LEGO Collectable Minifigures Future Series Rumours

[fred67]

There's enough slack that you can probably stretch the baldric around the quiver, but it won't look quite right, if you know what I mean.

So... it should just be a new combined piece. After all, if you're using the bow, your sword is sheathed (even if it's not a sheath, you know what I mean).

Edited May 3, 2011 by fred67

[Inspecter]

Hopefully if they do the lederhosen-clad man they better mold a new hat and not reuse that woodsman hat.

Edited May 3, 2011 by Inspecter

[ttoole73]

I'm both excited and terrified about more series.

[LEGO AFOL]

There are some rumours about stopping at series five.

I am glad It does not stop at series five. Collectable minifigs are popular in Singapore too.

I heard in overseas, boxes quickly disapear from Toy r us and walmart.

Well, we did get a diver in Series 1. And he was far and away the least popular.

Personally I think the volume of repeats we have been seeing is down to TLG trying to make up for the botched distribution of Series 1. People who didn't have clowns and skater boys before will now be able to get some.

I like the diver. But my favourite is cheerleader in series one. The pom poms are ncie.

My favourite in series one is cheerleader,two is spartan, three is elf and four is hazard material guy in orange suit.

Five is the detective. I am detective fan.

[Miss Kyle]

Wohoo! The collecting madness continues!! Awesome :)

[Legoist]

Personally I think the volume of repeats we have been seeing is down to TLG trying to make up for the botched distribution of Series 1. People who didn't have clowns and skater boys before will now be able to get some.

I don't think this is really the case. Collectors who didn't get some specific figure of Series 1 are not going to want a "repeat", they'll always want exactly what they've missed.

Oh, there were plenty of complaints about the repeat skateboarder, just as with the repeat surfer. I don't understand why it is that to many people, an idea LEGO has used before is forever taboo.

Maybe some people see the collectable series in a different way that I do, because I agree with you. I don't care the least for "repeats" because for me these series are only an opportunity to get cheap minifigures with NEW parts. So for me the 2 surfers are great because... they have 2 different surfs, simply. If I wanted to build a surf-beach MOC, I'd like much more to have lots of differently coloured surfs rather than 30 identical ones, so in many cases (with the exceptions of army-oriented or team sports minifigs) "repeats" of previous minifigs are actually better than multiple copies of the same identical minifig.

For instance, I hope future series will feature "repeats" of the hockey, baseball and soccer players with different colours. How cool would be after the Argentina-like footballer of Series 4 to get dark-flesh Brazil-like footballers in a future series?

Edit:

My only real wish for future series would be a more clever AND customer-friendly decision for which minifigs should be more or less common in the box. Some minifigs are just more useful in larger amounts, namely those sports figures (if you want to MOC a sport match, you're going to need at least a bunch) and anything that can reasonably make an army. Other figures, basically all the civilians, are probably most of the times wanted in one copy to complete a series (unless the FOL has a specific wish for multiple accessories), or anyway a smaller number.

For instance... the Artist is my favourite figure in Series 4, but if I get more than one is only because I'm afraid the accessories will get lost early or late. The Mad Scientist... how many do you really need? But you can instead easily think of having tens of Musketeers. I wish TLG would plan the numbers of each minifig based on this kind of ideas.

Edited May 3, 2011 by Legoist

[Niku]

What I don't get is why do these repeats when we could at least get a couple new figs by creating Collectible version of figs that have recently been in sets. I wouldn't mind a pirate or knight, or fireman or robber for the collectible series that was slightly altered from what we have seen.

I second this, for sure many army builders, and city guys will love to have more minifigs to live on their respective themes.

[Dunjohn]

I don't think this is really the case. Collectors who didn't get some specific figure of Series 1 are not going to want a "repeat", they'll always want exactly what they've missed.

I'm not talking about collectors, though. I'm talking about "kids." The reason they're not doing exactly the same one is the collectors.

Edited May 4, 2011 by Dunjohn

[Klaus-Dieter]

Thank you very much for this news, r4-g9!

