Lego Firsts - Minifigures
There have been plenty of Lego firsts over the years, but none more popular than the humble Minifigure. Since 1974, the Minifigure has been a key piece of most Lego sets, as well as an important icon of the Lego world by collectors of all ages, for generations. But whilst the variety is expanding, there will always be firsts...
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In this post, you'll discover some amazing "first" facts about the humble Mini figure. They are not all listed here, but there's enough to get you started.
This post is meant as informative with some fun facts, however, if you see anything that you feel needs correcting or updating, please feel free to leave a comment.
1974 - Set 200. Lego Maxi figure Family
Lego Maxi figure Family - Set 200
This Lego Maxi figure family were introduced as the first form of Lego figures but not as we know it. Whilst the heads, arms and hair pieces were individually designed, the bodies and legs were made from normal Lego bricks.
This Lego Maxi figure Family was first introduced in Lego set number 200 and at the time, would have set you back a whooping £1.45! If you're lucky enough to own a sealed set today, your ROI would only be between £80-£85, whilst a second hand set could cost around £11 (Source: brickeconomy.com).
1975 - A Glance at What's to Come.
This was the year that showed the first signs of the Minifigure as we know it today.
It was made up of four components: the bottom half, the torso, the head and head gear.
In comparison to today's Minifigures, whilst the torso was bigger, the neck was a lot shorter.
First Lego Minifigure Design - 1975
There were no arms, hands or legs, and although the early figures from 1974 (family set 200) had smiles and eyes on them, there were also no expressions on the faces.
1978 - The Lego Minifigure as we Know it.
Police Officer - Lego Set 600-2
The first official set credited with having the first official Lego Minifigure is Lego set 600-2. It's a police officer with the smallest police car you'll ever see. The Minifigure is the first to have moving arms and legs.
However, the torso is not printed on like the modern day Minifigures, instead, the earlier Minifigures had stickers on.
This set is highly sought after by collectors because whilst this set would have cost you £2.76 back in the day, a sealed boxed set in mint condition could set you back as much as £1500 today (Source: brickeconomy.com).
1979 - A Hat to be Proud of.
1979 Saw the introduction of the first chef hat. It made its appearance in the Lego Set 675 - Snack Bar.
This classic design was modelled on the traditional chef hat (a Toque) and made an appearance in eight other Lego sets before having a make over and an update to bring the design in line with trends in the hospitality trade.
The other eight sets are 7740-1 (1980), 1064-1 (1981), 6302-1 (1982), 7824-1 (1983), 1063-1 (1985), 7745-1 (1985), 4554-1 (1991), 9361-1 (1991).
Chef's with this style of hat first made an appearance in the Lego Set Snack Bar - 675.
1980 - Hats are just top of the class.
The first top hat was introduced in set 1592-1 and as you can expect, Lego went about it in a big way.
There were not one, not two, but three Minifigures with top hats in this set. One was a Chef (unique), one was a Legoland Figure Top Hat (unique) and the final one was a patron (again, unique to this set).
1997 - What are you laughing at?
Willa the Witch is credited with having the first open mouth. As you can see, it is somewhat different to the standard black, single line that mini figures came with up until that point.
Willa the Witch appeared in three sets (2872 - Witch and Fireplace, 9376 - Castle Set and 6031 - Fright Force) across two different Lego themes: Castle & Dacta.
In todays market(2024) a Willa the Witch mini figure will set you back anywhere between £5-£8.
Willa The Witch Lego Mini Figure. Set 2872 - Witch and Fireplace.
2001 - 2002 - Changes to the head.
In 2001, Lego introduced the first reversible head. The mini figure that carries the credit for this is Professor Quirinus Quirrell hp011 and appears in the Harry Potter set number 4702 - The Final Challenge.
Whilst it's a first, it shouldn't cost more than £10 in a used condition.
Professor Quirinus Quirrell Lego Mini Figure hp011 - 4702 The Final Challenge
2002 saw the first realistic skin tones.
A year later, Lego decided to change the skin tone. This was to make them more realistic and reflect the actors that played parts in movies that the mini figures were based on.
Look at the left and right mini figures and compare them to the mini figure in the middle, that has the more traditional yellow head.
2003 - NBA Basketball Mini Figures.
