Table Of ContentL E G O®
M I N I F I G U R E
A Visual History
N E W E D I T I O N
Written by
Simon Hugo and Gregory Farshtey with Daniel Lipkowitz
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Updated edition This American Edition, 2020
Senior Editor Ruth Amos First American Edition, 2013
Senior Designers Anna Formanek, Lisa Sodeau Published in the United States by DK Publishing
Editorial Assistant Nicole Reynolds 1450 Broadway, Suite 801, New York, New York 10018
Additional Editors Tori Kosara, Julia March,
Page design copyright © 2013, 2020 Dorling Kindersley Limited
Helen Murray, Rosie Peet
DK, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC
Americanization Editor Kayla Dugger
20 21 22 23 24 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Jacket Designer James McKeag
001–316423–Oct/2020
Production Editor Marc Staples
Senior Production Controller Lloyd Robertson LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Minifigure, the Brick and Knob configurations, the DUPLO,
Managing Editor Paula Regan BELVILLE, EXO-FORCE, FRIENDS, and HIDDEN SIDE logos, BIONICLE, MINDSTORMS,
Managing Art Editor Jo Connor LEGENDS OF CHIMA, NINJAGO, NEXO KNIGHTS, and LEGOLAND are trademarks
Publisher Julie Ferris and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. ©2013, 2020 The LEGO Group. All rights reserved.
Art Director Lisa Lanzarini
Publishing Director Mark Searle Manufactured by Dorling Kindersley, One Embassy Gardens, 8 Viaduct Gardens,
London SW11 7BW under license from the LEGO Group.
Additional photography Gary Ombler
Index Vanessa Bird All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above,
no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic,
Original edition
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the
Senior Editor Helen Murray prior written permission of the copyright owner.
Senior Designer Lisa Sodeau Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited.
Project Art Editor Owen Bennett
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Pre-Production Producer Siu Yin Chan
ISBN: 978-1-4654-9789-5
Producer Louise Daly
978-0-7440-2373-2 (library edition)
Managing Editor Elizabeth Dowsett
Design Manager Nathan Martin DK books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk for sales
Publishing Manager Julie Ferris promotions, premiums, fund-raising, or educational use. For details, contact:
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Printed and bound in China
Additional writing Catherine Saunders,
Jo Casey, Julia March, Lindsay Kent
For the curious
Additional photography Gary Ombler,
Thomas Baunsgaard Pedersen, Tim Trøjborg
www.dk.com
www.LEGO.com
©2013 HIT Entertainment Limited and Keith © Vestas 2013 all rights reserved. Manufactured under license from McLaren THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE © & ™ Warner Bros. THE POWERPUFF GIRLS and all related characters
Chapman. The Bob the Builder name and Automotive Limited. The McLaren name and logo Entertainment Inc. & The LEGO Group. LEGO, the and elements © & ™ Cartoon Network. (s20)
character, related characters and riveted logo are Exxon © Copyright 2003–2013 Exxon Mobil are registered trademarks of McLaren. LEGO logo, NINJAGO, the Minifigure, and the
trademarks of HIT Entertainment Limited. Reg. Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Brick and Knob configurations are trademarks Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar:
U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off and other countries. ©2013 HIT © 2020 The LEGO Group and Universal City and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. The Last Airbender, and Teenage Mutant Ninja
Entertainment Limited. Shell and the Shell logo are Copyright © 2013 Shell Studios LLC and Amblin Entertainment, Inc. © 2018 The LEGO Group. All rights reserved. (s20) Turtles” used with permission by ©2020
International Ltd. LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Brick and the Knob ViacomCBS Media Networks. All Rights Reserved.
“Little Robots” TM & Copyright: © 2013 Create TV configurations, and the Minifigure are trademarks © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights Nickelodeon, all related titles, characters and
& Film Ltd. NASA and NASA logo Courtesy of NASA. and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. reserved. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED logos are trademarks owned by ViacomCBS Media
JOURNEY, THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc.