I really like to hear that TLG is going on with those minifigures series.

I don't care that much about repeats:

It offers us more variety: Take e. g. the Clown: The one from series 1 is looks completely different and has different accessory in comparison to the one from series 5.

And it offers us improved designs: Take e. g. the Skater: Imo the skater from series 4 looks much, much better than the one from seris 1.

I really hope that TLG will include some kids minifigures in these three new series, too.

And I hope for some more variety in every-day civilian torsos (e. g. some different T-Shirts).

I'm really excited.

Klaus-Dieter

[KristofBD]

Great news! I can hardly wait until the preliminary pics surface!

[benhead]

Repeat figures are needed to stretch out the theme and probably keep costs down.I`d love it if each figure was unique and one of a kind!But the line would dry up for new ideas pretty quickly,doubt if it would make it past series 5.I would love to see lego get some movie licensed characters and the occasional super rare 1 in 25 cases elite mini figure!Something that is so awesome it brings in new customers and drives up demand,gives lego the needed funds to create even cooler mini`s.The super rare figure would be something like a 24kt gold George Lucas(complete with chubby belly,over-stuffed bag of money and a little sign that says 'Thanks suckers!HAHA!').

New themes;

Comic book characters.Series 11.1 Hulk,2 Ironman,3 Superman,4 Green Lantern,5 Batman,6 Wonder Woman,7 Batgirl,8 Wolverine,9 Dead Pool,10 Stryker(from cyber force,he has 3 right arms!),11 Witchblade(alittle revealing I know),12 Savage Dragon,13 Spawn,14 The Darkness(comes with 2 tiny darklings with tommy guns!),15 Rogue(x-men)16 Professor X(with wheel chair!)1 in 25 super rare figure...Stan Lee!

Tv and movie figures.Series 12.1 Snake Plisken(from Escape from L.A.),2 Robocop,3 Alien(from alien 2, the rubbery tail is molded with the head piece),4 Power loader,5 Ellen Ripley,6 Conan(the Arnold version),7 Alf(anyone remember him?),8 The Simpsons(any),9 Predator(his head and mask would be huge!),10 Lord of the rings(any),11 Family guy(any),12 Luck Troll(those funny looking little dolls with the crazy fuzzy hair),13 Lara Croft(tomb raider/angelina jolie version),14 Loyd(from dumb and dumber,my favorite movie!),15 Terminator,16 saturday night live(original crew,bill murray,dan akroyd,steve martin,anyone of these three!)1 in 25 super rare...Bill Murray in Ghost busters outfit!Comes with proton pack and a rubbery Slimer!

Cartoons.Series 13.1 He-man,2 Smurf,3 Ren,4 Stimpy,5 G.I.Joe(any,there`s enough of them!),6 Japanese anime(choose 1 if you can!),7 Disney(old cartoons),8 Gumby(1st rubbery mini figure),9 Dragonball Z,10 Fraggle Rock(I like Doozers!),11 Dexter(from Dexter`s laboratory,he would be the smallest mini ever made!comes with beaker,wrench and thick nerd glasses),12 Dee-Dee(Dexters stoopid sister),13 Scooby Doo(I really hate this show but someone likes it,its been on for 40 years!),14 Looney Tunes(Marvin Martin-comes with ray gun,Yo samity sam-comes with 2 long barrel pistols or elmer fud-comes with double barrel shotgun and huge hunting hat!),15 1980`s cartoons(not mentioned),16 1990`s cartoons(not mentioned).1 in 25 super rare...24kt gold Bugs Bunny.

[Roodaksta]

It's a good and bad thing. The good thing is that the minifig line contains many custom minifigs to collect and use it's pieces to add more detail and have more options when making a minifig thus giving more of a variety as the theme continues. But the bad thing is as the series continues, the Lego team will run out of ideas for the theme as it continues and just discontinuing it earlier than expected. But still I can't wait for the future minifig series!

[Sirius Black]

But the bad thing is as the series continues, the Lego team will run out of ideas for the theme as it continues and just discontinuing it earlier than expected.

