It's almost time for series 5 of the Collectible Minifigs to hit the stores and I haven't even done some comments on series 4 yet. Oh well, that's how I roll. Slowly. Stopping a lot for snacks and movie watchin'. Series 4 had several figures that were fun. I liked the Frankenstein inspired monster, the Geisha, the hazmat guy, and the artist the best. There are several new accessories and hair pieces that are nice additions to the collection. Recently I did my set inventory on Brickset. They treat the collectible minifigs as a set per figure, even though the packaging all has the same part number. When I looked at the inventory of figures for the four series I found that I bought less of each successive series. I think it was partly because the novelty had worn off and partly because I found I needed less of most of the figures in each new series. Some of them are pretty cool but you can only use so many before you reach your personal saturation level. Most figures were in the 3-4 range, a few just one and at least 1 figure per series was purchased in a larger than the average quantity. I bought 109 of the first series and fourteen of that first batch were the robot. I love that robot. I bought 87 of series 2, thirteen of them were the Karate Master. That was because he had the tiny minifig statue. I thought I needed a lot of those for some reason. Lucky for me I have learned to roll with these unexplainable urges. And really, who's got money for therapy? Not me, that's for sure. For series 3 the total purchased was 65 and 8 of them were the sumo wrestler. It's got a small minifig statue too, in a second color. I only picked up 45 of series 4, so far. Not sure that I need many more of most of the figures. I really need to start using more of them to justify buying them. I did find a place for several of them in the recent Western MOC's for the comic con. I wonder if other people are experiencing a reduction in the quantities they are buying. The company increased the quantities they produced of series three and four, both of which are still available at LEGO and other places. I bet the store will have series 3 available when series 5 arrives. I guess we can hope they put series 3 on clearance but I suspect they won't. The sales aren't as brisk as they were in the earlier sets, you hardly seen anyone hovering over the bin trying to squeeze their way to a set, but they continue to sell steady.
I liked the Garden Gnome. He's rather cute looking and he has a nice fishing rod. One of the newer ones that's shorter than the old one. That old fishing rod was about 12 bricks high and the new one is about half that. I have grown accustomed to the odd scale that occurs in many LEGO parts. Just makes no sense but when you're kid you don't know any better. Good reason not to leave thinking to children. I really liked the Geisha. That's one hell of a costume and that fan is nice. It was easy to find the Geisha, even though the packaging no longer has the bar codes, since that bottom slope is so big. Same with the Hazmat guy, easy to feel through the package and spot that helmet. The Geisha has the same hair piece that the sumo wrestler has and it works well here. The musketeer is kind of nice but like the fisherman I only got 2 or three. He's got a nice hat and that foil is nice except for the ball on the end. I suppose a guy could cut that off. I kind of like the punk rocker. He does have a nice shirt, what with that skull on there, but I couldn't see having more than a couple. The guitar is cool, you could flip itover and use it for something besides a musical instrument.
The surfer girl is cute, cuter than that gnome, that's for sure, and she has a nice hair piece and a sweet smile. The hair is in the medium dark flesh color on this gal and you can find the same hair piece in a couple of the other collectible minifigs. Dark brown on the nurse and dark orange on the tennis player. Good to have other colors of the same hairpiece. I like the shield on the Viking and picked up a couple or three of those. I might have to make a viking theme build some day. I have one in mind but getting to it has been slo-o-o-w. I really like the Frankenstein style monster. It's the second time they've made one. There was a previous version in the Studio sets of a few years ago. The new one had bandages on his head and the old one had a zipper across his forehead. The top of the head is a different sculpt, the old one has studs ont he side. This minifig has the least pieces of any of the figures. He has no accessories, none at all, just that brown suit and big ass head. Here's a pick of the old monster head. I'm not much interested in the hockey player. Without looking for them I wound up with 4. Maybe I can figure out something to do with those skates. I hope I don't get anymore. I haven't bought any of the fourth series for a while so I bet that might come true..
I didn't think I needed many skate punks. He's got a fairly nice board and a good torso print. The knit cap is nice too. That's one I wanted two or three of and I wound up with a couple. I haven't gone looking for more. I liked the sailor and his pearl silver telescope. That might come in hand to have a few of those. I only wanted the silver statue that the soccer player has and that black fez was a real bonus. He's got an ok hair piece too but the torso printing isn't anything I'm that interested in. Still you never know when some part might find a use. The werewolf is pretty silly but I like his costume. You could turn that into a old school Haitian zombie style costume without much trouble. He's got a bone (?) and his hair piece is the same hair piece that was on the Elf warrior from the 3rd series, it's just been color changed.
The hazmat guy is pretty cool, though he looks nervous. He should be the spray gun he's carrying is attached to his suit. Not sure what that's about. That a figure you could think up a use for 1, 2 or several of them. The artist is great with his dirty clothes and paint brush and pallet. I wound up with 1 of the figure skate and didn't feel like I needed more. It's a nice costume but rather limited. Some people at the LUG were complaining that you couldn't attach the figure to anything with skates on. The crazy scientist has a nice bootle with some possibly dangerous green stuff in there. Mind you, knowing crazy scientists as I do, it could be some sports drink. Inventing death rays and trying to take over the known world can really sap your electrolytes. Being crazy doesn't always mean being unhealthy.
I thought this was the least interesting set of figures of the four series though it does have it's highlights. That reflected in the purchasing of the least amount. Not that any one figure is awful or anything. I just couldn't find a use for multiple hockey players or ice skaters so I just bought less. Series 5 will be out soon and that some fairly interesting figures. More on that later.