LEGO has been around for over 90 years, and 2TTOYS for over 20 years. Reason enough to go back in time and see what great products and parts LEGO has released. First we look at the Minifigure or Minifigure as this name is used internationally. These figures were designed in the 1970s by Jens Nygaard Knudsen, who worked as a designer at LEGO in Billund, Denmark from 1968 to 2000. To create a kind of minifigure, Jens Nygaard first made a few prototypes.

The very first Minifigures looked nothing like the Minifigures we know today. These very first dolls came out in 1975 and consisted of 4 to 5 parts, the legs with feet to the side, possibly a 1 x 2 plate as a waist/belt, on top of which a torso where the arms were part of the torso, above that again. on a yellow head without a face and a cap, cowboy hat or hair with braids on the side. (These hairs are still available, by the way).

In 1978 , LEGO introduced the minifigure as we know it today. These consisted of a lower body with two movable legs attached to a hip joint, an upper body, two separate arms in one piece, two separate hands (usually yellow) and a head with a face. This was a face made of two black dots for eyes and a curved line for a mouth. In 1979, the dolls also had a male hairstyle and they no longer always had to wear a cap.

From 1989 onwards, LEGO® introduced more different facial expressions to the pirates for the first time and some pirates also had a “wooden” leg or a hook for a hand. More innovations came in 1990 when the Dress for the female figures was introduced and the first Glow in the Dark figure was released in the form of a ghost. In 1993, the first figure was released with a loose beard that could be placed between the head and torso.

The first licensed Minifigures were released in 1999. These were Star Wars minifigures, all of which still had the recognizable yellow heads, except Darth Vader who had a light gray head. That year was also the first time that figures were made in a different shape such as R2-D2.

The heads were given a new update in 2001 in the form of a double print, giving you two facial expressions on one head. This way, for example, you could make your LEGO® figure laugh or scare by turning their heads.

In 2002, the first LEGO character with short legs was released, again with a Star Wars figure, namely Yoda. Unlike regular legs, these shorter legs cannot bend because they consist of one piece.

It was already 2004 when LEGO® decided to supply all licensed minifigures with the corresponding “normal” color heads of the character and no longer everything with a yellow head.

Because LEGO® started publishing board games in 2009 and they wanted a pawn in the shape of a minifigure for it, they had to design something new because the original size of a minifigure was too large. They did this by making a one-piece figure with or without printing. This figure was 1 x 1 wide and two stones high.

LEGO® notices that minifigures are being collected more and more and released the first minifigures collectible series in 2010. This series consisted of 16 different minifigures, each with one or more accessories. Since then, LEGO® has released several collectible series of minifigures per year. The nice thing about these series is that you don't know in advance which doll you will get because it is packaged in an opaque bag. So every time you open a package it is a surprise which figure is inside.

In the second Collectible series, a new minifig format was released. The smallest yet: The Nanofigure. This figure served as a “prize” for the karate figure from that series. Nowadays these nano figures are also often used in sets as minifigures for your minifigure. Or as a minifigure for sets with a smaller scale than is normally used, such as Hogwarts Castle from Harry Potter.

Finally, we go to 2016 because in 2016 the time finally came, the “birth” of the first LEGO® baby. This addition to the LEGO® minifigure family consists of two parts, the head and the body. In the meantime, this little figure has become an indispensable part of the minifig family. There is even a baby Yoda figure.

Of course, there have been other figures released by Lego in the past, such as the LEGO® Technic, LEGO® Bellevile, and LEGO® Friends figures. but we will come back to those dolls another time

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LEGO® minifigures

Everyone in the world knows what a LEGO® figure looks like. Over the past 40 years, LEGO® has released more than 8,000 minifigures. And that doesn't even include the DUPLO® figures. LEGO® minifigures are usually released together with a set, but LEGO® also releases special collectible minifigure series.

At ToyPro you have the option to order the individual minifigures from a set. Would you like to? LEGO® Harry Potter minifigures order separately? Are you looking for individual LEGO® Disney or Star Wars minifigures? You collect LEGO® Ninjago minifigures? You can find them in our webshop .

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2TTOYS has a large collection of LEGO figures.

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