Lego Minifigure Year by Year: a Visual History Free

FREE LEGO MINIFIGURE YEAR BY YEAR: A VISUAL HISTORY PDF

A Lego minifigurecommonly referred to as a minifigis a small plastic articulated figurine produced by Danish toy manufacturer The Lego Group. They were first produced in and have been a success, with over 3. While some are named as specific characters, either licensed from film, television, and game franchises, or of Lego's own creation, many are unnamed and are designed simply to fit within a certain theme such as police officersastronauts and pirates. Minifigures are collected by both children and adults. They are highly customizable, and parts from different figures can be mixed and matched, resulting in many combinations. Similar figures are produced by other companies, such as the Kreons from the construction toy Kre-O by the Korean company Oxford subsidiary of Hasbroor the figures by Block Tech or the Canadian company Mega Bloks. A precursor to the minifigure was released in These were at the same scale as the current minifigures, but had a different design. They had solid torsos without separate movable arms, solid lower body pieces that were not moveable, and heads without printed features. The first modern minifigures were released inincluded in CastleSpaceand Town sets. In for the launch of Lego Pirates theme, minifigures also included hooks for hands, as well as peg legs; this was the first departure from the traditional body parts. Starting with Lego Pirates in and spreading to Lego Town and Lego Castle in the next few years, minifigures were also produced with different facial expressions such as facial hair, eye patches, feminine makeup, and sunglasses. Another departure from traditional parts was the use of spring-loaded legs. These legs are joined together at the top. These legs were only featured in basketball sets, — Other leg variations include short legs for children or dwarfs, or long legs used in the Toy Story theme. Inthe first minifigures with naturalistic skin tones as opposed to the yellow used Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History this point were released, as part of the Lego Basketball theme; these minifigures were also created in the likeness of living people. The following year, the use of natural skin tones was expanded to all licensed products; in which figures were created to represent film actors and other living people. ByLego had reportedly produced 4 billion minifigures. In more than new minifigures were introduced. Minifigures generally feature six parts widely referred to as tools in the toy industry : headtorsohipsarmshandsand legs ; these six parts allow seven points of articulation : swivel head, swivel arms, swivel wristsand swivel legs. Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History are usually packaged as three separate parts in Lego sets: head, torso and legs. The plastic is melted into specially designed molds that produce the different parts of the minifigure. Some of the molds are also accessories such as weapons swords, guns, lightsabers, etc. Heads and torsos nearly always need further decoration, and sometimes the arms and legs do, too. This difficult process is why the figures are more expensive than any other Lego products. After being printed, the head is placed on Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History torso, the legs attached, and the arms are snapped on. The figures are finally bagged and readied for sale. Minifigure heads are cylindrical, and attach to a long, narrow cylinder molded onto the top of the torso, which allows the head to rotate. This feature also allows items to be attached to the figures over the torso, such as air tanks, capes or breastplates. The heads have a stud on top which is the same size as studs on standard Lego bricks which could allow one to be placed on it. The head is the only component of the minifigure which can be used for other applications - blank minifigure heads have often been used in Lego sets to replicate other objects such as lampshades and electrical appliances. Head accessories vary widely, and include hairhelmets and hats. The legs rotate independently to 90 degrees forward, and nearly 45 degrees backward. Minifigures also connect to standard Lego bricks in both a sitting or standing position. The hands of a minifigure resemble the letter Cwhich allows them to hold many Lego accessories as well as bricks, tiles, and plates. There are hundreds of different accessories, including swordsaxeswandscupsgunsand lightsabers. Additionally, the tops of the hands are approximately the same size as the studs on standard Lego bricks, which allows Lego pieces to Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History placed on top of them. These variations allow minifigures to be customized, keeping with the modular design of Lego elements. While nearly all minifigure heads, torsos, arms, hands and legs are the same size and shape, some sets have included figures that deviate from the standard. One of the most extreme design variations was a minifigure produced in an edition of five of the Star Wars character C-3POcast in solid karat gold. Minifigures built from special, uniquely molded pieces were first introduced in Life on Mars. Martians are composed of five tools: two pairs of double arms, a mechanical torso, a conjoined leg piece, and a head. This configuration is also used for many Star Wars Droids ; Battle Droids follow the same pattern, while Super Battle Droids feature a head fixed to a torso, General Grievous has space for four arms, and IG has a head constructed of other Lego pieces. Other droids, such as Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual HistorySpider Droids and Pit Droidsare constructed entirely from standard Lego pieces, yet are still generally considered minifigures. R2-D2 and other astromech droids are constructed from unique parts, with a separate top, body and legs. The robots of Exo-ForceMars Mission commander aliens and Bionicle miniatures Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History a design similar to the Star Wars Battle Droidsbut with separate legs, movable hands, and a head affixed to a small torso. Hagridthe half-giant character from the Harry Potter series, uses