lego minifigures series 17

It's that time again... and the official images for series 17 of the Lego minifigure series have appeared online.

And for some reason, there's a mystery character... which in the image above is really hard to work out what the hell it is, but when you see the image with the characters all arranged on their little stands, it's very clearly a highwayman. Or it could be a highwaywoman I guess. It could be the Scarlet Pimpernel for all I know... but it's weird that it's a fairly average character for the series. Maybe there are variations? I don't know... it's a little strange though.

Otherwise it's a fairly solid set...

• Professional Surfer
• Gourmet Chef
• Sausage Man
• Elf Girl
• Circus Strong Man
• Yuppie
• Veterinarian
• Highwayman (Mystery character)
• Connoisseur
• Butterflies Girl
• Roman Gladiator
• Corn Cob Man
• Retro Spaceman
• Dance Instructor
• Battle Dwarf
• Rocket Boy

Some of the names this time around bug me more than they have in the past... "Sausage Man"... he's either a hot dog vendor or a fast food worker (probably more the latter)... but Sausage Man is just weird. And "Elf Girl"... I would have accepted Elf Swordmaiden, even just Elf Maiden. I mean the female warrior with the bow and shield was Forest Maiden. And "Connoisseur"... I suppose "Stereotypical French Dude" wasn't going to fly, but it's a weird.

Having said all of that... I think my favourites are the Elf Girl, Connoisseur, Roman Gladiator, Corn Cob Man, Battle Dwarf and Rocket Boy. If I had to pick just one, I think it would be the Battle Dwarf to be honest, although the Elf Girl would be a close second.

One thing they've really gone to town on with this set are the accessories, from the surfer's Jaws inspired board (I do wish his wetsuit was blue not red to match though), the chef's whisk, the yuppie's mobile phone (which is actually a regular radio accessory, but with some great printed tiles), the adorable bulldog and rabbit, the spaceman's gun and the Rocket Boy's flag... there's both some great new moldings as well as some amazing paintjobs and printing.

They've really outdone themselves this time.

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lego minifigure series - the lego batman movie

When I bought the last set of Lego minifigures, the guy who owns the store told me that the next set was going to be themed for the Lego Batman Movie which comes out in the USA in February, but from what I can tell doesn't come out here until the end of March (the figures, however, should start appearing in January).

Part of me was kind of hoping that it would just be a full range of different Batman outfits... and they're definitely there... but so are a number of second and probably ninth string villains (I've put links to most of them below... one was so esoteric she didn't even have a listing).

We're also getting 20 figures instead of the usual 16...

• Mime
• Zodiac Master
• Catman
• March Harriet
• Calculator
• Commissioner Gordon
• Clan of the Cave Batman
• Barbara Gordon
• Eraser
• Glam Metal Batman
• Orca
• Fairy Batman
• Nurse Harley Quinn
• Red Hood
• Arkham Asylum Joker 
• Lobster-Lovin’ Batman
• Dick Grayson
• Pink Power Batgirl
• Vacation Batman
• King Tut

My favourites out of this set are without a doubt Joker and Harley... I love the Joker's look in this movie incarnation (and I'm very tempted by the Joker Notorious Lowrider set), from the hairstyle to the snaggletooth... and Harley's twisty pigtails are gorgeous... plus they match really nicely in their Arkham costumes.

As far as the Batman costumes go it's a definite toss up between Fairy Batman and Vacation Batman... with Glam Metal Batman running a very close third. And hopefully there's some portion of the movie where Fairy Batman teams up with Pink Power Batgirl.

I'll also be interested to see if there's a face under the Red Hood costume. Especially given who the original Hood is.

I would also have preferred some more Batman outfit variations... not to mention some other villains... but I'm guessing they're saving the recognisable ones for the full sets (like The Scuttler, which I really love), which is understandable.

But it's still an interesting looking set (and better than the set from the first Lego movie)... although I'm not sure how I feel about these sets that have more than 16 in them.

Oh, and as (mostly) always, here's the full review of the minifigs from WhiteFang on the Eurobricks website.

