LEGO Minifigure Vending Machine Delivers Working Toys

It's no secret to anyone familiar with LEGO's history that they consistently create impressive sets. That said, it's worth repeating: I'm frequently struck by the sheer ingenuity of LEGO designers during the building process. Their skill in transforming a collection of individual bricks into everything from floral arrangements and Marvel superheroes to spacecraft and the Titanic is truly remarkable.

Minifigure Vending Machine

$179.99 at the LEGO Store

However, some sets do more than simply represent elements from pop culture or the real world. Some sets are functional; they actually perform an action. The LEGO Minifigure Vending Machine is a perfect example. It's astonishing that, with just an instruction manual and 13 bags of interlocking plastic pieces, you can construct a working machine that dispenses LEGO minifigures in about five to six hours. It's genuinely awesome in every sense of the word.

Considering the fully functional outcome, the LEGO Minifigure Vending Machine is a relatively straightforward build. You assemble it from the base upward, starting with the machine's foundation and constructing the supporting structure. While putting together the base walls, the instructions frequently guide you to pause and build a disc-shaped internal mechanism as a separate unit before integrating it into the machine's core.

A few steps in the assembly process required careful placement of these components, which is why this set is designed for adults aged 18 and over. For example, you must carefully position a specific plastic flap between a rubber component and another plastic part—a detail that can be challenging to interpret from the manual's diagrams. Recognizing this complexity, the designers devoted an entire page in the manual to illustrate both the correct and incorrect methods, ensuring builders pay extra attention to that particular step.

Overall, constructing the Minifigure Vending Machine is an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Most of the bags include one of the 16 minifigures, which you place inside clear plastic capsules, so you don't have to assemble all the figures at once. I remained engaged throughout the entire build, which isn't always the case with other sets that sometimes involve repetitive sections.

The most exciting moment comes after completing the build. You take a coin made by pressing two LEGO pieces together and insert it into the coin slot. When you turn the crank, the coin drops inside, and a capsule containing a minifigure is dispensed. It functions exactly as you'd anticipate—so precisely that without inserting a coin, no minifigure is released. It's quite impressive.

I've overseen LEGO content for IGN for many years, and the company never ceases to amaze me with its achievements in design, creativity, and plastic engineering. I acknowledge that LEGO sets are expensive, and no one should overextend their budget on what is essentially a toy or decorative item. In almost every article I publish, commenters rightly point out LEGO's high pricing.

That said, the overall quality of these sets is consistently exceptional. They comprise hundreds of components manufactured with such precision that they seamlessly connect with pieces made decades earlier. Moreover, the designs continue to impress, year after year. For me, that level of quality holds significant value.

We Build the LEGO Minifigure Vending Machine

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