LEGO Collectable Minifgures Series 8 Rumours & Discussion

[Angeli]

PS: A drow or female elf will be so much better to be added to this series... in my opinion.

my type of guy ;)

[DraikNova]

Well, I've decided to try and get only a few packets of CM Series 8, which means I can buy some of the sets that are on sale now. Plus, I can save money for my semi-yearly trips to Legoworld in Zwolle!

[Legomaster34]

Another great group! I'll definitely have to get that pirate captain!

[fred67]

Alright, my two cents.

It's always fun to see the new sets and see what new ones we're getting, so at first I was excited about it. There's nothing there that I want to army-build, so I'll want my usual two sets and maybe a couple extras for some MOCs, but after looking at it for a while, I've become a bit disappointed. I know it's hard - we're over 100 CMFs now, and it's hard to keep coming up with new ideas and implementing them to the level we've become accustomed to, but still...

Conquistador - a very cool figure, no complaints here. Goes along well with the past historical warrior types they've been releasing.

Manbat - interesting. Don't like it as a vampire, but I guess vampire stories vary enough this could be pretty neat - I don't necessarily like the "traditional" movie style vampire TLG previously released, either. Nice addition, I guess.

Diver - This is my favorite, I think... it's the kind of really interesting thing that spurs ideas for MOCs for me; I love the helmet.

Shakespearean Actor - OK... not too bad.

Santa Claus - The Santa we should have always had, IMO. I wish they could come up with a way he's got the bag slung over his shoulder. Wouldn't mind a few of these to replace the pseudo Santas from previous sets.

Cowgirl - I wanted to like this, but they made her too "Jessie" from Toy Story. I guess they are appealing to kids, so it's hard to complain. It doesn't go well with the earlier cowboy, IMO, which is more of a "serious" cowboy.

Alien Queen - Wow. Well... I loved Mars Attacks, and this really fits with that style, but while it may have been a while, I don't recall female Martians in that movie, and even if there were, they were few and far between. I'm all for more female figures, I've said it many times on the "what are we missing" thread, but sometimes it seems like they need to shoe-horn something in. There's nothing wrong with an invasion being led by females, but it looks too much like Mars Attacks, and so I feel like I want figures more representative of Mars Attacks. If they'd made a female version of one of the aliens they've previously done, I'd be really happy about it. So I like this one a lot, but this one will be better if they release a male one in the future. I'd have preferred a female version of several of the figures released already than this.... elves in particular.

Lederhosen Guy - Needs a beer. Should be a simple MOC - clear brownish resin in a clear LEGO cup. If we can eventually build a MOC of an Octoberfest type of German Beer Band, that'd be cool:

DJ - another rehash, but from a different period, which makes it OK, I guess, but not that exciting.

Pirate Captain - I've already got too many pirates. I'm sure I "get" this one, or what's so special about it, but pirates isn't my mail LEGO theme, so I'm probably missing something.

English Guy - Nice hat. Could be up for a James Bond kind of MOC. Otherwise, cool for a completest, but not that inspiring.

Robot - Another bucket head robot? Why? Yes, cool torso, cool head... but out of all the things they could do, why another bucket head?

Football Player - not a fan of football, so not really interesting to me.

Skier - Another skier? Acchhh... whatever.

Cheerleader - Another cheerleader? At least having two different kinds makes sense, now a two team MOC can each have it's own cheerleaders that don't look the same. Not great for me, but more understandable than the other ones.

Fairy - Was really looking forward to this one and am extremely disappointed. Pretty ugly and boring for a fairy. My wife likes fairies and was excited to learn there'll be a LEGO one... she's going to hate it when she sees it, though.

I guess this is very much like other series for me - I still love them, and some of the figures are really cool, and I'm sure it's like that for everybody - I'm sure some of you love the ones I dissed and hate the ones I like, which is why a variety is good. I'm still excited for this and future ones. I'm wondering how far it can go. Still lots of ideas out there that I wish they'd do before rehashing, but I guess they need to pace themselves, too, to keep interest up.

