[REVIEW] 5004941 - Classic Minifigures (Bricktober 2017)

[makoy]

If you have been following my 2017 Bricktober reviews, you know that I skipped the City Jungle Minifigures without any regret. If you have been gone in the past few weeks, go ahead and read my review for Bricktober 2017 -  Ninjago and Bricktober 2017 - TLBM sets. Now, for my 14th RA review, I am back with the 4th week Bricktober set # 5004941 - Classic.

 

Overview

Name: 5004941 - Classic [Minifigure Collection]
Theme: Promotional \ Toys R Us (Bricktober)
Year: 2017 (2H)
Pieces: 18 pcs
Minifigures: 4
Price: free with purchase

USA: Free with purchase worth 50 USD or more 
Canada: Free with purchase worth 75 CAD or more 
Europe (i.e.Germany): available at 14.99 EUR initially then became free with purchase worth 40 EUR or more
Singapore: Free with purchase worth 60 SGD or more
Malaysia: Free with purchase 199 MYR or more
Hong Kong: Free with purchase 450 HKD or more

Offers vary per country. It could also vary in different stores in the USA.

 

Introduction

I know upfront that I cannot pull off a WhiteFang here since I started collecting CMF quite late and I am not a completionist. To make it more enchanting, I don't even have the original of these classic minifigures. 

There will be no breakdown of each minifigure parts because they all came pre-assembled inside the packaging. After all, that's only really useful for feeling the content of a blind bag or foil pack; that's not the case here.

The first iteration of these minifigures was produced between 2010 to 2012. By that definition, I guess LEGO can call any non-licensed re-release a classic if the original release was already 5 years or older. 

 

Front view

Just like all other Bricktober minifigure set I reviewed several weeks ago, the little box is protected with a slide-in plastic cover that is secured with seals at both ends.

Unlike the Ninjago and TLBM minifigure collection sets, these one does not contain any small elements that could slip outside the case. Just look at these minifigures for a moment. Only the Green Cheerleader has accessories (pom-poms) on its hand and even if the packaging is loose, I don't think those pom-poms will get out so easily. Just ensure you get two inside the package.

The text printed on the front box panel is similar to the Ninjago set, with text for "building toys" and the number of pieces. The product illustration is simply studs at the header of the box.

The colour of the box is the classic LEGO yellow so you cannot confuse this with the Batman Black and Yellow colour scheme. See the difference below --

 

Back view

Like the previous Bricktober set, the packaging seal / batch number at the back of my set is 24GH7. There's a peculiarity again with the source of components because this time Mexico is not on the list. Components were sourced from Denmark, the Czech Republic, Hungary and China. 

 

 Side view

This is the 4th  set for Bricktober 2017, therefore, the "minifigure #4" is highlighted in white at the top side of the box. This is true to my region as different markets have a different order of release. Again, this set is "Limited edition, Exclusively at Toys R Us" as seen from all sides of the packaging. As with the previous set, those words are translated from English to German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian and Mandarin (Chinese).

 

In Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, there is a free pop-up card laminated paper backdrop that comes free with each Bricktober set. I am not sure if the item below is also available in US/UK/EU because it really varies per market.

The information printed on the back is the same as the previous one.

Below is how the pop-up card looks like with the minifigures. For a change, the backdrop is useful for these minifigures because they appear to be on top of the deck of the boat.

 

Minifigures

Below is the picture of the minifigures after I cut the seals of the box at both ends with my hobby knife.

We get 4 minifigures out of the box. These are the re-release of Collectable Minifigures in blind bags. Most of them were already hard to get unless you are willing to pay higher in the secondary market. Now, it is even harder to get the exclusive re-release due to its limited retail release. Does it make sense? No, not really. However, it depends on who you ask. For a regular guy like me who collected CMF late in the game, and does not bother about retired sets and CMFs (in general), these minifigures are relatively more accessible to me now than the older minifigures. 

