Nomenclature
The most important part of any large collection (besides the collecting) is cataloging. How does the collector know what is in their collection? What items are they still looking for? Where are the items? Did your roommates decide to throw them away when they were clearing out the storage last summer when you decided you'd rather go water skiing indeed of helping with cleaning? etc.
The Goal
As we know each minifigure is comprised of a varying number of components. The LEGO® Group historically has not given each figure a unique identifier, but instead simply gives a part number to each component based on its shape, color, and print. This makes cataloguing minifigures an extra challenge.
BrickLink is the most comprehensive database in the world not only of LEGO parts but also of assembled LEGO minifigures which they have created a nomenclature for cataloging. The problem however is Bricklink, like LEGO, has been around for quite some time, and has grown organically with the help of fans (just like you). This means that the consistency of numbering, assigning themes, and even the true names of figures can be inconsistent.
Another quirk of BrickLink is the inclusion of figures from other LEGO systems (Duplo, Friends, Bionicle, Clikits, Scala, 4 Juniors, Technic, and many more) in the list of "Minifigures" . This makes a complete list of JUST retail minifigures released by LEGO almost impossible to find.
It is the goal of this site to collect and create a database of LEGO minifigures that meet set standards of which figures to include and how to include them.
The System
To accomplish the goals of this institution The Collector has devised a simple set of metadata to be assigned to each minifigure that will communicate its place in LEGO® history and its location in the collection itself. This system is as follows:
Theme | Sub-Theme | Year Released | Folder Number | Figure Number
A code for any given figure would look something like this:
adv-des-1998-01-01
This is the Collection ID for a figure released under the Adventurers Theme, the Desert Sub-Theme, in 1998, and is the first figure in that group: Johnny Thunder. With this simple system any figure can be placed in space and time within The Collection.
It is important to note that some figures have only a Primary Theme attribute, included in no Sub-Theme. When this is the case the Sub-Theme code is omitted, looking something like this:
aaa-1111-00-00
This is The Collection ID for ----, released under the ---- Theme in ----.
Acknowledgment
It would be an oversight not to mention Dr. Christoph Bartneck, associate professor at the University of Canterbury and author of "The Complete LEGO Minifigure Catalog 1975-2015" for the inspiration on how to create a system to catalogue a complete history of LEGO® Minifigures. Dr. Bartneck's work however (while incredible) relies heavily on the BrickLink database, and suffers similar deficits in correctly naming, theme attribution, and the omissions of certain figures and their variants.
Therefore it is the goal of this collection to incorporate aspects of Dr. Bartneck's system with the wealth of information from the contributors at Brickipedia, Brickset, BrickLink, the vast array of books from The LEGO group, and the personal research of The Collector.
Click here to view a full list of resources used in the creation of this database.
