Minifigure Design Milestone Firsts

BlockedUp · October 2016

I’m looking to confirm milestone events for minifigure designs. Can anyone see any mistakes in my timeline or add to it. I have questions on some of it as well...Thanks!

Pre Cursors

1974 - Home Makers Introduced - figures used to represent people – First issued Set # 200

1974 - "No Face" Legoland Minifigures introduced - Precursor to the modern day minifigure – First issued Set # ??

1978 – First Duplo Figure – Tub Bot - First issued Set # 534

Modern Minifigures

1978 - First issued Modern minifigure - Police Officer - Sticker on torso. First issued Set # 600

1978 - First Female Minifigure – First issued Set # 376

1979 - First Screen Printed Torso – Classic Space Astronaut - First issued Set # 442 ????

1989 - First Minifigure with a Different Face – Face other than simple two black dots for eyes, and a black curved smile - Pirate - First issued Set # 6235 Buried Treasure (Spinoza the Monkey 1st too)

1989 - First Minifigure with Different Hands/Legs – Pirate Captain Red Beard - First issued Set # 6251

1990 - First Specialized Minifigure – Ghost (1x2 brick legs) – First Issued Set # 6034

1993 – First Minifigure in Swim Suit - First issued Set # 6403 (Paving the way for “Honey have you seen my pants”)(Maybe not a design milestone)

1994 – First Minifigure with non-yellow printed head – Spyrius Droid - First issued Set # 6705

1995 - First Minifigure Skeleton – First Issued Set # 6036

1997 - First Minifigure of ethnicity - Set 2845 Indian Chief “Medicine Man”

1999 - First Licensed Character - Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn - First issued Set # 7101 Lightsaber Duel (Contradiction = Luke Skywalker - First issued Set # 7110)

1999 - First Molded Head - opposed to traditional cylinder - Jar Jar Binks - First issued Set # 7121 Swamp Naboo Swamp

2000 - First Minifigure with Torso Covered by Head – Chewbacca – First Issued Set # 3342

2000 – First Non-Fictional Specific Person – Steven Spielberg - First issued Set # 1349

2001 - First Giant “Oversized” Minifigure – Hagrid – First Issued Set # 4707

2002 - First Minifigure with Short Legs – Master Yoda – First Issued Set # 7103

2003 - First Minifigure with Natural Skin Tone - opposed too yellow- First issued Set # 3500 Kobe Bryant

2003 - First Minifigure with Belly Button (Fat) – Jabba the Hut – First Issued Set # 4480

2003 - First Spring Loaded Hips and Longer Arms– NBA Players - First Issued Set # 3432

2006 - First Minifigure with Block Head (Sandwich Board) – SpongeBob Square Pants– First Issued Set # 3825

2009- First Micro-Figure - Board game figures Red, Blue, White and yellow - First issued Set # 3838 Lava Dragon

2010 - First Minifigure with Long Legs–Woody – First Issued Set # 7590

2010 – First Nano-Figure – First issued Set # Karate Master Series 2 Minifigure (trophy)

2016 - First Wheel Chair Minifigure - First issued Set # 60134

Not to forget

2003 – 4 Plus figures – Set # 4651

1994 Belville Figures -Set # 5880

2012 Lego Friend Figures – Set # 3061

1979 Fabuland Figures – Set # 121 – Mo Mouse

nexander · October 2016

How about duel moulded legs, bricks instead of legs, heads with 2 faces, trans elements etc. Depends how in depth you want to be.

BlockedUp · October 2016

Those all are milestones for sure nexander...I guess we just need to keep building the list. The set release #'s are in question on my list. Not verified on a few...the years and themes are correct.

BlockedUp · October 2016

First female in a dress?

tallblocktoo · October 2016

Double sided heads?

tallblocktoo · October 2016

And when did capes start appearing?

BlockedUp · October 2016

6081 King's Mountain Fortress, a Crusaders set released in 1990 first set with a female in a skirt 2x2x2

William_Townsley · October 2016

First figure to include accessories

BlockedUp · October 2016

First two faced head was 4702 The Final Challenge Professor Quirrell in 2001

MattDawson · October 2016

For wheelchairs, would you be ones with the figure removable, or just in a wheelchair? Because #555 hospital had one.

BlockedUp · October 2016

MattDawson that would be a precursor to the minifigure. Those are stiffs or no face figures.

OrmskirkBricks · October 2016

This could make a good basis for a different type of minifig collection book!

