LEGO Collectable Minifigures Future Series Rumours

[Aanchir]

Exactly. I can stand 1 theme series a year, but the 2 themed series planned for next year is too much. I prefer the non licensed figures all the way.

Last year may have only had one licensed series, but it technically had two "themed" series (The Simpsons Series 2 and Monsters). And I wouldn't worry a great deal about themed series until I know what's in them. Let's not forget, The LEGO Movie series was "themed" but managed to be pretty diverse anyway.

There's no reason to automatically assume a LEGO Ninjago Movie series would be as limited in its scope as the LEGO Ninjago sets, and even the minifigures in the sets have been pretty diverse in their own right. What other theme has had enemies as varied as skeletons, snake men, stone warriors, robots, a jungle cult, ghosts, and sky pirates? I could understand the concern if we were talking about a theme like City or Space that typically falls into one very specific genre. But Ninjago has always drawn from an eclectic mix of genres, from futuristic science-fiction to historical to fantasy to modern day.

I wouldn't mind 4-5-6 CMF sets in a year. When they do licensed vs non-licensed, then there are enough different series that many people will not want them all. Sure, some people will feel they need them all, but not most. They manage to put out multiple themes at once for regular sets, so why not CMFs too? So long as retailers still buy into them so they can be sold, I wouldn't mind it at all.

There are a few big concerns I would have about that. One is over saturating the market. If LEGO introduced more CMF series per year, it's possible that they would compete with each other and people would buy fewer of each series. Even though LEGO releases a lot of themes at any one time, they are very careful not to release more than they think the market can bear, and that number might be different for CMFs than it is for regular retail sets.

The other is production capacity. Collectible minifigures are all produced in one facility, a facility LEGO technically doesn't even own. Who's to say that LEGO would even be able to produce more CMFs than they do at present? And if that's the case, producing more series might necessitate producing fewer copies of each series and of each fig.

[MAB]

Yes, that's why I said so long as retailers still buy into them. It may be that they are slowly dying anyway, as stores near me seem to have loads left over that get discounted to 50% anyway. So maybe less produced of more would lead to better sales. Of course, the downside is that if sales drop, retailers stop taking them altogether.

[BrickFit26]

Last year may have only had one licensed series, but it technically had two "themed" series (The Simpsons Series 2 and Monsters). And I wouldn't worry a great deal about themed series until I know what's in them. Let's not forget, The LEGO Movie series was "themed" but managed to be pretty diverse anyway.

There's no reason to automatically assume a LEGO Ninjago Movie series would be as limited in its scope as the LEGO Ninjago sets, and even the minifigures in the sets have been pretty diverse in their own right. What other theme has had enemies as varied as skeletons, snake men, stone warriors, robots, a jungle cult, ghosts, and sky pirates? I could understand the concern if we were talking about a theme like City or Space that typically falls into one very specific genre. But Ninjago has always drawn from an eclectic mix of genres, from futuristic science-fiction to historical to fantasy to modern day.

You're right. And i was personally a fan of TLM series. I'll keep an open mind on these future themed series.

[Rogue Angel]

There's no reason to automatically assume a LEGO Ninjago Movie series would be as limited in its scope as the LEGO Ninjago sets, and even the minifigures in the sets have been pretty diverse in their own right. What other theme has had enemies as varied as skeletons, snake men, stone warriors, robots, a jungle cult, ghosts, and sky pirates? I could understand the concern if we were talking about a theme like City or Space that typically falls into one very specific genre. But Ninjago has always drawn from an eclectic mix of genres, from futuristic science-fiction to historical to fantasy to modern day.

Ninjago SHOULD be providing us with a wealth of historic fig-parts, but most of the pieces have been marred by some sort of emblem or logo or tattoo, making them virtually useless outside Ninjago, or a Ninjago-type environment.

The pirates are a perfect example - the torsos would have been fantastic, had those stupid little pirate emblems not been on every one.

Lego has already demonstrated that the Ninjago figs are Ninjago-specific, and I have no reason to think a Ninjago CMF line would be any different.

[Aanchir]

Ninjago SHOULD be providing us with a wealth of historic fig-parts, but most of the pieces have been marred by some sort of emblem or logo or tattoo, making them virtually useless outside Ninjago, or a Ninjago-type environment.

The pirates are a perfect example - the torsos would have been fantastic, had those stupid little pirate emblems not been on every one.

