Blocks is casting a revealing spell over some of the fantastical references in LEGO Harry Potter 76417 Gringotts Wizarding Bank recently…
Sitting haphazardly on Diagon Alley as if one errant gust of wind away from toppling over, Gringotts Bank may look a little lopsided, but it’s the safest place in the Wizarding World to keep jewels, gold and secrets. Visited multiple times across the Harry Potter films, the bank is a key location, hiding everything from the Philosopher’s Stone to a horcrux.
It’s a set that many LEGO Harry Potter fans have been hoping for, so it’s no surprise that the recent reveal of 76417 Gringotts Wizarding Bank has been met with more rapture than the Triwizard Cup. Towering at well over a metre high, it’s filled with a multitude of magical Easter eggs. Blocks, the monthly LEGO magazine, is jumping on a Ukrainian Ironbelly to take a closer look…
Vault 713
One of the highest security vaults in Gringotts is 713, protected by goblin enchantments and only accessible to a select few employees. Anyone else gets sucked into the door – which is only checked once every ten years or so. It’s where the Philosopher’s Stone is hidden and is very accurately one of the deepest vaults in this set.
Thief’s Downfall
Cutting down the centre of 76417 Gringotts Wizarding Bank is a waterfall made from transparent blue bricks, which is the Thief’s Downfall. The water is enchanted to remove all spells and concealments, so no intruders can sneak into the vaults, and it’s why Harry, Ron and Hermione have to escape on the dragon in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Feeding times
Speaking of the dragon (which is a Ukrainian Ironbelly), the feeding times have been included in a clever little sticker. It’s a great reference to the books and details how the Gringotts staff had to keep the dragon just hungry enough to only eat bank robbers. Just to the side are also some LEGO bells to scare the dragon back.
Hidden horcrux
It’s not just the Philosopher’s Stone hidden in the vaults. Bellatrix Lestrange helped to hide one of the last horcruxes for Voldemort and although the Hufflepuff’s Cup is just a regular LEGO goblet in pearl gold, it’s still instantly recognisable.
Cashing out
Before going on a shopping spree for Hogwarts school supplies, a young Harry Potter needs money. Unbeknownst to him is a vault at Gringotts under his name, left there by his parents, who entrusted Hagrid with the key. This scene is brilliantly recreated using an exclusive minifigure of Harry that has him still using an oversized belt to keep up a pair of Dudley’s old trousers.
Not just a bank
As 76417 Gringotts Wizarding Bank can be displayed with 75978 Diagon Alley, there’s another shop that’s been snuck in next to its white marble columns. Magical Menagerie is where young witches and wizards come to find a familiar and there’s an exciting collection of LEGO animals. The LEGO snake element has been printed for the first time and the little purplish puffball might actually be a Puffskein.
That’s some of the wonderfully wizarding references we’ve spotted from the official images, but there’s sure to be a spell book more when 76417 Gringotts Wizarding Bank hits LEGO.com on September 1.