8683 Collectable Minifigs Series 1

 
Minifig fans are in a buzz about the new series of minifigs. They have been out in Europe for a bit and just hit the TOYSRUS stores here around May 20th. A couple of people posted they found them that thursday. I went to the ToyRUs the next day at lunch and they had a couple of cases of 60 figures. They were gone in minutes. The LEGO store put their's out on Monday May 23. It's wednesday and they are getting down to the last few cases. The guys at the store are hoping that they have more in their next shipment. They are limiting the purchase to 5 per person per day. The figures are unique to this set of 16. Each one comes in a blind bag with a few accessories and a stand.

     

You might be able to guess what's in some bags based on feel but it would be hard to guess right on most of them. Luckily the back of the package has a second bar code that tells you what's in each bag. You can download a cheatsheet from Brickset. Feedback seems to indicate that the boxes of sixty have a certain set distribution of figures. Here's a bit on that from over at Brickset. Indian 3, Cheerleader 3, Caveman 4, Clown 3, Zombie 3, Skater 3, Robot 4, Dummy 5, Magician 4, Wrestler 3, Nurse 3, Ninja 5, Astronaut 4, Archer 4, Diver 5, Cowboy 4. There's a folded sheet of paper with a checklist on one side and a generic instruction sheet on the other. Folder up it's pretty thick which helps keep you from guessing what's inside. I kind of like blind package items but understand the frustration of getting the same object over and over again. People were speculating before they were released that the packages would have random minifig parts for all of the 16 in there. That would have been a nightmare. One type per package is enough hardship.

 
I like that box and managed to get one at the TRU. I like packaging sometimes and too often want to save stuff like this. I kept every bag after I emptied them. Sometimes having a picture is as good, sometimes not. But, if I wait long enough I can sell that box for more than all the figures that came in it when they were new. Funny old world.

         
 
That's the tribal hunter, the cheerleader, the caveman and the circus clown. The costumes are all new and fun. I know the perverts over at MOCpages were thinking they needed a lot of those cheerleaders. The tribal hunter has a bow and arrow ready for some hunting I guess. I don't have any of the indians from the old wild west theme and these guys will do. The cheerleader comes with some pom poms and the caveman has a smaller version of the club that the Trolls had. The clown comes with a new horn and some whacky new hair. Everything has some potential, part wise, you'll see. I like the new hair piece on the caveman and the cheerleader has a blond version of a do that's been out in 3 or 4 colors so far. I've already seen pictures of cheerleaders with different heads and hair.

       

Here's the zombie, skater, robot and demolion dummy. That's LEGO's first zombie and it's the figure I hear most people say they want in multiples. Nicely dressed, huh. His accessories are a shovel and a turkey drumstick. I guess that drumstick is filling in for a human arm and  maybe the shovel is a human leg. What self respecting zombie would carry a shovel around, let alone eat turkey. Where's the brains in that? The shovel is a new one, gets new part number on Bricklink. It's flat at the end of the handle and much more flexible than the other version which can be found in the current Pig Farmer impulse set. The drumstick is new and longer than the old version. The skater has the regular skateboard in blue. He's also got a nice hoodie w ith a skull and crossbones on the front. His hair is new and something the kids will stick on their buddy icons. I really like the robot. He's got a great helmet that can double for steampunk spacemen or the like. He'e got a great new red eyed face and they used the mechanical arm from the Agents sets for his right arm. I wish it was the same on both arms. Someone else had the same idea over at It's All True (linked in first paragraph) and Chris Doyle had a great mashup of the robot and the clown hair. The crash test dummy comes with a wrench and a 1x2 white tile with letter and numbers printed on it.

 

      

There's the magician, super wrestler, nurse and ninja. All good costumes, that black suit could come in handy for a formal dinner party. The printing on these has been really nice, though some are complaining about the made in China figures being cheaper than than figures made else where. These seemed fine to me. The magician comes with a hat and some spare hair and a wand. The wand is shorter than the old wands and painted. The super wrestler is based on the traditional Mexican masked wrestler. He looks great. The nurse has a new hair and a syringe, 2 infact. That could be useful, get enough and make your own shooting gallery. The ninja comes with two gold pearl katanas. All figures are pretty useful for all sort of scenes. I'd go for more nurses than ninjas but I already had a few of the old ninjas so I'm good. Matt Holland from TwinLUG had some nice portraits of the magician, the wrestler and the forestman. Some guy named Vadar did the nurse, doctor and robot picture. I've always enjoyed that mad scientist face with all the grinning teeth.

     

 
      

That's the spaceman, the forestman, diver and cowboy. The spaceman has the new helmet from the Space Police theme but made white. He's got a fantastic new ray gun and for the beam a short trans blue light saber blade. The forestman comes with a bow and arrow. His hat is similar to the old hat but it's a resculpt and his torso is a new design. He has an extra red feather for his cap. Those will come in handy since I don't have enough for all the older hats I have. The diver looks pretty good, nice colors but nothing really new part wise. Good shirt on the cowboy and the comes with three pistols and that fedora in dark tan. I would like several of those hats. His brown hands are a mystery. Is he wearing gloves? Odd for a gunfighter. He must be that good. Most of the figures have good expressive faces so they will come in handy. Lego has nice action shots at their website. Here's a few of them.

    

    

    

    

Oops, I opened the folder and they all fell out. They're so cute I can't put them away again. LEGO also has some wallpapers and other bits of fun at their site. You should be able to figure out where they are.

Comments

[Daniel Boone]

Great review Garth! I can not wait til these finally get out to the left coast. I have checked 3 TRU for the last two weeks, nada. What do you mean perverts at MOC Pages? HAHAHAHAHA. Cheers - Mister Bones