Review of the 25th series of LEGO Minifigures

The 25th series of LEGO Minifigures is here! It’s hard to believe that the LEGO Minifigures theme has 25 editions! This is 401 unique, collectible minifigures, which were initially released in series of 16, and since 21st edition, 12 figures per series.

The 25th series is the first regular CMF (Collectible Minifigures) series that is packed blind boxes rather than the old style blind bags. Theoretically, this makes it impossible to identify the minifigure by feel [which was a common practice so far]. But leave it to the AFOLian society to come up with a solution. If you know how to ‘read’ the QR codes on the boxes, the contents are revealed. No more guessing! You can can find all the details here.
The joys of modern technology!

What’s inside those boxes?

Let’s get started with the review. Here is the entire collection in the same order as the leaflet inside the box:

1. Film Noir Detective
2. E-Sports Gamer
3. Vampire Knight (Basil the Bat Lord)
4. Sprinter
5. Goat Farmer/Goatherd
6. Mushroom Sprite
7. Fitness Instructor
8. Triceratops Costume Fan
9. Harpy
10. Train Kid
11. Fierce Barbarian
12. Pet Groomer

As you can see in the list above, there are topics that we’ve seen in previous series such as characters in disguises, fantasy characters or athletes. There are also completely new topics such as the Film Noir Detective or the Goatherd. And, last but not least, probably the most sought-after minifig, right next to Goatherd, i.e. Vampire Knight aka Basil the Bat Lord. But there are many standouts in this series as you will see.

“Abundance” is a word that defines the 25th LEGO CMF series. Many minifigures feature elements made using dual mold technology. And extra added bonus for us toy photographers is that many have the sought after double face expressions. LEGO has equipped its figures with many accessories, some of them have up to four of them! Many of the figures feature details like arm and leg printings. Overall this series is quite colorful, although some of the colors are a bit flat.

Previous CMF series were photographed on our blog either outdoors or indoors.
This time I’ve have mixed settings, because some of the minifigures are better suited indoors.
And while January in Poland isn’t known for it’s good weather, I managed to take all the “outdoor” photos I wanted!

Film Noir Detective

The detective seems to be a result of the stereotypical [even if in monochrome] image of the detective often seen in noir books and films. It was a great idea to create this minifigure in grayscale. This decision makes the detective look as if he has jumped straight off the cinema screen with his inseparable magnifying glass.

The addition of a red herring is a nice, humorous touch. In English, a common term for a false lead is red herring (or “smoked herring”). The idiom comes from the practice of using the strong smell of smoked herrings to distract sniffer dogs.

The detective looks very nice in front of the camera. He looks great using a black and white technique but there are many opportunities to experiment with color. Let’s just hope that the detective’s investigation will be fruitful and the Maltese Brick will be found.

I feel that this will not be his last job and he will be a frequent guest in my photos.

E-Sports Gamer

E-sport is a powerful branch of, well… sport? Entertainment industry? E-sport, although it takes place in the virtual world, has its very real stars. One of such stars is depicted in the second figure of the 25th CMF series. We see her in a sports outfit – wearing a tracksuit, probably a sponsor’s, decorated with a coat of arms that could be her team’s coat of arms [am I the only one who thinks that the bird in this coat of arms is associated with the Black Falcon faction?]. On the back she has the logo of another sponsor, Vita Rush [see the Fitness Instructor minifigure]. This name also appears in several sets from the City series, which builds context and makes connections within the LEGO universe in a nice way.

The gamer has four accessories: a fancy mouse and keyboard in cool colors, headphones and a golden cup that shows us that we are dealing with a champion. It’s a nice and well-equipped minifigure, although in my opinion the dominant pastel colors will make it a challenge to photograph in certain situations.

I decided to show the gamer during a night training session in her apartment, and then when she returned home with a trophy in the form of a cup. I had a vision to show this minfigure in the dark, illuminated only by the glow coming from the monitor. It is true that the yellow color of LEGO heads does not harmonize well with blue light, but here I focused on ‘naturalism’.

Vampire Knight (Basil the Bat Lord)

This minifigure is an obvious reference to the iconic Basil the Bat Lord. Basil ​is a minifigure that was released in 1997. He is the leader of the Fright Knights. Basil anno 2024 must have clearly crossed the gates of the afterlife, because instead of a yellow head he has a strangely white head. In addition, his eyes glow with an unhealthy glow.

