LEGO Collectable Minifigures General Discussion

[Klaus-Dieter]

Thank you very much for this new picture, legomilk!

Series 2 looks !

From the figs we can see on the pic I mainly like the female singer, the Mexican and the Greek soldier.

Klaus-Dieter

[Legoist]

If, they come in a bag, a non see through one, will people be willing to exchange if we have double or triple ??? Otherwise it's going to be expensive if we want them all.

Everyone knows that random, collectible, rarity-based stuff is a money-sink for fans. I wasn't expect TLG to make this move, primarily because it doesn't seem to need to, but it will certainly generate A LOT of money to them.

If any of the ones I want are 'rare', I'll get them all from Bricklink.

Be prepared for extortionate prices. I come from the world of roleplay games, and I've seen this happen before for example in the Dungeons & Dragons miniatures. Everyone will say that it's easy to swap them with friends, but friends are getting the "common" ones too and there will not be enough friends; and everyone will say eventually "well, I can always go to the 2nd hand market", only to find that the rares (most likely the ones with some unique parts) easily go for $20+. Those who really "want them all" will inevitably spend a lot of money.

At least in the case of Lego minifigs, you can still use in your MOCs even the many multiples copies you might own, contrary to other collections like Magic: the Gathering where you really end up with a pile of garbage.

I am not concerned about AFOLs, we are adult people and we can hurt ourselves and our wallets in any way we want. But I am otherwise concerned about kids. All this culture of "collectible toys" just feeds on greed, envy, and frustration, and make it harder for parents to teach their children some balanced, fair view on the value of property and money. It really is ultimately opposite to educational, a quality which Lego has always be at the top.

I know that with these bitters thoughts of mine I'll be hated by many, but it's ok, as I told you I've seen this happen before, in my other hobby And of course I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy these... just be reasonable and don't get addicted. And keep an eye that your kids don't as well! If you feel you're getting addicted, it might help to picture yourself 10 years from now, with a bin* full of thousands (no kidding, some will reach these numbers: unless the whole line is a flop, there will easily be 3-4 runs of minifig per year) of minifigs gathering dust.

*you'll display the singles in a shelf, but hide the duplicates in a bin, trust me

[jonwil]

I LOVE these, I am most interested in:

Magician

Astronaut

Mexican (although I think the Sombrero would have looked better in another color like Tan or Black instead of the green)

Skateboarder (for the torso and hair assuming the hair is new)

and maybe the Nurse

If they do more, some things that would be cool to see:

Electric Guitarist (great for Rock & Roll stuff)

Aviator (the kind that flew biplanes and wore leather hats and flying goggles)

Scientist (with a lab coat and conical flask. For the flask use whatever they did with the Crystal Skull piece to fill the flask with some green goop or something. Give the scientist funky hair ala Einstein and it would look cool)

[General Magma]

Not again, ANOTHER wave of amazing minifigs!

I'll try to get all of them, but I'll be bankrupt..

But those are awesome, I'm gonna save up already!

Thanks for the pics.

~ General Magma

Edited February 8, 2010 by General Magma

[Lego Wargammer]

great sets of figures, love the idea of releasing a bunch of minifigures

if TLC is looking for ideas for upcoming sets I'd like to suggest some.

an Army guy (similar to the green army men but with a different colored helmet and a tan outfit)

a Mummy to go with the zombie and vampire

a mini fig in a toga to go with the hoplite and pharaoh

another clown, can't have too many clowns

another zombie, can't have too many zombies

I agree with jonwil, we need a electric guitar guy, to go with the singer

oh and a bandito, need a excuse to release that sombrero in a different color, I'm thinking white

how about a geisha?

Edited February 8, 2010 by Lego Wargammer

[liquidcross]

Please, PLEASE let that guy on the left be the quintessential Disco Honky. :D

[Joebot]

Everyone knows that random, collectible, rarity-based stuff is a money-sink for fans. I wasn't expect TLG to make this move, primarily because it doesn't seem to need to, but it will certainly generate A LOT of money to them.

I am not concerned about AFOLs, we are adult people and we can hurt ourselves and our wallets in any way we want. But I am otherwise concerned about kids. All this culture of "collectible toys" just feeds on greed, envy, and frustration, and make it harder for parents to teach their children some balanced, fair view on the value of property and money. It really is ultimately opposite to educational, a quality which Lego has always be at the top.

Good points, Legoist, and I generally agree with everything you said. I think the Star Wars license was TLG's first exposure to the adult hobbyist collector. Star Wars appealed to people beyond TLG's typical fanbase, bringing in Star Wars fans who bought the Lego sets, solely to build once and display, just like any other action figure or collectible.

