Review: LEGO Minifigures Series 12 Part 1

October 23, 2014 | 18

It’s one of my most anticipated events of the year – the release of a new LEGO Minifigures Series. After two sets of licensed themes (The LEGO Movie and most recently, The Simpsons), I’m very glad that the latest edition, Series 12 returns to its roots, featuring a quirky and colourful cast of LEGO minifigures.

While I enjoyed The LEGO Movie and The Simpsons characters, I always felt that they were constrained by their source material. Series 12 has been a very long time coming and boy does it feel good to have another stellar lineup to hunt down!

The LEGO Series 12 Minifigures are now on sale in most of the usual places, but interestingly can also be found in the toy section of most Coles and Woolworths supermarkets. If you’re new to LEGO’s Minifigure Series, they’re sold in blind bags containing a mystery character in boxes like what you see above which pack 60 bags.

Series 12 minifigure packs are priced at $5 – we’ve been spared the price increase that our friends elsewhere in the world have had to go through.

Here’s the breakdown of each complete box of LEGO Series 12 minifigs which should give you an idea of the relative rarity of each minifigure.

5x Video Game Guy
5x Space Miner
5x Swashbuckler
4x Piggy Guy
4x Wizard
4x Pizza Delivery Man
4x Battle Goddess
4x Dino Tracker
4x Rock Star
3x Spooky Girl
3x Prospector
3x Lifeguard Guy
3x Hun Warrior
3x Genie Girl
3x Fairytale Princess
3x Jester

You’re pretty much guaranteed 3 complete sets per fresh box, but always keep in mind that certain characters tend to be a little more popular. If you’re on the hunt, try to search through fresh boxes if possible. Some of the more popular characters like the Piggy Guy, Hun Warrior and Battle Goddess are always going to attract fans who want multiples so don’t be surprised if these guys are hard to come by.

Here’s the check list included in each Series 12 blind bag. It’s quite handy to carry one around when looking for minifigures.

On the other side of the check list is an advertisement for the new LEGO Minifigures Online game and a code which I assume unlocks a character in the game. I haven’t bothered to give the game a spin, so I’m afraid I can’t say I know too much about it.

My LEGO Minifigure reviews are usually split into 2 parts, for Part 1, I’ll be reviewing the Rock Star, Piggy Guy, Space Miner, Swashbuckler, Battle Goddess, Fairytale Princess, Pizza Delivery Man and the Spooky Girl.

I’ve also made one tiny change to how I score each minifigure – from here on, I’ll be using a 5-point scale instead of a 10-point scale just because it’s much easier. Here’s what the scores mean:

5/5 – I love it
4/5 – I really like it
3/5 – I like it
2/5 – I don’t like it
1/5 – I didn’t really like it
0/5 – I hated it

So without further ado, let’s get to my review of LEGO Minifigures Series 12. As part of my review, I’ll also attach a guide on the best way to identify and feel your way through Series 12 to equip you with the right tools to ensure that you get the minifigures that you want and not end up with 16 Space Miners. No one wants 16 Space Miners.

Rock Star “They call it a rock because it rocks, baby!”

You’ve heard of hard rock? Well, check out the rock-solid Rock Star! He sleeps on a bare bed frame with no mattress. He takes the padded insoles out of his shoes. He uses the strongest hair gel ever invented. He only eats stale bread rolls (with rock candy for dessert). And his guitar is carved out of a single huge diamond.

The Rock Star rose to rock stardom with his mega-hit song, “Brick Wall Baby.” The record went platinum right away, but that just wasn’t hard enough for him, so he had it recast in titanium carbide. Now he’s looking for something even harder that he can use to make a completely indestructible tour bus for riding between concerts!

The Rock Star is an homage to the iconic 80s rocker who’s loud, proud and considers a studded leather outfit, aviator sunglasses, big hair and an even bigger attitude the pinnacle of style. The Rock Star has sass and he’s not afraid to show it. He also comes with a brand spanking new red electric guitar to round out his edgy look.

The Rock Star’s minifigure packs an incredible amount of detail on his torso, arms and legs. His hair is a variation of Series 7’s Rocker Girl except that it’s in jet black and has two silver streaks in them. The level of detail to the Rock Star’s character is underscored by his generous crop of chest hair peeking out of his leather jacket – a clear side effect of such a testosterone-heavy lifestyle.

The Rock Star is a great addition to the LEGO minifigures lineup, a flavourful character that draws inspiration from pop culture. The details on his torso such as the lightning bolt belt buckle which complements his entire persona. The new guitar mould is always nice to have and I think it’s the best looking electric guitar that LEGO has produced so far. Now, if only we’d get a Gibson-inspired or even a multi-neck guitar.

