kids-toy

Back in 1978 in the designers Lego the first minifigures with favorite yellow emojis were introduced. Over the years, the faces of the «brick» characters began to be complemented by different expressions, but until 2003, these little men did not reflect realistic skin tones.

Moreover, when such minifigures did appear, they were characters based on the images of real people, such as TV or movie actors, athletes and others. In most mass designers, the skin of the heroes still remained yellow.

These days, when the total number of buildable minifigure toys released Lego has already exceeded 5 billion, miniature figures with different skin tones are increasingly found in the composition of the sets. Last year, the Danish company released two new skin tones (in more expensive and limited IP sets), and this year they have started offering customizable minifigures. Buyers, in addition to the usual selection of additional hairpieces and clothing, could also choose heads with a variety of hairstyles, different skin tones and facial expressions.

In priority — female images

But a variety of skin tones is far from the only direction that the creators of Lego minifigures are working on today. Serious promotion is carried out in the representation of female characters in prefabricated toys. Although men and women appeared in the sets at the same time, however, in practice, in the vast majority of designers, representatives of the strong half of humanity become the main characters. Therefore, the Danes are working on increasing female characters.

Two successful projects have made a significant contribution to this business. LEGO Ideas: 21110 Research Institute featuring three female scientists, and 21312 NASA Women featuring four real women (with realistic skin tones).

The set contains both old and young.

Minifigures become more diverse in terms of realistic reflection of characters of different ages. In 2002, «brick» figurines with shortened legs appeared, which made it possible to more realistically depict children in family prefabricated sets. And in 2018, a Danish company released the first minifigure sets with medium leg sizes for kids and teens.

As for the image of grandparents, white or gray hair, wrinkles on the face and glasses have long been used in sets for this. Since 2013, a bald head has been added to reflect the mature age of the character.

Surprisingly, but true: until 2016, there were no infants in the Lego constructors. Now adorable baby dolls have perfectly complemented the line of miniature figurines.

Minifigures of people with disabilities

A certain variety of characters in the sets of the Dast brand is also shown in the minifigures presented recently, showing people with different physical abilities. First of all, the disabled.

Previously, only the classic pirate captain with his piebald leg and hook arm appeared in sets. But since 2016, things have changed drastically. First a wheelchair was introduced, then a minifigure with a hearing aid, then a blind man with a guide dog, and this year a minifigure with a blade leg and a racing wheelchair.

Interestingly, some versions of figurines with different physical abilities are also displayed in amusement parks. Legoland.

Summing up the above, it should be noted that the Danish company Lego is trying to make the minifigures in the sets more realistic. And in many ways, the designers of the brand are good at it.