Lego has already demonstrated that the Ninjago figs are Ninjago-specific, and I have no reason to think a Ninjago CMF line would be any different.

I don't see why the emblems in Ninjago "mar" those figures any more than the emblems in any other theme like Town, Castle, or Space. As a MOCist you can always come up with whatever new meaning for those emblems you like — nobody's forcing you to adhere to the "official" meanings from the theme those emblems originated in. Even LEGO isn't that strict with how they use their emblems. The boy in 31052 wears a LEGO City Deep Sea Explorers jacket with their emblem on the back, but it doesn't mean he's a deep sea diver. Maybe it's just a stylish jacket, or the logo of a popular brand of clothing. The artist in 10243 Parisian Restaurant wears the same shirt as Sensei Wu from 2012, with his dragon emblem on the back, but that doesn't mean she's a Ninjago character transplanted to the world of LEGO Creator. For her, It might just be an Asian-inspired fashion statement. There's a generic red City/Town jacket with a Classic Space logo, but that doesn't mean that everybody who wears it is a spaceman from the future.

I've seen plenty of people use the animal-emblem torsos and armor from Knights' Kingdom for generic castle or fantasy creations. Likewise, there's no reason Ninjago's sky pirate logo couldn't be used for traditional pirates, space pirates, or even bikers. No reason the Skulkin logo couldn't be used by orcs or supervillains or a metal band. No reason Kai's animal symbol couldn't stand for a faction of medieval warriors, or Zane's for the crew of a spacefleet, or Cole's for a street gang. This isn't like if the word "Ninjago" were written out on every figure. The sky's the limit!

[x105Black]

Ninjago SHOULD be providing us with a wealth of historic fig-parts, but most of the pieces have been marred by some sort of emblem or logo or tattoo, making them virtually useless outside Ninjago, or a Ninjago-type environment.

The pirates are a perfect example - the torsos would have been fantastic, had those stupid little pirate emblems not been on every one.

Lego has already demonstrated that the Ninjago figs are Ninjago-specific, and I have no reason to think a Ninjago CMF line would be any different.

I had the same complaint with Chima. I was looking to make characters of a specific color scheme, but the Chi always ruined that effort. As for Ninjago, I had really wanted Clouse for his dark red / purple color scheme, until I noticed a green ball on his chest. Now I don't really care at all about Clouse. I find most Ninjago, Chima, and Nexo Knights minifigures to have these issues.

[Robert8]

This was posted yesterday on facebook

I think that's why the Simpsons didn't get a third series

[CM4Sci]

You know, I never found Simpsons S2 until Monsters came out. I still need half the series.

Geez. They should stop overproducing these. Maybe 15-20 boxes per store forever.

[Soupperson1]

Did the first Simpsons series even sell well? I saw boxes of that everywhere last Feburary.

Geez. They should stop overproducing these. Maybe 15-20 boxes per store forever.

It depends on what series :P

[Robert8]

While we don't know for sure, I got the impression that Simpsons 1 did a lot better than Simpsons 2

[Itaria No Shintaku]

Both sold very badly in my country but at least Simpsons 1 had some certain appeal.

[Borex]

Wasn't the Simpsons series the first with dual molded arms? And also the dualmolded legs (the short ones).

Maybe new licensed themes will have lego invent new pieces we could use in the future? So that's why i have nothing against themed series.

I like the way lego uses the cmf series as an introduction for new minifig pieces.

[Aanchir]

I had the same complaint with Chima. I was looking to make characters of a specific color scheme, but the Chi always ruined that effort. As for Ninjago, I had really wanted Clouse for his dark red / purple color scheme, until I noticed a green ball on his chest. Now I don't really care at all about Clouse. I find most Ninjago, Chima, and Nexo Knights minifigures to have these issues.

I'm surprised at the notion that a single colored jewel can make or break a color scheme. That makes even less sense to me than the idea of a logo ruining a minifigure part. It kind of reminds me of when Bionicle fans complain about a character's eye color not matching the rest of their colors. I think if you're so picky that it takes that little to ruin a minifigure for you, that's entirely on you. I mean, my sigfig carries a blue pen in the breast pocket of his coat. I never carry a blue pen in the breast pocket of my coat. I don't let that ruin him for me. If I ever find a torso I like better I'll switch it out, but if not, a tiny detail like that is basically inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

Plus, if you're that picky about details, then that doesn't make themes like Ninjago, Chima, and Nexo Knights uniquely flawed. It means any fig part from any theme is one colored dot away from being useless to you. The Fantasy Era Good Wizard could be ruined by the pouches on his legs being green instead of blue or brown. The Castle Lion Princess could be ruined by her jewels being red instead of blue. Unlike, say, a minifigure with the wrong skin tone showing through the collar of their shirt, these aren't the sort of details that are really expected to match anything in the first place — so why does it matter what color they are?

