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SirBlake

Photonomicon: Historic Minifig Evolution

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As I was comparing updated versions of CMF to older versions, I thought it would be fun to set them up together to watch them change through the years.

This is by no means complete. There are some factions I either just don't have, or don't really care for. That said, it's a nice general comparison dating as far back as the classic Joust from the 70's until today. One last note, please forgive me if I have a mismatched face or accessory or whatever. I tend to mix things up for display.

Starting with the royals, we have a line up of kings. I cheated a bit here because the fig on the left is actually labeled as a prince in the aforementioned joust set, but it was years before we saw a proper Lego King. I have identified one hole here in the CMF line: we could use an updated prince.

image_zpsqi6smvwf.jpeg

Next up, the queens. I know I'm missing some, but here's a nice sample from fantasy, kingdoms and CMF.

image_zpsqtscrmlt.jpeg

Princesses get much better representation in Lego form. Perhaps so there's a damsel to rescue.

image_zpszicmncyk.jpeg

Wizards.

Blue

image_zpsxf9q8d0b.jpeg

Evil/necromancers

image_zpsmpd3ptee.jpeg

Dragon

image_zpslziknzxo.jpeg

Lion Knights

image_zpslyeo0pk9.jpeg

Black Falcons Knights image_zpsj6pec3vl.jpeg

Dragon Knights

image_zpskzq90gck.jpeg

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Nice visual history. I love the dog in the back of the wolfpack picture. :laugh:

Hah! I wasn't sure anyone would notice. My 10yo daughter snuck that in. I thought it was appropriate.

Great Idea for a thread! Now throw a Nexo king and queen in there to get x105black! :tongue:

Yeeeaaah, there will be no Nexo purchases on my part. :)

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Great list. I am slowly collecting all of these types of minifigures because I love them so much. It's nice to see this list. I like your backdrop too and was wondering what the large lattice window piece is? I need something like that for the church I'm building!!

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Great collection of figs. There has definetely been an evolution on them related to printing.

I really like them all as a whole. And even the retro ones seem to blend properly for recent themes.

Thanks for sharing. :)

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I'm so glad you guys are enjoying the pics!

Great list. I am slowly collecting all of these types of minifigures because I love them so much. It's nice to see this list. I like your backdrop too and was wondering what the large lattice window piece is? I need something like that for the church I'm building!!

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=4151b#T=C

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Starting with the royals, we have a line up of kings. I cheated a bit here because the fig on the left is actually labeled as a prince in the aforementioned joust set, but it was years before we saw a proper Lego King. I have identified one hole here in the CMF line: we could use an updated prince.

Wasn't there a prince in the Kingdoms advent calendar?

http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?M=cas470#T=P

Nice photos, its interesting to see how much better minifig printing is these days. You have a nice collection of figs.

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Nice.

I would also add:

Theoden to Kings

Galadriel to Queens

Arwen to Princesses

Eomer to Knights

Gimli (and other hobbit dwarves) to Dwarves

Aragorn (ranger version) to forest men, maybe also Legolas

Tauriel to forest maidens

Gandalf (gray and white) to wizards, maybe also Radagast

Saruman to evil wizards

Dead Men of Dunharrow (King +Soldiers) to Ghosts

Moria Orcs, Uruk-hai, Mordor Orcs, Hunter Orcs and Gundabad Orcs to Orcs

Edited by SheepEater

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Great review! That background really makes the whole thing much better than an empty background.

Is that the secret leader of Wolfpack bandits on the throne? :tongue:

I'd also add evil leaders/kings, there are quite a few of them, but they still exist. The earliest I remember is Basil the Batlord of Fright Knights, Cedric the Bull of KK I, Vladek of KK II and finally the Troll King from Fantasy Era. There is also a troll sorceress in the same set as troll king, that one and the witch from the chess set (similar to CMF witch, but with yellow skin instead of green) might also qualify as witches. Not sure about CMF S14 witch though.

Edited by Sorrelon

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Good thoughts y'all, thanks!

I had considered the middle earth options, and have all those figs but opted to stick with the yellow. I may try a version with the LotR/Hobbit stuff added though.

As for the bad guys, I do have Basil, Cetric etc. but since they're essentially one-offs with no evolution, I wasn't sure if they belonged. I probably need to include them just to make for a more thorough pictorial reference.

Thanks again for the feedback!

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Nice idea. I found the King evolution especially interesting.

As for the bad guys, I do have Basil, Cetric etc. but since they're essentially one-offs with no evolution, I wasn't sure if they belonged. I probably need to include them just to make for a more thorough pictorial reference.

Thanks again for the feedback!

Maybe a line of "Evil Warlords" With Basil, Cedric, Vladek, and the Troll King?

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Maybe a line of "Evil Warlords" With Basil, Cedric, Vladek, and the Troll King?

Good call, see below.

I took another round of photos and also included some non-royals or soldiers:

First up is one of my favorites. There is a great metamorphosis from classic to modern in the blacksmith.

Classic, fantasy and kingdoms.

image_zpslljypw80.jpeg

The Jester.

Fantasy, kingdoms and CMF

image_zpsjr31vvpf.jpeg

The common folk. We're starting to see a trend here. Maybe a single example from the 80's in a category and then nothing until it's done very well in Fantasy and Kingdoms.

image_zpszm4axtwe.jpeg

Now for some soldiers.

Lions

image_zps0yol6nnf.jpeg

Dragons. My apologies for swapping positions. The red 2013 Castle figs should be to the right of the green Kingdoms figs.

image_zpsmppckfoz.jpeg

Crownies. This one is tough because the 2013 figs are also lions, but they've got the same crowns on these guys, so I put them here.

image_zpskylpjcq0.jpeg

Now the villains.

Ghosts!

Two things here: my 11-year-old-self decided that the ghost needed to be scarier, hence the red paint in the eyes. I can't seem to get the red paint off, plus I kind of like it so there you have it. There's another very similar ghost to the classic version appearing in the Monster Fighters line from a few years ago, but I don't have one. The other two are the specter and the banshee from the CMF line.

image_zpsnvtxnnll.jpeg

I thought I had Cedric the bull, but it turns out that I only have some of his lackeys, so aside from his absence, we have Basil the bat lord, Vladek and the Troll King.

image_zpsap15eqrb.jpeg

Lastly the green guys. The CMF goblin may not be a true evolution of the fantasy troll (Orc), but they're green and they come with ludicrously ugly swords, so I put them together.

image_zps6xlt4kvl.jpeg

Edited by SirBlake

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Great thread! I love these evolutions of the Castle minifigures. It also reminds me that I was away from LEGO during a very nice period (look at all those common folk!).

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Great thread! I love these evolutions of the Castle minifigures. It also reminds me that I was away from LEGO during a very nice period (look at all those common folk!).

Yeah, I got lucky and came out of my dark ages just in time for MMV and MVR. Those sets offered all of those figs. Part of the reason that they are two of the sets held in highest regard. Two of my favorites for sure.

Edit: it's worth noting that the guy on the far right is the "nobleman" from the Kingdoms Joust set (which is amazing). He had no predecessor and wasn't part of the royal family so I put him there.

Edited by SirBlake

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What about the dwarven King from fantasy era? The troll queen?

Send them to me and I'll gladly add them to the photo series. :-)

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