LEGO Collectable Minifigures Series 19 Rumors, Speculation and Discussion

[1Panda]

So I guess brother from another brick has listed the ghost knight and rainbow Panda on eBay

and I also found the shower guy and computer girl on there as well  

[CMFanatic]

Hey guys! Long time no see! 

I noticed that the whole topic has spiraled out of control somewhat, so I'm back to bring it to what my original point was: What is YOUR favorite minifigure? 

On 7/26/2019 at 6:42 PM, Aanchir said:

I'm not sure I agree with this rationale. I mean, if you follow it to its eventual conclusion, then a LOT of past Collectible Minifigures (even popular ones among historic or sci-fi builders) could have been omitted on the same grounds:

• the Spaceman, Robot, Space Alien, Space Villain, Alien Villainess, Evil Robot, Battle Mech, and Evil Mech could have appeared in then-current Space sets
• the Forestman, Elf Warrior, Evil Dwarf, Frightening Knight, Heroic Knight, Forest Maiden could have appeared in then-current Castle sets
• the Zombie Pirate could have appeared in then-current Pirates sets
• the Mummy could have appeared in then-current Pharaoh's Quest sets
• the Samurai Warrior, Kimono Girl, Samurai, and Evil Wizard could have appeared in then-current Ninjago sets
• the Vampire Bat could have appeared in then-current Monster Fighters sets
• Santa Claus, the Gingerbread Man, and the Holiday Elf could have appeared in then-current Winter Village or Seasonal sets.

But would fans of these themes have been any better off if these figures HADN'T shown up in the blind bags?

After all, just because they COULD have appeared in regular playsets doesn't mean they WOULD have. Most of those themes those figures could have hypothetically fit into presumably already had as many unique new figures as their assigned budgets, price points, and new element allowances could cover. And just because the figures fit in with those theme concepts as a whole didn't mean they fit in with then-current sets, waves, or subthemes.

It's also possible that in some cases, the ability to use a new mold in the collectible minifigures is the only way that mold gets made, since its "parent theme" might not be able to budget it into enough sets on its own to justify the development molding costs.

The same applies to LEGO City. Even if the modern-day figs from this series could hypothetically appear in future sets — particularly sets in the general-purpose "Town" subtheme such as the people packs — there might not be a set in question that's suited to AND has the budget for many these particular figure designs for years.

Plus, I suspect that the perennial popularity of modern-day subject matter — as evidenced by the perennial best-selling status of themes like City, Friends, and Creator which depict primarily modern-day scenarios — probably helps to boost the overall popularity and sales of the blind bags. And that may what allows LEGO to continue releasing minifigures from more uncommon categories that might not have the same proven popularity with kids or have full themes of their own, like Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek, Ancient Egyptian, Western, etc.

• The bare torso here seems to have a different physique than most of those we've had in sets before, which might make it useful for some purposes that the others might not have been.
   
• The rubber duck and brush never came in these colors before.
   
• The facial expression, with big grin and closed eyes, has only appeared on four figures: an Emmet Brickowski minifigure that has no eyebrows, a Crayon Girl minifigure that has lipstick, an Aaron Fox minifigure that has freckles and dark orange eyebrows, and a Queenie Goldstein minifigure that has lipstick, reddish brown eyebrows, and light nougat skin. A minifig head like this with black eyebrows and no lipstick has not previously existed.
   
• And of course, these blind bags are not designed specifically for AFOLs who can purchase whatever parts they want on BrickLink even if they haven't been available in sets for years. They're also intended for kids and adults who might be more casual collectors.
  
  If the ability to build a particular subject yourself using retired parts were reason enough not to release it as a new set/figure, then we wouldn't see nearly so many people yearning for LEGO to bring back Castle, Forestmen, Classic Space, Blacktron, Adventurers, Pirates, Islanders, Wild West, etc.

1. Since… I dunno, at least as long as I've been alive? I mean, it's a mascot costume, not a real pizza slice, so it looking a little stylized is to be expected. This is about as accurate as I'd imagine a pizza slice costume to look in real life. Besides, I don't see why it's worth wishing for a mold to be LESS versatile. By using a mold without molded toppings, LEGO could potentially reuse it as a gift-with-purchase depicting a pizza costume with different toppings (like, say, shrimp and green peppers,
    
2. How are the colors wrong? Tan crust, yellow cheese, red sauce and pepperoni, black olives… none of that is the least bit unusual in either real life or LEGO. Not all real pizzas or LEGO pizzas will have those exact same ingredients in those same colors, but some certainly do.
    
