Space, Castle, and Town minifigures

Minifigures are small, plastic figural toys produced by Danish toy manufacturer Lego, which are usually sold with Lego sets, as characters intended to populate modular Lego environments. Although many Lego sets include minifigures, Lego also sells collections of minifigures separate from other sets. They are also referred to as as minifigs, figs or simply Lego people. Minifigures are collected by both children and adults, sometimes independently of Lego bricks themselves. Space, Castle, and Town LEGO minifigs, photographed by Wapcaplet. ... Space, Castle, and Town LEGO minifigs, photographed by Wapcaplet. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A teddy bear A toy is an object used in play. ... Lego Group logo. ... A module is a self-contained component of a system, which has a well-defined interface to the other components; something is modular if it includes or uses modules which can be interchanged as units without disassembly of the module. ...

History

Early Lego minifigures without moving arms and legs

When first released In 1975, Lego minifigures were at the same scale as the current minifigures. However, these figures differed in tooling and articulation: they had solid torsos without separate movable arms, solid lower body pieces that were not moveable, and heads without printed features. They had a small variety of headpieces, including caps, pigtail hair and cowboy hats. An image on Minifigs.net shows the earlier, larger scale, human figures. Image File history File links Lego-minifigs-old. ... Image File history File links Lego-minifigs-old. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

The first modern minifigures were released in 1978, with seven different figures in Castle, Space, and Town themes.^[1] For the next 11 years, minifigure heads were produced with a simple facial expression, rendered as two solid black dots for eyes and a smile, also painted in solid black. In 1989, minifigures in the Pirates theme were produced with different facial expressions.^[1] The Pirates minifigures also included hooks for hands, as well as simulated wooden legs; this was the first departure from the traditional body parts. 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Lego Castle is a Lego theme featuring knights and castles. ... Space is a science fiction Lego theme featuring astronauts and spaceships. ... LEGO Town is a LEGO theme that consists of buildings and vehicles. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A LEGO Pirate Pirates is a Lego theme launched in 1989 featuring pirates, soldiers, islanders and sailing ships . ...

Another departure from traditional parts was the use of spring-loaded legs. These legs are distinctively thick, and do not allow the figures to be placed in a sitting position. This lack of articulation may be the result of the bulk of the springs themselves, or that the legs were joined together at the top, or that there are no holes that allow the figures to connect with studs. Minifigures with spring legs are only able to stand upright.

By 2003, Lego had reportedly produced 3.7 billion minifigures.^[2] 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Design and construction

Minifigures generally feature six parts (widely referred to as tools in the toy industry): head, torso, hips, arms, hands, and legs; these six parts allow seven points of articulation: swivel head, swivel arms, swivel wrists, and swivel legs. Minifigures are usually packaged as three separate parts in Lego sets: head; torso, arms, and hands; and hips and legs. Six can refer to: 6 (number), a number Six (cricket), when a batsman in cricket hits the ball to or over the boundary without the ball touching the ground inside the boundary first Six, a character on the television series Blossom (television) Six (television) or Channel 6, a proposed satellite... Human Head redirects here. ... The human torso Torso is an anatomical term for the greater part of the human body without the head and limbs. ... Bones of the Hip In anatomy, the hip is the bony projection of the femur, known as the greater trochanter, and the overlying muscle and fat. ... In anatomy, an arm is one of the upper limbs of a two-legged animal. ... For other uses, see Hand (disambiguation). ... Diagram of an insect leg A leg is the part of an animals body that supports the rest of the animal above the ground and is used for locomotion. ... A joint is the location at which two or more bones make contact. ... The Swivel Gun is a mounted ships cannon, able to turn and pivot. ... In human anatomy, the wrist is the flexible and narrower connection between the forearm and the hand. ...

