A Study on LEGO Vampires
Posted by CapnRex101,
LEGO has produced a broad range of different horror characters and themes over the last two decades, many of which have been very popular. Bram Stoker's Dracula is celebrating the 120th anniversary of its publication this year so we have decided to mark Hallowe'en by focusing upon a particularly petrifying monster which has frequently appeared in LEGO form: the vampire!
1381 Vampire's Crypt
LEGO Studios turned its attention from action to horror in 2002, bringing with it a number of well known monsters and the very first LEGO vampire! The standard of minifigure design was improving rapidly during the early 2000s and the vampire is a particularly notable example of this trend, featuring a brand new hair piece, a dual-coloured cape and a double-sided head. Double-sided heads had only been introduced the year before in 4702 The Final Challenge but I think they were used to the greatest effect in the Studios theme.
3837 Monster 4
The next vampire minifigure did not appear until 2010 but one did feature on the packaging for 3837 Monster 4, an early entry in the ill-fated LEGO Games theme. Here a caped vampire has challenged the Headless Horseman, depicted as described in Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, to a creepy game of Monster 4!
8684-5 The Vampire
2010 saw the release of the first Collectable Minifigures, a line which is still going strong today. Horror characters have proven to be a popular subject for these figures over the last few years, culminating in the release of the Monsters series in 2014. However, The Vampire appeared much earlier, in Series 2, sporting a black jacket and cape with a red waistcoat. His design is quite reminiscent of the that from 1381 Vampire's Crypt but includes a new widow's peak hair piece which has been worn by almost every vampire minifigure since.
MMMB042 Dracula
Monthly Mini Model Builds released in October often have a Hallowe'en theme and the 2011 release is the best of all in my opinion. This miniature rendition of Dracula is remarkably detailed and makes use of a technique rarely seen in official LEGO sets as 1x1 slopes are inverted to create a chevron pattern on the vampire's chest. I also like the simple hairstyle which is reminiscent of Bela Lugosi's Dracula from the 1931 film.
9464 The Vampyre Hearse
2012 saw the arrival of Monster Fighters, a short-lived theme which chronicled the adventures of Dr. Rodney Rathbone and his fearless team as they fought to defend the Minifigure Realm from a band of invading monsters, led by Lord Vampyre! This evil minifigure appeared in 9464 The Vampyre Hearse and 9468 Vampyre Castle where he was accompanied by a pair of vicious Manbats who also feature elongated canine teeth. Moreover, the popular 10228 Haunted House includes not only Lord Vampyre but also his vampiric bride. Like her husband, she features a glow-in-the-dark head.
8833-11 Vampire Bat
The new torso element introduced for the Monster Fighters range appeared again just a few months later as the eighth series of Collectable Minifigures was released. This series included a Vampire Bat with black fur, piercing red eyes and large ears befitting a bat. His biography on LEGO.com confirms that the Vampire Bat is in service of Lord Vampyre, although he is not entirely supportive his master's cruel plans.
3874 Heroica Ilrion
The Heroica subtheme of LEGO Games lasted for just two years but inspired a strong following during that time. 3874 Heroica Ilrion was released in 2012 and includes the only microfig rendition of a vampire, identified simply as the Vampire Lord in the set description. This evildoer may be small but he looks as impressive as any of his larger counterparts, wearing a purple robe and an amulet around his neck.
850936 Halloween Set
LEGO produced three seasonal table decorations in 2014, one of which was based on Hallowe'en. 850936 Halloween Set borrows elements from Monster Fighters, including a Lord Vampyre minifigure, a bright red spider and a printed coffin with room for the minifigure to rest inside.
71010-16 Spider Lady
Vampires are traditionally associated with bats but the Spider Lady from Series 14 of the Collectable Minifigures, better known as the Monsters series, has more of an affinity with spiders. Her long gown and cape are accordingly decorated with webbed designs and some spider motifs but there can be no doubting her vampire identity as the minifigure features a prominent pair of fangs and chalky skin.
75904 The Mystery Mansion
Many more monsters were introduced with the Scooby-Doo theme in 2016 and these included another vampire. This minifigure resides in 75904 The Mystery Mansion and wears a unique dark bluish grey suit along with a dual-coloured cape. His pale visage looks very intimidating but rotating the head reveals that not all is as it seems. In fact, the vampire is Bob Oakley, a jewel thief trying to find a treasure hidden somewhere in the mansion.
71013-5 Spooky Boy
Vampires are traditionally depicted wearing formal robes but can only be accurately identified by their deadly fangs. It therefore seems likely that the Spooky Boy from the sixteenth series of Collectable Minifigures is a vampire as a single pointed tooth is visible in his mouth. Furthermore, he evidently shares a love of spiders with the Spider Lady and enjoys reading spooky tales, perhaps to find inspiration for his own vampire adventures!
40203 Vampire and Bat
2016 saw the release of 40203 Vampire and Bat. Constructing a detailed figure at this scale must be quite tricky but I think the designer has done a reasonable job here as the vampire's vital features of fangs and arched eyebrows are immediately recognisable. He wears an elaborate cape along with a dress shirt and a purple bow tie, all of which seems appropriate for a vampire and looks quite intimidating.
