Review: LEGO Minifigures Series 23
August 16, 2022
|
26
26
2022 is a really special year for LEGO Minifigure fans, as we get TWO numbered series in one year! LEGO Minifigures Series 23 follows on from January’s Series 22, and the most recent Muppets series, and has a distinctively holiday/seasonal flavour to it!
Core numbered LEGO Minifigures Series have always been my favourites, and this one especially is a favourite of mine because of all the costumed minifigures included, which I love collecting!
LEGO Minifigures Series 23 will be released on 1 September globally, but in Australia and New Zealand, we’ll have to wait till 1 October 2022 to get these. There are also 6-pack boxes that are available from Amazon.com or LEGO.com (backordered)
Special thanks to The LEGO Group for sending these minifigures for review.
Here’s a look at the Series 23 blind bags, which have a “random” minifigure inside. The colour scheme for Series 23 is orange, which was last used (in a slightly different shade) in Series 18
Each LEGO Minifigures Series 23 blind bag will retail for US$4.99 in the US, AU$5.99 in Australia and £3.49 in the UK, and they’ll be available worldwide from 1 September onwards (1 October for Australia and New Zealand). Thankfully, LEGO minifigures haven’t been impacted by inflation!
There are also 6-pack boxes that are available from Amazon.com or LEGO.com (backordered)
Special thanks to The Rambling Brick, for loaning a set for this review, as mine were late to arrive. Be sure to check out his Series 23 review!
LEGO Series 23 Minifigures Box Distribution
The good news is that there are 3 complete sets in each box of Series 23 Minifigures – which is quite typical with the modern era of the 12-character sets. No chase or rare minifigures, and great news if you plan to buy a sealed box, and split the contents with 2 other friends.
That said, a few characters are bound to be in high demand – I expect the holiday-themed ones to very popular, especially for fans of LEGO Winter Village, and the Knight of the Yellow Castle to be the most popular and sought-after minifigure, especially by medieval army builders.
Here’s a look at the character checklist and leaflet, and instructions on the reverse side.
Here’s the complete list of characters, along with their official names.
- Nutcracker
- Sugar Fairy
- Snowman
- Reindeer Costume
- Holiday Elf
- Cardboard Robot
- Popcorn Costume
- Wolf Costume
- Turkey Costume
- Ferry Captain
- Knight of the Yellow Castle
- Green Dragon Costume
If you click the name of each minifigure, you’ll instantly jump to the corresponding minifigure review! For the “feelers out there”, my reviews also contain a “How To Find One” section with actual tips on how you can best identify the minifigs in their blind bags.
If you’re new to my LEGO Minifigure reviews, I use a 5-point scale review scale to rate each minifig. Here’s what the numbers 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 hate it
Unfortunately, I took photos of this series while away on holiday, so I don’t have access to my other minifigures for comparison shots, which I hope to add when I get back in late December!
Now all that’s done, let’s jump straight into the LEGO Minifigures Series 23 review!
1. Nutcracker
We kick off LEGO Minifigures Series 23 with the Nutcracker, and instantly, you can tell that this set is immensely festive. Nutcrackers are a fixture at Christmas, with their chompy teeth designed to break walnuts open, and this minifigure is a brilliant rendition of the iconic wooden Nutcrackers.
The highly detailed printing, which includes arm and leg printing are sublime, and the Nutcracker’s iconic expression is captured perfectly here.
He has a great soldier’s hat, with hair fused to it that sticks out the side, and also, printed walnuts!
In fact, the accessories are really generous, with a second set of pauldrons, a second walnut, and even a second pearl gold cutlass included!
How to find one: Try feeling for the Nutcracker’s large hat, which has jagged hair sticking out the sides. The cutlass should also be quite easy to feel for with the long, thin, bendy blade, and bulbous handle.
Minifig Rating: 4/5
2. Sugar Fairy
For all sweet tooths, we have the Sugar Fairy minifigure, an adorable fairy-type minifigure that’s all about being sugar sweet. Dentists hate the Sugar Fairy!
