Random minifig of the day: hol233

Topic for discussion: Leaving aside the printing, does this count as a monofig?

@Wallace_Brick_Designs: Well...when you look at the "Ark of the Covenant" when it's open...

But then again, would this have not been a better 'base figure' for 'Fan 4's' Human Torch...maybe w/yellow and orange mixed in...no? :)

That “hol” designation is doubly appropriate: he’s a HOLiday figure with a HOLe in his face.

@brick_r said:
" @Wallace_Brick_Designs: Well...when you look at the "Ark of the Covenant" when it's open...

But then again, would this have not been a better 'base figure' for 'Fan 4's' Human Torch...maybe w/yellow and orange mixed in...no? :) "

Nahh, he would’ve died… not that you can’t die and have your face melt… anyway this guy is a statue so….

He really looks like a DC villain to me...

@TheOtherMike said:
"Topic for discussion: Leaving aside the printing, does this count as a monofig?"

No. There's a distinction between being monochromatic (which, aside from printing, this _would_ qualify as) and being a monofig. Monofigs are made entirely of a single LEGO color, sans printing. The Yellow Spaceman would qualify, if it wasn't printed, but that's probably even more rare than a true monofig. Minifigs with off-color hands don't count, nor does one instance of a statue that's molded in pearl-gold but includes a metallic-gold firefighter helmet.

Offhand, the only instances of official monofigs that I can think of are one old Town set that includes a solid black miniquin, an Arkham Asylum set (I think TLBM) that has a solid light-bley statue (including a light-bley snake as a handheld accessory), the VIP "card" set, and the entire lineup of Everyone Is Awesome. Hands, hips, and headgear are frequently the one component that spoils a minifig from having monofig status.

Need to build my copy of the set this is from.

That black part looks weird.

Creepy. Looks like a supervillain. I like it for that.

So, is this supposed to be a statue in the shape of a minifig with the transparent "head" being the lantern itself?

Well that's...eldritch. Not sure Lego intended it to look that uncanny, yet here I am picturing SH1032 giving himself a Chinese New Year rebrand

@PurpleDave said:
"No."

And are you a (purple) monofig yourself? :)

@Zeitgeist said:
" @Yooha said:
"That black part looks weird."

The black marker is essential to the printing-process. It's how the machines can tell which side of the torso is its front."

I believe it's also important for creating friction on the neck-head connection. It helps keep their head attached when yanking then up out of a seat or removing a helmet... we've all had the experience of a worn torso causing a motorcycle or knight helmet to take the head off with it.

@Zeitgeist said:
" @Yooha said:
"That black part looks weird."

The black marker is essential to the printing-process. It's how the machines can tell which side of the torso is its front.

Most, but not all, minifigure-torso have this. Quick! Run to your monofigure-display and rip off the heads! If you see the printing-marker there then obviously it is not a TRUE monofigure, and you have been building a throne of lies.

You must destroy it all, and start over. No one can know."

It isn't strictly essential, as it depends on the factory (and their equipment) whether it is needed. In some factories they print the torso first then attach arms whereas in others they attach the arms then print. The latter does not need the neck mark.

@Zeitgeist said:
" @Yooha said:
"That black part looks weird."

The black marker is essential to the printing-process. It's how the machines can tell which side of the torso is its front."

This is only true for European torsos. Chinese CMF torsos never have the neck patch, so there must have been some technological advancements…or they’re all loaded into the machines by hand. I could honestly see either being true.

@Nuclearxpotato:
While it does increase the clutch, unprinted torsos are truly unprinted. They don’t add the neck patch unless there’s print on the front and/or back of the torso itself.

@PurpleDave said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"Topic for discussion: Leaving aside the printing, does this count as a monofig?"

No. There's a distinction between being monochromatic (which, aside from printing, this _would_ qualify as) and being a monofig. Monofigs are made entirely of a single LEGO color, sans printing. The Yellow Spaceman would qualify, if it wasn't printed, but that's probably even more rare than a true monofig. Minifigs with off-color hands don't count, nor does one instance of a statue that's molded in pearl-gold but includes a metallic-gold firefighter helmet.

Offhand, the only instances of official monofigs that I can think of are one old Town set that includes a solid black miniquin, an Arkham Asylum set (I think TLBM) that has a solid light-bley statue (including a light-bley snake as a handheld accessory), the VIP "card" set, and the entire lineup of Everyone Is Awesome. Hands, hips, and headgear are frequently the one component that spoils a minifig from having monofig status."

