Tag Archives: Minifigures

#1482: Lady Robot

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

LADY ROBOT

LEGO MINIFIGURES

It’s been a little while since I’ve looked at a Lego Minifigure.  I have quite a few, and they’re sure to show up en masse on my randomized list of figures to review, but so far they’ve managed to be pretty sparse.  Not to worry, I wouldn’t let that go on for *too* long.  Just two years, 11 months, and 12 days.  That’s not long at all!  Today’s review combines several of my favorite things into one: action figures, Legos, and robots!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Lady Robot was mini-figure #16 in the 11th Series of Lego Minifigures.  She’s meant as a companion piece to Series 6’s Clockwork Robot (which remains a favorite of mine).  The figure stands about 2 inches tall and has the standard 7 points of articulation.  The Lady Robot uses the standard Lego body, with a unique head, and a collar piece which can have a clockwork key piece attached to it.  The Lego body is already blocky, so it lends itself pretty well to the robotic nature of this figure’s design.  All of the non-standard pieces are borrowed from the previously mentioned Clockwork Robot.  They’re really nice pieces, and definitely do a good job of capturing the aesthetic of this old-fashioned wind-up robots. The paint is what really separates this release from the prior one.  She’s in the same pale grey as the Clockwork Robot, but the accent colors are pinks and purples now.  It’s actually worth noting that they didn’t just do a palette swap am the colors.  All of the detail work has been changed up, to create this almost parody of stereotypically feminine design concepts.  Given the aesthetic they were going for on the Clockwork Robot, this one is actually rather clever, albeit in a kitschy, goof-ball sort of way.  She’s packed with the standard display stand.  It’s her only extra, but I’m not sure what else she should have been given.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up this figure in Rehoboth Beach, from Browsabout Books.  I was there for my friend’s wedding, and was killing some time the day before.  I spotted this series in the bookstore, and was immediately grabbed by this one in particular.  I picked up a few of them, and actually lucked out and got her on the first try.  She’s pretty fun overall, and a fantastic companion to one of my favorites.

#0430: Santa Claus

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

SANTA CLAUS

LEGO MINIFIGURES

Hey, it’s Christmas, which happens to be my winter holiday of choice. But, let’s be all inclusive with the holiday wishes: Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa, Happy Yule, Happy Festivus, and in general Happy Holidays! Hopefully I didn’t leave anyone out, but feel free to leave snarky (or even non-snarky) comments if I did. So, how about something festive to review?

I’ll be digging into my LEGO Minifigures collection again, looking at another Christmas-themed minifigure. This time, it’s the big man himself, Santa Claus!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Old Saint Nick is the 10th figure in the 8th series of LEGO Minifigures. Santa is about 2 inches tall and he features 7 points of articulation. The figure is, of course, based on the classic Santa Claus look (which was actually created by Coca Cola, by the way). Santa’s built on the usual LEGO body, with additional pieces for the hat and beard. The LEGO body is a standard, so no problems there. The beard is piece that’s seen use a few times, and a couple of them have even been for previous Santas. The hat looks to be a new piece, and a well done one at that. It’s a pretty straight forward Santa hat, and it works really well. Santa is molded mostly in red, with white for the hands and yellow for the head. There is paint on the front of the head and the torso. Some of the more recent LEGO Minifigures have detailing that goes around the torso, but that’s not the case here. It’s worth noting that there is a full face under the beard, which is a nice touch. Santa has a big grin that pretty much no one’s gonna see, unless you’re one of those weird people that prefers him clean shaven, which is just a bit strange. Santa includes a bag of toys and a display stand. The bag is a new piece and it fits nicely in his hand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I honestly don’t remember where I got this one. Going by my records, it’s the only Minfigure I have from Series 8. I know I didn’t pick him up on purpose, so I must have just grabbed a single blind bag at random. He’s not a bad Minifigure, though he’s not the most thrilling figure the line has offered. Man, I can’t believe I don’t remember where I got this figure….

#0382: Pretzel Girl

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with ,

PRETZEL GIRL

LEGO MINIFIGURES

There’s no doubt that LEGO is the king of construction toys. However, in the world of block and mini figures, they have a bit of competition. They seem to have found their niche, though, focusing on fun character archetypes, which can be used to populate many of their building sets. I don’t follow the line religiously, but I do pick up a pack every now and then. Today, I’ll be looking at “The Pretzel Girl.”

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Pretzel Girl is figure #3 in Series 11 of LEGO Minifigures. She appears to be somewhat based on a German servant girl type of look, although pretzel’s aren’t what they’re most associated with serving. It seems they’ve tweaked her ever so slightly to make her more all-ages friendly, which is completely understandable. She’s about 2 inches tall and she’s got the usual 7 points of articulation. Like all the others in this line, she uses the basic LEGO body as a starting point, with a sculpted hairpiece and a cloth skirt added to complete the look. The hair is new to this figure, and it has the proper braided look. The skirt is handled in much the same way as capes are, just around her waist instead of her neck. Everything else on the figure is handled using painted details, which are all quite well done. Everything is nice and cleanly applied; all the detail lines are nice and sharp. Most of the detail work is on her face and torso, which are both great, but there is also some added color on her feet to represent shoes. Such things are traditionally not present on LEGOs, so it’s nice to see them here. The Pretzel Girl includes, unsurprisingly, a pretzel, as well as the usual minifigure display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Pretzel Girl was picked up at the same time as The Barbarian I reviewed last year. I picked up a decent selection of blind bag figures, and she happened to be in the set. I wouldn’t say she’s a figure I was dying to have, but she’s a solid minifigure. And, as an added bonus, she works really well as crowd filler for a large display of LEGOs!

