LEGO Collectable Minifigures Series 3 discussion

[Hartfan]

Hi

I found Series 3 in TRU in Kansas City. The funny thing is, You can get it by customer service desk and there is a info that "Only 5 per customer". LOL

I got 5 and Im so happy. I got Samurai, Indian Chief and Elf + 2 other that I dont care about. So 3 I wanted I got :D

[Lego_Hero]

Hi

I found Series 3 in TRU in Kansas City. The funny thing is, You can get it by customer service desk and there is a info that "Only 5 per customer". LOL

I got 5 and Im so happy. I got Samurai, Indian Chief and Elf + 2 other that I dont care about. So 3 I wanted I got :D

Why are TRU's so different from one another? You hear about limits all the time, but my TRU has them on the regular shelf and no one has ever hassled me over the thirty minutes I spend checking barcodes and dots and feeling the bags. My TRU is running a buy one, get one at 50% off promotion. I put all 18 on the counter and they said they could ring the whole thing up and the register would automatically take the discount. I got all 18 for what basically amounted to $2.33 each (mine is selling them at $2.99).

My only gripe is that the first two series started at $1.99 each and rose with each shipment. This series started at $2.99.

[Rogue Angel]

Definitely not easier than the barcodes. The barcodes were tedious, but once you found the match to your cheat sheet, it was clear what the fig was.

With the dots, there's a lot more ambiguity. The dots are maddeningly hard to see, and sometimes it's not obvious what's a legitimate dot, and what's just a scuff on the packaging.

I ended up using a combination of the dot system and feeling the bags. I used the dot system to narrow it down to what I THOUGHT the fig was, then would try to feel for the relavent parts for verification. It takes a while, and I sorta felt like a dork while I was doing it, but I did manage to get exactly the figs that I wanted. It works, but be prepared to spend a bit of time tilting the bags back and forth in the light, to try to make out the dot pattern.

I know, it all sounds very silly, but I refuse to play the blind packaging game.

Agreed! For the elf package, I have been able to decipher one small fireball shaped bubble (about the same size as the dots) a little down, and 1/2 inch to the left of the leftmost dot on the elf package that sets is apart. Apparently the bubbles are the same for every elf, or every fisherman, etc. I spent half an hour today figuring out what was what at my TRU. I was 100% accurate for 5 out of 6 (Fish, Gorilla, Tennis, Rapper, Elf) but couldn't pick out the samurai from the gorilla or the chief. Ended up getting 2 gorillas instead. I was 3 for 3 on elves though - they were very easy to pick out once I saw the little fireball bubble.

Hope this helps.

[Sered]

Agreed! For the elf package, I have been able to decipher one small fireball shaped bubble (about the same size as the dots) a little down, and 1/2 inch to the left of the leftmost dot on the elf package that sets is apart. Apparently the bubbles are the same for every elf, or every fisherman, etc. I spent half an hour today figuring out what was what at my TRU. I was 100% accurate for 5 out of 6 (Fish, Gorilla, Tennis, Rapper, Elf) but couldn't pick out the samurai from the gorilla or the chief. Ended up getting 2 gorillas instead. I was 3 for 3 on elves though - they were very easy to pick out once I saw the little fireball bubble.

Hope this helps.

Maybe I'm wrong but for elf, is not simple to find with shield?

[dieselboy m]

Hey all, my apologies if these have been reviewed to death here already, but I just got eight packs and have posted a review video. So, if anyone's interested...

Thanks. :)

[r4-g9]

they are on tru.com:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10978287

[Mr. Elijah Timms]

Maybe I'm wrong but for elf, is not simple to find with shield?

Actually, it's NOT that easy to feel out the shield. I was able to ID the elf with the dot pattern, but could not feel it out-- I was actually looking for both the bow and the shield. Plus, then you also run the risk of wrinkling the cape (no white box).

On the other hand, some things that are rather easy to feel through the bag:

• The Banana (Gorilla)
  
• The Headress (Indian Chief)
  
• The Backpack (Pilot)
  
• The Snowboard (Snowboarder)
  
• The Fishing Rod (Fisherman)
  
• Fairly easy to detect the Samurai's Armor
  
• And oddly, the Sumo's trophy can be picked out rather easily
  

Actually, once I made the purchase and returned home, I sat down the dot sheet and went through all of my bags, trying to ID what I'd gotten... and after looking only for the dots it appeared that I did NOT get a Hula Girl, a Gorilla, or an Elf. In actually I got two Hulas, two elves, and the gorilla (possibly my favorite of the entire series). So moving forward, I'd recommend doing the dot sheet, and THEN feeling the bag out to confirm the choice. Unlike some others, I'm not interested in a box worth, and am really looking just to complete the set and maybe grab a few more elves and baseball players.

