Neil Hillman

Most people don’t realise I’m an even bigger geek than I let on. I collect LEGO minfigures, I have literally hundreds of them at home, including all of the “Collectables” series to date.

The Minifigure “Collectables” series come in opaque polybag packets, designed to stop you identifying which Minifigure you’re buying. But each packet has a faint “bump code” along the bottom, which can be used to distinguish the contents.

I have highlighted the Series 6 bumps with a sharpie and photographed them, (partly to help others, and partly to prevent myself buying the same figure twice)! I currently have 9 of the 16 characters, here are the Series 6 bump codes for the Minifigures I’ve got so far:

Minifigures Series 6 bump codes – Sleepyhead

Sleepyhead minifigure with a Teddy Bear. Feel for the teddy and spiky hair in the packet.
 

Minifigures Series 6 bump codes – Lady Liberty

Lady Liberty minifigure with a Torch and Book. No discernible bump code, feel for large skirt piece and flexible spiky hat in the packet.
 

Minifigures Series 6 bump codes – Flamenco Dancer

Flamenco Dancer minifigure with a Fan. Feel for large skirt piece and fan in the packet.
 

Minifigures Series 6 bump codes – Minotaur

Minotaur minifigure with an Axe. Feel for the large head piece in the packet.
 

Minifigures Series 6 bump codes – Leprechaun

Leprechaun minifigure with a Pot of Gold. Feel for the round pot of gold in the packet.
 

Minifigures Series 6 bump codes – Skater Girl

Skater Girl minifigure with a Skateboard. Feel for the skateboard wheels in the packet.
 

Minifigures Series 6 bump codes – Intergalactic Girl

Intergalactic Girl minifigure with a Ray Gun. Feel for her helmet in the packet.
 

Minifigures Series 6 bump codes – Butcher

Butcher minifigure with a Steak and Cleaver. Feel for the steak and cleaver pieces in the packet.
 

Minifigures Series 6 bump codes – Mechanic

Mechanic minifigure with a Wrench and Toolbox. Feel for the Wrench and Toolbox in the packet.

Among all of the story books my parents read to me as a child, one that really captured my imagination and always stuck with me was, “Pierre: A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and a Prologue“, (better known as “I don’t care, said Pierre”).

The book, by the American children’s writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, (best known for his book “Where the Wild Things Are”, 1963), came as part of a miniture “Nutshell Library”, along with three other books by same author; “Chicken Soup with Rice”, “One was Johnny”, (a counting book) and “Alligators all Around”, (a alphabet book).

I just sat the Tickle IQ Test, which is supposed to be the most thorough and scientifically accurate IQ test on the web, and scored a whopping 140, placing me in the top 1% of all people in the world!

Apparently my Intellectual Type is “Visionary Philosopher“. This means that I am “highly intelligent and have a powerful mix of skills and insight that can be applied in a variety of different ways. Like Plato, my exceptional math and verbal skills make me very adept at explaining things to others — and at anticipating and predicting patterns.“  Who know!?

I’ve been reading up on temperament theory; the belief that almost everything about you, from personality to health, can be characterised by which temperament group you belong to. This idea, dating back to the ancient Greeks and popular during the middle ages, has been documented by behavioural psychologist and author Hans Eysenck (1916 – 1997), in books such as The Biological Basis of Personality (1967), and Psychology is about People (1972).

He believed that everyone could be characterised as one of four main temperament “types”, which are actually corners of two dissecting lines, temperature and humidity. The four types are defined as so:

• Sanguine (Temperature: Warm / Humidity: Wet)
  “Sanguine” types are cheerful and optimistic, pleasant to be with, and comfortable in their work. According to the Greeks, sanguine types have a particularly abundant supply of blood, (hence the name sanguine), and therefore possess a healthful look, including rosy cheeks. Their strengths include being funny, enthusiastic, energetic and sincere. Their weaknesses include over-exaggerating, and being disorganized, naive and restless.
   
• Choleric (Temperature: Warm / Humidity: Dry)
  “Choleric” types are characterized by quick tempers, and often an aggressive nature, (the name refers to bile). Physical characteristics include a yellowish complexion and tense muscles. Their strengths include being natural leaders, strong-willed, unemotional and confident. Their weaknesses include being bossy, impatient, inflexible and unsympathetic.
   
• Phlegmatic (Temperature: Cool / Humidity: Wet)
  “Phlegmatic” types are characterized by their slowness, laziness and dullness, (the name coming from the word phlegm). Physically, these people are thought to be kind of cold, and shaking hands with one is like shaking hands with a fish. Their strengths include being easygoing, collected, well balanced and sympathetic. Their weaknesses include avoiding responsibility, being unenthusiastic, indecisive and hard to get moving.
   
• Melancholy (Temperature: Cool / Humidity: Dry)
  Melancholy types tend to be sad, even depressed, and take a pessimistic view of the world. The name is now adopted as a synonym for sadness, but comes from the Greek words for “black bile”. (We don’t know what this is, but the Greeks thought that melancholy types had too much of it)! Their strengths include being analytical, philosophical, conscientious and self-sacrificing. Their weaknesses include being moody, introspective, negative and hard to please.
   

… apparently I’m Sanguine, bordering on Choleric.