REVIEW: 71007 LEGO Collectable Minifigures Series 12

[GandalfofHoth]

I look forward to your collectible minifigure reviews every time a series is announced, and I wasn't let down this time. I'm not collecting all the figures in every wave, but I pick up a few here and there. I didn't see anything that I would get besides the piggy man, so this series didn't blow me away, but I liked your review and hope you continue these reviews for a long time.

[Hythonia]

Thanks for your reviews!

The Battle Goddess went down in my estimation. For some reason, I didn't think she'd have that cloth skirt. I hate those so much (it almost ruined the Fairy for me). But I love the Fairytale Princess's reverse expression! Perfect for kissing the frog and turning him into a handsome prince (hopefully we'll get a Fairytale Prince in the next few sets).

[Pandora]

WhiteFang, thank you so very much for this spectacular review. I know how much time and effort you put into making these, and it shows every time. You are the CMF reviewing maestro!

This series is much more interesting to me than some of the previous series. I really like the Spooky Girl and Battle Goddess figures, and the torso for the Fairytale Princess is very nice too, but I also like some of the accessories like the pizza and pizza box and Joker with his cards. It's also great that we've seen the 7th mascot in the 12th series of CMFs (and only one of the previous ones was female) as I really like this mini-theme and hope they continue them, but I'd like to see more female versions too (it's only the head, after all!)

Once again, thanks for the superb review Fangy!

[egg roller]

I'm sooo happy there isn't a cop in this line. I don't feel around on the bags (too impatient) and end up with tons of cops. Hooray!

[greenalfonzo]

Thanks for the review! I definitely need to get the wizard, Hun and Greek goddess. My only wish is that the Hun's helmet looked better without horns!

I completely agree! The helmet would be much cooler without the horns, and more historic. Maybe that is why Lego put the horns on - to make it more fantasy?

Thanks for your reviews!

The Battle Goddess went down in my estimation. For some reason, I didn't think she'd have that cloth skirt. I hate those so much (it almost ruined the Fairy for me). But I love the Fairytale Princess's reverse expression! Perfect for kissing the frog and turning him into a handsome prince (hopefully we'll get a Fairytale Prince in the next few sets).

Funny, I disagree about the cloth skirts. I find the block slope 'dress' completely worthless and ruinous on 'action' oriented figures, like the battle goddess, or the previous Viking lady. I think they are okay for lady-statues who aren't meant to be played with beyond standing in the corner looking pretty, but really these are toys meant to be played with, and you imagination is limited if a female figure can't perform all the 'actions' of the male figures. Bring on more cloth skirts, Lego!

[Hythonia]

Funny, I disagree about the cloth skirts. I find the block slope 'dress' completely worthless and ruinous on 'action' oriented figures, like the battle goddess, or the previous Viking lady. I think they are okay for lady-statues who aren't meant to be played with beyond standing in the corner looking pretty, but really these are toys meant to be played with, and you imagination is limited if a female figure can't perform all the 'actions' of the male figures. Bring on more cloth skirts, Lego!

They could've easily printed the skirt on her legs, though, instead of giving her a gold bikini. That's what I meant -- I wouldn't have wanted the dress base on her at all. It works for certain minifigs like the princess or the bride, but not a battle goddess.

[Ax_Rex]

Really helpful review! Thanks!!

[Blakstone]

Thanks for the great review. I just noticed though that the swashbuckler has an orange chest instead of a yellow one. Ick.

[Venkefedo]

Thanks for the great review. I just noticed though that the swashbuckler has an orange chest instead of a yellow one. Ick.

That's mostly lighting. Every pic of his torso has it at least partly shaded, enough to make the white "off-white" and the printed yellow "off-yellow".

Anyhoo, great review! I'm not a big fan of how cloth skirts sit on figures (they tend to gap), but I appreciate the effort... Wish the Battle Goddess' covered her bikini a little better. The Hun looks amazing! Even without the horns he looks pretty good, better than the Vikings look without their horns (the fur brim and the backing help offset the empty holes). Love the Princess' alt expression, wish some others had alts as well (especially the Genie). Really wish the Hun and Gamer were swapped in quantity...

[Robert8]

That's mostly lighting. Every pic of his torso has it at least partly shaded, enough to make the white "off-white" and the printed yellow "off-yellow".

