LEGO Collectable Minifigures Series 3 discussion

[Aanchir]

Just went out looking for them yesterday and found them in several places, in no short supply. My brother and I got the hula girl, the alien, and the rapper for ourselves, as well as the gorilla suit guy for our little brother and the samurai, snowboarder, elf, and fisherman for a friend.

I was just continuing my efforts to record the part ID numbers from collectible minifigure parts, and discovered something that surprised me: the alien's head is the exact same part ID as Squidman's. Most collectible minifigure parts have different ID numbers than identical parts from other sets. I reckon the difference is that Squidman's head is produced at the Chinese plant to begin with, so there was no need to design a new mold.

I haven't opened the Hula Girl yet, but here's my thoughts on the other two. The rapper is definitely gorgeous. He's really blingin' with his microphone, boom box, cap, and jewelry. I didn't notice until now, but he has the same "minifig head" icon on his belt as he has on his hat. The baggy pants are a nice touch.

The alien is also nice. He would work well for either Blacktron or Alien Conquest. I personally wouldn't use him for Space Police III since Squidman's bios tend to agree that as far as anyone knows he's one-of-a-kind (nobody's seen any aliens quite like him). The alien's torso print is very nice and futuristic, and you might even get away with using it in an Exo-Force MOC (or at least, alongside Exo-Force torso prints). His laser gun is snazzy and would work great in steampunk MOCs (whether as a gun or as some type of mechanical greebling).

Overall, I'm really enjoying Series 3, but as with Series 2 I'm not really compelled to get every fig. As before, I'm just picking up a few every now and then if I feel interested.

[Gregorovich]

Today I got my 3rd, 4th and 5th favourite figs ( snowboarder, gorrilla suit guy and sumo wrestler ) in Argos for £1.99 each. I love the snowboarder's face, her board and her pink helmet. The only problem is that her goggles sit so loosely on her helmet. The gorrilla suit guy's hat's really cool, and I'm really glad he came with a banana ( I don't have much Lego food! ). The sumo wrestler's hair and trophy ( I was surprised at how small it was! ) are really nice. The next two figs on my favourites list are the racer and the elf. My Argos branch had almost all the figs, except the elf!

[Aanchir]

Opened the Hula Girl. She's very nice looking, but I'm very disappointed that the little instruction leaflet doesn't tell how to put her skirt on. It's one of the only places in the collectible minifigures where instructions would be really helpful, and I'm sure it's even more frustrating for people who aren't as used to putting minifigures together.

I find the skirt looks best when the "part" is in the very back rather than on a corner. That way, the back of the minifig hip/waist piece, which is also green, "fills in" the gap a bit (which is better IMO than when the skirt is open at a corner).

I was interested to notice that the printing for her "curves" is in Medium Nougat rather than the typical orange or yellow-orange color I'm used to. I find it works very effectively-- while darker than orange, it's also less vibrant and thus doesn't draw so much attention to itself.

The cartoony look of the flower in her hair (and those that form her lei) works well with LEGO. Her lips are printed in red, which is often very distracting (I prefer pink, orange, or nougat printing for lipstick in many cases). However, it works well in her case, probably in part because it's thin rather than a big smear like many female minifigs' lipstick in the past.

The swimsuit bottom underneath her skirt could be very useful for diversifying the swimwear in a beach scene, and it's nice that LEGO printed it rather than just have it look like a thong. Since it's underneath the skirt, they needn't necessarily have bothered, but it improves the versatility of the piece.

[Lordofdragonss]

This is how it looks the best IMO.

[chris_austin]

Thanks Lordofdragonss! I tried to get it on the back but didn't think it was possible but now I realise that you can have it anywhere.

I agree about the trophy, i'm always expecting it to be slightly bigger. Does it just seem bigger because of the view/angle in the photos?! Very detailed too

Not too fond of the waist printing (I don't think it serves any purpose but I don't have one without it to compare...

Edited February 1, 2011 by chris_austin

[Tazmaniac]

I bought a box and split it with an online afol friend so I had to feel my way through.

It had 3 fishermen which through me off a bit as I was under the impression there were only two.

got my full set and only opened one wrong one ( not mine ) a snow boarder thinking it was the race car driver.

that completes my series 1, 2 and three.

I found the dots to be very unreliable as two of the same fig had totaly different dots??

[Staszek]

I bought a full retail box batch no. 143B0 (European). Actually you can check the batch number on Lego brown box (side) and green retail box (bottom).

I managed to complete 3 full sets plus extra

- 1 fisherman

- 1 pilot

- 1 samurai

- 2 sumo

- 2 mummies

- 1 tennis player

- 2 race car drivers

- 1 gorilla man

- 1 baseball player

Clearly distribution is much different than some other reported but I am happy to be able to collect 3 full sets.

I was checking two cheat sheets in the process and still 25% of bags had to be recognised manually. Some of the patterns from cheat sheets where applicable to different minifigs (eg. Alien vs. Elf).

Now I have to sell 1 set and some extra minifigs, but looking at auction sites I should be able to lower my average price per minifig singificantly.

