What could be in a Mythology series of CMFs?

[8BrickMario]

Janus would be very easy, just print a double-sided head and leave it uncovered!

For Egypt, I was thinking:

Sobek: Reuse Chima mask or have new croc mold

Anubis: Easy reuse of PQ head with new body prints

Osiris: New crown mold, crook and flail

Set: Wild dog head, red skin

Horus or Ra: Falcon head mold, sun disc for the latter, khopesh for the former

Due to current events, I doubt the goddess of magic would make an appearance.

Edited September 2, 2015 by 8BrickMario

[Borex]

Anansi - an African spider that outsmarts everyone. With two three-arms (like the bat-arms) arms. So we also can make us a marvel man-spider

[x105Black]

I would love to have a Hercules minifigure.

He could end up in the Disney CMF series. I'd prefer a non-licensed version though.

[Robert8]

The modern version is a misconception.

I wouldn't call it a misconception, but a modern reinterpretation influenced by a commercialized take on the character, just like Poseidon being a merman or Medura having a snake tail.

(A similar case is Santa Claus)

The Siren/Mermaid thing is a misconception because 2 different mythological creatures are being mixed.

I know about the original myth. But the image of sirens as mermaids goes back at least far enough to influence the development of Romance languages, where the word for mermaid is "siren." (Spanish sirena, French sirène, etc.) Also, a bird-like siren would seem redundant to the harpy, and I want both.

My mother language is spanish and I can confirm you're correct: We use sirena for both sirens and mermaids.

Anansi - an African spider that outsmarts everyone. With two three-arms (like the bat-arms) arms. So we also can make us a marvel man-spider

That's the S12 Spooky Girl.

She metamphors into Anansi in the Minifigure Online Game!

Edited September 3, 2015 by Robert8

[telaruhn]

A Mythology series would be fantastic. I feel they would have to find inspiration from many cultures, and not solely from Greco-Roman influences.

That being said, I really want an Anubis Guard figure since I missed out on the PQ one. Cupid would also be amazing, as well.

What about a Dragon Suit Guy? I'm thinking a bright blue, open masked, human-in-a-costume version similar to Unicorn Girl, maybe using recolored Gargoyle wings? This is opposed to an actual Dragon in minifigure form, like Baby Smaug (though that actually might be cool too). I was just thinking along the lines of suited figures, and a dragon one might be a cool addition while still fitting the theme of "Mythology." Or are dragons too castle-y?

[Karalora]

As far as Europe goes, though, how about the Green Man?

Yes please!

As long as I'm going to be participating in this thread, I should probably be open about it: I'm Neopagan myself. I don't know that I "believe" in the ancient deities per se, but I certainly like to see respectful portrayals in popular culture.

[Borex]

That's the S12 Spooky Girl.

She metamphors into Anansi in the Minifigure Online Game!

Hah i didnt know that!

[Robert8]

Hah i didnt know that!

Yep. That is why she has a spider on her suit

[BrickOn]

Yep. That is why she has a spider on her suit

I knew there was a good reason why she is now standing next to my Spider Lady!

So Vampires and werewolves are also mythological creatures (unless they are real), but then defined as Lego monsters... I think it would be better to place the Roman/greek gods etc into a historical themed series.... which could be cool... and you could have a mix of ancient and recent in it history too, to give a good variety and hit a number of the traditional Lego themes..

[8BrickMario]

The definiton of "mythology" encompasses a lot. But I don't think monsters count, as they're not part of an organized group of stories. Dracula and the like are legends that don't belong to a greater mythology.

[Blakstone]

Kara, I am neopagan myself and was very pleased to get an official Athena in LEGO form.

8BrickMario, I don't consider Dracula as a mythological character. To me he is a literary character as Braum Stoker made so many changes to him.

[gedren_y]

Much of the vampire myth in Bram Stoker's tale is based on Irish folklore. The Hun Warrior CMF looks more like the painting of Vlad(III) Tepes than the Vampire CMF, which is obviously based on Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula.

[8BrickMario]

Another possibility is a "Watchman" (Argus) figure with several black beady minifig eyes printed all over his face, arms, torso, and legs. Perhaps he could have a sleepy face with his facial eyes closed.

[fred67]

There's over a billion practicing Hindus in the world, let's not start anything by calling their gods a "myth."

I would stay to stick with dead religions, but I also like the idea of things like vampires (whose mythology predates Bram Stoker, as greden_y stated). Other similar ones would include things that have been done, like the banshee, but also will-o-the-wisps (don't know how that could be done, though).

I guess you need to make the distinction between "folklore" and "mythology," or ask if you even want to do that, because it's a fine line and folklore is fun, too.

[8BrickMario]

A Celtic vampire could be very unique.

