LEGO Collectable Minifigures General Discussion

[escortmad79]

Has anyone checked out the poll on the official Lego website for the collectible minifigs? I think you might be surprised as to which figures are more popular with the general population as opposed to the people around here...

Lego minifig poll

How the hell is the robot winning? The quality is shocking!! The robot hand doesn't even fit in the arm properly!!

[vexorian]

All the figs have an issue of terrible variance of quality. That said, I remember such thing was not mentioned in the robot review we had like ages ago. I think you just got unlucky and got one of the robots with that quality issue :(

[escortmad79]

A few others have complained of the same issue

[jamtf]

All the figs have an issue of terrible variance of quality. That said, I remember such thing was not mentioned in the robot review we had like ages ago. I think you just got unlucky and got one of the robots with that quality issue :(

Don't forget that all these were made in China and suffer from the "cheap plastic parts syndrom" (see banner below ). TLG decided to outsource production of this series (and perhaps the upcoming series as well) to their Chinese plant. That being said, it is obvious that the part colour differs from "normal" figs that were manufactured in European countries such as Denmark, Czech Republic or Hungary.

[SirWacky]

How the hell is the robot winning? The quality is shocking!! The robot hand doesn't even fit in the arm properly!!

Though I agree that the quality is awful you have to admit that the robot is a good looking fig.

Also I'd really doubt that kids care about the quality of their minifigs

[Aanchir]

Don't forget that all these were made in China and suffer from the "cheap plastic parts syndrom" (see banner below ). TLG decided to outsource production of this series (and perhaps the upcoming series as well) to their Chinese plant. That being said, it is obvious that the part colour differs from "normal" figs that were manufactured in European countries such as Denmark, Czech Republic or Hungary.

You mean like how the Rock Monsters and Toy Story figs have poor quality plastic? After all, those come from China, and I haven't heard a single complaint.

Furthermore, you assume China is the first LEGO plant outside Europe. That's not true. For a few years now there's been one in Mexico, and I never heard any complaints about the parts coming from there. So it's not like LEGO caused the part quality issue by choosing to outsource production for the first time.

Overall, I recognize the part quality issue exists, and that it's mostly shown up on the Chinese parts so far, but I think too many people jumped on the bandwagon that says "if it's from China it must be bad, and if it's bad it's because it's from China". Which, need I add, is a bandwagon noobs have been jumping on since before LEGO even started Chinese production.

Note also that to an extent, LEGO is using the Chinese plant as a sort of a "guinea pig" for new production and printing techniques, so it's no wonder that with all the positive changes (such as complex prints like the Rock Monsters or Toy Story figs), there have been unintended consequences. And those will be sorted out in time, because this is LEGO, a company that actually does care about quality.

[Asterios]

You mean like how the Rock Monsters and Toy Story figs have poor quality plastic? After all, those come from China, and I haven't heard a single complaint.

Furthermore, you assume China is the first LEGO plant outside Europe. That's not true. For a few years now there's been one in Mexico, and I never heard any complaints about the parts coming from there. So it's not like LEGO caused the part quality issue by choosing to outsource production for the first time.

Overall, I recognize the part quality issue exists, and that it's mostly shown up on the Chinese parts so far, but I think too many people jumped on the bandwagon that says "if it's from China it must be bad, and if it's bad it's because it's from China". Which, need I add, is a bandwagon noobs have been jumping on since before LEGO even started Chinese production.

Note also that to an extent, LEGO is using the Chinese plant as a sort of a "guinea pig" for new production and printing techniques, so it's no wonder that with all the positive changes (such as complex prints like the Rock Monsters or Toy Story figs), there have been unintended consequences. And those will be sorted out in time, because this is LEGO, a company that actually does care about quality.

Actually you haven't listened then since for the past few years people have been complaigning about the quality of LEGO going down hill, I never really gave it much thought till I bought some sets a couple years ago and in one set all of the minifig parts were not in it, and there was no rips in the bags they came in or openings or even resealing and the set was bought straight from LEGO so that irked me and this set was from China according to the box, and then there are sets which have had the lousy connectability of Mega Blocks some of the black 1x8's would not connect and so on, while I haven't encountered problemsthat severe recently I still encounter the minor melted brick (not completely formed in the mold) and such.

and I'm not alone in this either.