As I don't have the original 'classic CMF' equivalent of these minifigures, I thought that I should at least mention the information of the first version of these minifigures. I do have a Collectable Minifigure Encyclopedia for the sake of side by side comparison so you can click the links below if you wish to see that.

The Boxer is a call back to Series 5 Boxer (2011). Other boxers had appeared in the series including the Team GB Brawny Boxer and Series 16 Kickboxer Girl.
The Hippie is essentially a recolour of Series 7 Hippie (2012).
The Green Cheerleader is a variant of Series 1 Blue Cheerleader (2010). Other cheerleaders had appeared in the series as well these are: Series 8 Red Cheerleader (2012), Series 14 Zombie Cheerleader (2015)
The Sailor is a recolour of Series 4 Sailor (2011)

When you're done reading this review you can revisit WhiteFang's classic review for Series 1, Series 4, Series 5 and Series 7 later.

I also reported the weaker clutch power in the Ninjago and TLBM in my previous reviews so there are no exemptions. The clutch power of these minifigures between the torso and legs are the relatively the same as the other regular CMF series (e.g. Series 14 to Series 16). Surprisingly I noticed that The LEGO Ninjago Movie CMF clutch power is much stronger than the regular series as they are closer to the clutch power of torso and legs made in the 90's.

 

Front view with all accessories and head gears / hair piece

Boxer

What's the same from the original Series 5 Boxer? Apparently, just the head gear.

Series 5 Boxer is the first minifigure to have both of its hands replaced with accessories (boxing gloves). This re-release of the Boxer is the 5th overall iteration of minifigure that wore boxing gloves; the 3rd one if counting only the red gloves. The blue gloves were worn by  Brawny Boxer (Team GB) and the purple gloves were worn Raging Batsuit (TLBM).

You would think that the default beaten up face is the same as original Boxer but it is actually a mirror image of the black eye, crooked lips face print. 

Its championship belt is white and grey which is a downgrade from the original Boxer that had gold and black. The striped blue and white boxer shorts give the minifigure a more amateurish look. The printing also continues at the side. 

 

Hippie

What's the same from the original Series 7 Hippie? None.

Series 7 Hippie is the first minifigure to wear tie-dyed torso. The newer version of the Hippie is the 3rd one. Wait, was there a 2nd Hippie that I didn't know? Not exactly a Hippie but there was a lime top variant without side printing was included in the abomination called Bricktober 2016. That Bricktober set was called "Musician" and the Hippie torso was used in a minifigure with dark tan Paleonthologist pants with striped socks. Thankfully we got a proper Hippie this time and it is hippier that ever.

The hair piece is a recolour of the original reddish brown long hair with orange headband printing. The new Hippie has a dark tan long hair with lime green headband printing that goes around the hair piece.

The face print is a recolour too. This time the facial hair is in dark tan colour while the glasses are tinted amber (orange) and it gives this Hippie a more John Lennon vibe.

The torso base colour is sand blue with fringe printing forming the outer vest. The purple and lime swirls form the tie-dye pattern on top of the orange print. The orange arms have purple side printings too.

Its legs are plain sand blue legs assembly without any printing.

 

Green Cheerleader

What's the same from the original Series 1 Cheerleader? None as well!

There were several cheerleaders that appeared in other CMF series. These include Series 8 Red Cheerleader (2012) and Series 14 Zombie Cheerleader (2015). The letter printed on each cheerleader is unique. The original blue Cheerleader has "M" which stands for Matthew (or Makoy). The Red Cheerleader has "A" which stands for Ashton, then the Zombie Cheerleader has "Z" which we could only assume stands for Zombie. Then comes the Green Cheerleader with letter "J" which stands for James -- not Justin or just2good. This finally completes the full name of LEGO VP of Design, Matthew James Ashton. We could only hope in 30 years to get the rest of the remaining 22 English alphabets if that is even in design pipeline.

The legs (skirt) printing is also unique. It's not just a recolour of the old print as the pattern is different. It's not shown in the front view pictures but the yellow leg colour extends at the side. It's a missed opportunity to use dual moulded legs but following the original design of these minifigures, I understand why there is no dual moulded legs or arms in this set.

