#225 TIPS: Buying minifigures for MOCs

Minifigures, first introduced in 1978, are one of my favourite parts of LEGO. Although they play a small role in the interlocking brick system, they can include awesome detail and help recreate dioramas and populate MOCs.

Most builders may only include a few minifigures, and these are usually sourced from the builder's own collection, or bought individually. However, if you are doing a large scale MOC, where possibly hundreds of minifigures are needed to populate the MOC, where can you get them from?

Bricklink can be your friend in some cases. It really depends on what minifigure you are looking for, as sometimes stores can be selling them for cheap when compared to other sites listed below and often come in bulk quantities. Here is a link to Bricklink: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/main.page

eBay, Facebook marketplaces or garage sales can be good places to look for minifigures in bulk. You might be able to snatch a good deal; try looking for job lots and look for specific figures that you want, and ones that you could sell on to get back your money. Unfortunately, this method can be time consuming and won't get you that many minifigures unless you are very lucky, but its worth mentoring as when you find good deal, they can be really are good.

Next up is specific to a certain popular theme. Battle packs, first introduced in 2007, they are a great way to gain 4 minifigures for around £12/$13. Try looking in stores or online for when they are reduced, as if you are buying over ten, even small reductions of 10-20% could save you a lot.

The last method that is quite uncommon is borrowing them. This could be from fellow collectors, but its not unheard of to borrow them directly from The LEGO Group themselves. Check out this video for its mention: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHFsFd9BoZ8&t=28s