[Rogue Angel]

I'm surprised at the notion that a single colored jewel can make or break a color scheme. That makes even less sense to me than the idea of a logo ruining a minifigure part. It kind of reminds me of when Bionicle fans complain about a character's eye color not matching the rest of their colors. I think if you're so picky that it takes that little to ruin a minifigure for you, that's entirely on you. I mean, my sigfig carries a blue pen in the breast pocket of his coat. I never carry a blue pen in the breast pocket of my coat. I don't let that ruin him for me. If I ever find a torso I like better I'll switch it out, but if not, a tiny detail like that is basically inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

Plus, if you're that picky about details, then that doesn't make themes like Ninjago, Chima, and Nexo Knights uniquely flawed. It means any fig part from any theme is one colored dot away from being useless to you. The Fantasy Era Good Wizard could be ruined by the pouches on his legs being green instead of blue or brown. The Castle Lion Princess could be ruined by her jewels being red instead of blue. Unlike, say, a minifigure with the wrong skin tone showing through the collar of their shirt, these aren't the sort of details that are really expected to match anything in the first place — so why does it matter what color they are?

Blue jewels and colored pockets are in no way comparable.

If a torso has a big blue jewel smack-dab in the middle of it, I have to explain why the character is wearing that jewel, which is not that big a deal for one character. When I have 20 different torsos with jewels, then I have to have some explanation as to why those character are wearing jewels, and I can no longer use them with most historic builds.

If a character has blue pockets or green pockets, who cares? Maybe they have bad fashion sense, but it doesn't matter.

If a torso has a big pirate symbol in the middle of their chest, I cannot use that for my revolutionary war builds, I cannot use that for my ancient builds, I cannot use it for my standard castle builds. I can use it for my fantasy builds or Star Wars builds if they are part of some pirate faction, but it SEVERELY LIMITS its usefulness. I have made a snake faction in Fantasy so I can use the snake characters from Ninjago, but 90% of the characters from Ninjago have to be pirates, ninjas or snakes which is severely limiting. It has nothing to do with imagination. The LotR line gave us a wealth of torsos that I use all over the place, because not one of them (I don't think) has a logo or emblem that really limits it's usefulness like Ninjago does.

I can come up with ways to use a lot of torsos, but a logo changes it from being very usable in many factions/time periods to very narrow use and scope.

[Aanchir]

Blue jewels and colored pockets are in no way comparable.

If a torso has a big blue jewel smack-dab in the middle of it, I have to explain why the character is wearing that jewel, which is not that big a deal for one character. When I have 20 different torsos with jewels, then I have to have some explanation as to why those character are wearing jewels, and I can no longer use them with most historic builds.

If a character has blue pockets or green pockets, who cares? Maybe they have bad fashion sense, but it doesn't matter.

Couldn't the explanation be just "that's just something a lot of people do in this kingdom"? I mean, might not work for a kingdom that's meant to be 100% historical, but if you're even considering using Chima torsos in the first place I imagine you're already open to stepping outside the bounds of "strictly historical" when it comes to costume designs.

If a torso has a big pirate symbol in the middle of their chest, I cannot use that for my revolutionary war builds, I cannot use that for my ancient builds, I cannot use it for my standard castle builds. I can use it for my fantasy builds or Star Wars builds if they are part of some pirate faction, but it SEVERELY LIMITS its usefulness. I have made a snake faction in Fantasy so I can use the snake characters from Ninjago, but 90% of the characters from Ninjago have to be pirates, ninjas or snakes which is severely limiting. It has nothing to do with imagination. The LotR line gave us a wealth of torsos that I use all over the place, because not one of them (I don't think) has a logo or emblem that really limits it's usefulness like Ninjago does.

I can come up with ways to use a lot of torsos, but a logo changes it from being very usable in many factions/time periods to very narrow use and scope.

