Series 16 mini figures are out and unlike the last series, which was based on established Disney characters, these collectible mini figures are more in line with past series. We’re presented with 16 different (and mostly unique) characters, figures and costumed creatures designed to fuel the imagination. Each character carries within it the potential for a new and unique story to be explored, and of course, to be photographed.
Series 16 Mini Figures – a review
#1 – The Ice Queen – This is a beautiful mini figure. I love her aqua blue face, her silver speckled cape and the details on the front of her dress. The crown / tiara is a nice touch but I’m at a loss with what to do with those ice shards that she holds. I can’t seem to get them in a position that appear to be exploding from her hands naturally. I consider this one of the many limitations (and challenges) of the LEGO mini figure. With Series 16 directly following the Disney mini figures, it’s hard not to assume the Ice Queen is a version of Elsa. Am I only the only one making this connection? Now that we have an Ice Queen it would be cool to have a Fire Queen or a Wind Queen. Why stop with Ice?
#2 – The Arabian Knight – The Arabian Knight figure was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t hold out much hope for this character, but when I put him in front of the lens, he surpassed my expectations. He’s an unassuming guy, but would make a great addition to any sand or adventure themed photography. (I’m looking at you BrickSailboat!) While there isn’t much new here in terms of accessories, we already have a turban (in white) and his sword has been seen before in black, the details on the arms and the shoes are a nice touch. I’ve learned from experience that sometimes the most unassuming mini figures make for the best photos and the Arabian Knight falls into that category.
#3 – Female Cyborg – I want to like this character, I really do. The female cyborg is only one of five female characters in this series and I should be more open minded. The best part of this character is the addition of the blue hair element (works for all genders). I’m sure lots of builders and space fans will appreciate the details on the outfit and face, but I’m left flat. I’ve had the same problem with all the cyborg character from past series, so I’m sure this is a personal blind spot. I think I have to make this my personal challenge: take a photo of this character that I like. Sometimes all it takes to fall in love with a mini figure, is to take a decent photo of it.
#4 – Imp – Even though the Imp feels like a left over from last fall’s series #14 that featured monsters, he’s a fun character. I’m not a fan of a face with the tongue sticking out – what does that even mean? I love the wings in red which we first saw last fall with the Gargoyle from Series #14. The horned helmet, the pointed tail and the black pitch fork are all useful accessories for mixing and matching and creating a new figure. I’ve seen some great mashups with this character and he should be a ‘must have’ for anyones collection.
#5 – Spooky Boy – It was inevitable that we would get a Spooky Boy figure since we already had Spooky Girl (series #12). He’s a a great looking character, especially his shirt. For me the biggest stumbling block is his face . I can only assume that the mini figure designers at The LEGO Group are playing against type. Why wouldn’t a Spooky Boy be afraid of his book? Is that a tongue or a fang hanging out of his mouth? My eyes aren’t that good so I can’t tell. Spooky Boy’s accessories are a spider friend and a book. While the spider isn’t anything new, LEGO sized books are always a welcome addition to the library.
#6 – Hiker – This is probably one of the best characters in the series, and if my Instagram feed is any indication, you guys think so too. Not only does he come with a fabulous compass and map, but a new spiffy backpack. His two sided face, one side an exuberant smile and the other a puzzled frown, is one of the best faces. Ever. An instant classic! There’s a lot of play potential in this figure and my only question for LEGO is: when will the female hiker be released? A little LEGO version of Cheryl Straid would be awesome! Or course this is LEGO, so I can make my own. 🙂
#7 – Wildlife Photographer – This is a cute mini figure who comes with a traditional black camera with a ‘lens’ attachment and her own wildlife, a penguin. This figure comes with one of the versatile double faced heads. Too bad one side has goggles and on the other side she’s winking. I can’t hep but think: who’s she winking at? The penguin? While the Wildlife Photographer feels like she escaped from the LEGO City Arctic base series, she’s a welcome addition to the collectable mini figure family. Now if only winter would hurry up and get here so I can take a few photos of her and her cute penguin! Yes, buy many of these figures so you can create your own penguin army. You know you want to!
#8 – Kick Boxer – This figure is a pleasant surprise: a strong female that’s not a fairy tale or a comic book character. Added bonus, her head is printed with two different expression, one fierce and one smiling. Her accessories may be simple, boxing gloves, helmet and brown pony tail hair piece, it’s nice to have another character with a set of boxing gloves. The gloves are a great accessory if you don’t have them already. Way to go LEGO Group! Now lets get ready to rumble….
#9 – Scallywag Pirate – Let’s face it, you can never have too many pirates! While his accessories aren’t anything too amazing, a map and simple grey sword, I do love his anchor tattoo and his bald head. If you love the pirate theme, you’re going to want to pick up a few of these guys to mix and match to create a more diverse crew for your three masted galleon! (A hat tip to Brett who’s previous pirate photos inspired this one!)