The hairpiece used is not the same as the original Cheerleader but it uses the pigtails hair piece from the Zombie Cheerleader in plain dark orange colour. If you think about it, the dark green Zombie Cheerleader could be the zombified version of the Green Cheerleader, not the original Blue Cheerleader.

The pom-poms have green printing, too, following the green uniform of the Green Cheerleader. 

 

Sailor

What's the same from the original Series 4 Sailor? Head gear and legs. It has the same white sailor hat with dark blue anchor pattern and plain white legs. It's probably the 'laziest' re-release but I will not call it lazy because it is still unique. Let me go in more detail.

The face print is a mirror image of the original sailor face print so the winking eye is the right eye, not the left eye. The eye brow of the left eye is also higher so it's not just a simple flipped mirror image.

The torso is basically an inverted image of the white torso. To be fair, the Sailor is the only minifigure with back printing as seen in the picture below. 

 

Back view with all accessories and head gears / hair piece

There's nothing to write about back printing except the sailors oversized collar. Ok, if you count the Hippie headband on its hair piece then that's about it.

 

Side view

The side printing is a bit generous. The Boxer and Green Cheerleader have side legs printing while the Hippie has side arms printing.

 

Front view without the accessories and head gears / hair piece.

Once the accessories and hair pieces were removed, the Hippie's torso fringe printing is more visible. Apart from that. nothing much is revealed by removing accessories as most details on these minifigures are not covered or obscured by any accessories

 

Back view without the accessories and head gears / hair piece.

The only surprise looking at the back without any accessories is the reveal of the alternate face print for the boxer. 

It does not have the left and right cheek lines but it has a small crow foot beside the right eye (it's the branching wrinkle at the outer corner of the eye) 

The mouth piece is not gold but it is coloured light royal blue instead.

You can check the alternate face of the Boxer with the headgear in my Flickr album.

 

Ok, now were done with mug shots, here's the part were I will put these minifigures together with some other minifigures to showcase their similarities or relationship.

 

A sailor went to sea sea sea to see what he could see see see

A lucky Sailor sees a mermaid, or maybe not?

 

Imagine all the people sharing all the world...

I'm sure the Disco Diva will hang out with the Hippie in the 1960's. Missing in action - the other Hippie and the Disco Dude didn't get the invitation.

 

Breakthrough on the other side!

The Hippie headband is not only for the Hippie subculture, it's also great for psychedelic rock!

 

Boo Lloyd! Boo Lloyd!

If you didn't watch The LEGO Ninjago Movie, then you won't get the Boo Lloyd reference. It was a smashing radio hit!

 

Pigtails and pom-poms come in pair

Give me a Z!

Give me an O!... ahhh pug?

Give me a J!

 

Jumping Roundhouse Kick

Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet.... Just a man and his will to survive.

               -- Boxer (2017)
 

Got the guts, but not the glory

Eye of the tiger? Nope. More like black eye!

Btw, here's another head kick.

 

Ultimate (mini) Figure Championships

 

"Your clutch power is weaker than mine!", said the Wrestling Champion.

 

Beaten but not defeated

Boxer: What's up bro?
Clumsy Guy: My last fight with the Banana Man didn't go so well.
Boxer: Let's form a tag team next time?
Clumsy Guy: Sure thing!

 

Parts

Here is a quick recap on what those mere 18 pieces are. You should count the head, torso and legs assembly separately (counted as 3 pieces per minifigure).

This Bricktober set has the least amount of pieces due to absurd lack of accessories.

 

The Boxer could have benefited from a medal, the Hippie could have a flower like the original, and the Sailor could use a telescope.

Conclusion

Before I conclude this review, let's address the proverbial elephant in the room: is this just a lazy rehash? 

Personally, I don't think it is.

