The Knight Bus Lego Set

Welcome to the Lego Knight Bus – emergency transport for the stranded Lego witch or wizard. Although the Knight Bus makes a relatively short appearance in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, it is certainly a lasting one. Harry Potter fans can’t get enough of the unique triple decker bus, so much so that this is fourth Lego Knight Bus released to date. First, there was the 2004 (4755) set, then there was the promotional polybag Lego Knight Bus (4695), then the 4866 set in 2011, and finally the 2019 (75957) set. This 2019 set is by far the best set in my opinion.

The Set

This Lego set includes 403 Lego pieces. The Knight Bus itself is just over 6 inches tall and 2½ inches wide. I purchased mine for £34.99 from B&M in the UK. The set includes the following:-

  • Three bags of Lego pieces
  • One 83 page instructional booklet (pages 1 and 83 are not numbered in the book)
  • One Sticker sheet with 6 stickers in total (although the stickers are numbered 1-5 as there are two “All Destinations (nothing underwater)” sign stickers labelled “4”)

The Build

The build is relatively quick and easy and takes about 2 hours to build. That is with me trying to savour the build as long as possible. The majority of the Lego pieces are of course purple and there are also a lot of window pieces so it can be a little repetitive. However, I feel there is enough variety throughout the build to keep it interesting and fun.

The Exterior

The exterior of this set is of course the showstopper. It very much is a mini Lego replica of the Knight Bus we all know and love.

The Front 

The Knight Bus  sign on the front of the bus is well made and is very movie accurate. It is a single black tile piece and the sign is a sticker stuck on to the tile. I wish the sign was a custom printed Lego piece rather than a sticker. It can be very frustrating applying the sticker correctly.

The grill at the front of the bus is also a sticker on a grey tile. Whilst I think the grill looks good, I still think it’s a shame that it is a sticker and not a custom printed tile. There are also two clear headlight pieces on either side of the grill. The fender portion is rounded which is a nice touch. There are also two red light pieces at the sides of the bus which protrude out.

My least favourite part of the front are the windows on the top floor. They slant inwards but since they are not round at the corners, the lines are very harsh. It would be better if the pieces were rounded at the corners where the window frame meets the roof. The angling is better than previous Knight Bus sets but it still needs improvement in my opinion. A couple of rounded “L” shaped pieces at the corners would be much better.

The Sides

The best new feature of The Knight Bus set is the opening panel. As you will see, there is a panel at the left side of the bus (4 windows long and two windows high) which opens using two hinge pieces to reveal the bottom two levels. When open, you have a very clear view the chandelier, Dailey Prophet advertisement, sliding bed, passenger seat on the second level, and part of the driver’s seat. The panel opens very wide and lays almost completely flat against the side if it weren’t for the protruding red light pieces. When shut, the panel is very stable and does not easily open on its own. Even if I turn the Knight Bus sideways with the panel facing downwards, it still does not open. 

I feel the windows of the bus are not very movie accurate. This is disappointing as the windows in the 2011 set were a lot more movie accurate. The window pieces in this set are rectangular and plain whereas the windows in the 2011 set were split windows with rounded edges, just like the windows on the actual Knight Bus. The only upside of the new larger windows is that we can see the interior features more easily from the outside.

Wheels

There are of course four wheel pieces included with this set. They are made of rubber and even have little purple centre cap pieces which is a nice detail. You can roll the bus back and forth very smoothly and easily. Do note that if you push the wheels inward too much, there will be too much friction between the wheels and bricks. The wheels will then not roll as easily. If this happens,  just need pull the wheel pieces outa little bit and that should resolve the issue.

The Rear

The rear of the bus is where Harry and Stan Shunpike meet for the first time. Above the rear opening there are two signs which state “All Destinations (nothing underwater)”. One is above the rear opening at the side of the bus and the other is on the rear of the bus. These are black plate pieces and the signs are stickers. Again, I wish the sign was a custom printed piece rather than a sticker. Custom printed pieces would have made the set a little more special. As mentioned above, there are issues with using stickers.

The Interior – Ground Floor

The Driver’s Seat

The driver’s seat area is well executed and is as detailed as it can be for a set this size. The seat is red and pivots outwards so you can place Ernie into the seat with ease. The pivoting seat is essential to get the minifigure into the seat. Without this feature, it is a struggle to get the minifigure into the seat. There is a small steering wheel in front of the driver’s seat and a gear stick to the left which moves back and forth. 

Above the driver’s seat is my absolute favourite feature of this set – Dre Head (aka The Shrunken Head). You can clearly see the shrunken head through the front window and through the side window. As the side window is open, you can actually swing the head side to side. This is a brilliant feature which makes the set feel that much more magical. For more information about the shrunken head itself, see the minifigure section below.

The Sliding Bed

A wonderful feature of this set is the sliding bed which actually slides back and forth. The bed is able to slide the way it does because it sits on two long tile pieces. There are also two tile pieces underneath the bed to ensure the bed remains in place and doesn’t just slide out. The bed is as movie accurate as it can be given the size of the set. Only one bed can fit into the bus and it is not at a diagonal angle.