Minifigure heads are cylindrical, and attach to a long, narrow cylinder molded onto the top of the torso, which allows the head to rotate. This feature also allows items to be attached to the figures over the torso, such as air tanks, capes or breastplates. The heads have a stud on top which is the same size as studs on standard Lego bricks. Head accessories vary widely, and include hair, helmets and hats. The legs rotate independently to 90 degrees forward, and nearly 45 degrees backward. Minigfigures also connect to standard Lego bricks in both a sitting or standing position. The hands of a minifigure resemble the letter C, which allows them to hold many Lego accessories. There are hundreds of different accessories, including axes, wands, cups, guns and in the instance of Star Wars minifigures, lightsabers. Additionally the tops of the hands are approximately the same size as the studs on standard Lego bricks, which allows Lego pieces to be placed on top of them. These variations allow minifigures to be customized, keeping with the modular design of Legos. A mysterious man in a cape, in Seinfeld, in episode 6-4. ... Cuirass ( French cuirasse, Latin coriaceus, made of leather, from corium, the original breastplate being of leather), the plate armour, whether formed of a single piece of metal or other rigid material or composed of two or more pieces, which covers the front of the wearers person. ... A strand of human hair under magnification Hair is also the name of a musical, see respective articles for the stage production and the movie. ... For other meanings, see Helmet (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Fashion accessories and theur jewelry counterpart referred to as costume jewelry are items that used as fashions complementary. ... Axe For other uses, see Axe (disambiguation). ... WAND is an NBC affiliate in Decatur, Illinois, serving the Decatur–Springfield–Champaign area. ... ... A gun is a common name given to a device that fires high-velocity projectiles. ... Opening logo to the Star Wars films Star Wars is an epic science fantasy saga and fictional universe created by writer/producer/director George Lucas during the 1970s. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Look up Stud in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In 2003, the first minifigures with naturalistic skin tones (as opposed to the yellow used until this point) were released, as part of the Lego Basketball theme; these minifigures were also created in the likeness of living people.^[1] The following year, the use of natural skin tones was expanded to all licensed products; in which figures were created to represent film actors and other living people. Popular examples include Star Wars and Harry Potter minifigures.^[1] 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A yellow Tulip. ... Sara Giauro shoots a three-point shot, FIBA Europe Cup for Women Finals 2005. ... LEGO Star Wars is a LEGO theme involving the Star Wars universe. ... LEGO Harry Potter is a LEGO theme based on the books and films of the Harry Potter series. ...

In 2001 Lego further expanded the minifigure system, with the introduction of Bionicle figures. These figures are a part of a fictional story developed by Lego, and resemble biomechanical creatures. Initially, these figures were produced without articulation, only able to hold tools and weapons. 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bionicle as it is stylised by the Lego Group. ... A BioMechanoid is a fictional entity that features in many science-fiction films, books and television programs. ...

Design variations

While nearly all minifigure heads, torsos, arms, hands and legs are the same size and shape, some sets have included figures that deviate from the standard. Minifigures built from special, uniquely molded pieces were first introduced in Life on Mars. Martians are composed of five tools: two pair of double arms, a mechanical torso, a conjoined leg piece, and a head. This configuration is also used for many Star Wars Droids; Battle Droids follow the same pattern, while Super Battle Droids feature a head fixed to a torso, General Grevious has space for four arms, and IG-88 has a head constructed of other Lego pieces. Other droids, such as Droidekas, Spider Droids and Pit Droids, are constructed entirely from standard Lego pieces, yet are still generally considered minifigures. R2-D2 and other astromech droids are constructed from unique parts, with a separate top, body and legs. The robots of Exo-Force and Bionicle miniatures have a design similar to the Star Wars Battle Droids, but with separate legs, movable hands, and a head affixed to a small torso. Space is a science fiction Lego theme featuring astronauts and spaceships. ... The name Martian is given to the hypothetical native inhabitants of the planet Mars. ... Alternative meanings: Droids (cartoon) A droid is a robot, specifically the intelligent robots in the fictional Star Wars universe. ... Security Battle Droids shooting at Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn. ... The Super Battle Droid is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. ... General Grievous is a villain from the fictional Star Wars universe. ... IG-88 was a fictional character who first appeared in the movie Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back as a bounty hunter hired to track down the Millennium Falcon. ... Droidekas in Episode I. The Droideka, or Trade Federation Destroyer Droid heavy infantry unit, are seen in the Star Wars prequel films. ... In the Star Wars films, pit droids are small bundles of preprogrammed urgency. ... R2-D2 (called R2, or Artoo for short), is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. ... R2-D2, a superficially typical astromech droid Astromech droids are a type of droid often encountered in the fictional Star Wars universe. ... LEGO Exo-Force is a LEGO toy line strongly based on the popular mecha anime genre. ...

