The new trans-clear minifigure stands
Posted by CapnRex101,
Collectable Minifigures routinely introduce new elements, including nice 3x4 minifigure bases from series one. Another new piece is available with the fun DC Super Heroes selection and this trans-clear minifigure stand appears useful, not only for displaying figures.
These components feature multiple connection points and appear somewhat reminiscent of the versatile 1x1 round plate with vertical shaft and vertical shaft with stud, expanding an appealing parts family. Today, we are studying this element and its uses in greater depth.
Minifigures feature limited articulation, although these trans-clear stands are exceptionally useful since they broaden the range of available poses. Several connection points are found on minifigure legs and they may be integrated with the stands in various ways to enable many poses, as demonstrated below.
Furthermore, each stand is connected to their respective base and minifigure using one stud and bar. They can accordingly rotate in concert with the minifigure legs, thereby creating almost any angle. Of course, stacking the stands enables much greater versatility and they link together relatively securely as the bars slide into hollow studs.
Those bars also enable minifigures to grip the stands, should you wish. In that regard, this component seems very similar to the existing vertical shaft with stud which is often used for holding accessories. I can envisage the new element being required for a similar purpose in certain circumstances.
Each bar is fixed to its respective stud at an angle of 45 degrees so joining eight pieces will therefore create an octagonal shape. The resultant structure is very slightly smaller than the parabolic ring that has been available since 1996, measuring 25mm in diameter while the earlier piece measures 27mm across. Moreover, the bar connection points on this structure are offset, as shown here.
On that basis, I expect the parabolic ring will remain more useful for assembling octagonal structures. However, these minifigure stands are much more versatile and can be reconfigured in many different ways, creating bar and stud connection points at almost any angle! This assembly feels rather fragile so I doubt the pieces will be connected like this in official sets, although they could be integrated with fan creations.
Trans-clear is not necessarily the most useful colour for decorative elements but it works perfectly for supports. Unfortunately, I think these pieces may remain consistently in trans-clear, much like the aforementioned vertical shaft with stud, since transparent LEGO plastics are typically more rigid than opaque plastics. Producing this component in alternative colours might therefore entail some changes to its design.
You can read our two-part review of 71026 DC Super Heroes Collectable Minifigures here:
- 71026 DC Super Heroes Collectable Minifigures (Part 1)
- 71026 DC Super Heroes Collectable Minifigures (Part 2)
Do you like these new minifigure stands and how are you intending to use them? Let us know in the comments.
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39 comments on this article
I need a handful of these for my city now!
An excuse to keep any doubles or triples you get buying blind, these parts look highly useful. You can actually get Spidey to Wall-Crawl now. I hope they start showing up in sets next year or by 2021.
I can just imagine the Mocs to come out of these parts, they are so versatile! Well done Lego!
Wow these parts are actually very neat, these can be used for great things and may add some new techniques of building mocs.
The neverending stream of incredibly useful new elements continues.
A great part indeed! Should have been made years ago. Better late than never, I suppose.
Thanks for the article @CapnRex101 :~)
Paging @ New Elementary
Let's get a whole Parts Fest on these bits, shall we?
I need like 10 dozen of these
So worth the extra $1 the minifigures now cost.
Not.
So cool! This new useful part is welcome and might prove terribly helpful to create dynamic poses and displays. Angled, transclear, perfect. Can't wait to get a bunch of them, because I already have many ideas on how to use them. A tiny part which means great progress.
So do the DC CMFs also include the 2x2 superjumper plates? What exactly is included with each?
Brilliant new part! Can't wait to get my hands on some of these!!!
Yes please, I’ll take 2 dozen
Great article, and that's what I love about Brickset. Articles not just about sets but about parts, and what can be done with them. Thanks. Capn, as always.
That's a neat new part, too, and would love to have these.
Little parts of any type are welcome. They may be the nemesis of peeps thats purely measure a sets value using the price per part data, but the potential for Lego models getting more detailed increases hugely.
May I suggest using this particular part and a 1x1 round brick to make a Hammond feeding device?
Seeing that last picture makes we think they’d be good for visually representing swirls of wind, if you wanted to make a twister or a Last Airbender diorama
If you put the stud in the top hole on the back of the legs could you angle the legs so it looks like they are walking with both legs bent touching baseplate/floor (so not just flying/jumping superhero poses)??
