printed elements! All the key details come from stickers.
I do like the stickers overall, but some differences would have been nice. The Trapezoid (sticker 2) shaped stickers are especially fiddly to place and it was quite tense sticking these down. The leaf elements are so prominent that a misplaced sticker would definitely effect the whole build.
In my opinion Lego should have made the tile pieces printed elements. This would have left space on the sticker sheet to create some different sticker 2 options.
Despite being comprised of only 579 pieces the Mandrake sits at an impressive 10.5 inches (27cm).
The set’s main play-feature is the ability to ‘pull’ the Mandrake plant out of its pot. This is a nice reference to the second Harry Potter film – The Chamber of Secrets. (Poor Neville!)
The set also has a secondary feature. The mouth and arm pieces are connected together. Moving a section of the stomach makes both the arms and mouth move – imitating its famous scream!
The set is designed quite ingeniously and it’s easy to pull / replace the Mandrake build. That is once I figured out the the plant fits in at an angle and not straight on!
Whilst the novelty of up-rooting the Mandrake wears of quickly, 76433 Mandrake more than makes up for it in appearance. I’d argue that the set has some merit as a stand-alone botanical build.
Visually the Mandrake fits with other Botanical sets. I’ve placed it alongside 10368 – Chrysanthemum and 10369 – Plum Blossom for reference. The pots are roughly the same size, however, the Mandrake’s large leaves take-up quite a lot of space. (It will be interesting trying to shelve this set!).
I think it’s obvious that Harry Potter fans will like this set, however, I’ve surprised myself, at how much I enjoy it. The detail on the plant is superb and the Mandrake sticker tile doesn’t specifically call out Harry Potter – so works well. The designers have done a great job with the plant’s face and all the moving elements really add a life-like quality.
As stated earlier, my only real issue with the set is the price. Sure, it’s a licenced set, so you’re paying a premium, but £60 for 579 pieces (no Minifigures) feels steep.
Personally I think the Lego team missed a trick. They could have easily included an accompanying Minifigure like they do with Star Wars sets. A Professor Sprout Minifig would have gone a long way as we haven’t seen once since 2021’s Hogwarts™ Moment: Herbology Class!
Whilst the Mandrake plant has always been a fairly niche interest to those of us outside folk traditions, the set still casts a striking and interesting silhouette. If you’ve collected every Lego Botanical set and are looking for another build – why not try out 76433 Mandrake.
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