Edited July 10, 2010 by Asterios

[MagPiesRUs]

To be fair, the robot arm had the same problem in the Agents line:

Though I'm surprised the caveman is so far down on the poll, I thought kids would've loved him. A hairy old coot with a club? What's not to like about him?

[Blondie-Wan]

I wouldn't consider ninjas a fad, as ninjas have been continually popular for quite some time, at least here in the US.

Indeed, I can remember ninjas being popular with American kids at least as far back as the '80s. Back in the day, my own younger brother had his own kid-sized ninja outfit and an autographed photo of Shô Kosugi.

As for Series 2, the figs look great, but I think overall Series 1 is better. Unlike others, I really only want a few Spartans, and the rest of the figs aren't really army builders like the Robot and Zombie from series 1.

Yeah, the second series seems a little more tilted toward unique or nearly unique individuals, rather than characters one would have in large groups (especially uniformed characters). That said, I still would love to have multiples of every single figure in both series; there's not one that doesn't have some parts I'd find useful for creating variety and so on.

How the hell is the robot winning? The quality is shocking!! The robot hand doesn't even fit in the arm properly!!

FWIW, my girlfriend and I have five robots between us (so far!), and on every one of them the claw fits in the arm just fine - snug and secure, yet still able to turn. They're perhaps a little on the tight side, but not problematically so. YMMV, of course...

[vexorian]

The robot and the spaceman are the only figs I am interested in. (series 1 or 2).

You mean like how the Rock Monsters and Toy Story figs have poor quality plastic? After all, those come from China, and I haven't heard a single complaint.

To be fair, I did hear stuff about the toy story figs. Plus from pics it is clear to me that squeeze aliens have the typical bad plastic quality gloss. The same happens with recent battle packs. My theory is that minifigs cost a lot more to produce than 2 USD. But often times, their cost is amortized by the rest of the set, but when you try to sell minfigs only, it is too much.

Furthermore, you assume China is the first LEGO plant outside Europe. That's not true. For a few years now there's been one in Mexico, and I never heard any complaints about the parts coming from there. So it's not like LEGO caused the part quality issue by choosing to outsource production for the first time.

Whether it is related to the plant being in China or to the plant itself. Quality control has been terrible so far with slight improvements over the years but there are still many complaints about the collectable minifigs.

Edited July 10, 2010 by vexorian

[Aanchir]

Actually you haven't listened then since for the past few years people have been complaigning about the quality of LEGO going down hill, I never really gave it much thought till I bought some sets a couple years ago and in one set all of the minifig parts were not in it, and there was no rips in the bags they came in or openings or even resealing and the set was bought straight from LEGO so that irked me and this set was from China according to the box, and then there are sets which have had the lousy connectability of Mega Blocks some of the black 1x8's would not connect and so on, while I haven't encountered problemsthat severe recently I still encounter the minor melted brick (not completely formed in the mold) and such.

and I'm not alone in this either.

Ah, but did anyone ever blame Mexican production? And for that matter, the complaints about LEGO quality going downhill are older even than the Mexican plant. I've been listening for longer than you think.

I personally recall my 2004-2005 Brickmaster welcome kit being the set I had with the most visibly inconsistent quality. You could literally separate the red, yellow, white, and possibly blue (can't quite remember about that one) parts into two distinct groups each based on color variations. 2004 was before the Mexican or Chinese facilities opened. So while you seem to think that all these quality problems have been a consequence of outsourcing, that wouldn't seem to be the case at all.

And, as I said before, LEGO does care about quality. But they're not going to just throw out an entire production run of parts because the quality is inconsistent-- that would be stupid and would quickly drive LEGO into bankruptcy. Despite what some may think, you can't just melt down ABS parts, remold the plastic, and get parts of better quality. The process would be likely to make the parts brittle, and even worse quality than before. So LEGO allows for a little bit of variability in part quality. And usually you would never notice.

Edited July 10, 2010 by Aanchir

[blueandwhite]

While some elements manufactured in China are top-notch (the jester's hood for example), others leave much to be desired. The Toy Story figures were mentioned as being top-notch however I find that the long legs of Woody and Jessie actually suffer from the same quality issues that the collectable minifigs and the battlepack figs do. Chalky semi-translucent plastic that feels soft seems to be a common feature from minifigs produced in China. While this may simply be LEGO themselves experementing with new cost-cutting measures, the impression it leaves on many AFOLs is that China is a producer of sub-standard products. This view is certainly not helped by China's vast counterfeit industry which has given China a reputation for cheap, poorly made knock-offs.