Williams and WilliamsF1 are © Williams Grand Prix Olympic Team GB and logo © British Olympic JURASSIC WORLD and all related marks and logos SMAUG and THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF FIVE ARMIES
Engineering Limited. Association. The British Olympic Association is a are trademarks of Universal City Studios LLC and and the names of the characters, items, events Porsche, the Porsche shield and the distinctive
company registered in England and Wales. Amblin Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved. and places therein are TM of The Saul Zaentz design of Porsche cars are trademarks and trade
NBA identifications depicted are the exclusive Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises under dress of Porsche AG. Permission granted.
property of NBA Properties, Inc. and/or the NBA Coca-Cola® and Coke® are copyright © 2013 © 2020 The LEGO Group and Universal City license to New Line Productions, Inc. (s20)
Member Teams, and are used with permission. The Coca-Cola Company, all rights reserved. Studios LLC. LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Brick and BBC, DOCTOR WHO, TARDIS and DALEKS (word
© 2013 NBA Properties, Inc. All Rights Reserved. the Knob configurations, and the Minifigure are © New Line Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. marks and logos) are trade marks of the British
T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom are copyright of trademarks and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF Broadcasting Corporation and are used under
Spalding is registered trademark of Spalding © 2013 Deutsche Telekom AG. THE RING, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO licence. BBC logo © BBC 1996. Doctor Who logo
Sports Worldwide, Inc., a Spalding affiliate. E.T. and all related marks and logos are TOWERS and THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE © BBC 2018. Dalek image © BBC/Terry Nation
© Spalding Sports Worldwide, Inc. 2013 MD Foods copyright of © 2013 Arla Dairies. trademarks of Universal City Studios LLC. RETURN OF THE KING and the names of the 1963. Licensed by BBC Studios.
All Rights Reserved. characters, items, events and places therein are ™
NHL and the NHL Shield are registered The Bugatti logo and Bugatti wordmark are of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth The Simpsons ™ & © 2020 Twentieth Century Fox
trademarks of the National Hockey League. All trademarks of Bugatti International S.A. © 2020 The LEGO Group and DreamWorks Enterprises under license to New Line Film Corporation. All rights reserved.
NHL logos and marks and team logos and marks and are used under license. Animation LLC. LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Brick Productions, Inc. (s20)
depicted herein are property of the NHL and the and the Knob configurations, and the Minifigure © & TM 2020 Lucasfilm Ltd.
respective teams and may not be reproduced Dodge is a registered trademark of FCA US LLC are trademarks and/or copyrights of the LEGO THE WIZARD OF OZ and all related characters and
without the prior written consent of NHL and used under license by The LEGO Group. Group. elements © & ™ Turner Entertainment Co. (s20) Spider-Man and all related characters: TM & ©
Enterprises, L.P. © NHL 2013. All Rights Reserved. 2020 Marvel Characters, Inc. Spider-Man 2, the
The “Lamborghini” and “Lamborghini Bull and TROLLS and all related marks and logos are SCOOBY-DOO and THE FLINTSTONES and all movie: © 2020 Columbia Pictures Industries Inc.
2013 adidas-Salomon AG. adidas, the adidas logo Shield” trademarks, copyrights, designs and trademarks of DreamWorks Animation LLC. related characters and elements © & ™ All rights reserved.
and the 3-stripes mark are registered trademarks of models are used under license from Automobili All Rights Reserved. Hanna-Barbera. (s20)
the adidas-Salomon group, used with permission. Lamborghini S.p.A, Italy. TM & © 2020 Marvel & Subs
© 2020 The LEGO Group and Universal City THE BIG BANG THEORY and all related characters All Marvel Characters © 2020 MARVEL
GRAVITY GAMES(TM): Gravity Games™ is a Ghostbusters TM & © 2020 Columbia Pictures Studios LLC. LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Brick and and elements © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment
trademark of Gravity Games, LLC and is used with Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved. the Knob configurations, and the Minifigure are Inc. (s20) Copyright © 2020 Disney Enterprises, Inc. and
permission. ©2013 Gravity Games, LLC. trademarks and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. Pixar Animation Studios. All rights reserved.
