Review: 71045 Collectable Minifigures Series 25
Posted by CapnRex101,71037 Collectable Minifigures Series 24 could be considered among the best series of Collectable Minifigures released to date and I am expecting great things from 71045 Collectable Minifigures Series 25. There are various desirable characters included, after all.
The sinister Vampire Knight has drawn particular attention, modernising Basil the Bat Lord, while the long-awaited goat is also available with the Goatherd. However, all twelve minifigures have something to offer and the high standard appears remarkably consistent across the series.
Summary
71045 LEGO Minifigures - Series 25 - Complete, 103 pieces.
Every minifigure in this series is satisfying, with the Vampire Knight standing out
- Consistently impressive designs
- Tremendous variety of characters
- Extensive use of dual-moulding and printed arms
- The goat returns!
- A few lapses in detail
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
8805 Collectable Minifigures Series 5 offered the Detective, inspired by Sherlock Holmes and the classic gentleman detective character type. The new Film Noir Detective approaches the concept from a different angle and its greyscale colour scheme is ingenious, evoking black and white films, in which these hard-boiled detectives famously appeared.
I love the fabric collar in combination with the character's trench coat, which is nicely detailed with stitching and buttons on both sides of the torso. The dual-moulded legs look splendid too, while the dark bluish grey hat is an excellent new piece and one I hope appears again for other minifigures, in alternative colours.
The pale white skin tone maintains the film noir colour scheme and the detective's grim facial expression also works perfectly. However, my favourite aspect of this minifigure could actually be his red herring accessory, which is a clever reference to the crime genre. A magnifying glass is also supplied and really works, as normal.
Gamers have also appeared in the Collectable Minifigures range previously and the E-Sports Gamer is a nice addition to the roster. The dark pink hair component is new in this colour and similarly vibrant colours are featured across the minifigure, including teal lipstick and a pair of lime green headphones, which are new as well.
The symbol on the gamer's shirt resembles the Black Falcons' emblem from LEGO Castle and another familiar logo appears on the reverse, as Vita Rush drinks are a regular fixture in LEGO City. The brand evidently sponsors the E-Sports Gamer. In addition, the mountain symbol in the corner is often found on minifigure sportswear, particularly among Collectable Minifigures.
Dual-moulded sleeves are used to good effect and the stripes on the sides of the trousers look perfect too, beneath the bird logo from the torso. Considering the lack of new elements and the frequency of gamer minifigures, I am pleased with this example. Her accessories are marvellous too, including a printed keyboard and gaming mouse, as well as a pearl gold trophy.
LEGO has revisited a number of classic minifigures lately and the Vampire Knight is another, inspired by Basil the Bat Lord from Fright Knights. The character's iconic helmet remains fairly close to the original version, albeit featuring smaller wings and lacking the stud on top this time. The change to the decorative wings is a slight shame, as the 1997 design matched the LEGO bat very closely.
The cape, on the other hand, has definitely been updated for the better. The bat symbol looks fantastic and I like the red arrows along the edge, complementing the inner surface. Like other two-tone capes, this one is quite thick and does not hang as naturally as normal capes, but this was a worthwhile compromise for the extra splash of red.
Basil's gambeson is studded with metallic gold accents, which now continue across the arms and legs, unlike on the original minifigure. The head has also changed significantly, swapping the standard yellow for a vampiric white, alongside red eyes and prominent teeth! These details look superb, but I am glad Basil's characteristic moustache remains intact.
The second expression shows the minifigure ready to bite, so he is clearly dangerous even without accessories. Nevertheless, a trans-red axe and a decorated shield are included and these suit the Vampire Knight perfectly, especially since the design on the shield matches the cape precisely. I would love to see LEGO produce a castle befitting this minifigure, perhaps influenced by 6097 Night Lord's Castle.
Sporting characters are featured in most series of Collectable Minifigures and the Sprinter fills that role for Series 25. This minifigure includes a new hair element, potentially suiting male and female characters and featuring great texture. The double-sided head looks good too, especially given the determined design shown in a later image.
However, even more welcome than the excellent hair element are the two prosthetic legs. One was introduced in 60347 Grocery Store and I am happy to see the other now available as well. The design of the prosthetic legs is ingenious, fitting on studs while accurately recreating their shape in reality.
The minifigure's race number is unusually simple, just featuring the year. Nevertheless, the bib looks realistic and a gold medal is provided. Additionally, the Sprinter comes with a printed 1x2 brick for the podium, which is a nice bonus. It would be great to see matching bricks for second and third places in the future.
I think the Goatherd is probably the least interesting minifigure from this series, although he comes with an outstanding accessory, of course. The traditional clothing is relatively detailed and I like the earthy colour scheme, but the hood looks odd without an accompanying cape, in my opinion. I much prefer the farmer's cap used for equivalent minifigures before.
On the other hand, the fur jacket looks authentic and the patch printed on the left arm is lovely too. Similarly, the legs are decorated and dual-moulded boots prevent the Goatherd appearing too bland. The double-sided head is excellent as well, including an expression with closed eyes, so the Goatherd can fully appreciate his doubtless peaceful surroundings.
This character is laden with accessories, including a satchel, a walking stick and a 1x1 round tile, which seemingly represents food for the goat. Needless to say, the goat's return has long been overdue and no notable changes have been made since its last appearance in 7189 Mill Village Raid, other than the lack of decoration on this occasion. You can read more about the new goat element here.
