LEGO Minifigures Series 19

Series 19 of the Minifigures theme was released September 1. This past weekend, I had a family trip that took us to a city with a LEGO Store, so we made time to stop there so that I could acquire as many of these figures as I wanted. This time around, I bought 12 out of 16 characters, with multiples of a few of them. The four I did not buy (and thus will not review here) are the Fire Fighter, Mountain Biker, Pizza Costume Guy, and Rugby Player. (I have limited use for sports minifigures, and the pizza costume reuses the large wedge piece from the watermelon costume in The LEGO Movie 2 Minifigures series.)

Bear Costume Guy: This figure's costume is a mix of white, turquoise, marigold, and coral pink, with a rainbow on its chest in the same colors. (Once again, my photo does not properly convey the intensity of the pink.) The accessories consist of a coral pink heart tile (most packs include an extra) and a rainbow tile with a couple more stripes than one on the body. Under the bear mask, the character's head is two-sided, with two rather adorable, cutesy expressions. The garish, patchwork palette will severely limit this figure's use as an RPG mini, but I foresee this character being popular among the LBGT+ community for its hearts and rainbows, as well as among teddy bear collectors of all kinds.

Dog Sitter: This woman wears overall shorts molded in two colors for the legs (as are the short sleeves on the arms), with printing on the front and sides of the legs and front and back of the torso. Her ball cap and ponytail are another two-color molded piece. She comes with two dogs, a dachshund (a new piece, with a stud on its back) and a French bulldog, and a shovel for scooping poop (also included).

Fox Costume Girl: This costume consists of an orange body with black feet (another two-color mold) and hands. The figure has white printing on the chest, tip of the tail, and neck part of the mask, and black-printed ears. The woman's head is two-sided, with a crooked smile on one side, and licking her lips on the other. She comes with a chicken and a sack. This figure would make a lovely kitsune or werefox, especially if the head is replaced by a blank white one to just leave the fox face. (I bought multiples for exactly this reason; everyone in my family has a kitsune character in their Pathfinder Society stable.)

Fright Knight: This knight has a typical breastplate and grille-fronted helm, but the legs and breastplate are printed with spiky, fluted flourishes with bits of rust around the edges. The torso is printed front and back with a very nice chain shirt, though this is completely covered when the breastplate is worn. The knight's shield is slightly longer than a classic shield, and bears the Fright Knights' bat emblem, with rusty patches around the edges. The head is a light seaform color, with large eyes and a fanged grin. (The face appears to have eyelashes at first glance, which usually means a female character, but they could also be seen as demonic eyebrows. I find this gender ambiguity, especially with the helmet on, to be a nice touch.) Finally, the knight has two transparent blue accessories, a helmet plume and a longsword; mine came with an extra of each. The sword makes an excellent ghost touch blade or other magic weapon.

Galactic Bounty Hunter: This character wears a black armored spacesuit, with shoulder plates and a helmet, with silver printing on the body and helmet. His chest armor bears the triple yellow triangle logo of Blacktron, one of the first enemy factions introduced in early Space sets. He wields a standard two-barreled pistol, and carries a red transparent datapad with a "wanted" poster. Under the helmet, his face is a weird pale blue, but it's unclear whether he is supposed to be an alien or have some kind of inner face shield. This mini won't be very useful in most fantasy games, but is perfect for a space opera game like Star Wars or Starfinder. (My daughter craved the armor for her Starfinder Society soldier.)

Gardener: This woman wears a purple floral print blouse (with two-color molded arms) that clashes loudly with her blue leopard-print pants. She also has lime-green hands (gloves), a lavender beehive hairdo, and shiny eye and lip makeup. She comes with a plant (a green stem with leaves) and a pink flamingo lawn ornament. The latter is a single piece, with a plastic leg pole and a hard rubber body. It would make a great accessory for the Disney Minifigures Alice to hold while playing croquet.

Jungle Explorer: This minifigure is based on the Johnny Thunder character from the old Adventurers theme, but with more intricate printing, a more recent style of wide-brimmed hat, and a fancier backpack molded in two colors. He holds a magnifying glass, through which he is studying a chameleon. This lizard is a new model, distinct from the chameleons from the Elves theme and Disney's Tangled sets, and somewhat more realistic-looking than either of those. It's a perfect mini for a lizard familiar.