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lego minifigures series 16

I've been meaning to blog about the latest series of collectible Lego minifigures for a little while now.

Here's the line up...

• Scallywag Pirate
• Babysitter
• Cyborg
• Spooky Boy
• Desert Warrior
• Kickboxer
• Spy
• Ice Queen
• Wildlife Photographer
• Mariachi
• Hiker
• Banana Suit Guy
• Rogue
• Penguin Suit Guy
• Dog Show Winner
• Cute Little Devil

At this point my favourite characters are Spooky Boy, the spy, the rogue and the penguin suit guy. And it seems like the guy in the hot dog suit has a dessert companion, with the banana suit guy... That has to be it though, right? I mean maybe you could get away with an ice cream cone guy or possibly a corn on the cob guy, but that's pretty much it I think.

I also feel like the devil was a left over design from the series 14 monsters, but he is quite sweet.

At the bottom of the list for me is the cyborg. The hair is kind of interesting (although why the stud on the gun isn't blue to tone in with everything else is a mystery), but overall she feels a little m'eh. Likewise the Mariachi guy... the guitar is cool, but he's like the lovechild of the Mexican and the Bandito.

The collection of Lego animals from these sets are expanded this time with a penguin and a little white dog (Tintin MOC anyone?).

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lego minifigure series - disney

Okay, let's just get this out of the way right away... I'm so freaking excited for this set of Lego/Disney minifigures. Not all of them mind you, but just the fact that they're doing them at all, and they haven't even done all the characters they could have done... I'm excited.

Let's back up a bit... there's been the rumour that Lego was going to produce a Disney themed set of minifigures for a while now, but it was only when a really bad quality version of an ad showed up a few weeks back that it seemed like it was going to be a reality.

I'm a Disneyphile, always have been... not to a scary or excessive amount, but I have a small collection of Stitches, Tinkerbells and Maleficents, Ursulas and Wicked Queens (well, Queen singular to be honest), and I've seen pretty much every Disney animated movie at one time or another, so this set is going to be right up my alley.

And the set is made up of...

• Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)
• Alice (Alice in Wonderland)
• Syndrome (The Incredibles)
• Buzz Lightyear (Toy Story)
• Donald Duck
• Daisy Duck
• Captain Hook (Peter Pan)
• Aladdin (Aladdin, dur)
• Stitch (Lilo and Stitch)
• Ariel (The Little Mermaid)
• The Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland)
• Mr Incredible/Bob Parr (The Incredibles)
• Green Alien (Toy Story)
• Minnie Mouse
• Mickey Mouse
• Peter Pan (Peter Pan, also dur)
• Genie (Aladdin)
• Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

I'm also going to need to get three Stitches, Maleficents and Ursulas (one for the set, one for work and one to sit with my Stitch and Villainess collections). It's a definite toss up between Stitch and Maleficent as to which is my favourite of the whole set, But I also really like Peter, Buzz and the skirt design on Alice/Minnie... maybe they can finally do away with those dumb cloth/paper skirts we usually end up with.

Weirdly, the four minifigs I'm not really bothered about are Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy. I get why they're there, but m'eh. Especially Mickey and Daisy, they're just boring designs from the neck down.

What I find most interesting though is that the set practically screams sequel. There's a Maleficent but no Sleeping Beauty, a Buzz but no Woody, Stitch by no Lilo, no Mrs Incredible, no Jasmin, no Tinkerbell. I'm guessing sales of this set will determine whether we get a second one.

Now I just need to wait until May...

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lego minifigures series 15

I think this is the first time that I've actually blogged the line-up for a series of minifigures AFTER I've bought the set.

Part of the problem was that I couldn't find the usual graphic anywhere... which is the same problem I had with the last series to be honest(turns out I kept looking on the USA version of the Lego website not the UK version).