#10 – Penguin Suit Guy – It’s a guy with an overly cute face in a penguin suit. Woo hoo! Add this to your collection alongside the panda guy, gorilla guy, pig suit guy, chicken suit guy, shark guy, bunny suit guy, hotdog guy and unicorn girl. Pick up three, everything is better in threes. Enough said…
#11 – Rogue – This guy is unassuming but probably one of the more interesting characters in the group. Have you checked out his outfit? What great detail on the vest and belt; plus the silver fox detail is beautiful. Under his mask he has a great semi bearded face which will be perfect for someones signature figure. I think I will look for a green cape to accent his outfit and send him off to patrol my backyard.
#12 – Dog Show Judge – I love this character for his face, his hair (works great for all genders) and his accessories. Who doesn’t love white scotty dogs!! Now if only someone would do a LEGO send up of Best in Show.
#13 – Serenader – Here is another great character that you might as well resign yourself to getting multiples of. In fact this character is so enduring that this is the third time the LEGO Group has released it as part of the collectable mini figure series. The first time we saw him was in Series #2 (he came with a set of maracas), the second time he was released in the LEGO Movie series of mini figures (he came with a cheese plate / nachos) and now he has been issued in a new color scheme, a mustache and an acoustic guitar for Series 16. He’s the perfect accompaniment to any Mexican meal. Again get three, everything is better in threes!
#14 – Spy / Rogue – This guy cracks me up, mostly because of his title – ‘spy’. I recently had the pleasure of visiting the International Spy Museum in Washington DC and learned what spies really look like, and this is not it. They tend to dress as unassuming and as normal as possible to blend in. But of course that wouldn’t make for very good play material, so we have the Tom Cruise version of a spy. I thought the addition of a black rope was a nice touch. If you’re a fan of the Ultra Agents Lego line, then this is the figure for you!
#15 – The Banana Suit Guy – Considering how popular the Hot Dog guy from series #13 is, it was only a matter of time before we had another food related mini figure. This guy also plays well with the Clumsy Guy from series #15. Seriously the jokes just write themselves with his figure.
#16 – Baby Sitter – I’m so glad that the LEGO Group decided to include this figure in series #16. If you weren’t able to purchase the Fun in the Park set, this is a great way to add the LEGO baby to your mini figure collection. The face and hair combo on this figure is very appealing, plus I like the graphic on her T-shirt. My only complaint about this figure is she really should have had a two sided face. Anyone who has been a parent or a babysitter, knows you need a second face for when things go wrong – because things always go wrong. Luckily this is LEGO and I already had the perfect face!
Series 16 is another a great collection; I’m with impressed how the designers at The LEGO Group continue to create these fun characters. I had a great time photographing them and I hope you will too!
~ Shelly
I think this is one of the better series, and failing to find the blind bags before they sold out, I ordered a pre-opened full set for basically the same price. I look forward to many of these characters moving into Little Brick Township.
I think anything you can do to avoid the tedium of searching for these figures is a must! Which figure is your favorite Lyn?
Great review Shelly! Your photo of the Imp is amazing!
When I first got the Wildlife photographer, I assumed her alternate face was not “winking” but squinting to look through the camera. I’m not sure if that’s what LEGO was intending but that’s the way I interpreted it 🙂
My favorite minifig from the Series is the Kickboxer. I love her facial expressions and the fact that she’s a strong female character. My other favorites are the Wildlife photographer and the Hiker. The hiker has such fantastic facial expression and I really like the details and colors of his torso.
I enjoyed seeing your photos of these minifigs 🙂
Lynn
Than you Lynn! I accidentally melted him the first time. Never play with your mini figures around an open flame!
Good point on the wildlife figure, maybe she is squinting to see through her view finder. Its good to get another view point on these reviews. I would never say my opinion is the last word 🙂
I fell in love with the Kickboxer after seeing your photo. I wanted to create an image like you did, with a strong feeling to it. I wanted to do her justice!
Yes, that hiker is a dream on every level. He seems to be almost as popular as the Storm trooper in my feed these days. I think I will have to make a female version though.
Thanks for adding your own thoughts to the review, much appreciated!
Oh, your poor melted minifigure 🙁 I’ll remember to never put them near an open flame.
Thank you for the kind words about my kickboxer photo. LEGO did such a great job on that minifig. She makes me motivated to come up with more photos of her training, I just have to think of some ideas 🙂
What a fun series – and lovely photographs!
Thank you Elizabeth. And yes I agree, it is a fun series!
