Wednesday, 14 January 2015

LEGO Minifigures Series 13 (PART ONE)


Well Lego, you’ve done it again. Series 13 of the ever-popular minifigures have arrived in Australia!
This feature should be part one of several, but how many remains uncertain. I’m still unsure as to whether or not I want to get all of the figures. There are some great ones in the range, but there’s one or two I’m just not sold on, and I don’t have my obsessive need to BUY ALL THE MINIFIGURES any longer, the way I did back in 2011 or 2012. But enough philosophising – it’s time to read about Series 13!  

Palaeontologist 

Within a year, Lego has released two different palaeontologist minifigures, and both of them are female – well done for progress!  

The first came with the Research Institute set, released in 2014. She was an adequate minifigure, but didn’t necessarily scream “Palaeontologist” outside of the context of her accessories. This one is much more in line with what I (and probably the general public too) think of when the words “Dinosaurs” and “Palaeontology”. Take away the trilobite and she could also fit in pretty well with the Pharaoh’s Quest theme too, as an archaeologist.   

The hat looks to be a new (or at least heavily retooled) piece. It’s a pith helmet, with a long braid hanging down the back. It’s not quite perfect; the paint on the hair is a little sloppy. Fortunately it’s confined to the underside of her hat, so it’s not immediately visible – but of course your own mileage may vary, and you aren’t able to check prior to purchase.

She comes with two accessories – a bone, the same as the Wolfman came with – and a fossil piece. It’s the 1 x 1 circular piece that has previously been used as Homer’s donut (among many other things) but the paint app is new. It looks like it’s an ammonite, cephalopods that inhabited the seas They’re one of the most common fossils found, so it makes sense that she comes with one. Initially, you may think that some of the paint app is scratched off in one spot – however, this is how it’s supposed to look. It’s either debris still stuck to the fossil, or a spot where the sands of time have worn it away. Now we need a trilobite fossil too – and some more dino skeletons too.

The Sheriff

I watched an absolute excess of Westerns in my youth (Channel 9, Sunday afternoons), yet have still managed to see almost no John Wayne films. And I have always been a little disappointed with myself that I missed the Western theme when I was a kid, so I’m really pleased when one of these guys turns up in a minifigures set.       

Looking like an extra from Deadwood, the Sheriff has rolled into town to administer some justice from the barrel of his trusty Smith & Wesson six-shooter. He’s got two accessories – the aforementioned pistol, cast in a nice shiny metallic silver (close to Boltgun Metal, for any Warhammer 40k fans reading) and a wanted poster, printed on a 2 x 2 flat plate. The “WANTED” poster is a neat little Easter Egg for long-time collectors – it features the Bandit from all the way back in series 5.

He’s a solid, if not spectacular entry into the line. His hat is also perfect for customisers wanting to make a Rick Grimes figure, and his moustache could do quite well for those looking to create a Jamie from Mythbusters minifig too.

The Fencer

En gardé!

The French have given us some pretty cool stuff over the years – croissants, savate, Asterix and Michel Foucault among them – but fencing has a special place in my imagination, perhaps because I used to find the masks terrifying. Blank, revealing no facial expression or emotion while its wearer bore down on you with a thin but deadly sharp blade – though other masks were frightening on their own merits, very few could compare to the fencing mask.   

Of course, this fear has long since passed and I was very pleased to see this guy show up in a series. In a particularly nice touch, he has one white (gloved) and one yellow (bare) hand. Little touches of “accuracy” like this are what really elevates Lego above the rest of the pack.


The only real downside is that you can’t have just one fencer. Two are required for a duel. I expect that there will be some kind of shortage of these guys in the coming months, as collectors and anal retentives like myself scour the shops looking for them. Get it early while you still can, to avoid inflated eBay prices later!  

The Egyptian Warrior

Perhaps I’m too rapid in my assessment, but this guy was my favourite when the series was first announced and has remained so now that I have most of the series in hand. I do not exaggerate in any way, shape or form when I say I would like at least ten of these guys, to build a miniature Egyptian Lego army. However, I will probably content myself with the two I have – maybe a third.  

He comes with a golden sword, and a golden shield with a stylised pyramid and sun printed on it (perhaps this guy was serving under Akhenaten, or is simply a member of the Illuminati). He also wears a nemes – it’s less elaborate than the Pharaoh’s, and looks to be an entirely new mould. Hopefully this signals more Egyptian stuff to come in the future!  








The Lupine Book Club is now on Facebook! Click here.

1 comment:

  1. You could make a good Ron Swanson with that Sheriff's mo

    ReplyDelete