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As this video and this report show, the Marvel S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier comes with a number of decorative, single-peg statuettes / figures, representing in tiny scale: 8 agents, Nick Fury, Iron Man, Hawkeye and Captain America.

Tiny single-peg figures

The short, armless minifigures from the LEGO board games are referred to as "micro-figures" / "micro figures", but what are these tiny, single-peg statuettes from the Helicarrier set called?

Towards the end of the video, the designer refers to a plate printed with a road as usable with "all your microscale creations". I assume this means the single-peg figures could be called "microscale figures", but I'd like confirmation / clarification.

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3 Answers 3

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As you say, the figures used in the LEGO Games are called Micro-figures - these appear to be based on LEGO Part 90398 - Minifig Trophy Statuette, while Marcus refers to them as "Tiny Figures" in his video, the press release that is talked about on most of the sites calls them "micro-figures" as well - I guess LEGO can't call them "Nano-Figures" as that would clash with NanoBlocks - and most of the Games are now retired, so they can re-use the term.

Edit to add:

I've just received an email from LEGO promoting the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier proclaiming the "introduction" of "Microfigures":

Section of VIP email

And now, introducing microfigures! Includes Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, and eight S.H.I.E.L.D. agents!

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    I think they would still want to distinguish between the trophy-based "Micro-Figures" and these "Micro-Scale" figures. I agree that "Nano" is off the table.
    – JoshDM
    Commented Jan 29, 2015 at 23:57
  • I'm pretty sure it's hard to trademark a phrase like "nano-figure". If Lego already has "minifigure" and "microfigure" then "nanofigure" seems pretty reasonable. I'm not sure some other brand's use of the generic term "nano" would be infringed.
    – Mr. Shiny and New 安宇
    Commented Feb 6, 2015 at 16:08
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I suggest calling them "trophy figures". Here is my reasoning:

First, we need to understand a key term: Microscale. In Lego terms, microscale means anything smaller than minifig scale. Here is the definition from the Lego MBA Designer Handbook: Kit 2 - Microbuild Designer:

scan of Lego MBA Handbook showing microscale definition

By that definition, both the traditional "microfig" found in the games and a few other sets as well as the statuette would be considered microscale.

Nonetheless, Lego has provided at least one source that names the figure generically, the Lego Digital Designer software. There, part 90398 is named a "mini figure trophy":

screen capture of LDD software showing mini figure trophy name

For comparison, here is the traditional microfig in the LDD software:

enter image description here

Several online sources use the term "trophy statuette", including Bricklink and Rebrickable.

Based on these sources, I would call the new figures "trophy figures".

There was one previous example, by the way, of this part being printed with character detail in a set:

screen capture of Lego.com part inventory showing Jack Sparrow "voodoo doll" figure included in Queen Anne's Revenge set

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  • +1 Nice, backed up with evidence, and I like it. However, the ultimate answer will end up being what either LEGO or the overall community determine.
    – JoshDM
    Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 4:44
  • It's going to depend on whether this becomes a common practice or not. They call Voodoo Jack "Mini Jack", so we might see the pieces called "Mini Captain America", etc., in the inventory for this.
    – oddTodd
    Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 15:34
  • I wouldn't consider the "microfig" from the LEGO board games to be "microscale" as you've noted; it's really only approximately 75% the size of a regular minifig, which would still be considered a "giant" per the LEGO definition of microscale that you've posted.
    – JoshDM
    Commented Feb 6, 2015 at 17:14
  • Depends on your interpretation I guess. I understand "microscale" to mean literally anything smaller than minifig scale. I don't think I've ever seen a build scaled for microfigs, though.
    – oddTodd
    Commented Feb 6, 2015 at 17:17
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I always thought they were called "microfigs", just as the normal LEGO people are called "minifigs". But I'm not the definite source you seem to be looking for :)

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  • That's slang for the full "Micro Figures", I believe. I'm referring to the tiny figures that are featured in the video.
    – JoshDM
    Commented Jan 29, 2015 at 23:55
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    LEGO fans call them nanofigs, whereas LEGO refers to them as micro-figs. They are about 3/4th of the height of microfigs, and very-very tiny.
    – TheBrickBlogger
    Commented Jan 30, 2015 at 3:28
  • @TheBrickBlogger - I think your comment should be upgraded to an official answer :)
    – Phil B.
    Commented Jan 30, 2015 at 12:16
  • @TheBrickBlogger - so if LEGO calls them micro-figs, what do they call the armless ones used for their board games?
    – JoshDM
    Commented Jan 30, 2015 at 17:52
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    My guess is that since LEGO retired the board-games they decided to recycle the name. They do this regularly with retired elements and colors, so it wouldn't be a first.
    – TheBrickBlogger
    Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 16:37

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