How an ‘abstract art style’ defined LEGO Harry Potter’s most unusual 2025 set

The LEGO designer behind 2025’s most unusual LEGO Harry Potter set (so far) has explained how the model reaches for an ‘abstract art style’ that aims to avoid the uncanny valley.

Perhaps more than any other licensed theme at the moment, the LEGO Harry Potter team continues to push the envelope with each new wave of sets, pairing its predictable Hogwarts Castle extensions with more experimental approaches: books that contain complete classrooms; microscale models that capture the length and breadth of the Wizarding World; and buildable characters that focus on a particular style.

So it goes for January’s 76443 Hagrid & Harry’s Motorcycle Ride, which designer Atticus Tsai-McCarthy brought to life from a sketch model by fellow LEGO Harry Potter designer George Gilliatt. This 617-piece set debuted online in November to a mixed reception from the community, with some calling out Hagrid’s curious resemblance to his character model from the classic Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone PS1 game.

Atticus has since explained, however, that this unusual display model – which steers away from a safer and easier minifigure-scale set towards more ambitious territory in its attempt to pay homage to Hagrid – was always intended to be a ‘stylised depiction of its titular characters’ that’s also a ‘spiritual successor’ to George’s 2023 buildable character 76421 Dobby the House-Elf.

“It’s not intended to be a 1:1 depiction of Hagrid, Harry, and Hedwig,” Atticus wrote on Brickset. “It’s meant to evoke these characters in a thrilling sequence, but in a form more like an abstract art style. It was a real balancing act, trying to find the right brick combinations, and it took a lot of deliberating between team members.

“I was trying my best to avoid the uncanny valley, when something that is meant to look human doesn’t quite meet the mark. So, I pushed us to distil these characters to their most basic form, like illustrative posters I’ve seen for Harry Potter where his face is just his glasses and scar.”

Those iconic elements of Harry’s physical identity are indeed all that remain of his facial features in 76443 Hagrid & Harry’s Motorcycle Ride, printed on to a sloped element rather than fashioned from individual pieces like Hagrid’s nose, beard and goggles. Beyond the artistic approach for Harry, Hagrid and Hedwig, the mid-range model also conjured up challenges for Atticus from a structural perspective.

“It is THE most different set [from] what I am used to designing,” he added. “Not only did it have a brick-built set of characters, it also had a proportionally scaled motorcycle to figure out. I’ve never built one of those up until this project, and it was very satisfying figuring out what one needs to be stable and buildable.

“The hardest part, actually, was putting the front wheel and spokes together, where I learned about the different levels of support the spokes needed so they didn’t splay when pushed down on. Stability is paramount in our design schemes, and was something I worked tirelessly [on] to make sure every component could be built stably and individually on top of finding the look of our set’s heroes.”

76443 Hagrid & Harry’s Motorcycle Ride may seem jarring at first glance among the wider Wizarding World line-up, but in hand it’s a set that leans wisely into its position as a character study, sidestepping the potential to be a simple gimmick or novelty.

As we wrote in our review: “Taking a key moment from the beginning of the end of the Harry Potter saga and choosing a completely new LEGO concept to explore it in is inspired and, even with a couple of creative compromises in place, the reason that LEGO Harry Potter continues to triumph as a truly unique and artistic theme.”

You can pick up 76443 Hagrid & Harry’s Motorcycle Ride from LEGO.com now. Head here to read our review in full.

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