LEGO Collectable Minifigures Future Series Rumours

[x105Black]

It is quite funny how she has risen in value, given that less than 1% of Eurobricks users had her as their favourite from the series (data snapped today). Even the skydiver was more popular.

It could be that everyone who voted for the Medusa, Roman Commander, and Revolutionary Soldier would pick her as second favorite. One must not be everyone's best friend to have the most friends.

[makoy]

And I can say it was a complete flop in the UK, based on just about every Sainsbury's supermarket having to drop them to £1 to sell them off.

Depending on how you look at it, having the Chicken Suit guy flop in the UK isn't so bad after all... it gets imported here in Asia cheaper. Well....Not really.

[MAB]

It could be that everyone who voted for the Medusa, Roman Commander, and Revolutionary Soldier would pick her as second favorite. One must not be everyone's best friend to have the most friends.

I know, but to be less popular than the skydiver is saying something.

[x105Black]

I know, but to be less popular than the skydiver is saying something.

Less favored. Not necessarily less popular.

[rob-ot5000]

I know, but to be less popular than the skydiver is saying something.

Less favored. Not necessarily less popular.

What was the point of this conversation again?

[Cagast]

I still have a wishlist of +450 characters

I have a list with 321.... I thought nobody could beat me.

[x105Black]

What was the point of this conversation again?

Good question.

But I was merely trying to point out that the Bumblebee Girl is a very popular minifigure. Even if poll results don't indicate that it is a favorite, it is certainly popular.

[makoy]

Good question.

But I was merely trying to point out that the Bumblebee Girl is a very popular minifigure. Even if poll results don't indicate that it is a favorite, it is certainly popular.

I agree. I also don't like Bumblebee Girl but I collected it anyway. The poll is also not representative of the large majority of collectors who do not participate in EB.

[Robert8]

I think is representative, but the poll just ask for the favorite

My favorite from Series 10 is the Roman Commander, but I got the Bumblebee Girl anyway.

If the question were "Which of these minifigures are going to buy?" (allowing multiple choices) then we would see something different

[x105Black]

I think is representative, but the poll just ask for the favorite

My favorite from Series 10 is the Roman Commander, but I got the Bumblebee Girl anyway.

If the question were "Which of these minifigures are going to buy?" (allowing multiple choices) then we would see something different

Or maybe "Rank these in your order of preference," but it was simply asking people to choose 1 at the expense of all others.

I still think that series 17 could be a selection from each of the previous 16 series, and that it would be a decent idea that would sell, but I don't think it will actually happen. I think there's a better possibility of seeing old minifigures come back in some collector sets or something.

Was the Monsters series successful? I ask this because I am curious about the viability of other themed series (preference for medieval fantasy). What do you guys think? To be honest, it's the only theme I'd want a whole 16 figures from, and I would likely spend a lot if it happened (as long as the figures came out as good as I imagine they could).

[Klaus-Dieter]

More like

Jan - Batman Movie

May - 17

Sept - Ninjago

Thank you very much for this information, just2good!

It's really a pity to hear that there'll be even two licensed series next year and only one regular series! Licenses are nice and good, but too much of them gets too much!

Klaus-Dieter

[x105Black]

It's really a pity to hear that there'll be even two licensed series next year and only one regular series! Licenses are nice and good, but too much of them gets too much!

I agree 100%!

[Robert8]

Thank you very much for this information, just2good!

It's really a pity to hear that there'll be even two licensed series next year and only one regular series! Licenses are nice and good, but too much of them gets too much!

Klaus-Dieter

Agree as well

But Ninjago is not a licensed series

[Klaus-Dieter]

Agree as well

But Ninjago is not a licensed series

Yes, but with licenses I mean special-themed CMF series as well. (E. g. the Monsters Series was imo as bad as all the other licensed series because it was to one-sided fixed on that special theme Halloween and didn't include other aspects and minifigs.)

Klaus-Dieter

[Aanchir]

I think there's still a good chance that a Ninjago series would have figures and parts that builders of other themes could appreciate. I don't know what sort of characters will be in the movie, but the Ninjago TV series has a VERY diverse world. Ninja, samurai, and monsters, sure, but also all kinds of civilians.

