LEGO

How LEGO Minifigures series work, and how to tell what is in the box

LEGO Minifigures, the Collectible Minifigures line that collectors call CMF, are small figures sold blind: one to a sealed pack, with accessories and a display stand. Series 1 (set 8683) came out in 2010 with 16 figures, and the numbered series kept to 16, occasionally 17 with a bonus figure, up to Series 20; since Series 21 in January 2021, every series has had 12. By October 2026 there are 29 numbered series, plus themed ones such as Disney, Marvel, Dungeons & Dragons, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Shrek. Until 2023 the figures came in opaque bags that collectors felt through in the shop; since then they have come in cardboard boxes.

The box itself tells you who is inside. Since Series 25 (71045, 2024), the bottom of the box carries a square Data Matrix code next to the barcode, often called the QR code. Scan it with a reader that handles Data Matrix and the first seven digits of the result identify the minifigure. The ordinary barcode is the same for the whole series, and the line printed under the square is a production code: according to Jay's Brick Blog and Brickfact, an S there means a Czech factory, making boxes for the UK and the EU, and an R means Mexico, for the US and Canada. Codes for the same figure differ between production runs, and LEGO has changed them before, so one figure can have several valid codes.

The sets in this section are the cards above. The first to arrive, on 17 October 2026, was Series 29 (71052), the 12 figures LEGO released on 1 May 2026; on 18 October 2026 Series 28: Animals (71051, out on 1 January 2026) and the Shrek Series (71053, out on 1 September 2026) followed, 12 figures each. On a series page every figure has its name and its number in the series, such as 71052-1, and where two independent code lists agree there is a Box codes table with every code we checked. ColleX shows no prices for LEGO minifigures: just the line-up, the codes and your own “Have” and “Want” marks, from which the page works out which figures you are still missing.

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