I don't really get this. Are you saying that as it continues, the Lego company will run out of ideas and discontinue it sooner? Because that doesn't make sense. If they don't continue it, then it won't matter when it gets discontinued. By your logic, continuing it is a bad thing because it will discontinue it. That's a confusing statement .

[Big Cam]

What I don't get is why do these repeats when we could at least get a couple new figs by creating Collectible version of figs that have recently been in sets. I wouldn't mind a pirate or knight, or fireman or robber for the collectible series that was slightly altered from what we have seen.

It seems pointless for TLG to use a standard fig in the collectable fig's line. Pirates are available in PotC sets, Firemen are readily available in the Town theme, and the robber is also currently available in the City sets.

[Aanchir]

It seems pointless for TLG to use a standard fig in the collectable fig's line. Pirates are available in PotC sets, Firemen are readily available in the Town theme, and the robber is also currently available in the City sets.

Well, yes, but with that kind of argument you're falling prey to the same sort of generalization that makes many people frown upon any "repeats" of old ideas-- that all skateboarders are the same, all pirates are the same, etc. Personally, being able to design a fig without being constrained by the theme it's a part of can allow for creative designs. Just consider the Traffic Cop-- he's technically a police officer and even has the same badge emblem as other officers in the City theme. But not being a part of that theme, he was able to be a far more unique idea than any of the generic officers who appear in City.

In the same way, a collectible fireman could have a different color scheme than your typical LEGO fireman-- perhaps a more realistic Sand Yellow (BL's Dark Tan) uniform with Bright Yellow (BL's Yellow) or Cool Yellow (BL's Bright Light Yellow) stripes, possibly with a yellow or red helmet. He could alternatively be a firefighter in a more old-fashioned uniform, like the classic LEGO firemen. There are countless possibilities, many of which LEGO couldn't easily touch upon in existing themes where there's usually a certain "style" minifigures need to adhere to in order to fit in.

[Brickdoctor]

I don't really get this. Are you saying that as it continues, the Lego company will run out of ideas and discontinue it sooner? Because that doesn't make sense. If they don't continue it, then it won't matter when it gets discontinued. By your logic, continuing it is a bad thing because it will discontinue it. That's a confusing statement .

I agree. By your theory, the Series will get discontinued either sooner or later, and I say the later it's discontinued the more minifigs we get and the better for us!

[WhiteFang]

Personally, I am extremely excited and pleased to know the LEGO Collectable Minifigures Series will continue beyond Series 5, provided it will come true.

To me, I think it is an absolute great opportunity for minifigures collectors to have a chance, a dream for us to collect uncommon minifigures. I am not joking. See how many creative minifigures have been created for the past series, and despite the fact that some of it are being repeated but it actually comes with different designs to complement with one another.

So, to me, it doesn't raelly matter as long it gives back a little town, a little medieval, a little space, a little special stuff, here and there, and you get the next coming Collectable Minifigures Series. Seriously I don't think the ideas will ever run dry but it is only a matter of how creative the designers want to be based on their willingness and constrains.

[Aanchir]

I agree. By your theory, the Series will get discontinued either sooner or later, and I say the later it's discontinued the more minifigs we get and the better for us!

Agreed. I always hate anything that assumes people can "run out of ideas" when they're not placing overly-harsh restrictions on themselves. If ideas are a limited resource, then they're going to run out no matter what happens. Even if LEGO stops using new ideas doesn't mean that the ideas will somehow "replenish themselves". For that matter, if ideas are a limited resource then there's no reason why LEGO wouldn't have already used them all up in other themes over the past several decades.

In contrast, I believe that ideas are a practically unlimited resource. Consider every occupation that has ever existed, every human culture that has ever emerged, and every character role that has ever been written. Even if you eliminate several of these as bad or boring ideas, there are still countless possibilities to choose from. The only way the collectible minifigure series will end is if people simply stop being interested in collectible minifigures altogether, and if that happens it won't matter how many ideas have been used up and how many are still unused-- the product line will end.

