How To Select the Simpsons Lego Minifigurines

If you grew up with the Simpsons, then you would absolutely want this.

A little surprise awaits you at the end of the blog!

I first saw the Simpsons Lego Minifigurines on my colleague's desk a few weeks ago. She had Marge, Bart and Lisa. I asked her where's Homer Simpson? How can any Simpsons be complete without him? Well, apparently these Simpsons Lego are packed inside a mystery bag and sold at RM11.90 each in Toys R Us and Lego specialty stores. I made a mental note that I would definitely buy some.

Buying a mystery pack toy reminds me of those days when we use to "main tikam" (loosely translated as stabbing in the dark) for toys which are found in those cheap RM0.30 junk foods. I am still surprised how our government allowed these 100% pure junk to land in the school canteens and consumed by the thousands of kids. I'm not sure if this has changed today, but 20 years ago all junk food is seriously pure junk. But we bought them anyway for the little cheap plastic toys we could find in there.

Yes, I got the box too. Muahahaha!

Then my wife and daughter went to the Curve and surprised me with a Simpsons Lego Minifigurine pack! I think it's probably the sweetest surprise they have ever given me. Anyway, when I saw what they bought me, I was truly touched and I really, really, really hoped to get a Homer Simpson.

Why Homer? Truth be told, he isn't no role model father or husband. He's lazy, rude, selfish, drunk, and almost everything bad a man can be. But yet, after hundreds of episodes, he still seems to keep his job and his family in tact. Ultimately, he loves his family in his peculiar way and he's just plain funny. Emmm... donut...

So I felt my mystery pack first to see if I could guess the character inside. There was nothing that I could feel to tell me what it was. Just a round lump (every character has a head) and flat parts (every character has a stand, except Bart). When I opened it, lo and behold! A HOMER SIMPSON!

Lemme out of here!

My wife then told me she stood there with my daughter looking at the pile of packets while other buyers were feeling their way through the packets. It was my daughter that pulled out a packet and that was that. And just like the episode where she got the Tesco Woody figurine, she got me what I wanted the first time round! Wow, she really is good at this.

The Homer comes with a cute donut and a TV remote control. Inside I found a sheet of instructions and a list of all 16 other characters to collect.

So how do I select the Simpsons Lego figurines next time round? I can always bring my daughter BUT, for those of you who want a more scientific way of doing it, I've got good news for you!

To prove my theory right, I went to Brickboys at Midvalley to in my search for Ned Flanders, the neighbor whom Homer loves to hate! As I searched through the pile, I couldn't resist but to buy another packets. Apart from Ned, I wanted Marge to keep him company, Mr. Burns to make him work and Apu simply because I like his accent.

And guess what? I got all four hits. That's right, the chances were 6.25% but got all four right. So how did I do it? here's my cheat sheet:

1. Homer Simpson with a donut and a TV remote control - feel for the donut. No other character has the same small round Lego.
2. Bart Simpson with a skateboard - Bart's set has the most parts. Inside you will feel the wheels. Note that Bart also has a stand.
3. Marge Simpson with a Purse and and a "Donut Fancy" Magazine - this one's easy. The hair is a dead giveaway.
4. Lisa Simpson with her saxophone - feel the sax!
5. Maggie Simpson with her bear, Bobo - Maggie comes in only four pieces, but Bobo the bear is the key.
6. Grampa with a Newspaper about himself- once you felt the square piece, feel for the head to differentiate between Grampa, Milhouse and Ralph
7. Ned Flanders with a white "I ♥ South Paws" mug and a toolbox - feel for the mug
8. Krusty the Clown with a pie tray with yellow cream - feel for the pointy hair
9. Milhouse with a "Biclops" Comic - once you felt the square piece, feel for the head to differentiate between Grampa, Milhouse and Ralph
10. Ralph Wiggum with a card that says "I choo choo choose you" - once you felt the square piece, feel for the head to differentiate between Grampa, Milhouse and Ralph
11. Apu with a squishee - feel for the cup
12. Nelson Muntz with a baseball bat - feel for the baseball bat. It may feel like Mr. Burns' radioactive bar too, but the bat has patterns at the end of the stick.
13. Itchy with a caveman club - feel for the club
14. Scratchy with a lumberjack axe - feel for the axe. It may feel like Mr. Burns' radioactive bar too, so make sure you feel for the axe head.
15. Chief Wiggum with a billy club and a megaphone - feel for the megaphone.
16. Mr. Burns with the Three Eyed Fish, Blinky, in a bowl and a radioactive bar - feel for the radioactive bar and the bowl.

The toughest to feel to me is Grampa, Milhouse and Ralph because they all have the same sized accessory. When I was at Brickboys, the character I could find most was Bart followed by Homer, Scratchy and Chief Wiggum.

If you are not able to get what you want, then you can use my blog here to trade with fellow Malaysians. Simply put in your comment on what you want to trade and how someone can contact you. Remember to remove your comment once you have traded successfully.

Finally for Father's Day, guess what my lovely wife and daughter got me? The opportunity to dig through the pile to complete the Simpsons family, and I got Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson. :)

Here are some kooky photos and a lame story I came up with as an excuse to take macro shots of the Simpsons!