3. Language is descriptive, not prescriptive. If enough people use a word with a particular meaning, it becomes a meaning of that word in their language even if it's not a meaning of that word in the language they derived it from.
   
   Just look at how many medical and scientific terms come from Latin or Greek, but have different meanings in medicine and science than they did to the original speakers of those languages. "Coccyx" in Greek meant "cuckoo", but in medicine refers to the tailbone. "Bicps" in Latin meant "two headed", but in medicine it refers to an arm muscle.
   
   Words gaining new and different meanings as they are adopted by new groups of speakers, new languages, or new contexts is not only normal but common, and has been happening constantly and throughout history. It's not a big deal.

Thanks for the defense - however, please don't let's argue here! Argue on Facebook or something. I respect that others have their own opinions and stuff, soo although I prefer the "normal" CMFs others can like all the "strange" ones that they want!

On 7/26/2019 at 11:51 PM, Brother From Another Brick said:

LOL, I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but I have a review of the Rainbow Bear on my channel. If i'm not allowed to say that, sorry.

That's OK with me! I wanna see a review of Pizza Suit Guy! How did you get all the photos? I saw a few high-res photos on eBay but none elsewhere! 

On 7/28/2019 at 7:21 AM, Lucarex said:

Thanks. So how do we explain the recent mid-July eBay sale of ghost knight and rainbow panda then? I could understand a couple of weeks pre-official release but not 6-7 weeks.

I still don’t understand why TLG never seem to want to capitalise on the kids being off school over August. CMF series are after all pocket money collectibles.

I wondered as well.... Maybe he has some sort of "inside scoop" and could get packets. There is a photo on the Web of someone with a bunch (like half a box) of sealed Series 19 packets. Already. So it's not too surprising.

I'm going to post the "Totals So Far" in a bit, but first I have to tally up the vots! (But it looks like one of the Suit people will be in the Top 3!) 

Edited August 7, 2019 by CMFanatic
One word: Typos.

[williejm]

I’m gonna reserve judgement until I have the things in hand, as my mind often changes when I see them in real life. I’m a big fan of the animal moulds, and there are a lot of great parts in this series - facial expressions, printed trousers, hairpieces that i’m quite excited about.

At present my top figures from this set are 

puppy pooper scooper, Floridian flamingo woman, Rainbow Panda, and the Mummy 

[Anonknee Muss]

On 8/6/2019 at 9:31 PM, williejm said:

Agree it’s a solid series, and some great figures, parts and accessories. No idea why there’s all the complaining on here. My least exciting two figures are the two you think are best - which just goes to show that this appeals to everyone in different ways! 

Nobody is saying the two minifigures you like are bad minifigures but rather bad choices since there are much better suited in City.

[williejm]

51 minutes ago, J4ck said:

Nobody is saying the two minifigures you like are bad minifigures but rather bad choices since there are much better suited in City.

How can someone else tell me my choices are bad? 

[CMFanatic]

On 8/4/2019 at 1:41 PM, Ogist said:

Very bad series. All animals are great, but minifigures - disaster. 

On 8/4/2019 at 3:25 PM, Petric_G said:

My words. 

Only the Knight torso is ok for me. 

I'm sorry you feel that way....Are either of you going to get any?

On 8/5/2019 at 3:53 AM, Wesley D said:

Is swapping hands considered a 'legal' building technique, as I have seen people able to order hands on Bricks & Pieces? Before I always considered torso and hands as one part.

Ik haven't dared to swap hands due to the possible damage you mentioned and as I remember from childhood!

It is. I do it all the time if I got a set or CMF for the torso but the hands are the wrong color. Use it in Brickfilms, too. Also, you can pop the arms out of the sockets (if you're careful) and use short-sleeved arms on long-sleeved minifigs, etc. Really great to use if you just can't quite get that look you're aiming for...I use the Series 17 Yuppie's arms a lot, and have 4 of him just for the arms.

On 8/5/2019 at 5:57 PM, MAB said:

Across city subthemes!

