Lego minifigures series 8: The Squeeze Method

Until I can get proper pics up of my Lego Minifigure Series 8 finds, here's a look at the pack-in pamphlet showing you all the figures and accessories (so you know what to squeeze for!)

It's always tough being the first to find these, because you have no idea beyond a few scant online images and those on the packages of what you need to focus on in your squeezing endeavours.

In my case, I really only wanted the Vampire Bat (or as I have officially dubbed him: 'Man-Bat,' especially now that mine has blue 'pants.' More on that later.) so for him I focused on his unique winged arms. I squeezed for a torso, then felt for those specific-to-him bat wings. Success. In the whole box (of which I am sure I was the first to dig in) I only identified two Man-Bats. And I squeezed every one. Your mileage may vary.

Man-Bat is also the only figure with zero accessories, so his pack is pretty thin, but then so was the DJ kid's pack, so use that as a guideline. To be honest I was surprised that there were only two Man-Bats because, since he has no accessories, you'd think they'd want to sell more of him because he's 'cheaper;' but then again, his arms are absolutely unique and he's only been released in the Monster Fighters Vampyre Castle set thus far (but in brown,) so his tooling costs on average may be higher. Regardless, he's a brilliant cross marketing piece, hitting the fans of the Monster Fighter sets and Superhero sets, so expect him to be the hardest to find and super popular (my prediction.) Also - with that hair/ear piece he's just SCREAMING to be made into a custom Eddie Munster (I'm already planning mine,) so there's that attraction as well.

Of course I was shopping with my daughter, who immediately stated she wanted the fairy and cowgirl. Damn. Okay, I'll squeeze for those too. The cowgirl has a unique hat with built in/sculpted in hair, so feel for that, and the lasso. For the fairy, it is her high bangs that led me to her, but I was able to confirm with her wings (or you could squeeze for that wand of hers.)

Unscientifically speaking, I think that lame Bavarian gent is the most plentiful. I felt a lot of him and his pointy hat. The diver and robot are super easy to find, just feel for those huge helmets. The same can be said for the Alien Queen, as she has a huge head and that ubiquitous 'dress' wedge.

Other items to search for to make identification easy: pom-poms, skis, Santa's sack, round record, conquistador helmet, football helmet (and pads) bowler hat and newspaper, pirate hat. I actually never specifically identified the Hamlet thespian, but at first I was so focused on Man-Bat that I moved on when I didn't feel those wings. But I imagine his collar may be easy to identify, and of course there are essentially two heads in that one, so you could try for that clue.

Good luck!