Award #9 – Custom minifigure of the year

Today we do our first new award for 2016 – and this one covers custom minifigures. These are 3rd parties who use official LEGO elements but create their own minifigures. Some of these companies are better than LEGO themselves and some of the custom minifigures coming out are usually on par with LEGO.  You do get really rubbish ones from some but in the UK we are blessed with some of the best. Neither Keith nor Luc voted for this award so I called in minifigure fan and former site contributor Chris Adams to be guest judge for this award. Here is what the panel picked.

Adam –  Kaylee Frye from Firefly by Minifigs.me

 Kaylee always looks on the bright side of things aboard the Serenity and Minifigs.me have managed to capture this perfectly. You can see the twinkle in her eye.

Chris – Mr.Bean by Minifigures.com

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I think last year was a better year for customs than this year and as such, I’ve struggled to really find something that I think is better than everything else this year. However, there was never any doubt in my mind about which company would produce the best custom minifigure of the year; minifigures.com. I have seen first-hand the quality of their printing and made comparisons to other products in the same market. I find their work truly exceptional and after looking around at this year’s customs from all companies, I was proven correct. I was very drawn to the Collateral Carl (reviewed by Rich back in November) because of the exceptional printing and detail. Also the idea of a fully reversible minifigure is unique and I commend them for trying it out.

After careful consideration though, I don’t think this is for me because I can’t get past the fact that when looked at from the back, you see a front. The face can even be seen peeking out from underneath the helmet. So with Carl out of contention, it leaves only one contender and that is Mr Bean. Whilst I’m not a fan of the character I can appreciate it for the amazing printing and likeness. The printing on the arms, torso and face is all top-rate and at a glance, you can tell straight away that this is Mr Bean. The tweed jacket has been reproduced in painstaking detail and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen such fine detail in such quantity on an official minifigure. Special mention goes to the white shirt, which is beautifully bright. Again, I’ve never seen this colour clarity on an official minifigure when white is printed onto another colour; there is usually bleed through. So for me, Mr Bean is top of the pile for 2015 (I’m now imagining him falling off that pile, accompanied by canned laughter).

Séb –  Jack the Pumpkin King from Minifigures.com

What an amazing looking figure. It should absolutely be made into an official LEGO minifig (with a set to go with it please!). This one stood out to me when I first saw it and even now compared to many of the others over the last year remains my favourite. I just need to get hold of one to use in a future stop motion film.

Richard – Mr. Bean from Minifigures.com

What a tough choice this year. I have the casting vote again and all 3 are amazing customs. Some others I had on my fave list includes Collateral Carl, my own Mohican Runner minifigure, Citizen Brick’s Pity Enthusiast aka Mr.Tea. However I had to select a winner from the above three and it was a pick I knew I would find easy and that is Mr. Bean, one of the best custom minifigures ever IMO. The tweed jacket and unshaven look printing is just outstanding.

This year’s custom minifigure of the year – Mr. Bean from Minifigures.com

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Author Profile

Rich
Founder of Brick Fanatics. I'm Richard Hayes a 34 year old runner based in Sheffield. However I'm better known as the Mohican Runner due to my very distinctive hair style. I've gone from 20st to a runner, I've raised over £1.3 million for charity by doing various running challenges.

I'm supported by Absolute360,SockMine and Tribesports.

Currently I have a 17:20 5k PB, 36:02 10k PB, 81:11 HM PB & 3:08:24 for the marathon.

You can find me on my blog http://mohicanrunner.co.uk

Rich

Founder of Brick Fanatics. I'm Richard Hayes a 34 year old runner based in Sheffield. However I'm better known as the Mohican Runner due to my very distinctive hair style. I've gone from 20st to a runner, I've raised over £1.3 million for charity by doing various running challenges. I'm supported by Absolute360,SockMine and Tribesports. Currently I have a 17:20 5k PB, 36:02 10k PB, 81:11 HM PB & 3:08:24 for the marathon. You can find me on my blog http://mohicanrunner.co.uk

10 thoughts on “Award #9 – Custom minifigure of the year

  • 09/12/2015 at 16:27
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    I’d like to thank my Mum….

    Don’t worry I don’t have a speech but I would like to say: Wow, this is awesome beyond belief. The custom minifigure market is now awash with companies and ‘one man (or woman) and a printer’ set-ups producing some stunning figures. So to have three of our figures nominated and for one of those to actually win, is awesome!

    Great excuse to buy a cake to celebrate!

    Reply
    • 09/12/2015 at 19:24
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      Haha well your minifigures do have a nice quality to them compared to lots out there, keep up the good work! I’m very tempted by your Freddy mercury one next!

      Reply
  • 09/12/2015 at 15:57
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    I would love an official Bean Ideas set. Great choice for the award.

    Reply
  • 09/12/2015 at 13:26
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    Mr Bean is a great minifigure but they really missed a trick not adding his teddy, still it’s easy enough to get one anyway (which I have done) to complete the look 🙂

    Reply
      • 09/12/2015 at 14:41
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        Takes me back to my childhood. would love to see his mini built, perhaps I should try my first moc!

        Reply
    • 09/12/2015 at 16:20
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      We wanted to, but they are actually very difficult to get a hold of and we wanted to make sure this figure was within the ‘pocket money’ bracket. Mr Bean is our top seller in Hong Kong and China, so it’s great to see him win this!

      Reply
  • 09/12/2015 at 12:53
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    2015 has been a fantastic year for Super Heroes custom minifigures with some of the limited edition ones selling for over £100. I guess none of the judges looked at http://www.minifigures.co.uk before making a nomination 😛

    Reply
    • 09/12/2015 at 13:49
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      Two things one I have to pick a winner from the other judges if its a 3 way split like this was so my hands were tied and two I’m not a fan of custom super heros. I prefer customs of minifigures we are highly unlikely to see see made by LEGO. So yes I agree where were some good ones but I think the LEGO ones are better and I’ve only collecting those. 😉

      Reply

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