Identifying Collectible LEGO Minifigures by their weight

[bartneck]

I wondered if it is possible to reliably identify collectable minifigures by their weight alone. So we measured all the 60 minifigures of a series 7 box. Here are the results. Yes, almost all Minfigures have distinct weights. You find the average and standard deviation in the table. I hope this helps.

Edited April 13, 2013 by Rufus
Indexed

[Itaria No Shintaku]

I wondered if it is possible to reliably identify collectable minifigures by their weight alone. So we measured all the 60 minifigures of a series 7 box. Here are the results. Yes, almost all Minfigures have distinct weights. You find the average and standard deviation in the table. I hope this helps.

http://www.minifigure.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/minifigures_series_7_weight.gif

IMHO feeling the bags has 100% success ratio, so it's already enough :)

[natelite]

if i read your table correctly, they aren't always distinct. for e.g. space marine and viking lady are almost similar to the point where you wouldn't know which is which unless you feel the pieces.

Nerd, daredevil, hippy and easter bunny are too similar too. no go there either.

[Lyichir]

Interesting, but I can't tell how this would benefit anyone except possibly resellers who wanted to identify which unopened figs they're selling. After all, it's not like it's easy to bring an extremely accurate scale into a store with you whenever you went out looking for minifigs. I'd imagine that'd get you even more funny looks than feeling up the packages!

[Bricktooth]

The touch and feel method has worked for me with 100% accuracy, so I don't think I'll be using this, but thanks for making it anyway. However, some figs, like the Bunny Suit Guy and the Hippie have nearly the exact same weight, so you need to feel the packs to be sure.

[Dervish]

I weighted, umm.. 2 full cases of series 5 I think.

Even got a digital 0.01g scale for this.

And I wouldn't count on using the scale as the only way to identify the figs.

The feel method is so much more accurate.

[vexorian]

Feeling the contents does not really have a 100% success ratio. Unless you have plenty of time to really feel every single bit of each bag. It is also very dependent on the minifig you are looking for.

[natesroom]

Feeling the contents does not really have a 100% success ratio. Unless you have plenty of time to really feel every single bit of each bag. It is also very dependent on the minifig you are looking for.

I would say yes it does, if your patient.

sometimes i'm in a hurry and i mistake one for something else, so i would say general efficiency with this method is 95-100%

[TheLegoDr]

Thanks for making this. It might be helpful for some people, but probably not the candid CMF seeker.

I am also a proponent of the feel method. I have only been wrong one time and the figure I got I wanted an extra one anyway, so it worked out. You definitely can't rush feeling them to guarantee each and every figure you touch.

[natelite]

i use dots to select and feel to verify. been hitting 100% mark every time. much quicker too.

feeling alone can take a long time to find what you need. dots are quick and easy.

though every now and then TLC will change the codes. series 6 changed codes 3 times. at least for the romans it did. i didn't need to check codes for series 7 since the most popular figures (gpatrol, aztec and evil knight) were easy to find.

[Emperor Krulos]

Tried this on series 4 using the same scale I used to weigh Kinder-Surprise-Eggs[1] with. The weights are just too close together o be reliable.

[1] A european chocolate egg with a toy inside, they have 'em in the states. Not sure where else.

[Lightning Dragon]

I use touch-and-feel, and for me, it's fast and efficient.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Lightning Dragon

[HawkLord]

This reminds me alot of the other thread on CMF - the about how many you'd have to buy totally blind to completely form a set. And like that thread, I just don't see any useful data. If you're staring at a case of CMF, it's much easier to just feel them then it is to use a scale and calculate weight.

Sure, it might be a fun mathematical exercise, but it doesn't really solve a problem. Not that there really is a problem with CMF anyway - just feel the packs. Really, I got my set done in probably 20 minutes feeling packs and that was including a search for duplicate army-builders.

