LEGO minifigures have been used in a variety of ways to tell stories and express imagination. I wanted to highlight a great, daily web-comic that I've come to read nearly everyday.
"Brick House" by Christopher Doyle came to my attention over the holidays when he was playing out the "Advent Calendars of Two Worlds" storyline. These simple four panel comics always deliver a laugh with its tongue-in-cheek style. Christopher hosts these nearly 900+ episodes at his website (www.reasonablyclever.com).
You can find other examples of comics and stop-motion movies featuring 'figs on the net as well (remember the Steven Spielberg studio's line?). When we find compelling examples of this style we will work to highlight them in the future.
Lego Shop at Home has updated scads of items for sale, including the Vintage Minifigure Collection Volume 5!
We discussed this item last week on Facebook, but this 'girl power' themed collection gives you a great opportunity to own reproductions of rare, female minifigures from the past. The set retails at $17.99, plus shipping and handling. It's also likely that these will be on sale at a Lego Store near you.
In related news, there are several Star Wars magnet sets on sale at Shop at Home too. The bases the 'figs stand on have the magnet, and while characters themselves can be removed. These give you an opportunity to have popular Lego minifigures without buying expensive sets that you may or may not want.
The Ugly Duckling store will likely not partake in these items, so head on over to Lego.com or your local Lego Store today!
Although there have been several versions of Slave I in the past, set 8097 is still generating a lot of excitement.
The minifigures have to be one of the key features of this set. A redesigned Boba Fett, Bosk the bounty hunter, and Han Solo. As we all know from The Empire Strikes Back, Han is encased in carbonite during the film. With the release of this set, you can actually encase the minifigure in a carbonite shell instead of having it be a separate item.
Look for the new Slave I to hit stores in August 2010.
We continue to highlight the new hi-res images of the 2010 Star Wars sets. Here we see set 8096 - Palpatine's Shuttle. The set includes minifigures for Palpatine, a wounded Darth Vader, clone pilot, and medical droid.
There's a feature with this set where you put Anakin down on the medical table, flip a switch, and he rises again as Vader.
As with all of the new Star Wars sets featured this will be out in August 2010.
Welcome to The Ugly Duckling blog! The Ugly Duckling started as a store on BrickLink in 2010 and then as a page on Facebook. Since that time it's become a mini-blog on LEGO Minifigures and related news.
We hope to bring you relevant news in this area, a topic that seems to be missing among current LEGO websites and blogs.
If you have questions or if you come across information that you feel the community might be interested in, please just let us know (uglyduck.bricklink@gmail.com).
This is "physically" the closest ima gonna get to the New York Comic Con, happening this exact moment in Jacob Jarvitz Center in NYC = with DynoMightNYC's NYCC-Exclusive BUMRUSH Vinyl Figure, cruising for a bruising down the streets of the Eastern Singapore! Along with his tag-team-buddy, the Regular Edition BUMRUSH and a "special guest bruiser" - looking to tear up my neighborhood! He'll haveta get past me first!
THE PACKAGING: A pretty handsome cardboard-box with matt and spiffy-shiny-silver print. The window-display out front is die-cut to the shape of the face, head and horns of the vinyl figure housed within and keeps everything else a mystery (no lurve for the manboobies, eh?). I'm not too sure if this will help grab attention to the product at a toy boutique/shop (unless of coz the figure is displayed outside of the box - duh) but the subtilty of the product display is commendable, IMHO. Although I am not sure if the theme of the box-design gels with the Bumrush-origins, or rather his "ethos", but that is a matter of personal opinion and taste, really :)
Front of box-graphics also shows Bumrush in a Suit (variant version to come?), with sides and back filled with info and the origins of Bumrush [peep my interview with co-creator John BattistiniHERE for the Bumrush-lowdown]
INTERNAL LAYOUT: The box opens up to a clear-plastic moulded-tray that slides out and quite importantly, does not have wire-ties (and that's a darned good thing!) - pop the figure out and we're ready for some fun!
Although I have to admit, the figure looks nigh imposing and huge via images online, but in person, he's actually pretty handy (no, I'm not saying he's small, becoz he is not!) and is a great size for having fun with! (peep my video-review top-of-post to see how much fun I had LOL). I haveta say tis kudos to the design of the character, which provided his visual identity and appeal (to me). Credit goes to both co-creators John Battistini and Justin Rudy (collectively DynomightNYC) and for ESC-Toy for producing such a sweet figure based on their initial designs [PEEP]
But then again, he'd tower above other toys and and would make pretty much a bruiser you'd not want to meet down some alleyway or fighting-ring, innit?
NYCC-PLUG: The Black-body/Purple-highlight/Yellow-paperbag head colorway is the New York Comic-Con-Exclusive variant limited to 250-pieces @ a SRP of US$75-per - which can be found both at Dynomight NYC's Booth #960 or online eventually (if there's any left, of coz :p).