The charming Mushroom Sprite is an apt companion for the Forest Elf from 71032 Collectable Minifigures Series 23. Rather than including a mushroom as an accessory, the character wears an adorable mushroom-shaped hat. The detail on this dual-moulded component is tremendous, particularly with the textured gills on the underside.
Otherwise, the sprite's white clothing is very simple, but such simplicity works for an ethereal fantasy character. Moreover, the two cheerful expressions suit the Mushroom Sprite and I am glad to see the plastic skirt piece in white. Surprisingly, this is a new colour for the element and seems extremely useful.
An exclusive butterfly completes the minifigure, joining the three new patterns introduced last year. The vibrancy of the green and blue wings is attractive, but perhaps a second butterfly or another insect could have been included, given the multiple accessories with other minifigures from this series.
Much like the Film Noir Detective and his predecessor, the Fitness Instructor shares a name with a prior Fitness Instructor from 8805 Collectable Minifigures Series 5. Whereas the earlier instructor was primarily focused on dance, this character is more muscular and comes with a kettlebell, so must be a weight lifter.
This is another minifigure that could easily have been bland, but makes exemplary use of dual-moulded legs and features an elaborate arm tattoo, so exhibits as much detail as other figures. The aforementioned mountain symbol reappears on the Fitness Instructor's waistband and her tattoo looks magnificent, comprising LEGO flower and plume elements.
I think this would have been a suitable opportunity to produce another short female hairstyle because this one is used frequently, but the minifigure is otherwise superb. Furthermore, her accessories are faultless, between the Vita Rush bottle and the kettlebell. The weight appears remarkably realistic for its scale, comprising a black hand grip and a decorated Technic ball.
Last year we received the T. rex Costume Fan and this year brings the equivalent Triceratops Costume Fan. Unsurprisingly, these minifigures are similar in style and the decoration on their knees is actually identical, although the toes on this costume are more rounded. The printing on the arms is unique, however.
I like the dark brown highlights consistent between the arms and the back of the torso, but the headgear is the costume's most striking feature, as expected. Maybe there could be additional detail on the reverse, but this element looks marvellous from the front, capturing the Triceratops' distinctive horns, beak and neck frill. In addition, the decoration along the tail is effective.
Unfortunately, the Triceratops Costume Fan's double-sided head is pretty basic, just featuring different smiles. These designs look fine, but I wish there was more personality conveyed, like the Chilli Costume Fan released in 2022, for instance. Also, no accessories are supplied, which is a shame.
Harpies originate in Greek mythology and their depictions are unusually consistent between sources, as monstrous winged women! On that basis, this Harpy is readily recognisable and certainly conveys the evil associated with these characters, through a cruel smile and piercing yellow eyes.
The feathered details on the torso and arms are impressively complex and I like how dark blue and medium blue have been combined here, with pink and purple accents. Moreover, the pearl gold talons look fantastic and appear true to mythological harpies, particularly given the bird-like shape of the legs, which were actually created for the Faun Collectable Minifigure.
A trans-clear neck bracket supports the purple wings. They look brilliant from the front and the trans-clear bracket is subtle, although I think LEGO could develop a better means of attaching wings in the future. After all, many minifigures have wings nowadays, so producing a dedicated connection element could be worthwhile. Regardless, the Harpy looks appropriately vicious.
Collectable Minifigures have already dressed up as cars, planes and ships, so now trains join the range with the Train Kid. This costume is identical in style to the earlier transport-themed costumes, as the train component fits between the minifigure's torso and legs. I like the green colour choice and the contrasting red wheels are attractive, even though only the front and rear pair actually turn.
The smokebox door is decorated with metallic gold rings and the number 25, marking the new series. The additions of the funnel and a black 1x2 tile on the cab are also welcome, but I think one or two more details could have been brick-built, such as the buffers. Nevertheless, the train costume is beautifully detailed and the minifigure inside is dressed as the train driver.
I will forever associate blue overalls with LEGO train drivers, after the memorable minifigure in 7898 Cargo Train Deluxe, so I am pleased to see the trend continue here. The red neckerchief and medium blue hat look wonderful and this character features a patch over one eye, routinely used to treat lazy eye, which is a charming detail too.
Seemingly inspired by Conan the Barbarian, the Fierce Barbarian is probably the minifigure that has most exceeded my expectations in this series. After all, barbarians have appeared in other series, but this one includes a new dual-moulded hair element, which captures incredible texture and looks particularly intricate from the back, where the braid is visible.
Furthermore, the minifigure includes leather braces on both arms and the legs are remarkably detailed as well. The dual-moulded boots are effective and printing continues onto the sides of the legs, which is always welcome. There is a visible difference between the shade of yellow on the legs and elsewhere on the minifigure, admittedly, but even that is not hugely significant, as those areas of yellow on the legs are small.
One side of the head is adorned with war paint and a ferocious expression, while the other is closer to neutral, so both designs are useful. Also, the barbarian's accessory looks superb, as Izzie's dual-moulded blade from DREAMZzz is manufactured in pearl silver and pearl dark grey colours, so now appears more realistic, although still ornate.
I am surprised LEGO has not produced a Pet Groomer Collectable Minifigure before now, as this seems like an obvious character to make. The minifigure's apron is adorned with a golden paw print and matching accents along the bottom edge, which look lovely, but I think the back of the torso would have benefited from some creases or similar details.