This holiday-themed minifigure dressed up very much like a cute ballerina with some fun details like sprinkles on her face and even printed on her feet. She has a white crown, which is a new recolour – possibly made of white chocolate!
Her tutu and official name makes me think that the minifigure is a nod to the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
Here’s a look at her tutu, which in addition to being pink, also has silver specks on it which is a fun little touch.
LEGO have also dialled up the decorations on her trans-pink fairy wings, with these swirly dot patterns across the wings. The printing effect is done really nicely here.
And here’s a look at her dual-sided face.
The best thing about the Sugar Fairy is her new candy cane accessory! It’s a really cool piece, that I’m sure will be very popular with Winter Village fans, and I love how good it looks as a minifigure-scale accessory.
The Sugar Fairy’s accessories are incredibly generous, and there’s plenty to like such as her speckled tutu, bedazzled fairy wings, and candy cane. Throw in the colourful sprinkles on her face, and feet and you have a very fun new minifigure.
Here’s a comparison with some other fairy-type minifigures such as Series 17’s Butterfly Girl, and and Build-a-Minifgure butterfly.
Minifig Rating: 4/5
How to find one: Try feeling either for her tutu, which has an oval shape with rough ridges, or her fairy wings, which have smooth curves, and a rigid neck hole.
3. Snowman
Up next with more holiday-themed minifigure is a Snowman! LEGO have had a long history of producing brick-built snowman, usually found in Winter-themed sets like Advent Calendars, Winter Village Sets or even Chinese New Year sets like Story of Nian, but this is the very first proper Snowman minifigure.
He looks fantastic, with an orange unikitty horn for its carrot nose, a handsome red scarf, and great printing on his face. The Snowman has a tophat, and broom.
Correction: It’s not a unikitty horn but a brand new carrot piece. It has vertical lines, and is not as sharp as the unikitty horn.
But wait, he’s not just a Snowman magically animated and brought to life…
Wait, is that an eye peeking out?
Surprise, the Snowman is actually a costumed minifigure, and there’s a very sweaty (ironic) man on the inside! He has a super funny expression, and sweat dripping on his face, and really gives this Snowman minifigure another added dimension.
I like that the Snowman functions both as a magical brought-to-life character, or as a costumed minifigure, and fans of LEGO Winter Village will absolutely want plenty of these for their layouts.
The Snowman’s head/helmet also isn’t a completely perfect sphere, and I like that it works with a minifigure head, allowing you to easily convert Snowmans you already have designed to this more realistic version.
A must-own for LEGO Winter Village fans, and I can see this one being a particularly popular character. I’m almost amazed that it’s taken us until 2022 to get a proper Snowman minifigure like this.
How to find one: Try feeling for the Snowman’s tophat, which is easily identifiable thanks to the wide brim. The snowman’s head is also quite large and bulbous, and is the roundest element in this series.
Minifig Rating: 4/5
4. Reindeer Costume
Series 23 is packed with costumed minifigures, and to add to the holiday theme, we have a Reindeer Costume minifigure. Notice that LEGO have completely dropped the gendered “guy” or “girl” or even “fan” (which was quite clunky) from the official name, so she’s just called Reindeer Costume, which sounds quite onwards.
On the minifigure, if you enjoy collecting Animal Suit Minifigures, the Reindeer Costume minifigure is an excellent new addition, and again, going to be very popular with fans of the LEGO Winter Village series.
The printing on the chest is simple yet effective, with a furry white belly, and I like the bell collar, as well as the printed hooves on her feet.
Here are the accessories – there’s a spare set of reindeer antlers which are a neat little element with pins that fit into helmets/hairpieces with holes in them, heart-shaped cookies with icing on them, as well as a new printed tile that serves as the lid of the present.
Here’s a look the Reindeer Costume’s back printing, with a white tufty tail.
Here’s a closer look at the Reindeer Costume’s headgear, and alternate face.
LEGO have very subtly included the very first minifigure with a diastema, which is the name of the condition where there’s a gap between the front teeth. Diastemas are completely natural, but many people feel very self-conscious about them, and I love that LEGO is continuing to champion representation and diversity through subtle ways like these.