[winbrant]

I found the dots to be very unreliable as two of the same fig had totaly different dots??

In my travels with these I've come across 5 different lot numbers and 6 different bump codes...one lot number having two bump codes.

Using the Elf and hula girl as a guide there were indeed 5 different bump patterns for him amongst the 5 lots...some were very close to being identical but actually differed a small bit. And, quite often, the rapper had a very similar pattern as the elf, with the addition of a bump overlapping with the lot stamp. Assortments also seemed to have differed...early cases has only 2 fishermen but have found boxes with up to 4.

I even have the case it came in and has the Chinese distributor on it :).

I have been finding these at Chapters/Indigo up here in Canada...not sure where all my comments in other threads about this have gone... they look to be confining it to one box out at a time, between the four locations I have been

Edited January 31, 2011 by winbrant

[Zeya]

This guy needs to be smacked, palm-side up:

eBay Link (selling s3 barcode decoder)

I don't know how he has 100% positive feedback with shenanigans like this.

[chris_austin]

Just a quick weird question. How would you feel if you didn't feel the packet, just picked a figure at random and bought it but when you opened it, discovered that the pieces had already been put together?

[iamded]

Just a quick weird question. How would you feel if you didn't feel the packet, just picked a figure at random and bought it but when you opened it, discovered that the pieces had already been put together?

I'd feel impressed that someone could blind bag-build that in store without being caught out.

[WhiteFang]

This is how it looks the best IMO.

Indeed. I done it in this manner as well.

Just a quick weird question. How would you feel if you didn't feel the packet, just picked a figure at random and bought it but when you opened it, discovered that the pieces had already been put together?

That is something pretty unusual.

[manuelexar]

Where could i find that dot-guide? I've got an almost full series now (I miss only the snowboarder) but I want an army of elves and I need to find it quickly because the shop guy gets angry if I touch the bags too much...

[Brickdoctor]

Where could i find that dot-guide? I've got an almost full series now (I miss only the snowboarder) but I want an army of elves and I need to find it quickly because the shop guy gets angry if I touch the bags too much...

Unfortunately TLG has changed the dots up, and we have no idea what's what and can't gurantee which dot applies to which figure anymore.

[MinifigFreak2010]

Sounds like lego is becoming money hungry piggies on these things pretty fast. How do they expect people to find the ones they want? Sounds like a way to make people by lots and lots of money

Feel method doesn't work for me. I tried to id which figures were in which bags w/ my series 2 figures that came in. I only tried a three out of 6 bags b4 I gave up. I knew what they were going to be(eBay!) but outside of the basic minifigure body(head, torso, and legs), I couldn't ID anything.

The paper chart made it hard to id anything.

Edited February 1, 2011 by MinifigFreak2010

[Brickdoctor]

Sounds like lego is becoming money hungry piggies on these things pretty fast. How do they expect people to find the ones they want? Sounds like a way to make people by lots and lots of money

It isn't called blind packaging or printed with question marks on it for nothing. These were never intended for you to know what was inside in the first place. You should consider yourself lucky that you had the privilege of having access to a cheat sheet for over 2 Series. TLG is simply returning the product to what they wanted it to be in the first place.

...The paper chart made it hard to id anything.

Then why are you complaining about TLG making it hard to ID them if you always found it too hard?!?

[MinifigFreak2010]

I don't see removing the id method as fair. What about those that don't have time for the feel method or are like me and it's not a method that works for them? Not everyone has lots of money for the figures and/or they don't have anyone to trade the figs with.

Plus by paper chart, I didn't mean the ID cheat sheet. I meant the paper included in bags that have the 16 minifigs on one side and the mix and match chart on the other side.

[Zeya]

If you can't/won't do the feel identification, I would recommend simply buying a set of 16 off bricklink/ebay. They tend to go for something like USA $60, which is about 3.75 per figure. That's not too unreasonable of a price. Save yourself the hassle and time for a bit more money.

[Aanchir]

I don't see removing the id method as fair. What about those that don't have time for the feel method or are like me and it's not a method that works for them? Not everyone has lots of money for the figures and/or they don't have anyone to trade the figs with.

Plus by paper chart, I didn't mean the ID cheat sheet. I meant the paper included in bags that have the 16 minifigs on one side and the mix and match chart on the other side.

So you're saying that LEGO makes it more "fair" by creating a secret way of telling the figs apart that only AFOLs tend to know? So that AFOLs can cherry-pick all their favorite figs to get their "army" of elves/Spartans/zombies/whatever and leave casual buyers with their leftovers? I'm sure plenty of people who don't know the barcodes/dot codes will gladly tell you just how "fair" that is.

I agree that feeling the bags isn't easy, but it's been reliable since day one. Maybe someday LEGO will put the sets in boxes or plastic containers instead, so that it's truly "fair" and there's no convenient way to cheat. Until then, there's no point griping about it. If feeling the bags is too much trouble, or if random guessing is too much of a risk for you... then just don't buy the minifigures. That's the only strategy that lets you know exactly what you're getting, and that doesn't cost you a thing.

