Ideas for CMFs

[Karalora]

It's Monday, time to get back to work...and review Series R!

Archaeologist: Good solid example of a hands-on academic type. That hat/hair combo would look really good on a lady jungle explorer, and the printed pot is really nice.

Stork Suit Guy: The concept is a lot of fun, but I have questions. Where did he get that baby? Is this an employee at a quirky maternity ward? Is he the father, and he and the mother decided to do something silly at the baby shower? Is it another family Halloween situation, only the kid is too young for their own costume so they decided to use them as a prop in Dad's costume? So many questions...

Park Ranger: Another nice hat with hair, but I think we all know this one is about the baby deer. Good size on that by the way--it could be either a half-grown fawn of the larger North American species, or a doe of some other species which are a bit smaller and retain their spots into adulthood.

Fashionista: There is something about pastel pink with black that screams "couture," isn't there? You're getting decent mileage out of the beret + bob hairdo, and the poodle makes a return in black! Nice!

Monster Bride: There is really no excuse for us not having this in real life yet. She looks amazing in her simplicity. Not sure about the bolts on the hair piece--it does reduce the outside utility of the piece, but it's probably the only way to get the bolts in there, and you gotta love the bolts.

Beefeater: I want to comment on your habit of refreshing long-standing weapons pieces with different colors on the head and shaft. It's a really good idea that TLG should adopt now that dual-molding is so common. This is a glorious design overall, with the detailing right down to the medals and the embellishments on the hat.

Cupid: Another holiday figure we desperately need. The heart-headed arrow is a nice touch (another way to go would be to include two bows, one in gold and one in pearl dark gray, for the gold and lead arrows from mythology).

Harlequin: Another superb period costume! All those colored diamonds! Between this guy, the Polymath, and the Sculptor, you've got an Italian Renaissance mini-theme going on. And the lute makes a reappearance, thrilling the music fans.

Physicist: Hey there, Isaac, why so grumpy? Is it because people keep ignoring your birthday in order to open their presents? At this point, I'm not sure what else I can say, Robert8's designs are so consistently excellent, especially on the historical and cultural figures. That hair is a gold mine of potential, especially if it came in different colors.

Shepherd: I love the rapscallion expression--no wolf or rustler is going to get HIS sheep! Nice fleece vest (the badge of office for a peasant shepherd), and of course we'd all want a black lamb to stand out in a flock of white ones.

Retro Wrestler: 80s glam stuff always reminds me of my childhood (wait, am I dating myself?). To say nothing of that poster design! Her makeup could be repurposed for the fantasy genre.

Centaur: TLG gave us a Centaur fairly recently--and a female one at that--but I like yours better. It looks more like a mythical creature than a human being wearing an elaborate costume. Of course what we actually need is a mythology based theme so we can have a variety of centaurs, in different colors and genders and implied roles.

Gunslinger: Another nice hat/hair combo (seems to be a theme this wave), and is that a cape of some sort hanging over her left side? It doesn't seem to be mentioned in the parts list. Very cool character.

Oni: A staple monster of Japanese folklore, and he looks pretty much exactly how I'd expect one to look in LEGO form. Up next: LEGO Momotaro!

Storyteller: Haha, perfect! I've been wanting a storybook "good witch" for a long time, and while Mother Goose isn't exactly a witch, she has pretty much the vibe I'm looking for, with the hat and the cape and the apron and the pince-nez. I adore the color palette as well--orange and mauve hit just the right intersection of old-fashioned and whimsical and feminine but not girly.

Teddy Bear Guy: LEGO gave us the Rainbow Bear a while ago, and then we got a more conventional teddy bear costume--with a bowtie!--in the BAM stations of all places. Their version uses a full face-covering hood which means that in turn it looks less like the teddy bear accessory, but you know what? Fair. What you have that they don't, though, is that cool lollipop,

Overall: A good middle-of-the-road wave...by the very high standard Robert8 has set! Your grading curve is all out of whack, my dude. Standouts for me include Cupid, the Monster Bride, and the Storyteller.

[Robert8]

I consider this one a strong series. Some archetypes like Centaur and characters like Cupid and Monster Bride have been in my wishlist since the beginning of the CMFs back in 2010. They only need to change the Monster Bride looks enough to avoid any legal trouble with Universal.

Stork Suit Guy.... Let's just say it's a fake baby. It makes things a lot easier. 

I have only presented Renaissance males... could a female be in the future? Hmmm Who knows...

I have to say I quite like how the Centaur and Monster Bride came out... Among my favorites ever

I don't really like the full bear mask TLG uses.... It's almost creepy. I hope they will release an open face mask at some point. 

Retro Wrestler was supposed to get an opponent at some point, but then again.... not enough spots

The Gunslinger cape is meant to be a reuse of Captain Phasma's from Star Wars

Working on these at this point was coming a faster process to me, because I already had a vast collection of already drawn pieces. So, in some cases, like the, Archaeologist, Physicist and Shepherd, I only had to copy/paste all the accesories from a different file. 

Also, because I'm only one person working on these, well I don't have anyone else's input and my style was starting to get repetitive. Around this point I started to notice how similar they were starting to look to each other. Like the Gungslinger feels similar to the Celtic Battler or the Gladiatrix from former series. I don't think I was ever able to fix that in later series

In my personal ranking, this series goes under Series K but above Series O. Top 3 for me

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Edited January 25, 2022 by Robert8

[Eggyslav]

Harlequin is more Baroque/Rococco tho, not renaissance, what with Commedia D'Arte starting to be a thing in 17th century Italy... 