The blonde hair element is by far the minifigure's most interesting feature, however, integrating a dual-moulded cochlear implant. An equivalent shorter hairstyle is available in a couple of new City and Friends sets and I am glad that LEGO continues to introduce more pieces representing people with disabilities. Even so, the hairband on this element should be highlighted in another colour.
Of course, the dog groomer would not be complete without a dog in need of her services and this Afghan Hound certainly fits the bill! The dog's famously long hair is beautiful and I like the dark bluish grey accents on its face and ears too. As usual, I would have preferred a Samoyed, but the Afghan Hound is indisputably stunning, even in LEGO form.
Overall
Several minifigures in 71045 Collectable Minifigures Series 25 are similar to designs produced before, which would normally be a cause for criticism. However, the designers have made sure to approach familiar subjects like the Fitness Instructor or the Fierce Barbarian from new angles, so these minifigures are more than simple updates to their precursors.
My favourites from the series include the Film Noir Detective and the Vampire Knight, which is probably a common opinion. There are no significant weaknesses across the range though, as even the bland Goatherd is accompanied by his much-anticipated goat! For that reason, I would consider this series among the best ever, although the cardboard packaging is unfortunate, of course.
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88 comments on this article
Great series. I thought personally, that the round white tile with the goatherd was goat cheese, coupled with his sniffing expression.
I own 6 of these so far and No duplicates nice collection, and 2 new animals..
I'd love a few more Goats tbh!
Someone with all the minifigs could weigh them (in grams to be precise). I guess the goat package would be the heaviest.
@CapnRex101, Thank you for this great review and set of pictures.
I’m very pleased that you mentioned the inelegant way the harpy’s wings are attached. It’s awful! It’s how I imagine a knock-off brand would do it. There should absolutely have been a purpose designed part to attach the wings. Yours is the only review I’ve seen that has highlighted this shortcoming. I hope you bring this to LEGO’s attention.
Incidentally, the 1x1 round tiles with the goatherd are wheels of goat cheese, I believe, not goat food.
The boxes mean Ive stopped collecting these. Not willing to pay crazy 3rd party prices.
I would not mind the blind boxes at all if I would be sure that no one else can somehow pick the interesting figures first. As there are already two reliable methods how to pick exactly what you want (weights, qr codes), I am forced to use them as well, otherwise I will end up with legions of the boring figures...
@Rabrickzel @miskox @kingalbino, The Bricksearch app allows you to identify which minifigure is in the box as long as it’s the larger data matrix code on the bottom of the box (it doesn’t work with the smaller data matrices).
@Rabrickzel said:
"Shame these are on boxes. Before you could at least feel for figure. I haven't bought any because of this. I'm only interested in vampire, mushroom and maybe barbarian."
There are apps available to scan the QR at the base of the box which tells you the contents. I’ve brought the whole set doing this and worked perfectly.
@Samdefisher said:
" @Rabrickzel said:
"Shame these are on boxes. Before you could at least feel for figure. I haven't bought any because of this. I'm only interested in vampire, mushroom and maybe barbarian."
The larger codes, yes! Sadly, the whole display at my only local store has mostly smaller ones…
There are apps available to scan the QR at the base of the box which tells you the contents. I’ve brought the whole set doing this and worked perfectly.
"
@Majkl said:
"I would not mind the blind boxes at all if I would be sure that no one else can somehow pick the interesting figures first. As there are already two reliable methods how to pick exactly what you want (weights, qr codes), I am forced to use them as well, otherwise I will end up with legions of the boring figures... "
There's one way to be sure: order them online, where other customers don't have physical access and thus can't use any method (and couldn't feel the bags before).
"Seemingly inspired by Conan the Barbarian, the Fierce Barbarian is probably the minifigure that has most exceeded my expectations in this series."
She looks more like Xena, The Warrior Princess to me, @CapnRex101 .
Also strange it isn't mentioned it's now possible to scan the dot matrix code underneath the boxes with the Bricksearch app to identify these figures easily. Worked for me, although most of the characters are also easy to identify by just slightly shaking the box. I could identify the goatherd and Vampire Knight by ear.
Seems like LEGO actually listened to the complaints about the Marvel blind boxes, but haven't officially announced these 'cheat codes'. If they keep this up, I'm sure no one'll be complaining about the boxes anymore. Well... There's always a few.
I ordered a box of 6 from Lego: no duplicates. I wanted 4 minifigs specifically - all those with animals: goatherd, mushroom sprite, film noir detective and pet groomer. I managed to get 3 of those - not bad, I'm happy (no use whatsoever for the other 3 minifigs). Now to find a goatherd or six!
(my box had the smaller data matrices so I could not test the app)
At my local Walmart, I saw a really dumb but effective solution to people breaking into the boxes: hanging them on a rack.
Seriously. They hung the CMF boxes on a wire rack and nobody has broken into them yet.
Still want bags to return though.
Also I kinda want one of the gamers because her torso could be used for a Black Falcon princess
My local independent Lego store actually marks what's inside each mystery box, at normal retail price. It's purely a show of good will to the customers, and it's the coolest thing.
I wouldn't have ever bought mystery boxes normally, but I gladly bought Mulan, Birdo, and Blooper with no guesswork.
@dbc said:
"Great series. I thought personally, that the round white tile with the goatherd was goat cheese, coupled with his sniffing expression. "
Goat cheese makes sense, although I interpreted it as a salt lick for the goat.
