Anatomy of a Minifigure

“There was something missing from the houses, cars, planes and fantasy world these children spent hours playing with. Mr. Knudsen’s minifigures went on to define and drive the Lego system more than any other part since the launch of the new LEGO brick in 1958.” -- Sarah Herman “A Million Little Bricks: The Unofficial Illustrated History of the LEGO Phenomenon.” In 1975 LEGO® model builder Jens Nygård Knudsen and a team of colleagues began designing a new addition to the LEGO System. It took three years of work before their creation was ready for production, and another year before it was patented in 1979. The first official minifigure was released patent-pending in 1978, and was included in set 600 | Police Patrol Car. This figure was the humble Police Officer, dressed in a white cap and a simple black uniform complete with a sticker that added a gold officers badge and five round buttons. This simple character would launch a new era for LEGO -- The minifigure had arrived. Today, whether you are a fan of LEGO® or not, you've probably seen one. Movies, video games, books, conventions, Christmas ornaments, (even in space!) the minifigure has permeated deep into our culture.

What Makes a Minifigure?

A standard LEGO® minifigure consists of three main parts:

Head	Torso	Legs

While these main parts can be disassembled further, it should be noted that LEGO® considers these three parts as "complete", and lists torsos and legs as an entire part in their production inventories. Separation of arms from torsos, hands from arms, and legs from hips can put stress on the parts resulting in micro-fractures, cracks, and even breakage. This is why taking apart these main assemblies is considered an illegal technique (Don't worry though, we won't tell).

If you are brave enough, complete disassembly results in nine elements total. These include:

Head	Right Arm	Right Hand	Torso	Left Arm	Left Hand	Hips	Right Leg	Left Leg

The basics of these elements have remained the same since the release of the very first minifigure. In fact, due to the incredible precision in their design and manufacturing a minifigure released in 1978 will connect flawlessly to the same bricks released in 2021. This holds true for every hat, helmet, hairpiece, belt, cape, spear, and musket ever produced.

Over time LEGO has introduced new elements that fit with the standard minifigure parts including skirts, hook hands, peg legs, sports gloves, tentacles and other compelling variations to create many unique and wonderful characters.

Hook	Peg-Leg	Dress / Skirt / Robe	Tentacles	Fish Tail	Boxing Glove	Goblin Head

So back to our question. If there are nine basic elements, and a multitude of different parts that can be swapped in and out in countless permutations... What makes a minifigure, a minifigure?

How LEGO Defines a Minifigure

According to the book I Love THAT Minifigure, LEGO® defines a minifigure as a character consisting of TWO of the THREE main assembled elements.

For example:

Captain Jonas	Tauntaun
Head, torso assembly, leg assembly, fabulous mustache. ✅ A minifigure!	Solid cast with rubber tail and articulated creature arms. ❌ No standard elements, not a minifigure.

Professor Minerva McGonagall	M-Tron Robot
Head, torso assembly. ✅ A minifigure! Ten points to Gryffindor!	Adorable? Absolutely. Minifigure? ❌ With only bricks used in their construction our little robo friend can't be a part of the club.

Kit Fisto	Metal Beard
Alien? Yes, but master Fisto has a torso assembly as well as leg assembly. ✅ Verdict? A minifigure!	❌ Handsome, but with only a standard head this mega pirate is not a minifigure.

The Barracuda Masthead	Cow
There is a lot going on here, but upon closer inspection it is clear. ✅ Head? Torso assembly? Minifigure.	❌ This is a cow.

So, that settles that.

How This Collection Defines a Minifigure

LEGO® has a habit of breaking their own rules (quite often actually). In the very book that defines the "two out of three" rule they have THREE characters that do not fit these standards. This has made the classification of what character or figure fits into this or that category rather fuzzy.

"Um, actually" one could argue, "These figures include a "head" that fits on a torso pin so technically it has a minifigure head."

Fair, but it is clearly stated, "Most minifigures are made from three standard parts: a head, torso, and pair of legs."

Does anything about this seem standard?

The great thing about being in charge is that The Collector doesn't have to listen to anyone.

Some collectors include vintage pre-minifigures in their collection, some like display the their cult-classic Fabuland critters, and even others get the Technic, Jack Stone, and (Gods forbid) Galidor characters involved. For the purists we respect you, and will provide a special tag for the figures that do not meet the official standards which can be found here.

It is The Collectors conclusion that it is not the letter of the law that makes a figure eligible for inclusion -- but the spirit.

Minifigure Classification Policy

Our classification policy, like this collection, will be ever changing. Here is where it stands today:

Included

Standard Minifigure, Skeletons, Bi-pedal Droids, and other character (like Tee Vee, and the Portal Companion Cube) who The Collector finds amusing.

Excluded

Keychains, Non-Standard droids, single cast characters (Sebulba), Big Figures, Hagrids, Brick-Built Characters, and whatever this thing is.

Variants

Sometimes figures will have identical base components as counterparts in other sets but with the addition or alternate head, torso, hip, or foot accessory. If packaging or marketing material for the set clearly shows that this configuration is intentional and integral to their character it will be considered unique and qualifies for a separate listing.

Furthermore, some modern sets feature a figure with alternate head and/or hair accessories. Speed Champions, and Hidden Side are notable some examples of this, and the practice is only becoming more common. Historically BrickLink has been inconsistent in addressing this phenomenon, sometimes including two listings, and sometimes disregarding it.

In the spirit of providing a more complete exhibition, two versions of these characters will be listed -- one as the original and the other as a unique variant.

Any critiques concerning our collection policies are more than welcome. Please click here to contact us and your correspondence will be attended to with no great care or urgency.

A History of Variations

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The Head

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The Torso

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The Arms

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The Legs

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