I initially thought it could be low quality printing (like the S2 Lifeguard) but yellow over white would make the yellow clearer, not darker. So I now I think you're right

Edited September 2, 2014 by Robert8

[Phyre]

Overall I think this is a fantastic series, a great return to a standard series lineup.

As a Castle/Fantasy fan, the Wizard, Jester, Fairytale Princess, and Battle Goddess are my favorites, and they all look amazing. The Wizard is by far my favorite, although I'm slightly disappointed that his cape is printed. While he still looks fantastic, if not moreso with a printed cape, I was hoping for the standard blue cape that so far we've only seen on Martian Manhunter. At least I'll save money and only buy a couple instead of the army I was planning to buy for the capes. :P The Battle Goddess will probably be an army builder for me though.

The Hun Warrior and Swashbuckler are pretty cool too and will be somewhat useful for my purposes.

As far as non-historical/fantasy, the Spooky Girl, Dino Tracker, Space Miner, Rock Star, Pizza Delivery Guy, and even Piggy Guy are all very nice figures.

The Video Game Guy, Lifeguard, Prospector, and Genie Girl I could take or leave. Of course I'll be picking them up to complete the set, but none of them impress me very much. However, they're still a step up from some of the weaker figures from previous lines.

[Brother Steven]

what a great new series!!

Thanks for the review

[Dorayaki]

This series is much more interesting to me than some of the previous series. I really like the Spooky Girl and Battle Goddess figures.

Indeed. I still think the average score of this series isn't higher than previous series. The remakes are too obvious while the popular ones are really extraordinary.

I'm neutral with clothes. The wow factor of prints might be less visible. My problem with fabric is that not all fabric pieces are well-printed and well-fit on a figure even though the CGI pics work.

Edited September 2, 2014 by Dorayaki

[Manx]

Fantastic review of really, really good series, I was waiting for this.

[AmperZand]

Great review and fantastic pictures, Fangy. Thank you!

A few small points if you'll forgive the pedantry:

• In your picture of the Wizard, his collar is back-to-front. The starry side should be facing backwards.
  

• The first wizard minifigure appeared in 1993, not 1995. I remember getting him. You're right that his name, Majisto, may not have been revealed by TLC until '95. I'm not sure about that.
  
• The conical hat worn by the Princess is called a hennin.
  

[Mister Phes]

This review is truly impressive! So many details and comparisons covered its astounding!

[HDHell]

Really nice review. Thank you!

[Walter]

Impressive as usual WhiteFang! Thanks for making these reviews a fun tradition every time a new series is released.

I am happy at least one minifigure head is double sided. It's always nice to get those.

[Kristel]

Thanks Whitefang. Awesome review as always!

[fred67]

Indeed. I still think the average score of this series isn't higher than previous series. The remakes are too obvious while the popular ones are really extraordinary.

I'm neutral with clothes. The wow factor of prints might be less visible. My problem with fabric is that not all fabric pieces are well-printed and well-fit on a figure even though the CGI pics work.

Agreed on all points... I was actually more excited way back in the first few series, now I don't know if the "magic" of CMFs is wearing off on me, or if I'm getting tired of all the hit-and-miss series where the misses are more common in the box than the hits.

I also think the skirts are a great idea, but fail in actual use. If they were one segment longer, they could overlap and not leave a gap, at least. Otherwise I'd prefer printing... although I suppose it's better than slopes for dresses.

As for my opinions (not that anyone cares), I think they completely failed with the Genie (like they failed with the fairy before); it's not "cute" or "pretty" as intended (I Dream of Jeannie reference... Barbara Eden is still more attractive at 80 than most people are at 40). I know - it's a plastic little minifigure, I'm not suggesting it be sexy, but the facial expression is just terrible. The male genie from the previous series is a million times better. On the other hand, the Swashbuckler does Errol Flynn justice... but it's a pointless figure to me, because it's not a "realistic" pirate, it's too "movie." I can see some potential in that, if you wanted to make a MOC of a movie studio (and I do - but with the b-movie monsters and aliens they've released), or a MOC of the cover of some romance novel... but otherwise?

I guess... I think this series is too "kiddy," with the princess, the genie with the stars printed on the legs/smoke/whatever part, and silver sparkles on her face... I'd rather have had a more serious look... and the Wizard? I mean, we have Gandalf and Saruman now as references to wizards; if you don't like them, then we have

As reference... no stars! I think in this series the fantasy figures are too Disney-fied. But then I'm old and Curmudgeonly.

