Review: 43101 Bandmates Series 1
Posted by CapnRex101,
Collectable Minifigures have included countless strange characters, although 43101 Bandmates Series 1 features twelve minifigures that appear even more unorthodox! They certainly combine multiple interesting themes, connected by their shared focus upon music.
LEGO has provided two random minifigures for various Fan Media outlets. Brickset received the Alien Keytarist and the Genie Dancer, each accompanied by three BeatBits. I think these two characters bode well for the entire series!
Minifigures
Upon viewing the selection of available Bandmates, the Alien Keytarist stood out among my favourite minifigures and it does not disappoint. The distinctive orange skin tone looks brilliant, sharply contrasting against the purple hair and shorts. This rubber hair piece seems especially unusual, featuring an interesting globular texture alongside prominent antennae.
Further to antennae, the alien is also recognisable by his single eye. VIDIYO minifigures omit alternative expressions which is unfortunate, although this design alone looks good. Moreover, the patterns across the Alien Keytarist's vest appear suitably extraterrestrial and this minifigure wears a delightful charm, representing either a flying saucer or a ringed planet.
LEGO produced an impressive keytar accessory for the 80s Musician from Series 20 of the Collectable Minifigures. However, that piece included a notorious error as the keyboard was printed upside down. The mistake has been rectified here and the colour has been swapped from red to teal, which looks marvellous.
Bandmates contain three printed BeatBits, including one element which is exclusive to each character. An orange tile occupies that role here, zapping characters with lasers and partially transforming them into alien creatures during performances! The other BeatBits are randomly distributed between the Bandmates and BeatBoxes.
The mystical Genie Dancer is currently the only representative of the Fantasy Folk genre, blending traditional folk music with enduring fantasy characters. This minifigure accordingly wears the stereotypical Arabian clothing which is frequently associated with genies, featuring metallic gold, magenta and teal designs. These appear exceptionally intricate.
Metallic decoration continues across the lower body component, where golden stars surround two metallic silver wisps. These colours look excellent together but the combination of medium lavender and lavender seems rather unusual, differing between the genie's lower body element and her skin tone. However, I love the consistent integration of magenta across this minifigure.
Once again, this minifigure only displays one facial expression but the eye shadow and silver sparkles around the Genie Dancer's eyes look wonderful. Additionally, her printed tambourine makes good use of the existing 2x2 round tile with hole, albeit featuring unique printing on this occasion. Unlike the keytar, this is the first appearance of a LEGO tambourine accessory.
Three different BeatBits accompany the Genie Dancer, including her exclusive element which triggers butterflies to flutter around the performers. The twelve Bandmates also include simple brick-built stands, providing space to display the BeatBits and the minifigure. These stands are required when scanning the characters in the VIDIYO app.
Overall
While these characters are definitely not as versatile as standard Collectable Minifigures, the outlandish designs are probably their greatest quality! I am particularly satisfied with the Alien Keytarist, whose comical appearance seems perfect for LEGO, while the Genie Dancer offers considerable detail as well. Both minifigures also feature appealing accessories.
Hopefully the remaining ten minifigures from 43101 Bandmates Series 1 will prove similarly enjoyable. Our review of the complete series will be published as soon as possible.
These minifigures were provided for review by The LEGO Group but the review represents an expression of my own opinions.
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59 comments on this article
Not worth it. The price is way to high, and if you want to get the whole series, you have to get repeats which is just wasting money. If each one costs that amount and you can’t choose which one, what are you supposed to do if you want to collect them all?
Edit: price for context is about £4 or $5
^ Buy a box and split the 2 sets with a friend.
Are these forming part of the CMF range?
The colours really are striking. These two aren't my favorites of the set but they still look great.
The Beat Boxes have a price increase compared to CMFs in most European countries now. While you do get three tiles per set I think the figures aren’t of the same premium quality of CMFs. None of them seem to have dual sided faces, few have arm printing and only two have dual moulded legs and side leg printing. Eight have existing accessories too! They’re really not worth the premium price in my eyes.
The genie you showed is my favourite and she looks even better than in the renders. She’s the only figure I’m going out of my way to get. :)
From a skim, I don't see any discussion regarding the decision to stick these figures in boxes rather than bags. In fact, the packaging is entirely left out of the review when the new dimensions and cover art certainly draw attention.