BlockedUp · October 2016

First cape was 1999 - Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn - First issued Set # 7101 Lightsaber Duel nest I can tell...

Fauch · October 2016

no, oldest I can remember right now is 1993, dragon masters.
legs printing, was it 1994? spyrius droid. same for transparent head I guess.

BlockedUp · October 2016

Fauch is correct that I was wrong on cape date. Wasn't there a plastic peice cape too?

BlockedUp · October 2016

It's all work in progress here with this list...

flord · October 2016

It's always interesting to me to see what I *perceive* to be very little innovation when it comes to the minifigure since it was introduced. Kind of hard to believe it took until the Star Wars license for real progress to happen. It seems to me like it's only in the last 6 or 7 years that the minifigure has really evolved and been propelled forward in terms of printing and design.

Minifigures in the 1990s were shockingly plain, even when the quality and complexity of action figures at the time were improving dramatically.

BlockedUp · October 2016

1993 - First Minifig with a beard - Majisto - set # 1736- (No Cape)

brickmatt · October 2016

There was a plastic cape piece; not sure when it was first used. Also, double-sided torsos: for a long time, like heads, torsos were printed on just one side. And when they started doing them they weren't as common as they are now.

mampepin · October 2016

Leg printing, side-leg printing, hip printing, arm printing, double-moulded arms...

prof1515 · October 2016

The first licensed mini-figure would be any of those in the first five Star Wars (original trilogy) sets released in 1999. They preceded the Phantom Menace sets by months (the catalog included in the larger ones originally had a page showing the Naboo Starfighter and advertising the Phantom Menace release for that summer with the tagline of "So wizard!").

I'd also have to check if the Ewoks preceeded Yoda as the first mini-figures with the stubby legs. The goblins in one of the Harry Potter sets also came out around the same time.

Capes were introduced in the Castle line in the mid-1990s, years before they were seen in the Star Wars line. Incidently, the first Star Wars figure with a cape was Darth Vader.

CCC · October 2016

1997 - First Minifigure of ethnicity - Set 2845 Indian Chief “Medicine Man”

Surely the first minifigure of ethnicity was the first minifigure, with ethnicity "LEGO".

CCC · October 2016

prof1515 said:

I'd also have to check if the Ewoks preceeded Yoda as the first mini-figures with the stubby legs. The goblins in one of the Harry Potter sets also came out around the same time.

They were also in the 2002 LEGO Express train set #4534, as a kid on the platform.

Bumblepants · October 2016

Before cloth capes there was the plastic one that appeared in Castle fairly often. I think it might have first been a blacksmith apron but most of the time it was worn on the back as a cape.

SparkyHam · October 2016

@BlockedUp What a fantastic idea for a thread! How about some of these:

First mini figure head with safety holes in the stud (to stop kids choking)
First mining with a printed nose (think it might have been a native american fig from early western theme)
First shiny-coated fig
First non-human mini figure
First obvious "bad-guy" mini figure

matticus_bricks · October 2016

Also, I believe the 1994 Spyrius Droid was also the first robot/android minifigure as well. And the first with printed legs.

Also consider first minifig with dress slope, or without standard legs. First mermaid tail/octopus tentacle base/etc. First Alien?

catwrangler · October 2016

I think the first minifig with a dress slope must be the witch included in #6037 and #6087 - I remember being really impressed at the time!

BlockedUp · October 2016

I'm confident Yoda had the first small kegs as they were designed for him.

andhe · October 2016

BlockedUp said:

I'm confident Yoda had the first small kegs as they were designed for him.

A drunk jedi with that much power can be dangerous so they avoid giving him anything larger.

CCC · October 2016

And anything lager.

CCC · October 2016

BlockedUp said:

I'm confident Yoda had the first small kegs as they were designed for him.

That doesn't mean they were first used there though - quite a few sets containing them were out in the same year, and presumably some released at the same time.

For example, the braided hairpiece 11261 was apparently designed for Leia, but appeared on the shelves first (in the same year) for the Forest Maiden CMF.

datsunrobbie · October 2016

How about the first minifigure with visible ears? First with eye glasses?

For early licensed figures, there were 3 with the Exxon logo released in 1980
old045 - first monochrome minifigure
1992 - First swimsuit - PAR009, PAR010, PAR017, PAR025, PAR036
1997 - First mining with a printed nose WW014-WW022

Fauch · October 2016

First non-human mini figure - ghost, 1990?
First obvious "bad-guy" mini figure - I guess a pirate as they were the firsts with non generic faces.

leetshoe · October 2016

First with facial expressions is the 1989 Pirates.
First with a nose is 1996 the time crusaders or whatever that theme was called.

