How to Find the Lego CMF Series 18 Classic Policeman and The Story of My Quest

I had heard a few rumors going around about the Lego CMF series 18 Classic Policeman minifigure being in a very specific location in the retail box. The Classic Policeman is limited to one per box making it the rarest figure in the current series. So I was interested in any way to increase my chances of obtaining the figure without resorting to just flat out buying it at a ridiculously inflated price on eBay. If you're interested in my adventure discovering the easiest way to get the Classic Policeman for the retail price then read on. If you're thinking "I'm not here for adventure, just tell me the secret" then skip to the last paragraph where all will be revealed.

My first hint that there was specific location in the retail box where the elusive law enforcement officer resides was a few weeks ago when I first found the figures in a local store. I like to buy about four figures of a new series without feeling the packets and just trying my luck. When I got to the checkout the assistant mentioned that a man had just came through and asked if they had any unopened boxes. At the time of the mystery man's inquiry, the shop had two unopened boxes in the back. The assistant claimed that she brought the boxes out for the man and he immediately opened one of the boxes and flipped through a few figures on the left hand side and exclaimed "That's one". He then proceeded to do the same thing with the second box. I thought the information was interesting but if I was to encounter an unopened box in the wild, it would still take me a while to feel through all of the packets on the left hand side. The mystery man must have some additional information that the shop assistant probably didn't care enough to remember.

I got home with this in the back of my mind and opened my figures. I got the Birthday Party Boy, Cat Costume Girl and two of the Cake Guy. I didn't mind getting a double of the Cake Guy as the cake piece is new  and unique. After opening the packets and seeing my initial picks, my attention soon returned to the Classic Policeman. I had a quick google on my phone and couldn't find any mention of this sure-fire method of obtaining the rare figure. I gave up the chase for the time being but I still wanted that replica 1978 Police Officer. I went back to daily life, checking eBay every now and again but the prices remained far too high.

A week later I was getting on with some work when I received an email from Argos (a catalog based store in the UK) saying they had new toys in stock. I wondered if they had the new minifigures in stock as I had checked previously to no avail. A quick check on the website and there they were, "They've got them" I exclaimed, much to the confusion of my coworkers. A plan soon began to formulate "my local Argos is fairly quiet and the staff are nice, I bet they'll have an unopened box in the back if I ask, that policeman will be mine!" I thought to myself. I reserved four of the figures and began to google for secret method of securing the evasive figure. I came across this post on reddit which sounds like it could be legit based on my previous information but none of the comments backed up the OP's claims. Another quick search led my to this video on youtube which corroborated the information. I thought that this is enough for me to give this method a try.

I finished work and got to the Argos 10 minutes before closing. I entered my reservation number at the self checkout and paid for my four figures. Instead of waiting patiently I headed straight to the collection area and asked if they could send an unopened box down for me. The shop assistant looked at me with a slightly confused expression but obliged my request anyway and radioed to the stock room assistant to send out a whole box. I explained my strange request while I waited for the box to show up. The box arrived at the counter and I could hardly contain my excitement, the box was still taped, this was my chance. I opened the box and went straight to the left hand side and counted five figures from the back. I pulled out the figure and my face dropped, I knew immediately this wasn't the policeman. The bag was too bulky I had a quick feel and realised it was the Firework Costume Guy straight away. My disappointment was visible to the shop assistant. I regained my composure and decided to double check the area where I had plucked the figure from. I looked again in more detail and there was figure third from the back pushed really far down, I had miscounted! I corrected my error and counted five from the back including the pushed down figure. I expectantly slid the figure out of the box and saw how thin this packet was, I thought this is it. I felt the bag for confirmation and found the 1x2 tile and 1x2 plate I couldn't believe I had found it. I picked another two bags at random to go with my Policeman and Firework Costume Guy and gave the shop assistant my thanks. I was about to leave when the shop assistant said I should open the bag to be sure, I said "It's fine, I'm sure" she insisted as she had been captivated by my tale and needed closure as to whether I had definitely found it or not. I thought it was the least I could do after all of the help I had received so I opened the packet with a sigh of relief, it was indeed the Classic Policeman. I left the shop and headed home with a big grin on my face, content that my quest was now complete.

So there you have it, The Classic Policeman minifigure can be found in the left hand side of the box and is the fifth figure from the back. This is confirmed through the posts I found above and my own personal experience. I hope this method helps at least a few of you to find this awesome figure. Please leave a comment if you have found this helpful and good luck.