Now, TLG is taking another step in that direction. I have no doubt it'll be a huge success, but you're totally right about the "greed, envy, and frustration." It's the blind-packaging that makes it worse. I HATE not knowing what I'm buying. But, that's also what drives the consumerist feeding frenzy. I might not get the one I want, so I better buy ten of them!! Ugh.

[Zorbas]

I HATE not knowing what I'm buying. But, that's also what drives the consumerist feeding frenzy. I might not get the one I want, so I better buy ten of them!! Ugh.

Good thinking Joebot.

Reading this made me realised that it's going to be just like our childhood again. I can still remember buying Kinder eggs just for the small prize in order to complete a small series of figures or even buying small packages of album stickers with football players on in order to complete the album.

LEGO won't be the only element from our childhood this year I guess.

I'm still excited though.

Edited February 8, 2010 by Zorbas

[Rick]

I still don't 'like' the idea of Lego releasing 'collectibles' - complete with rarity of certain figures and opaque packaging - and wonder if it won't hurt or at least change Lego's brand image in any way. But on the other hand, this is marketed as something completely different from their regular themes. We'll see...

[______]

Amazing! LEGO Roman, just so cool

[CP5670]

It's the blind-packaging that makes it worse. I HATE not knowing what I'm buying.

Same here. This is my main problem with these minifigs, and the reason why I'm not going to buying them outside of Bricklink unless you can feel inside the bags.

The second batch of minifigs looks cool, but like the first batch there are only one or two that I'm really interested in, and none that would justify putting up with the hassle of blind purchases. We get enough randomness in normal Lego sets already, with all the dodgy quality going around.

[vexorian]

Everyone knows that random, collectible, rarity-based stuff is a money-sink for fans. I wasn't expect TLG to make this move, primarily because it doesn't seem to need to, but it will certainly generate A LOT of money to them.

Be prepared for extortionate prices. I come from the world of roleplay games, and I've seen this happen before for example in the Dungeons & Dragons miniatures. Everyone will say that it's easy to swap them with friends, but friends are getting the "common" ones too and there will not be enough friends; and everyone will say eventually "well, I can always go to the 2nd hand market", only to find that the rares (most likely the ones with some unique parts) easily go for $20+. Those who really "want them all" will inevitably spend a lot of money.

At least in the case of Lego minifigs, you can still use in your MOCs even the many multiples copies you might own, contrary to other collections like Magic: the Gathering where you really end up with a pile of garbage.

Hence the reason this is a great thing. None of these guys is really undesirable and they are not far in content from the usual impulse sets considering the number of new molds. Even the least desirable figs have plenty of uses and are recyclable.

Unfortunately, this is the same reason trading will get hard. If I had two robots, I would see no reason at all to trade them with someone who has 2 cheerleaders ( I am almost sure these are some of the rarest). Repetitions are desirable in this case.

I am not concerned about AFOLs, we are adult people and we can hurt ourselves and our wallets in any way we want. But I am otherwise concerned about kids. All this culture of "collectible toys" just feeds on greed, envy, and frustration, and make it harder for parents to teach their children some balanced, fair view on the value of property and money. It really is ultimately opposite to educational, a quality which Lego has always be at the top.

Huh at the end of the day, having to learn to deal with your own greed, envy and frustration is a great lesson ^^. Nothing teaches kids the value of money more than having to waste their own money on collectibles, and this comes from a guy that wasted tons on collectibles as a kid from my own money. After many failed attempts I eventually learned my lesson.

Anyway, it seems that even the rarest fig will have a chance of at least 1/60 of appearing, it is not going to be very incredibly unlikely to meet a friend that has the fig you are looking for.

---

I actually LIKE that you can't know what you get. You know what would happen if it was possible to know. The toy stores would end with tons of a certain fig few people want and all the good ones will banish the first day... My biggest issue is that some figs are rarer than the others. It was hard enough to complete the collection without that artificial difficulty. And my biggest worry is that they may actually use bad plastic which would suck, really, a lot.

Edited February 8, 2010 by vexorian

[Tyrant]

I don't have a huge problem with the blind packaging. Like someone else mentioned, I also buy miniatures in random packs. If possible, I will just do what I do with that game and buy by the case. If the distribution is set up right (which is an if at this point) and you can get an entire set out of a case it will be the easy way to go. For D&D minis, for instance, you can get all of the commons and uncommons, and half of the rares in one case of figures so it really is the easy way to go if you want most of the set. Here I assume there will only be common and rare with no idea what the ratio between the two will be. If a full case gets you multiples of the rare figures, it will definately be the way to go. Then, I just sell off the multiples I don't want like I do with D&D. It will be a potentially expensive proposition either way, but one way avoids frustration (again, if the distribution is set up right).