I like the updates of existing figures (like the new Jester and Pizza guy) and continuation of series (like the Piggy suit guy and lifeguard). The rock singer is one, but I never thought of the music figures as being all that great to begin with, although the punk rocker's hair was neat. I'd already gotten guitars from from brickforge, so don't care that TLG is playing catch-up again.

So, serious question, honestly, for those that love this Genie and/or Wizard, how do you plan on using them? As usual, I'll put them all in display, but I also keep extras for MOCs, and I just don't see the use.

EDIT: And just wanted to say thank you, Whitefang, for another great review. These CMF reviews really help me decide whether to just get a case or not, and they're so detailed and obviously take a lot of time to make, so it's much appreciated.

Edited September 3, 2014 by fred67

[8BrickMario]

I was planning on using GG in an "inside the lamp" MOC, somewhat based on the Jeannie shots of the bottle interior. And I think the sparkles on the smoke make it look less solid and more magical, unlike the S6 Genie which was also a reference, in which his tail looked more solid like his body. I understand the dislike (the face would be 100x better with both eyes open), but I appreciate her, since she's different from the actually Disneyesque S6 genie. I'd love a red Djinn, though!

[Pheonix1604]

I was planning on using GG in an "inside the lamp" MOC, somewhat based on the Jeannie shots of the bottle interior. And I think the sparkles on the smoke make it look less solid and more magical, unlike the S6 Genie which was also a reference, in which his tail looked more solid like his body. I understand the dislike (the face would be 100x better with both eyes open), but I appreciate her, since she's different from the actually Disneyesque S6 genie. I'd love a red Djinn, though!

Yeah I like the Genie Girl just the way she is. and for those who really don`t like her head just replace it with the head of the Intergalactic Girl form S6. :)

[fred67]

I don't like the stars, either. But again, I'm just a curmudgeonly old man.

[Dorayaki]

Agreed on all points... I was actually more excited way back in the first few series, now I don't know if the "magic" of CMFs is wearing off on me, or if I'm getting tired of all the hit-and-miss series where the misses are more common in the box than the hits.

I guess... I think this series is too "kiddy," with the princess, the genie with the stars printed on the legs/smoke/whatever part, and silver sparkles on her face... I'd rather have had a more serious look... and the Wizard? I mean, we have Gandalf and Saruman now as references to wizards.

I like the updates of existing figures (like the new Jester and Pizza guy) and continuation of series (like the Piggy suit guy and lifeguard). The rock singer is one, but I never thought of the music figures as being all that great to begin with, although the punk rocker's hair was neat. I'd already gotten guitars from from brickforge, so don't care that TLG is playing catch-up again.

In my viewpoint, I think LEGO would keep future series consisted of remakes/counterparts and new ideas. The reasons for remakes could be:

1) Just lacking ideas, the most negative answer.

2) Saving money. (in this case, Joker)

3) Fulfilling the needs of counterparts, and some of them turn out really well.

4) Giving new collectors the parts they couldn't collect at first.

I think the fourth point is an issue LEGO could pay attention to. Some kids who bought series 01 might be getting into their dark age this year, while some kids just leave Duplo and notice CMF. This leaves LEGO little necessity to make every figure different at their best. To new KFOLs, Swashbuckler is pretty fresh just like what Musketeer was to "previous" KFOLs. But there are still golden FOLs and TLG would still introduce new characters in order to leave topics for every series.

I don't think this series was meant to cater to kids more (IMO series 8 was the most childish one). Kids may not understand the definition of "Spooky" and othe cultural knowledge. I'm not surprised with the Princess (despite not my favorite) since she was already labelled "Fairytale"

I'm not into western fantasies, but in Google most wizard pics have those stars in their blue hats. Maybe Yen Sid has successfully influenced people's stereotypes. Meanwhile, the male Genie looked like that Disney counterpart, but the female Genie seems not, much to Eden's dismay .

Edited September 4, 2014 by Dorayaki

[Chocolatecake]

First: Thank You WhiteFang for another great review.

Even though it's a not a city-heavy serie, it offer som great parts that can be city-fied.

The face of the piggy guy looks like it would suit kid-minifig and the wizard is what I imagined Dumbledore the first time I read the philosopher stone.

I'm glad LEGO returned to the regular series, with figures there are easier to mix and match.