The anatomy of a Ladyfig

 

  • The anatomy of a Ladyfig

    Posted by Huw, 29 Dec 2011 12:44. Filed under Miscellaneous.

    Threepio and Andrea Threepio and, er, Andrea...I managed to find a Friends set today, the Cafe, and thought I'd let 3PO show you how the ladyfigs fit together...

    I've asked a guest FAFOL to write a review of the set, so stay tuned if you want to find out what they are really like, after all the hype and backlash.


    70 comments, latest one posted 17 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 29 Dec 2011 12:56

Great, the ladyfig "head stalk" fits in a minifig hand... >_< :P BTW, Huw, you mispelled "AFOL". :P

Posted by ncbarrett in United States, 29 Dec 2011 13:00

wow, that is somewhat disturbing.

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 29 Dec 2011 13:01

Huw, why don't you try putting a standard minifig head on a ladyfig? :) :P Think of the laughs. XD

Posted by georgebjones in United States, 29 Dec 2011 13:03

Hahah, @Huw, the pose in the picture on the right is absolutely perfect! I am still impatiently waiting until Jan 1 so I can get these.

Posted by refriedbeans in United States, 29 Dec 2011 13:05

I pretty sure he meant to put Female adult fan of Lego.

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 29 Dec 2011 13:07

@refriedbeans: Oh, um, yeah... :P

Posted by poomkin in United States, 29 Dec 2011 13:17

It looks like there could be a future for Space Balls LEGO sets.

Posted by Spider-Sam in United Kingdom, 29 Dec 2011 13:21

The correct name for these new FRIENDS figures is "Minidoll"

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 29 Dec 2011 13:22

Hahahaha.....that was a good laugh there! :P

@poomkin, Genius! I love that movie! XD

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 29 Dec 2011 13:30

@Spider-Sam: Correct. :P The LEGO press release calls them "mini-dolls". :P

Posted by 22896mbw in United States, 29 Dec 2011 13:45

The hair looks like a Baroque wig. O.o

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 29 Dec 2011 13:49

@22896mbw: It reminds me of Brian May's hair... :P

Posted by icepick in United States, 29 Dec 2011 14:03

What is UP with all that hype/backlash... people are so weird. Guess it's all just knee jerk.

Posted by yellowcastle in United States, 29 Dec 2011 14:56

I'm guessing @Huw had just watched Aliens again prior to taking the photo on the right...

Posted by Jay Kenobi ZX in United States, 29 Dec 2011 15:21

Some people just have too much fun with LEGOs, which is totally a good thing since I do it, too.....

Posted by Bobszaar in United States, 29 Dec 2011 15:27

FAFOL?

Posted by Paco the Duck Ninja in United States, 29 Dec 2011 15:58

Female Adult Fan of Lego.

Posted by Gregorovich in United Kingdom, 29 Dec 2011 16:02

@Bobszaar: FAFOL = Female Adult Fan Of Lego.

I'm really looking forward to this review, as the Cafe set is my favourite of the bunch. All these sets interest me, though as they have great parts and the models look good. The new Mini Dolls actually look very nice IMO, and the interchangeable hairstyles are lovely.

Thanks for the pictures, I just love that C-3P0 one!

Posted by Plasmodium in United Kingdom, 29 Dec 2011 16:29

Yeah...C-3P0 would make a perfect murderer/disembodier...that blank expressionless face! It gives me shudders to think about it.
I'm still wondering whether these Friends sets will catch on. Lego made Belville last a while, but it was still way past it's sell-by, so to speak.

Posted by jmupton2000 in United Kingdom, 29 Dec 2011 16:42

I've bought the Cafe set today as well. It is going to be receiving some mods for City use. Needs a roof for a starter... The printed slope cash register and some of the utensils are very nice, would like a few more of the cash register if they become available.

Posted by Bobszaar in United States, 29 Dec 2011 16:46

@Gregorovich and @Paco the Duck Ninja- Oh, duh! I'm just being stupid and thoughtless, like regular. Thanks though, and epic names (off conversation again, thoughtless, usual me...).

Posted by KillDeer in Canada, 29 Dec 2011 17:14

Requesting a picture of C3PO with the hair in the same position without the minidoll parts.

Posted by Leela in Poland, 29 Dec 2011 17:17

They're minidolls, not ladyfigs... There are male characters too and I'm sure they wouldn't like to be called LADYfigs ;) Remember, Ken is a doll after all :)
FAFOL? There's so much talk how LEGO separates girls creating a special line and special figs for them, now you separate female AFOLs... as if AFOL only means guys. FAFOL sounds terrible >.< I've never heard of MAFOL...