@AverageChimaEnjoyer said:
"At my local Walmart, I saw a really dumb but effective solution to people breaking into the boxes: hanging them on a rack.
Seriously. They hung the CMF boxes on a wire rack and nobody has broken into them yet.
Still want bags to return though.
Also I kinda want one of the gamers because her torso could be used for a Black Falcon princess"
Ever better than the return of the bag: blister pack or something similar. No need for touch and molesting a plastic bag for hours on end - you see directly what's inside.
There are every taste in the Lego community. I got a warrior. While the figure has impressive details and the sword is definitely something very nice, I have no use for this as this is not a theme I build. However, there are plenty of people that do and they build all sorts of very nice and complex sceneries with them - better in there hands than mine. By seeing what's inside, people would get what they want; eventually all the minifigs would have a taker and it would also let Lego know directly what works (well) and what does not (works but to a lesser extent).
I am vehemently against this blind buying thing but I have been exceptionally lucky lately - I got 15 of the 18 Disney 100 with no duplicates.
I will have to get one of these apps people are speaking of. I looked up codes for the last Marvel wave earlier this week, but only one of the codes on the four boxes I was looking at was listed.
The Harpy makes me think of 71032; I hope Lego continues with its own 'make your own Masters Of The Universe' line, or make an official 'inspired by' line.
Hopefully 71045 leads to some Matango inspired minifigures.
@ the Martin Mull minifigure from January 11;
No, Mr. Green. Communism is just a red herring. Like all members of the oldest profession, I'm a capitalist.
“Much like the Film Noir Detective and his predecessor…”
Did I miss something or is this a typo?
@Zander said:
" @CapnRex101, Thank you for this great review and set of pictures.
I’m very pleased that you mentioned the inelegant way the harpy’s wings are attached. It’s awful! It’s how I imagine a knock-off brand would do it. There should absolutely have been a purpose designed part to attach the wings. Yours is the only review I’ve seen that has highlighted this shortcoming. I hope you bring this to LEGO’s attention.
Incidentally, the 1x1 round tiles with the goatherd are wheels of goat cheese, I believe, not goat food."
Yeah, given how often we seem to get winged (or other such accessories) minifigs these days, a specialised neck-mounted bracket that can actually hold them seems like a no-brainer even if it’s just used for CMFs
@kingalbino said:
"The boxes mean Ive stopped collecting these. Not willing to pay crazy 3rd party prices."
Using a scale to weigh these in order to figure out which figure is inside worked pretty well for me. It was much faster than feeling for the figs. It wasn't perfect as I got 2 unwanted ones out of the 9 I purchased but it was better than blind grabs.
@LegoAthos said:
"“Much like the Film Noir Detective and his predecessor…”
Did I miss something or is this a typo?"
I think of the original Detective from series five as a predecessor to the Film Noir Detective.
Bat Lord was one of my very first minifigs, so this new version is a must-have. Other than the goat, the rest of the figures don't bring anything super exciting to the table for me.
Is there spare headphones with the gamer
Basil is a very welcome update and my personal favourite , and I am obviously elated at the sight of the goat - who does not disappoint - hopefully bursting the goat price bubble - I’m looking forward to new colours and prints of it in the future!
The nippers think I’m nipped though due to the level of excitement expressed by me at the unboxing of the goat herder. They can’t see what the fuss is about and prefer the sheep.
Hoping the Data Matrix Code-scanning app(s) works and rescues the annoyance and vandalism out on the shelves with TLG's poor-experience packaging strategy.
My favourites are: Noir detective, Goatherd (for the goat) and Vampire knight! \
but it's a shame they are in boxes now, so i won't be getting any of them because i don't want any of the other ones.
I gotta be honest, the only thing about this series that really excites me is the fish. I'm far more interested in S26 to follow, or S23 and S24 that preceded it.
@CapnRex101:
The Red Sonja minifig is clearly inspired by the film Red Sonja:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sonja_(1985_film)
@Zander:
The clear part has only ever been made in clear, and is likely color-locked. It beats the old solution, of adding a 1x2 plate to a regular neck-stud, and then adding the clip tiles, but not by much. A dedicated bracket with just two clips would certainly be appreciated, especially if they'd make it in colors that are appropriate to either the torso or wings. For now, at least clear is as neutral a color as you can get.
Non-nativly English speaking kids won't get the red herring. Good job, LEGO, very inclusive!
We have Basil the Batlord. We have Thunder Thunder. We have Rocket Racer (in Stuntz sets). We have Alpha Team leader Dash.
Is it too much to ask for Super Station Master from LEGO Loco / LEGO Island 2 to make his triumphant return to sets for the first time since 1998's set 2585 ?
...or how about The Brickster, Infomaniac, or Pepper Roni? When will they get their day in the sun once more?
@jkb said:
"Non-nativly English speaking kids won't get the red herring. Good job, LEGO, very inclusive!"
Wikipedia shows the phrase "red herring" or a literal translation being used in several languages
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_herring/languages
I don't speak all those language so I can't testify to the accuracy of the list but it is a common enough phrase used in literature, television etc that it is well understood by many people who speak English as a second language.
@Ridgeheart said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
"...or how about The Brickster, Infomaniac, or Pepper Roni? When will they get their day in the sun once more?"
https://brickset.com/minifigs/hs028/
First of August, 2019. In your defense, he was hidden in the Hidden Side."
hasthag 'notmypepperroni'
Not close enough - needs the hat from Russel from the UP set, but in white with red hair under the cap.
