Back in June 2022, the LEGO® Group revealed the latest collection of collectible Minifigures. Officially numbered as 71034, LEGO.com lists each blind bag as costing $4.99 CAD. With 12 characters to find, the blind bags hit store shelves on September 1, 2022. However, we’ve got an early look ready for you today. The LEGO® Group sent True North Bricks a full, pre-release box to play with! Consequently, we’ve put together a Minifigures Series 23 feel guide to help you in your upcoming search. Similar to our Muppets feel guide, you can watch this guide on YouTube below, or continue reading for more!
Before you begin…
As stated in previous guides, the best way to find specific Minifigures is to feel for accessories. Apart from occasional varying leg lengths, Minifigure parts are all the same. Each character generally has at least one unique accessory that makes them easy to identify. With that said, Series 23 has some tricky ones. I’ll do my best to outline what to look for in each case. Additionally, I will try to point out what parts are easily confused from packet to packet. I recommend you identify each character based on two traits since some accessories are easy to confuse.
I felt my way through one entire box of Series 23. The distribution of characters in the box was not random at all. In fact, the box featured alternating clumps of Minifigures. I only have one box, so I can’t guarantee that the order I found will be the same in other boxes. However, I found that the Wolf Costume and Ferry Captain alternated. Secondly, the Sugar Ferry and Reindeer Costume followed one another. Thirdly, the Turkey Costume, Cardboard Robot, Holiday Elf, and Popcorn Costume were clumped together. Fourth, the Snowman and the Nutcracker were together. Finally, the Dragon Costume and Knight of the Yellow Castle alternated as well. Keep in mind, this was a fresh box. In store, you will likely encounter a box many others have already gone through.
Wolf Costume
First up in our Minifigures Series 23 feel guide is the Wolf Costume. I found this one most easily using the tail. It has a rectangular section with two holes for leg attachment. The piece is quite rubbery in texture, and you can feel the fur patterning on it. You might confuse this item with the tail of the Dragon Costume. However, the two tails consist of different types of plastic with the dragon tail feeling much firmer. Additionally, the dragon tail has a diamond shaped end. The Wolf Costume also includes a sack accessory. This is a very round piece with an opening for a stud on the bottom. You can feel the sack’s handle on the top. That feature helps distinguish it from the similarly shaped pumpkin of the Turkey Costume and the mask of the Snowman.
Finally, the Wolf Costume includes a mask. This mask features “furry” cheek ruff and pointed ears on top. The edges of the ruff feel smoother than the cheeks of the Dragon Costume, but have a similar undulating feel. The dragon does not have ears on top, rather smoothed ridges. You might also confuse the wolf mask with the reindeer or turkey. The former is more cylindrical with no cheek fur. However, the pointed ears feel similar. The turkey also has no cheek fur, but also has no ears.
Ferry Captain
The Ferry Captain is one of the easiest characters to find in this series. The huge boat element of his costume makes the blind bag feel very thick right from the get-go. The boat is hollow with an open underside you can stick your fingers in. Additionally, the front edge tapers into a rounded point. Other features of this blind bag include the captain’s hat. Unlike a regular baseball cap, the captain’s hat has an indent between the visor and the front panel. Finally, the Ferry Captain’s boat costume uses two small rods as smokestacks. These are the little rods with the central stopper, giving the middle of the small piece a thicker feel. It is quite hard to confuse this packet with others.
Sugar Fairy
The easiest item to find in this case was the candy cane. It is a new piece that initially feels like a lightsaber blade. However, feeling your way to the end reveals a hooked tip. With Series 23, always feel your way to end of rod pieces because they are easily confused. This particular piece feels similar to the Snowman’s broom, only the tips differ. Additionally, the Knight of the Yellow Castle also comes with a rod piece. However, it is a straight-up rod without specialized ends.
The Sugar Fairy comes with wings and a tutu. The wings feature a square attachment for the neck and four rounded wing tips. Meanwhile, the tutu feels like a flat ovoid disc with ridges on either surface. While they feel quite different, you might mistake the wings in this packet with the Dragon Costume wings if you do not take the time to feel them carefully. The dragon wings also have a rounded neck attachment. Another difference comes in the legs. The Sugar Fairy is one of two characters in Series 23 with stumpy, unmoving legs (the other being the elf).
Reindeer Costume
Interestingly, the antlers are not part of the Reindeer Costume mask. Rather, they come as a separate piece. As such, you might confuse the reindeer mask with other masks in the series. However, the reindeer mask is very cylindrical with ears on top. This sets it apart from the wolf and dragon, which do not have straight sides. Additionally, the ears distinguish the reindeer mask from the turkey. Perhaps the most distinguishable feature of the Reindeer Costume is the gift box. You can’t mistake the cube-like object with an open top. Additionally, the packet contains a 2×2 tile to seal the box, and two heart-shaped 1×1 tiles to place in the box.