The line-up for the fifteenth series (and the eighteenth overall) is:

• Wrestling Champion
• Janitor
• Kendo Fighter
• Jewel Thief
• Astronaut
• Flying Warrior
• Tribal Woman
• Laser Mech
• Farmer
• Ballerina
• Faun
• Queen
• Shark Suit Guy
• Frightening Knight
• Clumsy Guy
• Animal Control Officer

My absolute favourite from this set is the Faun... he has a unique set of legs and an adorable set of horns and ears attached to his hair. I'm also quite fond of the Jewel Thief, the Shark Suit Guy and the Ballerina. The Queen is also pretty amazing since it's the first time we've seen a skirt like that... and she matches the King from Series 13 perfectly.

I was also surprised to see that there are two very large animal pieces, the pig and the skunk. And is it just me or does the farmer look a hell of a lot like Steve Jobs?

As far as I understand, the Tribal Woman is the first instance of a Lego baby and she's also the first female Native American we've had in the minifig collection.

I kinda wish they'd gone all the way with the Flying Warrior and just made his face and arms gold too... I don't mind him though with his eagle helmet and wings.

As for the ones I'm not that bothered by... well, that's essentially the Laser Mech (do we really need another "mech"?), the Janitor and the Animal Control Officer... her skunk is cool, but she's a bit bland overall.

For the usual detailed look at the series, take a look at White Fang's review over at Eurobricks.

Rumour has it that the next series is going to be Disney themed or at least that there's a Disney series coming, so that'll be interesting... granted if they go with the moulded heads like The Simpsons I could be less interested, but I'm looking forward to seeing what/who they come up with.

Personally I'm hoping for a Lilo and a Stitch and as many of the villainesses that they want to cram in there. Given that they've already got a mould for the bottom half of a genie, I can pretty much guarantee there will be Genie from Aladdin though.

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lego minifigures series 14 (monsters)

Lego are taking a different tack with Series 14 of their collectible minifigures... they're going with a theme... and the theme is Monsters.

I've been waiting a while now for this group photo to show up... they released all the individual portraits, but weirdly, not the group shot.

But here's the cast of the Monster Mash...

• Banshee
• Skeleton Guy
• Monster Scientist
• Fly Monster
• Square Foot
• Tiger Woman
• Wolf Guy
• Specter
• Plant Monster
• Zombie Cheerleader
• Zombie Pirate
• Gargoyle
• Monster Rocker
• Wacky Witch
• Zombie Businessman
• Spider Lady

And I have to say that my favourites this time around are Square Foot (ie Big Foot), the Zombie Cheerleader and I kind of have a soft spot for the Gargoyle. I also totally appreciate that the Wolf Guy is wearing the same shirt as the Lumberjack from Series 5... so clearly he either had a secret or else he's had a little accident between Series 5 and 14. Whereas the Zombie Pirate initially looked the same as the Pirate Captain from Series 8, on closer inspection is more of a reuse of parts (with the Prospector's beard from Series 12.

The hair sculpt for the Zombie Businessman is pretty cool though, I'd like to see it in different colours. And speaking of parts, the "liquid" leg sculpt for both the Banshee and Specter looks all kinds of awesome, I just hope it holds up in the flesh (as it were). Although of the two I prefer the Banshee.

I'm a little disappointed in the Tiger Woman and the Monster Scientist... she just feels like she doesn't really fit in with the rest of the set and he's a little too over-the-top.

I hope they don't decide to make themed series a thing though... I would much rather get a range of characters than be constrained by a theme.

Oh, and as usual, White Fang over at Eurobricks has done a review of the whole series.

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lego minifigures series 13

When the last series of Lego Minifigures was due to be announced I spent more time than I care to think about doing searches and cobbling together what information I could first on the list of characters and then in a valiant attempt to find a full image of the set.

This morning over breakfast I was flicking through my Twitter feed, and there was a tweet from Lego with the full cast of Series 13.

And what a cast it is...