Even though it’s not my favorite, the one I’m more photographically interested in is the Ice Queen. Unfortunately it’s the only one I didn’t achieve to find by feeling the bags last week before the Hamburg toy safari starts.
It might be one of my favorite series ever but I have to say I was more interested to use some accessories for my photos rather than the figures themselves. I’ve been waiting for a long time for a LEGO acoustic guitar and Admiral Ackbar is always happy when I get him some new maps 😉
I hope you find the Ice Queen my friend! I sure you will now that you aren’t distracted by that pesky safari 😀
As you say, the accessories are often where the fun is. Its wonderful that LEGO puts so much thought into the accessories because they really open up the play possibilities for us photographic storytellers! I look forward to seeing what adventures Admiral Akbar will have with his new guitar! 🙂
Great post Shelly and I love your pics of the new figs. I adore a number of these new figs and my favorite is probably Spooky Boy. He’s adorable, creatively crafted, and his component parts seem quite versatile. I like to think of this little guy, Spooky Girl, and Series 14 “Spider Lady” as a happy, slightly macabre family. I recently had fun with Spooky Boy and Spider Lady in the newly reopened San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. My new son’s favorite color is black, so maybe that influences me here, too. Thanks for always inspiring good conversation. Hope you are doing great.
Spooky Boy is a great addition to the Spooky ‘family’. But why didn’t you mention the Vampire from series #2? He seems like a natural fit for the father of this special, albeit macabre, family! lol!!
You can never go wrong with black! Give your son a hug from me!
I’m glad you enjoyed the review! I appreciate you joining in the conversation!
Haha. Thanks Shelly! I do like the Series 2 Vampire (I need him some day!), but I sort of prefer a single parent for this family. Or maybe she needs a female partner. Think of the possibilities…
I do love the penguin suit person, too, and many other figs in this gaggle. It is a great series. Any word on when the next series is coming? I feel like I need an ongoing support group for anticipation, euphoria, and coming down from the high…
Doug ,
Lego releases three CMF seta a year. We’ve already had our three for 2016 so the next series will most likely get released on or around January 1st. If you need a fix before then you can do what I do, go back and fill in the gaps. 😀
If that doesn’t work for you, we can start a support group. “Hi, my name is Shelly and I have a problem…”
LOL!!!
Wonderful review. Wonderful photos. My favourite series 16? That’s like asking me to pick a favourite child! As you suggested, I’ve already amassed a mariachi band; a septet!
Thanks Brett, I’m glad you enjoyed the review! Oh you can tell me your favorite… I promise I won’t tell the others. 🙂
Yes, I remember the marching Mariachi photo! I think you amassed an army, not a septet!
I’m on the hunt for that Hiker !
He looks like a mini legend !
I agree! I hope you find him soon! 🙂
My favorites are Spooky Boy ( love the sad face! I think it is a fang he got ) and the Hiker ( love that “where am I?” look on his face ).
Both are great choices! Thanks for confirming the fang theory. With so many faces with tongues sticking out lately I couldn’t be sure! 😀
Well, pale and spooky..got to be a fang 😉 I want it to be a fang so I have decided that it is a fang 🙂
Great review Shelly! I’m really pleased with all the cool new outfits that LEGO has designed for Series 16 and Fun in the Park. I immediately repurposed everything to create custom characters for my animation project though, so I haven’t yet bonded with the given characters from the Series aside from the bald pirate. The Hiker face, Spooky shirt, and acoustic guitar are among my favorite elements so far though!
Thanks Leila, Im glad you liked the review! 😀
Fo those who like to mix and match, this series offers lots of great options. I’m glad you found such a good use of them so soon! ˆm sure the photos to follow will be amazing! 😀
Shelly,
Yeah – that Arabian Knight fits nicely into my collection of desert dwellers:) I also may or may not have purchased upwards of 15 Banana Suit Guys for future resell! My favorite in this series? Not sure just yet but I do love meeting strangers in the store while searching the minifigure bags. Kids are impressed with my toned figure feeling skills. Ice Queen? Here kid, let me find that with one hand (kids go Ahhhhhhhhhhh).
~Paul @bricksailboat
Paul, You are crazy, but in the nicest possible way. 😀
Im glad you have enough room to speculate in the mini figure second hand market…finally.
Can you put that skill on your resume?
Great review! You have chosen different colors for each shot, I love it very much!
Thank you Ann! I really tried to step out of my comfort zone photographically on a couple of images (three to be exact) and I think it went pretty well. I have a few large holes in my photographic tool box I need to work on – but I have all winter. 😀
Welcome to the community!!
Thank you very much, dear Shelly! 😀
Great review ,I love this series
Thanks Wendy. I also think its a great series; one of the best in the last few years. I really felt like LEGO went back to their Collectible Mini Figure roots with this one! 🙂