Least Successful Collectable Minifig

[Mr. Elijah Timms]

In light of the rollout of Series 5, I've been thinking about this topic alot lately and wonder what the rest of you thought. We've all heard plenty about the best figures of the Collectable Minifig line, and although everyone has had their favorites, it's hard to argue which have been the best. The Cheerleader, The Spartan & The Elf certainly come to mind, and with my personal bias I would probably add the Hockey Player as well.

But which have been THE WORST? It's hard to turn in a Grade A effort sixteen times every series, and there have certainly been some figs that fall well short of the standard they have thus far achieved. Which do you think are the duds?

Personally, I'd have to go with:

• Series 1: The Crash Test Dummy & The Diver
  
• Series 2: The Witch or the Weightlifter
  
• Series 3: The Sumo & The Space Alien
  
• Series 4 (In my opinion the strongest overall, hard to pick any): Maybe the Surfer Girl
  
• Series 5 (also hard to decide as I'm about to head out for them now): Maybe the Zookeeper
  

All in all, I think we're seeing much stronger efforts in terms of each series as a whole-- earlier series always felt like there were 'filler figs,' like a music album with extra tracks just to make it seem more substantial.

Which have I missed? Thoughts?

Edited August 16, 2011 by WhiteFang
Update of title

[airsoftg36c]

In light of the rollout of Series 5, I've been thinking about this topic alot lately and wonder what the rest of you thought. We've all heard plenty about the best figures of the Collectable Minifig line, and although everyone has had their favorites, it's hard to argue which have been the best. The Cheerleader, The Spartan & The Elf certainly come to mind, and with my personal bias I would probably add the Hockey Player as well.

But which have been THE WORST? It's hard to turn in a Grade A effort sixteen times every series, and there have certainly been some figs that fall well short of the standard they have thus far achieved. Which do you think are the duds?

Personally, I'd have to go with:

• Series 1: The Crash Test Dummy & The Diver
  
• Series 2: The Witch or the Weightlifter
  
• Series 3: The Sumo & The Space Alien
  
• Series 4 (In my opinion the strongest overall, hard to pick any): Maybe the Surfer Girl
  
• Series 5 (also hard to decide as I'm about to head out for them now): Maybe the Zookeeper
  

All in all, I think we're seeing much stronger efforts in terms of each series as a whole-- earlier series always felt like there were 'filler figs,' like a music album with extra tracks just to make it seem more substantial.

Which have I missed? Thoughts?

I must disagree with you on this. The S2(?) pilot is the worst so far. The rest have had unique parts that make them worth every penny. If you told me I had to pick one out of each series, I wouldn't be able to do it.

Edited August 15, 2011 by airsoftg36c

[K-Nut]

1. Dummy

2. Weightlifter

3. Rapper or Sumo

4. Surfer girl or Ice skater

5. Yoga teacher or Snowboarder

These are my honest opinions, of course.

[PirateMatt]

Series 1: cheerleader,skater,test dummy,wrestler,diver

Series 2: weight lifter

Series 3: female snowboarder,tennis player,racer,rapper,baseball player

series 4: female surfer,street skater,sailor,soccer player

series 5: boxer,fitness instructor,snowboarder,detective

I would like that LEGO adds more historical/fantasy themed minifigs.

Edited August 15, 2011 by PirateMatt

[KyleJohnson11]

I must disagree with you on this. The S2(?) pilot is the worst so far. The rest have had unique parts that make them worth every penny. If you told me I had to pick one out of each series, I wouldn't be able to do it.

Pilot was Series 3 and I agree, he was a downer.

Series 1: cheerleader,skater,test dummy,wrestler,diver

Series 2: weight lifter

Series 3: female snowboarder,tennis player,racer,rapper,baseball player

series 4: female surfer,street skater,sailor,soccer player

series 5: boxer,fitness instructor,snowboarder,detective

I would like that LEGO adds more historical/fantasy themed minifigs.

