Minifigures are the heart and soul of any LEGO city. Which their limited expressions and movements it would be easy to think otherwise but they give life and personality to the bustling streets and quiet corners. Whether you’re building a downtown metropolis or a cozy suburban neighbourhood, minifigures help tell the stories that make your city feel alive.
If you follow my Brick Link City Stories Blog you will know that each minifigure helps contribute to the rich narrative that is your Lego city. By thinking creatively and incorporating diverse characters, accessories, and actions, you can transform your LEGO city into a vibrant world full of life and energy. Here are some tips and tricks to elevate your city with minifigures!
1. Scene Building: Creating Realistic City Scenarios
The key to bringing your LEGO city to life is creating realistic (sometimes), dynamic scenes where your minifigures can interact. Think about the everyday activities and events that would take place in a bustling city—people commuting, shopping, working, or relaxing in the park. Position your minifigures in ways that reflect these moments. I find my kids are great at this (maybe not the realistic part), each time I come to build in the city I find new and imaginative scenes left behind from play time. Who would ever think that Iron Man and Green Goblin would team up to fight Harry Potter?
- Tip: Ensure everyone has a reason to be there. Ask each minifigure what are they doing in this scene and why they are there? If you have a group outside, they bank, are they robbing it? Lining up to make a transaction? Filming a new social media trend.
- Ideas: You could build a busy intersection with people waiting for the light to change, a family shopping at a street market, or a group of friends enjoying a picnic at the park. Think about how your minifigures interact with the environment and each other to create compelling stories.
2. Minifigure Variety: Mixing Characters for Diversity
A diverse range of minifigures is essential for making your LEGO city feel like a real, inclusive community. Mix and match minifigures from different sets or swap heads, torsos, and accessories to create unique characters. Yes, it is ok for Spiderman to visit the dentist in his superhero suit!
- Tip: Don’t hesitate to swap parts from different figures to create personalised looks. Add characters of all ages, genders, and backgrounds to reflect the diversity of a real-world city. I have always struggled with this. When a minifig comes in a set I have this weird need to keep it that way. But the kids are great at making me view this differently (whether I like it or not).
- Ideas: You can have a business executive in a suit walking alongside a construction worker in a hard hat, a grandmother with a cane sitting on a park bench while kids play nearby, or a family enjoying an ice cream together. This helps to create a more relatable and authentic feel to your LEGO city.
3. Adding Action: Using Accessories and Motion
To truly bring your LEGO city to life, you need to add some action. Minifigures aren’t just for standing around; they can be engaged in activities that make your city feel full of movement and excitement. Adding accessories, props, and even motion can give your scenes a sense of energy and purpose.
- Tip: Use accessories like bicycles, dogs, shopping bags, or tools to enhance the action. You can also incorporate motion elements such as vehicles, rotating items, or even simple mechanisms like rotating doors or a moving train to keep the city feeling alive. Adding minifigures holding an umbrella on a rainy day or skateboarding down a hill can make your city feel vibrant.
- Ideas: Create an emergency scene with a fire truck and fireman rushing to a rescue or show a soccer game happening in the park with players running and kicking a ball. You could also create a small concert scene with a minifigure band playing on stage while others cheer in the audience.
What I chose to do
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to incorporate any mechanics or motion into Brick Lake City yet (hopefully more on that in the future). The city, like this blog, is relatively new and still finding its footing. Adding to the challenge, I’m not the most creative person. I’m very analytical and work in a highly logical job—I’m not a painter, artist, musician, or scrapbooker. I enjoy spreadsheets and numbers. This has made it a real struggle to turn Brick Lake City into a storytelling experience.
One of the main reasons I started this blog was to help me explore creativity through writing. To make progress, I decided to let my kids take the lead. They needed no help creating fictional stories, naming minifigures, or inventing activities for them. They just play, laying the foundation for my storytelling. After watching them play and letting the minifigures interact, I can build a larger story and arrange the figures in ways that make sense. The relief comes in knowing that, good or bad, their placement is only temporary—everything will change during the next playtime when we start the process all over again.
Final Thoughts
Minifigures are more than just tiny plastic figures; they’re the storytellers of your LEGO city. With a little creativity, you can use them to craft scenes that capture the everyday life of a busy city, from bustling workdays to quiet moments in the park. Mixing diverse characters, adding accessories, and incorporating motion will give your LEGO city an authentic, dynamic feel that draws people into its world. So, grab your minifigures, start building scenes, and watch your LEGO city come to life with personality and action!