I guess we just have different ideas of what constitutes "very narrow". I already named a bunch of things you can use Ninjago pirate torsos, ninja torsos, skeleton armor, etc. for, and you clearly found a use for the largely logo-less snake torsos so I don't even need to illustrate their uses.

Lord of the Rings/Hobbit torsos are indeed more generic for the most part, but expecting every theme to be as generic as that is silly. Castle has always had logos (or "heraldry" if you prefer that). Space has always had logos. Even Town/City has always had logos, albeit not as many at first as they have now. So treating logos like a fault that Ninjago torsos are distinctly "marred" by is absurd. Ninjago figs don't need to be any more overwhelmingly useful to historic builders than to sci-fi builders, any more than Town figs ought to be overwhelmingly useful to sci-fi or historic builders. These are separate themes and when they do have the potential for overlap it's pure serendipity — it's no failure if parts aren't designed with usefulness to all other theme categories in mind.

Back on-topic, never have I tried to argue that Ninjago minifigures are as versatile as figures from any other theme out there. But what I am saying is that if you could choose one single existing theme to focus a series of Collectible Minifigures on, Ninjago is probably the closest besides The LEGO Movie to being able to offer parts ranging from historical to fantasy to sci-fi to modern in their utility. It might not be the ideal series for builders in any of those categories, but which other theme could have as much potential to have something for builders in all of those categories? Maybe Super Heroes, because superhero comics and movies can be about as all over the place as Ninjago, but that's the only one that comes to mind.

So yeah, there might be a lot of Ninjago parts that a primarily historical builder might not be able to use. But name me a collectible minifigures series that hasn't had a lot of parts that were either too sci-fi or too modern or too specific to one character or one brand. It'll still stands a better chance of offering something for historical builders than most other potential themes that aren't historical or historical fantasy themes to begin with. What it doesn't offer in torsos it might offer in, say, weapons or headgear.

[sylin]

I think that's why the Simpsons didn't get a third series

I actually don't see The Simpsons s2 around much anymore. About two weeks ago, I happened to stumble onto some CMFs from it at a Walgreens with ancient stock, and before that hadn't seen them since 2015.

The leftover CMFs that I tend to see most of are s13 and s14. Even s15 seems to have sold better, the endcaps and cases where they're sold in tend to be empty at both the LEGO store and Targets I go to.

[BrickFit26]

Those minifigures Simpsons S2 & The Monsters series should by now be sold for at least 50% off if not more.

[Actor Builder]

I mean, my sigfig carries a blue pen in the breast pocket of his coat. I never carry a blue pen in the breast pocket of my coat.

You should start carrying a blue pen in the breast pocket of your coat.

Then everyone who sees your sigfig would be like "OMG He's even got a blue pen in the breast pocket of his coat, it's soooo accurate let's hang out more!"

And then BOOM! You have a new friend.

[Mellow]

If a torso has a big blue jewel smack-dab in the middle of it, I have to explain why the character is wearing that jewel, which is not that big a deal for one character. When I have 20 different torsos with jewels, then I have to have some explanation as to why those character are wearing jewels, and I can no longer use them with most historic builds.

I think, that´s the difference between those who collect the CMF as a collector's item, and those who see the CMF just as cheap spare part spenders for other purposes.

For me as a collector, I´m happy about every minifig-part that is customized somehow to build a unique minifigure.

A big blue jewel printed on a torso or another part is not disruptive to me, because I only need one of it to complete my collection.

Don´t get me wrong, I will not dictate to anyone how to use the minifigs (or parts of them) of the CMF, but I think the primary intention of the Collectable Minifigures is to collect and share them to get a complete set of them, comparable to trading-cards, stamps or other things that are worth to collect.

Therefore I welcome it if future minifigs are kept as unique as possible, even if it would mean that the minifigs were completely useless for other purposes.

[Sorrelon]

Blue jewels and colored pockets are in no way comparable.

If a torso has a big blue jewel smack-dab in the middle of it, I have to explain why the character is wearing that jewel, which is not that big a deal for one character. When I have 20 different torsos with jewels, then I have to have some explanation as to why those character are wearing jewels, and I can no longer use them with most historic builds.

If a character has blue pockets or green pockets, who cares? Maybe they have bad fashion sense, but it doesn't matter.

