2022 kicks off with a new series of LEGO’s ever popular Collectible Minifigures. Although the series number has no correlation to the year, the first of several series for 2022 is Series 22, which brings another 12 new characters from all walks of life to minifigure form, and today we’re taking a closer look at each of them. 71032 Minifigures Series 22 will be available starting Jan. 1, 2022, and will retail for US $4.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £3.49.

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Unboxing the Minifigures Series 22 case and packaging

Series 21 introduced a smaller number of unique designs; just 12, down from a standard 16. The new number of figures better aligns with LEGO’s new, smaller cases of 36 retail packages that have taken over from the old cases of 60. The new sets of 12 mean that each case includes exactly three complete sets, make it easier than ever to split a case with friends, and has the added benefit of eliminating chase figures, since all the characters are equally available.

The packages themselves continue the trend started a few series ago with large plastic packs, and the design is unchanged except for the pictured minifigures. The theme this time is a vibrant blue. It’s a subtle difference from the most recent previous blue series, Series 17. So far, worries are unsubstantiated over LEGO’s potential shift to cardboard packaging that would thwart feeling the packages—at least for the Minifigures line, though other blind character packs like Vidiyo have already gone to market with cardboard packaging.

As is standard, each character comes with a black 3×4 stand. Just one of the characters, the Figure Skating Champion, also includes a 1×2 jumper plate and clear posing stand which has been a standard accessory for some series like 71031 Marvel Studios Minifigures.

---

Robot Repair Tech

The robot apocalypse is upon us, as robots can now self-replicate and create more robots! This Robot Repair Tech is himself a robot. Thankfully, however, this pair seems to be more Wall-E than Skynet. The yellow humanoid robot technician gets an armored helmet that’s a repurposed welding mask with friendly digital eyes, along with a yellow robot arm; the first time in yellow for both. The robot’s arm has a variety of tool attachments: a claw, hammer, and drill (AKA unicorn horn). Meanwhile, the little red companion bot is brick-built out of common elements, but comes to life thanks to new prints on the 1×1 tooth tile.

Beneath the welding mask, the tech has a grey head with a friendly face and gold circuitry designs on the front and back, along with a battery indicator on the back. The designs on the robot could easily be repurposed into a crash test dummy if you missed out on the actual crash test dummy character from Series 1. The package includes an extra red bot eye tile, black claw, and unicorn horn.

---

Chili Costume Fan

We’ve had banana suits and watermelon suits and peapod suits, now get ready for a chile suit! Now you can have a mascot in front of the world’s most airporty restaurant. The Chili Costume Fan has a tall pepper cutout that slips over her torso with a hole in the front for her face. Like the other fruit costumes, the stem is a non-System size that sadly doesn’t allow a minifigure to grip it—a big oversight.

Beneath the suit, the lady has a dark red outfit with a flaming pepper on the shirt and a red Karen hairpiece. She also has a double-sided head with a smirk and a sweating face from having tried a hot pepper. And as any fan of capsaicin could tell you, the best thing to cut the heat is dairy, so she wisely also has a carton of milk. The printed medium blue 1×1 brick was released last year and has appeared in a few sets already. An extra white cheese slope is included.

Fun fact: while I grew up spelling it chile, whether you spell it chile, chili, or chilli depends on where you are. As long as you don’t spell it chilly, you’re not wrong.

---

Troubadour

The Troubadour—or Bard, if you’re a D&D player—is a fun character that fills a notable gap in LEGO’s castle lineup that’s already thoroughly populated with knights, peasants, wizards, and even jesters. His blue outfit is reminiscent of several classic castle torsos from the 80s with the crenelated neckpiece and small coin purse. Except that the minifigure is more detailed overall with arm and leg printing, this guy could have come straight out of a Forestmen set circa 1988. The Forestman’s hat gets a new color here with blue, as does the small feather with magenta.

The Troubadour ‘s lute is a wholly new element, and as you’d expect it’s functionally quite similar to the existing guitars, with a grippable neck and a protruding rod in the back providing an alternate method to hold it. The Troubadour also includes a few pearl gold coins of a new, simple design that omits the value and instead features a crown. You’ll get an extra coin and at least one extra feather (mine included two extra feathers).

Toss a coin to your witcher… ♫

---

Snow Guardian

This minifigure hails from the Northern Water Tribe—no, wait, LEGO hasn’t had the Avatar: The Last Airbender license since 2006. Anyway, this entirely generic ice warrior features a lovely dark blue and white fur-lined outfit with a new fur cap piece that’s dual molded in the two colors. Meanwhile, the arms are dual molded in white and sand blue and the legs white with dark blue.

The Guardian comes equipped with a longsword and a light grey round shield with a new snowflake pattern, and is accompanied by a husky with vibrant blue eyes. The husky design is not new but this coloration with a swirl of light grey and white is new. The warrior’s grizzled face has a flowing mustache, a scar, and rough stubble, and features neutral and angry expressions on the two sides.