Judging by the Series 6 leaked pictures you'll get a whole slew of historical/fantasy themed minifigures (Minotaur, Scotsman, Genie, and Leprechaun).

I've been a fan of just about all of them. I love getting the new torsos, heads, and pieces and adding to my collection. So I can't really say I'm not a fan of any of them.

[Aanchir]

Well, I'm certainly seeing some diverse choices! Personally, I don't like to hate on any of the collectible minifigures, as most are extremely unique ideas carried out phenomenally. But it's hard not to have preferences.

Series 1: Ninja. Gold katanas are an extremely common accessory, and he's by far the plainest-looking ninja fig there's ever been. Now, with Ninja a flashy design isn't really necessary, but he still feels the least "special" of the bunch.

Series 2: Ringmaster (can't believe nobody's mentioned this guy already). He's totally unique, but that face bothers me and he was one fig I put off getting until the whole series was over (my brother and I managed to pick one up at Brickfair this year, though).

Series 3: Pilot. Neither his design nor any of his parts really fit into the themes I like, and Adventurers gave us a well-designed bush pilot years before. While this one obviously feels more modern and has some unique accessories, he's one of the most boring S3 figs... possibly because he feels so empty without a plane to fly!

Series 4: Ice Skater. She's a good fig, and very unique, but I think her design is fairly tacky. I think a more stoic, determined expression could have helped her greatly.

Series 5: Can't say. I haven't yet decided what order I'm going to seek these figs out in, and I love most of the designs. The Fitness Instructor's pretty low on my list, though, because of tackiness (even though she'd be extremely boring if she weren't so tacky) and somewhat boring accessories (hair that has been used before and a boom box in a somewhat garish and hard-to-use color).

[charlieboy]

S1 Nurse-Very dull to look at, ok she came with a hyperdermic needle but otherwise I just bought her to complete the set.

S2 Traffic Cop-Again he's not the greatest looking guy and only bought this chap to make my collection look complete!

S3 Tough one this,if I had to say one I think it would be the pilot.

S4 Street Skater-Did we really need a second one? I think not!

S5 Dwarf- Could have come straight from the fantasy era sets, not special enough.

Whilst the five i've listed aren't my favourites I still own all of them! Yes they have flaws in the series but just looking at what everybody else has put shows we're all different and each fig has a different value to each of us.

Roll on S6!

Edited August 15, 2011 by charlieboy

[WhiteFang]

Worst??? I don't think any LEGO Collectable Minifigures is worse or terrible?

Perhaps, you can re-phrase your first post a little bit, such as stating your dislikes with regards to your own personal preferences. It is harsh to throw a hammer onto those Collectable Minifigures. Remember, what may likes for you, may not work for the other. All boils down to your own liking.

In my case, I will only choose one from each following, Crash Dummy (S1), Ringmaster (S2), Race Car Driver (S3), The Monster (S4) and Aerobics Instructor (S5).

[Beefbanana]

[deleted]

Edited January 15, 2021 by Beefbanana

[Mr. Elijah Timms]

Worst??? I don't think any LEGO Collectable Minifigures is worse or terrible?

Perhaps, you can re-phrase your first post a little bit, such as stating your dislikes with regards to your own personal preferences. It is harsh to throw a hammer onto those Collectable Minifigures. Remember, what may likes for you, may not work for the other. All boils down to your own liking.

In my case, I will only choose one from each following, Crash Dummy (S1), Ringmaster (S2), Race Car Driver (S3), The Monster (S4) and Aerobics Instructor (S5).

Yeah, I realize the wording of my original post made it seem like I'm a casual fan/critic of the theme, when in truth I am a steadfast supporter of the Collectable Minifig.

White Fang, if you'd be willing to change the post title to 'Least Successful Collectable Minifig,' I'd be all for that.