[The Brick Rat]

they are on tru.com:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10978287

But you would have to be crazy to order them from there. When I saw this on Brickset earlier this morning I tried to order 60. TRU wanted to charge me $2.99 for 59 and give me the BOGO 50% on 1. To top it off they wanted $86.09 for shipping! All in all it came to a total of $263.99 for 60 packs. When I looked more closely into the BOGO deal their policy states, "maximum 1 discount per order". So I thought about making 30 different orders of 2 packs at a time. That would work except they wanted $7.21 for shipping. 30 orders like that makes a grand total of $350.70 for 60 packs! That's what? - close to $5.85 per pack? TRU is outta their minds!

[Mrlegoninja]

But you would have to be crazy to order them from there. When I saw this on Brickset earlier this morning I tried to order 60. TRU wanted to charge me $2.99 for 59 and give me the BOGO 50% on 1. To top it off they wanted $86.09 for shipping! All in all it came to a total of $263.99 for 60 packs. When I looked more closely into the BOGO deal their policy states, "maximum 1 discount per order". So I thought about making 30 different orders of 2 packs at a time. That would work except they wanted $7.21 for shipping. 30 orders like that makes a grand total of $350.70 for 60 packs! That's what? - close to $5.85 per pack? TRU is outta their minds!

One of TRU's scams- you've just experienced it.

[Joebot]

I have to say I'm so much more impressed with this Series now that I have them in my hands. The printing quality is crazy good. The detail on the Elf is as good or better than any of the Castle/Kingdoms theme.

Agreed on that! There is some very fine detail on these figs, like the pinstripes on the baseball player, or the flower-print on the samurai, or the baggy pants on the rapper. Even the Mummy, which I was kinda lukewarm on based on the pictures, is really cool, with some creepy green flesh poking out from behind the bandages in various places.

As an aisde, last night I went to my nearby Lego Store, which is about four blocks away from the TRU where I found the figs. The Lego Store had none in stock, and when I asked about the figs, the guy told me they're scheduled to arrive in January. That seems really odd to me that TRU gets these figs weeks before TLC's own retail stores!

[Cygnet]

I just wanted to let the community know that I've created a Google map, open for all to edit, in an attempt to track the Series 3 roll out worldwide. We've already had a fair number of people put a 'virtual pin' in the map for the US locations. Although Series 3 has largely been released in US so far, this is not a 'North America' only map. Please feel free to post the international locations on the map as well.

You should be able to click through to the main map and add pins yourself, so if you know of a location please insert a pin at that location. Anyone who has the URL should be able to add pins, please let me know if this isn't the case.

To place a pin, go to the map URL. Then type in the location in the search bar to find your store. You will need to make certain the rollout map is checked in the bottom left-hand side of the screen, and choose to edit the map. Click on the placemark button located at the top left-hand side of the map (it looks like a blue circle with a point at the bottom) and put the placemark on the location. You can add a title and description. You can also change the placemark graphic by clicking the icon and choosing a new graphic from the list. I only ask that we keep to using the red pins for the sake of consistency (don't worry if you can't figure out how to do this, as I can edit it later.)

Also for those folks in the US, you can find out if your local Toys R Us has these items in stock by calling 1-800-869-7787 and ask a representative to search your zip code for item #577997.

UPDATE: These are now for sale on ToysRUs.com in the US (maybe North America). Click through to go directly to the listing.

I hope this helps!

Edited December 3, 2010 by Cygnet

[Space Odysseyer]

I was hoping in vain for a new alien's head. I'm still going to get this minifigure, but not more than one.

The big rarity of fishermen is frustrating, of course. Maybe we'll see this rod detail in new City harbor sets? I can imagine a man with fishing rod in the Lighthouse set, for example.

