LEGO Minifigures Series 25 boxes are already being ripped apart

That didn’t take long: LEGO Minifigures 71045 Series 25 in on shelves early in some stores, and photos are already beginning to surface of boxes being ripped apart.

Scheduled to debut widely on January 1, the latest series of blind-boxed characters is among several LEGO sets turning up ahead of its street date in the US. And like 71039 Marvel Series 2 before it, the new Collectible Minifigures series is falling victim to shoppers who do not care one jot for the gambling aspect of the new packaging.

If you’ve been living under a brick-built rock for the past few months, here’s a quick primer: the LEGO Group replaced traditional blind bags for Collectible Minifigures with cardboard boxes in September 2023, ostensibly as part of its commitment to environmentally-friendly packaging, but in turn taking away the ability to detect their contents. Cue mayhem in stores everywhere as fans frustrated by the change ripped open boxes instead.

The company has already acknowledged that unfortunate turn of events, and says it’s weighing up what to do next. Any changes to the current packaging will take a while to implement, though (at least three to four series), which means 71045 Series 25 is arriving on shelves in the same cardboard boxes. And it’s having the same results. (Something, something, definition of insanity.)

LEGO fan fourstud tweeted an image of torn 71045 Series 25 boxes in their local store, recalling similar photos shared by shoppers around the world in the wake of 71039 Marvel Series 2’s release. It feels almost inevitable that more examples like this will follow when the minifigures debut proper in January, and then so on with subsequent boxed series in 2024.

The fallout of this scenario is well-documented by this point – a poor shopping experience for anyone who comes across damaged boxes, those boxes likely no longer being able to be sold, and so on – but it’s something we’re going to be dealing with for a while yet. Click here for more of the LEGO Group’s initial reactions to the reception of the new Minifigures packaging, or hit play on the video below.

71045 Series 25 launches at LEGO.com, in LEGO Stores and through third-party retailers on January 1, 2024, although you might be able to find stock early in certain stores (such as Walmart).

Featured image: fourstud

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