Vault Review: Lego Minifigures
– Series 1 (+ Codebreaker)

Vault

I was never content with the complacent yellow faces Lego men had when I was a kid. I still remember the first time I saw the Pirates theme in the 90s. These Lego men, although still smiling, now had beards, stubble, and sideburns – not to mention an occasional hook or peg leg. It was a paradigm shift that renewed my interest in Legos. Minifigures have come a long way since their very humble beginnings in the 70s. This year, they’re finally available as singles and Lego has rehooked me yet again.

Lego Minifigures Series One (#8683) are sold in individuals bags and include the figure and any accessories, a new 4×3 black base that has a row of four studs in the middle for them to stand on, and an insert checklist. There are sixteen figures available in series one and I’ll take a look at them individually below. While I’m happy with most of them, I do have to make one general comment on something that left me a little dissatisfied. The current trend in minifigures is to print costume details on the front and the back. Sadly, these individual figures don’t follow that. All of their reverse sides are the color of the body only. At $2 a pop, I’m not going to complain, but it’d be nice to see these fully on-par with their set-encased brethren.

Click here to go directly to our Printable Decoder for Series 1

Click here to go directly to our Printable Decoder for Series 2

Unless otherwise noted, the figures below all have new heads, torsos, and legs.

#1 Tribal Hunter
This “tribal hunter” doesn’t really fit in with the previous “tribal hunters” released in the 90s Wild West sets, so I wasn’t as excited by this minifigure. I do have to admit, though, that the guy is happy. Just look at that face. Surely, it’s the face of the best hunter in the tribe. The Hunter includes a trademark bow and arrows, and his lucky feathers. The package included a second plume, in case you misplace the first one.
#2 Cheerleader
You can’t build a pyramid without one right? This Cheerleader comes with two pompoms (all-new piece) that have little handles inside and cover her hands entirely. Her hair piece is a stylish ponytail, so it doesn’t get in her way when she’s rooting for the home team. It’s also the first time this particular hair piece has been released blonde. My question is, what’s the “M” on her shirt stand for? Shouldn’t it be “B” or “L”?
#3 Caveman
This Caveman was the earliest brick builder. Wearing the latest in stone-age fashion, nothing draws the ladies in like animal pelts fastened with bone. The Cavemen includes two new pieces – his scraggly hair/beard and a club. Interestingly, the club is a shrunken down version of the Giant Troll’s. I wonder if this Caveman is just copying what he’s seen, or if he was inspired by a Lego-brick monolith?
#4 Circus Clown
Clowns may be scary, but you have to admit, this guy’s giant red afro is a great new piece. As is his other new piece, a neat little horn to entertain (terrorize) animals and small children. The clown is awash with great clashing colors and a patched up costume. My question is, why doesn’t he have big shoes? Those feet are way too small. Back to clown college with you, sir.
#5 Zombie
This guy was on his way to work one day when he was bitten by a rabid brick. Twenty seven hours later, he’s a mindless undead beast with a shovel. Is it to dig up more zombie friends? Or maybe dig up some dead people to eat? I don’t know. He also comes with a turkey drumstick (left), which is a new piece that’s bigger than the previous one.
#6 Skater
Is it just me or does the Skater have Bieber hair? I know it’s not the right color, but the brown version of this hair is only available on the Lego Club Max keychain (making this the first usable version of this piece). To further his skater boy image, he’s wearing a hoodie with a skull on it. His pants are standard, dark blue legs. He also includes the standard Lego skateboard in blue. It’s a little big, but it does stay balanced and can roll around.
#7 Robot
I love the Robot because of his cool bucket helmet and a wrench arm. The arm is the mechanical one from the recent Agents sets while the hand is an older claw piece. The new helmet is one of the standout pieces for the entire wave. Its only problem is that it hides the detailed robot face underneath. His torso has some nice details too: buttons and gauges on one side, and some sort of liquid leaking out beneath a riveted plate on the other. Truly an engineering marvel, but I would’ve preferred two wrench arms instead. He also included an extra claw piece.
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53 thoughts on “Vault Review: Lego Minifigures
– Series 1 (+ Codebreaker)”

  1. Is it wrong that I think the cheerleader is hot?! LOL

    Great work on the decoder. It’ll be easier to pick a few of these up if I know which ones I’m getting. Blind boxing was a bad idea on Lego’s part.

    1. I don’t mind the blind bagging so much. If I didn’t want them all, it would be fun to just see what I got randomly.

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  3. This may not be the place to ask, but when did the Super Powers Penguin get a plane? That’s just weird. He looks stuffed into it!

    1. Thank you. I couldn’t do it without Noisy though, literally. He keeps me somewhat focused, and you know, also does this whole website programming thing.

  5. And great job on the decoder Noisy! Decoder sounds funny. I feel like we’re in a secret club.

  7. Oh Man these have just appeared on this side of the pond too, and i was looking to REDUCE the number of lines I positively, absolutely must get…….must get Ninja, must get Ninja, must get ninja, must get Ninja…..

    Crap. I’ll eat next month.

    1. It cost me about $32 for the set. But then I wanted more. That’s where I got in trouble, lol.

  8. *sigh* these aren’t out in NY yet… I need.. NEED the robot, zombie, wrestler and magician/20’s movie villain.. (and don’t think I’m not going to get 2 wrestlers/magicians for just that purpose!) also.. the cheerleader is begging to be tied to a railroad..

    1. Make sure when you check your Toys R Us that you ask someone. They were keeping ours at the Service Desk because they thought people were stealing them.

  9. I’m glad Lego put a code on the boxes. I think this is a great idea, but some of the designs are just really boring to me.

  12. Those are cool! I like the robot and the space man. Two things I wanted to grow up to be when I was a kid.

  15. what section are you finding these? in the lego section? or the collectible card game section?

  16. urm is this only for the U.S? cos if so then do u know how i would get a decoder for the U.K thanks

      1. thanks so much this is really helpful thanks a lot! urm i thought at first that european one was different from the UK one and then was gettin packets that i already had and knew and it all worked great! thanks now i can be a sad little person and decode the dummy and the cheerleader (the last ones i want) thanks again

    1. They have two bar codes on the back. A traditional one for the UPC code and a second one for the figures to be identified.

  19. You Rock!!! The decoder worked great. My son loves the set. Thanks!!! Saved me a bundle.

    1. I didn’t have to ask at ours, they were just sitting there. If you can’t find them though, it never hurts to ask if they got any in.

  21. Hey you know the cheerleader when you said’ My question is, what’s the “M” on her shirt stand for? I think it’s minifigure 🙂

  23. Thanks for the codes! I score huge Mom points for this one. Set complete…one very happy 8 yr old. Note to Canadian’s – some Walmart’s have them but they’re not always shelved with the Lego kits.

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