71285 Marceline the Vampire Queen
It would be easy to assume that all vampires are inherently evil given their penchant for drinking blood. Marceline the Vampire Queen certainly seemed so when she made her first appearance in Adventure Time but she has subsequently assisted Finn and Jake during their adventures in the Land of Ooo. Marceline appears as a minifigure in 71285 Marceline the Vampire Queen, a LEGO Dimensions fun pack, but is also depicted as a brick-built figure in 21308 Adventure Time which was released at the beginning of 2017.
42046 Halloween Haunt
The most recent addition to the vampire collection was released just a couple of months ago. 42046 Halloween Haunt depicts a well-dressed vampire concocting a potion outside the gates to his distant castle. This shady character has yellow skin but lacks fangs so is unlike most vampires, although the set description refers ro him as one. Perhaps his latest potion is intended to disguise the vampire as a standard minifigure, giving him a better opportunity to ambush victims.
Which is your favourite vampire minifigure released to date? Let us know in the comments and have a happy Hallowe'en!
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30 comments on this article
{Bela Lugosi voice}Bwahahahaha! One, one very cool article about LEGO's vampires! Bwahahahaha!{/voice}
Seriously, the Studios and Scooby-Doo 'vampires' are technically people dressed as vampires, not the real deal. That said, like many FOLs, I treat my Studios vampire as a genuine nosferatu and I'm glad it was included in the article.
In addition to the vampires above, I reckon the Fright Knights' Bat Lord ( https://brickset.com/minifigs/cas022a/fright-knights-bat-lord ) from 1997 should count (pun intended). While not officially a vampire, I think that was LEGO's intention. Also, the vampire ( https://brickset.com/minifigs/hol095/vampire- (40260) ) from the recent Halloween Haunt set deserves a mention.
Great, very interesting and fun read this evening. Agree with the above though, very questionable title.
The title does not sound right.....
A fair point about the title, I have switched it to something a little less ambiguous.
@Zander - Right you are about 40260 Halloween Haunt. I was originally inclined to believe the minifigure depicted a sorcerer of some kind but I see he is described as a vampire in the set description.
Ahhh, Monster Fighters - possibly my favourite Lego theme! I love that hearse, and the haunted house 10228 is one of the best sets ever for me.
Sainsburys, here in the UK, had piles of the vampire set 40203 available a few weeks back. I think they're clearing old stock.
Interesting article.
Lego should do another spooky theme like monster fighters
Or at least a second series of monster minifigs
Fun read. What was the original title?
@J0rgen it was "I want to suck your bricks".
I look forward to count brickula...
I too liked the monster fighter's sets and spider lady..
Lego need to do produce the universal monsters as a minifig series,
And what about the Lego Club brick built Vampire from 2016 (or earlier) ? Similar to, but very different from the MMMB.
and this year's entry: https://brickset.com/sets/40260-1/Halloween-Haunt
No love for the Vampire Lord microfig from Heroica Ilrion?
I was just thinking about getting more vamps.
@cmrt1014 - I am not familiar with the item you describe and cannot find it in the database. Do you have any further information about it?
@Stevutz - I wasn't aware of that one but it has been added to the article. Thanks!
I too would have typed in seven question marks in despair at Heroica Ilrion, whatever that Lego Game was meant to be. It must have had something interesting to it to inspire such a cult following though. The D&D aesthetic?
You talk about male vampire from Monster Fighters and you mention the female vampire from cmf, yet no mention of the female vampire in the monster fighters also.
Interesting article. It seems lego likes their people of the night.
Monster Fighters was a really awesome theme. I feel like the lower priced sets were disappointing though. The $80+ sets were all pretty great, but compare something like the Vampire Hearse to the Penguin's Arctic Roller. It would be sweet if they followed up Nexo Knights with a theme similar to Monster Fighters.
Unfortunately the Brickset database doesn't recognize CLUB builds as sets. Here are the two vampire builds. You can click through from these pages to the instructions.
http://shop.constructibles.net/lego-vampire-parts-instructions-lego-club-halloween-mini-model-build/
http://shop.constructibles.net/lego-halloween-large-vampire-parts-instructions-141-pcs/
Haunted House features a lovely vampire couple as well.
The set number of Spider Lady should be 71010 :P
Lego, bring Monster Fighters back!
@Brick Belt
I agree - Vampire Hearse is much better than Penguin's Arctic Roller :)
Heroica vampire! Yay!
Counting my vampires aka the count on sesame street style.... One hahaha, two hahaha, oh that's it.
I don't know about the Spooky Boy being a vampire, he just seemed a little gothic, but hey I'll let it side.
Would Vamprah from BIONICLE count? He wasn't an actual vampire but his design, powers, and name were all based on one.
Great article! But what about Vampos from Mixels? He's a bat with big fangs... and 'vampire' is even the basis for his name!
Also, I'm not ashamed to admit that I laughed out loud at the original title.
What was the Original Title to this article that people keep talking about?
I love these; sorry to have missed out on the ones with glow in the dark heads!
Thanks to this article and comments section for bringing up the bat lord. Had to track one with the cape and a black dragon.