A serious effort had been made so that some of the minifigures in this collection will not appear blatantly similar when compared to the first version. The Hippie and Green Cheerleader is the 2 outstanding minifigures in my opinion. I certainly enjoy the new Boxer even though it is very similar to the first Boxer. The weakest is obviously the sailor but even that came with a different winking eye.

Surely, most casual LEGO set buyers and minifigure collectors will enjoy this classic collection of minifigures. 

Even if you already have the original Boxer, Hippie, Cheerleader and Sailor, at least one of these minifigures would  entice you to get this set. Let me know which one is your favourite by voting in the poll above.

Review summary

Playability: 6.5/10 - This set is aimed at CMF collectors. While it's fun to play with minifigures, the absence of accessories for most minifigures takes away some fun factor.
Design / Building Experience: N/A - Everything comes pre-assembled. Besides, there are no building blocks in this set so I’ll just leave it there.
Minifigures:  9/10 - It's a great way to get similar minifigures you missed out from the original CMF run.
Price / Value for money: 10/10 - I got this for free so I don’t see any reason why I should not give a perfect score for value.
Overall: 8.5/10 - If you have the original CMF versions, the most compelling reason to get this is the John Lennon inspired Hippie and the Green Cheerleader because these variants look different. If you don't have any of the original minifigures, like me, then there's no reason why you will skip it unless you hate getting something free or if you have to buy this from a scalper.

 

Once again, thank you for reading. Hopefully, this is not the last Bricktober set that I will review. Until next time!

[Robert8]

Thanks for the review

The lack of accesories is certainly upsetting. 

The most desirable piece here is the recolor of the Hippie hairpiece

As a collector of the CMFs, I appreciate that they protected the exclusiveness of the originals

Best Bricktober box for me 

[Digger of Bricks]

Whatever is in store for Toys R' Us in the future, I certainly hope to see more of these CMF variant promotions in some way or another. Castle, Space, and Pirate fans would really appreciate seeing some promotional sets containing CMF variants from those respective themes, especially during their lack of a actual theme of sets. 

[Agent Kallus]

I've said it before but why are they all based on modern day CMFs why not one sci-fi, one historical, one modern day and one costume guy/gal that would have a greater appeal and might have enticed me to get it. But with this selection I didn't bother and only got the batman and ninjago ones (£14.99 in Trus uk which feels a little steep but Nuero and spartan batman almost made up for it )

So I'd say it overpriced and a bad selection   but this is a good review. 

[makoy]

3 hours ago, Robert8 said:

Thanks for the review

The lack of accesories is certainly upsetting. 

The most desirable piece here is the recolor of the Hippie hairpiece

As a collector of the CMFs, I appreciate that they protected the exclusiveness of the originals

Best Bricktober box for me 

You're welcome! I am not an American so I can't relate much to the Hippie culture. Right now there are 3 variants already so yippie for more hippies!

32 minutes ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Whatever is in store for Toys R' Us in the future, I certainly hope to see more of these CMF variant promotions in some way or another. Castle, Space, and Pirate fans would really appreciate seeing some promotional sets containing CMF variants from those respective themes, especially during their lack of a actual theme of sets. 

Me too. If all Bricktobers will be based on minifigure re-release, I certainly won't mind as long as they have some degree of variation. I would like to see more space or castle minifigure though.

Just now, Agent Kallus said:

I've said it before but why are they all based on modern day CMFs why not one sci-fi, one historical, one modern day and one costume guy/gal that would have a greater appeal and might have enticed me to get it. But with this selection I didn't bother and only got the batman and ninjago ones (£14.99 in Trus uk which feels a little steep but Nuero and spartan batman almost made up for it )

So I'd say it overpriced and a bad selection   but this is a good review. 

Can't you get this free with purchase in UK? I really can't speak for UK but after conversion I feel that it is still reasonable if I pay 14.99 GBP because it sells more expensive on the secondary market in my region. It's disappointing to not get more accessories from this set though. Having more accessories could make the price a little more tolerable in your case. I got mine free with purchase so my rating for its value is perfect. 

