Tag Archives: Minifigs

Everybody loves LEGO minifigures — well, almost everybody. Minifigs are often the stars of the LEGO models we feature here on The Brothers Brick, but we also feature some amazing custom minifigs you’d never expect to see in an official LEGO set.

Custom Roundup: Brick Fortress and Cape Madness [Review]

Both of the companies in this review have been flying under the radar and I am very happy to highlight them here.

First up is Brick Fortress. They are a new customs maker and currently only have one item on the market. It is a rather exciting one that fills a significant gap in the LEGO product line. They are selling articulated mini-legs! I recently bought some of their offerings and I was impressed. They fit very nicely and are constructed quite well. The clutch power is good and the legs move well. They are currently available in 5 colors: Light Gray, Tan, Black, Brown and Dark Blue. They are slightly taller than the official short legs by LEGO, but the color match is good. The legs are also interchangeable with official LEGO legs, so you can use your normal hip pieces for color changes. My only complaint is a minor one. The plastic feels very similar to the plastic we have been seeing in the collectible minifigs. But that is an issue with many of the custom makers and isn’t a deal-breaker for me. I am really liking these articulated mini-legs and will be buying more.

The second company, Cape Madness, has been around for a few years now but has mostly sold their products at BrickCon. They started small but have consistently expanded their product line. Currently they only sell online at the CapeMadness Bricklink store, but a new website is under construction. I have kept an eye on their quality from the beginning and it is spot on! I can’t tell the difference between their plain capes and my official LEGO ones. However the real draw of Cape Madness is the patterns, colors and special shapes they offer. At BrickCon this year, Dave (the owner of Cape Madness) let me dig through his products and it was hard to decide what to review. There are so many different items!

The fabric and treatment feels just like official LEGO capes. The capes and flags with heavy printing, such as the Blacktron cape, feel stiffer but it wasn’t an issue when putting it on a minifig. They also stand up to use quite well. I have some flags that are a couple of years old and they show no signs of fraying.
The capes come in four sizes, with the second-to-the-smallest being the same as the official LEGO cape. The two larger styles wrap around the fig for a cloak effect. The largest size also is available with a pointed collar variation. There are also trench coats, ponchos, togas, paldrons, and three styles of flags currently in production. The printing on the capes is very crisp and there is a wide range of available patterns and styles. There is everything from various camo patterns to the insignia of your favorite sci-fi regiments to medieval heraldry. Dave also offers a service where he will print your own logo or pattern onto a cape or flag (an additional fee applies). I highly recommend Cape Madness. The items are high quality, they stand up to wear, there is a wide range of products and Dave is a great guy to work with. You can see more pictures in my Cape Madness set on Flickr.

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Series 9 minifigures revealed and reviewed!

Lego has done a good job keeping pictures of series 9 minifigs from leaking out, so for the first time we see a simultaneous reveal and review. While the minifigs are scheduled for release in January 2013, Lego has sent a case to Eurobricks for an early review.

From the review, I noticed that the case distribution is heavily skewed in this series so that there are only 2 copies of certain minifigs and up to 6 of others in 1 case. Is this an attempt to assign rarity to certain figs, and how will the consumers react?

Great leaders on terrible lizards

I’m not sure whether words can add much to my latest series of LEGO creations, so I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

First up, Abraham Lincoln on a Velociraptor.

Next, Benjamin Franklin astride a Triceratops.

Third — and possibly most impressive to 18th-century English troops — George Washington on a Tyrannosaurus Rex (future AC3 MP DLC, anyone?).

Finally, Teddy Roosevelt swoops in on a Pterodactyl to defend our National Park System.

That is all. For now…

Superheroes on display

Paul Janowski recently posted a wave of custom minifigs each matched with a display case and printed background. The Iron Man and Silver Surfer stand out from the crowd because they were custom chromed using vacuum metallization. Even better, Paul has donated both minifigs to this year’s Creations for Charity fundraiser! UPDATE: and they’ve been sold for $150 each!

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This needs no description. By Lord Pappadhum

It begins...

Oh, October. There are many, many things I adore about you. Your cooler weather. Your vibrant colors. The build up through the month to Halloween, and everything that comes with it.

And Jamie‘s annual Halloween figures.

Updates will be sporadic this year. Adds a bit of mystery to the whole lot. Keep an eye on his photostream for his amazing custom figures along with their presentation and back-stories.

You can also check out last year and the year before!

Headhogs

Fedde (Karf Oolhu) is no stranger to unusual minifigs (too many links, just flick through his pages) but his hedgehog heads stand out as both creepy and oddly plausible. I can really see an army of these people.

The Vitruvian Minifig

LEGO community coordinator Kevin Hinkle is apparently also a talented artist. Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s 1487 drawing “Vitruvian Man” (itself inspired by earlier work by the architect Vitruvius), Kevin has drawn the idealized proportions of the LEGO minifigure.

I love how Kevin even signed the drawing from right to left.

The noble Brutus hath told you Caesar was ambitious

…if it were so, it was a grievous fault. And brilliantly, James Pegrum built it.

The Globe theater is so iconic, as are the works of the bard, who watches from stage-left as his players bring his words to life. Shakespeare’s most famous fans watch from above as Caesar falls, his guards bursting on stage to witness the tragedy.

I’d highly suggest taking in the larger version, and just absorbing the details.

Collectible Minifigs Series 8 Is Hitting Stores Now [Review]

In the USA, at least, Series 8 of the insanely popular Collectible Minifigs is trickling out. A few days ago, I picked up a full set (minus one, due to an improper baggy identification on my part) and have thoroughly enjoyed them. I wasn’t nearly as excited for this line as I had been for previous ones; I think in part because the novelty is just wearing off at this point, 8 series in. But once I got my hands on them and took a good close look at them, my trepidations fell away, and I went back to feeling that the Collectible Minifigs are as awesome as ever.

The evil robot was an awesome surprise. I hadn’t seen images of it without the helmet on before I bought it, so the head was totally new to me. It’s a fantastic print, and almost has a mechanical skull vibe. Other favorites of mine are the Diver, Thespian, and Conquistador. I’m probably just a sucker for period costumes, though. The Thespian, or Shakespeare, as I think he looks, is probably my favorite of the lot. Renaissance figures haven’t been common in LEGO, with most Castle figs being much earlier in style, and predominantly militaristic. On that note, though, the Conquistador is a great military figure from this same general time period, and really makes me want to revisit the old Armada theme of the 90’s. The Faerie was also a surprise to me, as I expected the wings to be flimsy plastic, like the wings on the angel keychain. Instead they’re a hard ABS molded neck-piece, which is far superior.

Oddly, the Diver is the only one of the lot with printing on the back. He’s super fun, though, with the chunky lead shoes (just 1×1’s) and a huge faceplate, which is actually a magnifying glass piece.

Many of the other figs, to me, are much less interesting, however, like the Skier and Cheerleader, which are basically differently colored re-issues of previous figures.

BrickArms to release minifig weapons from upcoming Offensive Combat game

BrickArms is partnering with U4iA Games to make custom minifig weapons from the upcoming Offensive Combat game. You can read more about it on PRWeb or check out the designs on Flickr. Let us know what you think about the start of customizers creating officially licensed products.

I am Gotham’s reckoning.

We so rarely feature custom figures on here, and it’s high time to highlight one. Minh Pham creates exceptional custom figures, so the hardest part is actually picking one. The level of detail on this, like everything else in his portfolio, is just stunning.

Gotham’s reckoning indeed.