The bed itself is very well constructed. The colouring of the bed is not 100% accurate but it is close to what we see in the movie. The burgundy colour of the duvet is a little too dark and the tan pieces should have been closer to white. These are very minor discrepancies. The greatest feature of the bed is that the blanket folds open and you can lay a minifigure flat inside. Note however the blanket won’t lay perfectly flat when a minifigure is inside.

Rear Entrance

 It would have been nice to display Stan Shunpike in rear entrance facing outwards the way we see him in the film. Unfortunately the minifigure does not fit into the rear entrance unless you put him in sideways. You can JUST get him to stand on the outside step if you want to display him this way. However, please note there are no studs on the outside step so the minifigure will not be able if you display this way. There is a long grey handrail at the back entrance so you can clip Stan’s hand on to the rail to make him hang off the bus. There is a feature missing at the rear of the bus and that is the stairs leading up to the upper levels. I wish one little stair was included in the set to complete the rear entrance. The area is just open and feels a little incomplete.

The Interior – Middle Floor

Surprisingly, you can easily remove the entire top floor of the bus to have a better look at the middle floor. You can also opt to open the side panel.

One of the main highlights of the interior is the chandelier. The chandelier is very well constructed and really stands out. It even stands out through the windows when the side panel is closed. I like that there is a mixture of clear and yellow pieces for the “crystals” to add variety and detail. The shape is also perfect and movie accurate. The chandelier also swings back and forth which is a wonderful feature as we saw it swinging  in the movie while Ernie was driving around like a maniac. You will need to move the chandelier to the side to see the full Daily Prophet advertisement sticker. Again, I do wish the Daily Prophet sign was a custom printed piece rather than a sticker.

There are not a lot features on the middle floor as the chandelier takes up most of the space. There is a red passenger seat at the rear with a grey railing to the front of the seat. This leaves room for another minifigure, whether that be Harry or Stan Shunpike. At the front of the bus, there is a small black plate balcony where you could stand another minifigure. Due to the angle, you will likely struggle to get the minifigure on to the plate. It will help to both remove the top floor and open the side panel.

The Interior – Top Floor

The best way to access the top floor of the bus is to remove the large plate which forms the middle of the roof. Inside, there is a 2×2 tan piece on the floor and you are supposed to place the Daily Prophet on this piece. I think Lego missed an opportunity here to create an exclusive Daily Prophet piece with a Sirius Black escape from Azkaban headline. The Boy Who Lived reference does not relate to the Knight Bus scene.One nice perk is that there is enough room on the floor to stand a minifigure on the top level. 

There are also a few red pieces on the floor which appear unnecessary at first. The chest accessory however clips on to these pieces so you can store the chest inside the Knight Bus. This feature is not a fan favourite but I do think it’s nice that the chest and accessories can be kept in the bus to keep all elements of the set together. Sadly, it is far too easy to lose a piece!

Minifigures Included

Harry Potter

The Harry Potter minifigure in this set is nice but sadly it is not exclusive to this set. It is also included in the Expecto Patronum set and the Hagrid’s Hut set.

The face on the head piece is the same face we see on all the Harry Potter minifigures. Harry is wearing his glasses, has a small little smirk on his face, and you can see the scar on his forehead through the hairpiece. If you spin the head piece around, there is an angry expression alternative. The scar is visible through the hairpiece for the angry expression as well. 

The torso piece is a dark blue zippered open jacket with a lighter blue t-shirt underneath. There are little details painted on such as dark blue lines on to the t-shirt to show wrinkling and a zipper of shiny little dots on the the jacket. There are also a couple of black lines on the back of Harry’s jacket for some further wrinkle details. The legs are tan-coloured pants. Please note that the legs are shorter than normal minifigures, so the minifigure is smaller than usual.

The outfit is not perfectly movie accurate. In the movie Harry wore a checkered shirt with a grey shirt underneath and a grey coloured jacket with two stripes on the sleeve. Harry also wore grey trousers, not tan like the minifigure. Nevertheless, it is accurate enough and doesn’t necessarily need to be 100% movie accurate. 

Stan Shunpike

The good news is the Stan Shunpike minifigure is exclusive to this set. Previous Knight Bus Lego sets also included Shunpike minifigures but this one is certainly an upgrade. 

The most noticeable feature of this minifigure is the purple conductor’s hat. It is large with a red strap and black brim. I wish there was a little gold detailing on the red stripe to make it perfectly movie accurate but it certainly is not necessary.

Stan only has one expression: angry. His mouth is open and he is gritting his teeth. There are also facial hairs and pimples painted on his face.  Unfortunately there is no hairpiece. This is a shame as Stan’s hair is quite long in the movie.