[vexorian]

Repeat figures are needed to stretch out the theme and probably keep costs down.I`d love it if each figure was unique and one of a kind!But the line would dry up for new ideas pretty quickly,doubt if it would make it past series 5.

They could just not add the repeats at all and just have less minifigs per series. It would also make it easier to complete them.

[Brickdoctor]

In contrast, I believe that ideas are a practically unlimited resource. Consider every occupation that has ever existed, every human culture that has ever emerged, and every character role that has ever been written. Even if you eliminate several of these as bad or boring ideas, there are still countless possibilities to choose from. The only way the collectible minifigure series will end is if people simply stop being interested in collectible minifigures altogether, and if that happens it won't matter how many ideas have been used up and how many are still unused-- the product line will end.

Definitely. Heck, they could go another five series on historic military minifigs alone. Knights, archers, pikemen, musketeers (with actual muskets), Immortals, Romans, Trojans, Chinese...

[Legoist]

Uhm... while it is totally possible that at some point the CM series will come to an end, let's not forget that Lego always has one factor to its advantage: demographics Until the day people stop making children, there will always be new customers!

It would be nice to know how much of the revenue for CM comes from KFOLs and how much from AFOLs. We know that KFOLs > AFOLs in terms of number, but I imagine that the average KFOL wants to collect all the 16 figures so they end up buying maybe 20-25 to complete a series, while the average AFOL interested in CM buys a case.

So maybe at some point the average AFOL just realizes he bought 1000s of minifigs and decides to take a break because he's not using them, and CM sales may decrease. But this coupled with more difficulty in coming up with new minifig concepts may (hopefully) result in having less series per year, maybe TLG will only lower down to 1 series / year and could settle to that for many years to come.

[Haltiamieli]

It would be nice to know how much of the revenue for CM comes from KFOLs and how much from AFOLs. We know that KFOLs > AFOLs in terms of number, but I imagine that the average KFOL wants to collect all the 16 figures so they end up buying maybe 20-25 to complete a series, while the average AFOL interested in CM buys a case.

I don't know how you define KFOL, but 20-25 figures sounds quite a lot for kids apart from big fans of CMF series. After all that would mean something like 40 euros or more per series. I don't think very many kids have such amounts to spend on figs alone. I'm not even sure how many would have interest. While it's certainly true that some kids are obsessively into collecting and they must "catch 'em all" or at least try, there has to be also a great amount of KFOLs who just buy a few figs, either because they get all or most of the figs they are interested in or because they are disappointed when they do not get those figs.

Having followed comments on EB and elsewhere I'd say that an average AFOL buying a case is at least a mild exaggeration too. For example when there was only 2 fishermen in Series 3 quite a many people complained that they could not split the box for three people anymore. I'm not sure if majority of these "splitters" would have turned to buying a whole box just for themselves after that. And then there's people like me who are too genre-oriented to have any interest in obtaining all the figs, because half of them would just be useless for me.

[Roodaksta]

I don't really get this. Are you saying that as it continues, the Lego company will run out of ideas and discontinue it sooner? Because that doesn't make sense. If they don't continue it, then it won't matter when it gets discontinued. By your logic, continuing it is a bad thing because it will discontinue it. That's a confusing statement .

Yes exactly what you said was what I was trying to say but discontinuing it at an earlier series than the series than it was supposed to end at. and in my opinion it kinda does matter since some people are expecting for series 6, 7, and 8 to some, so it will be disappointing for them to end at an earlier series.

[Masked Builder]

Sorry Lego but I'm done getting eight of each series. It's just too expensive. I will continue to get one or two though.

[fred67]

Yes exactly what you said was what I was trying to say but discontinuing it at an earlier series than the series than it was supposed to end at. and in my opinion it kinda does matter since some people are expecting for series 6, 7, and 8 to some, so it will be disappointing for them to end at an earlier series.

They were already working on eight... six and seven sounded like done deals. It really seems silly to think they should stop sooner than later so people won't be disappointed... which disappointment would be greater, really?