True. But I have no idea where most of those "odd" minifigs would fit in. However, we DO have 6 minifigures that definitely wouldn't have looked out-of-place in a set: 

• Dog Walker (could see that in a City People Pack or the City Corner Garage)
• Shower Guy (though WHAT he'd be in I have no clue...Maybe LEGO will come out with a Modular House in the Modular Buildings theme. Or a good house that's not in the Creator theme)
• Programmer (she might be OK in another People Pack, though IDK whether she'd fit in with the feel of any of our current ones)
• Biker Girl (we already have several bikers, though, so it could literally fit in anywhere)
• Retiree (which again might fit into a City People Pack, or possibly a house - like Shower Guy)
• Firefighter (which is the only one that really belongs in a set)

That leaves us with 10 that wouldn't really fit into a City set (or really any current theme):

• Monkey King (Where would we fit this in, exactly?)
• Ghost Knight (Again, no current theme for this one)
• Biologist/Johnny Thunder clone (That theme has been dead for 15+ years)
• Fox Suit, Pizza Suit, Rainbow Panda Suit (Well, I really have no clue WHAT the LEGO Group would put these in.....)
• Rugby Guy (There's never been a rugby/American football theme yet, and it doesn't look likely - but fingers crossed ???)
• Video Game Guy (Again, no theme to fit in. Wouldn't go with Minecraft or Overwatch, and there's no where else that it could fit in. Definitely NOT a "City" minifigure)
• Intergalactic Bounty Hunter (Where would this fit in? It has Blacktron references, but again that's been dead 10+ years!)
• "I Want My Mummy" (True, it would have fit into Monster Fighters - or perhaps the 2012 wave of Adventureres - but again, those themes have been dead for almost a decade)

So..."Across CITY Subthemes" isn't quite accurate. 6 of them, yes, but that's way less than the ratio in bad ol' Series 17: 10 "themables" to 6 "fan-tasy". (Series 17 wasn't that great, either - my favorite three were the Butterfly girl (cute!), the Yuppie Businessman (cool, bro) and the Baker (great printed pie and whisk accessories!). 

[Vorkosigan]

I did my own categorization of figures across the last 3 nonlicensed series (skipping 18 since its all costumes). I don't see a big swing, 19 has maybe 1 more City figure than 17 and 16, but every series has some movement between categories. 

Series 19
6 City
1 Retro / Recent History
3 Ancient History / Fantasy
2 Costume
1 Oddball
1 Scifi
2 Sports

Series 17
5 City
2 Retro / Recent History
4 Ancient History / Fantasy
2 Costume
1 Oddball
1 Scifi
1 Sports

Series 16
5 City
0 Retro / Recent History
4 Ancient History / Fantasy
3 Costume
1 Oddball
1 Scifi
2 Sports

Edited August 8, 2019 by Vorkosigan

[gedren_y]

I can see the Pizza Guy in an updated pizzeria set in City, after that Friends restaurant set has been retired.

[Robert8]

This is very subjetive because it depends on one's preferences 

For me, this series is lacking some fantasy/castle characters and it has 3 costumes again like Series 16,  Series 17 and TLM2 Series, but I saw someone complaining on IG because this series doesn't have enough "regular city characters from real life like policemen and such" and it wasn't sarcasm so....

[Renny The Spaceman]

7 hours ago, Vorkosigan said:

I did my own categorization of figures across the last 3 nonlicensed series (skipping 18 since its all costumes). 

Series 19
1 Scifi

Series 17
1 Scifi

Series 16
1 Scifi

It's weird how few Sci-Fi 'figs are in the more recent CMF's, I'd assume that kid's would be more partial to them than than historical ones but clearly I've assumed wrong!

[K_Tiger]

33 minutes ago, Robert8 said:

This is very subjetive because it depends on one's preferences 

For me, this series is lacking some fantasy/castle characters and it has 3 costumes again like Series 16,  Series 17 and TLM2 Series, but I saw someone complaining on IG because this series doesn't have enough "regular city characters from real life like policemen and such" and it wasn't sarcasm so....

Unless it's a period/regionally-unique figure (the bobby, sheriff, etc.) there really is no need for there to be another LEO figure in the CMF line ever again.

 

10 hours ago, CMFanatic said:

Retiree (which again might fit into a City People Pack, or possibly a house - like Shower Guy)

Most of the modern minifigures could be slipped in a people pack, like you said, or in sets like City Square or Capital City, which could contain a shop build aimed towards said figures. The Retiree I'd save for a one-off Paradisa throwback set (c'mon, LEGO, with lots of white, bright pink and light aqua. Just one, please?)