The outfit is very well done. It is definitely the most film accurate outfit of the three Stan Shunpike minifigures released to date. The torso piece is a long-sleeved purple jacket with a short purple collars, a horizontal red stripe running across the jacket, and a thin black line above the red stripe. These lines continue around to the back of the jacket. Underneath is a grey collared shirt and black tie. There are also several grey line details on the shirt to show the shirt is a couple sizes too big. Across his torso is a silver Gibson ticket machine with a black strap. The silver Gibson machine is painted on with very shiny metallic paint. The legs on are completely purple to complete the outfit.

The minifigure is well done but sadly it does not look like the Stan Shunpike we see in the film solely because of the hair. If two little sideburns were painted on the face or a hairpiece had been included, the minifigure would be perfect.

Ernie Prang

This minifigure is also exclusive to this set. An Earlier Ernie Prang minifigure was released with the 2011 Lego Knight Bus set.

The face and hair on this minifigure are very movie accurate. There is only one facial expression: wide-eyed confusion. Ernie is wearing big round black glasses with thick tape around the bridge and a white hue on the lenses. There is also a faint white beard and little wrinkles on his cheeks and forehead. The “hair” piece is a shiny bald head on top and white hair at the sides. I would prefer the hair to be more raised and pointed inward like in the film but it is as movie accurate as possible.

The accuracy of the outfit depends on the scene. When Harry first enters the bus it seems Ernie is wearing a tan coloured collared shirt, a black tie, and what looks like an olive green patterned wool sweater vest. Later, when Ernie is driving through the streets, the shirt and sweater vest look grey. The sweater vest on the minfigure is olive-green and there is a pattern in a darker yellow/olive-green colour.  The pattern is very faint and not very noticeable unless you move it in the light. It would be better if the pattern was clearer. The trousers are completely tan in colour which works well. We of do not see Ernie’s trousers in the film since he is sitting down so his trousers could be any colour. 

Overall, I think the minifigure is very well done. There are some minor details in the hair and sweater vest that could be done differently but these are not deal breakers. The minifigure is very well done and certainly stands out.

Dre Head (aka The Shrunken Head)

Although the shrunken head is not a full minifigure, it certainly stands out.

The shrunken head is a head piece with the character’s face and dreadlocks painted on with a fair amount of detailing. I think the face is very well done without being too putrid. The eyes are black and sewn shut as they are in the movie and his mouth is black and open as if he is speaking. There are also brown line details all over his face to show the wrinkles following the shrinking. The shrunken head’s dreadlocks are painted on at the sides of his face and the back of his head in grey paint. There are even some green and yellow beads painted on at the front and back which is a great touch. There is a gap at the sides of his head which are just solid black as I assume Lego could not print all the way around the head. Overall, the shrunken head is incredibly well made piece and the Knight Bus certainly would not be the same without this wonderful piece.

Accessories

Chest

The chest accessory is of course Harry’s trunk. There is no Hedwig included in this set. Whilst this may be disappointing for some, Hedwig’s absence is actually movie accurate since Harry never brought Hedwig with him. Hedwig met Harry at the Leaky Cauldron. This chest piece is actually the same piece included in the 2004 Knight Bus set.

The chest does open so you can place the other accessories inside. The potion, letter, and chocolate bar accessories all fit in the chest together nicely and the chest will close with all three accessories inside.

There is some detailing on the chest including raised lines running vertically and horizontally to give it some texture and design. There is also a little raised lock at the front. Please note there is no key or keyhole. There are two handles at the sides and four studs at the top so if you own a Hedwig Lego piece, you could stick it on to the chest. Alternatively, you may want to display the accessories accessory on the chest rather than keeping them inside.

Potion Bottle

The potion bottle consists of two pieces – the brown base and a transparent yellow piece. This is my least favourite accessory as it does not really look like a potion bottle. That is of course is just my opinion and I appreciate a potion bottle is not an easy accessory to create. In fairness, I am glad there is variety in the accessories instead of plain flat tiles.

Letter

The letter accessory piece is a small 1 x 2 tile piece. It is very simple with a red stamp in the corner and three blue lines for the address on the front. Whilst the piece is simple, I think it works well as is certainly something we would see in Harry’s case.

Chocolate Bar

The chocolate accessory is certainly my favourite accessory. It is another small 1 x 2 tile piece but it has a lot more than the letter and potion bottle. The chocolate bar has 21 square sections. It is very detailed with black and white lines in each square piece to show the raised chocolate on each piece. In the middle there is a beautiful gold bow painted on in shiny metallic gold and black outlining. Not only is the design beautiful but the detail is perfect given Professor Lupin gives Harry chocolate after his encounter with the dementors.

Geekkie Opinion

Overall, I think this is a wonderful set. Although it needs some minor changes to make it more movie accurate, the set is so well done that I would categorise it as a replica as well as a Lego set. It is a wonderful collector’s piece for both Harry Potter and Lego fans. It’s relatively affordable, detailed, and fun to build. In my opinion, it is definitely worth the purchase. Unfortunately this set is retired. However, at the time of this post, it is still available on Amazon (albeit for a slightly higher price). There are also many available on eBay for reasonable prices (about £5 – £10 above retail). If you are a Wizarding World fan or just generally a Lego fan, this set is definitely worth seeking out.

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