Happy 30th birthday to the LEGO minifig

Thirty years ago today LEGO introduced the minifig: the micro-sized citizenry that populate almost every facet of the LEGO universe. To celebrate the anniversary, Gizmodo has a report on how the minifigs are put together from start to finish (turns out that they're the most expensive part of any LEGO set). And Gizmodo is also sponsoring a contest that's inviting people to submit videos featuring the minifigs. The grand prizes: the vintage Yellow Castle and Galaxy Explorer sets! Just last month I posted here about how much I've always lusted for a Galaxy Explorer. Looks like now might be my biggest chance ever to snag one and bring my life's work one step closer to completion :-)

I used to have fun customizing LEGO minifigs. Most of them didn't turn out so well (especially the lineup of Cenobites from the Hellraiser movies that I attempted). I still have the Darth Sidious one that I made not long after Star Wars Episode I came out: it's in storage somewhere but it looks pretty cool, right down to that scowl on the part of his face that's visible.

None of my customs were anything as good as this guy's work, which includes minifigs based on historical figures such as the Beatles, Fidel Castro and Christa McAuliffe (shown at left). Those with a religious inclination should check out The Brick Testament: Brendan Powell Smith's popular effort at rendering the entire Bible in LEGO (I can't wait to see how he depicts the Book of Revelation). People who prefer their LEGO creations to be more action-oriented need to stop by BrickArms: a fella who makes highly detailed weaponry for LEGO minifigs, including AK-47s and Uzi submachine guns.

And as if LEGO minifigs were not versatile enough, there are the amazing short films (and not a few longer ones) that employ them, such as this now-classic version of the "Camelot" scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail...

What more can be said but: Happy Birthday, LEGO Minifig! May you see many more years of being cannibalized for parts and stopping up vacuum cleaners :-P