LEGO Collectable Minifigures Series 25 – The Ultimate Ultimate Review!

LEGO will be releasing a brand new series of CMF (Collectable Minifigures) 1st January 2024, but is the 25th outing worth picking up in its entierety or sticking to a select few? It’s the age old question that many LEGO fans face when a new series drops.

Personal preference is key here as ultimately it’s your choice, but as some characters prove harder to find and become sought-after and pricey, opting for a full set maybe the way to go ensuring you get the ones you want.

If you’re like me then popping along to your local LEGO store might be your saviour, at least since the days of the pandemic, as some staff members sort them into named bags so you can pop along and ask for a full set, and maybe a spare here & there. Saying that though, the last couple of offerings have been packaged in cardboard boxes, making it impossible to tell which ones are inside, without opening and damaging the packets, so this may no longer being an option. Thankfully other stockists have them for pre-order, including the place I got my set from, Brick-A-Brac-UK. 

If you’re wondering what each character looks like and what they come bundled with then look no further, we bagged a full set early and have taken some nice photos, giving you a better look and what get, including parts, prints, torsos, and unique elements.

Thanks to the small leaflet sized checksheet that comes in every box, we can check off the Minifigures as we go. On the reverse are a few of the characters that have slightly more construct steps than others, these extra steps help you to complete the properly. Unfortunately there aren’t any names included on the leaflet but thanks to the official LEGO website we have a handy list.

Jump to a specific Minifigure:

• Film Noir Detective
• E-Sport Gamer
• Vampire Knight
• Sprinter
• Goatherd
• Mushroom Sprite
• Fitness Instructor
• Triceratops
• Harpy
• Train Boy
• Barbarian
• Pet Groomer

Film Noir Detective:

This Detective is done entirely in black & white, just like the old-skool Television day’s of old.

From head to toe the character has a lot going for him, the trilby, classic mustache, high collar and trench coat. All these are great but the inclusion of the fabric collar is what makes it standout. He also comes with his trusty magnifying glass and, quite funnily, a red heron fish!

E-Sports Gamer:

The Gamer Girl is a great character to portray in Mini form, with the bright pink hair, headphones around the neck and the cool clothing style. The inclusion of the Mouse & Keyboard, with their funky LED lighting, completes the character nicely.

Eagle-eyed LEGO Castle fans will have noticed the Black Falcon logo on the shirt and top of the trousers. Why LEGO have done this is anyone’s guess, but you won’t find me complaining, we want more Castle sets!

Vampire Knight (Bat Lord):

Another classic also makes a brief comeback in the form of Bat Lord. LEGO have named this one Vampire Knight, but we all know it’s really Basil the Bat Lord with a modern twist.

He has an epic Bat-eared helmet, a transparent red double-sided axe and Bat symbol shield, and that’s just his accessories. The character itself has a double-sided head, arm and torso printing which then continues onto the dual-moulded legs.

That’s not all, there’s a very smart cape included too. The new bio plastic (stone paper) cape is both thicker and better quality than your standard fabric and paper capes. It’s hard to explain but I love it!

Sprinter:

Thos Minifigure character is one of my favourites and it’s also the first on this with a disability. We’ve had a Minifigure in the past with a prosthetic leg, but this chap has two. LEGO have been great at diversifying their characters over the last couple of years and raising awareness.

The Minifigure again has a double-sided head (see photos), a curly hair piece, torso printing (front & back), a gold medal and a printed 1×2 podium brick. I am loving the torso as it has the year 2024 printed on the bib, making for a great future MOC or Scene.

Goatherd:

Onto the Goat, which is why a lot of fans will be picking this series up. The Goat piece has only appeared in one set before and has now finally reared its head but in a igjtly different form. Fans will know that the original goat had light brown markings on each side, this new one doesn’t, although it does still have the printed horns. As animal figures go it’s a great one to finally have in the collection, not personally having the original Goat I can now say I have this one, get in! 

Thanks not all though, as the Minifigure character is also top notch and harks back to the Classic Castle days. The printed square-style collar is found on many of the classic Minifigures from that theme/era. Combine that with a sheepskin jacket and a small coin bag on his trousers and you have a great looking Minifigure. I particularly like the addition of the backpack and hood combo. It’s also good to see the double-sided head features a somewhat happy face and a content expression, I cna imagine him and the Goat walking around his land and taking in the morning sun, letting it beat down on his face and feeling content with himself.

