8833- Minifigures Series 8

I own 11 of the 16 collectible minifigures in this series.  Five were obtained in my first attempt at using the bump or dot codes on the bottom of the packet.  Every packet is supposedly marked with a few indents or bumps that indicate what the figure is.  This didn't work too well for me as at first glance none of the packets I looked at had the exact pattern of the ones I was looking for.  However, if I knew what was inside I could kind of make out the pattern it was suppose to be.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, then don't worry yourself over it.  If you want a specific minifigure, I suggest first seeing exactly what accessories the figure is holding, if they have a special leg or dress piece, and/or any special type of hair.
Then either go to your local retailer and spend some time feeling the packets for your figure or buy a lot of figures to feel at home, returning the unopened ones you don't want.  I suggest the latter for those who have the spare money (you'll get refunded for whatever unopened packets you return but you need extra money to buy in bulk in the first place) or who are too embarrassed to be seen in the Lego aisle, squishing around the contents of small Lego packets for an hour.  Yes, I was that girl in Walmart feeling every single packet for the ones I wanted.  I went at night to make sure there would be less people around, partially so no one would grab a packet I hadn't inspected yet or move the packets around and mess up my order.  If you are willing to spend the time to do this, I suggest bringing a copy of the insert that comes with a figure so you can look the figure(s) you want to really understand the size and shape of the pieces that would define them through a packet.  For example, the DJ is one I specifically bought using this method.  He was fairly easy to find as I just needed to feel around for a small flat square piece and a small flat round piece (record case and record).  It can be a little tricky at first, but you get used to it and at least in my case, it's worth every minute.  That joy when you've felt nearly a dozen packets to no avail and but then finally find one the one you are looking for is hard to beat.  There's that relief when you get home or are in the car/bus/walking and excitedly open a packet to reveal that yes indeed you were successful and your desired figure is sitting happily in his packet, ready for whatever adventure you have planned for it.

Not pictured: Conquistador (2), Cowgirl (4), and Red Cheerleader (13)

In some ways, this series feels like my first series.  I'm on Lego.com or brickset everyday now, but this series was the first one I was around for day one of.  Where I really got excited about the figures and changed from just liking whatever I got and the surprise to collecting them.  I became that girl for whom going to a shop and feeling dozens of Lego packets is not only no question, but my idea of time well spent.






Conquistador (2)-  Planned Walmart purchase for Lego Small World (LSW) collection.  Comes with gold torso armor, feathered hat, and lance.  Some gold detail on his legs and nice buckle detail on the bottom portion of the armor.  The torso piece itself is nearly entirely a maroon colour, with some small gold detail on the bottom of the front.  For some reason, I expected the gold colour to be shinier, but it is somewhat shiny and looks alright.


Cowgirl (4)- Another planned purchase for LSW.  Comes with cowboy hat and lasso.  The lasso is semi-rubbery and a unique design.  The back of her hat shows braided hair, while the front has a printed gold star outlined in silver.  Her legs feature a little detail, most notably the belt buckle containing a star.  I like her torso print, especially the two printed red roses near her collar.  See additional images to see the back of her hat and her on her horse.  :)

Lederhosen Guy (3)-  This was a Walmart planned purchase for LSW collection.  Comes with feathered hat and pretzel.  I had never seen a Lego pretzel piece before and was eager to have one.  However, for some reason I thought it would be made out of a more flexible rubber material so it took me quite some time to identify him through the packet.  His hat has a removable feather piece and both hat and feather remind me of old forest-men sets.


Businessman (8)- This was a mystery packet from lego.com and I use him in my LSW collection.  Comes with bowler hat, printed Lego newspaper, and suitcase.  This was a fantastic surprise and out of all the series, he is my favorite minifigure.  His special newspaper says "City Financial News" in old-timey font and the front page even has a little graph.  I love Lego suitcases and am happy he comes with one.  His bowler hat and mustache are both spot-on.  His suit is highly detailed and you can see that he is wearing a vest, dark purple tie, and even a handkerchief is sticking out of his breast pocket.  If you are trying to identify him through the packet, keep in mind that lego suitcases come opened up flat, so feel for a long, slender piece.

Fairy (9)-  Another mystery packet from lego.com that I now use in my Holiday Figure collection.  Comes with wings, special hair, wand, and fabric skirt.  I actually got 2 of these in my small lego.com order of 4, which I wasn't too happy with.  She's kind of grown on me now, though, and I like to think of her as the Tooth Fairy. Not really a holiday, but still a special character in a (American) child's life.  Her wings are a pretty translucent blue.  Also translucent is her pink star-topped wand.  I found her skirt difficult to put on and it still doesn't look right to me, but maybe I'm just not good with those sorts of things.  Her hair reminds me of Tinkerbell and on one of her cheeks is a small white flower, both of which are nice touches.  Ok... she's pretty cool, as fairies go.  :)


Santa (10)- Another planned purchase from Walmart, for my Holiday Figure collection.  Comes with beard, hat, and sack.  With his beard on, he looks like a stern or grumpy guy, but underneath that he is actually giving a great big smile.  I don't think I've had a bearded minifigure before, so it was interesting to find out that the beard piece is slightly rubbery.  His hat is perfectly Santa.  His present sack has a nice shape and can easily fit into his hand but it also has a hole on the bottom so it can fit nicely on any Lego stud.  An all around fantastic Santa.

Vampire Bat (11)- Mystery packet from lego.com, now used in Holiday Figure collection.  Comes with eared hair piece and winged arms.  This guy can be seen in Monster Fighters sets, although in brown.  He's icky, which I suppose is a good thing for a vampire bat.  I call him a Man-Bat.  His webbed arms add to his look, but it means he only looks normal with his arms raised above his head.  If you push them down, they are wide away from his body which just looks a bit off.  Not a very functional guy, but he looks cool.

DJ (12)-  Planed Purchase from Walmart.  Comes with record case, record, and hair with printed headphones.  I bought this guy to use his cool shirt for a custom character I made.  I love his hair piece  but wish the headphones could come off.  The record case and record are certainly cool special pieces.  He now lives in a custom house I built.

Red Cheerleader (12)- Mystery purchase.  I didn't really want this minifig, but it was a gift and I'm sure I can find some cheer for her to bring to Lego City citizens.  She comes with two red and white pom-poms that clip very well her her hands.  She has a fittingly cheery expression and typical cheerleader outfit.

Double-sided head

Actor (14)-  Planned purchase from Walmart for LSW collection.  Comes with puff, skeleton head, and figure has reversible head.  His puff is slightly rubbery which makes it easier to identify through the packet.  The only problem with it is that with it on, his hair doesn't sit all the way on.  The skeleton head is a standard Lego head piece and can sit on the actor's hand fairly easily.  His outfit has some shiny gold features which I like.

Alien Villainess (16)-  Planned purchase from Walmart for LSW collection.  Comes with fabric cape and collar, gun, dress piece, and very special head piece.  She's the only one with a dress piece in this series, so she's easy to identify.  I had to get her and justified the purchase by saying that she represents unknown life in the universe.  The cape and collar work well and I love the purple color.  I'm happy this gun has a stud at the end instead of a translucent stick, like on other alien or space guns.  Her head is made of 3 pieces, the best being the big translucent pink brain on the top.  I had to watch a youtube video to find out how her entire head was put together, though.  I'm not usually into alien things, but she looks wonderful.


Additional Images:

Year Released: 2012

Retail Price: $2.99

My Purchase Location: Lego.com, Walmart