The only downside is the Rock Star’s lack of back printing and his plain face. Don’t get me wrong, I like his confident grin and aviator shades combo, but it would’ve been great if the Rock Star had a more glam-rock style face print, but it’s still a decent minifigure which will instantly fill the lead guitar role in your LEGO rock band.

How To Find One: The Rock Star is relatively easy to identify thanks to the guitar piece that has a very distinct shape. You can make out the guitar by feeling for its long thin neck. If in doubt, you can also feel for his big hair piece which is textured with waves and is quite chunky compared to other hair pieces in this series.

Minifig Rating: 3/5

Piggy Guy “Ahhh, this is the life.”

I’ll cut straight to the chase and say that the Piggy Guy is my favourite minifigure from Series 12. I do have quite a well documented uh.. obsession with Minifigures dressed in cute animal costumes so it was only natural that my most anticipated character out of Series 12 happened to be the guy in the Pig Costume. Piggy Guy comes with an apple that probably serves as a delicious snack.

There’s just something whimsical about a LEGO minifigure in an animal costume but that’s lifted to a whole new level when it’s a pig costume. Piggy Guy’s bio is equally as wacky – apparently he was a farmer that became enamoured by the pigs he was rearing and ended up becoming one of them. I’m not even going to begin trying to make sense of that.

The Piggy Guy has some nice little details such as a silhouette of a belly that’s printed on his torso as well as hooves printed on his feet, the latter being a neat little touch from the designers.

He’s even got a cute little curly tail that you can see from behind. I also really love that Piggy Guy is pink all around – the printing is really even and uniform – I’m so glad that there isn’t a stark difference between the colour of his headgear and body.

Here’s a closer look at his magnificent headpiece. It’s really well crafted with the lopsided ears, beady little eyes and pig snout. Piggy Guy’s face is also a winner, with a cheeky knowing look that just says “Yup, I’m a pig and there’s nothing you can do about it”.

It goes without saying that Piggy Guy will hog the limelight and emerge as one of the hottest minifigures from Series 12.  I’m sure that I won’t be the only one trying to amass as many human piggies as I can get my hands on.

How To Find One: Piggy Guy can be a little elusive at first because he’s quite tricky to identify by feeling through the blind bags. Don’t bother trying to feel out the apple as it feels just like another minifigure head. Try feeling for his headpiece, which you can verify by trying to feel out his ears, which jut out from both sides.

Minifig Rating: 5/5

Space Miner “Give me a good laser-drill and a spot to plant my magno-boots, and I can dig up anything!”

The Space Miner has worked some of the toughest, dirtiest, and most dangerous jobs that the galaxy has to offer. He’s drilled for high-yield Brickonium energy crystals deep beneath the crust of Planet U, and plumbed the frozen caverns of Krysto-2002 to find the source of a swarm of ice meteorites that were pelting the Earth’s polar regions.

The rough-and-tumble Space Miner likes nothing better than scrambling around on the surface of an isolated planetoid spinning in the depths of space, and no matter how hard the mission, he never complains. He doesn’t take time off, either – after all, what vacation could possibly be more fun than the job he does every day?

I was quite torn when I opened up my Space Miner from his blind bag. I had wanted to like the character because the premise sounded especially cool – a half astronaut, half miner that works in Outer Space, possibly on some asteroid drilling and delving into its core to find rare minerals. In reality, I felt that the he looks more clunky than futuristic.

For one thing, the battle armour feels really out of place – I understood the need for him to look a lot more “spacelike” and for him to have some sort of armour to protect him from the dangers of interstellar mining but it somehow just doesn’t look right. The Space Miner also has a new headpiece which is equally as chunky but has an interesting design since the Miner’s face is fully enclosed within.

Stripping off his armour and helmet reveals an impressive mining suit that blends elements from a traditional earth miner’s outfit (the orange straps and pockets) with more futuristic elements and design cues. I really like the torso on its own as I can see quite a number of applications and uses for it, such as for a sci-fi or heavy machinery-themed MOC.

The Space Miner’s face has coarse stubble, a communicator unit and a little bit too much cheer for my tastes. I’d expect Miners to have a more grizzled stoic look, but I guess that he enjoys his job so maybe the smile is justified after all.

I’m still not too sure what to make of the Space Miner’s helmet. The details and colours are fantastic but the large size does put me off slightly. His armour has an insignia printed on the left pauldron, which seems to be some sort of variation of the Classic Space logo.

Perhaps this logo belongs to Private Contractors, who are exploring the universe purely for profit as opposed to Classic Space’s more noble mission of discovery and research. Capping off his arsenal of equipment is a bright orange drill piece.