[Systematik]

i use dots to select and feel to verify. been hitting 100% mark every time. much quicker too.

feeling alone can take a long time to find what you need. dots are quick and easy.

though every now and then TLC will change the codes. series 6 changed codes 3 times. at least for the romans it did. i didn't need to check codes for series 7 since the most popular figures (gpatrol, aztec and evil knight) were easy to find.

Dots vary from batch to batch, so some accuracy might be only if you got the same batch as the one with decoding table

- it never worked for me, instead of series 1 and 2 with extra barcodes I am all touch'n'feel...

This reminds me alot of the other thread on CMF - the about how many you'd have to buy totally blind to completely form a set. And like that thread, I just don't see any useful data. If you're staring at a case of CMF, it's much easier to just feel them then it is to use a scale and calculate weight.

Sure, it might be a fun mathematical exercise, but it doesn't really solve a problem. Not that there really is a problem with CMF anyway - just feel the packs. Really, I got my set done in probably 20 minutes feeling packs and that was including a search for duplicate army-builders.

If used, I see weighting only as preparatory step before touch'n'feel, check the bag approximately for the content

and then touch'n'feel for 100% sure - WhiteFang reviews are very helpful in this.

Edited October 16, 2012 by Systematik

[Darth Dino]

Hi

thank you fore sharing those data. This is something i have in mind for my Oylmpic GB minifigures. I am pretty bad in feeling the packets, and i was only able to specify those who have larger acessories.

At the moment i do not have acess zo a good scale. What kind of scale did you take?

Dino

[gundamz]

Hi

thank you fore sharing those data. This is something i have in mind for my Oylmpic GB minifigures. I am pretty bad in feeling the packets, and i was only able to specify those who have larger acessories.

At the moment i do not have acess zo a good scale. What kind of scale did you take?

Dino

The trick is feeling for unique accessories. Another method for telling what's inside the packets is to use the dot method (looking at the dots at the bottom of the packet).

[Darth Dino]

The trick is feeling for unique accessories. Another method for telling what's inside the packets is to use the dot method (looking at the dots at the bottom of the packet).

I did that with some sportsfigs sucessfully (the bow, wightlifter...). But for some figs, i am not able to feel the difference: e.g. swimmer and horse rider, both have smooth "hats". I hope the wight would help.

Dino

[Calabar]

That was my measurement for series 7

Does anyone did the work for the series 8?

Minifig				 Measurements					    Average
01.Swimming Champion ............. 09,90 ... 10,00 ... 09,93 .......................... 09,95
02.Aztec Warrior ................. 12,74 ... 12,64 ... 12,75 .......................... 12,70
03.Bunny Suit Guy ................ 10,98 ... 10,94 ... 10,95 .......................... 10,96
04.Bride ......................... 11,51 ... 11,46 ... 11,61 .......................... 11,52
05.Ocean King .................... 12,26 ... 12,08 ... 12,11 .......................... 12,15
06.Bagpiper ...................... 11,23 ... 11,25 ... 11,25 ... 11,19 ................ 11,23
07.Daredevil ..................... 10,74 ... 10,78 ... 10,82 ... 10,87 ................ 10,80
08.Galaxy.Patrol ................. 12,31 ... 12,17 ... 12,24 ... 12,35 ... 12,17 ...... 12,20
09.Tennis Ace .................... 10,18 ... 10,17 ... 10,26 ... 10,20 ................ 10,20
10.Jungle Boy .................... 11,14 ... 11,20 ... 11,20 ... 11,11 ... 11,19 ...... 10,18
11.Hippie ........................ 10,90 ... 10,86 ... 10,86 ... 10,84 ................ 10,88
12.Computer Programmer ........... 10,90 ... 10,95 ... 10,97 ... 10,88 ................ 10,92
13.Viking Woman .................. 12,37 ... 12,36 ... 12,37 ... 12, .................. 12,37
14.Evil Knight ................... 11,56 ... 11,47 ... 11,44 ... 11,53 ... 11,53 ...... 11,50
15.Rocker Girl ................... 11,17 ... 11,09 ... 11,16 .......................... 11,13
16.Grandma Visitor ............... 10,51 ... 10,54 ... 10,58 .......................... 10,55