Yes, I'm picky.
My favorite is the noir detective and I bought it from bricklink because I love detective stories and the figures is incredible. I also got the goat for my Jurassic Park collection.
I really do not feel like getting any of these because of the boxes. Maybe the dog one but really, taking a fine scale with me is just too stupid for what is offered here.
Sprinter and Noir Detective are the most interesting for offering pieces originally planned for Indiana Jones Dial of Destiny Jürgen Vollers hat and the hair mold of either Teddy Kumar, Renaldo or both. But even then, 5$ or 4$ just to get the chance at getting the one single piece you want is not alright. Either Bricklinkers end up offering the separate parts for decent prices of under 1 buck each or it looks like nothing. The sprinter at least looks like it will shelfwarm judging by how nobody was hot for the sporting wheel chair.
@legoavenger14 said:
"I own 6 of these so far and No duplicates nice collection, and 2 new animals..
I'd love a few more Goats tbh! "
Actually 3 new animals :)
@Anonym said:
"I really do not feel like getting any of these because of the boxes. Maybe the dog one but really, taking a fine scale with me is just too stupid for what is offered here.
Sprinter and Noir Detective are the most interesting for offering pieces originally planned for Indiana Jones Dial of Destiny Jürgen Vollers hat and the hair mold of either Teddy Kumar, Renaldo or both. But even then, 5$ or 4$ just to get the chance at getting the one single piece you want is not alright. Either Bricklinkers end up offering the separate parts for decent prices of under 1 buck each or it looks like nothing. The sprinter at least looks like it will shelfwarm judging by how nobody was hot for the sporting wheel chair."
Sorry to disappoint, but there were no sets planned for Dial of Destiny. ...We would have heard about them if there were.
Actually I think the goatherd's white 1x1 round tile may be a chiflo (a type of whistle used for calling goats)
(but it also might not be)
If anyone has a bunch of spare goatherd minifigures without the goat, I'll be happy to them off your hands! Let me know
@beige2 said:
"Is there spare headphones with the gamer"
Yes
Nice to see Kanye west in lego form (the goat)
@AverageChimaEnjoyer said:
"At my local Walmart, I saw a really dumb but effective solution to people breaking into the boxes: hanging them on a rack.
Seriously. They hung the CMF boxes on a wire rack and nobody has broken into them yet."
That didn't stop people at mine! They left an opened Triceratops fan though so I purchased it. The other time they were in stock there was one single sealed box left to gamble with and now my goat from 10193 finally has a friend.
@Anonym said:
"The sprinter at least looks like it will shelfwarm judging by how nobody was hot for the sporting wheel chair."
There's one thing that would make the sprinter more enticing, and that's if they finally started handing out silver and bronze medals. S2 Judoku got a gold trophy fig. S3 Sumo Wrestler provided the bronze statue, and S4 Soccer Player filled in the gap with a silver one. It's understandable that they wouldn't have produced anything but gold for the nine Team GB minifigs, but it has appeared four more times with a CMF (and in one Friends set), and it's always gold. The problem is, the last two instances have been para-athletes, and I don't think the reaction would be favorable if those were the first instances of medals below gold being issued.
As it is, the torso could be given new arms to make a winter outfit. At the moment, the only minifig I own that would work for Winter Olympics is the S2 Skier. Since we more frequently do shows that fall within the span of the Winter Olympics than the Summer Olympics, I may pick this one up just for the bib torso.
You did not mentioned that card boxes have bar code to scan and can be seen what minifig is in?!!
I always thought the Barbarian fig was mix of Red Sonja (the hair) and Valeria (face paint and head band - as a thief in Conan the Barbarian), with a bit of regular Conan styling thrown in (torso).
@miskox said:
"Someone with all the minifigs could weigh them (in grams to be precise). I guess the goat package would be the heaviest."
This has already been done, I have tested it at the store with a very precise scale, and the results are close to useless. There is too much variation in the packaging (glue, paper fiber density?) to identify most of the figures. Most of the series has similar weights, and they are within the margin of error for the glue variation.
As a result, I only purchased one figure out of this series. From the environmental manta "reduce, reuse, recycle," Lego is focusing on the "recycle," but they've gotten "reduce" from me. It's fortunate that I found this series lackluster. Contrary to the reviewer, I thought the goatherd was the best in the series. Generic medieval peasants are rare, and goats are great. I'd like to get the dog groomer too, but not enough to gamble. Too many of these figures are farfetched or gimmicky.
I'm particularly baffled by the film noir detective. Black and white is a technology. It was never intended to depict reality. Making the figure itself B&W means it has almost no use other than as a cutesy display piece. Then making the herring red ruins even the artistic effect.
Several of the other figures are cute gimmicks and I would have gotten a few, but without a guarantee of getting the right figure, forget it. I'll guess I'll see if the data matrix codes show up locally and remain reliable.
I like how the Barbarian has the same symbol on the belt as Gravis, master of gravity, from Ninjago!
I wonder if they will go into it in the show or just have this reference.
@AllenSmith said:
"I'm particularly baffled by the film noir detective. Black and white is a technology. It was never intended to depict reality. Making the figure itself B&W means it has almost no use other than as a cutesy display piece. Then making the herring red ruins even the artistic effect."
Have you never watched Schindler's List or Sin City? B/W used to be a technological limitation, but has since been adopted as an art form. Both film and photography continue to be produced in B/W, decades after color technology became commonplace. In fact, these days, purpose-made B/W film may be more expensive than equivalent color film.
