LEGO Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History

When it comes to LEGO books showcasing minifigures, DK has made many books showcasing LEGO minifigures from a series, to showing various types of LEGO minifigures made. But in 2013, DK released a book that many fans have been waiting for and that is a visual history of LEGO, year by year. It’s important to note that with the number of releases LEGO has each year, in terms of minifigures included in many types of sets, that not all minifigures are going to show up. Also, because the book was released in 2013, the years covered in the book are from 1978 through 2013. And also, DK is know for including LEGO Minifigures, you get three with this book, with the townsperson, Stormtrooper and a robber. It’s also important to note that if you buy this NEW, to make sure you buy it from a reputable store and if buying USED, to know that you may get a version of the book which does not come with the minifigures. The book kicks off with how the minifigures were brought to life and a lot of factoids that went into the creation of the first LEGO minifigure and the precursor to it, such as the LEGO Family. Also, by separating of what is a minifigure and what is not a LEGO minifigure (such as the LEGO skeleton, the LEGO Star Wars Battle Droid and the LEGO Friends mini doll). The book also goes into how LEGO minifigures are made and the brainstorming sessions at the LEGO offices in Billund, Denmark. The book features a timeline to show how LEGO minifigures have evolved throughout the years and then going into a visual breakdown of LEGO’s year-by-year. For me, I absolutely love this book for the fact it showcases the various types of LEGO minifigures produced with small factoids printed next to the figure. The book does go into various LEGO series released that year, such as LEGO TOWN, LEGO STAR WARS, LEGO HARRY POTTER, LEGO CYCLE TEAM, LEGO SPIDER-MAN, LEGO DC UNIVERSE, LEGO LEGENDS OF CHIMA , LEGO minifigures (the ones included in mystery bags) and more. The book points out the variants available and those that came with DK books. Overall, for those who are looking for a really good visual history of LEGO minifigures, this is the best book to buy! Recommended!

I’m too old to have had modern LEGO bricks as a boy and for some reason, my son never became a LEGO user. But my grandson took to them like a duck to water and, in turn, he introduced me to the charms of LEGO bricks. But I really fell for LEGO minifigure or minifigs. By definition, a LEGO minifigure is “a small, posable figure of a person or being”. Most have rotating arms, legs, hands and heads. More than 2,000 minifigures have been released by LEGO since 1974. This book proclaims itself a year-by-year “visual history” of LEGO minifigures from 1974 through 2013. In my eyes, LEGO minifigs are tiny works of art, classics of minimalist design where a few deft strokes of pen and brush depict an amazingly broad range of facial expressions and pellets of strene are formed into hats, crowns, weapons, lunchboxes, hairpieces, capes and so much more. With their movable arms, legs and heads, they are natural models for stop-motion video productions. Visit YouTube and you’ll find hundreds, some of them extremely complex. While I am sure my grandson will thoroughly enjoying this encyclopedia – when I make it available to him – I am selfishly enjoying my tour through the history of minifigs. The printing is first-rate (though the binding is very fragile and probably will quickly split) and the photography of each minifig is sharp. Photographs are big enough to see all the minifig details and the layout is kept spare to allow for an excellent presentation. The first 15 pages of the book provide a pretty thorough history of how minifigs came to be and how they are made. Each minifig gets a block of text, with many call-outs to special or one-of-a-kind features, along with historical notes. For LEGO obsessed kids – and adults – this is a great visual reference. Just be careful in handling it – the binding is awful. And, by the way, three minifigs are detachable from the front cover of the book! Jerry

As a Adult Fan of Lego, I've been waiting for a book like this for a very long time. A truly must-have for any minifig collector. I've had the book since yesterday and I literally have not put it down. The book is jam packed with 255 pages of beautiful pictures of minifigures and the short explanations for each of them. The minifig is the star of this book, and rightfully so. It starts with a brief history of the minifigure and how they are made. Then the book quickly switches to a timeline sort of structure for the rest of the book going by decades and years. This creates a incredible journey for the reader as you witness the progression and subtle advances of the Lego Minifigure. Now, if you're looking for a checklist of every minifig ever created, this is not the book. It does however highlight almost every genre ever created. From the classic Lego Space and Castle sets in the 70's, to today's modern and popular Chima and Star Wars lines. The features some of the most common minifigs, but also does a great job spotlighting some of the most rare figures. It also does a great job in pointing out slight differences between similar looking figs. Collecting minifigs and playing with them has always been fun. This book highlights this by being informative, funny, and very addictive. It has already helped me put back together some of the mismatched minifigs I've had for years, but it has also made me want to add more to my already sizable collection. Therein lies the only problem with this book, the hunt for more is on. Did I mention the book comes with a Storm Trooper, a Robber, and a Towns Person?

