"Best in Show" LEGO Minifigures

It's time to fill the holes in your LEGO Minifigures collection!  Listen up collectors and gift givers alike!

In honor of the 9th installment of LEGO Minifigures hitting the shelves, Past Generation Toys is releasing all our back stocked inventory!  Meaning, all LEGO Minifigures, Series 2 through 8, will be available to buy while supplies last.  That's over 100 different figures!   With this flood of figures pouring out of our gates it can be a bit overwhelming.  Luckily, and because no one asked for it, here is my top 3 picks for Series 2-8.  The figures will be reeased over the next two weeks.  Series 2 and 9 are already available on the Past Generation Toys website.

Now to the favorites from each series...

Series 2:

3)  Disco Guy - You have to love the creativity here.

2)  Dracula - Cape AND bat accessory, good stuff.

1) - Spartan Soldier - From the tip of his helmet to the detail in his sandals, this Minifigure earns his top seat for Series 2.  (After you buy one you just need 299 more.)

Series 3:

3) Gorilla - I love that removing his mask reveals a somewhat disheveled, sweaty minifigure.

2) Rapper - a gold microphone sealed his spot in the top 3.

1) Elf - If it weren't for his Jaundice tint, this guy could easily slip right into the LOTR and Hobbit LEGO sets.

 Series 4:

3) Hockey Guy - Even with the football helmet and inability to hold a hockey stick correctly, this figure is still one of my favorites.

2) The Monster - Two words:  Forehead accessory.

1) Hazmat Guy - Hands down the best figure of this group even with the missed opportunity of an additional face.

Series 5:

Honorable Mention: Gangster - Too bad they don't have a Tommy gun accessory, but the violin case gets the point across.

3) Boxer - Simple and works perfectly.  Any LEGO Minifigure with a the option of a black eye deserves to be on some list somewhere.

2) Lizard Guy - I'm just such a fan of Godzilla I couldn't keep him out of the top 3.  I saw an online picture where some guy put an all black head piece under the mask.  Then, he built a little LEGO city full of buildings for this guy to trounce. 

1) Gladiator - The helmet design is what sold this figure.  Now we just need another variation to have them fight.

Series 6:

Honorable Mention:  Roman Soldier - He's another army builder and a crowd favorite, so says Caeser.

3) Surgeon -  Another face would have been nice.  Is that a syringe or one of those outlawed lawn darts?

2) Robot - Love that wind-up piece.  Finally, the LEGO claw hands make sense on a figure!

1) Sleepy Head - Not only do you get a Teddy bear accessory, two faces (sleepy and asleep), but this minifigure comes with his own "bed head" hairdo.

Series 7:

3) Computer Tech - Nothing special about this guy, but that emoticon mug is pure genius.

2) Daredevil - Not a big seller, but still, I love his design.  He's more 1 part Elvis and 2 parts Evil Kinevel. 

1) Galaxy Patrol - I never wanted Minifigures to have knee and shoulder joints so badly.

Series 8:

3) Conquistador - This guy is as good as the Musketeer from Series 6.

2) DJ - Do kids even know what that black disk the DJ is holding?   Kids, ask your parents.

1) Deep Sea Diver - Should have given him a small treasure chest instead of the harpoon gun.

Series 9:

Honorable Mention:  Battle Mech - They just need to release 4 other colors of this guy to form Voltron.

3) Heroic Knight - Hope this guy doesn't meet the Evil Knight from Series 7.

2) Alien Avenger - Galaxy Patrol guy has his work cut out for him.

1) Cyclops - Did you know this guy comes with two faces?  Well, he has an open eye and and angry eye on the back of his head.  With two eyes is he really a Cyclops any more? 

Again, you can buy these figures from the Past Generation Toys website right now!