A missed opportunity for sure. I wonder what prompted TLG to opt for boxes. I can't make the argument for this using less plastic as I don't see a mention of whether the figures are, as can be expected, still in a plastic bag inside the box. Really makes you question what exactly informed this decision to change.
EDIT; the tiles remind me of the cover of K.K. songs in Animal Crossing, and in a good way. I've been critical of some of LEGO's graphic designer but they seem to have knocked these out of the park with the plethora of styles on offer.
Thnx for the last image. Now I can scan them with the app. :)
@TheInfamousBobaFett said:
"Why are they in boxes!!!"
Because they want more of your money
Are you sure the keytar is really teal? To me it looks like medium azure.
The initial draw here is the interaction with the Music Video making App. Just knowing that it has that capability will make it difficult for someone to resist to get more. Even if you're not in to doing the videos as much, in my opinion.
LEGO should come up with an "Xtras" bag of extra Beatbits.
How are these display stands built?
@Huw said:
"^ Buy a box and split the 2 sets with a friend."
Or sell the second set.
Nice preliminary review. Looking forward to seeing an example of a full music video and how it works.
I have to say, the face printings look pretty solid.
Cool figures but I'm probably just going to bricklink them if someone goes through the trouble of sorting them out.
yawn!
Someone wake me up when LEGO has an actual interesting idea / theme of their own...
The Alien Keytarist’s charm looks like a ringworld. Or maybe I’ve just been reading too much Larry Niven.
@TheInfamousBobaFett said:
"Why are they in boxes!!!"
Because carton is recyclable.
Box footage for you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd76rNxii3M (German)
The design detail looks exquisite. Love the color combinations. The beat bits albums are super cute. I can’t wait to order the big box load.
This whole theme is joke. Ty for review.
@busyman said:
" @TheInfamousBobaFett said:
"Why are they in boxes!!!"
Because carton is recyclable. "
There is 100% a plastic bag inside anyway.
We will discuss the packaging and box distribution with the complete review, hopefully later this month.
I understand the frustration concerning the introduction of cardboard boxes, although LEGO confirmed that Collectable Minifigures and polybags would be affected by the introduction of more recyclable packaging. However, I am surprised that this change has occurred so quickly since the paper bags have not already been introduced.
With regard to theories about LEGO wanting to prevent people from feeling the bags, I doubt that was a significant factor. After all, if LEGO was really concerned about that then they could have changed the packaging any time during the last decade!
@Soupperson said:
"The genie you showed is my favourite and she looks even better than in the renders. She’s the only figure I’m going out of my way to get. :)"
Yes, the genie is a cool minifigure. But as it is boxed, there is no way of definitely getting it unless you buy...
a) the whole series in an unopened display box, or
b) it on the secondary market.
Both a) and b) incur extra cost and inconvenience. So that's me - die hard minifigures enthusiast - out. I recognise that parents (grandparents etc) are the target market, not AFOLs, but even so. If LEGO set out to alienate AFOLs, it succeeded. >:~(
@thatsaltyninja said:
"Not worth it. The price is way to high, and if you want to get the whole series, you have to get repeats which is just wasting money. If each one costs that amount and you can’t choose which one, what are you supposed to do if you want to collect them all?
Edit: price for context is about £4 or $5"
Just buy them on BrickLink.
I’m going to say something about the actual figures rather than the packaging... I LOVE THESE! They are really fun figures to collect.
If they are going to be four quid each, I’ll aim to get them all and sell the duplicates on eBay. If kids want to collect them all, that’s where they’ll most likely try and buy their missing ones.
I like the beat boxes too, even if they’re a bit overpriced.
@CapnRen101, CNET got the same two Beatboxes and Bandmates that you did? Do you think it's just a coincidence?
https://www.cnet.com/news/lego-vidiyo-hands-on-an-ar-powered-music-video-app-with-scannable-minifigures/
@CapnRex101 said:
[
With regard to theories about LEGO wanting to prevent people from feeling the bags, I doubt that was a significant factor. After all, if LEGO was really concerned about that then they could have changed the packaging any time during the last decade!"