I just think that I’m not a fan of the Space Miner, which is strange since I really liked the idea on paper. If he looked a lot more sleeker and less like he was going into battle against an Alien Invasion Force, I might’ve liked him a bit more.

How To Find One: The Miner is pretty hard to miss with his bulky giant space armour, which is the largest accessory in Series 12. Seriously, as soon as you feel a chunky piece that just seems a little too large, you’ve got yourself a Space Miner. There being 5 Space Miners in each box will also help make it a cinch finding him.

Minifig Rating: 2/5

Swashbuckler “Here’s the part where I swing in and save the day!”

The Swashbuckler dreams of adding his own legend to those of the Forestman and other famous heroes. He’s practiced with his sword, learned all about sailing ships and riding horses, and read lots and lots of romantic poetry…and now he’s finally ready to show the world what a dashing and daring hero he can be!

He’s not quite perfect at it yet, though. He’s got the right wardrobe, and he definitely has the shiny teeth and charming laugh down pat, but the brim of his big floppy hat keeps falling in front of his eyes, and his puffy shirt always gets snagged on things at just the wrong moment. Still, if he keeps it up, one day the Swashbuckler is sure to succeed in becoming the true hero he’s always longed to be!

The Swashbuckler is one of those times where I’m starting to fear that LEGO is beginning to run out of characters to include in their Collectible Minifigures Series – he’s just a little too similar to Series 4’s Musketeer. For one thing, they both have the same feathered hat (except that the Swashbuckler’s is in a different colour) and the same rapier as a weapon, although the Swashbuckler’s one is slightly cooler since it’s pearl gold. It really is that uninspiring.

And what is with that awful, awful fake tan on his bare chest? Sure his chest is ripped but c’mon, the mismatch between his face and hands is almost comical that it seems like a very bad joke. Except that it isn’t, since LEGO has been notorious with inconsistent chest/neck area painting that never seems to match up with the yellow minifigure skin. This is just sloppy.

Thankfully, the Swashbuckler has pretty decent back printing which is one his only redeeming qualities. The only problem is that while you may have great back printing, that’s not going to negate his awfully mismatched chest skin tone. This is a really poor effort from LEGO and is just one instance where their motto of “only the best is ever good enough” seems to have been all but forgotten.

How To Find One: The Swashbuckler’s Rapier (sword) is pretty easy to identify since it’s very thin and has a distinct shape that you can’t confuse for the Hun Warrior’s sword. 

Minifig Rating: 1/5

Battle Goddess “If you attack the weak, then you deal with me!”

The Battle Goddess is a brave and powerful protector of the ancient world. Once a golden statue, she sprang to life in answer to a defenseless village’s pleas for help. After boldly driving away the bandits that were threatening them, she pledged to forevermore safeguard all who called upon her.

The Battle Goddess’s great strength of arms is matched only by her formidable sense of justice. She never gives up and never backs down, no matter the might of those who oppose her. If you seek to bully the small or the helpless, then beware – for the Battle Goddess will appear with an earth-shaking crash to stand against you!

The Battle Goddess is LEGO’s perfect response to dubious claims that they:

a) Do not have enough female characters

b) Pigeonhole female characters into overly feminine stereotypes such as damsels in distresses

The Battle Goddess is a Greco-Roman inspired deity of warfare, protection and badassery. She is only the second character based on an actual God from Roman or Greek mythology (Series 7’s Ocean King is the very first, I believe) which elevates her status as an imposing female character even higher. She embodies both beauty and strength, projecting an image of divine strength and power.

Armed for battle, she wields a gold tipped spear and a round shield bearing the emblem of a rather cute looking Pegasus.

As a minifigure, the Battle Goddess shines (literally) with all her intricate details, such as her bracers, belt, sandals (good God, what a great print) and golden lipstick. Her pale blonde hair is fused together with her shiny golden war-helm which has a matching white crest attached to it.

The shimmery gold effect reminds me of how Gods were depicted in Disney’s Hercules movie.

Topping off her stylish getup is a white “tiered” fabric skirt piece. Another cheeky bit of detail is that under her skirt, the Battle Goddess sports matching gold underwear.

Back printing is accounted for, which just propels the Battle Goddess to minifigure greatness. There is a slight mismatch with her yellow body parts and the printed yellow torso bit, it isn’t as jarring as the Swashbuckler’s.

I’ve previously mentioned her Pegasus shield but I wanted to draw attention to it again with a closeup shot just to emphasize how amazingly cool it looks. The printed details are extremely on point, and the wonderful contrast of metallic gold and brown makes this an absolutely immaculate accessory.