 

[Anonknee Muss]

12 hours ago, williejm said:

How can someone else tell me my choices are bad? 

Sorry I think I explained poorly. The minifigures are not bad. But considering they could vvery easily fit into city sets and yet they are in CMF and how rare we get a regular series, many people including myself, see them as a “waste” of slots.

59 minutes ago, Robert8 said:

This is very subjetive because it depends on one's preferences 

For me, this series is lacking some fantasy/castle characters and it has 3 costumes again like Series 16,  Series 17 and TLM2 Series, but I saw someone complaining on IG because this series doesn't have enough "regular city characters from real life like policemen and such" and it wasn't sarcasm so....

YIKES

[Digger of Bricks]

As of now, if I had to list this Series' offerings in order of my most to least favored...

1. Intergalactic Bounty Hunter
2. Jungle Explorer/Johnny Thunder
3. Mummy
4. Black Knight/Fright Knight
5. Gamer
6. Monkey King
7. Flamingo Woman
8. Mountain Biker
9. Coder Girl
10. Dog Walker
11. Shower Guy
12. Firefighter
13. Rugby Player
14. Pizza Suit Guy
15. Fox Suit Girl
16. Rainbow Bear

[BrickBob Studpants]

The ‘City’ minifigs of this series as they’ve been called might fit into regular City sets or people packs in concept, but not necessarily in execution. CMF series obviously have a different parts budget than other themes considering the amount of recolours, new moulds and detailed prints we’re getting.

A minifig like the Biker might theoretically be suitable for a people pack, but she alone features two new moulds and thus far, none of the people packs have introduced more than two or three new moulds each, and never just for one figure  The level of detail the average CMF fig has with either side-leg printing, dual-moulded arms and/or legs as well as unique face prints for every single one of them is still leagues above what you can find in most City sets (with mostly unprinted legs, generic torsos, reused face prints and the occasional recoloured hairpiece).

I get that some people would like to see more unique concepts, which is a fair point, but the actual quality of the figs is still there IMO 

[williejm]

1 hour ago, Lego-Freak said:

The ‘City’ minifigs of this series as they’ve been called might fit into regular City sets or people packs in concept, but not necessarily in execution. CMF series obviously have a different parts budget than other themes considering the amount of recolours, new moulds and detailed prints we’re getting.

A minifig like the Biker might theoretically be suitable for a people pack, but she alone features two new moulds and thus far, none of the people packs have introduced more than two or three new moulds each, and never just for one figure  The level of detail the average CMF fig has with either side-leg printing, dual-moulded arms and/or legs as well as unique face prints for every single one of them is still leagues above what you can find in most City sets (with mostly unprinted legs, generic torsos, reused face prints and the occasional recoloured hairpiece).

I get that some people would like to see more unique concepts, which is a fair point, but the actual quality of the figs is still there IMO 

Indeed. Though I think her bike mould was actually introduced in the ‘outdoors’ people pack ...

[Anonknee Muss]

2 hours ago, williejm said:

Indeed. Though I think her bike mould was actually introduced in the ‘outdoors’ people pack ...

Let’s be honest for one second, the fire chief defintiely could be fit into city.

3 hours ago, Lego-Freak said:

The ‘City’ minifigs of this series as they’ve been called might fit into regular City sets or people packs in concept, but not necessarily in execution. CMF series obviously have a different parts budget than other themes considering the amount of recolours, new moulds and detailed prints we’re getting.

A minifig like the Biker might theoretically be suitable for a people pack, but she alone features two new moulds and thus far, none of the people packs have introduced more than two or three new moulds each, and never just for one figure  The level of detail the average CMF fig has with either side-leg printing, dual-moulded arms and/or legs as well as unique face prints for every single one of them is still leagues above what you can find in most City sets (with mostly unprinted legs, generic torsos, reused face prints and the occasional recoloured hairpiece).

I get that some people would like to see more unique concepts, which is a fair point, but the actual quality of the figs is still there IMO 

I think you’re onto something maybe.

[K_Tiger]

4 hours ago, Lego-Freak said:

 

A minifig like the Biker might theoretically be suitable for a people pack, but she alone features two new moulds and thus far, none of the people packs have introduced more than two or three new moulds each, and never just for one figure 

 

3 hours ago, williejm said:

Indeed. Though I think her bike mould was actually introduced in the ‘outdoors’ people pack ...