That may be true, but now due to the prevalence of Covid, they may have decided to accelerate their introduction of paper/cardboard packaging for the added benefit of discouraging the feeing of bags as a means of reducing transmission? Just a thought.
The Alien Keyatrist's head piece could be recolored for the death sticks guy!
I had to look up whatever in the world "fantasy folk" music is. I had never heard of it before, and I'm still confused exactly as to what it is.
@LukeSkywalker
* I definitely do think discouraging bag feeling is a sanitation measure. That I can get behind.
Though is foil really that bad for the environment compared to plastic?
*Another reason for boxes may be because there are more pieces and larger pieces, when the Unikitty blind bags came they introduced the new design later used in regular CMFs allowing more pieces.
*It may have to do with the packing process of randomizing two Beat Bit tiles in every bandmate.
Also, 5$ is acceptable for these, I'm surprised the price wasn't raised considering they can price gouge the CMFs for 5$ and could easily justify a higher price for these bandmates because of extra development costs as well as more pieces, new molds, prints and recolors.
@Huw said:
"^ Buy a box and split the 2 sets with a friend."
Please Huw, don't advocate LEGO for the business decisions they make.
This, by the Danish Group, is truly enormous nonsense, as well as a colossal mockery both as regards the price (don't tell me that a cardboard box costs more than a plastic bag or that theirs is a decision to protect the environment; nobody would believe it!) than for the impossibility of collecting all the subjects without unnecessary duplication or, worse, opening the boxes.
For many collectors – myself included – it is essential to be able to recognize the content at least through the use of touch.
It is truly a shame.
@BelgianBricker said:
"yawn!
Someone wake me up when LEGO has an actual interesting idea / theme of their own..."
Absolutely agree.
Thank you for the review. Confirms my suspicion that this theme is not for me. As will be all CMF series going forward if they change them to blind boxes too, as I won't go to the trouble of buying a whole box and having all the hassle to get rid of the spares just to get the handful of figures per series that I like.
Too many of those gathering dust here already anyway. Time to move on.
And if there is indeed going to be one that I absolutely feel I must have for whatever reason, I could still buy them at Bricklink.
@lusci said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
"yawn!
Someone wake me up when LEGO has an actual interesting idea / theme of their own..."
Absolutely agree."
Just because you don't like it or the distribution model doesn't mean it isn't interesting or original.
This is both, and frankly the whimsical designs are fun and refreshing. I'd like to see more stuff like this in a less predatory model.
Do folks realize that the practice of feeling up bags might be common among a relatively small group of "dedicated" AFOLS," but most CMF, etc. purchases are actually purchased "blind" and have been since their inception? I read the "feel guides" every time a new set comes out, but our family enjoys buying random bags and being surprised. Duplicates are welcome because we have more than one child, and the parts are often useful for MOCs and other purposes. The few times that we HAD to have a complete collection, we have purchased a box and given away any unwanted extras as birthday party favors and such. In this case, it would be super easy to buy a box and unload the ONE extra set included.
I did feel through some bags in a toy store once, and I got some weird looks from other shoppers.
As for the complaint that LEGO has no interesting themes "of their own," can someone please tell me where they have seen an ice cream mermaid for sale before? Vidiyo involves music licenses, but the brick products seem to be ENTIRELY novel.
These minifigs look like they would fit well in a cyberpunk world!
@The_Brickster_ said:
" the original style bags were recyclable."
not in my state, they're not. only plastics 1 & 2; for bags, 2 & 4 and then you've got to find a market that accepts them
That genie is beautiful. Lego minifig design has come a long way in 10 years
@CapnRex101 said:
"We will discuss the packaging and box distribution with the complete review, hopefully later this month.
I understand the frustration concerning the introduction of cardboard boxes, although LEGO confirmed that Collectable Minifigures and polybags would be affected by the introduction of more recyclable packaging. However, I am surprised that this change has occurred so quickly since the paper bags have not already been introduced.
With regard to theories about LEGO wanting to prevent people from feeling the bags, I doubt that was a significant factor. After all, if LEGO was really concerned about that then they could have changed the packaging any time during the last decade!"
The reasons are irrelevant - only thing that matters is the bottom line when we're at the store.
@Huw said:
"^ Buy a box and split the 2 sets with a friend."
There are some really interesting figures here for Cities and other dioramas.