I do agree with you that a mix of different timeline/epoch/era is more interesting than just having modern day CMFs.

[K_Tiger]

I picked mine up yesterday, and am pleased with the two I bought them for, in general. The Hippie and Boxer are jockeying for last place, as the originals were NOT particularly compelling, and the recolors don't do them any favors. My only real issue with the sailor is the white trousers. He looks a lot better with dark blue legs.

 

Now that it's over, I think these were much better Bricktober sets than last year, even though none of the sets averaged better than two great figures (while none of the Ninjago ones were even interesting). If nothing else, they were at least cohesive figures, and not frankenfigures from whatever was sitting in the Build-a-Minifigure bins.

Edited October 23, 2017 by K_Tiger

[Fifulin]

I want the Green Cheerleader so much.

 

[romulan]

When I think 'classic,' I was expecting Ice Planet, Aquazone, Castle, Town, etc. Hard to call these Minifigures classic imo

[WhiteFang]

Nice review. Thanks for paying homage to my past CMFs reviews. Indeed, you have covered the review well and I enjoyed it very much and your references too. I am glad you managed to pull this through and fulfill the almost completed Bricktober 2017. Like yourself, I didn't buy in order to qualify the free City Bricktober set. 

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

Thanks for the extensive review, Makoy! I am really liking the hippie recolor. Really it's the one figure that tempts me. I might eventually get it. Personally, my favorite pack by far has been the TLBM minifigure pack!

[makoy]

15 hours ago, K_Tiger said:

I picked mine up yesterday, and am pleased with the two I bought them for, in general. The Hippie and Boxer are jockeying for last place, as the originals were NOT particularly compelling, and the recolors don't do them any favors. My only real issue with the sailor is the white trousers. He looks a lot better with dark blue legs.

 

Now that it's over, I think these were much better Bricktober sets than last year, even though none of the sets averaged better than two great figures (while none of the Ninjago ones were even interesting). If nothing else, they were at least cohesive figures, and not frankenfigures from whatever was sitting in the Build-a-Minifigure bins.

How could not be interested with White Nindroid or Digiverse Golden Kai? Well, you can't please everyone. The frankenfigures in 2016, as you call it, is the worst Bricktober IMHO. Then, it was followed by one of the best Bricktober (this year). Quite a big reversal. Well played, TRU!

15 hours ago, Fifulin said:

I want the Green Cheerleader so much.

If you want only the Green Cheerleader, the cost might be a bit steep unless there is a surge of sellers selling this 'ala carte'.

13 hours ago, romulan said:

When I think 'classic,' I was expecting Ice Planet, Aquazone, Castle, Town, etc. Hard to call these Minifigures classic imo

I agree. That's why I started my introduction by defining what seems to be the definition of 'classic' in this context. I personally won't call them classic.

12 hours ago, WhiteFang said:

Nice review. Thanks for paying homage to my past CMFs reviews. Indeed, you have covered the review well and I enjoyed it very much and your references too. I am glad you managed to pull this through and fulfill the almost completed Bricktober 2017. Like yourself, I didn't buy in order to qualify the free City Bricktober set. 

Yup.. almost. Even if I bought the City Bricktober set, I may run out of words to say after few paragraphs.

2 hours ago, BrickHat said:

Thanks for the extensive review, Makoy! I am really liking the hippie recolor. Really it's the one figure that tempts me. I might eventually get it. Personally, my favorite pack by far has been the TLBM minifigure pack!

If you don't get it from TRU sooner, then these might be hard to find soon. My favourite was the TLBM too, even though I was looking forward to these "classic" ones too.

[K_Tiger]

7 hours ago, makoy said:

How could not be interested with White Nindroid or Digiverse Golden Kai? Well, you can't please everyone.

Quite easily, actually. No connection to any of that era of Ninjago lore. One golden ninja looks like another, so that one's out. Young Krux? Actually less interesting than old Krux. That leaves the elemental master, and I'm right back to no idea about the lore. Come to think of it, I'm not sure what would have made me happy in a Ninjago pack. I could cook up a couple easily for Nexo Knights, but all I really want from Ninjago are villains and Day of the Departed dumped a bunch of those one us, making a Bricktober pack of them largely pointless.

