Lego Minifigures Series 8 - Release Date, Bump Codes, Characters

Today we are going to be looking at Lego Minifigures Series 8. We will check out the new minifigures and see what exactly the new characters are going to be. Then we will take a look at release dates, prices, codes, bump codes and where to get hold of Lego Minifigures Series 8. So if you are after some details about this series then this page should give you the answers you are looking for.

Lego Minifigures first hit the shops back in early 2010. Series 1 brought us 16 new characters that immediately captured the imagination of children and collectors the world over. Due to the success of the first series Lego continued to release series after series and now were at series 8! In the past few years we have seen some really memorable characters and the new series looks like being no exception to the rule. So let’s tell you a little bit about series 8.

So the first thing we can tell you is the release date for these minifigures. This has been confirmed as September. No exact release date when these will go on sale but we do know it will be some time in September 2012. We were given series 6 in January 2012 and then series 7 in May, so it is no great surprise about the timing of the new minifigures. Another thing we do know is that the new surprise bags will be black, something we have not experienced before. As per usual these will come in sealed bags so the idea is that you do not know which figure you will be getting. The idea is trade them with friends to complete your set. We are expecting the price for these to be the same as normal, so that is usually around the $3 mark and of course there will one again be sixteen figures to collect.

So now we do have a list of 16 new characters. As you can see from the picture on the right these are now confirmed and we will soon be seeing them in our shops. So here are the new minifigures for Series 8: Cowgirl, DJ, Diver, Skier, Vampire, Trader, Pirate, Santa, Red Cheerleader, Ancient Thespis, Conquistador, Boy in a Bavarian Outfit, Enemy Robot, Evil Female Alien, Football Player and Fairy. As soon as this list was revealed fans were up in arms, we already have a skier, we already have a vampire and a cheerleader. But as you can see from the picture the new characters are completely different from any we have seen before.

Some of the highlights of the new series then include the Vampire, this one was something of a surprise, we thought it might be a modern vampire based on Twilight, however it is actually a vampire bat. Santa and his sack will be a big favourite as this is one that people have been asking Lego to make for a long while. The Ancient Thespis looks very good and we love the little skull he is clutching, this is possibly the best accessory in the new series. The Evil Female Alien does not look at all like we were expecting and is a really unusual figure that we like very much. We also really like the fairy, the wand and wings work very well together, however she is wearing one of those annoying paper skirts which are awkward to put on.

On the downside the new red cheerleader looks remarkably like the blue one from the first series and the enemy robot also looks very familiar. The skier is quite different to the skier we have seen in a previous series but still it is another skier which maybe shows a slight lack of imagination from Lego. Apart from that though this looks like being a really good series.

Due to the fact that these minifigures come in mystery bags, there is a real issue with collecting them. The first few you buy are fine but then you start to accumulate doubles. At around $3 a time this can soon become an expensive pass time. So for this reason there has been much made of ways of finding out what figure is contained in the packets. With the first few series of figures you could work this out by reading the bar codes, something that was not really that tricky if you knew how. But soon Lego got wise to this and so changed their system so that this would no longer work.

In later series’ you could use the bump code method. This was simply feeling for small bumps on the packets, each figure had it’s own specific pattern of bumps and so again this would be a way to work out which minifigure would be contained inside. This was far more tricky than the bar code method but still something that people could manage. Something that has recently been reported was the weighing method. Someone actually worked out how much each figure weighed and then could determine the contents of the bag. For this to work though you would need incredibly accurate scales as surely there can't be that much difference from figure to figure.

The most popular method for working out what is inside the mystery bag is simply to feel around for the contents. If you are familiar with the series you know which characters have which accessories, and in most cases you could work out to a reasonable extent which figures are which. Some however were easier to spot than others, for instance the rock star was easy to pick as he has a large long necked guitar, whereas the sleepy head characters has very little to discern him from others. So although this is the most popular method it can have it’s flaws.

So for series 8 of the new Lego minifigures some things to feel for would include the thin skies from the skier, the football players trophy, the round helmet for the diver, the wings and wand of the fairy, the DV and the trader both hold a square item which you should be able to find, although telling the two apart may be tricky. As you can see though there are ways of working out what is inside the mystery bags.

The Lego Minifigures Series’ have been getting ever more popular over the years. They are not only loved by children they are also seen as collectors items and some people believe that in years to come they may even have some significant value. Series 8 of the minifigures looks like being another really strong one. At this point Lego have made no announcements as to whether or not the figures will continue into 2013, but if these remain as popular as they currently are then there is no reason as to why they won’t. So now you know a little bit about Series 8 Lego Minifigures you can go out and collect the entire set.