How to identify LEGO Series 5 Collectible Minifigs by touch

iconLEGO Series 5 Collectible Minifigures proves, it’s pretty hard to identify the minifigs using any but the “touch and feel” method. Thankfully, SEALUG / TexLUG member Jason Junker has put together this handy guide to find the minifigs you want by touch.

Small Clown: His bowler hat feels similar to the Detective’s hat. He also has a pie, which feels smaller than I thought it would. (that’s what she said) [Tee hee! -ed] Each time I confirmed by feeling for the short legs.

Boxer: The surprise here is that his boxing gloves are attached to his hands. He’s one of the hardest to feel if you don’t know this little fact. Also feel for the gap in his face guard. (Thanks for the “attached gloves tip” W. Heron)

Royal Guard: 2 words, HUGE hat. And feel for the rifle to confirm.

Lumberjack: The only “baseball cap” in this series. The axe is easily recognizable. But be sure that you feel the attached axe head on the end, or it could be the Evil Dwarf’s axe handle.

Zookeeper: I expected the monkey to be easy to feel, but the banana is the dead give away here. No other pieces feel anything like it.

Graduate: He’s the only fig with a 2×2 tile (certificate, like “Disco Guy’s” record from S2), and his graduation cap is what I used to confirm. It’s square, with 1 different feeling corner for the tassel and a little raised bump in the middle of the top.

Cave Woman: The only fig with a squishy element this time. Her hair. Feel for the bone separately, and the club is the same as the S1 Cave Man’s. (Thanks for the “squishy hair tip” W. Heron)

Snowboarder Guy: Just like the last 2 snowboarders, the snowboard is a dead giveaway.

Detective: His hat is double billed, so feel for both sides, or it could be the Small Clown. I felt for the magnifying glass to confirm.

Egyptian Queen: Huge wedge dress, and snake are easy to feel.

Ice Fisherman: The fish, and fishing pole are the giveaway here, just like the last 2 series fisherman/gnome.

Evil Dwarf: The winged helmet is bulky, but so are the pieces for the Royal Guard & Gladiator, so I felt around for 1 of the 2 detached axe blades, or the handle. The difference in the shield between the Gladiator’s is that the front of the Evil Dwarf’s is smooth.

Gladiator: He has a huge bulky helmet, but he’s also the only fig with a knife/sword. It’s shorter than I expected. (That’s what… never mind) The difference in the shield between the Evil Dwarf’s is that the front of the Gladiator’s has a stud.

Gangster: This fig has the smallest accessory, his pistol. I also felt his hat, it’s he same as the Cowboy’s from S1 or Indiana Jones’. I never once knowingly felt his case.

Fitness Instructor: Big long hair, and the “boom box” feels like a brick with a handle (just like the Rapper’s from S3)

Lizard Guy: Last but not least, the one I was most excited about, and will be the first one I open… His tail was what I ended up feeling for. It’s a very large piece that fits under his head like a backpack, so you can feel for that tab with the hole in it as well.

Jason rightly says that it’s helpful to have a good picture in front of you, so here it is:

LEGO Series 5 Collectible Minifigures

How to identify Series 3 Collectible Minifigs by touch through the bag

minifigures3The LEGO Series 3 Collectible Minifigures are now available in local store.

Since Series 3 packaging doesn’t have a barcode unique to each minifig  it’s good to have other ways to get past LEGO’s ridiculous marketing ploy.

SEALUG member J Junker posted a great guide to figuring out which minifig is in the bag by feeling for specific elements. Here’s J’s method in its entirety:

Gorilla – it’s best to find the banana. Be careful though, the Pilot has goggles that can feel like a banana.

Pilot – feel for the backpack/parachute (and the goggles there’s an indentation in the middle that the banana doesn’t have).

Racecar Driver – feel for all 3 of these, head, helmet & hair. He’s the only guy with all 3.  Finding the visor helps too.

Samurai – if you find the sword, that’s the best. He’s also got an ‘armor’ chest piece that’s unique.  It collapses inward when you squeeze it from front to back.

Rapper – feel for the mic, and his hat brim is curved. Careful not to mistake for the Hula Girl… She has 2 maracas that feel like the mic.

Hula Girl – finding both maracas is the best. The hair also feels different, since it’s designed to be in the front and back. Easy to confuse with the Rapper by feel and dots.

Indian Chief – the headdress is pretty easy to feel.  It’s very big.

Baseball Player – the bat is a dead giveaway. One of the easiest to feel.

The Mummy – the dots are very easy to spot on this one. Really the best way to feel this one is to find the scorpion.

Sumo Wrestler – another where the dots help quite a bit. I only felt the trophy one time, so I ended up feeling for the ball of hair on top of his head the most.

Alien – the head has the 2 distinct spheres. I almost always felt the beam from the gun as well. Dots are good for this one too.

Space Pirate (Cyborg) – easy to confuse with the race car driver. If you can find his robot hand, that’s the best. Remember that both the alien and this guy have a ray coming from their gun (the gun: which is also a good way to narrow it down to one of the 2).

Tennis Player – the racket is the tell tell here.

Elf (Legolas) – I felt the back if the shield on the first one, but found the bow & arrow easiest from then on out.

Snowboarder – the snow board is as easy as the surfboard and skateboard were to feel. Both ends curve up.

The Fisherman – the fish is easy to feel, plus the rope on the fishing pole is very different than anything else since it’s ’soft’.

I personally has manage to find all 16 of them from 18 packs (2 mistakes)

Good luck in hunting your favorite minifigures.