I wanted to start the list with something completely random, and this guy fits the bill. He looks like he could have stepped out of a Monty Python film with that mustache, but apparently he holds the important job of fixing things and walking around in the background when the important characters are talking. I’ve honestly never seen a full episode of the new Clone Wars show, but the design of this dude named Hondo makes me want to spring for the first season Blu-ray in November. He looks like a pirate circus ringmaster. This is no ordinary R2-D2, this is slave R2 from Jabba the Hutt’s barge in Return of the Jedi! Finally your minifigures don’t have to get their own drinks! From everyone’s favorite Star Wars movie, The Phantom Menace, comes Aldar Beedo, a podracer that looks like a robot squid. Scout Troopers are awesome, but green Swamp Troopers from Chewie’s home-world of Kashyyyk are Most Awesome. The skeletal design of the prequel Battle Droids looks pretty cool in LEGO form, especially if you have a few thousand laying around.
I guess this counts as a minifigure, but there’s not much mini about it. It looks like a big pile of plastic, and is oddly all green, but with LEGO man hands Jabba is one of the weirdest minifigures there is. With heads that come off, you could easily recreate Anakin’s rampage from Episode II with these Tusken Raider minifigs. Donkey noises not included. Plo Koon was always one of the more intriguing prequel characters visually. I don’t know much about him, but I’m sure in Middle School I could have told you a lot. It’s bad that the prequels are entering nostalgia range now, but maybe that will make them seem better? Nothing is badder than a Royal Guard, and the LEGO version doesn’t disappoint. The Shadowtrooper, an expanded universe character, used a lightsaber and was all sorts of awesome. This version doesn’t have a lightsaber, but was in the first expanded universe set (#7664 Tie Crawler). Jabba’s slimey right-hand man Bib Fortuna may not be the weirdest looking, but he’s up there.
You’ve got to hand it to George Lucas, in what other franchise would kids play with a random background character with a messed up head, in LEGO form? Ok, probably Harry Potter, but still, Bib Fortuna minifig! There are many versions of Obi-Wan, but I think the Clone Wars version is my favorite. Maybe it’s his armor, or maybe it’s his crazy hair. Chewbacca isn’t a character you would think would translate very well into the LEGO world, but the cool head sculpt combined with the sculpted torso makes it work pretty well. Also, the bowcaster is pretty sweet. Like also comes in two flavors of awesome, regular or Clone Wars. I like the classic version the best; they really nailed the head sculpt. I love Greedo almost as much as I love watching Han Solo murder him. I mentioned the Mos Eisley Cantina set yesterday, and after staring at the Greedo minifig for hours upon hours (not really), I concluded that he is 4th Most Awesome. Also, it kind of looks like he’s wearing a thong, just saying.
Darth Vader may be a staple of most people’s LEGO Star Wars collections, but how many have the Battle Damaged Darth Vader? He came in the Rogue Shadow (#7672) set along with fellow The Force Unleashed stars Juno Eclipse and Vader’s Secret Apprentice. Apparently I didn’t finish that game because I don’t remember a battle damaged Vader, so excuse me while I go try to finally get past that darn Star Destroyer part. It’s really surprising that it took ten years for LEGO to release an Admiral Ackbar minifig. He finally debuted in set #7754 – Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser to gurgle his famous line “It’s a trap!” Most awesome because I love Admiral Ackbar, and you should too.A George Lucas minifig? OK, this one is kind of a stretch, and you’ll have to buy the LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary to find out, but somewhere in those pages lies an awesome minifigure of the Bearded One himself! I’d love to have one; it would go great with my Steven Spielberg minifigure from the long-lost LEGO Studios Movie Maker set.
So there are some of my picks for the most awesome LEGO Star Wars minifigures, what are some of yours?There have been new LEGO "Star Wars" construction sets introduced every year since 1999, most of which feature at least one minifigure. The characters from the "Star Wars" movies and the extended universe are popular with brick fans that want to build up a collection and purchase play sets based on the minifigures the sets contain. Additionally, LEGO makes limited edition promotional figures, and these incredibly rare toys can realize high prices on the secondary market. LEGO marked the 30th anniversary of the first "Star Wars" movie in 2007 by producing 10,000 gold chrome minifigures of C-3PO. The company sealed each figure in a white plastic bag and then randomly inserted them in "Star Wars" play sets. The figure is one of the rarest and most valuable "Star Wars" figures, demanding a premium on the secondary market as long as it is still in its original white bag. The gold chrome C-3PO from 2007 is actually paint on plastic.
A much rarer version from the same year is real 14 karat gold. There are only five of these valuable figures in existence, so it is important that consumers do not confuse them with the more common painted version. Only one version of the Boba Fett minifigure features printed arms and legs. This rare minifigure is exclusive to the discontinued 2003 Cloud City play set and is now a coveted prize for collectors. In May 2013, a life-sized X-Wing made from LEGO bricks went on display in Times Square. At the same time, the local Toys 'R' Us store gave away an exclusive Yoda minifigure with purchases of the X-Wing construction set. The figure, depicting Yoda in an "NY I love" shirt had a limited run of just 1,000 pieces. In 2009, LEGO celebrated 10 years of LEGO "Star Wars" construction sets by producing a limited edition Darth Vader minifigure. The company randomly inserted this piece inside LEGO "Star Wars" sets to delight lucky purchasers. Although there are several versions of Lando Calrissian available, only one of them features him in his Cloud City outfit.
This desirable minifigure is from the 2003 Cloud City play set, which also contains the rare Boba Fett figure. Princess Leia Organa has appeared in many play sets, but often with exclusive printing, such as the 2002 Jabba's Palace set, where she wears her iconic slave outfit. In the 2009 Battle for Endor set, she appears in the combat outfit worn by Carrie Fisher in the dramatic conclusion to "Return of the Jedi." The TC-4 Protocol Droid looks like C-3PO except it is red instead of gold. This is a Toys 'R' Us promotional figure that is not available in any play sets. Darth Revan is a Sith Lord who retrained as a Jedi after losing his memory. He has never appeared in a "Star Wars" construction set and was only available on the LEGO online store through May in 2014 to celebrate "Star Wars" Day. In addition to the rare Boba Fett figure from the Cloud City play set, there is also an all-white version. This exclusive minifigure had a limited run of 10,000 pieces in 2010 and it has never appeared in any play sets.