A lot of the art in the animated Aladdin from Disney shows the Genie with a slightly darker blue lower half as opposed to the torso sections. It’s subtle but it’s there. That’s probably why the genie minifigure here is decorated similarly.
Surprised at how many people are complaining it's going to be impossible to get a full set of these.
There are exactly two sets a figures in a box, and exactly one set per row. Said boxes are much smaller than previous CMF boxes as are the number of figs you have to collect making buying a full box a lot cheaper. Just find a sealed box and either take everyone from one row or buy the whole thing.
It isn't that hard, people have been doing it for a decade now. And now that LEGO's made it so there's *exactly* two full sets instead of three of one character or one of another it's even easier than it ever was.
@GSR_MataNui said:
"Surprised at how many people are complaining it's going to be impossible to get a full set of these.
There are exactly two sets a figures in a box, and exactly one set per row. Said boxes are much smaller than previous CMF boxes as are the number of figs you have to collect making buying a full box a lot cheaper. Just find a sealed box and either take everyone from one row or buy the whole thing.
It isn't that hard, people have been doing it for a decade now. And now that LEGO's made it so there's *exactly* two full sets instead of three of one character or one of another it's even easier than it ever was. "
What about people who are searching for a couple but can't afford to buy a whole box? I might buy one on a whim but why even take the chance if I can get stuck with figs I don't want?
I'm all for recyclable boxes but making them "blind boxes" so you don't know which figure you're getting will keep my from buying any. I get they don't want 12 different box designs but make it apparent somehow with a code and I'd be in. I don't do blind boxes and may be out of the CFM if this is the future.
@Soupperson:
Wait...when did they start making the CMFs “premium quality”? Or I guess the more relevant question is, why did you ever think they were? The CMF theme, through HP1, was exclusively produced in China. They had all the molds, they made all the parts, they added all the deco, and they packed everything up for retail. The Chinese government required them to source the plastic in China, and they use a proprietary blend of ABS that is a trade secret. There was no way they were going to hand that formula over to a Chinese company because the formula would have been up for sale to the highest bidder before they got to the parking lot.
So they came up with a different blend. And it was pretty bad. Early CMFs are visibly different, they feel lighter, the parts don’t fit together perfectly, and they’re not as durable. They feel more like styrene than ABS. After a few waves, they improved the plastic, but it still wasn’t proper LEGO ABS. Since Unikitty, the parts have been produced in about half a dozen countries, so it’s hard to say which parts are made with what formula, but there are _still_ Chinese parts made with Chinese plastic in every CMF wave. Premium only applies to the designs. For the manufacture, there’s still going to be parts that are a little below the standard applied to a minifig from a retail set. But that’s not that big a deal. Minifig accessories aren’t often used to make large structures with critical dimensions. Most of them have very limited means of attaching to other parts, particularly headgear.
@LegoDiego:
Based on the numbers they’ve published, there are 14 Beatbits that are not accounted for, so they may very well have one ready to launch with the rest of the sets.
@TheRightP_art:
The size ratio is wrong. Ringworld is supposed to be a ring the size of a planetary orbit parked around a normal star. For the size of that ring, the star would be too small to draw.
@Norikins:
None of the music genres are _real_ music genres (not intentionally, at least). They all take a real genre and give it a playful spin. K-Pawp, for instance, looks like it’s K-Pop (Korean Pop music), but all the band members are animals (hence the “paw”). There are dozens of different types of Metal music, but their version is played by supernatural “monsters”, like the werewolf and banshee. So Fantasy Folk is probably supposed to be folk music, but played by fantasy creatures like genies.
And Unikitty had a completely unique packet, with TLM2 introducing a third packet style that was used for subsequent CMFs, up to and including S21. I never bought a Unikitty packet, but I did snap a picture once when you could still find them in stores. I might see if I can dig it up and see what was different.
Only one I'm even interested in is the Shark guy. But these aren't aimed at me so good for kids I guess. Not really of interest to me. But good for Lego to keep expanding their themes. Now just do some new classic Space inspired sets
I don't blind buy CMF minifigs and haven't for years. So if these are similarly blind buy I'll probably only get them on Bricklink if there's something I like.
I love some of the parts in these sets and the figures, but sure if I love them enough to pay what LEGO wants for them.