[Calabar]

Here are my measurements for series 8

Minifig               Measurements                     Average
01 Evil Robot . . . . . . . 11,34 . 11,33 . 11,32 . 11,26 . 11,28 . . . 11,30
02 Conquistador . . . . . . 11,32 . 11,31 . 11,35 . ??,?? . . . . . . . 11,33
03 Lederhosen Guy . . . . . 10,23 . 10,23 . 10,21 . . . . . . . . . . . 10,22
04 Cowgirl . . . . . . . . .10,99 . 10,99 . 10,95 . 10,94 . . . . . . . 10,97
05 Football Player . . . . .11,58 . 11,64 . 11,43 . 11,40 . . . . . . . 11,52
06 Diver . . . . . . . . . .12,05 . 12,10 . 12,06 . . . . . . . . . . . 12,08
07 Downhill Skier . . . . . 11,46 . 11,39 . 11,39 . . . . . . . . . . . 11,41
08 Businessman . . . . . . .10,74 . 10,78 . 10,67 . . . . . . . . . . . 10,73
09 Fairy . . . . . . . . . .11,05 . 11,00 . 11,07 . . . . . . . . . . . 11,04
10 Santa Claus . . . . . . .11,40 . 11,43 . 11,37 . 11,48 . . . . . . . 11,42
11 Vampire Bat . . . . . . .10,35 . 10,37 . 10,50 . 10,40 . ??,?? . . . 10,42
12 DJ . . . . . . . . . . . 10,71 . 10,79 . 10,79 . 10,76 . . . . . . . 10,75
13 Red Cheerleader . . . . .11,47 . 11,52 . 11,55 . ??,?? . . . . . . . 11,51
14 Actor . . . . . . . . . .10,68 . 10,61 . 10,73 . . . . . . . . . . . 10,67
15 Pirate Captain . . . . . 10,39 . 10,25 . 10,36 . 10,33 . 10,33 . . . 10,33
16 Alien Villainess . . . . 12,43 . 12,46 . 12,43 . . . . . . . . . . . 12,44




Sorted by Weight

10,22   03 Lederhosen Guy
10,33   15 Pirate Captain
10,42   11 Vampire Bat
10,67   14 Actor
10,73   08 Businessman
10,75   12 DJ
10,97   04 Cowgirl
11,04   09 Fairy
11,30   01 Evil Robot
11,33   02 Conquistador
11,41   07 Downhill Skier
11,42   10 Santa Claus
11,51   13 Red Cheerleader
11,52   05 Football Player
12,08   06 Diver
12,44   16 Alien Villainess

[Calabar]

Has someone took the weight for the series 9?

[Wardancer]

Interesting. I have known about this method for a while, but I thought it would disappear. The only advantage I see is that you don't have to wrinkle the bags. But besides that, I prefer feeling in combination with dot verification (per box or shop as dots change).

[Calabar]

With the "dot" technique I never obtained good results, while the "palpate" technique requires a lot of time.

The "weight" technique is fast and have a good precision, and can be integrated with the other two: choose among 2 or 3 minifigs is much easier and fast than among all sixteen.

I'm still waiting for the box, and in the meantime I wanted to pick some sachet, so I'd like to have the weights!

[Dervish]

Has someone took the weight for the series 9?

I might just do this if people want to see this done.

Just need to have my 3 sealed boxes worth of figs to arrive..

[Calabar]

That would be very appreciated. By me, at least!

I'll post my measures too as soon as I'll be able to buy my box.

[Calabar]

Ok, in the meantime I didn't resist and bought four Series 9 minifigures.

The measure is not much relevant for statistics, but here is their weight:

04 - Heroic Knight - 11,84

11 - Alien Avenger - 12,25

12- Mermaid - 12,52

15 - Forest Maiden - 12,26