Minifigures

gtrjedi

Just getting into Lego.
Year by Year has been really helpful,but how are the character encyclopedias?
Do they have more figures that are not in YbY?
I just bought 2 lots that will total around 500 minifigs and I need reference to make sure the figs are correct.
I prefer a book to looking them up on the net.
Which books are the best reference for minifigs overall?

SumoLego

Bricklink is likely your best resource.  The print books simply don't have the cross-referencing capacity that the online databases do.

Astrobricks

If you get stumped on identifying some of them after giving Bricklink a try, you can ask for help (with pics) over here: 
https://forum.brickset.com/discussion/513/master-thread-help-identifying-parts-and-sets#latest

datsunrobbie

http://www.goatleg.com has a great tool for finding minifigures by parts in the Bricklink database. 

As for books, the Character Encyclopedias by DK are the best printed reference that I have found. Look for them in used book stores/thrift shops and they are often available for just a dollar or two. Each book has a different theme, so  if you are sorting out minifigures from a specific theme the books can be pretty useful. 

I find online searches are a lot more efficient for identifying minifigures, but really enjoy flipping through the books, especially the one with CMF series 1 through 10. 

oldtodd33

If the OP doesn't mind I'd like to give a bit of advice about buying minifigure lots on Ebay or elsewhere. Avoid lots that don't supply headgear with the minifigures. A lot of sellers sell them without hats, hair, etc. This is very expensive when you have to go to BL or BO to buy the parts you need as a lot of the special head pieces can get very expensive. I enjoy buying lots for fun but I stay completely away from lots that don't include the headgear. You also need to do your research on what makes a particular minifigure complete as re-sellers will put incomplete expensive figures in lots knowing that they are not complete and then you have either an expensive fix or you don't make that figure at all.  

Aanchir

SumoLego said:

Bricklink is likely your best resource.  The print books simply don't have the cross-referencing capacity that the online databases do.

Yeah, the real value of the character encyclopedias is not as a "checklist" but as a resource for finding info about the figures' fictional or non-fictional context, and/or insights into the design process and the meanings behind certain aspects of the designs.

They can also sometimes be good drawing reference for the characters any time you don't have internet access… something I've also always enjoyed about art books, "making of" books, and video game strategy guides. But nowadays there aren't nearly as many situations where internet access is not reliably available as there were in my childhood. And since they usually show most of the characters from only one or two angles, they don't tend to be as useful for drawing reference as high-quality review photos or the actual, physical figures.

A lot of the time there's also a lot of info in the character encyclopedias that can feel like "filler"… especially noticeable in instances when a new edition comes out and some of that "filler" content gets cut so there's more room for new characters/figures introduced since the original edition. For example, the original edition of the LEGO Ninjago character encyclopedia (released in 2012) had 176 pages, and the updated edition (released in 2016) had just 48 more pages than that… even though the second edition covered about 106 more characters (including dragons/creatures) than the 60 covered in the first!

prevere

datsunrobbie said:

http://www.goatleg.com has a great tool for finding minifigures by parts in the Bricklink database. 

As for books, the Character Encyclopedias by DK are the best printed reference that I have found. Look for them in used book stores/thrift shops and they are often available for just a dollar or two. Each book has a different theme, so  if you are sorting out minifigures from a specific theme the books can be pretty useful. 

I find online searches are a lot more efficient for identifying minifigures, but really enjoy flipping through the books, especially the one with CMF series 1 through 10. 

This is perfect. I've got a hundred or so torsos I can't quite figure out. So glad this was discussed. 

gtrjedi

The problem with Bricklink is that a lot of the pictures are not great.It took me 2 days to find a legs piece.
Plus,just legs alone,there are over 1400 on BL.That's a lot of scrolling through not the best pictures when you can only have 50 per page.
not to mention that it's much worse for your eyes to stare at a screen for hours
I find a book much easier to manage and DK has great pics.
I have Year by Year,I don't think the reg Character encyclopedia is worth buying since the first 10 series are in YbY,,I would imagine the category specific ones are though.
I may try for a copy of The Collectible Lego Minifig as well though.
I have also seen some independently published yearly catalogs but I don't know much about those yet.
I suppose I will keep asking DK about an updated YbY.

oldtodd33

@gtrjedi If you are having trouble finding a body part, try searching by color as it narrows the field quite a bit most of the time. 

gtrjedi

Yea,I've tried that.
I have a purple leg piece with a design on it and I tried searching purple and it's not on there so far.

tmgm528

@gtrjedi For ones that really stump ya, try putting them in the parts id thread here. There’s lots of us who know way too much from the top of our heads about Lego :P

oldtodd33

@gtrjedi  Yeah!  Pictures in the parts id thread would be fun. 

gtrjedi

i will probably show some pics after I get the lots I just bought.
A lot of it I recognize but I'm sure I'll need a little help with 450 figs.