[Karalora]

@Robert8 I see what you mean about the...fierce ladies, I guess you could call them. Snarling expressions and long, curly, dark brown hair. I already suggested making the Celtic Battler a ginger (potentially IDing her as Boudicca), and maybe the Gunslinger could have a low ponytail or a thick braid instead of loose hair. That would go some way toward reducing the sameyness.

Incidentally, this is why male-as-default is such a problem, even for something as apparently trivial as LEGO minifig designs--when designing a female character, you have to "use up" some of the available characterization just to make sure she reads as female, which reduces the potential for variety beyond that.

[Robert8]

4 hours ago, Karalora said:

@Robert8 I see what you mean about the...fierce ladies, I guess you could call them. Snarling expressions and long, curly, dark brown hair. I already suggested making the Celtic Battler a ginger (potentially IDing her as Boudicca), and maybe the Gunslinger could have a low ponytail or a thick braid instead of loose hair. That would go some way toward reducing the sameyness.

Incidentally, this is why male-as-default is such a problem, even for something as apparently trivial as LEGO minifig designs--when designing a female character, you have to "use up" some of the available characterization just to make sure she reads as female, which reduces the potential for variety beyond that.

I've always wanted to dissociate the so called beauty standards from specific hair colors

Like I don't like how blondes are portrayed in certain way, so I tried to include more professional looking females with blonde hair, like the Series M Art Restorer or the Series S Fashion Designer. Also, I tried to include "fierce" females with hair colors other than dark brown, like the Series U Treasure Hunter 

I even tried giving blonde hair to some other characters like both steampunk females or the Series V Monster Hunter..... but it just doesn't work. I swear they just look off. Maybe because it throws off the color scheme (combined with the yellow skin), because most "fierce" women called for darker color schemes. 

Also, I didnt have a lot of chances of doing this because around the middle of this project I started to deviate more towards fantasy characters (seeing how TLG was starting to include more and more city characters in real CMFs). And most fantasy characters call for wacky hair colors like Magical Girl, Evil Mermaid, Alraune, Arachne, etc....

Edited January 25, 2022 by Robert8

[Karalora]

Took a day off yesterday, but let's get back on track with Series S...

Evil Android: Obviously every good spec-fic character needs an evil counterpart. The black and yellow is striking and a nice change from the more low-hanging black and red.

Violinist: We eventually got one in real life, and I remember people being disappointed that he wasn't all dressed up for a concert night, but...surely the violin is the important bit? There's no short of minifig formalwear if that's where you want to go with it. Regardless, this little girl is much sweeter looking than TLG's fairly ordinary little boy, plus you included a bow with the violin.

Red Oni: How many people know that red oni and blue oni are archetypal concepts in Japanese folklore? The red ones are supposedly more savage and hotheaded, the blue ones calmer and more reasonable (but both are dangerous). It's so ingrained that a lot of anime feature paired lead characters who have this kind of personality dynamic and everyone knows it refers to the two types of oni. I just felt the need to specify this in case people were wondering why anyone would think we needed two kinds of oni, especially so close together. Obviously, I appreciate Robert8 dipping his toes into the lore like that.

Halfling: Gygax & co. coined the word "halfling" because "hobbit" was under trademark or something along those lines; they weren't fooling anyone. And neither are you, reusing the mold for Sting! Caught you! All finger-pointing aside, this is an adorable little adventurer. That map would make a fine addition to any fantasy tavern MOC, and you even put a little bit of hair print on the feet. But my eye keeps being drawn to the unique buckle on his bandolier. That's the sort of thing that makes this a character, not just an archetype.

Folk Dancer: Another gorgeous cultural entry. There wasn't really much you could do with Snegurka's headdress except another Russian/Ukrainian gal, but I'm so glad you did. The neckline and sleeve embroidery stands out. Although I can't help but wonder if there's a good way, using existing parts, to do a lineup of smaller dolls with the big one.

Dog Party Girl: This is another case where we can all tell that the point was the animal, not so much the figure. In context it's a little disturbing that you were so open about the cupcake being a recolored dog poo piece, but I'll let it slide.

Vampire Boy: I've got a kitbashed version of this. There aren't a whole lot of white heads that could be a kid playing dress-up, so I used the Mime's "scared" face because I like the irony of the vampire kid being the one who's legit freaked out by the haunted attraction. This has been a window into my head. At this point, for me to heap praise on another Halloween figure would just be par for the course, but I want to call out the color on this one because it's funny to me that this kid is dedicated enough to make up not just his face but his hands to be pale, but he didn't go all the way into stark white. Also: more Halloween cookies!

Bell Ringer: He must be raising money for scoliosis awareness. Nah, just kidding. There are exactly two roles for hunchbacks in fiction, and this is the other one, so to speak. Not much to say about him either; he's basically a spot-on LEGO design for Quasimodo.

Red Coat Soldier: Someone for the Series 10 Revolutionary Soldier to fight, I see. Or just an updated version of one of the Classic Pirate factions if you'd rather go in that direction. Actually, there are a lot of historical scenarios that could be recreated with this fellow (Brits, man), and I'm sure the wargamers and army-builders would pounce on every single one.

Fashion Designer: For a City fig, there's a lot I like about her--the hair, the tape measure, the "artistic" glasses sliding down her face. She's in the zone! That stylish coat she's working on is a draw all by itself.

