Other LEGO

Minifigures are the small, plastic Lego people, who populate the Lego Worlds. They are also known as minifigs. more...

Design

Minifigures are composed of several separate parts: head, torso, arms, hands, hips and legs. Minifigures typically come as three separate parts in Lego sets: head, torso/arms/hands, and hips/legs.

The legs can rotate independently to 90 degrees forwards, and about 45 degrees backwards. They also attach to normal Lego bricks in either a sitting or standing position. The hands of a minifigure make a "C" shape, which allows them to hold many Lego accessories. There are hundreds of different accessories, from axes to wands to swords to guns. Minifigure heads are cylindrical, and attach to long narrow cylinder at the top of the torso, which allows the head to rotate. This also allows items that go over the torso, such as air tanks, capes or breastplates, to be attached. The heads also have a stud on top (which is the same size as studs on Lego bricks), which things can be attached to. Head accessories are varied, including hair, helmets and hats. These choices allow minifigures to be quite customizable.

Variations

While almost all minifigure torsos, arms and legs are the same size and shape, some sets and themes have included figures that differ from the standard. Some minifigures for women, particularly in Castle and Pirate sets, have used large sloped bricks instead of legs to resemble dresses or skirts. Skeletons, in Pirate and Castle sets, have the standard minifigure head, but have specialized skeletal arms, legs and torso (which are still detachable from each other). Shorter legs, without joints at the hip, have been used for children, Yoda and Ewoks in Star Wars sets, goblins in Harry Potter sets, and SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs in the upcoming LEGO SpongeBob SquarePants sets. Pirate minifigures have had peg legs and hooks for hands. Hagrid, from Harry Potter, uses a larger minifigure, with only the head being separable. Recently, some minifigures have also had heads that differ from the traditional cylindrical shape. Traditional accessories, such as hats and helmets, cannot be placed on these different heads. Examples include Yoda, Ewoks and goblins as mentioned above.

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