a larger minifigure body, with only the head being separable. Skeletonsusually found in Castle, Pirate, and Indiana Jones sets, use the standard minifigure head, but unique torsos, arms, and legs designed to resemble a skeletal structure; although different, these figure parts are still Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History. Skeleton figures and others alike stir up controversy on whether they should be considered a minifigure or just a "figure", due to the lack of standard minifigure parts. Additionally, some minifigures, mostly piratessometimes include peg legs and hooks for hands. Kit Fisto was the first minifigure to not use an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History. Some minifigures, such as WookieesGamorrean Guards and Ewoks use a sandwich board piece which fits over the body. SpongeBob has a sculpted Lego brick head that fits like a standard head, similar to the ghost figures, except that these figures use short or standard legs instead of a brick. An enormous variety of clothing and accessories has been produced for minifigures, including hairstyles, caps, hats, and helmets. In Lego Star Wars sets, Clone Troopers and Stormtroopers have uniquely sculpted helmets, adapting the original character designs to the minifigure format. Exo-Force minifigures feature anime -style hair, as does the Nightwing minifigure from the Batman Arkham Asylum set. Ghost figures have a full- body cape which attaches to the head of the minifigure, and solid brick-like legs. Some minifigures created to resemble female characters, particularly in Castle and Pirate sets, use large sloped bricks instead of legs, to resemble dresses or skirts. However, these sloped bricks are taller than standard minifigure legs, making some characters seem awkward when placed next to taller females. Ina special skirt piece was released, shorter, more softly curved on the back, and with regular leg pins to connect to the torso, instead of the studs on ordinary bricks. In the Simpsons theme as well as other themes, a skirt fabric has been created allowing the minifigure to wear skirts. However, the first skirt mold appeared for the Minnie Mouse and Alice minifigures within the Disney Collectible minifigures theme. The mold for the Ballerina's skirt does predate the Disney minifigures by several months, but it resembles a straight up oval plate and considered a tutu. Shorter legs, without joints at the hip, are sometimes used to create minifigures which are shorter in stature than standard figures i. Such pieces were first created for Star Wars sets but have since been used elsewhere. Ina medium-sized pair of legs was introduced, sized between the shorter legs and regular legs. These legs Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History a joint at the hip to allow individual movement of the legs, and were used to represent older tweens or younger teenagers, introduced for the rebooted Harry Potter theme. Minifig customisation is the practice of modifying Lego minifigures. This can be as simple as mixing and matching parts, or as complex as painting or remolding plastic. Some custom minifigures are made by affixing stickers or decals to the figures. There are also third party businesses which sell custom decals and molded minifigure accessories, many of which are inspired by popular media such as films and video games. While a relatively recent phenomenon, minifigure customisation has rapidly become popular within the wider building community, although some maintain a "purist" approach, using only elements produced by Lego. Lego executives have for some years now been using personalised minifigures in place of business cards, with email and phone details on the front and back of the torso, and hair and facial features designed to resemble each executive. You can see a list of 39 of these here at 39 Lego Employee Business Cards. It is believed that over of these exist. The Lego group has produced more than 1,, Minifigures in the past 30 years [ citation needed ] and many people buy and sell these on eBay and other sites such as Bricklink. Most of the minifigures ever produced can be seen at Bricklink Minifigure Catalog. Some of the most expensive and rare minifigures can be viewed at Rare and Expensive Lego Minifigures. The Collectible Minifigures CMF theme, introduced inis a set of individually packaged " blind bag " minifigures. Each series consists of approximately 16 new and exclusive minifigures, with a random assortment of 60 polybags per box. A new series is released every three to four months, with some having a theme e. Several blogs publish " feel guides " to help collectors figure out which minifigures are inside the opaque package. Punk Rocker, Dino Tracker, Caveman. All CMF minifigures come with a Lego "stand". Most CMF come with an often unique accessory and many have uniquely printed body parts. Other variations of the standard minifigure produced for Star Wars sets included the light-up light-saber L. Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History figures look like standard minifigures, but to facilitate internal electronics, their parts cannot be removed; the only exception to this is the headgear, the left hand and arm, and each of the legs from the hips. When the head is pressed down, an LED illuminates Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History light-saber blade. These figures rely on battery power for their special feature. The batteries last three hours and are not intended to be replaced, although replacement is possible. Many fans, especially children, were amenable to this innovation. Others however, particularly adult collectors, found these figures contentious, considering them to be an unwelcome gimmick. The fact that in two cases unique characters were produced solely as L. Following the initial release of these figures Lego announced no more were to be produced, due to their unpopularity and more expensive production. One set, the Clone Turbo Tank, which featured an L. Another L. A complaint about the set was that the L. The set was discontinued after a year with a separate identical design but with 3 extra normal minifgs replacing the L. LEGO Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History | DK US

