LEGO Collectable Minifigures General Discussion

[angel1802]

The mixed part theory has already been debunked, both by the images and the hypothosis of market share.

We discussed it to death a while back but it seems the rumour will not die.

My bad

[Modulex Guy]

Please tell me that is not what i think it is

look on his arm, please tell me its a shadow...

It is as if they are doing a large effort to stop me from buying these things.

I don't care if the plastic comes from China as long as it is not cheap plastic. I am waiting for reviews and stuff before assuming they are using the bad plastic (these are just samples so the quality may vary for better or worse), if it is, it means there is a lot of money I will not be spending on these figs, so maybe it is a good thing...

It actually seemed to me that the accessories have that characteristic gloss from cheap plastic. Also, most of the robot's body. I noticed it before I read the other posts but I didn't want to say it before seeing more people's opinion (yeah, sheeple) It could just be the lightning or my clueless eye though. The "square" on the clown's arm could really be lightning, there seems to be a light above the "square".

Like I made the previous post about the transparency of the cheaper plastic,but What is this "square" I should be looking for?

I'm looking at the clown's arm and see that something is odd about it but I cannot seem to put my finger on it.

[MacK]

Do they come with those little black stands?

I might buy one or two of these just for fun, but having some of these rarer than others is definitely mean move from TLG, for everyone who plans on collecting all of these . The price also quite steep, being that these will be priced relativity the same as an impulse set which usually comes with several extra bricks and accessories.

[David Thomsen]

It's hard to tell from the photos, but comparing it with similar pictures of cheap plastic figures, it really does look like they have The Mark.

I already thought they were slightly too expensive already, but if they're made with cheap plastic, that suddenly makes them overpriced. I mean, I thought the point of cheap plastic was to reduce the price, not to radically increase profit margin.

Meh... I think I'll pass. I collect Lego because of the high quality, and that's why I pay the high prices. My themes can survive without these figs.

[Peppermint_M]

My bad

It's no problem.

Well, those stands do seem to come with the figures. As for plastics, oh well. They are unlikely to kill you if you do buy them .

[Etzel]

Like I made the previous post about the transparency of the cheaper plastic,but What is this "square" I should be looking for?

I'm looking at the clown's arm and see that something is odd about it but I cannot seem to put my finger on it.

First post in this topic: link

[Ricecracker]

I can't find it right now, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that the head of quality control was made aware of the sub-par figs, and immediately stopped the production of them. Is it not possible that these were made beforehand to showcase the figs, and the actual ones will use the correct plastic?

Also, as of yet, the sub-par figs have only been in pre-assembled figs, and I think that these are not pre-assembled.

[David Thomsen]

I can't find it right now, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that the head of quality control was made aware of the sub-par figs, and immediately stopped the production of them. Is it not possible that these were made beforehand to showcase the figs, and the actual ones will use the correct plastic?

Yes! I remember that... although I think it has become Chinese Whispers a little. I guess there's still a ray of hope...

[Omicron]

I said a bad move for us collectors.

TLG runs away with the money and profit and we can't get the minifigs we want.

Besides, people may quit buying them if it will cost too much for them to buy many more bags.

~ General Magma

That is the point of collectibles. They are never meant to be easy to collect.

they'll probably just decide to go the Bricklink route to get their favorite ones instead of playing a "lottery" (which is just as bad because LEGO doesn't receive any of the profit).

Only one to buy a complete fig is if someone already has one. And considering that these are collectibles, I doubt they will be any cheap to buy, like buying a cool SW fig. If anything, buy a case of the boxes when they are released if you can. That would be the cheapest way plus you would have them all.

-Omi

Edited January 27, 2010 by Omicron

[BlueBard]

These are going to inspire a loooooot of MOCs, I'm pretty sure... Thanks for the new pics

[vexorian]

The mixed part theory has already been debunked, both by the images and the hypothosis of market share.

We discussed it to death a while back but it seems the rumour will not die.