Mushroom Sprite:

This character, Mushroom Sprite, is perhaps one of my least favourite Minifigures from the series. I think it’s a case of the Butterfly accessory and Mushroom headgear being better than the Minifigure parts. Another Butterfly to add to the growing collection is also a nice touch, it joins the many found in the recent LEGO A-Frame set and may LEGO Friends outings. 

It’s so good to have a bigger Mushroom piece to add to Forest MOCs and Scenes and an exclusive Butterfly too, it definitely takes away from the torso and legs. These have minimal printing on them and simply feature the grey outline of a collar and belt. What does save it a little from being a lower score is the double-sided head, which I think we’ve seen before, but it’s still cute. The very happy smile is always a welcomed addition to any character.

Fitness Instructor:

Like we’ve seen in multiple CMF series before, we get another gym figure. A well trained fitness instructor with very pronounced abs, she clearly isn’t someone to mess with!

With a blonde (Bright Light Yellow) braided hairpiece (64807), making a return after a long absence. It has only appeared in 2011 set Bride and Groom (853340) before. The face has a determined look on one side and a sweaty face on the other. On her right arm is a printed floral tattoo, a great detail! Unfortunately the rest of the torso is somewhat problematic. The printing is done on a coral torso, which means the yellow on front and back is quite a bit darker compared to the rest of the figure. But my biggest disappointment is the sides of the torso. Due to technical reasons I’m sure, these can’t be printed. This means the sides are fully coral. It doesn’t fit the outfit and looks rather awkward. A bit like her top has flaps on the sides. The designers no doubt had their reasons not to use a yellow torso. But to be honest, in this form this doesn’t meet the quality standard I expect from a CMF figure.

The leg piece are nice dual molded shorts. As accessoires she gets a kettlebell with 10 for weight printed on it. and a bidon with Vita ush branding. This has only appeared in white before so it’s really nice to get it in Dark Azure as well. So all in all a quite good minifigure with an interesting design. Such a shame the torso printing ruins it to some degree and pushing down the overall rating.

Triceratops Costume Fan:

Every CMF series gets at least one animal costume Minifigure. And this one is no exception. After the T-Rex in series 24, it’s yet another dinosaur! As a dino fan I’m quite pleased with this icon of the Late Cretaceous period . Since it shared it’s environment with T-Rex and young and juvenile Triceratops were most likely preyed upon by Tyrannosaurus they make a logical pairing and the figure is great of course for Instagram hashtags like #DinoFunFridays!

The color scheme for the costume is mostly Olive Green. The horns and beak are tan and there are some lighter green and reddish brown printed details on the figure. It has 2 alternate faceprints, neither overly expressive but a bit neutral. Both are male which is a bit of a missed opportunity to go for a male/female or happy/terrified combination. The costume is completed by a rubbery tailpiece. Where T-Rex had a spare included in the previous series, LEGO has opted not to include one this time. There’s also no other extra for this figure. Because some of the other figures have multiple it’s a bit of a shame. It could have been a banner and hairpiece like the carrot in series 24, a plant like the giraffe from The LEGO Movie 2 CMF or a plushie like the Panda with the first LEGO Movie CMF.

Harpy:

Now this is a weird one for me as I had no clue what kind of mythical creature this is. So Wikipedia had to help me a bit and whilst reading about Harpies, the design makes quite a lot of sense. In short they come from Greek and Roman mythology. They are part human, part bird hybrids. “They are said to have been feathered, with cocks’ heads, wings, and human arms, with great claws; breasts, bellies, and female parts human.” Hyginus, Fabulae 14. Also, quite horrible and ugly to summarize a few of the legends.

Another source (Hesiod) calls them ‘The Harpies of the lovely hair”. Which is a great starting point for the figure. The Dark Purple hairpiece looks really special! with the color matching that of the wings. The Tile, Modified 1 x 1 with Clip (15712) is sort of new in this color. A previous mold had them in Dark Purple in 1 set from 2004, but the current iteration didn’t have these yet. The headpiece is pink with yellow eyes and some purple accents. The torso is Medium Blue and has a waistline like most female Minifigure torsos get. The hands and talons are gold and it has a Dark Blue leg piece like used in the CMF Series 15 Faun (and a few other fantasy figures since then).