Chinese manufacturing certainly takes its share of criticism however not all of the complaints are unfounded. Whether the lower product quality we're seeing in many of today's figures is due to Chinese manufacturing practises or LEGO's own attempts to cut costs is ultimately irrelevant. I only hope that LEGO hears our concerns (they didn't when they went over our heads with the colour change in 2004) and improves quality before these new figures become a standard for LEGO.

[Asterios]

Ah, but did anyone ever blame Mexican production? And for that matter, the complaints about LEGO quality going downhill are older even than the Mexican plant. I've been listening for longer than you think.

I personally recall my 2004-2005 Brickmaster welcome kit being the set I had with the most visibly inconsistent quality. You could literally separate the red, yellow, white, and possibly blue (can't quite remember about that one) parts into two distinct groups each based on color variations. 2004 was before the Mexican or Chinese facilities opened. So while you seem to think that all these quality problems have been a consequence of outsourcing, that wouldn't seem to be the case at all.

And, as I said before, LEGO does care about quality. But they're not going to just throw out an entire production run of parts because the quality is inconsistent-- that would be stupid and would quickly drive LEGO into bankruptcy. Despite what some may think, you can't just melt down ABS parts, remold the plastic, and get parts of better quality. The process would be likely to make the parts brittle, and even worse quality than before. So LEGO allows for a little bit of variability in part quality. And usually you would never notice.

But many have noticed with the quality of LEGO of late I still keep thinking i'm going to find a MB brand on them instead of the LEGO brand, and yes people complained about parts from Mexico too, but from what i've noticed the bulk of complaints have been recent product shipped out of China when it comes to basic color and print and feel on LEGO, in fact I just compared 2 Kingdom's sets one not from China and the other from China, and there is some considerable differances in them, not too mention has anybody noticed how the Horses (which are done in China) are looking really weird and glossy? almost like shifty or enlighten horses.

[Derek]

Though I'm surprised the caveman is so far down on the poll, I thought kids would've loved him. A hairy old coot with a club? What's not to like about him?

Well, for one, I'm sure that's exactly the type of person their parents warn them to stay away from.

I really hope that Series 1 gets another run, as I only need two more to round out my set- the "hairy old coot" being one of them....

[Peppermint_M]

Guys, this is a discussion about the collectable minifigs, not a Lego quality history discussion. In relation to the figures it is ok (to a degree), but large circular "discusssions" regarding long term alledged issues in quality are not for this thread or forum. Please take them elsewhere.

I think the robot is most popular due to all it's rather spiffy parts, the arm, the helmet and all the epic printing the rivets.

[SirWacky]

I really hope that Series 1 gets another run, as I only need two more to round out my set- the "hairy old coot" being one of them....

God I have four of them

The first one I opened was a caveman, The second... Another caveman, Then a forestman... Then another caveman!, true story

Edited July 10, 2010 by SirWacky

[dr_spock]

How can one not love a face like this?

The robot is gender neutral and kids like techno stuff.

[lightningtiger]

How can one not love a face like this?

The robot is gender neutral and kids like techno stuff.

'dr_spock' is right....how could you not like him in this regard, my son 'ZacAttack' has named him 'The Tin Man' from Wizard Of Oz.

I'm a conformist! !

[Artanis I]

The result isn't that surprising when you consider that the Ninja theme is over a decade old. Most kids today never had the chance to grab one of those figures and so far as I can tell ninjas have always been popular with kids. I don't think the ninja thing is a trend. I don't know why but kids always think ninjas are cool. Even in the 80s with G.I. Joe we had Stormshadow and Snake Eyes. Every Halloween you're bound to have a few kids dressed up as ninjas show up at your door (in North America anyways). The whole anime thing probably only adds more fuel to that fire.

I wouldn't consider ninjas a fad, as ninjas have been continually popular for quite some time, at least here in the US.

Don't forget Ninja Turtles! I wasn't talking about kids, I don't know how old you are or whether you have much contact with 18-25s but ninjas are currently more cool than they usually are, just as pirates were more cool a few years ago than usual. That's the trend. Those kind of characters are (pretty much) always cool to kids.