[rodiziorobs]

There's over a billion practicing Hindus in the world, let's not start anything by calling their gods a "myth."

This, completely.

I guess you need to make the distinction between "folklore" and "mythology," or ask if you even want to do that, because it's a fine line and folklore is fun, too.

But how much demand is there for folklore? First of all, it is so unique to each region that there is not likely to be much of a market for any single character. How many people outside (or even inside) Russia are clamoring for a Baba Yaga minifigure? How many people outside of Brazil have even heard of Curupira? Even though I love the American Tall Tales I grew up with (Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, Brer Rabbit, etc.) I am not sure I would necessarily want them in Lego form. Although there would be some creative possibilities, they simply wouldn't be marketable, so I think we will never see them.

Edited September 9, 2015 by rodiziorobs

[Blakstone]

I think any CMF series needs to be balanced to draw in as many different types of collectors as possible. I am American but I know of Baba Yaga. While I am not "clamoring" to get her, I wasn't "clamoring" for a banshee either, but she is my favorite in the current series. If LEGO makes a great Baba Yaga, I think she would be useful in a wide range of MOCs.

On the other point, I don't think there are any dead religions... just ones that are more rare than others. Whether LEGO would ever tackle any Hindu deities would depend both on how that faith would tolerate that and whether they felt it would impinge on their no religion rule.

[8BrickMario]

Considering the Jabba's Palace issue, I think LEGO would stay far away from any religions that are still being practiced in large numbers. But folklore and mythology are quite different. Baba Yaga doesn't fit into a created universe, she's just another tale. The Greek and Roman myths are tied together by the gods and fantastical locations in the stories.

[BrickOn]

But how much demand is there for folklore? First of all, it is so unique to each region that there is not likely to be much of a market for any single character.

I agree that if you take a global viewpoint then yes there is a lot of folklore that would be obscure to the average Lego buye... Myself included, I am sure. However, that should not stop Lego from drawing inspiration for their characters from them... And they do... Spooky Girl for example (I learnt reading this thread) :-)

However, taking a Eurocentric viewpoint (it is EB after all) a lot of European folklore has been used for centuries as the inspiration for many books and stories so Elves (could argue they are Icelandic, they recently had to reroute a road so as not to destroy one of their homes) trolls, (definitely Norwegian they are all over the place here) in fact all of Northern Europe (it might be too hot in the south I don't pretend to know what they have down there) has sprites, pixies, imps, gnomes, goblins, faeries and all sort running about the place and I am sure all these characters have been/would be popular as minifigures and are recognizable...

Maybe the definition is blurred because these are creatures, gods, mythical, magical, make-believe, just damn hard to find... Whatever and the ideas are passed down through many generations and are recycled and reused in 100s of ways... So my mythology, becomes your folklore, becomes somebody else's fairytale and another's monster... You can argue the case for any if them but they would all make good minifigures if done well... However for TLC to a make a minifigure series of them they would need to be able to market to children, right? So I agree "Minifigures Folklore" doesn't quite the same ring to it as "Minfigure Monsters"... Mythology might work as you get the alliteration, but will a kid get it? I don't know because I grew up with by mythology books on the shelves and every other book in the house was about dragons... So maybe my exposure was different.

Anyway back to topic

I'd like a pixie... Maybe a male one he could play with the fairy... And he would have the elf ears :-)

[Itaria No Shintaku]

Some of these will happen sooner than everybody expects

[Robert8]

Some of these will happen sooner than everybody expects

[8BrickMario]

Some of these will happen sooner than everybody expects

Do you know something?

[x105Black]

On the other point, I don't think there are any dead religions... just ones that are more rare than others. Whether LEGO would ever tackle any Hindu deities would depend both on how that faith would tolerate that and whether they felt it would impinge on their no religion rule.

I agree. I've heard there are Neopagan practitioners of the Norse religion surrounding Odin and friends in areas of Scandinavia, as well as practitioners of Germanic Heathenry. And while all religions are mythology to me, I still respect their traditions and would love to collect versions of their gods and other characters as minifigures.

Considering the Jabba's Palace issue, I think LEGO would stay far away from any religions that are still being practiced in large numbers.

I'm not familiar with this issue. Please enlighten me. I can't see any religious objection to the fictional Jabba's Palace, unless there are real B'omarr Monks out there...

[Blakstone]

This is what they are referring to. However, I doubt that LEGO pulled it earlier than intended.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/01/lego-jabbas-palace-racism_n_2993978.html

[Umbra-Manis]

I'm not familiar with this issue. Please enlighten me. I can't see any religious objection to the fictional Jabba's Palace, unless there are real B'omarr Monks out there...

People claimed it looked like a Mosque. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/01/lego-jabbas-palace-racism_n_2993978.html