[Ojik]

Yeah, it's really cool. Other than that he's pretty plain, but that newspaper makes me like him better

Newspaper is cool, but I agree he's too plain. I like every piece on him, black bowler hat, new suit, newspaper, head, so I have no problem with him, but as a whole fig, he's too easy. They should have given him something special, like umbrella or new walking cane piece.

you get 2 newspaper tile pieces from the batman/catwoman set. so this is nothing special. if not for the black bowler hat (which i think will be issued in a future set or CMF series) this mf is extremely boring.

Yes, and many other kinds of newspapers in a lot of sets, but the point is that this newspaper is new. So yes, it is special, every new kind of this is a good news for me (too bad these in Haunted Hause are stickers ). Exactly the same with suit. The black bowler hat should be used in the future very often, it's very iconic great hat I've been waiting for for quite a while. It has endless possibilities in MOCs. Anyway, I don't think this fig is boring, just too easy.

[Kai NRG]

you get 2 newspaper tile pieces from the batman/catwoman set. so this is nothing special. if not for the black bowler hat (which i think will be issued in a future set or CMF series) this mf is extremely boring.

I know, the idea of a newspaper is not new. Still, I don't have one (or two) and this one also has very nice detailing. Like Ojik says, the Buisnissman minifigure has nice parts, but put together he's just to plain. A little like the S7 DareDevil, if you ask me.

[DraikNova]

You know, when it comes down to it, you don't really need a female version of any creature that isn't one we know in reality to have a female "version". It could be that these aliens have only one gender, or that they have two genders which look pretty much identical to each other.

[Kai NRG]

You know, when it comes down to it, you don't really need a female version of any creature that isn't one we know in reality to have a female "version". It could be that these aliens have only one gender, or that they have two genders which look pretty much identical to each other.

Yeah. The idea of a "female alien" seems a bit strange. . .

Edited July 17, 2012 by Kai NRG

[Faefrost]

Yeah. The idea of a "female alien" seems a bit strange. . .

It's an obvious addition to the Space Alien Conquest subtheme. I think it is sort of a play more on Futurama. This is the Alien Invader's henpecking wife.

[Graysmith]

Yeah. The idea of a "female alien" seems a bit strange. . .

In that case I'd highly recommend seeing James Cameron's film Aliens. Won't seem strange after that.

[Kai NRG]

Lederhosen Guy - Needs a beer. Should be a simple MOC - clear brownish resin in a clear LEGO cup. If we can eventually build a MOC of an Octoberfest type of German Beer Band, that'd be cool:

[image]

Or how about a root beer? That would be cooler, IMHO, and more likely that LEGO would do it

[Jargo]

Or how about a root beer? That would be cooler, IMHO, and more likely that LEGO would do it

Just a lidded mug would do. The customer can then decide for themselves what it contains.

[Jareth]

This series seems OK, And less Likelly to bankrupt me. The obvious armybuilder, the Conquistador, doesn't really appeal to me. I'll get a couple of them, A couple of Fairies, divers and bats.

One questions I have is, are any of these figures preludes to future themes?

I suppose that the pirate and Conquistador (as well as the Aztek) could signal a return to Pirates & Islanders. The "Buisnessman" and Diver could also be potential Stampunk fuel. But that seems unlikelly.

Anyone else have ideas?

[Dr Leg O Brick]

^I agree with the thinking behind Pirates. I would love to see them return, but they would most likely be like NinjaGo, where they have "adapted" the source material. Or it could be LEGO trying to give Pirate fans new things to buy while there is no theme out. Or maybe, just maybe, they are left over ideas from the 09 wave, like the Female Alien, Galaxy Patrol or the Hazmat Guy figures.

Edited July 17, 2012 by Dr Leg O Brick

[Kai NRG]

One questions I have is, are any of these figures preludes to future themes?

I suppose that the pirate and Conquistador (as well as the Aztek) could signal a return to Pirates & Islanders. The "Buisnessman" and Diver could also be potential Stampunk fuel. But that seems unlikelly.