CCC · October 2016

Fabuland had lots of moulded heads, printed noses etc. I guess they are excluded as they are not minifigure parts but they definitely deserve a mention even if not strictly precursors. However they were much closer than homemaker and even the original minifigs with fixed legs and arms.

SapmiSatan · October 2016

Cloth cape, 1997: http://brickset.com/sets/6037-1/Witch-s-Windship

Short legs, also 2002: http://brickset.com/sets/4714-1/Gringott-s-bank http://brickset.com/sets/4731-1/Dobby-s-Release http://brickset.com/sets/7153-1/Jango-Fett-s-Slave-I

Regardless of when the Harry Potter sets were released, we can be pretty sure young Boba and Yoda came out at the same time as they were both part of the Attack of the Clones line.

Fauch · October 2016

cloth cape is 1993 imo. fire breathing fortress and dark dragon's den.
armours - 1990

BlockedUp · October 2016

First Cape - 1993 - Majisto - set #6020 - Magic Shop ... First Cloth Cape - 1993 - Dragon Master - Set #6076

BlockedUp · October 2016

1996- First Nose - set #1853 - Tim - Time Cruisers

Fauch · October 2016

do a bit of research, I think bumblepants was right on the plastic cape. I didn't note the year but it was before 1990

Aanchir · October 2016

BlockedUp said:

1996- First Nose - set #1853 - Tim - Time Cruisers

I believe he's tied with Flatfoot Thomsen (http://brickset.com/minifigs/ww008/Bandit-2) for that achievement.

blade_guy · October 2016

Don't forget the Scala figures too and the one lone Quatro figure...

BlockedUp · October 2016

I found theCape earlier than I mentioned...used as a black Smith apron in 1984 set #6040 Black Smith shop then again in 1986 in a castle set as a cape on a maiden in 1986

prof1515 · October 2016

The plastic cape debuted in 1984. The cloth cape in the early 90s, c. 1992 or 1993.

DoctorMcGann · October 2016

First minifigure with a slope dress is #6081 I think based on bricklink. Certainly the earliest one I own!

oldtodd33 · October 2016

If you are going for first ethnicity irregardless of style this is the one and only one with both old styles. http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=215-1#T=S&O={}

BlockedUp · October 2016

We are just collecting info on minifigures though. I will have an updated list in the next few days...

DoctorMcGann · October 2016

oldtodd33 said:

If you are going for first ethnicity irregardless of style this is the one and only one with both old styles. http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=215-1#T=S&O={}

Oh my god, they actually gave them red skin. Why, lego...

datsunrobbie · October 2016

DoctorMcGann said:

oldtodd33 said:

If you are going for first ethnicity irregardless of style this is the one and only one with both old styles. http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=215-1#T=S&O={}

Oh my god, they actually gave them red skin. Why, lego...

Because in 1977 most of the population was not so worked up about being politically correct. We actually played cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers, etc.

josekalel · October 2016

datsunrobbie said:

Because in 1977 most of the population was not so worked up about being politically correct. We actually played cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers, etc.

It's not about being 'politically correct', it's about what the depiction is trying to portray. I personally don't think that that LEGO set is trying to evoke a negative aspect of being a native, but you know, times change.

In contrast, you comparing cowboys and Indians and cops and robbers shows the actual root of the problem; cowboys are always portrayed as good, and natives as bad.

datsunrobbie · October 2016

josekalel said:

datsunrobbie said:

Because in 1977 most of the population was not so worked up about being politically correct. We actually played cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers, etc.

It's not about being 'politically correct', it's about what the depiction is trying to portray. I personally don't think that that LEGO set is trying to evoke a negative aspect of being a native, but you know, times change.

In contrast, you comparing cowboys and Indians and cops and robbers shows the actual root of the problem; cowboys are always portrayed as good, and natives as bad.

I guess that depends on when and where you grew up. I was 13 years old in 1977. Playing the Indians was fun because they use bows and arrows, and cowboys were often the cattle rustlers, stage-coach robbers, or other dastardly villains. The "Best of the West" action figures were some of my favorites, and the villains were all cowboys.

Minifigure Design Milestone Firsts

Comments

Shopping at LEGO.com or Amazon?

Howdy, Stranger!

Quick Links

Categories