Fun fact, Australian supermodel Jessica Hart is a really well-known model who proudly show off her diastema, and avoided pressure to “fix” them to fit the mainstream definition of beauty.
Here’s a comparison with the LEGO Reindeers first introduced in 10275 Elf Clubhouse – I especially like that they colour matched the medium nougat shade of the reindeers.
As a fan of animal costume minifigures, the Reindeer Costume minifigure is a huge fit, and I’m of course going to try and hunt down at least 9 to pull Santa’s Sleigh.
How to find one: The Reindeer Costume’s gift box is the easiest element to find as it’s square-shaped, about the size of a 2×2 brick with a very noticable opening with pointy ridges.
Minifig Rating: 4/5
5. Holiday Elf
The holiday-themed minifigures don’t stop, with Series 23’s Holiday elf, a ginger-haired elf that probably is enslaved by Santa.
The Holiday Elf fits in effortlessly with Winter Village scenes, and is notable because it’s the first time we’ve gotten a Christmas Elf in a Minifigure series since 2013’s Series 11 Holiday Elf, meaning that it’ll be easy to amass a large number of these elves to fill up your Elf Clubhouse or Santa’s Workshop.
She comes with a snowglobe, containing a tiny gingerbread house. The dome has white printed spots on it, which is a pleasant surprise, and the Elf also has dual-moulded highly detailed leg printing.
Here’s a look at the Holiday Elf’s back printing, and a better look at her orange pigtails, which are made of rubberish plastic, so are pretty flexible.
Oh, and as an added bonus, you also get a spare gingerbread house!
Here’s a look at Santa’s elves welcoming the new holiday elf into their midst! It’s really neat that this is the very first time that LEGO have managed to fuse hair into the pointy green hats!
Not the most exciting minifigure as it’s a character that’s been done before, but I welcome the easy way to get a large number of Santa Elves, which again, will delight LEGO Winter Village fans. I also like the detailed legs, which make the older Elves look like peasants.
How to find one: Feel for the Snowglobe’s cloche, which feels like a dome. Either that or feel for the round 2×2 plate or 1×1 plate.
Minifig Rating: 3/5
6. Cardboard Robot
Here’s an introduction to the new Cardboard Robot minifigure, a fun arts and crafty twist to the typical Robot characters we tend to get in LEGO’s collectible minifigure series!
LEGO have been on a roll lately with cardboard-themed sets (see this year’s Cosmic Cardboard Adventures), and we now have a minifigure that has designed their robot suit entirely out of cardboard.
The printing and details are exquisite, with razor sharp details and decorations on the Robot’s feet, as well as cardboard armour.
Here’s a look at the back. I love how bulky the robot suit is.
The arm prints are perhaps my favourite feature, with some reflective duct-tape on one side, and an on/off switch on te other. The inclusion of a pair of scissors (you get a spare!) and a computer tile which has cut-out lines on it are also great.
Here’s a look at the minifigure without her cardboard robot suit.
While this isn’t the most exciting or interesting character, I have to give credit to LEGO’s ingenuity and creativity with the Cardboard Robot’s design which is pretty much flawless.
A fun addition to LEGO Collectible Minifigure robots, and I’m glad to see LEGO exploring fun, out of left-field minifigure designs like cardboard robot.
How to find one: The Cardboard Robot’s large suit is blocky, and one of the largest elements in the series. You can easily identify it with the studs on the top and sides of the head as well.
Minifig Rating: 3/5
7. Popcorn Costume
From costumed animals to costumed food items, we have the Popcorn Costume minifigure. It does everything it says on the box, a minifigure dressed up in a popcorn costume.
Here’s a closer look at the costume (the minifigure has a plain white costume underneath) – the moulding for the popcorn is really impressive with the large kernels, and a hole for the face to peek through.
And here’s a look at the back.
It’s an okay costume-design to me. A box of cinema popcorn isn’t the most interesting thing in the world to me, but it’s silly and goofy enough to feel right at home in LEGO’s collectible minifigure series.