Posted by LegoMyMamma in United States, 29 Dec 2011 17:25

Some of us use AFFOL (Adult Female Fans of LEGO) which is more similar to AFOL ;-)

Thanks for this post Huw -- can't wait for her review! Hopefully building the set takes more than 4 minutes - LOL

Posted by Nate the Great of LEGO in United States, 29 Dec 2011 17:29

C3PO looks good with hair! Lol.

Posted by Zordboy in Australia, 29 Dec 2011 18:19

I'm looking forward to giving the hair pieces to some of my normal-sized minifigs, but that's really about it.

Posted by Orthobotrex in Philippines, 29 Dec 2011 18:37

Will there be a LEGO bashing with pictures to boot?

Regarding the FAFOL thing, I personally think it helps to distinguish the gender as I have many times addressed a lot of maams as Sirs especially if they don't use their actual pics or if the names aren't distinct enough.

Posted by Duq in Ireland, 29 Dec 2011 19:36

I picked up Olivias inventors workshop on Christmas eve. Review: http://www.brickset.com/reviews/?ID=42264

Posted by EarthlingJJ in United States, 29 Dec 2011 19:37

The new 'mini-dolls' remind me of the Doctor Who 'character building' figs...

Posted by xccj in United States, 29 Dec 2011 21:22

Its a shame that the actual female heads won't fit on standard minifigs. Still, these were some funny picts.

Posted by AETerry in United States, 29 Dec 2011 22:01

That is a bit funny looking.

I'm still going to wait and see what my daughter says when she sees them. I'll know then if I'm getting her some of the sets.

Posted by jackmcar99 in United States, 29 Dec 2011 22:16

I'm mostly excited for the hair blow dryer, and the 3 new FLOWER molds (ROSE, HAWIAN flower as i like to call it, and the 7 PEDAL SUN FLOWER) finally a more detailed yard/garden for MOCS!! :D and i think they all fit on the 3 prong stem :D:D:D

Posted by romdam in United States, 29 Dec 2011 23:57

These will never be part of my minifigure collection, I can say that for sure.

Posted by ambrose in Australia, 30 Dec 2011 00:21

ha ha C-3PO took her APART!!!!!!

Posted by grandbuilder2001 in United Kingdom, 30 Dec 2011 02:06

@Alemas: I think Huw was trying to say 'Female Adult fan of lego'.

Posted by dehnehsu in United States, 30 Dec 2011 02:27

Alemas, I agree the big hair would be perfect for a Brian May (circa 1980) minifig.

Posted by Dlakii in Australia, 30 Dec 2011 02:41

I'm honestly not sure what I think about the different means of connection for minidoll heads - while uniformity would be nice, given that the minidoll heads don't work on minifig bodies and vice versa I guess it doesn't matter. I'm tempted to think that the minidoll size socket would have quite a few potential uses, but obviously the same applies to current minifig ones.

...I really have no idea what I'm trying to get at here. :?

Posted by TinyHippo in United Kingdom, 30 Dec 2011 06:24

Honestly, I picked up some of these sets yesterday and my girlfriend and I love them a little bit too much. The builds are quick but very clever. And things like a brick-built sandwich are just too cute. Contemplating how much strain my wallet can take.

Posted by Nate the Great of LEGO in United States, 30 Dec 2011 08:56

I spied Lego Friends at Walmart yesterday. Not all have them, though.

Posted by meccanotwitch in United Kingdom, 30 Dec 2011 09:01

I picked up the Cafe set for me and my grandaugter to build. We both loved it and there are lots of bricks in bright pinks etc. There seems to be a lot of parts in different colours to what were used to. The only down side is the price of £29.99, in my view it should be £20-£25.

Posted by Jay Kenobi ZX in United States, 30 Dec 2011 11:17

I was just looking at the Friends sets in the January 2012 catalog and I'm officially freaked out now. I think the theme is ok in some ways; I know some girls hate this stuff and think that LEGO is segregating them in a way, and I know girls who play with themes like Star Wars and such. But you have to remember, there are such things as girly girls out there (no offense girly girls).

Posted by Jay Kenobi ZX in United States, 30 Dec 2011 11:18

Hey, she can't be hurt too badly by Threepio's actions; look, she's still smiling...

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 30 Dec 2011 11:47

If girly girls want to play with dolls, get them a Barbie. If they want to play with Legos, get them Legos. Does this not make sense for LEGO? Do they think they must segregate girls in order for them to enjoy Lego? They shouldn't! My sister loved even the most arguably boy-ish themes LEGO had to offer, and she played with dolls too.

All things aside, here are my pros and cons of LEGO Friends:

Pros:
-Clever set elements (grill, pool, new accessories, etc.)

Cons:
-Sets like the one girl's house is completely decked out in girly things, ON THE OUTSIDE! And her dad is there too!
-Mini-Dolls

There's my two cents. Thanks for reading.