Edited December 3, 2010 by Space Odysseyer

[r4-g9]

if you are in thailand try your local stores that you found series 1,2 in.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/New-Lego-8803-Minifig-Series-3-Indian-Chief-/250737174389?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a6119a775

[meyerc13]

Found some picked over boxes at the TRU in Appleton WI tonight. My wife was very good at spotting the dots on the bag... we decided to buy 10, and she successfully picked 10 different figures. Out of this series I wanted 13 of the minifigs, and all 10 that I bought were on my list. I still need to find the Hula Girl, the Pilot, and the Cyborg. I was amazed that by blindly picking we found the fisherman and the elf in picked through boxes! In the first two series I never saw a Zombie or Spartan, so I'd say production is up if I can find two of the rare and popular figures the first time I spot these.

And I'd say the dots do work if you are comparing one package to another, but while opening them we checked the cheat sheet and twice thought we were opening a figure other than what we opened. However, if you compare all 16 packages side by side, I'm sure you can tell that you have 16 unique packages, if you have good eyes. As others have pointed out, a combination of using dots and feeling the package works wonders.

[Lord Embo]

I found sealed packs on EBay from an American seller and as they aren't released yet in the UK, I was wondering: when are they available in the UK?

On another note, this series is the best one yet IMO!

The Fisherman looks great, can't wait to get this one. The rod looks good but also difficult to make. A fish is a good piece, especially if you like making camping MOCs and your people are meant to be eating fish round the campfire.

The Pilot looks pointless IMO, you could already get most of the parts that come with it, and it doesn't come with any accessories! He should've at least came with a gun.

The Indian Chief looks pretty good; I'm loving that headpiece! IMO, this and the series 1 Tribal Hunter hint at the return of the Indian theme.

The Samurai looks pretty good, especially the torso and his body armour. We don't need yet another katana sword; I've got enough of those from the new Hagrid's Hut.

The Snowboarder looks pretty bland minus her snowboard. IMO, this and the skier from series 2 hint at a Winter Olympics theme, or at least the return of

the Sports theme.

The Cyborg(or whatever you want to call it) looks pretty good, especially the face and the torso, which has a Blacktron symbol on it, which is actually rather surprising.

The Sumo Wrestler looks like . The copper trophy is nice though, it's always good to get some of those for your collection.

The Mummy looks stunning! It has printing everywhere(I hope, except for the back of the head) and is just a job well done by TLG. However, they could have made it a slightly yellowy colour, like bandages on mummies generally are when they are rediscovered after 5000 years.

The Elf looks like a literal work of art. The shield looks marvellous, the bow is a sweet new mould and the hair with moulded ears is just brilliant. If only the ears were flesh, then I could put the hair onto Draco Malfoy and make him into an elf.

The Tennis Player looks pretty good. It has nice detail on the torso and that hair is really useful for a number of things. The tennis racquet is just a brilliant piece that I hope to see more often.

The Race Car Driver looks pretty bland as well. A printed helmet is a nice touch though, and one that I will always welcome with open arms. Also, it has hair! I always enjoy getting minifigs with interchangeable headpieces, and this is no exception.

The Gorilla Suit Guy looks really good, but isn't my personal favourite. The head beneath the mask looks pretty cool, but the mask is more interesting to me than the head itself. Also, we get another banana!

The Alien looks like one of the better minifigs in series 3, but also isn't my personal favourite. Too bad the head is just a recoloured Squidman head from the Space Police line. The golden ray gun is nice, but the short purple lightsaber blade is even nicer. IMO, the torso is the highlight of this minifig.

The Hula Girl looks pretty cool. I like the grass skirt, but it's too bad the wreath of flowers that goes around the neck is just printing; that would have been a nice piece. You can never have enough maracas and the printed hair is really, really nice.

The Rapper looks unbelievably amazing, and is my personal favourite of series 3. The hat is a nice new piece, another microphone(in gold) is always welcome in my collection and the boombox is so amazing that I am simply lost for words! The leg printing is just as brilliant, and will prove really useful in MOCs. I will probably get about three of this minifig.

The Baseball Player looks really nice and is a welcome addition to anyone's collection. The hat is a cool new piece(but not as cool as the Rapper's) and the baseball bat is a long awaited piece that will prove really useful. Now all we need is a golf club.

Note that I do not own any of these yet, but will get all of them, inspite of what I have said above. Hopefully they look even better in real life than they have in pictures.

Lord Embo

Edited December 5, 2010 by Lord Embo

[krystalKING]

Last night at a toys r us almost an hour away...I FOUND THE MINIFIGURES!I thought they would not have them,but I asked an employee and he pointed and said"right behind the blue ones."they were below the candy on the shelfs near the checkout!Got my favorite,the cyborg,the hula girl(I lost her skirt in the car),the tennis lady.