---

Horse and Groom

A pony! Who doesn’t want a pony? Oh, and there’s a minifigure included, too, who despite being overshadowed is actually pretty solid. This outdoorsy girl wears a plaid jacket with a lovely dark and sand green design that will be useful for lots of characters, along with a new dual-molded knit cap and ponytails combo hairpiece.

The groom has bendy short legs in dark blue and a double-sided head with a massive grin showing her braces and a satisfied smile. She carries a regular LEGO carrot for the star of the show, the new foal design. You’ll get an extra carrot stem in the package.

The foal is double molded in dark orange with a dark brown mane and tail, and uses the updated animal design language of the now-decade-old poseable horse. Its feet span three and a half studs and it has a single stud on the back for a connection point.

---

Figure Skating Champion

In every series there are one or two characters that feel profoundly underwhelming, and for Series 22, that trophy goes to the Figure Skating Champion. It starts off well, as the skater’s bright light yellow hairpiece is a new color of the high-combed coif that was introduced in 2021 with 40516 Everyone is Awesome and has so far only appeared since in 10291 Queer Eye – The Fab 5 Loft. His light aqua torso is nicely printed with silver stars on the front and back. The skater’s right arm is blue with more silver stars, however, the light aqua left arm and legs are unprinted. His face bears a grin and a few small gold stars, but is single-sided. An extra skate and clear stand are included.

He carries a pearl gold trophy and wears silver skates, and is the sole character in this series to also feature a posing stand, letting you attach him to the display stand while wearing ice skates. The skater includes an extra skate and clear posing stand. The idea of a figure skater is great, but the execution makes it feel like a last-minute addition. The gold stars on his face don’t match the silver-starred outfit, and the lack of printing on the left arm and legs is a letdown in a $5 figure. A figure like this would have been a great opportunity to introduce a new color of skates such as pearl gold, or a new color of trophy (the pearl gold trophy has been in more than 40 sets since it was introduced with Minifigures Series 15). At the very least, the trophy should have been printed with some sort of decoration.

---

Night Protector

High fantasy gets a strong showing here with this beautiful moon warrior, who would pair well with Series 19’s Fright Knight. Garbed in ornate grey armor, she’s got an otherworldly glow thanks to the color choices, with purple and white highlights and a striking amethyst pendant. The Night Protector’s accessories are a standard shortsword with the updated hilt style introduced in 2012, and an oval shield. Both are trans purple, and while the color is new for the sword, it’s not new for the shield, though of course the moon print is. An extra sword is included.

The Night Protector’s light aqua head is double-sided with a smile and a scowl, and she’s got dark turquoise hair, which is a new color for the mid-length wavy hairpiece.

---

Forest Elf

Continuing the fantasy theme, next up is the Forest Elf. I’m not quite sure what the story behind this character is. Is it a Halloween costume for a young arborist? Is he a tiny forest faerie? One of Pan’s lost boys? Perhaps it doesn’t matter, as the result is quite adorable. The Forest Elf’s green shirt is a leaf jacket, with an oak leaf motif on the belt and an acorn belt buckle. Around back he’s got a leather pouch with more oak leaves. His hat is a giant acorn that’s a new design, double-molded in brown and dark orange, and unlike most other elf hats and hairpieces, it doesn’t have elf ears included. Because of the hat’s angle on his head (with a distinct backward tilt) it could be slightly trickier to use the acorn as an actual acorn, but it should definitely be possible. I hope to see a giant squirrel creation before long.

The Elf’s cloak is cut in an oak leaf pattern, and he carries a bar 3L walking stick. His companion is the cutest little mushroom you’ve ever seen. It’s nearly identical to the existing red 2×2 radar dish with mushroom spots, except that this one has a small face printed in place of some of the spots. In an unexpected surprise, an extra radar dish is included. The base of the mushroom is a white fez.

---

Bird-watcher

As I’ve noted before, LEGO CMFs hit a few steady beats, with most series having a number of characters that easily slot into groups. One of those groups is wildlife enthusiasts with a new animal, such as the Series 16 Wildlife Photographer with a penguin and the Series 20 Sea Rescuer with a turtle. Series 22 brings us the Bird-watcher with a brand new toucan design. The Bird-watcher herself gets a simple but nicely printed outfit with dark brown hiking boots over dark tan pants and a black short-sleeve shirt with pockets. She’s also equipped with a dark pink messenger bag and dark green binoculars, new colors for both.

Her head is double-sided with a smirk and an excited expression, and she’s topped with a dark torquoise ballcap with black ponytail, which is a new color combo for that element too. Her companion is the real highlight here, though, as the toucan is a lovely new design that’s actually triple molded in black, white, and flame yellowish orange, and then printed for the eyes and beak details. The toucan’s sole connection point is an antistud on its feet. Although there’s a hole in the antistud, it’s off-center and doesn’t accept a rod. The toucan is perched atop a lime green bamboo piece, which has appeared in a few sets in that color previously. It looks nice and lime green is a less common color for it, but it’s a missed opportunity to introduce a new color for that piece too, like dark green. An extra pair of binoculars is included.

