All Sorted Ep 12: LEGO Minifigures

On an up with people episode of All Sorted, Jeff and James look at the ever growing global population of LEGO minifigures.

This episode we:

Discover the first people LEGO made:

• 1956 – 1965 Bicyclists and Motorcyclists

Build some friends:

• 1965 – 1974 Build dolls out of bricks

Maximize our play:

• 1974 – 1982 Maxifigs
• 1977 – first LEGO figures with a race – set 215 “Red Indians”

Marvel at the minifigure’s humble beginnings:

• 1975 – 1979 LEGOLAND minifig

Figure out (get it?) when LEGO knew they had a hit on their hands:

• 1978 – present – modern minifig
• First minifig in Set 600 Police car
• LEGO factory in Denmark capable of producing around 15,000 minifigs per hour… (video)

Trip out on anthropomorphic figures:

• 1979 – 1989 – Fabuland

Go larger scale for more detail:

• 1986-1999 Technic Figures

Relive past mistakes:

• 1994 – 2008 Belville

Take on Mattel:

• 1997 – 2001 – Scala

Make dolls mini:

• 2012 – present – LEGO Friends mini-doll

Finally we ask, has LEGO’s emphasis on minifigures changed the way kids play? Has it changed the way they market/sell their products?