• Carpenter
• Fencer
• Lady Cyclops
• Palaeontologist
• Galaxy Trooper
• Disco Diva
• Evil Wizard
• Sheriff
• Alien Trooper
• Samurai
• Snake Charmer
• King
• Unicorn Girl
• Goblin
• Hot Dog Man
• Egyptian Warrior

This time around it's all about the front row for me... specifically the king, the snake charmer and his little snake... and who the hell doesn't like the Unicorn Girl and her little unicorn hat. Also the female samurai, the goblin and the Hot Dog Man... I'll be interested to know if he has some sort of uniform on under the suit, or if he's just wearing blue pants and a blank beige top. He's probably the one who'll be joining my Desk Army at work.

I also really like the Palaeontologist, and I'm curious about whether the fencer is a man or a woman... I'm thinking woman, but either is good. I'm also surprised it took them this long to do a sheriff.

I'm also betting that the Alien Trooper head will look interesting separated from the body... and I can also see MOC builders using it as maybe an octopus.

The two I'm highly ambivalent about, to the point of dislike, are the "Disco Diva" and the female repaint of the Cyclops. It's possibly the hair on the diva... and making the cyclops grey with giant pink pornstar lips and blue eyeshadow is perhaps a bit too far.

But I only need to wait until January (well, more likely February here in Australia) to see them in the flesh.

Update: As always, here's the full breakdown of the minifigs from Whitefang over at the Eurobricks Forum.

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lego minifigures series 12

I've been waiting for this image to drop for several weeks now and finally, after teasing almost half the figures in other places, the official group shot for Lego Minifigures Series 12 has arrived!

• Video Game Guy
• Prospector
• Rock Star
• Swashbuckler
• Jester
• Fairy Tale Princess
• Spooky Girl
• Pizza Delivery Man
• Hun Warrior
• Genie Girl
• Lifeguard
• Wizard
• Dino Tracker
• Space Miner
• Battle Goddess
• Pig Suit Guy

They're definitely back to full power with these sets, because I'm loving this series to bits. Particular favourites are the Video Game Guy (aka Gamer... I imagine I'll be getting at least one extra version of him), the Spooky Girl (especially the Goth teddy bear), the Battle Goddess, the Lifesaver (because, Lego abs), the Pig Suit Guy (there will have to be an extra one for Ma because she's born in the Year of the Pig), the Hun Warrior, the Jester (LOVE those playing card tiles) and the Genie Girl.

I also love that they've gone for a very Ramones vibe for the Rock Star rather than something more generic.

I'm a little so-so about the Dino Hunter (aka Lara Croft/Katniss hybrid), but I think that's mostly about her hair. The Prospector is cute, but the Space Miner is a bit ho-hum. I'm also not that bothered about the colour choices on the Pizza Guy and the Fairytale Princess. The Swashbuckler should have been right up my alley, but that open shirt is just TOO open. I think I'll need to wait until I see both him and the Wizard in person (or at least until I see the review from WhiteFang over at Eurobrick forums).

But overall I'm one very happy AFOL... Roll on October!

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lego minifigures series - the simpsons

The announcement that the next series of collectable Lego minifigures (due out around May) was going to be based on The Simpsons TV show has always struck me as weird.

I know that they launched the Lego version of 742 Evergreen Terrace a little while ago, but it's not like they're putting out a whole Simpsons themed line.

But I guess making a series of minifigs was a good way to gauge interest. And it's not the first line that has come out with uniquely moulded heads, there's been Toy Story and Spongebob Squarepants, which were both unique heads, but they never feel properly like Lego.

That's not to say that they haven't done a great job at sculpting the 2D Simpsons character into 3D plastic. There aren't any new accessories though, it's either existing pieces or unique prints/paint. Like the transparent minifig head used as a fishbowl for Blinky, and Apu's Squishy cup.

The residents of Springfield making the transition to Lego are:

• Homer Simpson
• Marge Simpson
• Bart Simpson
• Lisa Simpson
• Maggie Simpson (with Bobo)
• Abe "Grandpa" Simpson
• Milhouse Van Houten
• Nelson Muntz
• Ned Flanders
• Chief Clancy Wiggum
• Ralph Wiggum
• Apu Nahasapeemapetilon
• Mr Burns (with Blinky)
• Krusty the Clown
• Itchy
• Scratchy

I know that they only had 16 minifigs to work with, but I was a little surprised at a couple of the omissions. I'm not surprised that they included the whole Simpsons clan, and that eats up six spots out of the sixteen... but there's no Principle Skinner, there's no Waylon Smithers.