My two children and I are all huge fans of Lego. We've owned and enjoyed many other DK Lego edition books, so I knew this was a must-buy item. Sure enough, it's fantastic! From pictures of minifigures - thousands and thousands of them - to details about their history and evolution, this volume has it all! This book is 250 pages long, and covers minifigures year by year from their birth in 1978 right up to present-day 2013. The first 15 years get just two pages each, but those were the days when minifigures were vastly less varied, and even two pages is enough to show a nice sampling of figures from the original classic themes of Castle, Town, Space, and Pirates. As years go by and new themes are introduced, the book adds pages to cover them, expanding from four to six pages per year through the mid-90's to eight or ten pages per year in the minifigure-laden 2000's. Every theme gets a thorough treatment, and every aspect of the minifigure - from hair to legs - is thoroughly explored. It's truly amazing to see how basic the early figures were compared to the varied, specialized minifigs of today! My kids and I have spent hours with this book already, and I'm sure it will be treasured for years to come. The only negative is that we've found so many wonderful minifigures that we don't yet have! Overall, definitely recommended for Lego fans everywhere!

My son (4) received this for Christmas. He just pores over it, studying all the faces and learning all the characters. We like seeing some of the old figures that were around when we were little. The only reason why I didn’t give it 5 stars is that I wish it was a little bit broader in scope. A ton of Star Wars, adventurer, and city themes are explored, along with a fair amount of castle, Harry Potter, and Ninjago. And a decent amount of superheroes. But the book picks the same themes and shows how they have changed through the years. Would love to see more variety. My son loves Scooby Doo, but there aren’t any of those figures shown. Some duplos are shown, but very very few characters, no Disney characters at all. It’s still an excellent book but it starts to feel repetitive after a while.

I bought this Lego book for my son who is a lover of Lego and of mini figures. I've purchased many of the Lego books for him over the years. I think he gets at least one new one every year. I am super excited for him to open this on Christmas. I love the special mini figures included on the cover. I don't know if they are specific to this book or not, but I love the idea and the added touch. I just briefly paged through the pages and there are so many mini-figures. As with all other books it's the same nice thick heavy hardcover and thick beautifully colored pages. This is a steal for the price!This is a MUST HAVE for your Lego kids and adults. It's a mini figure Bible that covers past and present. This is especially exciting for those that have a love for the Lego sets that were in production long ago and no longer available, or only for excessive amounts of money.

This is probably one the Coolest books I own!! I've been a Lego fan ever since i can remember playing with them. When I came across this book i was immediately intrigued! The mini-figures were my favorite part about Legos, each with their own distinct features and backgrounds i knew I had to have this book! This book dates Lego mini-figures back to 1974 and timelines them out to 2013! Showing over 2,000 pictures of mini-figures from the oldest, rarest, and most unique its really quite amazing to be able to see the history, the making, and hard work that goes into making these little guys and gals! You get to explore themed sets that these mini figures came in, and well as model numbers that correlates to which sub set they came in! This book is great for any fan, new or old to Legos! If the book wasn't enough for you, you also get 3 iconic mini-figures with the book to add to your Lego Collection!

This book was a gift for my 8 year old son. He absolutely loves it. It's fun to look through and see how Lego Mini figures have changed since I was a kid. It is a high quality book with great pictures and interesting information about Mini Figures. Not only that, it comes with 3 mini figures as well. As can probably be inferred from the title, the book goes through year by year showing the mini figures that came out in that time period. It has pictures and descriptions. The beginning also has information on how Mini figures are made. It's a fun book and worth the price.

muy bonito y con mucha informacion para los amantes de los lego...

Non intendo svelarvi quante centinaia di euro ho dovuto spendere per mio figlio in set Lego prima di rendermi conto che in realtà quello che davvero desiderava non era il modellino da costruire, ma le minifigure incluse!!!! Inutile dire che quando abbiamo scoperto questo volume in una fiera è stato faticosissimo convincerlo a lasciarlo li' e ordinarlo su Amazon ad un prezzo decisamente più onesto!! Ma per fortuna è arrivato subito, è bellissimo, pieno di dettagli e anche di storia (ci sono anche i lego dell'infanzia dei genitori <3 )... e non solo, porta in omaggio due adorabili minifigure!! p.s. il libro è in inglese, ma è prevalentemente fotografico. Ho dovuto tradurre un paio di didascalie, ma per il resto il mio bimbo, che ha solo dieci anni, non è rimasto minimamente infastidito dal testo in lingua straniera. Anzi, trovo sia un'ottima occasione per abituarli ad utlizzare il poco inglese che fanno a scuola ;-)

super Heft, günstiger Preis, tolle Figuren.

Bought it as a Christmas gift for my 5 years old to encourage him to read more. He and I read together and enjoy the book and the minifigure. It is a great gift for kids.

Informative and certainly for Lego fans. My son loved it!!