Monkey King: The Monkey King is easily the most spectacular character in this series--as befits a supremely vain trickster spirit. His torso is printed with an elaborate red and gold jacket, and the arms are two-color molded to give him red sleeves with gold cuffs. He also wears wide red shoulder pads over a red cloth cape that forms two long, narrow tails. He has a monkey's tail and a headpiece that emphasizes his large ears and monkey-face hairline; a red plume fits into a hole in the wig. His head is two-sided, with one face sporting a toothy grin and the other looking more serious or determined. His weapon is a long, gold-capped staff. (My pack included an extra pole and lightsaber hilt, allowing for an even longer pole to be built.) This minifigure will be invaluable to anyone running an Asian-based fantasy campaign, as well as for anyone wishing to play a flamboyant vanara rogue, fighter, or monk. (I haven't bought multiples of the Monkey King--yet. He seems more fun as a single unique character rather than as a whole team of troublemakers. And if he needs minions, I already own a few Chima Gorilla Tribe minifigures.)

Mummy Queen: This mummy is wrapped in bandages, with a kilt, pectoral, and armbands. She wears a turquoise blue headdress with a printed jeweled band. Her head is two-sided: one side is a serene gold mask, the other an angry undead face. She comes with a standard scorpion in pearl-gold. This is quite a nice figure, with very detailed and extensive printing (including the arms and sides of the legs). Her torso is printed with the slight inward curves common to female minifigures' waists, and the gold mask has eyelashes and thin colored lips, but overall her gendering is more subtle than I would have expected from her title (and a far cry from the "girly pink" Lady Robot from Series 11!).

Programmer: This woman wears a black shirt covered with 1's and 0's ("LEGO" rendered in binary), gray pants, and a red flannel tied around her waist. The legs are molded in two colors, with printing that gives the illusion of the join being on a slant rather than a right angle; her short sleeves are also a two-color mold job. The programmer's head is double-sided, with one face smiling slightly and the other grinning openly; both wear large round glasses. Her hair is an interesting new piece, with many small braids tied up into a large, knobbly bun. (This hair would make a lovely, out-of-the-face style for a practical-minded adventurer.) She has two accessories: a laptop (now in white) and a small brick-built robot pet. The robot is built around an upside-down pistol-grip gun or tool, which promises to be a very versatile prop for SF games.

Shower Guy: This minifigure wears nothing but a shower cap and a cloth towel around his waist. Beneath the towel, the front of his hips and legs are printed with strategically placed bubbles--and the towel actually overlaps about 1 mm, avoiding the immodest gap that many past skirts and kilts suffered. The head is two-sided, with an huge grin on one side and a blushing, embarrassed face on the other. His accessories are a bath brush and a green rubber ducky. The duck is perfect for representing a tiny bird, and the man's bare chest will be useful for other characters found on the beach, in the tropics, or other comfortably warm places. If reversed to hide the duck print, the towel makes an excellent plain kilt or skirt.

Video Game Champ: This minifigure is a trove of callbacks to earlier LEGO themes and models. His jacket is covered in logos for LEGO Space, M-Tron, and Blacktron. (Perhaps the Galactic Bounty Hunter above is his in-game avatar?) His "Space Game" box depicts the Cyborg from Series 16, and the 1x1 "P|B" brick logo in the top corner reminds me of the LEGO Ideas Doctor Who logo. The gamer's green hair with black headset will be useful in SF games, while his double-sided head (with its tiny chin-beard and happy/annoyed faces) should be useful for characters in many genres.

Past Collectible Minifigures Reviews 

LEGO Minifigures Series 14: Monsters!
Series 15 Minifigures
Disney Minifigures
LEGO Minifigures Series 16
The LEGO Batman Movie Minifigures
The LEGO Ninjago Movie Minifigures
The LEGO Batman Movie Series 2
LEGO Minifigures Series 18: Party
LEGO Minifigures: Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts
The LEGO Movie 2 Minifigures
Disney Series 2 Minifigures