The only two minifigs from the series that I'm interested in are Itchy and Scratchy... although I could be tempted by the Homer, Apu and Mr Burns (mostly for the transparent minifig head).

As always, Road Runner over at the Eurobrick forums has done a review of the whole set. 

I'm hoping that after this series they'll go back to the regular minifig series... Santa and the Elf could do with a Mrs Claus, the Ancient Rome characters could do with a Roman lady, I'd love a lion costume to add to the animal suit folk, the horror movie characters are missing a guy in a skeleton suit, the judge and policeman need a criminal and the roller derby girl could do with an opponent.

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lego minifigures series - the lego movie

The next series of Lego minifigures will be coming straight out of the silver screen as characters from The Lego Movie.

To be honest, it's a very mixed bag... I kind of wish that they'd released these as a unique set, like the London Olympic team, outside the main series.

I'm guessing with the order of some of these, as they're listed as their character names, but the series looks something like this...

• Calamity Drone (Evil Wild West robot woman)
• Gail the Construction Worker
• Abraham Lincoln
• Larry the Barista
• Panda Guy
• Velma Staplebot (1960's inspired evil robot businesswoman)
• William Shakespeare
• Taco Tuesday Guy
• “Where are my Pants?” Guy
• Wiley Fusebot (Redneck backwoods evil robot guy)
• President Business
• Wild West Wyldstyle
• Hard Hat Emmet
• Scribbe-Face Bad Cop
• Mrs. Scratchen-Post (aka Crazy Cat Lady)
• Marsha Queen of the Mermaids

There are only about six or seven of this set that I'm actually interested in, the others are either just not appealing or, like the Taco Tuesday Guy figure, are just existing minifigures with a new accessory and possibly a different face.

Currently I'm really loving Lincoln, Larry the Barista and Panda Guy...  Shakespeare (even though we've already had a Shakespeare-eske minifig previously) and the two minifig stars of the movie, Emmet and Wyldstyle are cute, as is Marsha the mermaid, even if she's a little over the top colour-wise.

All the others (the evil robots especially) are a bit m'eh.

As always, Whitefang over at the Eurobrick forums has done a review of the whole set.

And given the news that the series after this one will be a Simpsons series means I probably won't be collecting a full series again until they go back to the regular minifigs.

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lego minifigures series 11

I'd half made the decision that the tenth minifigure series would be the last one where I had to get the whole set... I say "half made" because, really, I knew it wasn't a promise I was likely to keep...

Although I am thinking that I may not collect the whole set this time... or else, if I do I'll put the first set into a different storage container and display the 11th in their place. I don't really know yet.

I must say that the character line-up image is possibly the most regimented and static image of all eleven series... they're all kind of just sitting there, nobody is really bursting out or jumping around or making wacky angles.

The eleventh line-up is made up of:

• Scientist
• Lady Robot
• Constable
• Grandma
• Tiki Warrior
• Welder
• Bavarian Lady
• Scarecrow
• Holiday Elf
• Mountain Climber
• Yeti
• Evil Mech
• Gingerbread Man
• Barbarian
• Saxophone Player
• Diner Waitress

There definitely feels like there are more new characters in this series though... with only two that are repaints of earlier versions, the Lady Robot and the Evil Mech.

Although Grandma, the Bavarian Lady, the Holiday Elf and the Barbarian do all match up with characters from previous series.

My personal favourites are the Tiki Warrior, the Yeti, the Gingerbread Man and, weirdly, the welder. Although the Saxophone Player is quite cute.

I'm much less excited by Grandma, the Lady Robot and the Mountain Climber.

As always, Eurobricks member Whitefang was given a preview box of the minifigures and he's reviewed all the characters.

They're supposed to show up sometime between now and September, so I'll have to keep my eyes peeled.

