LEGO Minifigures Series 22

 

(See Tim's LEGO Reviews for my reviews of past LEGO Minifigures series.)

Series 22 of the collectible LEGO Minifigures line was released at the beginning of this year, and I finally managed to acquire several earlier this month. As with Series 21, this set only totals 12 characters, rather than the 16 that most older series tallied. I currently own 9 of the 12; the other three are marked with asterisks below, and my comments on them will be briefer. 

Bird Watcher: This avian enthusiast seems a bit unassuming at first, but she has four pieces cast in multiple colors of plastic: a teal hat with black ponytail; a torso with short-sleeved black shirt; legs with dark brown boots and light brown pants; and the toucan (which, as far as I can tell, is cast in three colors: black, white, and yellow!). Her two-sided head is fairly typically "girly" and the torso has the usual printed arcs to suggest a narrower waist, but the shirt notably lacks any bust definition. Ever since the introduction of corset-clad wenches in the original Pirates theme, the designs of far too many female minifigures have suffered from a weird sort of fixation on the details of their chests. This character's more gender-neutral clothing is a welcome change--and it has pockets! 

The other female-presenting characters in this series also avoid being oversexualized. The two costume fans and the much younger groom don't even have the waist-narrowing arcs printed on their torso. The Night Protector does, but she's clad in armor that, while ornate, offers sensible coverage.

*Chili Costume Fan: This woman may be sweating from the bulk of her costume or from eating some hot chili peppers (or both), but she has a carton of milk to help offset the latter problem. Like the Banana Suit Guy in Series 16, the main costume piece won't have many uses other than a costume or as the actual fruit represented, so it's not very useful for parts for RPG miniatures.

*Figure Skating Champion: This character has a glittery blue and purple costume, a poofy blonde 'do, figure skates, and a trophy. His outfit matches his female counterpart's (from way back in Series 4) but hers was much more interesting. 

Forest Elf: This is easily the most adorable character in this series. The elf comes with short posable legs and a double-sided child-like face, and wears an acorn cap, an oak leaf-shaped cloth cape, and a torso printed to suggest a veined leaf. The printed belt (and fanny pack, under the cape) are also decorated with minute oak leaves and an acorn buckle. A walking stick and a smiling mushroom friend complete the look. This figure has many great parts for a druid or ranger character, and the mushroom is perfect for a fungus leshy (a variety of tiny plant-folk available as both PCs and familiars in Pathfinder Second Edition). Mine came with an extra red cap, and a white 1x1 cylinder will serve as a body just as well as the white fez that comes with the elf.

Horse and Groom: The short legs and braces (printed on the more widely-smiling of her two faces) make it clear that this groom is meant to be a young girl. She wears clothes suitable for working--jeans, a green flannel jacket, and a knit cap, and has a carrot treat for her horse. The animal is clearly a young colt, because it only comes up to her nose. This horse's small size make it very well suited to use as the pony mount of a microfigure attached to the stud on its back (a Small rider on a Medium mount, in game terms). I will need to acquire a few more, for that alone!

Night Protector: This character's light blue skin, teal hair, and silver freckles mark her as obviously non-human. Her armor is mostly light gray (or silver), with white and purple details that continue onto the sides of her arms and legs; it also has dark pink gauntlets and a printed pink jewel on the breastplate. She bears a transparent purple sword and shield; the latter is emblazoned with a crescent moon, which also appears on her belt buckle and the back of her cuirass (though her long hair hides that one). 

The Protector's head and hair could be used for an elf, gnome, or fairy, an aquatic species like merfolk, or even a Starfinder android or alien. The armor is very nicely done, and despite the illusory waist and pink details, would work beautifully for a moon-themed character of any gender. (Mine came with an extra sword. A friend of mine traded his troubadour's spare coin [see below] for his son's spare sword.)

*Racoon Costume Fan: This character appears to use the same parts as the fox costume in Series 16--including the sack--but in new colors and a with a new print job on the mask. She comes with a standard City trash can, which should make her easier to find by feel than many others in this series. 

Robot Repair Tech: This humanoid robot's bright yellow chassis is covered in a variety of hazard symbols to warn others to keep their distance while it's working. Its head is covered with a mask like a welder's, with two cartoonish smiling eyes displayed in pixels on the front. Under the helmet is a gray head covered in printed circuitry, and a battery charge indicator on the neck that shows even when the helmet is on. Its facial features are unfortunately a bit too dorky for my taste; a less cartoonish smile would have made it perfect for a Starfinder android. 

The robot tech comes with three different attachments for its right arm: a drill, a hammer, and a robot claw. It also comes with a small, brick-built robot buddy; printing on this sidekick is limited to the  large eyes, on two separate 1x1 tiles. This tiny red robot would work nicely for a Starfinder drone, or for a small-sized SRO ("sentient robot organism," a playable construct race).

Snow Guardian: This whiskered warrior is dressed in white furs with a dark blue cap, belt, and boots. Both the legs and arms are molded in two colors, with additional printing to cover the join line with a more interesting pattern. (Trying to disguise the casting joins feels a little weird to me, but I suppose  this method reduces the amount of paint that could be worn off of single-colored parts with extended play.) The fur trim of the hat and collar are carefully modeled to almost entirely fill the gap between them in the back, and convey the frigid climate of the guardian's home even more effectively than the large snowflake printed on his shield. His longsword is (I believe) a new design, with a simple but elegant cross-guard and pommel, and a fuller along the blade. Finally, the husky is the same as the one used in Arctic-themed City sets a few years ago, but this one has a paler gray patch on its head and back and sports the breed's distinctive blue eyes.

Space Creature: This pink-skinned alien wears a purple spacesuit with the classic Space logo, but there are additional details printed on the shoulders and legs. He wears a backpack consisting of a transparent globe (a minifigure head) with a printed warning label. It's unclear whether this is a scientific specimen, a life support system, or a weapon, but the creature's ray gun is capped with a 1x1 plate in the same bilious green color. The alien's head is double-sided, with larger and smaller open mouths. It's topped by a rubber headpiece was previously used to give antennae to a bumblebee costume (Series 10) and Killer Moth (LEGO Batman Movie Minifigures Series 2) but here it has been repurposed to give the creature eyestalks. This alien would be perfect for an osharu, a humanoid slug race in Starfinder.

Troubadour: This jolly, singing fellow wears striped blue medieval garb, with a matching hat (which sports a plume in a new color for this part). He strums a lute, which is very nicely detailed, even to the tuning pegs cast on its head. This instrument has a pin on the back that can be held by a minifigure hand, but it looks just fine held across the body for strumming, as shown below. This minstrel has received a couple of gold coins (printed tiles) for his performance, and should come with an extra (for a total of 3 gp).

Wheelchair Racer: This athlete comes with a three-wheeled racing chair formed of a single body piece onto which the wheels snap. (It also comes with a 1x1 clear cylinder brick for mounting it onto the baseplate for display without rolling around.) He has a very determined looking face, with a short scruffy goatee. His arms are cast in two colors to give him short sleeves, one of which has a logo matching the one on his back. This individual is very fit, as evidenced by the muscle definition on his torso, and the medal around his neck. 

The LEGO Group released its first minifigure-scale wheelchair in 2016 (Set 60134 Fun in the Park), but this new model is available as an individual minifigure rather than as part of a large set. That's a much more affordable price point, making it easier for interested builders--with and without disabilities--to acquire. A number of wheelchair-using characters have appeared in various RPGs in recent years, and this kind of representation matters, in both toys and games, as well as other entertainment media.