Or, if you absolutely must have them, get them from people who already bought them. Bricklink and eBay are still options. If the aftermarket price is too high for you, then you've truly refused every option available, and might as well do without-- like we've all done for all our lives before the collectible minifigures even existed.

EDIT: Sorry if this response sounds awfully bad-tempered. It always grates my nerves when people act like they're "entitled" to get sets designed and distributed exactly how they want them. These sets were designed to be blind-packaged, and if not for the blind packaging they probably wouldn't exist at all. If you don't like 'em, don't buy 'em, and you're no worse off than if they were never released to begin with.

Edited February 1, 2011 by Aanchir

[Brickdoctor]

EDIT: Sorry if this response sounds awfully bad-tempered. It always grates my nerves when people act like they're "entitled" to get sets designed and distributed exactly how they want them. These sets were designed to be blind-packaged, and if not for the blind packaging they probably wouldn't exist at all. If you don't like 'em, don't buy 'em, and you're no worse off than if they were never released to begin with.

Nope, this post sounds perfectly fine to me. It demonstrates exactly what I'm trying to say.

If feeling the bags is too much trouble, or if random guessing is too much of a risk for you... then just don't buy the minifigures. That's the only strategy that lets you know exactly what you're getting, and that doesn't cost you a thing.

Precisely.

Maybe someday LEGO will put the sets in boxes or plastic containers instead, so that it's truly "fair" and there's no convenient way to cheat.

Then we'd all show up at the store with scales to weigh the boxes - different minifigs have different weights.

Edited February 1, 2011 by Brickdoctor

[MinifigFreak2010]

Not all AFOL's want armys of a single type. For me, 1 of each one I want is enough. I am not really into battle scences and I don't have a use for a lot of them. I'm not into mixing and matching premade figures. I'd rather leave them like they are. Though if a minifigure loses the hair/hat piece and I can't locate the orginal piece, i will try to locate a piece as close to it in my collection. Though if I do order from lego again and i think about it, i should order a few spare hair pieces and a couple hats for my "extra hair/hat" container. I don't have much past an IJ hat or two, female hair, a pirate cap or two, and I think a few stray pieces besides that.

Oh, and online buying is a major problem for some. Any idea how many price gougers are on eBay? Any idea how insane the bids are on some of the items when the prices ARE reasonable?

I really wanted the baseball guy and snowboarder gal and those 2 were nearly impossble for me to get. I had to track at least 2 or 3 auctions just to get lucky on an auciton

I wanted surfer dude of series 2 b/c I knew he'd be a good match with series 4 sufer girl(one of 3 series 4 I want). If it wouldn't of been for the fact i got extremly luck that a guy had a couple(I just got 1) and said I could get one in my order, I would still be looking.

[Brickdoctor]

Oh, and online buying is a major problem for some. Any idea how many price gougers are on eBay? Any idea how insane the bids are on some of the items when the prices ARE reasonable?

Bricklink has fair prices and you pay the same was as eBay.

I really wanted the baseball guy and snowboarder gal and those 2 were nearly impossble for me to get. I had to track at least 2 or 3 auctions just to get lucky on an auciton

They aren't called mystery minifigs for nothing. If you want to be guaranteed a certain figure without bothering to go out and feel the packages yourself, then all the work and extra money you use up online is the price you pay.

[Stiel]

Then we'd all show up at the store with scales to weigh the boxes - different minifigs have different weights.

Actually, some have weight equal with a precision of 0.1g. Pulling out that kind of precision scale at a store will attract quite a few conspicuous glances, I'm sure.

A better option might be to join up forces with your local LUG, buy multiple boxes and share them. If you're part of a local LUG, that is.

[Brickdoctor]

Actually, some have weight equal with a precision of 0.1g. Pulling out that kind of precision scale at a store will attract quite a few conspicuous glances, I'm sure.

A better option might be to join up forces with your local LUG, buy multiple boxes and share them. If you're part of a local LUG, that is.

That was half joke, half thing thought up on the spur of a moment, but I actually suspect that if you get to know the employees at the Brand Stores (if you live near one) really well, they wouldn't mind. I've been to multiple stores where the employees during S1-2 were showing everyone the barcode cheat sheet and helping them figure out what was what.

[legomaniac83]

Oh, and online buying is a major problem for some. Any idea how many price gougers are on eBay? Any idea how insane the bids are on some of the items when the prices ARE reasonable?

I think you need to look harder into online buying. I've sold my extras on eBay for just above the store price. And if you look at completed listings for all series, they are very reasonable. Heck some are even $3 with free shipping - you cant beat that! Sure some figs go for a bit more, but that's supply and demand - Some figs will always be rarer than others. As for feeling the bags, I have done that for every Series with 100% accuracy. Maybe a little more patience is in order?

I get tired of hearing about the blind packaging. This is what the marketing was and as far as I can tell they have been a huge success. Try finding leftover Series 1&2 in stores.....

Be happy that you can find them in store near you. A lot of others wish they could find 'em.