Just as some examples of diverse characters from Ninjago sets released so far, consider Flintlocke (sky pirate aviator), Nadakhan (evil djinn), or Misako (archaeologist). The TV series has even more that haven't ever found a place in the sets, like Mother Doomsday (comic book shop owner), Fritz Donnegan (astronaut), and the Ninjago City police commissioner. A collectible minifigure series would offer even more opportunities for diverse figures like these than the regular sets, which are often constrained to more straightforward good vs. evil character matchups.

[Robert8]

Personally, I don't buy minifigures just for parts because I don't build MOC's or stuff. Actually, the only thing I do with them is display them (and clean them )

[Rogue Angel]

I think there's still a good chance that a Ninjago series would have figures and parts that builders of other themes could appreciate. I don't know what sort of characters will be in the movie, but the Ninjago TV series has a VERY diverse world. Ninja, samurai, and monsters, sure, but also all kinds of civilians.

Just as some examples of diverse characters from Ninjago sets released so far, consider Flintlocke (sky pirate aviator), Nadakhan (evil djinn), or Misako (archaeologist). The TV series has even more that haven't ever found a place in the sets, like Mother Doomsday (comic book shop owner), Fritz Donnegan (astronaut), and the Ninjago City police commissioner. A collectible minifigure series would offer even more opportunities for diverse figures like these than the regular sets, which are often constrained to more straightforward good vs. evil character matchups.

Ninjago has some great ninja/oriental torsos, then a smattering of decent bad guy torsos for castle, but they often put an emblem on them that ruins their usefulness. The sky pirates torsos would have been awesome if they didn't have those stupid pirate head emblems on them.

Such a missed opportunity.

Also, the temple is a great example of how figures from the extended Ninjago universe are surprisingly useless for castle/historic builds.

[makoy]

Ninjago has some great ninja/oriental torsos, then a smattering of decent bad guy torsos for castle, but they often put an emblem on them that ruins their usefulness. The sky pirates torsos would have been awesome if they didn't have those stupid pirate head emblems on them.

Such a missed opportunity.

Also, the temple is a great example of how figures from the extended Ninjago universe are surprisingly useless for castle/historic builds.

Yeah... even though I am a big Ninjago collector I agree that the emblems ruin the usefulness for other MOCs... I wanted to make an army of ninjas using Cole as a base but I can only find 1 good torso from him that is not ruined by any emblem or symbol.

As for the future of Ninjago CMFs... if that ever came to life, I really hope that they are more generic and has more historic flavour to it.

[Brickity]

For how long do you guys think they'll be releasing minifig series? It woould be odd for them to stop cause this has become a huge business, but my imagination can't picture packs that say "series 60" or "series 100" :D

Personally I am okay with licensed series, specially if they are fleshies cause now I like them more than yellow minifigs. However, the regular series are masterpieces.. they are just really well done. Don't really care about ninjago though.

Also, I wonder what would come next after minifig series...

Edited May 2, 2016 by Otherworld

[AnnaBuildsLego]

For how long do you guys think they'll be releasing minifig series? It woould be odd for them to stop cause this has become a huge business, but my imagination can't picture packs that say "series 60" or "series 100" :D

Personally I am okay with licensed series, specially if they are fleshies cause now I like them more than yellow minifigs. However, the regular series are masterpieces.. they are just really well done. Don't really care about ninjago though.

Also, I wonder what would come next after minifig series...

I would wager that the minifig series' will continue indefinitely, really. Seeing as minifigures are one of the main reasons LEGO is so popular, having collectable minifigures sold separately from sets was a great move on LEGO's part. I've seen so many kids drag their parents through the LEGO section whose parents don't have enough money to buy any sets, and so the kids go (quite happily) home with a minifigure pack or two instead. It's actually rather funny, because I remember AFOL sites being a bit concerned that the minifigures wouldn't last back when Series 1 debuted.

I wonder if they will drop the "Series Number" tag eventually, though? I think after a certain amount they would probably want to "restart" that numbering, just because by the time Series 100 comes around, the kids buying them will not have existed back when Series 1 came out, and there's a certain feeling of missing out when you join the game at Series 100. I'm no expert on this though, just rambling.