[Cecilie]

I wish people would stop badgering the poor crash test dummy . It's one of my favourite figures from series 1, and I think it's a brilliant idea executed well. It also reminds me of this t-shirt design by glennz

which was the inspiration for my vig for this guy in my modular vig shelf:

But I guess, being a crash test dummy, he's used to that kind of treatment...

And I really love all those figs so much , I just can't single out any as "worst". They all contribute to provide diversity in some areas, if not only for a nice torso print or funny face. But I do think the race car driver from series 3 was sort of pointless... So I guess he's my least favourite of the entire batch (poor fellow...)

[Triborough]

It all depends on your definition of worst.

Most of them can be integrated into existing themes, which I can see kids doing and maybe even some AFOLs.

The Musketeer would fit in nicely with Pirates.

The Pilot would fit in nicely to the Pharaoh's Quest line, as would the Pharaoh and new Egyptian Queen.

The Space Alien would fit in nicely with the new Alien Conquest line.

For those wanting to add more to their cities/towns some are more useful than others.

The Traffic Cop, for example, is great since he can provide the base for a whole precinct full of highway patrol officers.

Plus there are a whole lot of new torsos, heads, hair and accessories.

The Street Skater head is quite useful in changing things up with minifigs.

Sort of makes me wish they would do a few themed collectible minifig series like City, Pirates, Historical, etc.

As for the ones I really don't like:

Lawn Gnome

Circus Clown

Small Clown

Ringmaster

Rapper

[Khorne]

Overall, I really like the Collectible Minifig Series. They are all a welcome addition to anyone's collection and you have to agree the series introduced a lot of cool accesoires and items that are unique to this line. But as always, every upside has its downside. This is also the case with these Collectibles. Not ALL of them can be the best, there are always some less good or innovative figures, but which ones depends on your personal tastes, of course. Of all Series, the first one was the least good one. At the time it hit the shelves, the concept was innovating and interesting, but when compared to the later Series, these figs aren't really all that interesting .

Here's a rundown of which figs I think are the "worst":

Series 1: Clown, diver, magician and ninja. They don't appeal to me at all. There just so common and easy to find in other lines (or build by using parts from existing lines). The clown just looks . Minifigs don't have noses !!

Series 2: Circus ringmaster, skier and the witch. The ringmaster looks kind of meh and so does the skier, but the witch just looks plain ugly when compared to the witches and wizards you get in the Castle or Harry Potter line .

Series 3: Race car driver and pilot are the biggest letdowns here .

Series 4: One of the best Series, IMO . All of the figs look great and come with fantastic accesoires. The "worst" fig here would be the Gnome. I like the parts he comes with, but he's really tall for a garden Gnome, I mean he's the size of a LEGO kid .

Series 5: Another great Series! These seem to get better as they progress in number. I think the fitness dancer is the weakest one here, but she does compliment the weightlifter greatly.

[SilentMode]

Funnily enough I was about to compile a list of my least favourite (read: worst) figures in each series. And here's mine right now:

Series 1: Diver

This over the Crash Dummy, because at least they can make a feasible army. I'm also not a fan of flippers.

Series 2: Ringmaster

Not a bad figure at all, but there didn't have to be five of them per box. There's only so much one can do with each part (besides the top hat).

Series 3: Race Car Driver

Compared to the other figures, this one was incredibly plain - and far too easy to come across, especially when looking for Snowboarders/Pilots/even Gorilla suit Guys.

Series 4: Werewolf

Not the worst, but the one I liked the least. (The torso was quite useful, and the bone was a very useful accessory.)

Series 5: Egyptian Woman

There are quite a few figures I'm not keen on, but the Egyptian Woman is the one I'm least keen on - only the head and perhaps the torso have any widespread use.

[vexorian]

Series 1: The scuba diver. We have had plenty of guys like him with the exact same accessories before.

Series 2: Life guard. Swim suit doesn't really work because the yellow printing stops. If she was yellow with red print it would have worked better.