Posted by The Reviewer in United States, 30 Dec 2011 12:31

I don't care about the friends theme, But I do hate the new 2012 C-3po. I get tired of Lego changing the printing and they just made changed him from pearl gold to more of a dark gold and that was the best version. So why does lego have to make their minifigs look childish. P.S who knew C-3po would become a Killer and tear apart a mini-doll!

Posted by Jay Kenobi ZX in United States, 30 Dec 2011 13:23

@The Reviewer I could have guessed ;p

Posted by Seagull in United States, 30 Dec 2011 16:56

I really think people are overreacting about this theme. It's no different from companies like Hasbro and Mattel!
@Huw: Love the picture to the right!

Posted by schvatts in United States, 30 Dec 2011 22:37

So the only thoguht I had was that this theme is not licnesed so why the flesh tones? I thought the whole idea behind yellow figures was to be universal as a race. The next thought I had was will we see normal no license sets become flesh tones. I for one would like it, not because I like fleshies all that much, but it is far better to have some uniformity in the Lego world then the current mix-mash of figures we get now.

Posted by beth2112 in United States, 31 Dec 2011 00:08

Why can't I be an AFOL? Why do I need to be a FAFOL?!?

Posted by giraffefreckles in United States, 31 Dec 2011 00:37

To be efficient, there are a heck of more male AFOLs than female AFOLs, so it's just easier to call the few females FAFOLs. To be fair, AFOLs would no longer be allowed. Must have F or M in front -- just like scantron surveys. (Heh. Heh. Age me!) To be equal, just AFOLs, darn it! (I mean, where would it end otherwise? Think of all the blonde AFOL jokes!)

Also, I think AFFOL sounds AWFUL. At least if we're all AFOL, we can be AFOL together. (Thank you, thank you. Leaving before the hook yanks me off the stage.)

Posted by namekuji in New Zealand, 31 Dec 2011 00:40

^^Beth, you can be anything you want, a FAFOL a MAFOL a BAFOL or even just an Apple. Just enjoy your Lego, its for everyone (even LAFOLs).

Posted by giraffefreckles in United States, 31 Dec 2011 00:42

My head is spinning. :D

Posted by beth2112 in United States, 31 Dec 2011 01:20

^My head would spin too, but my newly shaped head and pointed chin make it more difficult ;)

Posted by GuardianofAtlantis in United States, 31 Dec 2011 03:23

why cant they just use regular minifgis for the girl themes i have two sisters and they both like the minifigs a lot more!!

Posted by Gregorovich in United Kingdom, 31 Dec 2011 07:47

Argos Hamilton have a large Friends stand. I was in a rush, so I just saw the stand through the window, I'm not sure what sets they had. I'll try to get there when I have time.

I both agree and disagree about the FAFOL thing. It does help distinguish the ladies from the gentlemen. However, I think if your going to have the F, you may as well put the M for male fans. It makes it seem as though AFOL's can only be male!

I don't understand all this controversy. LEGO have been researching what girls like and dislike about their products for years, and this is what they asked for. Girls that like the regular themes can still build those, no one's stopping them! This theme is for the girls that don't like City or Star Wars, and actually want more 'girly' toys.

I personally really like this theme. The models look good, there's lots of new parts, and the Minidolls actually look very nice. I hope it does well, and that we'll get more sets from it.

Posted by LegoMyMamma in United States, 31 Dec 2011 08:53

To: "giraffefreckles" LOL - I am awfully sorry ;-) I will now use just AFOL on my profile.

It's good that you mention males outnumbering females as LEGO fans, because, that's exactly why Friends was created -- to get some girls to build with LEGO at a young age. Primarily the theme is geared to girls who may not currently own LEGO sets. This gives them an option of having mini-dolls similar to MiniFigs, while also being similar to their favorite dolls -- such as American Girls, Polly Pocket, etc.

Maybe someday the gender ratio gap will lessen ;-)

In the meantime, new elements & colors are just an added bonus to the rest of the FOL community :-)

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 31 Dec 2011 09:32

@namekuji, I'm an apple. I was named after one. XD

But I'm just a TFOL, and for those who care, a MTFOL. :P

Posted by ejcmoorhouse in United Kingdom, 31 Dec 2011 12:29

Now, I think Lego could sell these sets to a wider market of Lego fans if they used the minifigs we know and love I mean I'm sure Lego minifig knows that finding a woman is close to impossable let alone finding the right one, lack of female minifigs!!?!

Posted by giraffefreckles in United States, 31 Dec 2011 12:59

@legomymamma & @gregorovich. I'm glad most people understand the nuances of the topic. :) I think The LEGO Group has done themselves a disservice over the years by, say, providing only a few female minifigure options in a Build-A-Minifigure display. Imagine 1 female head amongst 1,000 male heads! (Seriously true! The one female head already had the one female torso someone else before me found.) I wonder if they could have saved themselves some Friends advertising and focus group dollars by just providing more female heads, darn it. Since they're in this for profits, there must be some method to their previous madness. (Also, granted, I live near Silicon Valley where budding engineers - female and male - cavort galore. If my experience with female heads is unique, I'd like to know. Small sample size, you know.)