At this point though, we don't have enough to work with to know if that will be a smart move or not. There are 16 individual figures, but we don't know how many are "rare" and what exactly that rarity means. It could be that 8 of them are rare and that rarity means there are half as many of them. In other words, in 24 boxes there will be one of each rare and two of each of the others. It could mean that 4 of them are rare and there are one fourth as many of them. Or any other possible combination. In my opinion, this is the critical information we need before we start gathering the torches and talking about corrupting the youth. If it's less than half of the figures being rare and a low ratio I will be even more likely to buy a case because I will have more of the rare figures to resell to help cover the cost because I want most of the figures for myself so they would need to be multiples to sell.

Edit to add:

I actually LIKE that you can't know what you get. You know what would happen if it was possible to know. The toy stores would end with tons of a certain fig few people want and all the good ones will banish the first day... My biggest issue is that some figs are rarer than the others. It was hard enough to complete the collection without that artificial difficulty. And my biggest worry is that they may actually use bad plastic which would suck, really, a lot.

To again use an example from D&D minis, they tried packaging where you could see one of the figures. It didn't work. People would buy up all the good/useful ones and now most stores have tons of packages with Unicorns (the not so useful figure from the first such set) sitting on the shelf with retailers not buying any more until those move. The next set had the same problem with 4 of the 8 visible figures flying off the shelves and the other 4 kind of sitting there. The third set has been better but the overall experiment has been a failure and they are returning to totally blind packaging in the next set. Totally blind, at least with D&D minis, allowed them to make a lot more figures for a cheaper price to the consumer than they ever would have been able to selling them individually in visible packaging. I won't claim to totally understand TLG's business model but that may be the case here. Some of those parts are bound to cost more than others so by producing fewer of them over the life of the line they are able to produce a broader range for a reduced price, but you don't get to see what you are buying. Otherwise, it may be a case where you are paying $5 a figure (or more) and there are only half as many figures. With all the figures in the same exact type of package, the consumer can't pick and choose which is what leads to peg warmers (a term the action figure collectors out there will recognise) which stores hate and consumers ultimately pay the price for when stores don't restock or pick up the next series. It is entirely possible that TLG has to bend to pressure from retailers on this one as well. They may not think they can recover their costs selling them exclusively through their own venues and they have to compromise to get stores to carry their product. It's a big reason why D&D minis are in blind packaging as well.

Edited February 8, 2010 by Tyrant

[vexorian]

I don't have a huge problem with the blind packaging. Like someone else mentioned, I also buy miniatures in random packs. If possible, I will just do what I do with that game and buy by the case. If the distribution is set up right (which is an if at this point) and you can get an entire set out of a case it will be the easy way to go. For D&D minis, for instance, you can get all of the commons and uncommons, and half of the rares in one case of figures so it really is the easy way to go if you want most of the set. Here I assume there will only be common and rare with no idea what the ratio between the two will be. If a full case gets you multiples of the rare figures, it will definately be the way to go. Then, I just sell off the multiples I don't want like I do with D&D. It will be a potentially expensive proposition either way, but one way avoids frustration (again, if the distribution is set up right).

At this point though, we don't have enough to work with to know if that will be a smart move or not. There are 16 individual figures, but we don't know how many are "rare" and what exactly that rarity means. It could be that 8 of them are rare and that rarity means there are half as many of them. In other words, in 24 boxes there will be one of each rare and two of each of the others. It could mean that 4 of them are rare and there are one fourth as many of them. Or any other possible combination. In my opinion, this is the critical information we need before we start gathering the torches and talking about corrupting the youth. If it's less than half of the figures being rare and a low ratio I will be even more likely to buy a case because I will have more of the rare figures to resell to help cover the cost because I want most of the figures for myself so they would need to be multiples to sell.

We know that each box will contain 60 packages and each box contains at least one of each minifig , and that there are 16 of them.

The best possible probability for a rare minifig would be 3/60 (5%) and the worst would be 1/60 ( 1.66 % ) So, best case scenario you will need to buy 20 packages on average before you get the rare minifig you want and worst case scenario you will need 60. I really, really hope, rare figs are not that rare.

