This page contains information about the different types of Minimates, what they are, where to buy them, and what the packaging looks like. Use the menu below to jump to a section.
Marvel Minimates
So what exactly are Marvel Minimates?
They are 2-inch tall "block figures", similar to Lego men or KUBRICKS. Each Minimate has the same identically constructed body, but the real attraction is that these figures have an amazing 14 points of articulation, meaning they are very posable for such small figures.
The first wave of figures concentrated on the recent Marvel film properties Daredevil and Hulk, while the second, third and fourth waves contained characters from Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men. Later waves focus on a broad spectrum of the Marvel Universe, including characters from the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. In addition to regular retail, Minimates have also been produced for conventions and as store exclusives.
Where can I buy them?
These figures aren't out at normal retail outlets like Toys R Us or The Entertainer in the UK, so you'll either need to get them from your local comic shops which carry imports, or online. I got most of my "normal" 2-packs, including the chase figures, from eBay UK and the harder-to-get convention exclusives (and the Spidey 5-pack) from eBay US.
Other UK websites like Epic Heroes and Sci-Fi Warehouse also sell the Minimates, but they tend to sell out quickly.
In the States, the 2-packs are much more readily available at retail, and Toys R Us US also carry exclusive 5-packs of Minimates.
What does the packaging look like?
The Diamond Select Toys 2-packs have gone through several different looks. Originally the Minimates were packaged in a clear bubble stuck to a card. The card itself was tiny, about half the size of a Transformers Armada Minicon card or GI Joe 2-figure pack:
The US TRU 5-pack was wider than the 2-pack cards, but not as tall:
From wave 4 onwards, the packaging design changed. Instead of the more expensive plastic bubbles, boxes were used that hid the figures. This change frustrated a lot of people, who were used to seeing these on toy shelves and being able to pick a set with the best paint jobs. For me, I have never seen a set on toy shelves so it didn't really matter. The first 2-pack box was the Professor X/Magneto exclusive, which was a similar size overall to the carded release. From wave 4 proper, the Minimates came in smaller boxes, as seen in the Maskless Spider-Man/Doc Ock box in the middle here:
The back of the cards (and the 5-pack box) is identical, regardless of whether it's wave 1, 2, 3 or an exclusive. It shows all 3 waves, and the Silver Surfer exclusive, but not the Convention exclusives.
From wave 4, the back of the box changed to reflect some of the newer Minimates that were available or coming shortly:
Lord of the Rings Minimates
So what exactly are Lord of the Rings Minimates?
The LOTR Minimates are licensed from the critically and commercially acclaimed New Line Cinema trology of films, so they can use likeness of the actors whilst retaining the 14 points of articulation. LOTR Minimates have been made in 3 different sizes to help keep the Middle Earth inhabitants in scale. Hobbits, dwarves and Gollum are made in the 2-inch size, the humans, elves and Orcs in a new 2.5 inch size, and finally, big brutes like Sauron are in the 3 inch size class previously used for the Star Trek Minimates
They are available in 4-pack sets (which are exclusive to Toys R Us US) and 2-pack sets. In addition to regular retail, LOTR Minimates have been produced as online store exclusives.
Where can I buy them?
Like the Marvel Minimates, sadly these figures aren't out at normal UK retail outlets like Toys R Us or The Entertainer, so you'll either need to get them from your local comic shops which carry imports, or online. eBay UK should be a good bet, and UK websites like Epic Heroes and Sci-Fi Warehouse are worth a look.
In the States, the wave 1 2-packs are only just starting to hit now, and obviously Toys R Us US also carry the exclusive 4-packs.
What does the packaging look like?
Both the Tower Records exclusive Sauron and the TRU-exclusive 4-pack appeared before we saw the regular 2-pack packaging, which harked back to the original 2-pack packaing for the Marvel Minimate sets. Here is a comparison shot of an older Marvel 2-pack (on card/bubble), a new boxed Marvel set, and the new LOTR 2-pack:
Here is a shot comparing just the LOTR 2-pack with the 4-pack set:
The back of the 4-packs shows just the figures available in the 2 sets:
The back of the 2-packs is similar and shows the figures available in wave 1, plus Sauron:
C3 Minimates
So what does C3 stand for?
C3 stands for Create, Construct, Customize. Put simply, C3 is Art Asylum's version of Lego bricks. In order to make the DC Comics Minimates, due to licensing restrictions the Minimates themselves have to come with a building block set. Hence, C3 was born.
So C3 is where you will find 2-inch Minimates based on DC Comics properties like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. With the licence including animated shows like Justice League and the upcoming Batman film Batman Begins, this should be a very exciting chapter in the Minimates progress.
Wave 1 is broken up into 3 different types of construction set. There are 4 small sets which contain 2 Minimates, 2 larger sets which have more bricks but only 1 Minimate, and a playset, with lots of bricks and 3 figures. There was also a convention exclusive variant produced for this years summer conventions.
Where can I buy them?
At the moment (July 2004), several of the sets (specifically the Batglider and Batwing) are appearing in K-Mart stores in the States. Several online US retailers also carry them. From February 2005 the UK started getting the C3 sets at retail, in Woolworths, Index and TRU.
What does the packaging look like?
All the C3 reviews have pictures of the packaging, as yet there has been no need for comparison shots.
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