Pitfall69

tmgm528 said:

@gtrjedi For ones that really stump ya, try putting them in the parts id thread here. There’s lots of us who know way too much from the top of our heads about Lego :P

My wife thinks it is crazy that I know so much about Lego Minfigures. I tell her that there are many people like me and there are people that know a lot more than I do about minifigures. 

Pitfall69

@oldtodd33 ; I know all too well about spending a lot of money on headgear to complete minifigures. I once bought a huge lot of Classic Castle sets and that darn black plume was the death of me!!!

SumoLego

Did you elect a new Pope?

oldtodd33

Pitfall69 said:

@oldtodd33 ; I know all too well about spending a lot of money on headgear to complete minifigures. I once bought a huge lot of Classic Castle sets and that darn black plume was the death of me!!!

   You must be talking about a miniplume. I have two spares and I guard them well. 

gtrjedi

How about The Complete Minifigure Catalog,does anyone have one?
6000 pics seems like that might be pretty helpful.

CCC

I wouldn't bother with an encylopedia, as they are not as searchable as the online databases such as Bricklink.

In addition to goatleg, there is this site too:

http://www.v4ei.com/mini-fig-ure-outer/

It nearly always helps to filter by colour, and try to learn some of the common keywords used to describe print on minifigure parts.

datsunrobbie

@CCC thank you for the link, that's going to be another great tool in my LEGO folder.

gtrjedi

gtrjedi

This is one of the lots I just bought.It will total over 300 figs.The table has over 270 laid out on it and that ziploc is full of figures.I can't see much in it as they didn't empty and display it,but I did see a director and a yellow torso with the Lego logo on it which I believe might be a world event promo of some kind.
Can't wait for next week!!!!

gtrjedi

gtrjedi

This is the other lot.Over 100 torsos and legs.Some nice larger pieces like Hulk and Taun Taun,etc.
Between the 2,I have a bit of work ahead of me.
....and I went ahead and bought the complete minifigure catalog.

CCC

There are three Lotso the bear from Toy Story in the second lot. He isn't worth much. But if you also have Twitch from one of the sets Lotso came in, he is worth looking for. I also see the pig (Hamm) and dino (Rex), which are also reasonably valuable if complete and decent condition.

gtrjedi said:

but I did see a director and a yellow torso with the Lego logo on it which I believe might be a world event promo of some kind.

There is a very common yellow torso with a logo on it,

and it looks like one of the other figures might be wearing the same one - 2nd row from bottom, fifth from left.

If the director is this one:

then he is not worth much, very common.

Pitfall69

^What are your plans with the 2 lots you bought? Are you going to try to complete the sets? Are you planning on keeping all of this or selling it on? 

I don't see anything valuable in terms of minifigures in the first pic. I see more value in the second pic mainly because of all the licensed minifigures. 

gtrjedi

Not positive until I go through them all.
I will probably sell off the toy story and friends. I already have around 50 friends that someone dumped in the bins,only a dozen with hair but those will be the first evilbay lot.
I am collecting the series figs.Theres at least a dozen of those.
There are some good figs in them.Deadpool,Wolvie,Magneto,lotsa Batman,HP,SW.
I'm sure I'll sell some but I just have to wait and see exactly what I get.

I basically paid just over a dollar a piece so I think I got a good deal on them...well, actually less if you count the bikes and animals and whatever ends up being in that Ziploc.

CCC

gtrjedi said:

There are some good figs in them.Deadpool,Wolvie,Magneto,lotsa Batman,HP,SW.