Edited February 8, 2010 by vexorian

[CP5670]

I actually LIKE that you can't know what you get. You know what would happen if it was possible to know. The toy stores would end with tons of a certain fig few people want and all the good ones will banish the first day... My biggest issue is that some figs are rarer than the others. It was hard enough to complete the collection without that artificial difficulty. And my biggest worry is that they may actually use bad plastic which would suck, really, a lot.

That would just indicate that TLG's estimates on the initial demand for each minifig were off. After the initial batch, TLG would increase the supply of the popular figures and reduce the supply of the unpopular ones. This is no different from what happens with regular Lego sets, or most other products for that matter.

Imagine a situation where you can only buy Lego sets on S@H randomly, with a fixed worth of say $30, but you don't actually know what set it is or if it's even from a theme you are interested in. This is basically what is happening here. I personally am only interested in a couple of the figures, and am more likely to not buy any of them at all instead of buying a whole box of them. Reselling or trading the figures I don't want takes up valuable free time that could be spent doing more fun things, such as building.

Edited February 8, 2010 by CP5670

[vexorian]

Imagine a situation where you can only buy Lego sets on S@H randomly, with a fixed worth of say $30

Way to reduce the argument to the absurd.

Dealing with random collectibles is fun. There is the whole gambling experience and having to trade with others to get the whole collection, so it is a social experience as well. If you make them see through you remove the random part of it and it becomes once again into going to the store hoping that they still have the one you want and then finding out they don't but have some which you didn't like. But LEGO already has that, and in pretty large amounts...

If you just want some figs go ahead and purchase them from bl. Worried about the prize being too high? If the packages were see-through it would even be less likely to get them and thus they would get more expensive in bl. LEGO would not make a whole new wave repeating them with fixed amounts to match demand. That would be a bad business move in which you hurt the value of your own collectibles, instead they will do a second wave with different mini-figs.

Edited February 8, 2010 by vexorian

[kabel]

what's the packaging gonna look like? paper or cardboard? if it was paper, wouldn't you be able to feel what you're buying? At least some parts should be recongnizeable without lokking at them, schuoldn't they?

[The Green Brick Giant]

That would just indicate that TLG's estimates on the initial demand for each minifig were off. After the initial batch, TLG would increase the supply of the popular figures and reduce the supply of the unpopular ones. This is no different from what happens with regular Lego sets, or most other products for that matter.

What are you taking about?

LEGO is probably only going to make one run of these sets, they make what they make and when they are gone they are gone forever. These aren't sets, these are collectible. They will be out for 2 months, some rarer than others and then the next set will come out. LEGO isn't going to go "Well this one guy seems popular, lets make a new run of them". It's all or nothing. These are going to sell out quick and LEGO better have a decent plan for their release otherwise they will have a lot of pissed off fans. I see them only being at LEGO Stores and TRU and that is an incredibly stupid plan.

[mikey]

...

I am not concerned about AFOLs, we are adult people and we can hurt ourselves and our wallets in any way we want. But I am otherwise concerned about kids. All this culture of "collectible toys" just feeds on greed, envy, and frustration, and make it harder for parents to teach their children some balanced, fair view on the value of property and money. It really is ultimately opposite to educational, a quality which Lego has always be at the top.

...

I totally agree with this. Possibly a subject like this will split between they young and the old on this site, because once you reach a certain age you start to worry about how kids are growing up. I dont have any kids yet, but I share a little of the worry that my brothers and sisters have with their kids, and a big worry is the 'I want it now' culture, which obviously has always been an issue for parents, but it has mutiplied since I (or my siblings) were demanding things in the 80's. I like to think of Lego as socially respondsible, as 'the right kind of toy' for kids to be playing with. Which brings me onto:

...

Dealing with random collectibles is fun. There is the whole gambling experience

...

I dont think the 'gambling expierence' is anything an 8-12 year old should be learning to enjoy. And lets remember that Lego is essentially a childrens toy. We as Adults buying these are the exception, the 'slightly unusual' part of the population, im not in any way saying that Adults should not enjoy a gamble, but I do not think that Lego should be getting involved in this type of marketing strategy.

[legomaniac83]

I can't wait for these to get to shelves. I think I am going to just buy a whole box, and whatever doubles I get, will sell or trade off.

By buying the whole box, you know you are at least getting the whole run of the series. I would like to have the complete series, and wouldn't like paying a ridiculous amout on BL for rare minifigs....

I also like the fact of not seeing what you get. One, for the fact that the rare ones will fly off the shelves, and the not-so-rare ones will stay and collect dust, and two, it adds to the joy of opening each package not knowing what is inside. It's all about being a kid again this way!