Although it surely does not make much sense to include randomized parts, I don't think we have real confirmation 'by images' do we? I mean, the packaging I've seen so far does not seem to confirm or deny anything.

[CP5670]

I can't find it right now, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that the head of quality control was made aware of the sub-par figs, and immediately stopped the production of them. Is it not possible that these were made beforehand to showcase the figs, and the actual ones will use the correct plastic?

Also, as of yet, the sub-par figs have only been in pre-assembled figs, and I think that these are not pre-assembled.

It's in a post by Davey earlier in the thread. That statement was like most of the other things we've heard from TLG about quality issues though. There is no official acknowledgment by the company, but some (often anonymous) source says they are aware of the problem and it's being addressed. I've heard too many things like this by now to take such comments seriously.

[vexorian]

It's in a post by Davey earlier in the thread. That statement was like most of the other things we've heard from TLG about quality issues though. There is no official acknowledgment by the company, but some (often anonymous) source says they are aware of the problem and it's being addressed. I've heard too many things like this by now to take such comments seriously.

It is a very strange rumor anyway. As if TLG for some random reason stopped doing quality control on some things and then was shocked to hear they were lower quality. I doubt the introduction of the cheaper plastic is because some guys at the factory simply thought of it without quality department being aware of the decision until it got sold, and that it kept happening not only in the magnet/board games but also with toy story a whole year after...

I don't think it is going to stop unless people stop buying the sets/etc that has the plastic, and that does not seem likely :(

Edited January 27, 2010 by vexorian

[Clone OPatra]

Although it surely does not make much sense to include randomized parts, I don't think we have real confirmation 'by images' do we? I mean, the packaging I've seen so far does not seem to confirm or deny anything.

We have confirmation from the report on Brickset and from the information on the website with these images. They say that some of the minifigures will be rarer than others, so how could that be possible if it was a jumble of random parts? If it's harder to get certain parts, then you could end up with a rare torso but never get the rare head to go with it? That makes no sense. The reports from the toy fair confirm that they are sold in whole figures, with some being rare than others.

[MrTools]

In that case the more detailed ones will most likely be rare, and everyone will end up with tons of those divers.

[ILikePi]

Huw from Brickset has another tidbit of info from the UK Toy Fair:

As for the second line of minifigs, I have vague recollections of a vampire and a South American musician in green/red cape and maracas but that's about all.

Interesting. It'll be great to get a vampire, and I wonder what the pattern on the maracas look like - yet another awesome accessory!

Can't wait for the revealing of the other 14 minifigs!

[angel1802]

Huw from Brickset has another tidbit of info from the UK Toy Fair:

Interesting. It'll be great to get a vampire, and I wonder what the pattern on the maracas look like - yet another awesome accessory!

Can't wait for the revealing of the other 14 minifigs!

14 ? I thought it was two series of 16

Well at least he confirmed that :

"They are just so awesome and series two has just as many very cool figs as series one. Nearly every one features something unique be it a printed torso or an accessory which hasn't been available before and (I'm told) won't be used elsewhere. I learned some other facts about them: They will cost

Edited January 28, 2010 by angel1802

[David Thomsen]

14 ? I thought it was two series of 16

He means... we know what two of them are, but not the other fourteen.

[angel1802]

He means... we know what two of them are, but not the other fourteen.

Oh ok, quel con, i didn't make the link...

[vexorian]

Huw from Brickset has another tidbit of info from the UK Toy Fair:

Interesting. It'll be great to get a vampire, and I wonder what the pattern on the maracas look like - yet another awesome accessory!

Can't wait for the revealing of the other 14 minifigs!

Hmnn: Connecting the dots, far shot:

There will be a relation between the figs in the first wave and the second wave :

zombie -> vampire

Mexican wrestler -> Mambo guy

Ninja -> Samurai ?

Cheerleader -> Some sportsman? Probably soccer or American football, imho Denmark + World cup 2010 = Soccer :)

Doctor/Nurse -> Surgeon

Clown -> Another circus character.