Reggae Man: What can I say, I'm a sucker for an offbeat musician type. I'd love to take all your musicians, and all the official ones, and have a LEGO music festival! I think they were kinda of going for something similar with VIDIYO, but it'd be nice to have a more grounded-in-reality version as well.

Mothman: What is it with West Virginia and cryptids that were probably just large owls casting larger shadows late at night? I'm not into Mothman (Flatwoods is more my thing--and yes, I remember that you put him in the Spooky Calendar and I am forever grateful), but I really like the design here. There's something almost delicate about it, with the big feathery antennae and huge wings. Real moths are delicate of course--they're basically nocturnal butterflies, something that seems to escape a lot of people--and I'm thinking about the potential to use this head with butterfly wings for a fairy/alien creature.

Zulu Warrior: Very cool. You really captured the look of the tribal battle gear, especially the iconic Zulu hide shield. Maybe when the music festival is over and cleaned up, we can have a cultural festival!

Sea Nymph: She is really glorious--you get the impression that she's not a solid being at all, but a spirit temporarily putting on a body made directly out of the water. The printed clamshell (it's actually closer to a scallop...had to say it) is a nice little bonus, but I'm just loving the details on the figure. That is some fine sculpting on the hair, with not just the texture of the tresses but also the pearls and starfish.

Black Chess Pawn: I just now noticed that you gave different weapons to the two sides. Huh. Cool, I guess? Less repetitive?

Ultra Warrior: Hm. Is Ultra a step above Super? I guess we'll never know, since they would obviously be part of the same sentai fighter team and would never fight each other UNLESS it was a nefarious trick by the bad guys! The lightning bolt looks extra-hot with the stripe printed on it and I think it would be popular for that reason alone.

Overall: I haven't mentioned this yet, but it's really nice that you use the group pic to demonstrate the alternate expressions on the characters. This is a fun wave--I wouldn't say there's anything here that I've been clamoring for (maybe the Sea Nymph), but having seen them I want most of them!

[Robert8]

A rather meh series in my books. Although Halfling in one of my all time favorites

This series taught me that only because I can make a character a CMF, doesnt mean I should make it. Rather late for a lesson like that but whatever.

Mothman was also considered for the Spooky Calendar 

Vampire Boy was orginally going to be a teaser for the upcoming Spooky Calendar. He was supposed to included a printed tile with the october calendar with a special Halloween theme going on. But I thought it was too early to tease it as I posted this series on April

Violinist came to happen in a real CMF. And this time around I have to say it: I like mine better. This os probably the one time I'll say it. I still dont get why TLG gave the character normal city clothes. That could be in any city set. 

Sea Nymph was almost made with the same bottom piece as the S14 Specter, but I went for a more human design

Iam really proud of the Bell Ringer. Another one of my favorites. I came out very close to what I've always wanted for a hunckback minifigure. I made this character simultaneously with the Crazy Assistant becuase I needed to be sure the piece would work for both.

About the Dog Party Girl, at least I bothered to recolor the poop piece. TLG straight up reused it for a cupcake or something in the Harry Potter line

I wanted to included more fantasy characters from Japan (aka Yokai) like the Kappa, who almost made it to Series W I think) but.... again.... not enough spots. ( I know I sound like a broken record)

My favorites from this series are Halfling, Bell Ringer, Mothman and Sea Nymph. Honestly, all of those feel like they could be real CMFs.

Hard times for everyone with the start of pandemic around the time of this series. Working from home gave me lots of more free time to work on these considering 2 calendars were coming next, which meant a lot more minifigures than usual. Another welcomed hiatus. 

And the ranking goes

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[Karalora]

What are we up to now, Series T? ND A

Time Traveler: Another one for the Steampunk crew, and every bit as much fun to look at as the others. Although her aesthetic seems closer to the Great War than the Victorian age that usually defines steampunk. Minor detail.

Blind Man: Disability representation! That is one area where LEGO is making some strides lately...which kind of makes me realize how fast I'm coming up on the present here.

Egg Guy: Kind of pushing the limits of the minifig concept here, but what the hey, it's a nice clean design that adds to our cast for fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and even Wonderland.

Evil Mastermind: Once again, the pet is the most appealing aspect...not to say that this guy isn't appealing! I'm kind of curious about the exact contents of his book; I'm imagining something like, "A is for Atomic Ray, B is for Business, Legitimate, C is for Curses! Foiled again!" Now I'm looking back on the Agents line and how I always thought it was held back a bit by taking itself seriously on its own level. I'd like to see something similar, but full spoof, and that's where this guy could come in.

Farmer Girl: Even more so than the above, the function of this one is DEFINITELY goat revival. We are all so desperate for the return of the goat. But it's nice that you paired it with such a cute character. The gingham shirt and overalls are something I never knew I needed.

Island King: In something of a theme for this wave, I am again more impressed by the unique accessories than the actual figure. Those tikis are really impressive and another great use of the microfigure part. (I can't help but notice that you've steadily increased the size and/or number of accessories that come with the average figure as this goes along. Compensating for the IRL price increases, perhaps?)

Maid: I find myself lacking specific commentary for this one. She looks really nice, but that's true of all of them; Robert8 is good at this. Thanks for not going the French maid route, I guess?