Breaking the format has also been adopted as an artistic choice, to draw the viewers' attention to something specific without having the characters react to it abnormally. Red appears to be a favored color, because it pops so incredibly well against a B/W image.
So far, I've tested scanning data matrices on 19 boxes and each of the contents has complied with the scan result.
@beige2 said:
"Is there spare headphones with the gamer"
Yes, there are 2 pieces of those lovely lime green headphones in the box, as well as 2 mouses :)
Quite a nice series and I'm back to picking up one of each now that we can tell what is inside. Yes, you can by the dot matrix code. But be careful, there are smaller dot matrix codes much like the last series and that won't work. Need the larger code. The Bricksearch app works great, but as I found, not perfectly. I went to 4 Walmarts yesterday. All had boxes. Only 1 store was fairly picked over. Majority of the boxes were small codes but some where the large. Bricksearch app had trouble scanning a couple boxes. So I used a QR code reader and then just used the first barcode to determine the contents. Works perfectly. But it was clear someone had been to all the stores before me. Only 1 store had a Fright Night. Couldn't find the Goatherd nor Fitness instructor so will be on the search for those.
It's a good series, but not on the top 5 of the CMF series! I will get 3 complete series, but I will not get any minifigure more than those 3 times.
Sometimes, I bought more than 4 times the same minifigures...sometimes, more than 10 times!!
Mushroom sprite + some modifications = Toad minifigure! (LEGO, please give us Mario minifigs!)
Just need to swap out the head of Noir detective and I have a perfectly accurate Spider-verse Spider-man Noir minifig! That's the only reason I see myself getting him, but it's a good reason!
@AllenSmith said:
" @miskox said:
"Someone with all the minifigs could weigh them (in grams to be precise). I guess the goat package would be the heaviest."
This has already been done, I have tested it at the store with a very precise scale, and the results are close to useless. There is too much variation in the packaging (glue, paper fiber density?) to identify most of the figures. Most of the series has similar weights, and they are within the margin of error for the glue variation. "
The actual weights can indeed vary a bit but they are far from useless. While they are not exact, they are close enough to definitively identify quite a few and approximate the others. And for my purposes, the heavier ones were the most distinct and ones I was most chasing. I don’t love the series but will be honest in that hunting has been different and fun this go around.
@EvilTwin said:
" @jkb said:
"Non-nativly English speaking kids won't get the red herring. Good job, LEGO, very inclusive!"
Wikipedia shows the phrase "red herring" or a literal translation being used in several languages
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_herring/languages
I don't speak all those language so I can't testify to the accuracy of the list but it is a common enough phrase used in literature, television etc that it is well understood by many people who speak English as a second language.
"
These aren't all direct translations and you can't assume that a) kids grow up with second language from day 1 and b) foreign idoms are taught at all. Especially English has many.
@yellowcastle said:
" @AllenSmith said:
" @miskox said:
"Someone with all the minifigs could weigh them (in grams to be precise). I guess the goat package would be the heaviest."
This has already been done, I have tested it at the store with a very precise scale, and the results are close to useless. There is too much variation in the packaging (glue, paper fiber density?) to identify most of the figures. Most of the series has similar weights, and they are within the margin of error for the glue variation. "
The actual weights can indeed vary a bit but they are far from useless. While they are not exact, they are close enough to definitively identify quite a few and approximate the others. And for my purposes, the heavier ones were the most distinct and ones I was most chasing. I don’t love the series but will be honest in that hunting has been different and fun this go around."
The train guy is unambiguous. The goatherd is pretty likely. The rest, no. They're all too close to other figures to be sure. I saw a lot of variation in the boxes I weighed: plenty of readings that didn't match any of the published weights, and were off by enough that the margin of error could have made them multiple other figures, depending on if it was plus or minus.
@purpledave said:
"Have you never watched Schindler's List or Sin City? B/W used to be a technological limitation, but has since been adopted as an art form."
How about something that's in the time period of movies I usually watch (pre-1960)? The Wizard of Oz used the effect well. So yeah, given that I strongly prefer movies made during the B&W era, I've watched far, far more B&W footage than the random guy on the street, and yes, I know it's an art form, beautiful when it was of necessity, and still beautiful today.
That doesn't change my assessment of the detective guy. The hardboiled detective archetype is not solely the domain of film—The Maltese Falcon was a book before it was a glorious Bogart film, for goodness' sake. And it's associated heavily with B&W because that was the film technology available during the archetype's heyday, and people only remember film. But please don't forget that hardboiled detectives were just as popular on the *other* mass entertainment medium of the period, perhaps the most wonderful of them all: radio. Philip Marlowe, Johnny Dollar, Richard Diamond, even Sam Spade were radio heroes. And they are the ideal vehicles for a literal interpretation as a Lego CMF: they box would be empty, because radio characters are invisible! Imagine all the money Lego could make!
Black-and-white MOCs are very rare. B&W minifigures just don't make sense. I want minifigures that are actually usable in general builds.
And if it were a real B&W movie, the herring would be dark gray.
Did the goat mould cost so much they couldn't afford the extra 2 letters for goatherder
We weighed 6 empty boxes today and they varied in a range of 0.45g. This makes the weighing method useless for most of the figures. It works fine for Train Boy and a couple of others, but we ended up with 3 Harpys using online masses and we were trying to avoid getting any Harpys at all! Looks like we'll have to find some big codes or get nothing else. Lego need to put the big codes on everything as a minimum. Several of the boxes had been ripped open.
