The LEGO system is always evolving with the addition of new elements, colors, and updated set designs that reflect the times. Perhaps one of the more significant additions to the system came in 1978 when the miniature figure, better known as the minifig, was added. The most basic version of a minifig is shown in Figure 3-1.

Although it is really a collection of three pieces (legs, upper body, and head) the minifig typically arrives as two pieces (legs and upper body with the head already attached). Once you’ve built a set containing a minifig, you’ll probably leave it fully assembled, often with some style of hair or hat and sometimes with a tool or other accessory to hold in its hands.