How to find one: The Popcorn Costume is really large. and the base has a T-shape. The kernels also have a distinct bumpy texture which you can confirm to ensure you don’t have the Cardboard Robot.
Minifig Rating: 2/5
8. Wolf Costume
Series 23 is the gift that keeps on giving for Animal Costume minifigures, and we have the Wolf Costume minifigure, but I think a more accurate name would be the Big Bad Wolf! The Wolf Costume minifigure introduces wolves to the rapidly expanding Animal Costume minifigure series.
He wears some tattered overalls which has some nice details like tufts of fur in the chest area.
Here’s a look at the back printing, and tail. I love the lip-licking expression of the Wolf Costume minifigure, and the cool little details like his bushy eyebrows.
He comes with a medium nougat sack, which I thought was quite plain until I realised that it had printing on it, which is quite rare for these sacks!
Oh and the best feature is his dual-sided head – here’s his alternate expression where he’s huffing and puffing to blow houses down.
LEGO is practically begging for us to create a Three Little Pigs MOC featuring the Big Bad Wolf!
And here’s a comparison with the Werewolf from Series 14! I do enjoy the fact that this is a costumed minifigure, but can also double up as a childrens fable character.
LEGO have done a remarkable job with the Wolf Costume minifigure, and is one of my favourites in this series.
How to find one: Try feeling for the sack, which is quite large, lumpy with a thin handle.
Minifig Rating: 4/5
9. Turkey Costume
Christmas and Winter aren’t the only holidays being celebrated in Series 23, with the addition of the Turkey Costume minifigure! Another animal costume minifigure to add to the collection, this is very American, given how important Thanksgiving is as a national holiday.
The design is faultless, with a bright red helmet, a cheery expression, and even a pumpkin included.
I was really not prepared for just how large the Turkey’s tail feathers were, and also that it was made out of rigid plastic – I was expecting rubber!
I was also really bemused by this exceptionally angry alternate facial expression… do Turkeys suffer from anger issues? Why is he so cross? I have so many questions – maybe some Americans can explain why he’s so pissed off.
As costumed animal characters go, Turkeys aren’t what I’d usually classify as cute, so this won’t check the cutesy box, but I can imagine that with Thanksgiving coming up, this minifigure will be especially popular in the United States!
How to find one: The Turkey Costume’s large fan-tailed is unmissable – it has a section that sticks out in a 90 degree angle that slots in between the torso and legs. You can also feel for the pumpkin, which is solid, round and has ridges around the site.
Minifig Rating: 3/5
10. Ferry Captain
Ever wanted a big boat suit minifigure? All 3 of you now have your wish with the Ferry Captain, who is one with his ship.
It’s one of the most incredulous minifigure costumes yet, mostly because of how large and comical it looks, especially worn by an elderly and wise captain. The boat has red sticks that you slot into it, that act as chimneys an as you can see is quite large.
The Ferry Captain is quite unassuming, with a very respectable uniform, ship captain hat, and is the spitting image of Edward Smith, the captain of the Titanic.
This is a fun and silly minifigure, and I love just how goofy the entire concept is, and should be a great companion for owners of 10294 Titanic.
Add a ship to this small, but growing sub-group of minifigures with vehicle-themed costumes! We NEED a Train next!
How to find one: The ship is really large, and thick, and quite unmistakable given its size.
Minifig Rating: 4/5
11. Knight of the Yellow Castle
2022 is a massive year for LEGO Castles with the release of the spectacular 10305 Lion Knights’ Castle, and the celebrations continue with Series 23’s Knight of the Yellow Castle.
This diminutive but feature-packed Knight is a lovely nostalgic nod to 375 Yellow Castle, the very first LEGO Castle best known for its iconic bright yellow walls.
There’s so much going on, and I especially love the inclusion of a hobby horse (the head attaches to the red stick), that it’s a little girl, and most importantly, we get the Crown sigils printed on her kite shield, as well as on her armour.
