Review: Citizen Brick Space Enthusiast Minifigure

March 2, 2016 | 11

So here’s a bit of a new experience for me. Custom minifigures! I was sent a review copy of a Citizen Brick custom minifig by I’m Rick James Bricks. They recently announced that they’ve become Australia’s official Citizen Brick reseller. Good news for Australian fans of custom minifigs as it was previously quite costly and a bit of a hassle to order these from overseas.

What’s Citizen Brick? They design and produce custom printed LEGO and LEGO-compatible products and are perhaps best known for their range of custom minifigs. Based out of Chicago, they mostly focus on creating and customising products aimed at adult LEGO fans and collectors, often touching on subjects or pop culture characters that are too risqué for LEGO.

I first heard of Citizen Brick a couple of years back when they released the Dragon Sword Fighter Force minifigs, which are custom minifigures that are totally not related to Game of Thrones at all. Pretty cool, and I did think of picking a set up but they weren’t available in Australia at the time.

All Citizen Brick products are pad printed, the same method used to print factory-made LEGO products. they use only toy-safe, medical grade inks that are durable enough to withstand years of play. Pretty cool, and after messing around with one, I have to agree that the quality was above and beyond other custom minifigs I’ve come across.

I do have to admit that I don’t collect custom minifigs as I’m a bit of a LEGO purist, so this was quite an eye opening introduction to the world of custom minifigs. Some LEGO fans feel very strongly about custom minifigs, whereas some wholeheartedly welcome them and treat them the same. I guess the good thing about Citizen Brick is that they mostly use and print over regular LEGO minifigs, so the quality of LEGO isn’t diminished in any way.

Full disclaimer: I was gifted a review copy of Space Enthusiast and some tiles for this review by I’m Rick James Bricks.

Oh and as a special reward for Jay’s Brick Blog readers, you can enjoy 10% off all Citizen Brick products by using the code JAYCB10 when you checkout. This offer is only valid for a limited time – for the first 100 purchases.

I received a Space Enthusiast minifig, who is totally not inspired or based on Neil deGrasse Tyson, the celebrity astrophysicist, cosmologist and Atheist deity. I’m sure any resemblance is purely unintentional. Wink.

The Space Enthusiast minifig costs $22.

The Citizen Brick minifig comes in a blister pack of sorts which gives you a very nice view of the assembled minifig. The packaging is pretty snazzy and it’d made a neat gift for LEGO fans.

On the back, you’ve got some details on the printing process of Citizen Brick accessories and minifigs.

Here’s the not-Neil deGrasse Tyson minifig. I was very impressed by the quality of the printing, especially on the torso. He’s got a black blazer over a bronze-ish vest which has stars and a moon printed over it. Very space-y. It looked very much like the quality of what you’d expect from a LEGO minifig.

He’s got a soft and kind looking face with a moustache that looks just like one Neil deGrasse Tyson has. Uncanny. What I like about this minifig is that he’s a black person – we don’t get too many black LEGO minifigures, so I’m actually quite pleased to add him to my collection to diversify my bunch of minifigs.

His hair was another pleasant surprise – it’s the new LEGO afro-textured hairpiece that made its debut this year on Finn from the Star Wars Battle on Takodana set.

Space Enthusiast also has a pearl gold telescope to stargaze.

Unfortunately there was no back printing which is a bit of a slight disappointment. Technically, the minifig doesn’t really need back printing since the Space Enthusiast is decked out in a black suit, but some additional fabric details or arm printing would’ve been nice.

So the big question is… does it mix well with regular LEGO? This is my first ever custom minifig, so I was a little hesitant of… mixing him in with the other minifigs, but after spending some time reviewing and photographing the Space Enthusiast, I didn’t feel uneasy about letting him mingle with my other minifigures. 

Here he is regaling some of the foremost female LEGO scientists on the wonders of space and the universe.

Of course, if you’re into memes, you can also do this.

So yeah, I enjoyed the Space Enthusiast minifig a lot more than I thought I did. Having a replica of a famous pop culture celebrity is nice and the fact that the printing isn’t overdone made it quite easy to integrate him with my other minifigures. It also helps that the quality is exceptional as well.

The thing is, I don’t feel that custom minifigs are for everybody. For one, they’re quite pricey compared to regular minifigs but for fans of pop culture or who want to add an extra edge to their display collections, custom minifigs are definitely a worthwhile investment, especially the quality is really good.

Browsing through the collection, these were some of the standout ones that I liked:

Ink Enthusiast – $30

Pity Enthusiast – $22

Lab Partners – $70

Random assortment of tiles.

Apart from pop culture-inspired minifigs, Citizen Brick also has a range of tiles, torso and minifig accessories. Check out the whole range here. 

Remember, if you’re thinking of buying any Citizen Brick products from I’m Rick James Bricks, be sure to use the code JAYCB10 to enjoy 10% off your purchase.

Hope you enjoyed this small review and introduction to custom minifigs. Let me know in the comments what you think or if you already do collect custom minifigs or accessories!