Lego Minifigures (theme)

Details

The series consists of a number of individually themed collectible Lego minifigures based on movies, sports, history, and popular culture. The figures are sold individually in sealed, unmarked packages, giving customers a random chance at obtaining any particular figurine. While considered a novel approach by some, it has raised controversy amongst enthusiasts and collectors, increasing the amount of difficulty in obtaining a complete collection. Purchases from many retailers make no guarantees regarding the contents of a particular package. Despite attempts to obfuscate the contents of these packages, the bags of Series 1 and 2 have a second figurine-specific bar code on the rear of the packaging, next to the EAN/UPC product bar code (which is unique to each series). This has allowed customers to identify individual figures within the packaging, significantly decreasing the amount of money and effort required to obtain a complete collection, and eliminates the possibility of unintentionally receiving duplicates. There are also apps for both iPhone and Android devices that utilize these bar codes.

Lego has eliminated the figurine-specific bar codes on all Series 3 and 4 packages and replaced them with a braille-like system of dots embossed in the lower seal of the bag. In theory, this will allow customers to continue identifying the figure enclosed within. Later series do not have any markings to indicate their contents.

On average a new series has been released every four months. Release dates sometimes vary between countries.

Series 1

Series 1 (set number: 8683) was first released on March 5, 2010 in the United Kingdom and was released on June 4, 2010 in the United States. The first series consists the following units:

Series 2

Series 2 (set number: 8684) was first released on September 2, 2010 in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The second series consists of the following units:

Series 3

Series 3 (set number: 8803) was first released on January 14, 2011 in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The third series consists of the following units:

Series 4

Series 4 (set number: 8804) was first released on April 1, 2011 all around the world. The fourth series consists of the following units:

Series 5

Series 5 (set number: 8805) was first released on August 22, 2011 in the United Kingdom and the United States. The fifth series consists of the following units:

Series 6

Series 6 (set number: 8827) was released in the UK in December 2011 and was released on January 9, 2012 in the US. The sixth series consists of the following units:

Series 7

Series 7 (set number: 8831) was released in the spring of 2012. The seventh series consists of the following units:

Series 8

Series 8 (set number: 8833) was released in September, 2012. This series consists of the following units:

Team GB Olympic Series

To commemorate the London Olympic games, an exclusive series of minifigures was released exclusively in the United Kingdom to mark the opening of the Olympics.
This series (set number: 8909) was released in July, 2012. This series consists of the following 9 units (rather than the typical 16):

Series 9

Series 9 (set number: 71000) was released in late October 2012 in the UK and January 2013 in the US. This series consists of the following units:

Series 10

Series 10 (set number: 71001) was released in the UK on February 6, 2013 & in the US on May 1, 2013. This series introduces 17 figures one being a limited Gold Figure of only 5000 worldwide. This series consists of the following units:

Character Encyclopedia

There is also an exclusive Minifigure that comes with the Lego Minifigures Character Encyclopedia:

Series 11

Series 11 (set number: 71002) was released in the UK on June 30, 2013 and the US on September 1, 2013. This series consists of the following units:

The LEGO Movie Series

The LEGO Movie Series (set number: 71004) was released in January 2014 and includes characters from The LEGO Movie. This series consists of the following units:

The LEGO Simpsons Series

The LEGO Simpsons Series (set number: 71005) was released in May 2014 and includes characters from The Simpsons. This series consists of the following units:

Series 12

Series 12 (set number: 71007) was released in mid-August in the UK and September 2014 in the USA. This series consists of the following units:

Series 13

Series 13 (set number: 71008) was released in the UK in early December 2014 and the US around Christmas 2014.

The Lego Simpsons Series 2

The LEGO Simpsons Series 2 (set number: 71009) was released in the UK & the US in April 2015 and includes characters from The Simpsons and is a continuation to the LEGO Simpsons series 1.

Series 14

Series 14 (set number: 71010) was released in early August 2015 for the UK and mid-August for the USA. This series has a Halloween theme. This series consists of the following units:

Series 15

Series 15 (set number: 71011) was released in the UK on December 5, 2015 and in the US on February 1, 2016. The figures is this series consists of:

The LEGO Disney Minifigure Series

The LEGO Disney Minifigure Series (set number: 71012) was released 1 May 2016. The figures is this series consists of:

DFB Series

The DFB German Football Team Series (set number: 71014) was released in May 2016 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as LEGO stores across Europe. The figures in this series consists of:

Series 16

Series 16 (set number: 71013) was released on 1 September 2016 all around the world. The figures in this series are:

The LEGO Batman Movie Series

The LEGO Batman Movie Minifigure Series (set number:71017) was released on 1 January 2017. It consists of 20 characters instead of the usual 16 (with the exception of 18 for the Disney Series):

LEGO Minifigures Online

On August 29, 2013, Funcom officially announced an massively multiplayer online game based on the Minifigures theme, in which there are several worlds the player can travel to and fight enemies, as well as dungeons based on the setting. The game uses traditional click-to-move mechanics, allowing younger users to jump into the action. However, for advanced users, there are special abilities activated using the number pad. It is going to be free-to-play, but you can unlock Minifigures by purchasing one and entering a code, however they can also be obtained in-game. It was released in late 2014 for iOS, Android, and PC as either a download client or in-browser on the LEGO website.

Funcom announced that LEGO Minifigures Online will be closing on September 30, 2016. Starting June 6, 2016, new players will be unable to join the game and the in-game chat will be disabled. Existing players will still be able to play up until September 30, 2016.