Magical Girl: Here we go! A magical girl is one of the more niche entries on my personal wishlist, and this is pretty much exactly what I would hope for--crazy hair, lots of pink, hearts, wings, and an animal companion who could moonlight as the grand prize inside a crane game. ..... Except that now I want TLG to develop a magical girl theme. Wouldn't that be fun? I'd even accept minidolls instead of minifigs

Hypnotist: Another really fun image with the swirly eyes and over-the-top turban. I bet he and the Clairvoyant and the Series 1 Magician hang out together and have lunch. Then the Hypnotist mesmerizes the Magician to pay the tab, the Magician pulls money out of thin air to cover it, and the Clairvoyant says "I knew that was going to happen." (I must be in a weird mood to be writing this much fanfiction.)

Crocodile Guy: I want to see him from the side! I love the reference to Peter Pan, even though I severely doubt TLG would ever include a separated hand as a part in any set (not because it's too gruesome but because they just don't package hands separately).

Arachne: This gal kinda came out of nowhere and really impressed me, and I think I said so at the time. I'm still impressed. It's not quite true to the myth of course, but who doesn't need a nifty spider-person hybrid in their collection? She'd be great at Halloween!

Basketball Player: The new hairpiece is pretty cool, we can always do with more of those, and calling the team the Blacktrons is a nice nod to LEGO history. Beyond that I run into the same problem I always do with the sports minifigs, which is that I'm just not into sports.

Black Chess Rook: I notice you started accelerating the rate at which these guys showed up as you got closer to the end. Understandable.

Composer: Another simply lovely period costume print. The lace cravat seems particularly elegant, with those symmetrical ripples. (Don't worry, I'm not gonna call out the sheet music again.)

Food Delivery Guy: More accessories to love! A phone displaying an actual app and a package of sushi! The logo with the bike wheels as the O's in FOODS is fairly clever and looks like something you'd actually see in the modern day.

Trophy: After so many minifigs that come with unique designed trophies, now the trophy is a minifig! It reminds me of film industry awards, with the Art Deco wings and metallic finish. Sans the pedestal, this could also be a bronze statue.

Overall: Not the cream of the crop, but when this one is on, it is on! I can't help it, the Magical Girl just delights me.

[Robert8]

A strong return to the regular CMFs IMHO. I really like how this one got together

A funny trivia bit for Series T is that I had to replace some of the characters from this series, because CM4Sci made a regular series around this time, and there were some coincidences, like Dentist or Streamer/Gamer Girl. Both of those went to Series W

Arachne is character that I really like from mythology, although she is not as popular as Medusa. I think something like that could work as a CMF. The same archetype is pretty popular in Japan under the name of Jorogumo, which would add to the appeal of the minifigures

Lots of hits in this one (for me): Farmer Girl, Arachne, Time Traveler, Egg Guy, Blind Man, Hypnotist and Magical Girl. I'm very pleased on how all of those came out. 

Evil Mastermid was going to be an Ogel throwback, but I changed my mind because I already had an updated King Kahuka in this series.

As you said, around this time I started to include more pieces because of the price of the CMF IRL. 

About the Time Traveler, I had to say it was a he when I first thought of it. And he was going to included a little time travel machine H.G Wells-style

But I'm glad I went for a female. And damn I should had started with the Steampunk characters earlier. They are so cool to make. 

Food Delivery Guy is something that actually came out of the appreciation for the delivery services during the pandemic. Speaking of which, the pandemic gave me the idea of Syringe Suit Guy, who almost made it into this Series T

Also, at some point I wanted to make another team member of the Magical Girl's gang. Maybe blue or green. But AGAIN... not enough spots. I can't really believe when some people say there arentn many ideas left for regular series :O

SERIES T goes really high in my ranking. Actually I'd say its almost a tie with Series R.... 

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[Karalora]

Let's see what I can make of Series U, shall we?

Narwhal Girl: It's funny to me how divisive the animal costumes are; it seems you either love them or hate them. I am on the side of love. I like seeing more variety in them, and a narwhal is an unconventional choice.

UFOlogist: In real life, these people tend to be loonies. In the LEGO world, where aliens clearly exist, I imagine they have a valuable role to play in society. I like the look of this guy's gear.

Teutonic Knight: That helmet is outstanding...although I think if it were up to me, I would make the crest separate "horns" to insert into the base. Other than that...the design kind of goes without saying. The Teutonic Knights had a look. You recreated it.

Magician Girl: She is really cute. I like that she's doing that magician thing where she pretends to be amazed by her own trick. The woman's tux print would be useful, and the card tiles are nice too.

Bullfighter: I cannot approve of the "sport" of bullfighting, but the costume is lovely. Very fine details there.

Shepherdess: I assume she's crying because she's lost her sheep, but isn't that one of them right there? Or is that someone else's sheep? The pastel palette is a nice aesthetic. (Does the Toy Story Bo-Peep minifig count as a realization of this? I'm gonna go with no.)

Olympian Messenger: I'm always up for more mythological characters, of course, and this is a good one. The re-use of the Magical Girl's wand is inspired (I might suspect you of having devised it for this one first and then assigning it backwards), and I like that he has basically the same hair as other Grecian figures with the addition of the winged helmet.

Stewardess: A somewhat old-fashioned example of the position...I want to say 1960s? Sadly, this means she almost certainly could not work the same flight as the Pilot from earlier, as they would be separated by decades. Still some good additions to a potential airport MOC.

Psychologist: He looks like Freud, but I don't think Freud ever used inkblots. (Sometimes a smudge is just a smudge.) On the other hand, pretty much the only way to depict a generic psychologist is to invoke Freud, so I'll call it a win.