Anyone else have ideas?

I think the pirate could very likely be a prelude to a future Ninjago Pirate season. The rest seem more to be connected with current or past themes (alien from alien conquest; bat from Monster Fighters). The only other possiblity that occures to me is a possible SA indian/Spanish theme (w/something like the conquistdor and Aztec), but that doesn't seem too likely.

[tazosaure]

Interestingly this series is reminding me of series 3, in that series 3 space alien was for me clearly TLC trying to refurbish SPIII alien heads just like the evil female alien seems to be a refurb of AQ alien heads.

And series 3 still had the novelty of collectible minifigures going for it, and no rehashes of previous series...

Knowing that series 3 was the least favorite in White Fang series 7 review poll it's no wonder to me we see so many disappointed comments since the list and now pictures finally surfaced.

I must say I am a bit disappointed myself. To be honest I'm no army builder and I've always seen CMFs as a way to get truly unique figures, the kind that have little chance of being produced in regular/unlicensed themes, especially not themes still currently on shelves... or at least revisit themes that have not been in production for several years maybe as a testing ground for a relaunch, kind of like the classic monsters minifigures seemingly leading up for the monster fighter theme. (In short I am the kind of people who like the crash test dummy fig :) )

A recolor of the monster figthers manbat, a recolor of the series 1 robot, a recolor of the series 1 cheerleader and a very slight variation of the AQ mothership alien commander would all have been more acceptable if spread out over several series but, in my opinion this is a bit much to be all in one series, making the overall series look "un-original". I think I am echoing the sentiment that's been surfacing in a bunch of replies.

To all the other disappointed I must say this though: notice that the man-bat and evil female alien, although not original, are variations of figures previously only available in some of the most expensive set of their respective theme, and that the cheerleader and robot were some of the most appreciated figures of a now 2 years old, scarcely available series 1, so TLC is still catering to quite a large portion of their customer by (re)releasing those "on the cheap" and it's a bit hard to be mad at them for this.

I cannot honestly believe Lego designers are running out of ideas, just a peek at the embassy's "What minifigs are we missing" should be enough to fill several more series with truly unique minifigure (8 series without a proper renaissance/judge wig? I wouldn't have bet on it). If anything the thespian is proof that the designers still have plenty more in store to surprise and amaze us.

Maybe the recent decision/rumor to push this theme to sixteen series and all the other recent jaw dropping or surprise announcements (hobbit, b-wing, haunted house, team GB) meant that regular CMFs 8 were a bit on the back burner, let's hope it was really just a hick up and that series 9 and on will come back strong: I want my classic movie starlet (aka marilyn monroe), my bellhop, my toga and olive branch crown, my canadian mountie, my boy/girl scout and soooooooo many more...!

Edited July 18, 2012 by tazosaure

[fred67]

Or how about a root beer? That would be cooler, IMHO, and more likely that LEGO would do it

Whatever they want to call it!

[Amset-Rah]

Maybe I'm looking at the picture with rose colored glasses on but I love these figs. In fact the Thespian is probably of my favorites if for the Elizabethan collar alone (And the fact I'm a theater nut. ). Sure there are a few rehashes, but like one of the other posters said, they're variations of figures only released in expensive sets (Like the vampire bat or female alien) or a remake of a sought after figure (Like the robot and cheerleader). Guys like the Thespian and Bavarian tell me that they still have some aces up their sleeves and this motor is far from running out of gas.

Besides, let's be honest, series 6 and 7 were both hard acts to follow anyway. This isn't the best series, but it isn't the worst either. Just my 2 cents

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

Interestingly this series is reminding me of series 3, in that series 3 space alien was for me clearly TLC trying to refurbish SPIII alien heads just like the evil female alien seems to be a refurb of AQ alien heads.

And series 3 still had the novelty of collectible minifigures going for it, and no rehashes of previous series...

Knowing that series 3 was the least favorite in White Fang series 7 review poll it's no wonder to me we see so many disappointed comments since the list and now pictures finally surfaced.