Hmm, those decorated tiles will look good in a moc record store!
@Peter1999 said:
" @GSR_MataNui said:
"Surprised at how many people are complaining it's going to be impossible to get a full set of these.
There are exactly two sets a figures in a box, and exactly one set per row. Said boxes are much smaller than previous CMF boxes as are the number of figs you have to collect making buying a full box a lot cheaper. Just find a sealed box and either take everyone from one row or buy the whole thing.
It isn't that hard, people have been doing it for a decade now. And now that LEGO's made it so there's *exactly* two full sets instead of three of one character or one of another it's even easier than it ever was. "
What about people who are searching for a couple but can't afford to buy a whole box? I might buy one on a whim but why even take the chance if I can get stuck with figs I don't want?"
I thought the first line of that post made it clear I was addressing "people [...] complaining it's going to be impossible to get a full set." If you only want one or two that's a completely different argument, but I'd say just buy 'em secondhand on Bricklink. That's what I usually do, heck you can find 'em for a buck or two cheaper than retail most of the time.
@GSR_MataNui said:
"There are exactly two sets a figures in a box, and exactly one set per row. Said boxes are much smaller than previous CMF boxes as are the number of figs you have to collect making buying a full box a lot cheaper. Just find a sealed box and either take everyone from one row or buy the whole thing. "
Assuming you are literally the first or second person to pick at the box, or early enough to buy a whole one...
@rljf311 said:
" @CapnRen101, CNET got the same two Beatboxes and Bandmates that you did? Do you think it's just a coincidence?
https://www.cnet.com/news/lego-vidiyo-hands-on-an-ar-powered-music-video-app-with-scannable-minifigures/"
LEGO sent press kits to reviewers. Everyone got the same BeatBoxes, and the Bandmates seem to have been taken from a very limited pool (different reviewers got different combinations of the same Bandmates).
Liking these two:
The Alien Keytarist look good, interesting choices of colors, but the build reminds me of the one-eyed alien from the 'Lilo and Stitch' movie and series...I can hear Kevin McDonald's voice just looking at it:).
The Genie Dancer also looks good as well, also interesting choices of colors, but...how hard would have been for TLG to make a tambourine, like a 'graspable' ring w/small disks/circles to be those 'cymbals' (non-working of course...it's too small).
Still, be that as it may...how hard do you think it'll to get parts from this series on 'Bricks and Pieces'? I mean: CMF parts are hit/miss, and those specialty BAF parts seem to be a firm 'no'...
LEGO is changing its packaging not just so that its recyclable but also so that its made from sustainable materials. Whatever kind of plastic is used in the foil packaging of the CMFs is presumably not sustainable (or at least not as sustainable as cardboard boxes)
@krysto2002 said:
" @lusci said:
" @BelgianBricker said:
"yawn!
Someone wake me up when LEGO has an actual interesting idea / theme of their own..."
Absolutely agree."
Just because you don't like it or the distribution model doesn't mean it isn't interesting or original.
This is both, and frankly the whimsical designs are fun and refreshing. I'd like to see more stuff like this in a less predatory model."
hmm, some people are easily impressed...
I guess we just have to agree to disagree, but know that you are still wrong :p
@guachi said:
"I don't blind buy CMF minifigs and haven't for years. So if these are similarly blind buy I'll probably only get them on Bricklink if there's something I like."
Yeah, tbh its like a $5 premium to buy a still sealed complete set on Amazon. Having been asked to leave a store before for feeling CMF bags... its worth the $5 a set i want to never have that happen again. :-/
So much whining! Thanks for the review, as always. These look fun.
@Huw said:
"^ Buy a box and split the 2 sets with a friend."
So one box only comes with two complete sets? I buy doubles anyways so that doesn't sound bad at all if that's the case.
Edit @GSR_MataNui answered this already lmao
I like the majority of the minifigs so this is great news.
@Cyno01:
I just palped bags for the first time in almost a year, and while a store employee asked if there was anything she could help me find, nobody hassled me about doing this. Of course, I bought a box of disposable gloves for a show we did a few months ago, so I've started carrying a few around with me, which might make a difference (besides making it harder to tell what you're feeling).
NEXO KNI-- I mean, Vidyo or something. Totally different.