With the right, common elements, you can make a 25th minifigure by making good use of a new print in LEGO NINJAGO 71861 The Old Town.
LEGO NINJAGO 71861 The Old Town is packed with exclusive minifigures, more than most other NINJAGO models. Whether you're excited about the First Spinjitzu Master or the more niche Dr. Saunders, there's a minifigure for everyone in 71861 The Old Town, or more specifically, 24 minifigures, counting the statue in the middle of town.
71861 The Old Town designer, Lee Chi Wing, has explained why this minifigure selection was so important, and how one update opened the door for fans to easily make a 25th minifigure.
"I mentioned it to you off-camera that I was thinking this has to have some kind of record-breaking thing, and I knew that with the price point and budget I was given, I knew for a fact that it wouldn't have more pieces than 71799 NINJAGO City Markets," shared Lee to Bricks By Mind. "So I thought, the next thing you can challenge is probably the minifigure line-up.
"I wanted to make sure that we have a really good line-up. I know for a fact that a lot of fans are buying these sets for the minifigures, but of course, the model has to be cool as well. So I really wanted to make sure we delivered on that end.
"The first time we sat down to have our kick-off meeting for the graphics on this model, I remember we had maybe five characters that would be made for this set specifically, and at the time we thought that was perfectly right and the usual amount of exciting characters we'd do for a D2C of this price point. To sit here and look at these 23 minifigures now, and over half of them are specifically made for this set, it's the wildest dream come true."
The aim of topping the number of exclusive minifigures in a NINJAGO set with 71861 The Old Town led to one of the most exciting LEGO NINJAGO minifigure selections to date, featuring long-awaited additions like the First Spinjitzu Master and Dr. Julien, to returning favourites such as the postman.
There's even a 25th minifigure for NINJAGO enthusiasts to make up from the postman minifigure in 71861 The Old Town, and some extra, common elements you may already have in your collection.
"The postman is another easy figure to do as a townsfolk, because he is a townsfolk, but I think he's also cool enough because he's still like a fan-wanted character in some way, and he only appeared in 70751 Temple of Airjitzu 10 years ago and is pretty exclusive," Lee said. "Even then, we went in, and I said to the graphics guy that instead of doing a complete remake of that same minifigure, what if we make him– I don't know if you noticed, but this is not the same character.
"It's the postman without the moustache, which is the postman from the WildBrain era. So even if you have the Temple of Airjitzu, it's not the same."
When the WildBrain team came on board to animate NINJAGO, several character redesigns were introduced, including for the postman, who shaved part of his facial hair, and has the same face as another character from the WildBrain era of NINJAGO. By opting to reference this newer postman design over the old one already featured in an existing set, the team ensured that they covered a rare minifigure again, but also covered a second character at the same time.
"To make it even better, I don't know if you noticed, but that's the face of Warden Noble. So by making this one head, I would love to see fans put it on the police torso, and then you can have Warden Noble too."
Warden Noble is the warden of Kryptarium Prison and shares the same face design as the WildBrain-era postman. By including this version of the character in 71861 The Old Town, you have everything you need to make a completely accurate Warden Noble minifigure. That said, you're going to need more than just the elements from 71861 The Old Town.
Warden Noble's design uses the 2004 LEGO City police torso with gold buttons, minus the badge. You can pick up this torso from BrickLink for an average of £0.69, but it was produced until 2016, so you may already have one or more in your collection. While the presence of the badge isn't ideal, a warden would make sense to wear such a badge, and the torso is otherwise perfect.
For longtime NINJAGO fans who already own the postman from 70751 Temple of Airjitzu, this presents a good opportunity to make an all-new NINJAGO minifigure using common elements to expand the character selection in 71861 The Old Town even further.
LEGO NINJAGO 70751 Temple of Airjitzu is retired, but 71861 The Old Town will be released on January 1, 2026, for £269.99 / $299.99 / €299.99. You can take a closer look at the build and all 24 minifigures by clicking here.
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