Treasure Hunter: Okay, that goblet is to die for. Between that, the fedora, and the whip, this is either Indiana Jones's alternate-universe female counterpart, or his biggest fan. I'd love to see her as the central character of an Adventurers-style theme.

Evil Centaur: Worth it just to have another color of centaur body, but also a very cool intimidating design in its own right. The helmet and axes make me think this guy would be a tough mook in a fantasy video game, maybe even a miniboss!

Color Festival Boy: I adored this one the first time I saw him, and I still do! Holi is one of those holidays that we really need to adopt in the U.S., both out of admiration for the originating culture and because it just looks like fun. You couldn't really use the parts of the minifig anywhere else, but the mandala designs on the pots suggest possibilities.

Kung Fu Master: It's odd that we didn't get any specifically Chinese CMFs until the Monkey King, considering that China was becoming a significant market well before then. In my opinion, we still need more of them, and this would be a great example. There may not be any new molds here, and he doesn't even have headgear, but I think he would be really popular.

Father Time: Definitely on my wishlist, especially with the inclusion of the New Year Baby (which is also on my wishlist as a separate minifig). The face is so excellently wizened; you know he's been through it over the course of the year (as have we all).

Chocolate Girl: She is also a mood. Who among us doesn't love chocolate? (Don't answer that, I know some people don't.) I don't know what it is about a warm bold pink that goes so well with chocolate brown, but it does. I like the printed chocolate bars that don't have a gold ribbon on them--these are ready to eat!

Warmonger: Two Greek gods in one series? And a centaur? It's almost as if the end of the alphabet were looming so the creator decided to accelerate some of his more favored designs. I don't know that I love this one as much as your other gods; I think the skin tone makes him a bit more inhuman than Ares is generally portrayed, but apart from that it's as good as always.

Overall: Funnily enough, I scrolled down to see my reactions the first time around, and found that I reiterated some of my points, even to the specific wording in some cases. This one is uneven for me--there are some designs I really love, and some that I have a more "meh" reaction to even as I acknowledge the quality and MOCable utility.

[Robert8]

Another good series IMO. That's 2 in a row. And there's going to be 3 in a row with Series V, but we'll get to that later

My biggest dislike about this series is that a lot of characters have printed tiles as an accesory. A couple of them are nice, but I don't like something like Simpsons, where pretty much everyone came with a printed tile. I tried to change that, but.... well I failed. All of the printed tiles were really needed.

Lots of holdovers here, which made the process a lot faster than usual. Chocolate Girl, Father Time and Kung Fu Master were all made for earlier series but ended up being pushed back to this one. 

You're right about the scepter. I made for both the Magical Girl and the Olympian Messenger. So, tried different versions that would fit both. The Plague Doctor from Series X was a bonus that I originally didn't have in mind. 

Bullfighter was a last minute inclusion. I'm aware of the controversy he comes with, but aesthetically one can't deny that the Matador outfit is just beautiful. I must say I don't support/like/approve the senseless killing of bulls. 

The idea how Color Festival Boy came to be is rather funny. Over IG, some people reach to me to send me suggestions for my series. And for some reason, several people keep suggesting like Drag Queen or Pride Festival Parade Guy or stuff like that, which honestly, I don't think will ever happen. But I was thinking: how would LEGO name such minifigure? Color Festival Guy? And then the idea of a Holi festival boy came to me like a lightning strike. I really liked how he turned out. And I agree @Karalora, the Holi festival should be such a great experience to be part of

Father Time and Baby New Year were going to be separate characters, but the now with the baby mold. even the Maggie Simpson torso looks like at least a Toddler. Going by the name BABY New Year, it wouldn't really work.

You're right about the Psychologist, Freud never used the Rorschach Test, as far as I know, but it makes for such a nice accesory that I couldn't help myself. I tried several of these: A playmobil figurine silhouette, a brick separator silhouette or the Kragle from TLM, but none of those looked good enough. But one of the ones I posted looks a bit like a demonic version of Mickey Mouse, right?              RIGHT? 

Magicial Girl, Narwhal Girl and Chocolate Girl are the ones I think have the better chances of being made.

I'll place this series under SERIES M but about SERIES Ñ

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Edited January 30, 2022 by Robert8

[Karalora]

On to Series V!

Alien Boy: I like the ambiguity of this one. Is he a genuine alien from a whimsical cosmos where spacefarers can whiz about in a bumper car saucer and every planet has its own version of dogs...or is he a kid wearing a costume that includes full face paint (and also his dog is involved)? His ship has a recolored version of the Alien Invader's logo which suggests...something, though I couldn't tell you what.

Alraune: I consider myself pretty well-versed in folklore, but I had never heard of this creature before. I'm glad I know now though--she's really interesting! She seems to be in the same "family" of nature spirits as a Dryad or Pilliwig (flower fairy)...or your Nymph, perhaps? Really cool concept, and the flower alone would make for an interesting feature in a jungle MOC.

Country Girl: The Country Music Singer was definitely Johnny Cash. This might be a young Dolly Parton, though it differs from her classic look in a few ways (and I'm not just talking about the bustline...Parton's notorious bosom would look odd on a minifigure, and would invite derogatory comments). In any case, she's very cute, the teal and white is a good example of "showbiz country" that would never work in an actual Western setting, and it's always nice to have another design for a guitar.

