Dorling Kindersley (the publishing house also known as DK) sure loves to pump out LEGO books, not that I am complaining. However, I often debate if they are worth buying. They are always shrink wrapped at my local bookstore, so you can’t flip through them. I often ask myself, other than updates, how different can this book really be from the last one? More often than not, I still end up buying the book for the exclusive Minifigure, and inevitably enjoy the short read. But, this time, I thought I would compare the book to one of its predecessors in my review.
My latest LEGO read was I Love That Minifigure, released in 2015. I had originally decided not to buy this book because I already had LEGO Minifigure – Year by Year: A Visual History. But, then the need arose for zombies in one of my LEGO photo shoots (click here to see the pictures). So, I got the book for the zombie Minifigure it comes with. The Minifigure is actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be. It turns out that the Zombie Skateboarder is actually the undead version of the Skateboarder Minifigure from Series 1. I love when LEGO creates little stories to go along with their products, like the cookie smuggling ring in the Creator Detective’s Office set.
The book itself is a fun, but short read. Like many other DK LEGO books, this book starts off with an extra thick front cover that accommodates the Minifigure. I probably would not buy many of these books without the Minifig, but at the same time, that cover is a massive waste of packaging. For this book in particular, it takes up more than half of the actual book. While the cover was also thick in LEGO Minifigure – Year by Year, it had three Minifigures in it, and the actual book was still thicker than the cover.
I Love That Minifigure goes into a little more depth about each character than Year by Year did. Each Minifig gets its own page in I Love That Minifigure. The page gives you stats about the theme, years available, and rarity of the Minifigures. There is also interesting facts about design, inside jokes, and original pieces. Conversely, Year by Year shows you all of the new Minifigures produced each year from 1978-2013, but with a little less detail about them. You still get interesting facts, and tidbits about what designs and pieces were new each year, just not as much per character. There are also timelines showing the history of Minifigs, which is a nice addition.
Ultimately, I would have liked a book that combined both of these into one volume. I guess that would make less money though. A complete history of every single Minifigure would be awesome. I would improve upon it by adding 360° views of each Minifigure instead of just describing how they look from the back.
Overall, I Love That Minifigure is a fun book with lots of neat info. It doesn’t deviate much from the usual format of these LEGO books, but I did like the addition of the rarity rating. The zombie Minifigure is a lot of fun too. Have you read this book? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Until next time,
-T.N.B.
Hmm…I should consider these for my young grandsons, who are into Legos. Have not read any of the books.