Random minifig of the day: cty0812

@TheOtherMike said:
"She's cute. Shame her life vest slashed her neck open.

@Maxbricks14 said:
"I've got this minifig.

That's my least favourite minifigure accessory, the new life-jacket piece is so much better."

I'm fond of the old one ( https://brickset.com/parts/design-2610 ), but I freely admit that that's for nostalgia reasons."

Oh yeah, that one is also much better than this, and I too have a preference for that older one.

@TheOtherMike said:
"I'm fond of the old one (https://brickset.com/parts/design-2610), but I freely admit that that's for nostalgia reasons."

The old one is what we (in the US) refer to as a Type II Life Preserver. They're bulky and people usually hate wearing them, but they will force you into a face-upwards position even if you're unconscious. The other two minifig designs are Type III, which is more comfortable to wear, but it spreads the floatation material out between both sides of your torso, so you're basically going to just float however you land in the water, unless you or someone else does something to adjust your position. If you're conscious, they're fine. If you get knocked out, you better home someone else is in the water with you. And the minidoll one, I _think_ is supposed to be another Type II.

Type I is too expensive for most boaters, being a self-inflating design. They aren't even as bulky or cumbersome as a Type III, since they don't have any foam inserts. But they're usually designed to inflate similar to how a Type II is designed, so they'll also force your face out of the water. Type IV is a ring buoy, and I think Type V is anything else (like a floating seat cushion).

@Maxbricks14 said:
"Oh yeah, that one is also much better than this, and I too have a preference for that older one."

Not defending this version, but one neat thing I figured out with the third iteration is that it's possible to tuck them down inside the gunwale at the bow of the Éloïse, like you'd frequently see done on actual sailboats (legally you need to carry them, but you aren't generally required to actually wear them the whole time, unless maybe you're really young). It _might_ work with this element, but this isn't the one you get in 40487. There's definitely not room enough for the original design to fit in such a small space, though.

Looks like she'd be quite comfortable on today's RSotD, once again we've got unintended synchronicity. I eagerly await the day where the odds align and we get a RMotD who's outright from the RSotD

I feel like the reason they changed to this life jacket design was probably because the original one severely restricted a minifigure's movement; they couldn't raise their arms any higher than straight in front of them while wearing one, and the bulk around the neck also limited the possible hat / hair pieces that a minifigure could pair with them. These ones, being smaller and not overlapping the shoulders, remove many of those limitations.

But yeah, it's very unfortunate that they make an obvious gap in a minifigure's neck like this...!

What I do like about this one is that it lets you see a bit more of the minifigure's torso print, rather than hiding it completely like the other designs do... but of course that's also part of the problem, since allowing the wearer's neckline to be seen is precisely *why* it has that unsightly gap. I wonder if it could have been made with the shoulder straps a tiny bit further apart, so they could go around the neck rather than beneath it... although then they'd extend out far enough to block the arms a bit, again.

...in any case, I probably like the older life jacket design best, too. Whether that's only due to nostalgia or not - it was the one I grew up with, ever since I had one in 2537, one of my earliest sets - I won't comment on!

@Brickalili isaid:"I eagerly await the day where the odds align and we get a RMotD who's outright from the RSotD"

You're not the only one.

I have an overabundance of the original one, and I never use them. I have a very few of the one on this figure, and i utterly despise them all.