When I received my first set of LEGO’s which if I recall correctly was a Christmas gift, we didn’t have things like licenses or mini figures. We had to simply use our imaginations and try and come up with what we could. I don’t even recall getting any type of instructions to show me ideas on what I could build and if there was anything like that, it probably ended up discarded very quickly. LEGO has come a long way since they originally debuted and evolved into the world famous building bricks that kids (and adults) love today.
LEGO is celebrating a birthday of sorts. It was forty years ago that the company premiered one of their most important designs and much like the bricks themselves, these counterparts haven’t changed much and yet they have evolved in the decades which followed. LEGO released their Castle, Space and Town sets back in 1978 and along with these came a very important asset to the sets which children could play with and help to fuel their imagination; the mini figure which is known to most today simply as the mini-fig. Over the years LEGO has moved beyond simply including them with sets and in 2010 they released their first set of mini-figs in blind bags. Since they there have been multiple waves of the figures released which have included things such as Ninjago, Disney characters, and The LEGO Movie.
The newest incarnation is the 18th waves of LEGO mini-figs and while this release isn’t necessarily trying to brag about the figures hitting the landmark age of forty, looking at some of the figures included does state otherwise. The apparent rare figure in the collection is none other than a recreation of the 1978 Police Officer who comes complete with a recreation of the very set he came in but of course done as a LEGO accessory.
That however is just the beginning of the party. Keeping with that celebratory theme you could possibly uncover Cake Guy which is a man jumping out of a cake complete with party hat. There are also birthday boy and girl mini-figs, each with a balloon as well as a gift which opens up. In case you were curious, the girl has cupcakes while the boy has boxes of LEGO’s. For some a party wouldn’t be complete without a clown and that’s another possible mini-fig in the blind bags. He comes with two balloon animals to help add to the party atmosphere.
Not everything is about parties however and there are other mini-figs as well There are two Brick people, a boy and girl who are both mini-figs dressed as LEGO bricks. This was actually the first figure my daughter got when she purchased one of the blind bags to start her collection and honestly, she found it a little disappointing and nearly didn’t buy any more. I was a bit more persistent and encouraged her to get more of them and so far, after a mere ten purchases, we’re ten mini-figs into the set with no duplicates to date.
There are also an assortment of characters dress in various animal inspired attire. There’s a cat, complete with a fish, there’s a man dressed as a dragon, a cowboy with a horse, a girl dressed as a ballerina elephant who also includes a mouse accessory and a knight who is dressed like a unicorn and another character who is made up like a spider. If plants are more your thing the series also finds a girl dressed as a plant and another who is “disguised” as a cactus.
The series overall isn’t too bad and it does make me wish that my daughter had decided that she liked LEGO’s a little sooner. Seriously, I buy them for her, at least that’s what I keep telling myself as a scold her for not keeping the pieces together or leaving them lying all over. The LEGO minfigure blind bags don’t seem to show any signs of becoming just a fad so undoubtedly LEGO will continue to celebrate milestones with the figures in years to come. For now however, just like past blind bag assortments, these figures are limited and it’s only a matter of time before they vanish off shelves and become sought after collectibles.
Mike is the resident reviewer for Couponing to Disney and his own site Underland Online. He has a toddler daughter and is obsessed with Haunted Mansion and all things Disney. You can read Mike’s complete bio here.