The overall color scheme is quite appealing I must say. The only thing I can criticize the figure for is that the design might be a bit too subtle. It wasn’t immediately obvious to me what it was or that it’s a female character. I really needed the context to fully appreciate this figure.

Train Kid:

Choo choo! After previous CMF figures with a (race) car, plane and steamboat costume, this time we get a kid with a steam train costume. It’s a nicely themed figure with the kid’s outfit resembling classic LEGO train engineers.

The relatively new flat cap gets a Medium Blue recolor. The headpiece has printing on 1 side for the kid. I like the featured eyepatch, suggesting being treated for Amblyopia (lazy eye). The torso has a blue overall and red bandana giving it a classic train driver look. The leg piece has the bendable short legs instead of the static ones, which adds a little extra value for me.

The train is nicely detailed as well. It’s dual molded red and green and you get some extra parts to give it some extra details. There’s a plume of smoke coming from the smokebox and the smokebox door has a printed 2×2 radar dish with number 25 for the series number on it. It’s quite nice there’s an extra spare included for this part as well. And last but not least, 1 of the train wheels is molded, the front and back wheels are newly recolored skateboard/trolley wheels in red. With all the attention to detail in this figure. I must admit however that the choice of figure might not be the most imaginative.

Barbarian:

Fierce Barbarian
The second to last figure in this rundown is the Fierce Barbarian. I’ve seen some fans linking this to the Red Sonja character. LEGO will of course never admit this for licensing reasons, but a clear inspiration can be found here.

This starts of course with the red hairpiece. The headpiece is dual sided and has a stern look on one side and a fully enraged battle expression on the other side. The torso is nicely detailed and there are printed sleeves on both arms. The leg piece is dual molded and printed. Since the yellow is printed on a darker color, it has a color difference from arms and face, but luckily the yellow is only minimal here. The barbarian has a newly recolored sword in black and silver. This is the same sword design as featured in 2 variations in several LEGO Dreamzzz sets.

It’s not a bad figure at all, but there’s also nothing I’m especially excited about. So for a solid figure, it’s a solid 7/10 for me.

Pet Groomer:

Last but not least there’s the pet groomer. The pet is of course open to interpretation as some will see an Afghan Hound and with a bit more willpower and imagination you can also consider it a long eared goat.

Unpacking this figure I was really excited it has a cochlear implant featured in the hairpiece. This wasn’t apparent to me in pictures I had seen before opening my set. The headpiece has dual prints with once again rather subtle differences in the expressions. One has a smiling face and the other side more of a smirky face. Working with animals isn’t always easy so a horrified look or being totally endeared by the cuteness of the pet on one of the sides might have made the figure slightly better for me. The torso and leg piece are quite plain, with a black apron with a paw print logo. The leg piece shows some hairs that have come down on the apron. Of course there’s also a pair of scissors included with this fig.

I really like this figure a lot and new animal molds are always interesting. So despite the minor detail of expressions being bland, it’s still a 10/10 for me. Find out what we rate each Minifigure below.

Overall the 25th series of LEGO Collectable Minifigures (71045) is another cracking entry and one I’m pleased to get ahold of for my per collection. The characters are unique and separate from other themes, their accessories are also great with some great pieces for future MOCs and Scenes.

There is an awesome nostalgic feel to them with the Batlord (Vampire Knight) making a brief comeback. Of course the Goat figure is a must have for anyone who missed out on the original, including me.

The diversity seen in this series is outstanding and shows that LEGO are heading in the right direction. It’s great to see so many disabilities in the spotlight which ultimately raises awareness of them and gives those that have them more represented.

Sadly the new style of packaging does let it down somewhat. Yes it’s good for the environment and it’s most definitely the way forward, it also hinders collectors and fans alike by not being able to feel them and grab the ones you want.

Thank you for reading this review of the latest series of CMF, we hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to ask us questions about them via the comments below. Also which ones are you most looking forward to picking up?