@Jonbuddy. You and @Alemas are thoughtful TFOLs. I enjoy reading both your posts. :)

Anyway, this thread is about the anatomy of a Minidoll. I'm very glad the hairpieces are interchangeable. I'll just cannibalize those for my minifigs and repopulate Friendstown!

Posted by itsaturkey in United States, 31 Dec 2011 14:19

Before I give my ten cents, I will just clarify. I am a MTFOCL. Male Teen Fan Of Creator Lego's :P
I personally commend Lego on their attempt to make the Friends figures somewhat compatible iwth Lego's. If you notice, Lego has been shaping their girl themes to more Lego. Belville really was Dolls. These are Lego style mini dolls. If this theme crashes and burns, I have a feeling in two years there will be another 'girl' theme with actual minifigs. Also these sets introduce a arsenal of new pieces, and are reasonably priced. One question, are the figs 'Chinese' plastic?
P.S. I was browsing 2012 sets, and their was a Phineas and Ferb Lego game. What has Lego come to?

Posted by Odeinoichus in Canada, 31 Dec 2011 15:13

If they want to bring in more girls why not try re-releasing Paradisa? That stuff was either selling out like crazy back in the 90's or had the worst distribution this side of end line Transformers from Hasbro.

I don't know what to make of this new Friends line (where's Joey?), but I do know that it does look a bit... Well I hate to say Desperate, but it certainly looks like LEGO might be trying too hard to be something it's not. Remember those god awful Galidor figures? And look how great those Ben 10 Aliens were?

I'm a MAFOL who enjoys a few girly themed sets in his collection for varieties sake, but I have always found more enjoyment out of LEGO when you get to build something and then imagine it's something else. I had worlds of fun with my old Pirate sets and stuff, and I really, really wanted those Paradisa sets when they were first announced, but never found them at retail.

Still, I'm not sure if this will attract the demographic they're looking for, especially when they have to compete with Mattel's Barbie, whoever owns Littlest Pet Shop and Polly Pocket, and the most powerful toyline of them all. Hasbro's My Little Pony.

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 31 Dec 2011 16:28

@giraffefreckles, Wow. That was really nice of you! :)

@Odeinoichus, I just thought of that the other day when I noticed Paradisa as a popular search. If I was a girl, I'd want them! XD

Posted by giraffefreckles in United States, 31 Dec 2011 19:57

MTFOCL! ROFL!

I'd totally buy a new version of Paradisa, the complete set - and I never do that.

Posted by The Reviewer in United States, 31 Dec 2011 20:44

I really only buy licensed themes Lego makes, I don't care about this whole Friends theme. But I am a MTFOL so let's put that in to perspective. @ Itsaturkey What do you mean you don't have the heart to get the death star?

Posted by itsaturkey in United States, 31 Dec 2011 22:10

The Reviewer: I couldn't really comprehend spending 400 dollars on a Lego set (Even if I had the money :P) also because I feel that if I did get it, I would have an obligation to not really get another Lego set for a while. Also if I did ask for it for Christmas, I certainly wouldn't get anything else for Christmas or my Birthday. Hopefully it might go down a little before it gets pulled (Which is going to be soon I gather)

Posted by thebearcollector in United States, 31 Dec 2011 23:56

well i hate to confess it but i am a gfol (Gay Fan of Lego) but I have not problems with the friends line, It looks like theres some good parts in it. So Im not going to buy it though im just going to stick with Star Wars and city/town this year.

Posted by giraffefreckles in United States, 01 Jan 2012 00:34

@itsaturkey. Good perspective on the possible path from Belville to Friends to regular minifigs (Paradisa Part2.)

Posted by WolfboyTheMasterofTheSword in United States, 01 Jan 2012 00:53

The friends murders coming 2012...

Posted by itsaturkey in United States, 01 Jan 2012 02:24

Giraffefreckles: Thanks! :) I too agree that Lego should try Paradiso part 2, it'd be much more widely accepted.

Posted by The Reviewer in United States, 01 Jan 2012 14:48

My 14 year old sister hates the new Friends theme and thinks they are gross looking. But She does love Creator sets. P.S @Itsaturkey Don't feel too bad since you have the Cloud City set which in my opinion is better than the Death Star since it goes for $700! which stinks because I want it soooooooo badly! (hopefuly someday I will get it)

Posted by Margot in United States, 01 Jan 2012 15:19

Went to check out the new friends sets today (up at walmart but not up yet at Target-US) and my 6 year old son was delighted by them. We bought a couple of sets but he made me carry them. :-) Personally as a FAFOL I can't stand the girly girliness of these sets. Does everything to do with girls have to be pink and purple?

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