All Rights Reserved. Angry Birds™ © 2009-2020 Rovio Entertainment ADVENTURE TIME and all related characters and
Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Minions and all related marks and logos are elements © & ™ Cartoon Network. (s20) Disney Characters © Disney, Inc, 2020:
McDonald’s and the “M” logo are trademarks of trademarks of Universal City Studios LLC. PRINCE OF PERSIA™ © Disney Enterprises,
McDonald’s Corporation and affiliates. © 2020 Mojang AB and Mojang Synergies AB. All Rights Reserved. BEETLEJUICE and all related characters and Inc. and Jerry Bruckheimer, Inc., TOY STORY™ ©
MINECRAFT and MOJANG are trademarks or elements © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Disney/Pixar, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN ™ ©
©2013 Discovery Communications, Inc. All Rights registered trademarks of Mojang Synergies AB. All DC characters and elements © & ™ DC Comics. (s20) Disney, DISNEY PRINCESS™ © Disney, WINNIE
Reserved. Discovery Kids and logo are trademarks (s20) THE POOH™ © Disney based on the “Winnie the
of Discovery Communications, Inc. Stranger Things: ™/© Netflix. 2019. WIZARDING WORLD characters, names, and Pooh” works by A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard.
Used with permission. THE LEGO® MOVIE, THE LEGO® MOVIE 2, and THE related indicia are © & ™ Warner Bros. LONE RANGER ™ & © Classic Media.
Boston Red Sox copyrighted © 2013 by Boston LEGO® BATMAN MOVIE © & ™ DC Comics, Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR. (s20)
Red Sox. All Rights Reserved. The Beatles LEGO minifigures courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., & The LEGO Manufactured under license from Mercedes-Benz
Apple Corps Limited. Group. LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Minifigure and FRIENDS and all related characters and elements Grand Prix Limited.
Duracell © 2013 Procter & Gamble. the Brick and Knob configurations are trademarks are © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s20)
© 2020 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. ©2018 The © 2016, DFB
Nestlé and NESQUIK® Bunny are copyright of LEGO Group. BATMAN and all related characters SPEED RACER® is a trademark of Tatsunoko
© 2013 Nestlé. Jaguar and the Leaper device are trade marks and elements © & ™ DC Comics. All Rights Production Co., Ltd. and is used under license. Ford Motor Company Trademarks and Trade Dress
owned and licensed by Jaguar Land Rover Ltd. Reserved. (s20) (s20) used under license to DK.
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L E G O®
M I N I F I G U R E
A Visual History
N E W E D I T I O N
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CONTENTS
BRINGING LEGO® PLAY TO LIFE 6
WHAT’S A MINIFIGURE? 8
HOW IS A MINIFIGURE MADE? 10
TIMELINE 12
1970s
1978 18
1979 20
16
1980s
1980 24
1981 26
1982 28
1983 30
22
1984 32
1985 34
1986 36
MAD ABOUT HATS! 38
1987 40
1988 42
1989 44
1990s
1990 48
1991 50
1992 52
1993 54
46
1994 56
1995 58
1996 60
A CUT ABOVE 64
1997 66
1998 70
1999 74
44
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2000s
2000 82
2001 88
2002 94
2003 100
80
2004 106
HEADS UP, EVERYONE! 112
2005 114
2006 120
2007 126
2008 132
2009 140
2010s
2010 148
2011 156
2012 164
MINI GEAR 174
146
2013 176
2014 186
2015 194
2016 202
RARE MINIFIGURES 210
2017 212
2018 222
2019 232
2020s
2020 246
INDEX 252
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 256
244
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BRINGING LEGO
®
PLAY TO LIFE
IN THE 1960
s and early 1970s, the focus in LEGO®
building was on constructing models like houses, cars,
and trains. But something important was missing:
people to live in the houses, drive the cars, and run
the trains! If children wanted characters to play in their
LEGO creations, they had to make them out of bricks
themselves. To address this need for role-play and
storytelling, the company first created large, buildable
family figures, and later shrunk them down to a size that
would fit in better with smaller LEGO models. In 1975,
a figure was launched with a blank yellow head, a torso
with arm-shaped bumps, and a single solid leg. In 1978,
this forerunner to the minifigure was updated with
moving arms and legs, hands that could hold accessories,
and a face painted with two dots for eyes and a friendly
Minifigure patent The 1979 US patent for the
LEGO minifigure design demonstrated its iconic
smile. The famous LEGO minifigure was ready to play! shape, the brick-compatible holes on its feet
and legs, and the way its limbs could move.