Hagrid, the half-giant character from the Harry Potter series, uses a larger minifigure body, with only the head being separable. Minifigures have also featured unique head sculpts that differ from the traditional cylindrical shape; the first was Jar Jar Binks, included in a Star Wars set in 1999, followed by Yoda, C-3PO and Harry Potter goblin figures. Traditional accessories, such as hats and helmets, cannot be placed on these non-standard heads. Some minifigures, such as Chewbacca, Gamorrean Guards, Ewoks, and SpongeBob, have head pieces that fit like standard heads, but also cover part of the torso, similar to the ghost figures, except that these figures use short or standard legs instead of a brick. Collectors refer to this piece, and figures that use it, as sandwich boards, as it resembles the wearable sign of the same name. Rubeus Hagrid (born December 6, year ca. ... This article is about the Harry Potter series of novels. ... Jar Jar Binks (born c. ... Yoda is a fictional character from the Star Wars universe, who appears in all of the franchises films except for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. ... C-3PO (pronounced See-Threepio, often shortened to Threepio) is a robot character from the fictional Star Wars universe, created by Anakin Skywalker circa 32 BBY prior to the events of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. ... A goblin is an evil or merely mischievous creature of folklore, often described as a grotesquely disfigured or elf-like phantom. ... Chewbacca (or Chewie) (c. ... Ewoks are a fictional alien race of hunter-gatherers in the Star Wars universe. ... A sandwich board is a type of advertisement composed of two boards carried by an individual, one in front and one behind, creating a sandwich effect. ...

Some minifigures created to resemble female characters, particularly in Castle and Pirate sets, use large sloped bricks instead of legs, to resemble dresses or skirts. Skeletons, usually found in Castle and Pirate sets, use the standard minifigure head, but unique torsos, arms, and legs designed to resemble a skeletal structure; although different, these figure parts are still detachable. Ghost figures have a full-body cape which attaches to the head of the minifigure, and a solid brick-like torso instead of legs. Shorter legs, without joints at the hip, are sometimes used to create minifigures which are shorter in stature than standard figures. Such pieces were first created for Star Wars sets but have since been used elsewhere, although primarily in licensed sets. Yoda, young Boba Fett, and Ewoks in Star Wars, goblins and Dobby in Harry Potter, The Penguin in Batman, and both SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs in the LEGO SpongeBob SquarePants sets all use this shorter piece in the place of standard legs. Additionally, Pirate minifigures sometimes include peg legs and hooks for hands, such as characters in the Adventurers and Orient Expedition sets, most notably the villain, Sam Sinister. Look up dress in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A skirt is a traditionally feminine tube- or cone-shaped garment which is worn from the waist and covers the legs. ... A human skeleton - (endoskeleton) In biology, the skeleton (from Greek σκελετός, dried-up) or skeletal system is the biological system providing physical support in living organisms. ... Boba Fett is a character in the fictional Star Wars universe. ... 6208 B-Wing Fighter Lego set from 2006. ... Dobby is also a trade term used to refer to the strip of closely-woven material often seen on towels (and much less commonly on washcloths). ... LEGO Harry Potter is a LEGO theme based on the books and films of the Harry Potter series. ... The Penguin, from Batman #287, May 1977. ... LEGO Batman is a theme of LEGO building sets based on the comics, films, and cartoons featuring the DC Comics superhero, Batman. ... This article is about the cartoon series. ... Eugene H. Krabs (or simply Mr. ... 2006 sets from ToyFair in New York City Lego SpongeBob SquarePants is a series of Lego building sets based on SpongeBob SquarePants, a Nicktoon on the childrens cable TV network, Nickelodeon. ... Look up pirate and piracy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A United States soldier demonstrates Foosball with two transradial prosthetic limbs. ... Look up Hook in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Other variations of the standard minifigure produced for Star Wars sets include the light-up lightsaber (LUL) minifigures. These figures were released as a part of the more expansive Star Wars Episode III sets in 2005. These figures look like standard minifigures, but to facilitate internal electronics, their parts cannot be removed; the only exception to this are the heads. When the head is pressed down, an LED illuminates the lightsaber blade. These figure rely on battery power for their special feature. The batteries last three hours and are not intended to be replaced, although replacement is possible. Many fans, particularly adult collectors, found these figures contentious, considering them to be an unwelcome gimmick. However, many fans, especially children, were amenable to this innovation. Led is also the past tense of the verb to lead Blue, green and red LEDs. ...