STABILITY: Figure stands perfect upright on a single point of base-contact, it's stumpy-legs. The outstretched big paws also could serve as base-anchors, but even raised it could still maintain balance = good job this.
ARTICULATION: The swivel-waist and shoulder-joints are noticeably tight. but not super-tight, tight enough to hear that subtle vinyl-creak (but no grind) and not loose that they'll unhinged when swung (who swings their designer vinyls anyways., yeh?) and I am suitably impressed with that aspect, so much so I'd not worry about having too much fun with them for fear of sustaining any breakage (NOT that I'd recommend anyone bringing their designer vinyls out of the display case and mucking about with them tho - but it sure was fun! LOL)
It would have been great if his wrists were articulated as well, for more playability and poses. I reckon a spare skeletal or decayed right-hand may be a bit out of the question (imagine if he brought a paper-bag that had his severed hand wrapped in newspaper, which prints of his defeat in a bout! muahahahahaha) *ahem*
... But then again, do watch out if you intend on man-handling them, as they are quite a hand-full to contend with, and I have my phantom-bruises to show for it! LOL
*ouchie*
*heh*
VARIANTS: In addition to the Black/Yellow/Purple NYCC-Exclusive colorway, there is the "Original" Regular Edition is in Yellow-body/Purple-strapped/Brown paperbag-head color, also limited to an edition of 250-pieces, at the same retail price. The 3rd variant is the DIY WHITE Edition - with currently no quantity, price nor availability details (to see public-print as yet).
DESIGN: I will not attempt to grapple nor deconstruct the concept of a horned-headed, chubby-fighter wearing a a paper-bag with a face, while fighting off his adoring public and fellow bruisers in Y-Fronts, and with a clawed lefty-paw and bloodied-stump for a righty - because there is no need to! It is just simple awesome, IMHO - a themed designed-creation that does not follow any existing big-eyed cutesy-pie or an indecipherable-artistic-expression of a notion (to be admired in dreams) - this figure, I suspect, would fit more comfortably with the conceptual-pantheons of Fighter Kaiju-figures, if not origins, while remain strongly Western-in-design, IMHO.
Standing 7-inches tall, with the choice of strong colors mystifyingly apt. The broken-heart tattoo decal on his right fore-arm tells of an intriguing-path, while the fresh-bloodied left-stump-where-hands-used-to-be would make for a very interesting fight-story to be told, i reckon. The disco-arm-straps is something else tho LOL. And the slight grin would either send fear down his opponents, or belies Bumrush's cheeky character and/or motivations.
Frankly, if I could personally garner such an array of thoughts and reactions from a figure such as Bumrush, it has proven itself by being beyond just a piece of pretty plastic" - into being a vinylization of a character. with such, tis kudos (again) for the design :)
VALUE/QUALITY: Sturdy to the touch, firm to the grip. This is not a fragile toy waiting to be broken in pieces, I surmise. The paint application and treatment of the figure is one of the best i've seen in a long while! Except for a uber-tiny lack of detail in the tighty-whites (would've been nice to see slightly different colored threads - but that would've been killer LOL) - the figure is sweet.
If you decide to procure this figure, you wmay not let it just sit on the display shelf looking all purdy and neat> You may be liable to bring it along with you to create all sorts of havoc and generally have FUN. And that to me is a stronger intangible value beyond secondary-market value-fluctuations, IMHO.
What would make this figure even worth collecting, is that there is/will be a series of other characters from Bumrush's world, to come - a sense on continuation of said series, rather than just a one-off-design and multiple colorways. (I'm voting for a Battle-Bloodied variant anyways! Toysrevil-exclusive perhaps? LOL)
STATS: BUMRUSH vinyl figure is designed by DynomightNYC (www.dynomightnyc.com) and produced by ESC-Toy Ltd (www.esctoy.com).
Regular Edition and NYCC-Exclusive Editions are limited to 250-piees each design - worldwide - with a SRP of US$75-per.
"WHAT the hell is he?! Bumrush is tough, SUPER tough! He is not a toy! He gives what he gets. He hugs as hard as he hits. He could be your BFF, or he could make you wear your ass as a hat. The choice is entirely up to you."
"Dynomight is excited to announce its very first limited edition figure. It will be available in the spring of 2008. Only 250 figures will be produced for the first series. Each colorway will be very limited! Crafted by the talent of Esc-Toy, Bumrush stands about seven inches tall and is made of a solid well-crafted material. This little guy makes a great accent piece to any home decor. (Place him by your bed for added dream security. Bumrush loves to fight all the things that go bump in the night!)" [via]
LEGO minifigures have been used in a variety of ways to tell stories and express imagination. I wanted to highlight a great, daily web-comic that I've come to read nearly everyday.