 

Doesn't matter, Batpack was solid, and the City and CMF ones provided stuff I liked.

Edited October 24, 2017 by K_Tiger

[koalayummies]

Great review and photography. Until now I never noticed the female kick boxer CMF had a mouth guard. 

[makoy]

17 hours ago, K_Tiger said:

Quite easily, actually. No connection to any of that era of Ninjago lore. One golden ninja looks like another, so that one's out. Young Krux? Actually less interesting than old Krux. That leaves the elemental master, and I'm right back to no idea about the lore. Come to think of it, I'm not sure what would have made me happy in a Ninjago pack. I could cook up a couple easily for Nexo Knights, but all I really want from Ninjago are villains and Day of the Departed dumped a bunch of those one us, making a Bricktober pack of them largely pointless.

 

Doesn't matter, Batpack was solid, and the City and CMF ones provided stuff I liked.

I see. I am not particularly fond of the Ninjago Bricktober as well but you really need to know some lore or backstory to understand the excitement of other people on those minifigures. As the saying goes, "one man's trash is another man's treasure”. Totally fine if you only like Batman or whatnot. Like I mentioned in my reviews, I skipped City without regret.  

10 hours ago, koalayummies said:

Great review and photography. Until now I never noticed the female kick boxer CMF had a mouth guard. 

Thank you. Frankly, I didn't pay much attention to the Kickboxer Girl as well until I used it for my photography. 

It's actually a great companion minifigure for the athletic folks. 

I enjoyed taking pictures of Kickboxer Girl winning over the Boxer. Not sure if I can say the same if it's the other way around.

[kaelthas]

Great review @makoy. I always wanted the boxing gloves. 

 

[makoy]

16 hours ago, kaelthas said:

Great review @makoy. I always wanted the boxing gloves. 

If you can't get it from this Bricktober set, the Kickboxer Girl is still relatively accessible in the secondary market.

I do wish TLG to make the blue boxing gloves more accessible.... because that Team GB Brawny Boxer is really expensive now.

[badbob001]

Argh, I went to two stores today and they were clear out of any bricktober sets. The first store's cashier actually came back with an aquaman lego dimensions set and as she was ringing it up, I was like "What are you doing?". And the next store only had the LEGO batman set left. I would have thought this final set was the least popular but I guess I was wrong. Another theory is that since stores get all four sets in the beginning, they probably mistakenly sold a future week's sets when they ran out of the current week's.

Maybe after october, I hope they have some left-over inventory they will put on the shelves. Do they ever sell post-bricktober sets online or at least let you purchase and pick-up in store?

I was really looking forward to that sailor suit.

[makoy]

@badbob001 I'm sorry to hear all the trouble you took to get the Bricktober sets and yet left empty handed. I can relate.

Is there any way you can call up your nearby TRU stores to check their inventories? Anyway, as you mentioned Sailor Suit, so far it seems to be 2nd least favourite. Worst case scenario, if you can't get the entire set, I think the aftermarkets will have a lot of surplus of these sailors.

All the best to you!

[badbob001]

I took my daughter Halloween shopping today and next door is the third trus in my area. I didn't have time to go to this one yesterday and besides, it didn't show the set I wanted online as a pickup item, which I assumed meant they didn't stock it.

I asked the service desk and they told me they were out of the promo item. I could have left but I just wanted to take a quick look for something. In the Lego section, I found two Ninjago promo sets and more than twenty of the jungle promo. And in the city section, I found one yellow promo set... I was like that lady in that Ikea commercial where I would be yelling at my husband to 'start the car'! I have no idea why or how it was there. And best yet, the set that I thought they didn't have in stock, was more in stock than in the other stores.

So happy ending. From my experience, this final promo set seems super popular. Hope I'm wrong and I'll eventually find tons of them at clearance prices.