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lego minifigures series 10

They're certainly going all out with this tenth series, adding a Golden Minifigure in addition to the usual sixteen (that's him, second from the right in the back row). And there will only be 5000 Golden minifigs throughout the whole world.

I'm not sure when this series is due out... but I'm guessing it should be some time in April/May since that's when they appeared last time.

This tenth line-up includes...

• Librarian
• Decorator
• Warrior Woman
• Sea Captain (with a seagull)
• Baseball Fielder
• Sad clown (Pierrot)
• Trendsetter (with a chihuahua)
• Motorcycle Mechanic
• Grandpa
• Tomahawk Warrior (Mohican)
• Paintball Player
• Roman Commander
• Medusa
• Skydiver
• Bumblebee Girl
• Revolution Soldier

My personal favourites are definitely the Tomahawk Warrior (there will need to be a second one for my desk at work), the Sea Captain and the Warrior Woman... and Medusa is an interesting addition to the Mythology theme.

While I'm not a fan of the Trendsetter (far too Paris Hilton for my taste), I can see myself getting a second one of her just because she has the Lego smartphone (although the icons do look a little crappy).

And the Motorcycle Mechanic, Skydiver, Paintball Player and Revolution Soldier (George Washington?) are also a bit m'eh.

But I am already devising photo set ups in my head... the Warrior Woman vs Medusa... Grandpa, the Librarian and the Computer Programmer all with their coffee cups... all the Roman characters (commander, soldier, emperor, gladiator)... and naturally all the animal costumes (gorilla, dinosaur, rabbit, chicken and bumblebee).

As with previous series, White Fang has done a review of the whole set over on the Eurobricks Forum.

I am seriously thinking that I need to work out another way to store them though... I can't keep buying the giant official cases after number 10... that is if I even keep collecting them past this series.

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lego minifigure series 9

Why did nobody tell me that Lego had an Instagram account?

They posted four images teasing the lineup of Series 9 of the Collectible Minifigures late last week... and then today the official line-up and promo images started appearing online...

And there's some interesting designs in this series...

• Heroic Knight
• Hollywood Starlet
• Mr Good and Evil
• Forest Maiden
• Judge
• Fortune Teller
• Plumber
• Battle Mech
• Waiter
• Roller Derby Girl
• Roman Emperor
• Cyclops
• Policeman
• Chicken Suit Guy
• Alien Avenger
• Mermaid

Personally I'm loving the Knight, the Maiden, the Mech, the Cop and the Chicken Man. I'm also going to have to get an extra version of the Derby Girl to give to someone I know who is, herself, a Derby Girl.

As with previous series, Lego sent a case of minifigs to WhiteFang at the Eurobricks website and he goes provides a great preview/review of all the minifigures.

So come February I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for the silver box of this series.

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lego minifigure series 8

The first images of Series 8 of the Lego Collectible Minifigures have started showing up online...

The line up for this series includes:

• Thespian ("Shakespeare")
• Lederhosen Guy
• Conquistador
• Cowgirl
• Diver
• DJ
• Evil Robot
• Alien Villainess
• Fairy
• Football Player
• Pirate Captain
• Red Cheerleader
• Santa
• Downhill Skier
• Businessman
• Vampire Bat

Given that the blue cheerleader and the vampire from Series 1 and 2 respectively) were the minifigures that started off my collection, I like that there's a new cheerleader (plus the football player) and the man-bat in this series.

But I think my favourites have to be the diver, the pirate captain, the DJ and the aforementioned man-bat.

I'm least excited about the female skier (really, do we need another Winter sports person... that will make seven all up) and the "enemy robot" (it's the exact same robot as Series 1 but with a different paint job.

They all look like they're going to be easier to feel in the bags too... oddly Santa and the red cheerleader might be the hardest to tell apart, but the rest of them have pretty unique accessories.

Of course this is coming from someone who managed to identify the entire set of Series 7 in one go.

Now I just need to wait until September for them to come out (which will probably be October by the time they show up in Australia).

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