Lego Basketball Mini Figure Pau Gasol 3529-1
Basketball Mini Figures first made an appearance in the UK in 2003. They were the first (and only?) mini figures to have springs in their legs.
There was a total of fifty-six mini figures within the basketball theme, six of them being "street players", whilst the other fifty were NBA players.
Some came in sets (a total of twenty-six) and the others were given away in free promotional poly bags. One even came within a clock (Lego Basketball Clock).
The most valuable Basketball NBA Lego mini figure is 3500 Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers #8 (home uniform).
He appeared in two sets: The first was a free promotional poly bag 3500-1, and the second was 3563-1 NBA Collectors #4. Both sets were released in 2003.
The poly bag is sought after by collectors because even though it was a freebie, it's worth about £233 (sealed) in todays market (2024). If you were to find a sealed set 3563-1, you would expect to fork out about £65. If you were to find this mini figure loose, you shouldn't be paying more than £36. (Source: brickeconomy.com).
Lego Mini Figure Blind Bags.
Lego first released the mini figure blind bag on the 10th of May 2010. Since then, there have been forty-seven different waves, comprising of no less than a total of eight hundred and fifty mini figures (2010-2024).
Themes include Disney, Marvel, mini figure series 1-26, The Simpsons, DC super heroes, The Muppets, Team GB, various Lego Movie themes, wizarding world, Looney Tunes and Harry Potter to name a few.
Lego Mini Figure Series 1
Marvel Minifigure Series 1
Lego Disney Minifigure Series 1
2009 - The Introduction of the Micro Figure.
Lava Dragon Knight Red Lego Microfigure - 3838 Lava Dragon
The micro figure was introduced in the first wave of Lego games, back in 2009. In that first year, a total of ten sets were released but not all had micro figures in them.
Lego games ran from 2009 and went on until 2013. There were forty-five sets in all, some licenced, some themed (Heroica), some add on packs and others were promotional free gifts. There were a total of 138 micro figures across all of the sets.
2016 - Two Lego Mini Figure Firsts in the Same Set.
In May 2016, Lego brought out a set that had two mini figure first in it. Set 60134 - Fun in the Park City People Pack, contained fifteen mini figures. Amongst these was a baby in a stroller.
This set also contained the first Lego wheelchair user. It was of a young boy with his pet dog.
At the time, this set would have cost you £34.99 and retired in November 2017.
Jay Walker from the Lego Ninjago Lego movie was the first to appear with a selfie stick.
2017 - A Sign of the Times.
Who would have thought it, a Lego mini figure with a selfie stick?
Well, that's exactly what appeared in the 2017 "The Lego Ninjago Movie" blind bags. To my knowledge, this is the first and only (MOC's not included) mini figure to carry a selfie stick.
The Lego Ninjago blind bags came out in August 2017 to run alongside the release of the movie in September of the same year and retired in January 2018.
Acknowledgments & Disclaimers...
Acknowledgements...
The photos used on this page are either from the public domain, Snappa.com, Amazon (as part of the Amazon affiliate programme) or are my own.
Disclaimer...
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Research...
Information and research for the content of this page has come from the following sites. All information is correct at the time of publishing but if you feel something is not right or needs updating, please feel free to contact us.
1) Bricklink.com
2) Brickeconomy.com
3) eBay.co.uk
4) Photo Room (APP)
Investments...
Products are only worth what one is willing to pay or sell for. Prices and annual growth are estimated and based on year by year performance by the experts over on brickeconomy.com. Values can go down as well as up. It goes without saying that we are not qualified investment advisors so please seek from advise from an independent advisor if you want to go down the route of long term investments.
Minifigures...
Whilst some of the Minifigures are described as "unique", the character's may appear in other sets. For example, Lord Garmadon is described as being in two sets yet we know he is in many. However, as you know, each Minifigure is made up of components (head gear, hair piece, face, armour, torso, arms, hands, legs and weapons) and it is the design on each individual piece of component, and not the character's name, that makes a Minifigure unique. This is something that's considered important when buying "rare" or expensive Minifigures.
Leave a Comment...
Research for this post has been long and thorough, and whilst every effort has been taken to ensure the details are correct, some may not be. If you read something that's not quite right, please feel free to leave your comment below and I'll be happy to make adjustments accordingly.
Do you know a mini figure "first" fact? If so, leave your comment and it could feature in a future post.
