LEGO Collectible Minifigures Series: packaging change in sight

I told you a few days ago on the occasion of the announcement of the fifth series of characters to collect from the Super Mario universe (ref. Lego 71410), the days of minifigs delivered in the usual plastic bags are soon over. The manufacturer has already been working for many months on this transition, which should finally take place no earlier than September 2023 and the series of minifigs to collect in bags as we know them will then be delivered in a cardboard box that will no longer allow them to be identified. by handling the packaging.

LEGO does not plan to make life easier for fans: even if the manufacturer willingly admits having noticed over the years that the possibility of identifying the different characters in a series by handling the flexible bag has become a very popular activity. customers, there is no question of adding a code to these rigid packaging or any possibility of identifying their content.

As usual, LEGO declares that it does not rule out reviewing its copy later, but this necessarily implies that sales of minifigs individually or in complete boxes would have to drop significantly for the manufacturer to take into account. take this parameter into account and finally change your mind. Which will probably never happen.

What we do know, however, is that this new packaging will be sealed and not resealable after opening, that its contents will not be accessible without destroying the cardboard, that the boxes containing several series will always be composed of 36 units and that LEGO does not plan to modify the unit retail price of the product, i.e. €3.99.

LEGO could have used the principle of the box already used for the Bandmates of the VIDIYO range, but experience has shown that customers do not hesitate to open the boxes in stores to check the contents and the manufacturer has concluded that we had to imagine a more secure packaging.

I'll spare you all the talk about the need to save the planet that coats this announcement, LEGO obviously highlights the recyclable side of this new packaging and maintains that it is therefore necessary to sacrifice in passing a possibility of identification that simplified the life of many customers but which was in any case not envisaged by LEGO when launching these series of collectible minifigs. It's for the planet, make an effort.

You will find above and below some visuals illustrating the different avenues of reflection envisaged by LEGO around this new packaging with several prototypes. The final version of the packaging should be the one last seen in the gallery below. The possibility of a paper bag was quickly abandoned and the work mainly focused on the need to move from a flexible bag to a rigid container which unfortunately no longer allows you to try to guess the content. The manufacturer even claims that during the test phases with a sample of parents and children, more than 70% of those polled chose the new packaging over the old one. Planet first, take LEGO at its word.