Another thing: who says the votes on the Lego site are all by kids? Or even mostly?

[natelite]

God I have four of them

The first one I opened was a caveman, The second... Another caveman, Then a forestman... Then another caveman!, true story

did you buy a box? there are 4 to a box.

[SirWacky]

did you buy a box? there are 4 to a box.

Nope just happened to pick up four of them by accident

[blueandwhite]

Don't forget Ninja Turtles! I wasn't talking about kids, I don't know how old you are or whether you have much contact with 18-25s but ninjas are currently more cool than they usually are, just as pirates were more cool a few years ago than usual. That's the trend. Those kind of characters are (pretty much) always cool to kids.

Another thing: who says the votes on the Lego site are all by kids? Or even mostly?

I don't see how my age has anything to do with the discussion. I'm 33, but that's irrelevant. I'm currently a school teacher so I do run into my fair share of children as well, but again that's irrelevant as well. I honestly don't see how you can accurately gauge that ninjas are currently more popular than they were a few years back. It's not exactly something you could measure accurately. Ninjas have been a pretty big pop-culture phenomenon for a pretty long time. How did you come to your conclusion?

Of course it's impossible to say with absolute certainty that the majority of votes on the LEGO site are from kids, however when one considers that the site is designed for kids with a very child-oriented layout you could probably surmise that a good portion of the votes were from younger consumers. While my guess is no more valid than yours; I would suggest that the lion's share of the votes on the LEGO site probably didn't come from 18 to 25 year olds. Who knows?

[Sandy]

Ninjas have been a pretty big pop-culture phenomenon for a pretty long time. How did you come to your conclusion?

I've got one word for you: Naruto.

I've worked with kids from 3 to 12 years old for the last couple of years, and especially among the older kids, Naruto is a big, big fad. So maybe that (and the whole Japanification of youth culture in general) explains the rise of popularity for ninjas?

[Asterios]

Of course it's impossible to say with absolute certainty that the majority of votes on the LEGO site are from kids, however when one considers that the site is designed for kids with a very child-oriented layout you could probably surmise that a good portion of the votes were from younger consumers. While my guess is no more valid than yours; I would suggest that the lion's share of the votes on the LEGO site probably didn't come from 18 to 25 year olds. Who knows?

odds are a majority of them are adults, since seriously how many kids you know will take time to do a survey or whos parents will allow them to take a survey?

as to Ninjas you can thank shows like power rangers for imbeding them into our childrens minds.

Edited July 11, 2010 by Asterios

[Artanis I]

The robot reminds me of stuff from Popeye cartoons. (Comic strips, not animation.) It's even more retro than retro, haha.

I've got one word for you: Naruto.

I've worked with kids from 3 to 12 years old for the last couple of years, and especially among the older kids, Naruto is a big, big fad. So maybe that (and the whole Japanification of youth culture in general) explains the rise of popularity for ninjas?

Yeah I hear of this Naruto quite a bit. Anime & manga seem to be rising in popularity too.

I don't see how my age has anything to do with the discussion. I'm 33, but that's irrelevant. I'm currently a school teacher so I do run into my fair share of children as well, but again that's irrelevant as well. I honestly don't see how you can accurately gauge that ninjas are currently more popular than they were a few years back. It's not exactly something you could measure accurately. Ninjas have been a pretty big pop-culture phenomenon for a pretty long time. How did you come to your conclusion?

Your age WAS relevant if you fell in the bracket I was describing, but it didn't really matter. I don't think I need to conduct a high scale quantitative survey to tell me if something is currently more pop culture than it usually is - you see and hear it more in media, "conversation" (I use that term loosely) and in social networks. Since most media and social networks available to us (ie in our face) are heavily USA influenced it can't just be us (if anyone at all) who are catching up to the far ninja-advanced civilisation of Canada, where wild ninjas graze the fields by the thousands, and every Canadian & his dog (& his dog's fleas) wear a ninja costume every other day, as has been the case for the past 200 years - with absolutely no wavering, because ninjas have NEVER been less popular there than they are now. Either that or I'm right, and they are currently more popular than their average popularity, and it's likely that it will dip again. That's what a trend is.