 

As the Series number increases, it seems the superstars shine less bright.  I saw the plans for Series 10 and the prospects aren't any better.  I'm going to assume people aren't waiting in anticipation for the "Old Man" Minifigure.  Though, I DO like that they gave him an angry face.  If he comes with a "get off my lawn" sign or even a cane, I take it all back.  I'm not complaining about the craftsmanship or detail, but maybe a little on the creativity.  In the last few minutes I just thought up some new characters that I'd want to buy.  Here they are:

Series X:

Super Hero - Cape is a must.  Can be a guy and later release a girl version.

Army Guy - LEGO has already done a Sailor.  What's the hold up on Soldiers?  Put them in green or camo.  You can even do a Swat Guy figure.

Spy - Guy in Tux with a gun.  Done.  If you want to get fancy, give him a suave expression and a slick hairdo.

Teacher - She comes with an apple and a book or folder or something.

Shaolin Monk - Bald Lego with 2 swords.  He would fly off the shelves.

So what do you think?  You have any better ideas or want to tell me why mine stink?  Let's here it.

R. Ticulation

There's a New Blogger in Town

I've been standing in the toy aisle of my local Target for about 15 minutes, shifting my weight from one leg to another, shaking and squeezing 3 by 4 inch orange mylar bags. I've felt paint brushes, viking horns, and electric guitars, but so far, no hockey stick. That's right, the packages I'm holding are to the series 4 LEGO minifigures and I'm starting to feel a little awkward.

30 minutes. A 6-year-old girl and her sister play with the Hot Wheels display beside me, get bored, and disappear. I'm still poking and prodding bags. I've accumulated quite the pile of rejected candidates and a Target clerk approaches. I'm no longer blending in to my surroundings. He asks if I'm going to buy this mini mountain to my right. I politely tell him no. I have to stop him as he leans forward to pick up the bags. If he puts the minifigures back into the display trough, it will trash my system, and I'll be back at square one. After I promise to return things to their original state, he asks what I'm doing. I tell him I'm hunting down the hockey player from among the 16 randomly packed figures. It's for my brother. I ask him not to judge me. With his curiousity satisfied, he leaves with an uninterested shrug.

45 minutes? That same little girl, now with her whole family, passes by me again. She ineffectively whispers to her mother, "He's still feeling." My neck and face flush. Doesn't matter. Embarassed or not, I'm not going anywhere until I find this figure.

And then it happens. I feel a flared, angled end connected to a longer straight piece. I pin the piece against the side of the bag and press down. I can actually SEE the outline of a hockey stick. By lucky coincidence, I find the same employee I spoke to earlier and ask him to ring me up in Electronics. We walk to the register and I pass the clerk the bag and ask him if he can feel the shape of a hockey stick.

"I feel something", he says. "It might be a guitar..."

"No!" I cut in, "It can't be a guitar!"

I notice too late that I've raised my voice. He scans the item. I pay. For some reason, I want the clerk to share in my triumph and I ask for a pair of scissors. I'm handed a pair of wire cutters. They do the job. The top opened, I tilt the bag into my hand, the moment of truth. In pieces, the hockey player spills into my hand and the crowd goes wild! (The clerk was cheering too. On the inside.) Then, because Lego usually packages similar characters together, I go back to the shelf to find another. This next one is for me, plus I need a better time than 45 minutes.

-------------------------

"Hello. My name is R. Ticulation, and I'm a collector."

"Hello, R."

Welcome to the first, of what I hope are many, toy talks. Yeah. I know. I do most of the talking. The plan is to kick one of these blogs out a week, but for now it's going to be bi-monthly to see how it goes. Together we'll be picking apart the good, the bad, and the ugly of toys past, present, and future. (No, that's right. Future is possible. We can scream about the design of a figure before it hits the shelves.) On a similar note, from time to time, I'll be posting my own toy and action figure reviews from the vintage treasures of yesteryear to the case freshy-est toys of today. I know I'm looking forward to it. Feel free to join in the fun.

See you in the toy aisles,

R. Ticulation