When you get them, check they are real LEGO. Those three - especially Deadpool - are often faked.

gtrjedi

I already asked They are from the DP chase set.
I have bought a couple lots already.
One from a FB Lego group,paid 25 Inc shipping for 35 figs and it had a Momo in it and half of series 12 and 13.
Another lot of sets and figs where the lady was selling her ex-stepsons stuff.Got a good deal on that,lol.Got 2 Atlantis sets missing just a shark warrior,a space police 2 vehicle set missing the 2 squid masked villians, couple small SW sets,couple Bionicle sets,all with instructions at least.
Only thing fake I've bought is a Saturn Girl,just an hour ago.Couldnt resist for 1.89 with free shipping.

gtrjedi

This is the purple leg piece.....

Pitfall69

Should be fun putting all of the minifigures together; I've always enjoyed that part of going through a lot. I think as a Lego community, we also like helping identify parts/sets/minifigures for forum members :)

gtrjedi

Yeah I like figuring out what goes with what.
I have about 150 figs right now.Year by Year has been the most help with them.Bricklink has been the most helpful for parts.
The legs above I have not identified yet.

hoodaddy

Is there printing on the feet or is that just shadow?

gtrjedi

It has the white and black on the front of the feet.
Just a printed front, purple everywhere else.

LuLego

I’ve looked through every set of legs on BrickLink and I can’t find those purple legs either!

tmgm528

I get some wonder twins vibes from those legs, but no clue what they are

gtrjedi

I thought wonder Twins too at first but no.
I tried the link above that CCC posted but it has 2 drop menus for legs,a waist color and a leg color.You can pick purple under waist but it's not a color choice for legs.Pretty dumb.
If it's not in The Complete Minifigure Catalog that I get Tue then at least I will know it's after 2015.

CCC

I don't recognize the legs either. The printing doesn't really look lego like, especially on the hips. It seems to go all the way to both the top and bottom of the hips, LEGO's printing usually stops just short, meaning there is a break in print over the break between hips and torso.

Do they have the lego logo? If so, probably custom. If not, it will be a fake brand.

gtrjedi

Either way I just want to know what or who it is.
I can find nothing.

Pitfall69

gtrjedi said:

Either way I just want to know what or who it is.
I can find nothing.

Can you take a clear pic of the legs looking down at the leg posts and looking into the feet???

CCC

Pitfall69 said:

gtrjedi said:

Either way I just want to know what or who it is.
I can find nothing.

Can you take a clear pic of the legs looking down at the leg posts and looking into the feet???

Is sniffing My Little Ponies not enough any more? :-)

Pitfall69

^To be honest, Lego was a gateway drug ;)

SumoLego

Pitfall69 said:

^To be honest, Lego was a gateway drug ;)

Pretty soon you'll be mainlining Precious Moments and Hallmark Ornaments.

shikadi

Somewhat related, how can I see a list of all the "flesh" minifig heads (i.e. not yellow or unnatural colors)? Searching "flesh" on bricklink doesn't seem to give me what I want.

CCC

This is the list of 'flesh' heads:

https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?catID=238&catXrefLevel=0&q=3626*&catLike=W&colorPart=28&sortBy=N&sortAsc=A&itemBrand=1000&catType=P

and this longer list is 'light flesh'

https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?catID=238&catXrefLevel=0&q=3626*&catLike=W&colorPart=90&sortBy=N&sortAsc=A&itemBrand=1000&catType=P

prevere

Pitfall69 said:

@oldtodd33 ; I know all too well about spending a lot of money on headgear to complete minifigures. I once bought a huge lot of Classic Castle sets and that darn black plume was the death of me!!!

Had to drop $8 on that freaking black plume to complete the Smuggler Hayride set. By the time I hit the buy button, I was hyperventilating. 

shikadi

CCC said:

This is the list..

Not sure how you did that but thanks!

Pitfall69

shikadi said:

Somewhat related, how can I see a list of all the "flesh" minifig heads (i.e. not yellow or unnatural colors)? Searching "flesh" on bricklink doesn't seem to give me what I want.

Searching for "flesh" on Google will net you different results ;)

Pitfall69

prevere said:

Pitfall69 said:

@oldtodd33 ; I know all too well about spending a lot of money on headgear to complete minifigures. I once bought a huge lot of Classic Castle sets and that darn black plume was the death of me!!!

Had to drop $8 on that freaking black plume to complete the Smuggler Hayride set. By the time I hit the buy button, I was hyperventilating. 

Believe it or not; the lot had (3) Smugglers Hayride and another Forestmen's set and all of them were without different plumes, especially the black one.