I must say I am a bit disappointed myself. To be honest I'm no army builder and I've always seen CMFs as a way to get truly unique figures, the kind that have little chance of being produced in regular/unlicensed themes, especially not themes still currently on shelves... or at least revisit themes that have not been in production for several years maybe as a testing ground for a relaunch, kind of like the classic monsters minifigures seemingly leading up for the monster fighter theme. (In short I am the kind of people who like the crash test dummy fig :) )

A recolor of the monster figthers manbat, a recolor of the series 1 robot, a recolor of the series 1 cheerleader and a very slight variation of the AQ mothership alien commander would all have been more acceptable if spread out over several series but, in my opinion this is a bit much to be all in one series, making the overall series look "un-original". I think I am echoing the sentiment that's been surfacing in a bunch of replies.

To all the other disappointed I must say this though: notice that the man-bat and evil female alien, although not original, are variations of figures previously only available in some of the most expensive set of their respective theme, and that the cheerleader and robot were some of the most appreciated figures of a now 2 years old, scarcely available series 1, so TLC is still catering to quite a large portion of their customer by (re)releasing those "on the cheap" and its a bit hard to be mad at them for this.

I cannot honestly believe Lego designers are running out of ideas, just a peek at the embassy's "What minifigs are we missing" should be enough to fill several more series with truly unique minifigure (8 series without a proper renaissance/judge wig? I wouldn't have bet one it). If anything the thespian is proof that the designers still have plenty more in store to surprise and amaze us.

Maybe the recent decision/rumor to push this theme to sixteen series and all the other recent jaw dropping or surprise announcements (hobbit, b-wing, haunted house, team GB) meant that regular CMFs 8 were a bit on the back burner, let's hope it was really just a hick up and that series 9 and on will come back strong: I want my classic movie starlet (aka marilyn monroe), my bellhop, my toga and olive branch crown, my canadian mountie, my boy/girl scout and soooooooo many more...!

Great analysis. I agree on most of your statements. Although I'm not at all upsed about the Evil Robot (I am a sucker for Sci-Fi), I was disappointed at the Alien Female. However, I don't have that fig yet, and this'll be my chance to get it for under 3 bucks.

[The_Box]

Maybe it has been brought before but I think the inclusion of the robot and cheerleader in this series indicates that these 2 were high up on the VIP voting thing that was done a while back. Personally, I like that we have a new robot and cheerleader, mainly because the robot from Series 1 is really the one that I don't have but really want and those pom poms are really nice accessories to have in my collection.

I also like black bat. It's a nice variation of the Monster Fighters one. It will replace the one I have from the vampire castle that is now in my superheroes collection as decent looking Man-Bat.

[Legomaster34]

These are looking pretty good, but I'm still hoping LEGO will do another elf. I'm still going to try to build an army of woodland elves...

[Itaria No Shintaku]

To all the other disappointed I must say this though: notice that the man-bat and evil female alien, although not original, are variations of figures previously only available in some of the most expensive set of their respective theme

This is the only thing that really makes me happy. In fact, I would have bought 4 5 man-bat from bricklink, now I can buy a dozen from this serie and overcome this problem. As for the alien, I don't like lime colour, it cannot fit a fantasy theme, I can't use it as a monster for my fantasy landscape, so I think I will get a 3-4x just for the cape.

[Dane]

I have to say that I'm pretty surprised that so many is so critical against this series. I don't know if it is because it comes after the very popular series 7 or because peoples expectations have become unrealistic high or it's simply because Lego already have made the figures that all want and has come to the figures where the demand and interest for certain figures are more spread between the collectors interests...

When I look at this series 8 and give the 1-3 stars based on originality, parts use and comparison to the general previous series I get this:

Old diver - Has been one of the most requested figures on the wishlists and Lego have made a fantastic job on this one even adding a magnifying glass window to the front of the helmet to give the head that enclosed look. Would be a *** in any series.