Batlord for me is one of the highlights of this series. This minifigure has been modernized with sensitivity and humor [that eyebrow!]. A great addition is the axe from hell, whose blades are made in the eye-catching trans red color. Even though the color palette is limited to two, I find this figure very expressive. I might even say the red is ‘juicy’!

I couldn’t capture Basil except in his gloomy castle. I see him walking through the labyrinthine corridors during the full moon casting spells on his axe. I admit that I saved this minifigure to photograph for the very end. For me he is the creme de la creme.

Sprinter

The paralympic runner is another minifigure referring to inclusive sports. In series 24 we had an athlete in a wheelchair. Moreover, inclusivity and integration are topics that LEGO is raising more often as well as in other figures in this CMF series.

The sprinter is another minifigure that I saved for last, but for completely different reasons. While this minifig is quite interesting, no ideas sprang to mind. The runner looks good, both in terms of making the prosthetics and adapting them to the silhouette of the minifigure. The figure is accompanied by accessories in the form of a medal and a 1 x 2 brick (3004), acting as a podium with a “1” printed on it. I just didn’t know how to photograph this minifigure, to give it justice. There were some ideas to turn various items into the interior of a sports hall, but as usual, the final result was a coincidence. A weather window and an inconspicuous place under my balcony that turned into a running route made it possible. Here is a classic example of heading out with the intention of photographing another minifigure and coming back with one of my favorite photos from this series.

Goat Farmer/Goatherd

The Goat Farmer and his Goat are nods to LEGO’s past. Both, the Castle series, to which the minifigure refers and the goat itself. The original incarnation of the goal has reached dizzying prices on the secondary market. This figure is a nod to long time fans as well as a great minifigure. The Shepherd is another highlight for me in this series. While I’m happy to have a goat the shepard is a nice combination of colors and prints. This duo is very nice to look at through the camera’s viewfinder.

And those face expressions! It’s clear that this man loves his job; he is not only a master at making goat cheese, but also an enthusiast. Just look at that blissful look on his face after tasting the cheese! Delicious!

I really wanted to photograph this minifigure in a natural setting, so thank you to the Płanetniks (pwanetnicks) for opening the weather window for a moment!

Mushroom Sprite

This adorable wood creature is another of my favorite minifigures from this series. Although there are no spectacular prints or lots of accessories, the mushroom hat and the beautiful butterfly fully make up for it. This minifigure is also so well-composed in terms of colors: red, yellow, green and blue blend very nicely with white. The photos below, taken during the same weather window, certainly do not exhaust the possibilities offered by Mushroom Sprite. This creature will be a perfect match for the forest elf from the previous CMF series and I’m sure that these two will have many wonderful adventures that I will try to capture on the camera sensor.

Fitness Instructor

The Instructor has everything to be a really cool minifigure. Much like the E-sport gamer, the colors of this figure’s outfit are somewhat perplexing. I don’t know anything about gym or sport fashion, maybe there’s something behind the choice of such colors? This is a fun figure but will clearly be a challenge to photograph. You can see this in the enclosed insert – even here she disappears against the bright background.
Much like the Sprinter, I struggled with photo ideas. I settled on placing her in the gym of the set 10260 Downtown Diner. I tried to compensate for the color pallette with the editing process. I hope it worked out.

Triceratops Costume Fan

When you’re a Triceratops, you don’t need anything else. After all, it’s one of the few dinosaurs that could defeat a T-Rex! The designers of this minifigure probably had a similar idea, giving it only an impressive headpiece, a broad smile and tons of charisma. Besides, wearing such an impressive outfit, you probably don’t need any accessories (or burdens). On the leaflet, Triceratops is the neighbor of Fitness Instructor and although it is almost monochromatic, it is much nicer to the eye.

As for the photo, of course I had to send this beast into the Cretaceous-like wilderness so that the dinosaur impersonator could get into the role. And since this figure very clearly refers to 24th series T-Rex, I made an exception for it and took a photo of the duo having a friendly chat for a change. Plus, triceratops is my favorite dinosaur, so I can.