BIRTH OF
A LEGEND
To create the prototype for the first minifigure,
designer Jens Nygård Knudsen and a team of
colleagues sawed and filed LEGO bricks into
Girl power The female a miniature human form. Three years and 50
minifigure went through additional prototypes carved in plastic and cast
many concept stages
before it was decided in tin later, he produced the updated modern-
that it would share the style minifigure. Among the sets it debuted
same standard legs as
male minifigures. in was set 600, featuring a policeman and
a buildable brick patrol car.
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MINI-EVOLUTION
As behind-the-scenes development progressed, the minifigure gained
separated legs, multiple moving parts, and a decorated face. Common
to all was the stud on top of the head, which allowed a variety of hats
LEGO Family
and hair elements to be attached, thereby creating different personalities
A best-selling
precursor to the and jobs—and endless imaginative play opportunities for children.
minifigure, the first
LEGO Family figures
appeared in 1974 This early
in set 200. The set figure was
included five family the version
launched
members with
in 1975
posable arms;
brick-built bodies;
and swappable,
reversible hair pieces.
Ring-shaped
hands
Hat compatible
with modern-style
minifigures
An experiment
in hinged legs
Arms can
swing back
and forth
Then and now
The 1978 firefighter
minifigure (left) and 1980 Hollow legs
townsperson (right) were and feet fit
over LEGO
essentially the same as
brick studs
the ones that can be
found in LEGO sets today.
Head concept
with sculpted
features
Hand-drawn
prototype
torso
decoration
7
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WHAT’S A
MINIFIGURE?
Size matters Without a hat or hair piece, a minifigure
stands exactly four LEGO bricks high. This precise
measurement makes it easy to construct LEGO
buildings and vehicles that can fit minifigures inside.
A LEGO® MINIFIGURE
is a small, posable figure of a
person or being. Most minifigures have rotating arms, Stud on top
of head can
connect to
legs, hands, and heads. They have connectors on their headgear and
other LEGO
pieces
bodies that are compatible with LEGO bricks and other
elements. They often represent famous archetypes,
Build a minifigure
A standard LEGO minifigure comes in
such as firefighters, astronauts, and knights. A minifigure three sections when you open a new
LEGO set: the head, the torso with arms
can be disassembled and combined with parts from and hands, and the waist and legs.
other minifigures to create an entirely new character.
The faces of many minifigures carry a friendly
smile, but some have other expressions—even
Arm rotates
360 degrees at
multiple ones! Minifigures drive cars, live in the shoulder
castles, fly spaceships, and fill the world of
construction with endless possibilities for
fun, role-play, and imagination.
Hand swivels
at the wrist
MINIFIGURES AT WORK
LEGO minifigures hail from many different places and
times, including the past, present, and future, as well as
worlds of fantasy and science fiction. You can tell where
a minifigure comes from and what kind of job it has by
looking at the details of its printed clothing and its accessories.
Legs swing
back and forth
for sitting and
walking poses
A uniform with reflective With his overalls, cap, An ancient gladiator carries Holes on backs
of legs and
stripes and a special and shovel, what else a sword and shield and
bottoms of feet
helmet makes it clear that could this hardworking wears a protective helmet attach to LEGO
this is a firefighter. fellow be but a farmer? and leather armor. brick studs
88
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