Oh, and if the printed armour isn’t enough… she also has the Crown sigil printed on her torso as well, along with some chainmail across her neck!
Insane, and what a fantastic surprise.
Here’s a look at her back.
And you also get a spare pearl gold sword, an pink plume!
10305 Lion Knights’ Castle features a brave queen leading the Lion Knights, and I love that we also get a little girl to play the role of the Knight of the Yellow Castle.
Here’s a comparison with the original minifigures from 375 Castle – it’s brilliant to have the high-fidelity printed sigil on armour (a lovely nod to the originals), as well as the shields. She fits right in!
It’s been a big year for LEGO Castle fans, and it goes without saying that this is my favourite minifigure from Series 23, for the incredible accessories, but also for the historic significance of the Knight of the Yellow Castle.
With Knights being especially popular as army builders… I can see this minifigure be one of the most sought-after in this series.
How to find one: Feel for the Knights’ 2 swords, or her visor which has a thin curved shape with a sharp nose. You can also feel for her kite shield – the handles that jut out are easy to feel for against the flat shield.
Minifig Rating: 5/5
12. Green Dragon Costume
Last but not least is a worthy closer, the Green Dragon Costume Minifigure. It’s the 4th animal costume minifigure, making this series a record for inclusion of costumed characters) and an all-around great minifigure.
This is a green version of Dragon Suit Guy from Series 18, which I like to think is a nod to LEGO’s original old green dragons. The original Dragon Suit Guy was one of my favourites from Series 18, so it’s only natural that I would love this green version.
There’s plenty to love, such as the wings, highly detailed head, and arm printing as well.
Here’s a look at her alternate face, which has a ferocious expression! The printing around the teeth is a little shoddy, but not really noticeable unless you go looking.
The Green Costume Minifigure isn’t particularly novel, and is a gender/colour swapped version of Series 18’s Dragon Suit Guy, but it’s still an exceptional minifigure, and here’s a look of them both together.
I really like the green, as it looks a lot more “dragon-y” to me, and is one of my top picks from Series 23. Absolutely flawless and nothing to dislike about the Green Costume minifigure.
How to find one: Feel for the Dragon’s wings, which have a neck clip, and has rigid wings. The spiky tail is also rigid, and has bumpy spikes.
Minifig Rating: 5/5
Final Thoughts: LEGO Minifigures Series 23 is an absolutely brilliant series, with hardly any “weak” or undesirable minifigures, a particularly memorable series that shines thanks to all the costumed minifigures!
The holiday-themed subgroup, which I expect will be very popular as we head towards Winter, or Thanksgiving in the United States work particularly well here, and I love how well they’ll be able to be integrated into LEGO Winter Villages.
There are a lot of fun inclusions, but also useful characters like the Snowman, and Holiday Elf, as well as one of the best army builders in a while – the Knight of the Yellow Castle.
Series 23 honours the roots of the Collectible LEGO Minifigures Series, with fun, whimsical and bright characters that’s one of LEGO’s strongest yet.
The series also feels like great value, with substantially sized accessories like the Turkey tail, Cardboard Robot costume, Ferry Captain’s ship, as well as the high level of printing and details across all minifigures.
Here are my top 5 from Series 23
- Knight of the Yellow Castle
- Green Dragon Costume
- Nutcracker
- Wolf Costume
- Reindeer Costume
Series 23 is a fantastic series, and one of the best ever, with memorable characters, and a water-tight lineup of characters that will surely delight LEGO Minifigures fans.
Overall Rating: 5/5 ★★★★★
LEGO Minifigures Series 23 will retail for US$4.99 in the US, AU$5.99 in Australia and £3.49 in the UK, and they’ll be available worldwide from 1 September onwards (1 October for Australia and New Zealand).
What do you think of the LEGO Minifigures series 23? Let me know what your favourite characters are in the comments!
To get the latest LEGO news and LEGO Reviews straight in your inbox, subscribe via email, or you can also follow on Google News, or socials on Facebook, Instagram (@jayong28), Twitter or subscribe to the Jay’s Brick Blog Youtube channel.