If a torso has a big pirate symbol in the middle of their chest, I cannot use that for my revolutionary war builds, I cannot use that for my ancient builds, I cannot use it for my standard castle builds. I can use it for my fantasy builds or Star Wars builds if they are part of some pirate faction, but it SEVERELY LIMITS its usefulness. I have made a snake faction in Fantasy so I can use the snake characters from Ninjago, but 90% of the characters from Ninjago have to be pirates, ninjas or snakes which is severely limiting. It has nothing to do with imagination. The LotR line gave us a wealth of torsos that I use all over the place, because not one of them (I don't think) has a logo or emblem that really limits it's usefulness like Ninjago does.

I can come up with ways to use a lot of torsos, but a logo changes it from being very usable in many factions/time periods to very narrow use and scope.

Exactly! Chima has really nicely printed legs, but they are ruined by claws and talons, which completely takes them out of the picture for lots of characters. I had the same thing when I first heard about a pirate faction for Ninjago. At first I was excited for new minifigures and parts which can be used in Pirates and Castle builds, then I found out that there are faction symbols on ALL of them. Quite the shame, since those minifigures had a great potential to be used in several different builds, had they not had their weird jolly roger with a asian hat printed on them. True, it works for a small number of characters, but the same couldn't be said for a wider use. Sure, one can give a proper backstory for a wizard/mage/priest who has a big gem on his robes/armor, one can create an assassins guild or a mercenary group who has taken up snakes as their symbol. But using torsos and legs with same/similar property that actually stands out(such as giant gems or faction symbols) for everyone in the kingdom, in a town or even in a small village? No, that'd never work.

[Rogue Angel]

I think, that´s the difference between those who collect the CMF as a collector's item, and those who see the CMF just as cheap spare part spenders for other purposes.

For me as a collector, I´m happy about every minifig-part that is customized somehow to build a unique minifigure.

A big blue jewel printed on a torso or another part is not disruptive to me, because I only need one of it to complete my collection.

Don´t get me wrong, I will not dictate to anyone how to use the minifigs (or parts of them) of the CMF, but I think the primary intention of the Collectable Minifigures is to collect and share them to get a complete set of them, comparable to trading-cards, stamps or other things that are worth to collect.

Therefore I welcome it if future minifigs are kept as unique as possible, even if it would mean that the minifigs were completely useless for other purposes.

This is the difference between a MOCer and a collected.

[Aanchir]

You should start carrying a blue pen in the breast pocket of your coat.

Then everyone who sees your sigfig would be like "OMG He's even got a blue pen in the breast pocket of his coat, it's soooo accurate let's hang out more!"

And then BOOM! You have a new friend.

Haha! The really irritating thing though is that I can't even wear my orange coat to conventions I bring my sigfig to a lot of the time, because many of the conventions I attend are in the spring or summer when it's too warm. Now that LEGO has finally started producing minifigures with short sleeves I'm always paying attention to new releases in hopes of finding something looks like a shirt I might wear in the warmer months. Honestly, I love CMFs for their individual designs and all, but I'm also always on the lookout for sigfig parts.

I've been tempted to pick up Blacktron Fan's torso from The LEGO Movie, since I do often wear a red flannel shirt with a T-shirt underneath. I don't actually have a Blacktron T-shirt, but I'd definitely love wearing one if I did! The torso with red flannel shirt and Ford T-shirt from Speed Champions is also nice, but I'm not really a car person and can't picture myself wearing a Ford T-shirt for the life of me. Not when I have so many LEGO and My Little Pony T-shirts I'd rather be wearing.

Edited May 26, 2016 by Aanchir

[Robert8]

Wasn't the Simpsons series the first with dual molded arms? And also the dualmolded legs (the short ones).

Maybe new licensed themes will have lego invent new pieces we could use in the future? So that's why i have nothing against themed series.

I like the way lego uses the cmf series as an introduction for new minifig pieces.

Casual buyers don't know about new molds or stuff like that.

[Mellow]

This is the difference between a MOCer and a collected.

Another word, the same meaning.

And as I said, I will not convict anyone for anything.

All I wanted to say is that there are different ways to use and collect the CMF.

Some prefer unique parts on unique minifigs, others prefer more common parts that can be used better in MOCs.

It´s impossible to please it to everyone...

[retrotaco]

I see Simpsons Series 2 evvveeerrryywhere I go - doesn't look like it sold at all, which makes sense to me, they used all the "big-names" in the first wave - I'm not a watcher of the Simpsons, only a super casual fan, and I didn't recognize half the characters in Series 2. The only reason I picked them up was to use their outfits and accessories in my general collection lol