#0125: Fitness Instructor

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with ,

FITNESS INSTRUCTOR

LEGO MINIFIGURES

So, just so everyone knows, I have seen the LEGO Movie, and it is indeed as awesome as it should be.  Go see it.  Go!

Okay, so now that your back, please enjoy this charming review of yet another LEGO Minifigure, from LEGO’s line of blind packaged minis.  This time, it’s the Fitness Instructor, here to get all your other LEGOs into shape, 80s style!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Fitness Instructor was the 2nd figure in the 5th assortment of LEGO Minifigures.  She’s modeled after the fitness instructors one would see on a workout take in the late 80s and early 90s. Obviously, she’s built on the basic LEGO body, which stands about 2 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation.  Her only sculpted piece is her hair, which is one of the basic LEGO female hairpieces.  The figure features painted details on her face, torso, pelvis, and legs.  The details are actually pretty darn good, and are more intricate than one would tend to expect from a LEGO.  The figure definitely has the right look to her, with a headband leotard and clashingly colored tights, and that wonderful can-do smile that all those fitness instructors seem to have.  The Fitness Instructor has a pick boombox, which I sadly lost prior to taking the photo, and the standard black stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Fitness Instructor is a great example of the LEGO minifigure line taking an idea that I have no interest in owning as a figure, and interpreting it in such a way that it’s too perfect to not own.  I truly applaud them for this.

#0074: Barbarian

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

BARBARIAN

LEGO MINI FIGURES

I’ll be taking a look at another entry from the always cool LEGO Minifigure line.  Getting the figures relies mostly on blind luck, but you luck out occasionally and get the figure you want.  This is one of those.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Barbarian is the 1st figure in the 11th series of the LEGO minifures line.  The Barbarian is on the usual LEGO body.  The LEGO Minifigures are generic characters, but occasionally are influenced on an existing character.  The Barbarian draws a lot of his inspiration from the lead character from the recent John Carter movie, with a fair bit of Conan thrown in.  He has a medium length hair-piece that I do believe was first used on Aragorn from Lord of the Rings.  Practically every piece of the figure has some form of paint detailing.  Everything is really sharply executed, and the fine details are really cool.  This guy looks like a seriously battle-hardened warrior.  The Barbarian includes two swords and a black LEGO stand.  The swords are a bit rubbery, but do the job, and the stand is as good here as ever.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked this guy up at a bookstore at the beach, while staying there for a friend’s wedding.  I picked up a sizeable selection of the bagged figures, hoping this guy would be in the mix.  I like the John Carter influence, and since the chances of getting any kind of officially licensed toys from the property seem slim at this point, that’s who I’ll be using him as.

#0070: Gingerbread Man

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

GINGERBREAD MAN

LEGO MINIFIGURES

In the spirit of being festive for Christmas, I’ll be looking at something vaguely Christmas related.  It’s another figure from LEGO’s Minifigures line.  This time depicting everyone’s favorite Christmas themed cookie (okay, maybe not everyone’s­) :  The Gingerbread Man

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Gingerbread Man is the 2nd figure in the 11th series of the LEGO Minifigures line.  He uses the traditional LEGO body, but he has a specially sculpted head in place of the usual piece.  It’s a really cool piece, and looks perfect for its intended use.  The Gingerbread man is molded in a creamy brown color, and has detailing to represent his icing details.  In addition to the icing, he’s also got a slightly darker brown detailing to show the texture of the gingerbread he’s made from.  It’s a subtle effect, and could have easily been left out, but the extra mile really adds to the figure.  The Gingerbread Man includes a mug and a LEGO stand.  The mug has painted letters that read “DUNK ME!” which is another really cool touch.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked the Gingerbread Man up along with several others from the same series from a bookstore at the beach while vacationing.  I think he’s really cool, and is definitely a shining example what LEGO can do with the line.

#0061: Space Villain

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with ,

SPACE VILLIAN

LEGO MINIFIGURES

Today, I’ll be taking a look at another block figure, though this one’s probably more widely known.  When block figures started to hit it big, LEGO, the originator of the “block figure” decided to get in on the action.  Typically, the only way to get a LEGO minifigure, you would have to buy a LEGO set, but LEGO decided to start up a new line of just the minifigures.  These guys are blind bagged, meaning getting a particular figure can be a bit tricky, but overall, the line’s been a huge hit.  They offer a wide variety of figures, and today I’ll be reviewing the “Space Villain.”

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Space Villain was the 13th figure in the 3rd series of the LEGO Minifigures line.  The Space Villain is built on the traditional LEGO body, with a peg-leg in the place of his right leg, and a mechanical arm in place of his right arm.  He also has a sculpted helmet with a removable yellow visor.  The face and torso feature the figure’s only paint.  The details are nice and sharp, and they feature some very nice metallic silver.  The Space Villain has a laser gun with a removable laser blast, and comes with the black stand included with all the LEGO Minifigures.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got the Space Villain from my local LEGO Store, with a handful of others I had grabbed from their display at random.  He’s cool enough, not one of my favorites, but a well put together figure.