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Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Includes 3 iconic minifigures! Featuring more than 2, of the most significant, popular, and rare minifigures, this engaging reference guide explores minifigures chronolo Includes 3 iconic minifigures! Featuring more than 2, of Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History most significant, popular, and rare minifigures, this engaging reference guide explores minifigures chronologically by theme. Fans will learn little-known facts about their favorite minifigures in this first-ever publishing of the evolution of the famous LEGO minifigure. Get A Copy. Hardcoverpages. More Details Other Editions 3. Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Mar 02, Matthew rated it it was amazing Shelves: reading-list. As an adult who still plays with Lego sets, I enjoyed reading through this history of the mini figure. It took me all the way back to my first Lego set and was an absolute blast to read through! Jun 20, Thomas rated it it was amazing. This amazing visual history of the minifigure contains three iconic minifigure to help your read it. From pirates to fishermen, dwarfs to robbers no minifigure is excluded in this encyclopaedia of mind blowing figures and how lego has evolved. I wonder how many figures i have? My latest addition is a special addition Beefeater of the queens guard in full ceremonial uniform. View 1 comment. Jan 01, N Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History it really liked it Shelves: children-s-litnon-fictionpicture-books. This was Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History bedtime book that Ben and I read. We would do one two-page spread per night along with our other two books. We finally finished it last night and it felt like quite the accomplishment because we had been at it so long. It's a really cool book with amazing visuals and lots of interesting information. The minifigure blind Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History series information was nothing new if you've also read the guide to them which we have about a million times. Dec 07, Don O'goodreader rated it it was amazing Shelves: juvenilenon-fictionyoung-adulthistory. What a wonderful book. Descriptions and history of thousands of Lego minifigures Contains trivia, design decisions, manufacturing details, and LOTS of pictures. Maybe not for the youngest children, though they might like to look at all the pictures. A great gift for anyone over 12 who still loves their Legos. Mar 23, Rebecca Johnson rated it really liked it Shelves: non-fiction. As always, DK have produced a wonderfully visual account. Jan 21, Jashan rated it liked it. A bit of a boring read, really. Not much of the witty humor LEGO books are known for. Mar 24, James rated it really liked it Shelves: non-fictionhistory. A fun reference for the Lego fan or nostalgist looking to visit his or her youth--and see what they've come up with since then! The majority of the minifigures the company has created are broken out year by year, highlighting the slow evolution from the original smiling yellow face to the riot of licensed figures produced today. The photos are good, and the captions are mediocre; given how many "swap a hat" variants they have to cover, the authors go for a lot of cheesy gags, which miss more tha A fun reference for the Lego fan or nostalgist looking to visit his or her youth--and see what they've come up with since then! The photos are good, and the captions are mediocre; given how many "swap a hat" variants Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History have to cover, the authors go for a lot of cheesy gags, which miss more than they hit. The book delivers what it promises, though, and is great to browse through, even if you don't end up reading the whole thing. Apr 20, C rated it liked it. A really cute history of the Lego minifigure from its earliest days up through most of There's just something infinitely iconic about the little sculpture - it just somehow manages to elicit emotion with so simple a design. As someone new to Lego, it was fascinating to see all of the different directions they've taken the toyline in over the years as well. Dec 26, Wireless rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Lego fans of all ages. Shelves: geek. A fun, irreverent look at Lego minifigures from their inception in the mid 's, up to Beautiful photo's and funny captions. I enjoyed spotting all my childhood favourites, as well as all those I missed. Recommended for Lego fans of all ages. Sep 12, Rebecca marked it as to-read Shelves: nonfictiongift-booksage-middle-school. I was going to booktalk this, but I'm not sure how. I think you have to have been a LEGO fan for longer than your average schoolkid to appreciate a history like this. Being a DK book, it's of course gorgeous. Sep 09, lily: rated it it was amazing. I got the pleasure of going to this year's Lego Kidsfest in Dallas, and it. This was one of the books they had on display in the "Reading Reststop" and it was total rockets. Lego has put out some neat books in the past, but this is the best! Hope one day I can purchase it. Whether you want to read every word of simply skim the pictures for a quick feel of how LEGO has evolved over the years, this book offers a lot of great historical information with the LEGO sense of humor well intact. Mar 31, Jess rated it really liked it Shelves: kids. Jan 10, Calye rated it really liked it. Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History catalog of Lego figs. Note, it doesn't include anything from the Lego Movie if that's important to you. Hadiyah rated it it was amazing Jun 29, Haihai rated it it was amazing Jan 08, Joseph M. Betty rated it really liked it Jul 16, Steve rated it liked it Jan 10, Gruffudd rated it it was amazing Sep 01, Elizabeth rated it really liked it Nov 12, Alex rated it it was amazing Dec 17, Fletch rated it really liked it May 26, Jenna rated it really liked it Feb 18, Paul Hustedt rated it really liked it Feb 25, Thomas Merzlak rated it it was amazing Jan 26, Kari rated it it was amazing May 25, Rick Ramos rated it it was amazing Nov 14, Zander rated it it was amazing Apr 28,