Do expressions on minifigs matter to you?

[lego idk]

ASD

Edited May 12, 2012 by lego idk

[LRDark]

As mainly a collector of Castle sets where I just enjoy the collecting and ranking of my minifigures, I use whatever minifigure Lego supplies in the set without making changes to it, even if I'm not fond of specific details; if there is a double-sided face, I use the most neutral or friendly. However, when I make my own figures, I don't use faces that I feel are overly expressive.

[Ricecracker]

It's your collection - do want you want.

[Brickity]

Well I must say I HATE huge grins on minifigs, as well as big faces. I'm fine with the expression they're trying to pull, but not how big their mouths and eyes sometimes are..

[JopieK]

Of course they matter! E.g. when preparing for an exhibit, we use certain minifigs for certain situations (like the baker chasing a boy with his rolling pin raised 'cause the boy stole a bun). Then the baker should look angry and the boy scared of course ;)

[purpleparadox]

Yes, they definitely matter to me! When a minifig's expression fits the MOC/scene, it makes it that much better. I love to see good minifig expressions.

[LEGOman273]

Yes. The expression must fit reasonably into the character, MOC, or theme.

[Lego Otaku]

For moc based on existing licensed sets (Star Wars), I'll use whatever face that fits the best. For non licensed generic theme, will do. I've had the classic style since I started LEGO in '78 or '79 and the other expression didn't come in use until much later.

[Vindicare]

If you're just collecting, I don't see expressions really being necessary. But, as some have said, if you're making a MOC and are portraying certain scenes, they're definitely needed. Like, if you have two guys fighting, it doesn't work too well if they're both smiling.

Personally, while the expressions/facial details are nice, they're not necessary. I grew up with everyone having a happy face. I was fine with it then, and quite frankly, I'd be fine with it now. I don't think it would work though, now with the Licensed themes popping up. Harry Potter would look like himself without the scar and glasses.

[CMP]

They matter very much to me, but only as long as it matches the hairpiece and, depending on skin tone, torso.

[-zenn]

I tend to use to 'new' faces a lot. Don't like the old ones, whithout the white dot in the eyes.

[Faefrost]

I much prefer expressive minifigures. Ones that convey something and add to the scene or story. I think the current releases of figures have been superb at that. The Alien Conquest expressions or even ehe Collectables Minifigs are probably the best they have ever done.

I don't care as much for the classic blank look. I don't mind it, but it's not my preference. I really dislike those overblown expressions they used in some of the early 2000's sets such as the Alpha Team stuff. Way too much.

[Hrw-Amen]

It does not matter that much, I use both classic and the newer ones. I prefer yellow rather than fleshies, but the expression/face should match the hair, for example I would not want black beards and then have brown hair. I do try and make then unique by swapping them around if I have lots of the same figure, so that if I am telling a story with them itis easy to identify say which policeman or villian did what.

[Sam892]

It matters a lot to me I don't know why though. Most likely because I like it when the minifig doesn't look out of place in a scene. I love double sided faces but I hope in the future that Lego make different faces for repeat figs. For example in the marvel superheroes sets there are two versions of Iron man. It would be much cooler if one set had a angry face and happy face printed onto the head, and the other set had a concerned face and a scared face. LEGO did this with the old spiderman sets. Doctor Ocopus had three different expressions.

[dr_spock]

I like different faces/expressions if I am making vignettes. For my town display, only the standard grin will do.

[JackJonespaw]

I use the newer minifigs with the white in the eyes. I generally want a character to look like whatever I'm thinking of, and I try to match the pieces in my collection as closely as possible to what's in my mind.

[hjmediastudios]

I don't mind double-faced figures, but it really bugs when they don't provide hair or a helmet or something to cover up the back of the head. I don't want my minifigs walking around looking like some freakish genetic mutation.

[Aanchir]

I'm fine with most minifigure expressions as long as they're in line with the modern standards of black dot eyes with white sparkles. I even tolerate the existence of faces adhering to different standards, like Exo-Force faces or the faces of certain licensed themes (A:TLA and Star Wars: The Clone Wars), even if I don't tend to use those faces often. Needless to say I feel most of the collectible minifigures are very well-designed to fit the modern standard, and their range of expressions is excellent.

What I don't like are minifigure faces that fail to adhere to any kind of standard at all. Certain Racers faces from the early 2000s fit the bill for this, as do the horrendous Indian faces (and some others) from the Western theme. There was simply no excuse for faces like this or this that look more like grotesque racial caricatures than like LEGO figures. Especially when we're expected to believe these kinds of faces coexist with traditional faces like this one.

[lightningtiger]

I like the expressions on some of the minifigs....though the grinning ones do where you down a little especially when you are trying to find the right head for a custom figure.

[slovakiasteph]

I really prefer the old standard smiley. Then I could imagine that to be whatever face I wanted. All of my dolls, paper or otherwise, had a fixed expression, and that never mattered to me.

Now, I don't like trying to find the exact right expression for the situation. I rarely think about that, actually, and tend to only use the smiley ones (old or new).

[jonwil]

I always take the time to choose an expression for each Minifig I use in my MOCs. I tend to choose hair and heads together so they match up based on what sort of fig I want.

[vynsane]

While I have a fondness for the 'classic smiley' mainly due to nostalgia, I really like the more expressive facial prints found in modern sets. They just offer more personality, more of an immersive experience into the MOC.

[sharky]

Well I must say I HATE huge grins on minifigs, as well as big faces. I'm fine with the expression they're trying to pull, but not how big their mouths and eyes sometimes are..

Anakin in the Podracer set comes to mind.

They didn't get this one right at all. He should have had an expression of hard concentration and focus, not gritting his teeth in anger and/or frustration.

[Jargo]

I much prefer expressive minifigures. Ones that convey something and add to the scene or story. I think the current releases of figures have been superb at that. The Alien Conquest expressions or even ehe Collectables Minifigs are probably the best they have ever done.

I don't care as much for the classic blank look. I don't mind it, but it's not my preference. I really dislike those overblown expressions they used in some of the early 2000's sets such as the Alpha Team stuff. Way too much.

Ditto.

Okay I'll also say that I try to give each minifig a distinct character trait. so some are grumpy some are happy some are sceptical etc. I buy minifig heads from all the themes apart from licensed just to vary the expressions. Give some life to my collection. There's nothing so dull as a sea of those classic lego minifig faces. Onwards and forwards always. Progress. I have no time for the past.

[Walter]

As awesome and as nostalgic the classic smiley face is, I prefer using more recent heads with more interesting expressions. I love the variety we've gotten over the past couple of years, mainly due to the collectible minifigures. Even the light flesh heads have a good variety now!