Monochrome Minifigures

[steyin]

Yes, video and better images indicate they are indeed BLY hands.

Also finally got my hands on this, still not sure if it is light purple (like the 4L bar, and excuse my poor fingernails):

 

 

[Holodoc]

If this is no proof of authenticity, I cannot imagine what would be!

Thx for the pics!

[Paperballpark]

I'd like to know which colour it was intended to be, before I arbitrarily assign it on my spreadsheet as a colour which was retired over 15 years ago! 

[steyin]

I'll be posting a PC vs ABS comparison later today on the trans figures. A bunch of variations/inconsistencies on the legs/hips and some on the torsos between them...

[steyin]

For those not in the monochrome FB group, here is my post:

Let's start with the ABS origins, as best as I have tracked it. The first pair released were trans clear and light blue, available from seller xdelacru on eBay (also sells on Bricklink as Big D's Toys), whom is located in Texas. The next release was bright green and orange, also from xdelacru. Next was black and purple, I believe from Moderno (Moderno Bricks on Bricklink), whom is located in New Jersey, and possibly danslego (located in Florida) on eBay. Next was yellow and dark pink, C3POs available from danslego on eBay and Minifigure Dreams (currently in Idaho) as normal minifigs shortly after. Last was red, available from MFD. Note that these sellers have also had the Vader helmets, etc, for sale as well.

 

For the photo purposes, I have selected one color from each ABS pairing (and red as it was solo), along with green and neon green from PC figs. Notes are on the photos. While there are differences between the two materials in terms of logo stamps and placement, the ABS markings are, for the most part, consistent with newer produced non trans parts. The biggest discrepancies occur on the orange and bright green hips, the inner markings of the torsos, and the "L" mark on the legs of all the ABS figures.

 

Please feel free to comment and add any additional info or observations, or even more photos. One thing to note is that the head of my yellow figure was swapped for a 3626c head as I bought the C3PO version, not the normal figure.

 

My final verdict is inconclusive on the legitimacy of these ABS versions, but there are more signs to point to them being "legit nightshift from a factory" than 100% bootleg/knock-off I feel.

 

For below, the upper 2 rows are ABS (unless the new mystery color is actually PC), while the bottom row is PC.

 

 

 

 

Will update this post if necessary.

Edited March 8, 2021 by steyin
Added feet/inner legs.

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

@steyin fascinating post and really informative. Thanks for sharing.

Ultimately, the distributors are probably the only ones that can point to the origin of these figures. They sure look cool, though! Really like your collection. Would love to see dark blue in ABS and higher numbers!

[Holodoc]

1 hour ago, BrickHat said:

@steyin fascinating post and really informative. Thanks for sharing.

Absolutely seconded!

While it will be almost impossible to get my hand just on a single one of these, in my head I neglect they exist.

[Paperballpark]

Right, these are my gut thoughts, based on a number of things, and influenced by steyin's very thorough comparison.

Firstly, my gut instinct has always been that the nine 'common' ABS trans figures are genuine, produced in a Lego factory (very likely the Mexico one) by employee(s). It seems that TLG are aware of this and at the moment (seemingly) tolerate it.

As for the 'mystery colour' - the Trans-Light Purple, based on the above, has hip markings which are straight, like PC (and probably like older minifigs - it would be interesting to know when they changed), and the leg numbers are exactly the same as the PC leg numbers. I therefore suspect that the hips and legs are PC, and if so, are possibly quite old - maybe dating from the early 90s when Trans-Light Purple was a colour TLG produced.

It is, however, possible that it simply came from a different factory, which uses slightly different molds and which produced the 'original' PC minifigs.

Sadly there's no comparison of the Trans-Light Purple torso. If you can post top-down photos of the torso that would be much appreciated!

Time will tell if any more of that colour turn up...

[steyin]

4 hours ago, Paperballpark said:

Sadly there's no comparison of the Trans-Light Purple torso. If you can post top-down photos of the torso that would be much appreciated!

Here you go. A little hard to see as the plastic is a little splotchy, like it got messed up during the injection. Stamps and text match PC scale and placement, but the neck stamp is rotated like the ABS torsos:

Edited March 9, 2021 by steyin

[Paperballpark]

Hmm, a bit of an oddity then...

[Brickr]

A quick update on the collection...

I’m not yet ready to display them but after the last round of sorting I wanted to check on whether a decent single linear order was possible... which I think it is (a bit of a tone jump from light aqua to dark turquoise... c’mon LEGO, where’s the regular turquoise?!).

If anyone’s interested my rules/process are as follows:

1. Only currently produced colours

2. Only colours that have minimum three minifigure parts currently in production (e.g head, torso, arms, hands, hips, legs, hair/headgear.

3. CMF parts and printed parts are fair game, however I keep track of which these are and replace with regular and non-print parts as they become available.

4. I use white parts to fill in any gaps

5. Strictly no bootleg, knock-off, night shift or any other limited access parts... I’m more than happy to wait for those flesh hips ;P

6. I ummed and ahhed about whether to include headgear but I decided I love the way it adds some extra character and reminds me of my many favourite Lego themes.

This has allowed me to have a load of fun collecting without getting in too deep (time and money). I use Quixx plastic polish which is perfect and does not discolour or leave unpleasant residue or odour (I don’t use Brasso!!!)

Mon-o-man this is satisfying!

Edited March 21, 2021 by Brickr

[Paperballpark]

I display mine from white, going through greys, black, browns to tans, then yellows through oranges and reds to magenta, pinks, purples, to blues then ending with greens. Sand Blue is a bit of an oddity in there, but I can cope with that.

I am quite curious as to why you don't want to include complete figs of retired colours though.