[Lord Embo]

Last night at a toys r us almost an hour away...I FOUND THE MINIFIGURES!I thought they would not have them,but I asked an employee and he pointed and said"right behind the blue ones."they were below the candy on the shelfs near the checkout!Got my favorite,the cyborg,the hula girl(I lost her skirt in the car),the tennis lady.

Where are you from?

Lord Embo

[Masked Builder]

From the map my Grandmother has more availability then me! Hopefully mine will get some soon. If they don't I can only hope my Grandmothers store still has some when I go....

[Captain Blockbeard]

Has anyone else had an issue with buying a package with the dimple pattern for an Elf and discovered the packet to contain a fisherman? Yesterday, I bought what I thought were 3 Elves. (The three packages had identical dimple patterns.) However, when I returned home and quickly opened them, I found one to be a fisherman. Considering how vastly different the dimple code is for the Elf and the Fisherman and that I had already tracked down a couple Fishermen so that I knew its dimple pattern well, I'm fairly certain it wasn't a mistake on my part. I mentioned this on Brickset and had one other person mention having a similar experience of getting a Fisherman instead of an Elf.

I'm not complaining since the Fisherman is a rare figure and one of my favorites, and I'm glad it turned out to be a Fisherman instead of a figure I didn't want duplicates of, but I still found the situation odd and thought it worth commenting on.

[Baylego]

I found these figs in Aurora, Colorado TRU. I got every other figure for $1.5 since they had a BOGO. Warning, one of the TRU's that I went to had the minifigs for $3.99 a piece Can they make the prices any higher?

[VenVoi]

Has anyone else had an issue with buying a package with the dimple pattern for an Elf and discovered the packet to contain a fisherman?

While I didn't have that exact problem, I did have a lot of trouble even telling the difference between the actual bumps I was decoding and the usual texture of the bags. It didn't look like they'd applied the bump system correctly. I was able to luckily identify 4 of the minifigs I was looking for though (the mummy, elf, hula girl, and rapper). I wish I could've found the gorilla, but from the pics I've seen of him I'm not missing much.

My TRU here in VA, USA has gotten in 2 boxes of minifigs but was keeping them behind the service counter and limiting them to 6 per customer. Luckily I only wanted 5, but I feel for the people wanting a complete set. I also got the BOGO50% off sale, but it didn't help that my TRU had raised the price even further to $4 per minifig.

I might as well just get my favorites from future series on eBay.

[Baylego]

Sorry VenVol! My TRU let me get however many I wanted, but I only got nine. TRU really needs some consistency.

[JimBee]

Found some picked over boxes at the TRU in Appleton WI tonight.

Excellent, thank you! Hopefully they'll still have some by the time I get over there...

[Lord Embo]

I know that this has been asked already(probably), but when are they released in the UK? I want to get some soon; I could just use the EBay lot from America that I found though.

Lord Embo

[Solscud007]

Ok good news and bad news.

After finding out about the Series 3 at TRU, I went to my nearest TRU. There was a HUGElineat customer service, I couldnt find the figures. The manager, Lisa, walked down the line and asked what we wanted. I asked her I was looking to see if they had any in stock. I tried to keep it vague and not sound like a fan boy.

I asked her I was looking for "these lego figures that come sealed in their own little packaging"

Her reply was "Oh we got those in earlier this week. There are three guys that go around snatching them up. They bought all the cases"

Crap. So i asked her if she could check another store. She did but when I went to that store, which have 200 instock, they couldnt find them.

Luckily Lisa the manager was nice to tell me that she was expecting two more boxes that night and would put them out today.

Sure enough I was there at 7 am. Two brand new boxes. I grabbed them and hid one of them hehe.

TRU has a deal: Spend $75 and you get a free 2gb Minifig USB Drive.

So i grabbed 26 minifigs. Unfortunately they rang up as $3.99. OUCH!!!

Oh well.

I got home and had some difficulty seeing some of the bumps. Some show up clear as day, some dont.

But out of those random 26 I got everything except the Baseball Player and racecar driver.

Now to return the ones i didnt open.

Not bad huh? I dont know if it is worth tracking down the race car driver. I dont care for the baseball player. I liked the barcode system. that was clear and easy to recognize once you remembered which ones you want.