Edited February 8, 2010 by legomaniac83

[escortmad79]

Hopefully they'll be packaged like the Racers grab bags (Like 7611) & have a small clear part at the rear to see at least part of what's inside.

Don't think they will though

[CP5670]

Way to reduce the argument to the absurd.

Dealing with random collectibles is fun. There is the whole gambling experience and having to trade with others to get the whole collection, so it is a social experience as well. If you make them see through you remove the random part of it and it becomes once again into going to the store hoping that they still have the one you want and then finding out they don't but have some which you didn't like. But LEGO already has that, and in pretty large amounts...

If you just want some figs go ahead and purchase them from bl. Worried about the prize being too high? If the packages were see-through it would even be less likely to get them and thus they would get more expensive in bl. LEGO would not make a whole new wave repeating them with fixed amounts to match demand. That would be a bad business move in which you hurt the value of your own collectibles, instead they will do a second wave with different mini-figs.

If you find the "social experience" of trading fun, then what I proposed is no more absurd than the situation with these minifigs. I will only gamble if I am getting enough of a premium for the risk I take, and that isn't the case here given that I only want a few of the figures. You cannot necessarily conclude that they will be more expensive either way. If the bags were clear then it's also possible that the BL sellers would snap them up faster, increasing the supply on BL. It all depends on what TLG's initial supply for each minifig is like, relative to its demand.

As for the collectible value, TLG doesn't really care about that since they see no profit off what the resellers make. If you look at this as a purely business decision, there are arguments to be made both for and against it. It will attract collectors who want most or all of them and are willing to keep buying until they get what they want, but it will turn away more casual buyers like me who are only interested in a few of them.

What are you taking about?

LEGO is probably only going to make one run of these sets, they make what they make and when they are gone they are gone forever. These aren't sets, these are collectible. They will be out for 2 months, some rarer than others and then the next set will come out. LEGO isn't going to go "Well this one guy seems popular, lets make a new run of them". It's all or nothing. These are going to sell out quick and LEGO better have a decent plan for their release otherwise they will have a lot of pissed off fans. I see them only being at LEGO Stores and TRU and that is an incredibly stupid plan.

I was saying what could happen in a hypothetical situation, if they did decide to make the figures a standard item. If they are really going to sell out that fast, then perhaps TLG's business strategy on them is less than optimal.

Edited February 8, 2010 by CP5670

[jonwil]

My guess is that TLG will make the figs in equal amounts and distribute them randomly across the boxes.

Also, given how these are to be distributed and sold, getting an entire box may not be as easy as it seems (you would need to find a toy store with a whole box in stock willing to sell it to you unopened)

[Piranha]

On the right side, you can't see it in this picture

Too bad I didn't take a picture, but you should see the Pharao and the judo fighter with a tiny golden mini-fig trophy.

Cheers

Frank

Oh thanks

Does anyone have a picture that shows those figures? , as the surfer and pharaoh sound great!

I hope I get the Hoplite, Surfer, Skier, Pharaoh all in one bag on my first try

They come in random packs of 3 correct?

[vexorian]

I totally agree with this. Possibly a subject like this will split between they young and the old on this site, because once you reach a certain age you start to worry about how kids are growing up. I dont have any kids yet, but I share a little of the worry that my brothers and sisters have with their kids, and a big worry is the 'I want it now' culture, which obviously has always been an issue for parents, but it has mutiplied since I (or my siblings) were demanding things in the 80's. I like to think of Lego as socially respondsible, as 'the right kind of toy' for kids to be playing with. Which brings me onto:

I dont think the 'gambling expierence' is anything an 8-12 year old should be learning to enjoy. And lets remember that Lego is essentially a childrens toy. We as Adults buying these are the exception, the 'slightly unusual' part of the population, im not in any way saying that Adults should not enjoy a gamble, but I do not think that Lego should be getting involved in this type of marketing strategy.

It is not like without LEGO minifigs they wouldn't be exposed to this lesson. And I'd rather prefer they do it with minifigs which can be recycled and given plenty of uses if you get the one you weren't looking for or get tired of collecting them than with those zillions of card games out there in which the collectibles will get pretty useless once the kid grows out of them .

As a kid I had to deal with collectibles and I doubt there's anyone in this world who hasn't dealt with these things as a kid. And quite possibly so, those who haven't are probably now having issues since they weren't given the chance to learn about those things as kids. Besides, kids are less likely to be genuinely interested in collecting them all or in having very specific targets.

Edited February 9, 2010 by vexorian