Mint in Box: LEGO Minifigures Collection
Maybe it’s just me but when opening a fresh set of LEGO as a child, the first thing I built was the minifigure. They were always the best part in my mind because they were always so characterful and unique. LEGO seems to have taken this to heart and have been producing collectable minifigures since last year.
Currently up to Series Five, these collectable figures, totalling 80 minifigures all together, are completely unique and use no parts from previous sets (barring the odd accessory). There are 16 figures per series and they are blind-packed, meaning that you don’t know what individual figure you’re getting until you crack open the packet, much like trading cards. There are specific codes on the individual packages to identify which figure is inside and I think that takes the fun out of it but I applaud LEGO for giving collectors the means of finding the figures they want (I know a fair few people who want to collect all the ‘Universal Monster’ figures scattered among the sets).
Today, I’m looking at three figures I picked up out of curiosity. All of them are from Series 4 and were picked using the tried and tested method of feeling the bag beforehand (I know, I’m contradicting myself but I wanted something interesting, not ‘Artist’ or ‘Soccer Player’).
“Raised on heroic ballads of sea serpents, forest trolls and fire-breathing dragons, the fearless Viking sees monsters everywhere – and the most important thing he knows about monsters 
is that when a Viking sees one, he’s got to fight it!”
The Viking is pretty standard, looking like he’d fit in amongst any of the numerous Medieval or historical sets of the past. He’s pretty generic but even then he’s full of character, his unique parts make him stand out from others of his ilk. His face is scarred and grimacing for all he’s worth but this can be hampered by the nose guard of his ill-fitting horned helmet. His torso and shield have some lovely Nordic/Celtic designs on them which really sells him as a Viking. He’s pretty generic but still interesting so I’ll score him at a respectable 6 out of 10.
“Raised by wild wolves out on the frozen tundra until he was discovered by a travelling sports agent, the Hockey Player
quickly proved to have a natural talent at the fierce and fast-paced sport of ice hockey.”
The Hockey Player is angry as hell! Just look at his face! He’s going to beat the crap out of you and doesn’t care if the Ref sees him or not. He’s easily more intimidating than the Viking. He comes with gear to cover his torso, a hockey stick, helmet, skates and stud to represent a puck. He’s a great little figure and I’d love to get a whole team of them together (maybe with an opposing team? Get on it, LEGO!) His bio suits his team affiliation and I can just imagine him crying “WOLVERINES!” as he checks some poor sod on the open ice. 9 out of 10!
“Whether the job involves searching the sewers for mutant sludge or cleaning up after giant radioactive chickens from outer space, Hazmat Guy is always ready to put on 
his airtight protective suit, grab his hi-tech equipment, and make the streets safe and tidy once more.”
I don’t think the bio suits this poor schmuck like the others do. He doesn’t look competent; he looks like he’s bricking it (Pun intended) but sitting next to Hockey Player on my desk will do that to you. He was by far the easiest of the three for me to find, having the bulkiest accessory in his hazmat helmet. The release of this guy was kind of unfortunately timed because Japan was having their nuclear emergency after the quakes but I don’t think anyone complained. I find his hose accessory to be pointless and wished they included something else, maybe a tiny Geiger counter or something. He’s a fun little desk toy and I’m giving him 8 out of 10.
As of writing, there are another 3 Series planned for 2012 and there are plenty of these I want to pick up. I hope this article has convinced you guys to hunt some down yourselves!