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Product of Interest: Nimuno Loops

So I'm a bit late to the party on reporting on this one however I think this is going to be such an amazing product and there might be a few things that have been announced after the initial wave of reports that people won't be aware of. I am of course talking about Nimuno Loops which is a phenomenon of a product that is designed to revolutionize the way we build. If you haven't heard of Nimuno Loops it is basically Lego Compatible Tape which can be attached to various surfaces allowing us to turn those surfaces into a place to build and innovate. You can cut the tape to any size and stick it to wall or to your phone an action figure to make all of those things a base plate for your building ideas. The possibilities are almost limitless so your imagination can run wild whether that imagination wants you to build an amazingly complex model or build something to make your life more practical such as a place to hang your keys.

If you're interested you can back Nimuno Loops on their Indiegogo page of which at the time of writing they have raised an insane 1.5 million US Dollars which is amazing considering they were originally only looking for 8,000 USD. I backed the project when I first heard about it a few weeks ago and at the time the tape was limited to 2 stud wide rolls and in limited colours. Since then the creators have added 4 stud wide tape, receiver tape and numerous additional colours to the list of available variations. The receiver tape is of particular interest to me as the original tap allows you to attach Lego to other things the receiver tape allows you to attach other things to Lego. So that action figure you wanted to display in an awesome action pose but you couldn't get the balance quite right, stick some receiver tape to the feet and attach it to a Lego base plate for for a better foothold.

For the people out there who have already backed keep an eye on your email to find out how to add the newly added products to your order. For those of you on the fence about backing I think now is the perfect time as they have plenty of great reward options and colours now. I think this is an amazing product that is bound to do hugely well once officially released and I can't wait to see what people create with it.

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Lego Star Wars Magazine Jan 2017 Kanan Jarrus Minifigure Review

This is the first time I have purchased one of the Lego Star Wars magazines. This is not because I am not a Star Wars fan, I most definitely am but I've never been a fan of the toys they usually bundle on front of these magazines. Most of the time it's just mini builds that look like they've been taken directly from the Star Wars advent calendar. However this time they have decided to put a minifigure on the cover so I snapped one up. The figure is of a character from Star Wars Rebels named Kanan Jarrus. I am yet to watch rebels so forgive me for knowing next to nothing about him.

 

Kanan Jarrus has only appeared in 4 sets so far and he looks slightly different in each one. So it's quite nice to be able to get him in such a cheap way.  The figure on this magazine looks like it is identical to the one you get with Lego 75141 Kanan's Speeder Bike. His hair piece is dark brown in a pony tail style. They have used the darker flesh tone for his head which has two face prints. One with a series expression and one with a bit of a smirk. His torso is that really nice olive green colour with straps and such printed on both the front and back. His right arm is dark green but his left arm is olive green to match his torso. He has dark grey legs with printing to which looks like a holster for his blaster. He is a Jedi so his accessory is a blue lightsabre with a silver hilt.

I like the figure and it's nice to get one of the Rebels minifigures in a fairly cheap way. I hope the makers of the Lego Star Wars magazine start including more minifigures in the future. The magazine itself is filled with comics, puzzles and competitions which I'm sure is quite a lot of fun for the younger star wars and Lego fans. The next issue contains a mini build of  The Ghost which is a ship from Star Wars rebels. I will be giving that one a miss as I said I'm not a fan of these mini builds and I already have the micro fighter ghost which I really like.

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Lego Minifigures Series 16 Wildlife Photographer Review

This is my 16th and final review of the Lego Collectable Minifigures Series 16. I wanted to get these all done and dusted before January 1st when the Lego Batman Movie collectable minifigure series was released but I've been so busy over December that I just couldn't find the time. Oh well better late then never as they say and once I've gotten all of these out of the way I can focus on some other interesting things to review. So here we have the Wildlife Photographer which turned out to be one of my unexpected favourites of the series. I actually think this is a great time to review this figure as she is definitely dressed for January in the UK.

The hood piece she is wearing is nothing new but this time it comes in blue with a light blue fluffy rim. She has two face prints and both are quite interesting. One face has blue goggles for walking around in those troublesome snowstorms and the other face looks like a winky face at first but when lined up with her camera you can tell it's intended for her to get a better look in the viewfinder. She has a cozy looking red and blue jacket with lots of pockets and nice printing on both the front and the back of the torso. Both the arms and legs are dual molded with red and various shades of blue which is a nice touch. Her hands are dark blue which gives the feel of nice warm gloves in that cold weather. Her accessory is a standard Lego camera but with a black apollo stud attached to create the look of a fancy lens attachment. The main draw of this set is the new penguin mold which looks great. He's an adorable little guy with a stud on his back for attaching things. I've noticed that they have already started using this new mold in Lego Batman Movie 70909 Batcave Break-in instead of the usual brick built penguins that we're used to.

