Harry Potter - Diecast Ford Anglia

This diorama, from The Chamber of Secrets, I think the first sequel to the original movie is very well done. Now I'm no huge Potter fan, I'll say that up front so I can't 100% say the car looks like it did in the film but from what I can remember, and from what you can see in the two movie scenes on the back of the box, it's a pretty close to exact replica. Feel free to comment on this review if you are a fan of the series to let people know how close it is.

Importantly and a huge advantage this has over Johnny Lightning and other company diecast vehicle dioramas is that Corgi made this so you can take it out the packet without destroying the packaging. This is very important if you plan on reselling it one day or just want to put it away so the actual vehicle and figures won't get dust on them. There is no sticky tape used on the packaging so it's simply a matter of opening an end of the box and sliding out the diorama. Ron and Harry are each held down by a loop of sticky tape going through a slit in the cardboard and the Ford is tied down by metal twist things. So you could take them out and again still have the cardboard base if you wanted to display it or resell it in that later. All are also secured very well and you can tip this thing upside down with no chance of the pieces moving or falling out if you intend to keep in its original diorama.

I've uploaded a few photographs of it outside of the box (and in it) so check them out. The car is made of metal and the figures plastic, (they are the same as figures you buy for train set displays and pretty much the same size to. They do have very good detail in the faces (but 100% not exactly like the actors) and wrinkles on clothes and stuff. This would actually fit quite well with a train set display on the end of an unused track where you could have a train bearing down on the car and turn the corner at the last minute or something. Which is probably why Corgi did this as slightly larger than the standard 1/64 sized car usually used. A lot of people just collect 1/64 but this really isn't much more than twice the size of those vehicles. There is no actual scale printed on the box or product so I can't give an exact one but say you have a normal sized train track the space between the front and back wheels is just slightly wider than the track would be. None of the doors, bonnet (hood) or boot (trunk) on the vehicle open.

The back of the packaging as I mentioned has a two scenes from the movie involving Mr Weasley's Ford Anglia plus pictures of the car and figures not in the diorama setting. It has the Harry Potter logo (which also appears on the front and sides of the box as well. There is also a little speal "When access to Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross station is mysteriously blocked, Harry Potter and his best friend Ron Weasley decide to borrow Mr Weasley's enchanted Muggle car to fly to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" which appears in English and four other languages as well.

The diorama does also display well inside the box which also has Hogwarts School in the top section where it would hang in the shop. The diorama itself which can be viewed inside the box or taken out has the Ford with the back wheels on the train track the Hogwarts Express train about to destroy it. I'm not sure if there was an actual scene of this with the two boys outside of the car but it is a good diorama.

A must for an Potter fans, those looking to liven up a train set display or those like myself who are collectors of movie diecast vehicles!

By the way also released at the time was the train and a purple triple decker British bus from the Harry Potter movie series, although both are just the vehicles with no figures.

Hope this review was of some help to you.