Chemistry sets, monkey bars, and that Breaking Bad coffee maker
What is the part number for these?
@560heliport said:
"So do the DC CMFs also include the 2x2 superjumper plates? What exactly is included with each? "
they have 1x2 jumpers
The one thing that is nice about these parts in trans clear is how they lend themselves to glass chemistry equipment, I can see a complex setup that incorporates these with the other beakers and tubes already available.
Hmm... seems much more useful then I originally thought these parts would be.
Great pics showing this new elements versatility.
Mikey Likey! Needs me a couple of these bad boys.
A useful part, no doubt about that but will these cause the same issues as the trans 1 x1 round elements used on the likes of Iron Man and after prolonged use cause issues with the legs cracking due to the difference in plastics used?
^
Are you thinking of the super jumpers?
Or power blasts?
I've never heard of the 1x1 hand holder causing stress on the hands.
The only 1x1 things on Iron Man's legs are just 1x1 cylinders
That use of Cheeta lifting the plate filled me with hope and those forms can create multiple flight patterns for heroes and more, outstanding piece LEGO.
Wonderful new part. I'll take a bucket full at PaB if they show up there.
Figure displays can be such more dynamic now, especially with things that crawl on walls!
I should get some. Suddenly this series seems more appealing.
I'm only getting this cmf series for this new piece as I'm a Marvel fan boy so this was off my radar till this piece got released
When we originally heard about these, I expected there to be a variety of different elements used for action poses, not just one single piece. However, this looks to be versatile enough that it's probably a better design than what I was thinking of. I want hundreds. I also want them to start using the trans-clear Green Army Men base again, which would pair nicely with these.
@The_Green_Brick_Giant:
Assume these will sell for at least $1 on Bricklink.
@Brick_Bricky_McBrickface:
Due to the shape of the leg near the hips, that might work, but it would be a fairly weak connection. Certainly it wouldn't travel well, but it might work for displaying something or snapping a quick photo. The only thing is, whichever leg you attach this to would be restricted in both angle and location, so the forward leg most likely would hover over the surface, while the other leg could be angled to touch the ground.
@Norikins:
I think bandit778 means the 1x1 round bricks used for rocket thrust, which are transparent, and therefore polycarbonate, which is harder and has a different shrink factor than ABS. Due to the differences in plastic, it sounds like leaving them in the feet for a prolonged period of time can cause the heels to crack.
I'm just gonna go buy like 30 of these at some point. Also, the 3rd image makes it look like it could be used as a suction cup for walking on walls or ceilings.
All I want to make out of these is glass tubing for some sort of chem lab set up.
Oh, and attaching them to some kind of cup to use as a drinking straw.
@willobee498 said:
"I need a handful of these for my city now!"
Right?!
Sorry if I missed it, is there just one per bag or do you also get an extra?
@MrKoshka - The majority of bags contain an extra piece, although this seems inconsistent across the series.
This is a cool new piece however in no way does it justify the cost of $4.99 (US) price of these.
I can honestly say... I will definitely not be purchasing as many CMF's in the future... will likely complete "complete sets" but not anything above and beyond that. The price per piece on CMF's was already pretty outrageous... but this 25% increase seems pretty greedy.
I wish LEGO well, of course and I may be in the minority but I'll be putting my LEGO dollars to better use than on very many of these.
Those look pretty cool.
@CapnRex101 said:
" @MrKoshka - The majority of bags contain an extra piece, although this seems inconsistent across the series."
I don't know if anyone will come back to read this after all this time, but I ran across a case of these the other day and bought five (Batman, Joker, Bat-mite, Huntress, and a Cheetah that I plan to use to make Carrie Kelley's Catwoman from The Dark Knight Strikes Back). Of those five, Batman, Bat-Mite, and Huntress came double-bagged, and Joker and Cheetah both came with a second copy of this clear stand. On a guess, the double-bagged minifigs may be pre-packed in China and shipped to Europe to be packed in foil with the rest of the lineup. Chinese CMFs stopped giving out extra parts very early on (a few S1 minifigs definitely had extras, but I don't think any from S4 did). Either they had a better sorting machine than any used in Europe, or they relied on an abundance of cheap labor to ensure that (almost) no parts were ever left out. So, since these were prepacked in clear bags, no extras of any parts inside the bag would need to be included. Since the other minifigs are _not_ prepacked, the usual policy on extras seems to be in effect.