@ozbrickcreator said:
"Just need to swap out the head of Noir detective and I have a perfectly accurate Spider-verse Spider-man Noir minifig! That's the only reason I see myself getting him, but it's a good reason!"
That’s exactly what I did! I also swapped the hands for black ones and replaced the magnifying glass and red herring with a revolver.
@Capybara554321 said:
"Did the goat mould cost so much they couldn't afford the extra 2 letters for goatherder "
The word for someone who farms goats is goatherd, not goatherder. Similarly, someone who tends sheep is a shepherd, not a sheepherder.
@AllenSmith:
Wizard of Oz only did it that way because it shaved a significant amount off their budget if they shot the Kansas scenes in B/W. These days it would be more believable as an artistic choice to shoot them that way. Back then, it was the artistic choice to shoot the Oz scenes in color. Or rather, it was the commercial choice to throw significant amount of money at the flashy new color film technology. Even into the 60's, I wouldn't be surprised if some films and shows were produced in B/W for budgetary reasons more than artistic ones.
The reason I cited the two films I did, though, was not because of their use of B/W, but because of their pointed use of color in an otherwise B/W film. Schindler's List is entirely in B/W, except one young girl wearing a red dress. You see her twice in the film, and the red dress is there to make sure you realize you're seeing her again the second time. In the case of Sin City, I'm sure it's less an artistic choice from the director, and more that this was done in the original graphic novels. However, key elements are depicted in color, originally, I would assume, making it easier for the reader to keep track of key characters.
The Spirit is another film that was mostly B/W with traces of color here and there for effect. Here, I'm less certain about the purpose, since the comic strips it was based on were full color, but it is a distinctive look that Frank Miller has become strongly associated with.
The minifig works as it is. I've not made a MOC to go with them, but I do have B/W versions of Batman and Joker built. This CMF works only because the minifig is B/W and the fish is red. Any changes, and it wouldn't get the point across as efficiently. There are enough unrealistic things across a wide range of LEGO themes that I don't see people having any problems putting this one on layouts exactly as he appears. However, the only thing you'd need to change is the head if you want something that fits in better. You could even swap out the hands for something with a bit of color.
Vampire Knight is already a contender for best minifig of 2024.
I already picked up my favorite, the vampire knight! I don't think I'll pick up any others since I am only interested in elements of others such as the sword of the barbarian warrior. That being said, I do think that Series 25 has been a fairly strong showing.
Personally, the barbarian woman reminds me of Red Sonja from Conan the Barbarian film. I know she wasn't mentioned by name but I thought if her right away.
I've seen film noir and the detectives usually don't look like that.
When I first saw the images of this series, I thought they were doing a Peter Sellers "Pink Panther" Inspector Clouseau minifig. I mean, look at that hat! And Clouseau always wore a trenchcoat.
@Zander said:
"The Bricksearch app allows you to identify which minifigure is in the box as long as it’s the larger data matrix code on the bottom of the box (it doesn’t work with the smaller data matrices)."
I was going to mention that someone found out how to scan the QR/Datamatrix's on the bottome of the boxes now, and its 100% accurate.
Having used both weighing and the scanning method on figures in this series, scanning them its way quicker and easier then having to worry about weight variance etc to hope you get the figures you want.
Luckily if you don't want to use the app, you can find the full list of codes on Brickfanatics with a explaination of how it works. I finally found the Detective using the scans!
As for the Barbarian, as many have said, she's forever going to be Red Sonja to me, and is clearly inspired by that movie and other Sword and Sorcery films.
@CapnRex101 said:
"The traditional clothing is relatively detailed and I like the earthy colour scheme, but the hood looks odd without an accompanying cape, in my opinion."
How can he wear a cape with that satchel?
Trike guy and Barbarian.
I went random pick and got the Vampire Knight - which itself is a nice companion piece to 71025-3
Plus there was an opened Pet Groomer which someone discarded, so I grabbed that too - which also goes nicely with 71025-9 - also from series 19
The goat herder has some goat's cheese, am I the only one thinking that?
Between my kids and myself, we have 8 out of 12 of this series, and I have to say that they all look great so far!
The Vampire Knight is my favorite so far--I never owned the original Bat Lord from the 90s, but I definitely wanted it when I was a kid.
I'll probably get the remaining 4 figures on BrickLink eventually.
To me, the Barbarian is Herrena the Henna-Haired Harridan from Pratchett's the Light Fantastic. Finally, a Discworld minifig.
My favorites are the Goat herd, the Dog groomer and the Mushroom girl.
The others don't interest me.
I'm really happy about the new system with boxes and a clear way to determine what's inside.
The fear in the Afghans eyes.
@oldtodd33 said:
"Personally, the barbarian woman reminds me of Red Sonja from Conan the Barbarian film. I know she wasn't mentioned by name but I thought if her right away. "
Red Sonja is not in any of the Conan films. The comics they hail from share continuity, and Arnold co-starred in the Red Sonja film, but he played a different character in that one. Everyone knew Arnold from Conan, though, so it was an easy mistake when you see him playing such a similar character.
@dudebrick said:
" The other time they were in stock there was one single sealed box left to gamble with and now my goat from 10193 finally has a friend."
10193 doesn't have a goat as far as I know. Or am I missing something here?
