This year saw three series of LEGO® Minifigures released as well as two series of LEGO VIDIYO Bandmates including the elusive second series. 2021 also saw the format of the Minifigures series change, switching character counts from the usual 16 down to 12. The years began with a gang of original characters and the 21st series LEGO Minifigures. As has been the case with past Minifigures, Series 21 included plenty of fun new elements and 12 unique characters. New pieces included a violin, wearable aeroplane, ladybird shell, Beekeeper hat plus a few others.
Rumours of a new licensed series of Minifigures inspired by Space Jam started to do the rounds in late 2020. As May arrived it was clear the next series of Minifigures were actually based on the general Looney Tunes characters. The 12 new characters all made use of brand new moulds, which were needed to capture the animated characters unique looks. For some, Wile E Coyote stayed true to his name and was absent from the boxes provided for review.
As the year rolled on, in September we were treated to another new licensed series. This time characters were inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the various Disney+ series including What If…?, Falcon & The Winter Soldier, Loki and WandaVision. Although the series didn’t utilize too many new pieces compared to previous series, it did give us a baby crocodile and frog variant of Thor.
Officially the LEGO VIDIYO Bandmates are not part of the ‘Collectable Minifigures’ line, however, they included a series of 12 characters, which were packaged in such a way you didn’t know who you would be getting. In fact, they came in boxes, which really didn’t go down well with LEGO fans. Just like the original IP series of LEGO Minifigures, Bandmates also featured original characters, who were all tied to the various musical fractions of the beleaguered LEGO VIDIYO theme. In 2021 we got two series of Bandmates, with each Minifigure coming with a trio of BeatBits and a display stand. Series 1 arrived in March and featured a few new moulds as well as some cool instruments.
A second series was released in October, albeit in a very limited way. This series of Bandmates is the most difficult collection of Minifigures to find as their release was up in the air due to the refocusing of the LEGO VIDIYO theme. Ironically, after almost everyone had bad vibes towards VIDIYO, as soon as the Bandmates release became extremely limited, they were suddenly much sought after.
Another means of increasing your LEGO Minifigure collection in 2021, was through LEGO Minifigure Accessory Packs. There were four released in 2021, each based on other LEGO themes including Marvel, Monkie Kid, Minions and Harry Potter. These sorts of packs often include unique characters, not normally found in other sets. Making them great for Minifigures as well as a way to expand the scope of other LEGO sets.
With 2021 almost over, the Minifigure madness is set to continue into 2022, with Series 22 Minifigures dropping January 1st, along with two LEGO Star Wars-themed Minifigure Accessory Packs.