Yet another variation on the minifigure is the magnet figure, used in such sets as Star Wars, Batman, and City. These figures include magnets in their legs, which allow them to stick to metal surfaces. Magnet figures are nearly indistinguishable from stand figures in appearance. Unlike the LUL figures, only the torso and the legs of magnet minifigures are inseparable. Iron filings in a magnetic field generated by a bar magnet Magnets are materials that produce a magnetic field of their own. ...

A variety of clothing and accessories has been produced for minifigures, including caps, hats, and helmets. In Lego Star Wars sets, Clone Troopers and Stormtroopers have uniquely sculpted helmets, adapting the original character designs to the minifigure format. Rock Raiders have green helmets, while Astronauts feature standard helmets in an assortment of colors. Exo-Force minifigures feature anime-style hair, as does the Nightwing minifigure from the Batman Arkham Asylum set. For other uses, see Astronaut (disambiguation). ... The main cast of the anime Cowboy Bebop (1998) (L to R: Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Ed Tivrusky, Faye Valentine, and Ein the dog) For the oleo-resin, see Animé (oleo-resin). ... Nightwing is a name used by at least six fictional characters in the DC Comics Universe. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... Arkham Asylum as it appeared on Batman: The Animated Series. ...

The most extreme design variation was a minifigure produced in an edition of five of the Star Wars character C-3PO, cast in 14-carat gold. Opening logo to the Star Wars films Star Wars is an epic science fantasy saga and fictional universe created by writer/producer/director George Lucas during the 1970s. ... C-3PO (pronounced See-Threepio, often shortened to Threepio) is a robot character from the fictional Star Wars universe, created by Anakin Skywalker circa 32 BBY prior to the events of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. ...

Other Lego figures

A Lego Technic figure.

In some Lego products, figures other than standard minifigures are used. For example, Technic, has used larger scale action figures since 1986. These figures feature more realistic sculpts, although still distinctively angular, and feature more articulation, including bendable elbows and knees. These figures are further distinguished from minifigures in that they cannot be easily disassembled; even the hair pieces are non-removable. The Fabuland collection, produced in the 1980s, consisted of larger anthropomorphized animal characters, which also could not be easily disassembled. Belville and Scala, Lego products marketed to girls, also include larger scale figures. These figures are similar to Technic figures in articulation, but feature less angular body sculpts. Scala figures more closely resemble dolls, in that clothes are separate from the figures and hair is made of strands rather than molded plastic. Lego has also produced Bionicle figures, which are much larger in scale than any other Lego figure, and feature considerably more articulation. Bionicle figures are also composed of separate parats, unlike other large scale Lego figures. In 2005, Lego released Bionicle playsets, with minifigure variations of characters that had previously been produced in the larger Bionicle scale, notably the Toa and Visorak/Piraka characters. While these minifigures did not feature movable parts, Lego released Piraka and Inika playsets in 2006, which included minifigures with movable parts. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (823x1322, 253 KB) A Lego Technic figure. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (823x1322, 253 KB) A Lego Technic figure. ... Tractor made using Lego Technic components. ... An action figure is a posable plastic figurine of an action hero, superhero or a character from a movie or television program. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... FABULAND was a line of LEGO toys with fable animal figures, and whose packages were printed with comic strips that told the stories of those animal characters. ... An anthropomorphic character; a cat ascribed human characteristics. ... Digimon, the only known animals. ... Belville can refer to: Belville, North Carolina in the United States Belville, Córdoba Province in Argentina Belville, a line of LEGO See also: Belleville This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Look up scala in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up doll in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In media

