Wednesday, February 3, 2016

A quick comparison: Lego mini figures and DST Mini-Mates

Lego Fly (L) and MiniMate Tali (R)
One of the most common questions around Dimond Select Toys' MiniMates line from people who haven't seen them in real life is how they compare to Lego figures.  To help answer that question, I've taken some comparison photos of a representative from each line.

Our representatives for the day are both blind bag figures. On the Lego side we have The Fly (they call him "Fly Monster", I assume because it's not licenced as a movie tie-in) from the Series 14: Monsters release. On the MiniMate side, we have Tali from the Mass Effect: Series 1 release. Both figures have the standard body from each of their representative lines, although they do have unique head sculpts: the standard heads on both lines are peg-shaped.
There are some obvious similarities: Both have similar rectangular torsos, claw-like hands that can hold accessories, and peg-negative holes in their feet. On the flip side, the most obvious difference is the height difference: the MiniMates are a good head taller than the Lego figures.  The heads and torsos are similar in size, so the height difference is mainly due to the very different limbs on the bodies.
Rear view: you can see the relative lack of detail on the Lego figure.
Minimates have jointed knees and elbows, which both improves their pose-ability and means that they have much longer limbs than their Lego equivalents. They also have shoulder ball joints, which means that they can lift their arms out to the side, whereas the Lego figures can only swing their arms.
Tali can lift her arm out to the side, while The Fly can only swing his arms
Finally, if you're wondering about compatibility, the answer is a qualified yes. They both fit similar but not identical peg sizes. The Lego pegs are slightly smaller, which means that while The Fly can't fit all the way onto Tali's stand, he does manage to fit most of the way with a little force. And on the flip side, Tali is slightly loose on Lego pegs, but not so loose that she falls over (and I've heard of MiniMate collectors who keep their figures displayed on Lego boards).

The Fly is impressed by Tali's ability to run away with bent knees and elbows.

And that's it! If you have any other questions about these figures, let me know and I'll do my best to answer them.  At some point I'd like to do another comparison with the MegaBloks figures, as well as the now-retired Palisades ones.






15 comments:

  1. Thank you for the comparison, I have never heard of the Dimond Minimates figures although I do know of the Lego ones as my husband has several of them and we sent some to my son in the UK too, mostly Captain America and Superman, oh and Captain Marvel/Shazam. We bought them at a flea market although they appear to have been new. Do you know if the Minimates do Captain America or maybe Shazam? I'd get them for the hubby and son if they did!
    xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are actually several Captain Americas - one for each of the Captain America and Avengers movies, and at least three comics ones. The Falcon and Winter Solider set (http://toyboxrevenge.blogspot.com/2015/03/random-toy-of-day-minimates-falcon-and.html) that I have are from one of those lines.

      There is a Shazam, but DST doesn't do DC characters any more (I think they may have lost the licence), so he may be harder to find.

      Happy hunting! :)

      Delete
    2. Thanks very much for that info JS, I might start looking for them soon then, it would make a nice surprise birthay present for my husband who's birthday is at the end of May.

      Delete
    3. You're welcome - I hope you find some fun gifts! :)

      Delete
  2. Hi JSarie! The jointed limbs sure is a plus when it comes to pose-ability.
    Thanks for the review.
    Take care,
    Arlette

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's true, I always like to see more articulation! :)

      Delete
  3. Thank you for doing this review. I had one of the curious. It's interesting to note they are similar but also so very different. I like that they are taller and that they have more posing options.

    Looking forward to the Megabloks review. I actually have a few of those myself (mostly Smurfs and MH ones). I find the bloks take a bit more to push together but Lego goes on really easily ... if that makes sense!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's interesting to know about MegaBlocks - I haven't picked any up yet (although I've been eyeing a few for a while), so I'll pay attention for that! Thanks!

      Delete
  4. I always enjoy your reviews JS, even though I don't collect figures myself. These are interesting, and I like that they can pose in different positions.
    Hugs,
    X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! The posing abilities are really what make the MiniMates stand out among block figures, at least to me. :)

      Delete
  5. Very nice comparison...those mini-mates are actually smaller than I envisioned! On a side note, I'm not sure if you collect this style of action figure, but have you seen the new Batman/Superman/Wonderwoman dolls on the Barbie Collector website? They look awesome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heh, I hadn't seen them, but thanks to you now I'm thinking about picking up Batman and Wonderwoman! :)

      Delete
  6. Great information! The MiniMates are so well made for such small figures. I do have to say that the Fly is the one that stole my heart, especially on the last photo he looks so cute :-).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heh, I wonder if The Fly would enjoy being called cute? LOL. ;)

      Delete
  7. I have a question, are the heads on the minimates interchangeable with the lego. I collect lego minifigs and I really want a Beta Ray Bill but lego doesn't make one. So I was wondering if I could put a Bill minimate head on a Thor lego body?

    ReplyDelete