First off, I was joking. Secondly, I can think of one other fig that's all molded in one color: https://brickset.com/minifigs/sp103

@TheOtherMike:
Print disqualifies it, otherwise there would be a metric crapton of official monofigs.

@TheOtherMike said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"Topic for discussion: Leaving aside the printing, does this count as a monofig?"

No. There's a distinction between being monochromatic (which, aside from printing, this _would_ qualify as) and being a monofig. Monofigs are made entirely of a single LEGO color, sans printing. The Yellow Spaceman would qualify, if it wasn't printed, but that's probably even more rare than a true monofig. Minifigs with off-color hands don't count, nor does one instance of a statue that's molded in pearl-gold but includes a metallic-gold firefighter helmet.

Offhand, the only instances of official monofigs that I can think of are one old Town set that includes a solid black miniquin, an Arkham Asylum set (I think TLBM) that has a solid light-bley statue (including a light-bley snake as a handheld accessory), the VIP "card" set, and the entire lineup of Everyone Is Awesome. Hands, hips, and headgear are frequently the one component that spoils a minifig from having monofig status."

First off, I was joking. Secondly, I can think of one other fig that's all molded in one color: https://brickset.com/minifigs/sp103"

https://brickset.com/minifigs/hp363/statue-the-ministry-of-magic-(monochrome) ?

@PurpleDave said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"Topic for discussion: Leaving aside the printing, does this count as a monofig?"

No. There's a distinction between being monochromatic (which, aside from printing, this _would_ qualify as) and being a monofig. Monofigs are made entirely of a single LEGO color, sans printing. The Yellow Spaceman would qualify, if it wasn't printed, but that's probably even more rare than a true monofig."
That did happen by design though, albeit a long time ago (1985) and not in all issues of the set (regionally? first releases?). 6872-1 had a yellow Classic Spaceman with an unprinted torso and a CS torso sticker. If you didn't apply the sticker and turned the head around so it was facing backwards within the helmet, you'd have a monofig. You could argue that the face printing disqualifies it even if it's unseen, but it's purist and looks like a monofig so you could also make the case for it being the first one... Nothing like a bit of ontology! :~P

@Joce1275 said:
"https://brickset.com/minifigs/hp363/statue-the-ministry-of-magic-(monochrome) ?"

Ooh, didn’t know about that one. I don’t have the old miniquin yet, but I got all the other official ones so far. Actually, Bricklink has also classified this guy as monochrome:

https://brickset.com/minifigs/hp204/statue-hogwarts-architect-(monochrome)

I have a pile of him, from buying 11-12 of the first HPAC on clearance, and it looks like the only difference is the Sensei Wu beard. And holy crap, they’re coming out of the woodwork now:

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/search.page?q=MonochromeT=A

@Zander:
That’s where that sticker sheet came from? I got one of those over an decade ago, short one sticker, for $30! At the time, it wasn’t inventoried to any set, so the theory I heard was that it was available through customer service, if your logos wore off (as the gold on the planet was notorious for doing) and you wanted to “fix” them. I used one of the three remaining stickers on a 2x2 black tile to represent the Classic Space Tote Bag in my LEGO Store MOC.

@Worrissey said:
"there's something so surreal about a plain transparent head..."

Imagine your head--including your skull--was transparent, but you were able to see your neck vertebrae through it.

@Formendacil said:
" @Worrissey said:
"there's something so surreal about a plain transparent head..."

Imagine your head--including your skull--was transparent, but you were able to see your neck vertebrae through it."

Honestly. I’d have a hard enough time just seeing my own neck, without using a mirror or suddenly growing eyestalks.

@PurpleDave said:
" @Formendacil said:
" @Worrissey said:
"there's something so surreal about a plain transparent head..."

Imagine your head--including your skull--was transparent, but you were able to see your neck vertebrae through it."

Honestly. I’d have a hard enough time just seeing my own neck, without using a mirror or suddenly growing eyestalks."

You could also take a selfie.

@TheOtherMike said:
" @PurpleDave said:
" @Formendacil said:
" @Worrissey said:
"there's something so surreal about a plain transparent head..."

Imagine your head--including your skull--was transparent, but you were able to see your neck vertebrae through it."

Honestly. I’d have a hard enough time just seeing my own neck, without using a mirror or suddenly growing eyestalks."

You could also take a selfie."

Then I'm just seeing an image. Ceci n'est pas une cou.