[Brickr]

15 hours ago, Paperballpark said:

I display mine from white, going through greys, black, browns to tans, then yellows through oranges and reds to magenta, pinks, purples, to blues then ending with greens. Sand Blue is a bit of an oddity in there, but I can cope with that.

I am quite curious as to why you don't want to include complete figs of retired colours though.

I have considered it, I just don’t think it’s necessary given the huge range of colours currently in production. May change my mind in future tho ;)

[Paperballpark]

It looks like we'll finally be getting Light Flesh/Light Nougat Hips in an official set - the new Porky Pig minifig in the Loony Toons CMF series has it.

[Brickr]

1 hour ago, Paperballpark said:

It looks like we'll finally be getting Light Flesh/Light Nougat Hips in an official set - the new Porky Pig minifig in the Loony Toons CMF series has it.

Amazing! Hope they’re good quality... also love the cheese cheese wedges ;)

[Paperballpark]

Yes I think I might have to try to get some of those!

[Brickr]

That’ll be another monofig complete, Bright light yellow WtP Rabbit on the way so just waiting for the BL yellow head now and that’ll be another one.

it’s the colours that only need one part to complete like pearl dark grey hands and dark turquoise head that are frustrating, but I’m still shocked that the light flesh hips are coming.

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

19 hours ago, Brickr said:

That’ll be another monofig complete, Bright light yellow WtP Rabbit on the way so just waiting for the BL yellow head now and that’ll be another one.

it’s the colours that only need one part to complete like pearl dark grey hands and dark turquoise head that are frustrating, but I’m still shocked that the light flesh hips are coming.

Dark turquoise is particularly frustrating. It's such a beautiful color!

[Paperballpark]

Only need the hips for Spring Yellowish Green too. I think the chances of getting a Dark Turquoise head are quite low, unless some Ninjago villain comes along with one, or a plain one is used as something other than a head.

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

49 minutes ago, Paperballpark said:

Only need the hips for Spring Yellowish Green too. I think the chances of getting a Dark Turquoise head are quite low, unless some Ninjago villain comes along with one, or a plain one is used as something other than a head.

I've been hoping they use it as some sort of decoration. I actually got excited when I saw some of the Friends sets that came out this year, only to find out they were using round pieces that were not minifig heads...

[Brickr]

Light Flesh Hips... It's official!

TBB Porky Pig review

Edited April 12, 2021 by Brickr

[Coopa182]

On 4/12/2021 at 12:49 PM, Brickr said:

Light Flesh Hips... It's official!

TBB Porky Pig review

And another colour of Medium Legs never hurts either 🙂

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

So apparently newelementary on Instagram has spoken to people from Lego who claim that the transparent minifigs and some of the red prototypes are fake. Do you guys think this puts the matter to rest? Some people think that this is either a lie, but I doubt this. If not, it would imply that a third party has access to identical molds for minifigs, which would be concerning to say the least.

[steyin]

2 hours ago, BrickHat said:

So apparently newelementary on Instagram has spoken to people from Lego who claim that the transparent minifigs and some of the red prototypes are fake. Do you guys think this puts the matter to rest? Some people think that this is either a lie, but I doubt this. If not, it would imply that a third party has access to identical molds for minifigs, which would be concerning to say the least.

I don't think it solidifies anything to be honest.

First, these designer's definition of "fake" might just be something that isn't approved by them yet is still made within their walls. Outright fake would mean being produced by a 3rd party, and even though we have seen bootleg 2x4 bricks that are nearly identical recently, I have to consider further info. The 2x4 mold is a rather simple one to copy, but minifig pieces? Scale wise some of the details (internal stamps more so) are just too precise to be reverse cast and made a mold of IMO, and there are several number stamps used on the hips and legs alone. That means that several copy molds would need to be produced...though I do suppose taking the time to 3D model the pieces, print them and then cast them would be the process to follow.

Looking at the images I took for the analysis, the tiny differences here and there for the ABS figs shows inconsistency, so it doesn't seem to me if they were bootlegged that it was done by the same source. Also interesting that they were released as pairs, and the 2nd set (bright green and orange) have the biggest glaring inconsistency with the hip number stamps being rotated 90 degrees. If someone bootlegged this then that is quite a big mistake, which hasn't appeared since, but at the same time I have never seen an official Lego hip with this detail...so it might be safer to assume it was a bootlegger mistake. Still, actual Lego hips and legs have varied in their stamp detailing/scale over the past years, so I can't for sure say that using that as an identifier is accurate. If they were made internally as "nightshift" someone might have access to these different versions (though I would assume molds are retired and/or locked away after not in use anymore). Also seeing the Lego stamp on the neck being rotated 180 degrees in comparison to the internal chest stamps between the PC and ABS is another inconsistency, but it is possible newer molds for solid parts did actually switch the position I suppose. I've never cracked open a normal torso to see if these stamps exist within regular figs, so I can't be certain.

To be honest, I can't draw conclusive evidence due to too many variables along the Lego production time frame to say whether the ABS figs are fake, and if they are they are damn good. Still, I won't believe anything until word comes officially from Lego themselves, not some designers.

Edited April 15, 2021 by steyin

[MAB]

6 hours ago, BrickHat said:

So apparently newelementary on Instagram has spoken to people from Lego who claim that the transparent minifigs and some of the red prototypes are fake. Do you guys think this puts the matter to rest? Some people think that this is either a lie, but I doubt this. If not, it would imply that a third party has access to identical molds for minifigs, which would be concerning to say the least.

I don't care either way. They are not genuine RETAIL parts so of no interest to me. If others want to pay such high prices for made-for-the-market pieces, whether outright fake or in-house "nightshift", it is up to them.

I doubt anyone that works for LEGO knows exactly what goes on in every part of the company. One person might well say it would be impossible to do such and such, when another will know that they can get away with doing something they are not meant to.