@beige2 said:
"Is there spare headphones with the gamer"
Yes, there are.
@Galactus said:
" @dudebrick said:
" The other time they were in stock there was one single sealed box left to gamble with and now my goat from 10193 finally has a friend."
10193 doesn't have a goat as far as I know. Or am I missing something here?"
Oops, it does not! It is from 7189. Mine likes to wander though.
You don't even need an app to scan the data matrix code on the boxes now. The guy that runs the Brick World Youtube channel made a website called https://figscanner.com that you open on your phone browser, tap the blue "Start Scanning" button, grant access for your browser to use your camera, and scan away. Still only works on the "larger" QR codes but it has worked for me when I've been able to find them in stores. Still don't have all the figs I want but they regularly get restocked.
I'm really happy LEGO started using codes again for people to identify what's inside. So far, I haven't found any opened series 25 CMF, but I always found Marvel and Super Mario boxes opened at every store.
@PurpleDave said:
" @AllenSmith said:
"I'm particularly baffled by the film noir detective. Black and white is a technology. It was never intended to depict reality. Making the figure itself B&W means it has almost no use other than as a cutesy display piece. Then making the herring red ruins even the artistic effect."
Have you never watched Schindler's List or Sin City? B/W used to be a technological limitation, but has since been adopted as an art form. Both film and photography continue to be produced in B/W, decades after color technology became commonplace. In fact, these days, purpose-made B/W film may be more expensive than equivalent color film.
Breaking the format has also been adopted as an artistic choice, to draw the viewers' attention to something specific without having the characters react to it abnormally. Red appears to be a favored color, because it pops so incredibly well against a B/W image."
He is not black and white detective. He is film noir detective. I don't watch movies so cannot teach about the genera but is completely different from black and white
@DeClerico:
Film Noir is usually, but not always, filmed in B/W. I haven’t been able to watch the series premiere of Monsieur Spade, but that could be a rare exception of a full-color Film Noir series. And since there aren’t many detective movies from the B/W era that aren’t also Film Noir, producing this minifig in B/W is almost certainly meant to evoke images of the Film Noir genre.
My personal favorites are the Vampire Knight, Harpy, and Barbarian.
@PurpleDave said:
" @oldtodd33 said:
"Personally, the barbarian woman reminds me of Red Sonja from Conan the Barbarian film. I know she wasn't mentioned by name but I thought if her right away. "
Red Sonja is not in any of the Conan films. The comics they hail from share continuity, and Arnold co-starred in the Red Sonja film, but he played a different character in that one. Everyone knew Arnold from Conan, though, so it was an easy mistake when you see him playing such a similar character."
Yeah, I never really paid attention to them. Seeing Arnold in the film I assumed it was Conan but I don't own the movies either so I have no chance to read the liner notes, if they still do that these days.
Funny side story to the goats. I've been cleaning up my collection lately. I'm selling sets from series I no longer wish to keep. I found my stash of Knights Kingdom sets and I found two sealed 7189 boxes along with the others I had forgotten about.
I'm actually rather surprised that the goatherd only seems to be appreciated for the goats included - I think the body and the legs are both fantastic for any number of village-based Castle MOCs, and have a good amount of character without being so unique that they stand out too much.
Besides that, I actually quite like the new helmet for Basil. It's less true to the original, but looks a lot more natural as a helmet, with the wings "flowing" instead of just jutting out. I'm really waiting for someone to make a redesigned version of his car from the old Lego Racers game, since I'd imagine that's his most well-known appearance for a lot of fans.
I hate how they do them in boxes instead of paper bags...
Thanks for the review :) I disagree strongly though. To me the stand out is Goatherd because I like medieval builds and are into viking sets at the moment (and of course i like the goat). btw I was sure the little white bick was a goat cheese. Not goat food! I also like the barbarian and the dog. those are the 3 winners for me in this series!
@Ridgeheart said:
"As far as I'm concerned, the real GOAT is ol' Basil there, who will instantly get a position of glory and power in a slightly-reworked 9468 . Welcome back, Basil. We've kept your throne... well, cold, I suppose. I even got you a couple of ghostly guards from CMF19!
I was slightly worried that the Barbarian had a terrifying lady-mullet. I'm glad to see that that isn't the case - I've really warmed up to her! She's pretty great.
The Detective, I maintain, is a dead man trying to solve his own grisly murder. He too, will be allowed to look for clues and possibly companionship with his fellow undead in the Monster Fighters-buildings. Don't @ me.
The rest, I dunno, they're okay at best and okay at worst. I like the Harpy, but not her colour-scheme. I'd love the trainer a lot better if it weren't for her feeble printing.
Selling the damned goats. Bidding starts at 100 Euros each. NOW you can @ me."
It's NOT a 'damned goat', mate.
https://www.tiktok.com/ @ivyandsophiesmith/video/6964631569495608577?lang=en
I don’t understand why all the fuss about box packaging. I noticed underneath each box (below the QR code) was a unique number (240s3 for example), I picked out all the boxes with a different number and presto, I managed to get all 12 characters.
As a caution however I noted that the full box of 36 I went through, only had 1 of the Sprinter and 5 of both the Detective and the Train Kid.
@Rabrickzel said:
"Shame these are on boxes. Before you could at least feel for figure. I haven't bought any because of this. I'm only interested in vampire, mushroom and maybe barbarian."
Prob already mentioned but the larger QR codes make them identifiable without opening. The ones with smaller QR codes are unfortunately useless.