Dark Elf: I think every AFOL fantasy fan is hoping we can get the Drow to add to our worlds. That said, the Drow as popularized by classic D&D are problematic as all get-out, and this design is a good compromise between the original concept and a less cringey modern take. For that matter, there's no reason to assume this character is evil--the stern expression is shared with the original Series 3 Elf, and the rest of the design merely suggests a nocturnal lifestyle. I kind of wish the hood weren't part of the headgear since I'd like to have that hair/ears combo on its own. On the plus side, the shield is gorgeous.

Easter Bunny: It's weird, you know? TLG has produced a few different people in bunny costumes, generally with Easter motifs, and a few different versions of anthropomorphic rabbits, but we have yet to get an actual Easter Bunny. I want this one so much. I want those eggs!

Faceless Man: Good old Slenderman. Where would internet creepypasta be without him? I would have gone with the extra-long legs personally, but this design certainly captures the fundamentals of the internet's favorite deliberately constructed cryptid.

Factory Worker: We can do it! I have to love the hair piece you created for this one, with the Victory curls and the scarf. Rosie the Riveter may be a propaganda character, but she's a fairly benign one and I'd love to add her to my American History collection.

Marionette: With the Toymaker and the Marionettist already included, it was only a matter of time before Pinocchio himself joined the party. I appreciate that you went with a more literary/old-fashioned design for both him and the cricket instead of following Disney's lead.

Monster Fighter: This is the one that inspired me to create an entire thread about a hypothetical revival of the MF line, so my opinion must be abundantly clear. She's awesome! Designing a female character with facial scars always takes some amount of guts, and I thank you for that. And of course she also works as a distaff counterpart for the earlier Monster Hunter (she even looks a bit like Kate Beckinsale in Van Helsing). Too cool!

New Year Party Guy: When exactly did the world settle on black/gold/silver as the New Year's Eve palette? Eh, I guess it doesn't matter. You know I'm always up for a holiday reference, and this is a good one. The tux with a gold cummerbund also works outside of the New Year context.

Outback Guy: Every part of this one is the best part. The bloke himself of course, the painted boomerang, the KANGAROO! You call that a minifig? THIS is a minifig!

Power Warrior: Is this basically a retread of both the Super Warrior and the Ultra Warrior? Yes. Does it matter? Absolutely not; the whole point of a super sentai team is that they're just recolored copies of each other with different weapons. Know your pop culture!

Prom Queen: I am fairly mesmerized by that sequin print. I mean...that's exactly what sequins look like under indoor lighting conditions. Superb! And of course the hair and tiara work just as well with a princess, beauty queen, parade hostess, and many other concepts.

Sky Ruler: Hail to the Sun God, he's a really fun god, Ra, Ra, Ra! (Sorry, not sorry.) This is probably the best one of the bunch this time around. Incredible detail in the printing, and the Eye of Horus sun disc is a nice bonus.

Superheroine: It's hard to imagine that we'd ever get any "generic" superpower characters when LEGO has ongoing licenses with both Marvel and DC...but I kind of wish we would, you know? It's unsettling to me how kids' imagination--and adults' imagination, for that matter--has been increasingly siphoned away from basic scenarios like superheroes or fantasy adventures and toward trademarked IPs like the MCU and Harry Potter. A LEGO minifig is also an IP creation of course, but if it's not a named character--and the CMFs are not--then it's more of a tool to spur the creation of stories than an artifact of existing stories. This gal kinda looks like Captain Marvel, but she also looks very "archetypal superhero" with the red and blue, the cape and mask, and the flying.

Train Collector: This is a very clever way of getting two concepts in one. Yes, this guy is a model railway enthusiast with his model train...but he's the sort who gets so far into it that he dresses up as an old-timey engineer when he plays with his trains, which makes him also function as an actual old-timey engineer, if that's how you want to go with it. Love it!

Overall: A really solid showing this time around! Yes it inspired me to make a lot of side commentary, but that's because the figures themselves are so strong that there's not a lot to say that isn't plainly evident in the images. Way to go, Robert8!

[Robert8]

Another strong series. SERIES V is an example of what I like in a real CMF: a little bit of everything. 

I'll say right off the bat: Monster Fighter is my favorite from this series. But then again Alraune, Dark Elf and Marionette are also quite strong. 

Karalora, you're spot on on some of the comments here: Train Collector meant to be 2x1 character, and also Monster Figther is meant to be a 2x1. As pointed out, she could also be paired with the SERIES P Monster Hunter. Of course, Val Helsing was an inspiration. The bottle (of Holy Water) she has hanging from her belt, is inspired by the one in the movie. 

At some point, I also considered making a Witch Hunter, but again: not enough spots

I'm really sorry I was only able to include 2 egyptian deities, At least includeing Osiris would had been nice. Next series, had the Sphinx... which is at least something

From this series, I'm afraid Pinocchio showing up on a Disney CMF would prevent them from releasing a more classic take on the character in a regular CMF. Similar to Hades

Not much else to say about this one. Very pleased with the results. 

I'll rank this series under SERIES R but above SERIES T

SERIES F

SERIES K

SERIES R

SERIES V

SERIES T

SERIES O

SERIES M

SERIES U

SERIES Ñ

SERIES C

SERIES I

SERIES P

SERIES Q

SERIES E

SERIES L

SERIES J

SERIES S

SERIES G

SERIES A

SERIES N

SERIES B

SERIES H

SERIES D

Edited January 31, 2022 by Robert8

[Karalora]

If it's any consolation, I don't think there's much risk of Disney licensing a Pinocchio minifigure even if they continue their CMFs. They're so fixated on characters with guaranteed current popularity. That we got Hades (among certain other characters) is a freaking miracle.