Spaceman -> Alien! I'd love to have those cliche gray guys with bugged eyes in minifig, really.

hmnn.

[Rick]

I can't find it right now, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that the head of quality control was made aware of the sub-par figs, and immediately stopped the production of them. Is it not possible that these were made beforehand to showcase the figs, and the actual ones will use the correct plastic?

It's in a post by Davey earlier in the thread. That statement was like most of the other things we've heard from TLG about quality issues though. There is no official acknowledgment by the company, but some (often anonymous) source says they are aware of the problem and it's being addressed. I've heard too many things like this by now to take such comments seriously.

Aliencat - a Dutch Lego Ambassador - said on LowLUG (Dutch LUG) that they will not be cheap plastic. Whether that's an official statement from TLG, I don't know...

[Peppermint_M]

But Rick!! We have seen a few poor photos taken in secret of a Toy Fair display that no one but people who might possibly sell them were supposed to see!

We have to find things wrong with them and reasons to make complaints when we actualy won't have any concrete proof (but who needs that anyway) until the summer!

now who will see thist is sarcastic?

[Rick]

We have to find things wrong with them and reasons to make complaints when we actualy won't have any concrete proof (but who needs that anyway) until the summer!

[Svelte]

The early figs we saw of Toy Story figs had the marks on the inside arms, as do the final figs, so how they appear at Toy Fair is more than likely what we will get.

I don't see anything wrong with discussing quality concerns. I mean, someone has to since LEGO pretty clearly doesn't care much themselves (despite what the annual reports say). I've had dodgy figs where the printing is substandard, the colour of printing doesn't match, the plastic is translucent, and the figs have ugly square marks on the inside of the arm and I really don't want to see more of the same thing.

I've been waiting 3 years since they first started messing up colour for someone to fix it, and it hasn't happened yet, so I'm a little sceptical of any official claims made by LEGO. If they can't get basic yellow or reddish-brown right after all this time, I don't have any confidence that someone is going to wave a magic wand over the crappy factory and instantly fix it.

I can understand the economics involved of this type of production, but I don't have to like it or subsidise it. It's not nostalgia for the 'old days' or AFOL auto-whining to question why certain products are not the same quality as they were a few years ago.

Personally I think LEGO should tread especially carefully when it comes to figs, since in the wider public consciousness they define LEGO. If they damage their reputation here, it could be difficult to fix down the line. At some point everyday consumers are going to think of LEGO and think not of the wonderful joy of bricks, but of largely empty cardboard boxes, horribly crushed sticker sheets, wildly varied brick colours, and tacky looking figs.

[mikey]

From what I have seen so far, I am really disappointed. Part of me thinks, yes they have 'The Mark', but maybe they fixed the ingredients so that they will be of the correct quailty. But realistically these are a short term line (with a life of around 6 months), and they are covered in printing. I really hope that they will be the correct quality, because they are not so attractive to me now. If they turn out bad quality I might buy one or two, but I certainly wont be going to extreme lengths to collect them all. Out of principle I would choose to buy other sets.

I also think they might have a problem with the availibility of these, with only 'normal stockists' selling them. If by 'normal stockists' they mean independent toy shops, toys r us, and maybe a big Asda or Tesco, I dont think they will sell that well. From what I have seen of 'trading cards', they are sold everywhere, parents tend to buy them for thier kids on the way home from school etc., to shut the child up. They are unlikely to travel to a specific shop for this function. I think it is possibly unlikely that parents would go to a specific toy shop and buy several packets of these for their children, they are more likely to spend on a set (which I presume they would think is better value for money). If they are sold in the bigger supermarkets then it is likely that parents will buy a packet, for peace and quiet, but this is quite limited when compared to 'trading cards' which are in every location a child might be with money in there pocket. My point being that possibly 'normal stockists' are not so widely distributed to make them a success.