 

It was.

Edited August 8, 2019 by K_Tiger

[gedren_y]

If the Fire Chief were in a set she would be in the largest set of the Fire subtheme. The current flagship set for Fire is 60216 Downtown Fire Brigade, which will likely still be on shelves come September. That set could have swapped her for what looks liked a fire investigator. She wouldn't have side leg printing, though, because a simpler version of her leg printing already exists. It's on three in that set, and 44 figs in total beginning in 2013. She also likely wouldn't have arm printing, which none of the seven figs in that set have. Also that announcer horn wouldn't have printing, if it was in the set at all. She wouldn't be the detailed fig we are getting in series 19, which could compliment 6+ years worth of Fire minifigs, thus appealing to a larger range of buyers.

[BrickBob Studpants]

4 hours ago, williejm said:

Indeed. Though I think her bike mould was actually introduced in the ‘outdoors’ people pack ...

 

1 hour ago, K_Tiger said:

It was.

You're both right of course, ironic I forgot about that one while talking about the people packs 

[TeriXeri]

1 hour ago, gedren_y said:

If the Fire Chief were in a set she would be in the largest set of the Fire subtheme. 

They actually just released the €20/$30 60231 "Fire Chief's Response Truck set, at least in US that just launched in August, Europe had it a bit sooner.

For me, that's a lot more interesting fire figure compared to this CMF version, and the other firefighter in that set has leg printing as well, but I do like the rest of the set as well.

I know the CMF figure has unique hair/helm piece, printed arms and horn, but for me, not worth hunting down CMF for.

Edited August 8, 2019 by TeriXeri

[Itaria No Shintaku]

18 hours ago, Vorkosigan said:

I did my own categorization of figures across the last 3 nonlicensed series (skipping 18 since its all costumes). I don't see a big swing, 19 has maybe 1 more City figure than 17 and 16, but every series has some movement between categories. 

Series 19
6 City
1 Retro / Recent History
3 Ancient History / Fantasy
2 Costume
1 Oddball
1 Scifi
2 Sports

Series 17
5 City
2 Retro / Recent History
4 Ancient History / Fantasy
2 Costume
1 Oddball
1 Scifi
1 Sports

Series 16
5 City
0 Retro / Recent History
4 Ancient History / Fantasy
3 Costume
1 Oddball
1 Scifi
2 Sports

Separating sports from city is strange to me.
Sports are practiced mainly in the city theme.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Itaria No Shintaku

[Vorkosigan]

3 hours ago, Itaria No Shintaku said:

Separating sports from city is strange to me.
Sports are practiced mainly in the city theme.

City only covers a certain type of of sport, hard to describe but seems to me less competitive. For example snowboarding, hiking, surfing, biking. Point based game sports are rarely if ever portrayed in City, such as golf, basketball, soccer, tennis, rugby. Also there was a sports theme at one time that covered those sorts of games, so it seems to be separate. However I get that these sports figures are equally boring to those who don't have a lot of use for city figures. 

[Digger of Bricks]

15 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

For me, that's a lot more interesting fire figure compared to this CMF version, and the other firefighter in that set has leg printing as well, but I do like the rest of the set as well.

I know the CMF figure has unique hair/helm piece, printed arms and horn, but for me, not worth hunting down CMF for.

The CMF should've been either of a more region-specific and/or period-specific Firefighter, something we would've never seen from the City theme.

[Laura Beinbrech]

Just now, Digger of Bricks said:

The CMF should've been either of a more region-specific and/or period-specific Firefighter, something we would've never seen from the City theme.

If the fire fighter's uniform looked like that, I'd be buying them by the dozen, because I need some torsos and/or helmets like that, but as it is, I already have quite a few standard City fire fighter torsos that just sit in my spare minifig parts bin because I have no use for them...

[Digger of Bricks]

4 minutes ago, Laura Beinbrech said:

If the fire fighter's uniform looked like that, I'd be buying them by the dozen, because I need some torsos and/or helmets like that, but as it is, I already have quite a few standard City fire fighter torsos that just sit in my spare minifig parts bin because I have no use for them...

Granted, last year's 10263 Winter Village Fire Station did offer some torso designs much like those, but not the helmets.