Edited January 31, 2022 by Karalora

[Karalora]

Whoops! I didn't mean to let this lapse so close to the end. Series W, and then I'm caught up (since I did series X when it came out).

Supreme Leader: Very cool! The Evil Mastermind needed his female counterpart, and we got this gal! The bicolored uniform is intriguing, suggesting perhaps a split personality...but what could the two halves be when she is so clearly evil all over? Scrumptious!

Gnome Girl: Completely adorable. Is she another garden gnome, or the real deal? I want to say the former based on those cheek dots, but you never know!

Carnival Man: This one is just hypnotic (don't tell the Hypnotist, he'll be jealous). Such detailing and striking colors! I have some Carnival mask ornaments actually from Venice, and I can attest to the accuracy of the look here. It's literally hard to stop looking at; those patterns lead the eye around and around!

Black Chess Bishop: It's a pity there's really only one accessory associated with a bishop, since I was enjoying the variation between the white and black sides.

Streamer: I love her pastel candy-colored look! But what really sells this is the screen tile with the image of her ongoing game on it (with CMF characters, no less) and the chat in the sidebar!

Windmill Fighter: This whole project has been dreaming the impossible dream, hasn't it? With all the children's lit characters we've seen, it's nice to have a more grown-up classic literary figure. It's harder to come up with ones that will be instantly recognizable since most books for grown-ups don't feature outlandish quirky characters and they only sometimes have illustrations that get famous. But Don Quixote is pretty obvious.

Dentist: Just gradually filling in all the professions that show up at grade school Career Day... That toothbrush would be a boon to MOCers of domestic scenes, and the masked face is...pretty universally applicable these days (or would be, if more people knew how to behave).

Sphinx: Time was, I would have said "No way in Megablocks" to the prospect of something like this...but they did give us a Centaur, so who knows? This design is actually a combination of the Egyptian and Greek sphinx concept, having the overall look of the former but the addition of wings from the latter. When I first saw it, it read as female to me and I wasn't sure why, but then I realized it--it doesn't have the pharaoh's beard! Robert8 returned the uraeus to the headdress but left off the beard. (The Great Sphinx at Giza originally had both, but they were relatively fragile compared to the whole and broke off over the years.)

Alien Commander: Not sure what to make of this one. We've got so many aliens by now...I guess the outer space group needed someone with a yellow laser? I'm a bit curious as to what the head looks like under there...

Painter: YES! Frida Kahlo my beloved! You really captured her look, eccentric fashion sense and all. And the paintbrush...isn't it high time we had a whole color selection of paintbrushes in use?

Pumpkin Head: I have a mighty need for this guy! My own Pumpkinhead is a black head, the standard jack-o-lantern headwear, and the torso and legs from the Plant Monster, but this guy is much friendlier and more fun. The long legs + vertical stripes make him look really tall. He's just a fun idea all around.

Sleuth: The Series 5 Detective is Sherlock Holmes (hey, there's an instantly recognizable literary character for you), whereas this gal is more 1930s noir. I suspect what you really needed was another use for the Mobster's hat + hair, but she came out cute anyway.

Space Boy: Gee, I wonder which part of The LEGO Movie he liked best? It's a cute idea, but ultimately...this is a Classic Spaceman with short legs. Still nicely in keeping with the costume tradition, though.

Olympus King: Not "Thunder God," then? Eh, I'm nitpicking. This is exactly what we would need and expect from a Zeus minifig. Fits the bill perfectly.

Cymbal Monkey: File this under "didn't know I wanted one until I saw it." Some to think of it, we have a decently sized toy subtheme, don't we? Besides being terrific overall, those cymbals could easily be repurposed for an orchestra or marching band--we always want more musical instruments!

Volleyball Player: I think the main thing this one adds is the volleyball itself. There's not really anything to differentiate her from, say, a female basketball player (the uniform styles are very similar). I kinda like her hair though--is that a French braid?

Overall: This is not my favorite wave. There are a couple great surprises, but more "meh" figures than I've seen in a while. I guess they can't all be the top of the heap.

And with that, I eagerly await March 1!

[Robert8]

I'm not too crazy about this series.... This is actually the only time I've reached to other fellow CMF artists over IG to ask them for feedback before posting the series. 

Friends like CM4Sci or such shared a couple of thoughts, and I ended up replacing a character, and revamping another one 

And while I think there was an improvement, I still don't think SERIES W is as good as others. 

Sphinx is male because there are not female egyptian sphinxes. The wings are a little bit of an extra for a fancy effect, but you can remove them for a more accurate look

Carnival Man was a last minute addition, as I said earlier. He came to replace another character. I wanted to make a female.... but, well... You already know. 

Cymbal Monkey.... my god. That one took me ages to figure it out. Like forever.... I made at least 10 versiones before I found the one that made me 100% happy.

There will be another Thunder God Karalora.... So...... That name might be taken. I'm actually taking a break from working on him to type this

Pumpkin Head is yet another character that was listed for the Spooky Calendar, but I wanted the pumpkin head to be exclusive for the Headless Horseman in the calendar, so I brought the Pumpkin Head to this series.