Animated minifigures in Lego Star Wars

Minifigures have made a number of appearances in other media, particularly brickfilms, short films which use minifigures as characters. Of particular note is the Lego-sanctioned spoof of Star Wars titled Revenge of the Brick, produced by Treehouse Animation. This short film features computer-animated minifigures with added articulation and mobility, as well as textural modifications to create a realistic effect. Promotional videos on the Batman Lego official site are presented in a similar format, and are also produced by Treehouse Animation. Image File history File links Lego_Star_Wars_GBA_-_cutscene. ... Image File history File links Lego_Star_Wars_GBA_-_cutscene. ... A brickfilm is a film made using LEGO bricks, Mega Bloks bricks, or other similar plastic construction toys. ... Computer animation is the art of creating moving images via the use of computers. ...

Lego has furthered the development of minifigures in entertainment media. In the video games Lego Star Wars: The Video Game and Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, playable characters are animated minifigures, which feature more articulation and mobility than real minifigures, but retain the same basic appearance. Most other Lego computer and video games have similarly animated minifigures, though depicted with varying degrees of realism. ...

Other instances of Lego in art include minifigures, such as photo comics or photo novels, graphic works which use photographs rather than illustrations to tell a story. Lego Group logo. ...

Image gallery

A Lego pirate. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (852x1226, 194 KB) Summary A picture, of Lego taken with a digital camera. ...	A Lego Redcoat equipped with a musket. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 607 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1156 × 1142 pixel, file size: 236 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A picture, of Lego taken with a digital camera. ...	A Lego astronaut. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 453 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (760 × 1006 pixel, file size: 137 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A picture, of Lego taken with a digital camera. ...	A Lego scuba diver, or Aquanaut. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 581 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (988 × 1020 pixel, file size: 180 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A picture, of Lego taken with a digital camera. ...
A Lego Draco Malfoy from a Harry Potter set. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1022x1042, 186 KB) Summary A picture, of Lego taken with a digital camera. ...	The modular design of Lego allows the customization of many minifigures. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 708 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1244 × 1054 pixel, file size: 219 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A picture, of Lego taken with a digital camera. ...

See also

• Be@rbrick
• Kubrick
• Minimates
• Mega Bloks
• Playmobil
• Qee

Be@rbrick is a collectible toy designed and produced by MediCom Toy Incorporated. ... Kubrick is a product line by Japanese toy company MediCom Toy inc. ... Minimates are a block styled miniature action figure created by Art Asylum. ... Mega Bloks building blocks (above) are compatible with LEGO interlocking building blocks. ... Playmobil logo Playmobil (pronounced play-mo-beel) is a line of toys produced by the Brandstätter Group (geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co KG), headquartered in Zirndorf, Germany. ... Qee, pronounced key, are a collection of toys created by Hong Kong based company Toy2R. The Qees vary in design- there is the Toyer, the Qee Egg, and the original Qee which comes with the head of a bear, dog or cat. ...

References

June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years). ... A news release, press release or press statement is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something claimed as having news value. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ...

External links

• Official Lego Website
• Minifig Customization Network
• Pictures of minifigures by theme and set