As for my opinions on licensed themes: I don't mind particularly, but I would like them to be limited to one per year. I do mostly like the Disney series, but only enough to buy a few figures. The Batman CMF line could be good, but I'm a DC fan without a massive interest in Batman so if it doesn't contain any interesting characters who have more scope than being purely Batman-centric, then I won't be interested. Ninjago is unfortunately something I have no interest in whatsoever.

I absolutely love the normal minifigure series, so I really hope LEGO doesn't start leaning too hard on licensed ones. I think the Disney series will be received extremely well and will likely have more series' in the future.

[Robert8]

Was the Monsters series successful? I ask this because I am curious about the viability of other themed series (preference for medieval fantasy). What do you guys think? To be honest, it's the only theme I'd want a whole 16 figures from, and I would likely spend a lot if it happened (as long as the figures came out as good as I imagine they could).

Someone just posted this on facebook

[x105Black]

Someone just posted this on facebook

That's anecdotal. I often see minifigures from previous series at the store. I was picking up series 11 earlier this year.

Edited May 3, 2016 by x105Black

[K_Tiger]

Someone just posted this on facebook

My TrU is the same, but then the local chain grocery store as 2/3rds of a case (betwixt two cases) available at marked-down prices.

As to licensed CMFs, I don’t mind them as long as they’re done sparingly and/or are a license I can support. Nothing was worse than looking for the newest series and finding only those damnable Simpsons series 2 figures.

[Blondie-Wan]

Every theme has expensive minifigures: Marvel, DC, Star Wars....... so each LEGO theme should have a CMF line?

No; the non-licensed themes essentially share the regular series, after all. The overall Minifigures line has lots of figures that fit into the perennial classic evergreen themes like City, Castle, and Space, plus various intermittent themes like Adventurers, Wild West, and Pirates, and even specific subthemes and side themes like Alien Conquest, Galaxy Squad, and Dino.

But the licensed themes can't share series with unlicensed ones; they can't even share series with other licensed themes from different rightsholders - at most, they can share series with other themes from the same rightsholder (for example, the current Disney series, which is essentially nine different Disney franchises, linked simply in all being Disney-owned). But you couldn't have, say, an all-superheroes series combining characters from Marvel, DC, The Incredibles, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Tirtles, nor could there be an all-space series combining Star Wars, Marvel and DC's space stuff, LEGO's own Space themes and subthemes, and real-world astronauts. If licensed themes are to appear in the Minifigures line at all, they need their own dedicated series.

Ah. I guess I get it now. I'm late to the game, though. They've always been $4 for as long as I've been buying them. Less than that sounds heavenly, but I'm okay at $4. But yeah, increases would be hard to bear..

Indeed. Actually, when they first began back in 2010, they were just $2 each (in the US, anyway - well, $1.99). They've actually gone up in price a couple times.

I believe the price increases have been staggered around different countries, regions and territories, so that in one country they might have gone up with, say, Series 3, but in another country stayed at the same price until Series 5, but I think at this point they've had at least one or two price increases everywhere, and now cost substantially more than they did back in the days of Series 1. Here in the States, they started at $1.99, went to $2.99 with Series 3, and went to $3.99 with The Simpsons Series 1.

[AnnaBuildsLego]

On the subject of how well/poorly the Monsters series did, I've just checked the website of a massive chain shop here in Ireland and they seem to have large remaining quantities of Monsters, and have marked down the price on them to only €2 each, which is a crazy deal. Minifigures here tend to be €3 and can push €4 if the series is popular enough.

I've seen boxes and boxes of the figures in toy shops, nearly all of which were completely full and practically untouched. I wonder if the arrival of the Disney series will finally push the Monsters series away, but I actually think they might linger around for a while. The fact that the Monsters series came out in October 2015 and still are around in full boxes here in May 2016, despite being significantly price-chopped, isn't a great sign for any who want specifically themed minifig series'.

(This all being said: The shop also still has a reasonably large amount of Series 12 minifigs for sale, but not marked down from their original price)