Series 3: The pilot, if it wasn't for the face it would be useless. Even with the face, you can get something better in the next series with the gnome.

Series 4: Definitely the Ice Skater and the Werewolf. They are really the only ones I would have avoided getting, whereas the others I really wouldn't mind getting duplicates of. The design of the Ice Skater just doesn't work, the werewolf is way too dark so you cannot really notice what it is.

Series 5: The dancer which is just a clone of the singer which wasn't a big deal anyway.

[WhiteFang]

White Fang, if you'd be willing to change the post title to 'Least Successful Collectable Minifig,' I'd be all for that.

Done.

[LandShark]

There hasn't been a single Collectible Minifigure that I thought was 'bad', although I suppose some were slightly duller than others.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Street Skater of S4, as he wasn't one that absolutely needed to be made (unlike a diver, or an alien), but he still had some good points.

Also, just for the record, the Crash Test Dummy and the Pilot were some of my favorite figures of all time.

[K-Nut]

I wish people would stop badgering the poor crash test dummy .

The Crash test dummy is my least favorite from series 1, but I like them all! I agree he's a neat and cool figure, but he's still my least favorite.

Why is the pilot getting all the hate! He brought us no new molds but two recoulered pieces. I love the detail on the fig and it can be easily put into other themes. Unlike the Ape man.

[Mr. Elijah Timms]

I have to admit, when it comes to the S3 Pilot, I'm a little biased, if only for his parts... One of my favorite figs in the City collection is this little custom character I put together, a retired Army pilot who lives up in the cabin outside the city and flies a certain familiar yellow seaplane. He actually started as the fig that came with said plane, but now has evolved into this war vet look, featuring the pilot's bomber jacket, green pants, the lime green cap, and a white-haired smiling head from the old Divers line.

So for parts alone, I'm pretty partial to the pilot just for that. I suppose it could have been a much stronger figure had they created a scarf piece that sat around the neck and draped down onto the body. The face was nice, though-- I used the extra white mustache head to add some seniority and wisdom to my police force.

[Itaria No Shintaku]

Series 1 : I would say the deep sea diver... or the dummy.

Series 2 : The weightlifter. Really surplus.

Series 3 : For sure the Race Car Driver... a step under the others. And the alien is really ugly.

Series 4 : I didn't really find an use for a surfer girl, another skateboarder, and the soccer player. But the skateboarder wasn't really necessary.

Series 5 : The fitness instructor is really un-needed.

This said, I really love collectible minifigures!

Shintaku

PS: Thanks to Vexorian, I stay corrected.

Edited August 18, 2011 by Itaria No Shintaku

[vexorian]

There was no Alien in series 4. ^ ^

Edited August 17, 2011 by vexorian

[BlueBard]

Series 1: The Diver, clearly...

Series 2: Ringmaster. Pretty hard to re-use the parts, especially the torso.

Series 3: Race Car Driver.

Series 4: Street Skater.

Series 4: We don't have them in Spain already, but I would say the Fitness Dancer.

[Tamamono]

As others have said, it's very hard to decide which Collectible Minifigs are 'bad'. They're all very unique and special, and even the ones that don't have new molds have pieces in new colors or interesting face/torso prints. No matter which figure people agree on as a 'bad' figure, there will always be people who really like that figure. For example, I notice that a lots of people are saying that the Diver was the worst of the first Series, but I actually really like that figure.

If I had to choose one figure from each series that I liked the least, these would be my choices:

S1: Crash Test Dummy

S2: Ringmaster

S3: Snowboarder

S4: Monster

S5: Fitness Instructor

[K-Nut]

For example, I notice that a lots of people are saying that the Diver was the worst of the first Series, but I actually really like that figure.

I know, that's what makes it hard about judging these. The worst figures from each series are always amazing figures.

[Jedi master Brick]

I like all of them. Some like town, some like sic-fi, some like fantasy and some like history. Though the dud for me were ninja, clown and ringmaster.