Turkey Costume
The Turkey Costume is one of two characters that comes double bagged. This detail makes the package feel thicker than others in the series. The other character is the Dragon Costume. The distinguishing feature for the Turkey Costume is the tail. The broad, fan shape is hard to mistake. Additionally, the piece features a rectangular attachment for the legs with a small, bowl-like feel. If you find the torso, the Turkey Costume also has wings instead of arms. Additionally, the mask is more rounded than others in the series and does not have ears on top. Finally, the blind bag contains a pumpkin. Feel this piece carefully. You might confuse it for the Snowman’s mask or the Wolf’s bag. The pumpkin has indents all around which the other pieces do not.
Cardboard Robot
The most identifiable feature of the Carboard Robot is the mask element. It feels like a box with two rectangular tabs coming off one side. Additionally, it has three studs: one on the top, and one on either side. This is also the only character to come with scissors. There are two in the pack. Finally, the character comes with a 2×2 tile. Be careful using this as an identifying trait since the Reindeer Costume also comes with a 2×2 tile.
Holiday Elf
Of all the characters in this Minifigures Series 23 feel guide, the Holiday Elf comes with the largest number of small bricks. There is a round 2×2 plate, a 1×1 plate, a 1×1 triangle, and a 1×1 stud used to assemble the snow globe accessory. Additionally, the snow globe casing is a printed, round 2x2x1 2/3 brick with a domed top. With that said, I found this character most often by using the elf hat. The braided pigtails coming off the sides are easy to identify. Finally, this is one of two characters with stumpy, unmoving legs (along with the Sugar Fairy).
Popcorn Costume
The Popcorn Costume character comes with very few pieces compared to other characters in Series 23. You get the usual Minifigure parts and the costume piece… that’s it. Despite being my favorite character in this series, I wish he came with more accessories. The 1×1 printed popcorn container brick we’ve seen in the past would have been a no-brainer. In any case, I found this character easily enough with just the costume. It is very box-like, but the top feels bubbly. Additionally, this is one of two characters featuring shorter, moving legs. The other character is the Knight of the Yellow Castle.
Snowman
This character surprised me. I was expecting a modified headpiece. However, the character comes with a standard Minifigure head and a spherical mask to go on top of it. You might confuse the mask with the pumpkin element from the Turkey blind bag. However, this one is completely smooth except for a stud on top and the open bottom. Another easily identifiable feature is the broom. It feels like a rod piece with a rectangle attached to the end. That rectangle differentiates it from the Sugar Fairy’s candy cane and the Knight’s horse toy. Finally, you can find a top hat, scarf, and a cone-shaped carrot piece in this packet.
Nutcracker
This character comes with epaulettes. That was the first item I found in the blind bag. However, the pirate swords are also easy to identify (there are two). The Nutcracker’s hat feels cylindrical, but has lots of hair molded onto one end. This piece is quite distinctive and not easy to mistake with accessories from other characters. Finally, the packet includes 1×1 round tiles with printed nuts on them.
Knight of the Yellow Castle
This knight is one of two characters with short moving legs. The other is Popcorn Costume. I found the easiest object to identify with this character was the shield. Anyone familiar with LEGO® Castles will know this shape with the t-handle coming off the back. You also acquire a suit of armor in this packet. This knight features a racecar/space/motorcycle helmet. The visor piece comes separate, and feels pointed on one side. I was able to fit my finger into the indented side despite the packaging. Finally, the horse toy in this sets comes in two pieces. The horse head is L-shaped, and comes with a rod (lightsaber) piece to attach to. You might confuse the rod with the Snowman’s broom or the Fairy’s candy cane, so be sure to carefully feel the ends.
Dragon Costume
This character was a bit of a copout. We already got this character in Series 18, only in red. Granted, this version features a female face. All the same, recolors of old characters are fun for the Build-a-Mini station, not a proper series. I expect a little more originality. In any case, the dragon wings are easy to identify. They feel different from the Sugar Fairy wings. Even the neck attachment is different, being rounded in this case and square for the fairy. However, the mask is confusing. It is hard to differentiate from the wolf. But remember the wolf has pointed ears and the dragon does not. Additionally, the dragon includes a more solid plastic in the tail, whereas the wolf is more rubbery. Finally, the dragon tail has a diamond tip. As a note, the horns are not part of the mask in this case, but separate pieces.
That concludes the Minifigures Series 23 feel guide! All in all, this series features a very seasonal selection of characters, most being very Christmas-y. Personally, I lament the lack of more normal professions. I also feel the Sugar Fairy and Dragon are used concepts, while the Wolf is not substantially different from raccoons and foxes of the past. With that said, there are highlights as well. I love the Popcorn Costume and Knight of the Yellow Castle. The Turkey Costume gave me chuckle too. Christmas Village fans acquire a new elf hairpiece, candy cane, Nutcracker, and snowman too. While not my favorite series, it is a fun collection. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below or reach out on social media.
Until next time,
-Tom
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