---

Racoon Costume Fan

Animal costumes are yet another ongoing cadre in the CMFs, though fursuits aren’t just for kids anymore, as this one’s got grandma inside! The Raccoon suit is basically a recolor of Series 19’s Fox Costume Girl, with a white fur patch on the torso’s front and simple legs; in this case dual molded in light grey with black boots, but no printing. The back of her torso doesn’t have any printing at all, either, though some previous fursuits have featured zippers (like the Series 20 Llama Costume Girl).

The Raccoon head is a repurposed Fox hat, and it works well here. When she takes it off, a flowy grey hairpiece is included as an alternate. Her head is double-sided and features subtle aging lines around her eyes, and a slight smile on one side and a large smile on the other. She carries a white garbage bag (not a new color, but fairly rare as it’s only previously been available in white in the 21326 Winnie the Pooh set and in Build-A-Minifigure bins in LEGO stores). Finally, what’s a raccoon without a trash can to rummage through? So there’s a green trash can, which is the most common color for that element. No extra parts are included.

---

Space Creature

LEGO has managed to create an interesting alien for the Space Creature without introducing any new elements. The space creature’s head is only printed with a giant mouth open a little or a lot on the opposite sides (with a dark turquoise tongue!) while its eyes are on stalks thanks to repurposing an existing headpiece that was introduced way back in Series 10 with the Bumblebee Girl. Needless to say, it’s a new color and print for it. The alien is covered in armor panels on the legs and arms, while the torso bears the Classic Space logo. It carries a dark turquoise blaster.

Around back, the alien’s backpack is a standard black neck bracket and a trans bright green helmet that’s printed on both sides with a hexagon warning symbol showing some sort of splat; perhaps this is the ammo canister for its goo blaster weapon? You’ll get an extra trans bight green 1×1 round plate.

I suspect this character will prove to be one of the most popular Series 22 characters among old-school LEGO fans, thanks to the purple Classic Space torso. LEGO has been on something of a kick in the last few years reviving the iconic design, expanding the original five colors out to a current total of ten, with two of those coming from the Collectible Minifigure series (grey with the Series 17 Rocket Boy, and now purple in Series 22). Of course, you’ll need to swap the arms for plain ones, and there’s no matching classic-style helmet for it, as is the case with a few of the colors. If you want a new style helmet, you’ll need to source a purple one, and those are rare, having only come in two sets way back in 2004, and prices on the secondary market have already skyrocketed in anticipation of this figure. At the time of writing, there’s only one used purple helmet listed on Bricklink, and the cheapest new condition one will set you back nearly $7. This is also the only color that does not have matching airtanks, a gap that I hope LEGO will fill soon.

Grey and Green have gone on a mission and weren’t available for this photo.

---

Wheelchair Racer

LEGO has been making a concerted effort over the past few years to make minifigures more inclusive of varying abilities and handicaps (though race representation continues to be a problematic area). We’ve seen a growing number of minifigures with hearing aids, visual impairment and more, which is fantastic as it’s important for kids of all abilities to have toys that represent them. The Wheelchair Racer then brings not just a toy to identify with, but a character to look up to. LEGO introduced the wheelchair in 2016, and this figure adds a new meant for speed, a three-wheeled racing wheelchair. It uses the same wheels as the existing wheelchair and bicycle (for back and front, respectively), though the back ones add a new color for the center. For those wondering, despite being all black, the wheels are dual-molded with a rubber tire and hard plastic center just like the existing wheels.

The Wheelchair Racer also adds another new element that’s been long overdue: a proper bicycle helmet. Previous minifigure bikers have had to make do with the skater helmet, which serves the same purpose but lacks the aerodynamic shaping associated with a bike helmet. The racer features a single-sided head with a scruffy goatee, and carries a gold medal around his neck. The torso is medium azure with short sleeves and an appropriate racing jersey design. The package also includes a clear 1×1 round brick to stand the wheelchair on the display plate, and an extra medal is included.

---

Conclusion and recommendation

Series 22 is another solid entry to the CMF lineup. Not all of the characters are particularly interesting to me (I can’t think of a reason I’d need a Raccoon or Chili Costume, and the Figure Skating Champion is lackluster at best) but most of the figures are hits, with especially excellent designs on the Troubador, Night Warrior, and Wheelchair Racer. And the series introduces some great new elements that will be quite useful, from the Toucan and Foal to the Bike Helmet, Racing Wheelchair, and Fur Hat. And being a Classic Space fan myself, I’m excited for the purple torso from the Space Creature.

Whether you want to get a full set or just a few favorites, be sure to watch out for our Feel Guide coming soon!

71032 Minifigures Series 22 will be available starting Jan. 1, 2022, and will retail for US $4.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £3.49. They may also be available from Amazon and eBay.

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

---