Bavarian - If the bagpipe player was considered original in series 7 so most this one and it even comes with a new pretzel piece ***

Santa Claus - All previous Lego Santa's have had the same problem the pirate headpiece and also wrong beard until the fisherman's beard came. Now we finally have a original Santa with a real hat and even a new bag also a clear ***

Conquistador - a fantastic looking figure, and sure it would perhaps have been a better army builder with a more plain metal looking helmet, but at least it's original and not done before like this so ***

Actor - Again a original idea and a great new figure and ruff piece. A great piece for historical MOC's and can me used on both female and male figures. ***

Business man - Since the blue bowler many have waited for a black version, and with a umbrella or cane he would have been 3 stars and the new printed tile is also nice so **

Pirate Captain - Pirate fans have over the time often complained that there was not any pirate themed figures in these series, so here comes the Pirate and I agree that he has a bit to much "bling" but I think the torso piece and the golden sword is nicely done so **

Fairy - I'm not sure what the problem is but something seems off with this one, but still the wing piece is new and very nicely done the same is the torso piece so a fair **

DJ - I'm surprised that this is not more popular, It has a new headphone hair piece and I don't see other realistic solutions for Lego to a useful headphone, the printed record and cover is also nice and the torso and legs have nice printing that will be very useful in city scenes. I'll still give it ** even though it probably deserved a 3 for the many new printed parts.

Cowgirl - A in many ways strange figure that is very different from anything Lego have made before and even comes with a new original hat/hair piece. So based on that a **

Football Player - Highly requested and with the hockey player outfit mold it was expected sooner or later. Based on requests it's a ** but on parts use its a *

Man bat - A new mold from the Monsters series where it is only found in the biggest and most expensive sets and in brown so I'm happy to get one here and I think it fits well with the vampire from the early series perhaps here in transformed form ;) *

Alien Queen - Again a use of the new Alien mold for the Alien attack series and again a new version of a mold only found in the biggest sets, so again happy to get one *

Skier - With 3 skaters, 2 surfers and 2 snowboards this one was expected and I guess we have waited this long because it's parts vise probable more expensive than the others. This could have been a 1 star for me if they had not made it so good. The first was a competition skier while this female is a vacation skier with purple skies and nice allround printing and that hair piece has not been in that color before I believe so **

Cheerleader - One of the most popular from the first series here in a alternative colors. A nice figure but too close to the first one so only *

Robot - Since Lego often re-use special molds from this series twice this one is another example of that, Very nice printing and a new color to the bucket head but still to close to the popular orginal *

Again this is my opinion and I have not taken into consideration how good or bad army builders they are. So I think there are many nice and original and good looking figures but If I count the number of new pieces I only find 9 which is much lover than series 7 where I see 15 and series 6 where there was 17... so perhaps this is part of the problem with this series even though I don't find it as bad as many try to make it - It's not the best series but hardly the worst either.

Edited July 18, 2012 by Dane

[Blondie-Wan]

Cowgirl - I wanted to like this, but they made her too "Jessie" from Toy Story. I guess they are appealing to kids, so it's hard to complain. It doesn't go well with the earlier cowboy, IMO, which is more of a "serious" cowboy.

I don't know what you mean by "serious," but this one is probably more realistic, in actually being a cowgirl. The S1 cowboy appears to me to be more of a gunslinger, a la Clint Eastwood's "Man With No Name," than a ranch hand or some such, and as such is probably more representative of a mythical conception of a cowboy (with a few historical precedents) than a likeness of actual working cowboys and cowgirls (for that matter, so is even Jessie). And personally, I don't see a thing wrong with a Jessie-like character anyway. Jessie kicks butt.

Yeah. The idea of a "female alien" seems a bit strange. . .

No more so than the idea of a "male alien," though, right?

LEGO's aliens are clearly inspired by various classic tropes of pulp and b-movie sci-fi, which have often included alien queens, "races" of alien women, etc.; TLG's S8 alien queen is right in keeping with those.

[Fabjoueauxlego]

Now, I just wait for the next cheerleaders :)

Edited July 18, 2012 by Fabjoueauxlego