Gnome Girl is supposed to be a real gnome rather than a garden one in Series 4

Several minifigures can actually be real CMFs: Streamer, Gnome Girl, Volleyball Player. Now after seeing Amelia Earhart's set I suspect TLG would release a Frida Khalo fleshie minifigure in a little set instead of a random yellow look-alike in a regular CMF series. 

I was asked for permission to physically produce and sell some minifigures from this series, like the Cymbal Monkey (not by TLG of course). I wonder what happened with that. It's been a while since the last time I heard of it.

 

And well, my ranking goes:

SERIES F

SERIES K

SERIES R

SERIES V

SERIES T

SERIES O

SERIES M

SERIES U

SERIES Ñ

SERIES C

SERIES I

SERIES P

SERIES Q

SERIES E

SERIES L

SERIES J

SERIES S

SERIES G

SERIES A

SERIES W

SERIES N

SERIES B

SERIES H

SERIES D

As expected, Series W falls in the bottom half 

Thanks @Karalora for reviewing all the series so far. Means a lot to me :)

[Eggyslav]

5 hours ago, Robert8 said:

Sphinx is male because there are not female egyptian sphinxes. The wings are a little bit of an extra for a fancy effect, but you can remove them for a more accurate look

Queen Hatshepsut would beg to differ. :)

[ToaIruini]

@Karalora I have enjoyed reading your comments about each series! Thanks for doing it. 
 

Also, @Robert8, your info about the process on making your series is fascinating. Thanks for including all these extra details! 

[SamVimes]

And Dark elf is fairly easy for TLG to do, using current LotR and Hobbit hair in different colours, Not that they look bad with current styles (And yes it's a Cold one)

[Karalora]

 

5 hours ago, Eggyslav said:

Queen Hatshepsut would beg to differ. :)

Pharaoh Hatshepsut is one of those interesting edge cases. Short version: Pharaoh dies while his son is an infant, so his widow takes the throne. But the office of pharaoh is male by definition, so how do the Egyptians square that circle? By portraying the queen as a man in all the official art. It's important to note that she did not live as a man and no one was under the impression that she was actually a man, it's just that the iconography had no way to express that the pharaoh was a woman. Hence this sphinx, which is, officially, a male sphinx even though the head is that of a woman.

[Eggyslav]

True that. But Hatsheput's case is unique here. There were women ruling Ancient Egypt before and after her (either as a regent or full blown monarch), but they were presented in art as WOMEN. It was Hatshepsut only, who kinda took power from her young stepson Tutmosis III, to be shown in full Pharaoh Regalia and having male titles. She was also the only queen to be depicted as a sphinx. She also commited Damnatio Memoriae on her husband and predecessor Tutmosis II, erasing his likeness and name from all monuments and temples. It was all to legitimize her rule as sole ascendent of her beloved father, Tutmosis I. But yeah, the sphinx here is a male, despite depicting a woman.

Edited February 3, 2022 by Eggyslav

[Robert8]

That was an interesting bit about the sphinx. Wish I could make a (female) greek sphinx... 

Well, anyway. Let's finish the reviews off with SERIES X

 

Series X was a return to form in some many ways. It left a good taste of mouth for sure

I really can't pick a favorite from this series: Evil Mermaid, Steampunk Explorer, Wild West Lady and Combined Mecha are all strong entries, and would make great CMF if real

I wish TLG would at least try with one steampunk minifigure in a CMF wave. At least 1...

 

As I said before, Apollo aka Olympian Archer wasn't included in my final lists, but I saw several people asking for him, so I made him. The minifigure that I was going make instead was a Gremlin. But a more "classic" take on the character based on the stories from the 40s. I also considered a brownie, which is some sort of domestic elf

Evil Mermaid and Golem were the ones that took the most work to complete. Golem actually surprised me because I didn't expect him to be that hard to make. It took me lots of time compared with the rest. 

Wild West Lady biggest challenge was the color scheme. I tried several. But and the end I went with red, because that just screams wild west. Also, as a nod to my original idea which was that she was Calamity Drone before Lord Business translated her consciousness in a robot

Another challenge from this series was having 2 chess pieces for the first time. I think I like the queen a little bit better than the king. 

In my ranking this ones goes under SERIES T but above SERIES O

SERIES F

SERIES K

SERIES R

SERIES V

SERIES T

SERIES X

SERIES O

SERIES M

SERIES U

SERIES Ñ

SERIES C

SERIES I

SERIES P

SERIES Q

SERIES E

SERIES L

SERIES J

SERIES S

SERIES G

SERIES A

SERIES W

SERIES N

SERIES B

SERIES H

SERIES D

 

 

 

[Karalora]

I just want to reiterate that even when a figure in this project doesn't thrill me, I still recognize the quality of the design and how much it looks like something LEGO might actually create. You know what you're doing, for sure.

[williejm]

33 minutes ago, Karalora said:

I just want to reiterate that even when a figure in this project doesn't thrill me, I still recognize the quality of the design and how much it looks like something LEGO might actually create. You know what you're doing, for sure.

This. 

[Lion King]

Oh boy, cannot wait for Series Y!

@Karalora - thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us from Seires A to Seires X (soon we will see your comments on Series Y & Z).

1 hour ago, Karalora said:

I just want to reiterate that even when a figure in this project doesn't thrill me, I still recognize the quality of the design and how much it looks like something LEGO might actually create. You know what you're doing, for sure.

@Robert8, you know what? I agree with Karalora - you did great with desgins.