This is a great figure with lots of cool details and the added bonus of the unique penguin which I believe is the only way to get this new penguin without scary red eyes. The best way to feel for this figure is to look for the penguin as he is unique enough not to be mistake for something else.

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Lego Minifigures Series 16 Penguin Boy Review

Here we have one of the most adorable little minifigures of Series 16 the Penguin Boy figure. He's a cute little guy who is sure to be popular with collectors. There isn't much to him in the way of printing but the main thing I expect people to be interested in is his penguin mask.

The penguin mask is very similar to the chicken, dinosaur and other animal costume minifigures but I think this is the first time we've gotten a child in an animal costume. The mask is a unique mold and has a printed beak, eyes and  white pattern around the face. The face is only one sided but has a really cute childish expression. The arms are the same fins used for the Shark Guy figure of series 15 but for the first time in black. The black fins are also used for the Orca figure in the new Lego Batman Movie minifigure series which should be showing up in shops now. His torso has a very simple white patch printed on the front. He has small black legs with bright orange penguin toes printed on them. His only accessories are his ice skates which we have seen on a few minifigures now.

In summary this is a super cute minifigure which I believe will be popular simply because of the hat piece. The design is very simple with not a lot of detail but it still works and looks great. The best way to feel for this figure is look for the torso and check for the fin shaped arms.

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Lego Minifigures Series 16 Spy Review

The spy is a minifigure which I think has arrived with strange timing. The figure reminds a lot of Ethan Hunt from the Mission Impossible series but we just received this character in minifigure form via a Lego Dimensions Level pack. Well never mind because this is a great figure regardless and he has some interesting features.

 He has a new hair piece with a spiky quiff with indents on the side which allow the attachment of visor pieces. The visor piece you get is some black spy googles possibly for night vision. He has a very heroic face with slight smirk and a headset so he can communicate with his backup. He's wearing a tactical jacket with lots of zips and pouches and the logo of his spy organization. The left arm also has a high tech watch printed on it. The legs are printed with a combat pants style with lots of pockets. He is also wearing a backpack which is a black version of the parachute pack we got with the Skydiver from series 10. He also has a rubbery rope which he probably uses for lowering himself down from high places and other ropey activities. He also has a gun which is made of a nozzle piece rather than an actual new gun piece.

The spy is a great figure but I think the excitement of get a spy in minifigure form has been quashed by other recent spy figure releases like the ultra agents and the Lego Dimensions Mission Impossible Level pack. Still he has some unique pieces making him worth seeking out. If trying to feel this figure out in the bags you probably want to search for the hair piece which is quite unique and should be easy to feel.

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Lego Minifigures Series 16 Rogue Review

The Rogue is a great figure for the RPG fan in us all. He's packed with so many cool little details and he in my opinion just looks really cool.

At first I thought his headgear was just a reuse of Wrayth from Lego ninjago but after having a proper look you can see that it is similar but is much less ragged and is actually a new piece. The heard gear is a dark green colour and gives the effect of a hood and bandana to cover his face which gives him a menacing look. When the mask is removed he has a much less menacing look and you find out he is actually a lovable rogue with great mutton chops and beard. I really like the face and it has lots of detail, especially on the eyebrows. His torso piece is very cool with a red cape like design at the top which goes below the shoulder on his left side and is held together by a wolf pin. He has dark green top which looks like padded body armour with a leather strap and a brown waist coat with a detailed pattern on it. He also has a red material belt with an interesting buckle on it. The back of the torso continues the design with the back of the waistcoat and the red cape. He has one solid green arm and one dual moulded with dark red on the top to give the effect that his cape is draped over one shoulder. He also has one yellow hand and one brown to represent him wearing one glove. The hip piece has a brown leather belt printed on it, obviously to keep his dark green pants up. His legs are dual moulded with printing for the tops of his brown boots and a leather pouch on the right leg which hangs down from his waist. His accessories are the standard bow and quiver in brown which we have seen many times before.

The Rogue is an amazing figure with amazing detail. I was genuinely impressed when I saw how much detail was packed into this figure. His accessories are nothing special but they suit the character well. The accessories however are very useful to feel theis figure out in the bag as the headgear is the only other unique piece and it can be difficult to distinguish from other similar pieces.

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