Harpy

Let me go back to the leaflet, where the harpy is the most eye-catching one. And I mean “catching” literally, considering the nature of these mythical beings. Both, the rather aggressive design and the flashy colors make this figure stand out from the rest. There are so many rich details on the torso print and golden talons on the ‘legs’. I love how this minifigure is both, intriguing and repulsive in equal measure. The harpy has only one intimidating expression on its savage head, covered with mohawk-like ponytail.
This creature seems to be an outsider in this series, which again fits well with its mythological prototype. And since I like outsiders, I decided to give this minifigure a proper setting. What you see below is my fourth attempt at photographing a harpy. Of course I had to capture it in flight. And because it’s a wild and fierce creature, I chose the moment of attack. It’s a pity that the legs, which we also know from, among others, the faun minifig, although they give the harpy’s silhouette lightness, bend forward poorly. So the positioning of her body isn’t exactly how I wanted it to be.

And since January in our community was the month of dad jokes, here’s a harpyschord:

Train Kid

Figures dressed as vehicles already have a tradition in the CMF series. There was already a race car boy and a girl dressed as an airplane. In series 25 there is a boy dressed as a locomotive. Next to Mushroom Sprite, he is another most colorful minifigure in this series. It is also the second figure to introduce the theme of diversity and inclusivity, in line with LEGO’s declaration that, with the help of diverse minifigures, it wants to “celebrate diverse friendships in the modern world”. The boy in the locomotive costume has one expression on his face, with a bandage over his eye, but as you can see, it doesn’t stop him from enjoying his outfit. The green locomotive is wonderfully made and well detailed. Just look on the front, with round plate decorated with number of Series 25 on it. It’s a subtle yet great commemoration of this little anniversary.

This boy minifigure took me back to the times when I was a boy and was fascinated by railways. However, I was not so much fascinated by the trains themselves, but by the infrastructure: traction lines, labyrinths of railway sidings and tracks running away in a convergent perspective.

However, I didn’t think about it at all when I was going to the station in Gdańsk Oliwa with this minifig. I had a task in mind: take a photo. All these past fascinations hit me when I reached the end of the platform. And it was an extraordinary trip and added value to this photo session, for which I am very grateful to this boy. One of the powers of toys is their ability to connect us to our inner child. Thank you LEGO!

Fierce Barbarian

Just as noir detective looks like it came straight from the movie screen, Fierce Barbarian looks like it came straight from the pages of Robert E. Howard’s Red Sonja novel or any other sword and sorcery pulp fantasy. The overall shape of this minifigure fuels this impression like oil fueling a flame in some temple of a forgotten deity. She radiates raw power, regardless of which side of the two expressions we choose and whether she poses with or without a sword. And while in the case of some of this series, ideas for photos appeared at various stages of planning or even writing this review, I had ideas for this minifigure the moment I saw it. I knew that, somewhat contrary to most depictions of this figure, I would want to take photos of her as she’s preparing for the final battle against evil, training her body and mind.

For me, this is one of the more inspiring figures from this series.

Pet Groomer

Together with the Goat Farmer and the Mushroom Sprite, Pet Groomer is the “calmest” minifigure in this series. It’s worth noting that both face expressions of this figure are smiles. How can you not smile when you have an Afghan Hound next to you, whose temperament is described as calm, cheerful or funny. It’s a completely new and quite attractive mold that will certainly expand the collection of every LEGO dog breeder.

The dog and the metallic gold printing of the paw logo on the groomer’s apron add to this figures charm. This is also the third figure in this series, which shows that you can live beautifully with disability, because a cochlear implant has been added to the hairpiece of this minifigure.

It’s clear that, just like Goat Farmer the pet groomer loves her job, because with Afghan Hound she has a lot of work ahead of her, and she still doesn’t stop smiling. Coincidence? I don’t think so!

Overall expressions

And that smile reflects how I feel about each of these figures. I enjoyed the many references or winks to other areas of the LEGO Universe, both past and present. So many contagious smiles, printed on the minifigures’ heads, how can I not be happy with adding these to my collection? Because of the variety of topics covered in this series fans of more spectacular and “normal” minifigures will find something to love. And of course those more interested in parts hunting will also be happy.

Only the future will show us whether and when we will celebrate further anniversaries of the CMF series.

Tomek

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