The Battle Goddess is one of my top picks from Series 12, up there with Piggy Guy. I have moderate plans to amass a small army of Goddesses and it shouldn’t be too hard seeing as how there are four per full box.

The only downside I can think of the Battle Goddess is her fabric skirt piece, which can easily get out of shape if not folded properly. While the fabric piece is unique, I would’ve liked it if they had went with more conventional leg printing.

How To Find One: The Battle Goddess is quite easy to identify, with her long spear being the most obvious part to feel out for since it’s long, thin and has a bendy tip. Alternatively, you can also feel for her shield, which has a smooth rounded shape – don’t confuse it with the Hun Warrior’s shield which has a flatter shape and has a stud in the middle.

Minifig Rating: 5/5

Fairytale Princess “My research suggests that this frog may be just the one I’m looking for!”

The Fairytale Princess is pretty sure that she has this whole fairy tale business down pat. She avoids any bridges that have the signs (and smells) of trolls living underneath, she stays away from suspicious huts made of candy in the woods, and she definitely isn’t interested in finding a prince and living happily ever after right now.

All that said, she is rather enchanted with the idea of being able to turn into a frog. Frogs can stay underwater for a really long time, and they can jump amazing distances. Think of the fun that she would have if she could do that too! That’s why she’s on a quest to find a magical frog. She’ll kiss it and then study what happens…and with any luck, she’ll be hopping off on her own adventures in no time!

Meet the Fairytale Princess! As her character’s name suggests, she is a princess who happens to live in a fairytale. How helpful! Clearly inspired by the classic fairytale The Frog Prince penned by the Brothers Grimm, the Fairytale Princess is dressed up as a traditional medieval princess or noble, complete with a Hennin (that’s the correct term for her steeple headdress).

I really love her dress, which is dyed lavender (or light purple) and packs a delightful amount of detail, especially the symmetrical regal-looking print that runs down the full length of her dress. The design isn’t the only considerable plus about the Fairytale Princess’ garments, the printing from her torso all the way down to her slope is aligned almost perfectly – a huge plus in my books.

No Fairytale Princess should be without her prince charming, which in this case is in the form of a frog. Yes, I’m still maintaining that the Fairytale Princess is looking to turn her green little amphibian friend into a dashing prince – despite her bio suggesting that she wants to kiss a frog to be a frog. That’s about the dumbest thing ever.

The Fairytale Princess has a double sided face – one where she closes her eyes and puckers up while she prepares to drop a wet smooth on her froggy prince. There are just so many great applications for her alternate face!

If you’re into Castle or Medieval themed LEGO, the Hennin is surely one of the most exciting accessories from Series 12. The accuracy of the hennin is impressive, with the white fabric that’s attached to the tip of the cone. Her braided auburn hair is fused to the headpiece and I’m really glad that it’s made out of regular plastic.

The painting on the hennin is a little sloppy, especially the white bits where you can see that it bleeds into the purple areas. It’s a minor irritant, but it does raise concerns that LEGO’s standards are slipping – especially since the Collectible Minifigures are notorious for inconsistent quality (don’t get me started on the legs) due to them being manufactured in China.

Despite the tiny flaw, the Fairytale Princess is still a remarkable minifig and can be considered as the next evolution in female Castle minifigures.

How To Find One: The Fairytale Princess has an easily identifiable element – her sloped dress piece. But be aware that it’s not the wizard. The Wizard also has a cone shaped headpiece, but it doesn’t have the hairpiece that protrudes from it. The Wizard also has different contents such as his staff – using a process of elimination should allow you to easily tell the Fairytale Princess apart from the Wizard.

Minifig Rating: 4/5

Pizza Delivery Man “Hi! Did somebody here order a pizza?”

Who’s that at the door? It’s the friendly neighborhood Pizza Delivery Man! As the newest delivery guy at Papa Brickolini’s Pizzeria, he’s still got a lot to learn. He had no idea that carrying piping hot pizzas all around town required so many different job skills!

Not only does he have to ride his bike from house to house, but sometimes he needs to use a skateboard or a jetski, and once he even ended up in a high-speed car chase after a brick-stealing burglar for some reason that he still isn’t sure about. All that, and he still has to deliver his pizzas on time, every time!

Here’s a delightful civilian character that will fit right into any regular City or town scene – a Pizza Delivery Man. Not sure if Man is the right term, as he looks more like a teenager because of his pimply face and braces. His facial features are one of my favourite things about the Pizza Delivery Man – we only ever get really young children or adults as minifigure characters, so a teenager is a nice addition to the LEGO’s minifigure repertoire.

For his outfit, he has a polo t-shirt in the colours as the Italian flag that has several grease stains on it, which makes him look like an authentic Pizza Delivery Guy. Rounding out his franchise uniform is another novelty baseball cap, which has a pizza logo printed on it.

The two accessories included with the Pizza Delivery Man are pretty sweet. One’s a printed tile (I love printed tiles) pizza box and the other is an update to a very classic LEGO element – the printed round pizza tile.

The updated pizza features a lot more toppings such as pepperoni, green capsicum as well as the visible tomato base under all that cheese. It looks incredibly delicious and is a great new food-themed part.

I don’t mean to nitpick but the Pizza Delivery Man’s arms and hands are so mismatched that it bothers me more than cold pizza. This picture doesn’t do it justice as it looks much worse than in the photo above.

Despite that niggling detail, the Pizza Delivery Man is a solid addition to the LEGO Minifigures cast and your city’s pizza joint. I’ve always been a fan of more civilian type characters and it’s refreshing to have more occupations to choose from because frankly, the City minifigures tend to fall into extremely homogenized roles like cops or drivers.

How To Find One: Finding the Pizza Delivery Man is as easy as ordering a pizza from your neighbourhood pizza shop. His 2 X 2 pizza box tile and round pizza tile are the easiest to make out, but you can also try looking for his cap.

Minifig Rating: 3/5

Spooky Girl “Do you want to come play with me?”

The Spooky Girl likes everything that’s creepy, crawly, icky and eerie. She loves having bad dreams and watching scary black-and-white movies. She loves taking long walks through old graveyards, hearing the wind howl at night, and seeing dry leaves fall off of trees. She loves rats and bats and snakes and spiders, and they love her, too.

Because of all that, the Spooky Girl tends to come off as just a little bit…different. People don’t always understand her point of view, or her sense of style, or her habit of suddenly appearing behind them in mirrors when they don’t know she’s in the room. But she can’t help being spooky; it’s just the way she is!

LEGO’s homage to Wednesday Addams from the Addams Family has all the trappings of an instant classic. Apart from her distinct lack of pigtails, the Spooky Girl is almost an exact replica of Wednesday. I love Spooky Girl’s monochromatic colour scheme, big doll eyes and the little details like a spider emerging from her pocket.

Her hairpiece is made out of squishy plastic but unlike previous instances where the material has a matte and rough texture, LEGO have somehow managed to make the plastic glossy, which makes it look less like a Mega Block part. It’s still not as good as proper ABS plastic, but it’s a step in the right direction – I don’t hate it, but I still dislike the squishy material.

This will sound super icky, but removing Spooky Girl’s skirt reveals that her striped stockings extend all the way up to her waist, which is a nice little touch. The striped pattern extends to the side of her legs (the printing is slightly unaligned, but that’s a tiny issue) but abruptly end at the back. I really can’t wait for the day that LEGO figures out how to get printing on the back of minifigure legs. I have a sneaking suspicion that it isn’t rocket science.

The Spooky Girl also doesn’t have back printing, which to me is pretty puzzling since its 2014 and you’d expect LEGO to have standardized all minifigure torsos to all have back printing. In my honest opinion, it’s pretty lazy on LEGO’s part that she doesn’t have back printing, something that holds her back from being a truly great minifigure.

Here’s a closeup shot of Spooky Girl’s teddy bear, which is a sad looking stuffed animal. He has the same striped pattern as Spooky Girl and it appears that his eyes have been ripped out, with a replacement button loosely sewed into the right side of his head.

It’s clear that the Spooky Girl’s unique goth look makes her an extremely distinctive character that feels right at home in LEGO’s eclectic minifigure series. If you’re lucky enough to have owned 10228 Haunted House, she’ll be right at home. I really enjoy LEGO’s take on characters from popular culture and I think that they’ve done a fantastic job with Spooky Girl.

How To Find One: The Spooky Girl is quite easy to detect, simply because of her squishy hairpiece. There are no other squishy elements in Series 12, so if you come across a squishy part, you’ve got yourself a Spooky Girl. You can also try looking for her bear, which is also relatively easy to feel. There are only 3 Spooky Girls per box – to increase your chances finding her, try and search through fresh boxes. That said, I don’t think she’ll be a wildly popular character that people are going to go out of their way to horde.

Minifig Rating: 4/5

And that’s the end of Part 1 of my LEGO Series 12 review. Part 2 will be coming up shortly once I’ve actually found the remaining characters… I’ve been a bit busy spending my money on amassing my army of Piggy Guys. I’ll get to a complete set of Series 12… eventually!

Have you started collecting any Series 12 minifigs? Which ones are your favourite so far? Let me know in the comments!