CMF Series 23 launched in the fall of 2022 when I started collecting Lego. I had no idea these existed until then and was fascinated by the product line immediately. As my main focus at the end of last year was creating a winter village, I was attracted to the winter-themed figures that would bring much life to my snow-filled world. I finally got the final figure to complete my collection, so at long last, it is time to review the series!

Figure 1: Nutcracker

An instantly recognizable figure with his majorette hat! The design is iconic, and the gold printing brings the required flair. He has a double-sided face, with serious and big smile expressions. I adore his mustache and soul patch! He has some accessories – gold epaulet, matching sword, and a printed nut 1×1 round tile. The torso printing is delightful, with traditional uniform buttons and a large black belt with a buckle. The back of the torso is plain, showing only the back of the belt and a small crease line. The leg printing with buckle boots and some red from his jacket is on point.

A cracking figure overall that I cannot fault. I displayed him in my winter village, but you could also use him in a pirate setting (thinking a King’s ship) or in a classic war reenactment scene if that’s your thing.

Figure 2: Sugar Fairy

I’ll admit, I didn’t know this was supposed to be a fairy and took it as a kid dressed up for a Christmas ballet recital. Oh well! That’s the beauty of Lego; everyone gets something different out of it.

There are several features that I adore about this minifigure. First, the face is double-sided, and the girl is happy in both, but the cheek printing is cute and gives the character an innocent feel.

Her fairy wings are outstanding and made of hard plastic so they won’t get destroyed like a fabric cape over time. Her tutu printing is beautiful and understated in the right way.

The skirt is a separate piece and covered with multicolored dots. Her hairpiece has a hole at the top for her crown. The final print element is the toes – the only printing on the legs.

The components of the fairy all work together harmoniously to generate a complete look. The candy cane is the accessory that makes this figure festive.

I have my fairy in the dance studio of Assembly Square.

Figure 3: Snowman

A must-have figure for me, despite it being one of the simplest in the collection. You can’t blame me; I needed snowmen for my winter village!
Even though it is a simple design, there are some lovely touches to create the look. The headpiece is separate, with a minifigure head underneath. Reasonably, they have a cold expression! So, is it a snowman or someone wearing a snowman costume?! The possibilities!

The accessories make this figure with a broom, top hat, scarf, and carrot (smaller than typical Lego carrot pieces). These premium accessories offset the lack of print detail.

Figure 4: Reindeer

Who doesn’t want to dress up as a reindeer? This minifigure does! What a fantastic costume that brings me delight every time I see it.
The headpiece is the star, and those antlers are removable. The head shape is perfect – setting the reindeer feature above the opening for the minifgiure’s face. Her face is double-sided, with happy and ridiculously happy as the available options.

The print detail is straightforward. However, this does not make the figure feel incomplete. The torso has white chest hair and a fluffy white tail. The is also a red collar with a tag, as though this reindeer is someone’s pet. Finally, the toes have dark brown details to look like claws or paws.
The 2×2 accessory box is a nice gift the reindeer delivers, filled with a 1×1 heart-shaped cookie.

I placed this figure with others in costumes in a present exchange arrangement in my winter village last year.

Figure 5: Holiday Elf

Acquiring another elf was another goal for me when buying these boxes. I had the Elf clubhouse and wanted a larger population for my structure! This elf is unique – not a copy of those found in other winter sets Lego has released. Uniquely this is a girl elf with whimsical orange pigtails. The hair, ears, and hat are all a single element. Her double-sided face is on the happier side of life, though they aren’t expressing pure joy. They are more like, “Yeah, this is okay,” so I get teenager Elf vibes!

Her design is thoroughly detailed with back and front torso printing and full leg and toe detail. The front of the torso is classic elf attire with a belt on a dark green fabric. A red, buttoned collar finished the design. Both of these elements continue on the torso’s rear.

The legs have black and white toe printing – so our elf has some boots. There is also a white band around the green legs, which I will attribute to socks.

With the elf comes a wonderful snow globe accessory, complete with a mini house inside, made from a printed piece and a white cheese wedge.

Figure 6: Cardboard Robot

While it is not a figure I was excited about collecting (mainly because my imagination can’t decipher how to incorporate this yet), it is a well-designed and executed minifigure. Indeed there are so many elements to it; it’s hard to know where to start.

The headpiece extends down half the torso front and back, with dials, knobs, and switches. Despite the headpiece covering most of the body, the figure has complete torso printing front and back with a belt and orange collar. Impressively, this figure had dual-molded arms and print detail. These features are rare! On one arm, we have an on-and-off switch; on the other, some duct tape holding our poor robot together. The legs are also two-color and have rivet toe printing consistent with the rest of the figure.

The face is double-sided with a subtle smile and a grimacing smile. The figure is completed with scissors and a 2×2 printed tile representing a tablet – suggesting he’s been sent to fix something! To date, I do not have an in-city home for him. One day though!

Figure 7: Popcorn Costume

Many other food-themed costume minifigures have donned previous CMF series; this time, it is popcorn! He is a straightforward figure with no print detail on his legs (short version) or torso. His two faces are either very happy or a smirk.

The popcorn headpiece is outstanding, however, saving this figure from obscurity. For me, a successful minifigure is unmistakable, and there is little doubt that this is a minifigure costume. I adore the texture of the popcorn head and the distinctive red and white popcorn carton for the torso.

What will I do with him? I need a cinema in my city; he can be the establishment’s mascot! It’s the only thing that makes sense.

Figure 8: Wolf Costume

I was very excited to open this one. Like the reindeer costume, the headpiece is an outstanding element, but plenty of other features make this an attractive and desirable minifigure. The head a beautifully molded, with delightful ears and side fur to illustrate this is a shaggy wolf. They’ve gone as far as to have white fangs hang down over the face opening. To complete the look, the figure comes with a textured tail element.

The figure has two faces – one with an angry blowing expression (huffing and puffing!) and the other is him liking his lips. Including bushy eyebrows is an excellent design decision as they give the figure a lot of character and distinctiveness.

Even though we get a beautiful head mold and tail accessory, the printing is detailed too. The wolf wears blue-tattered overalls extending down the legs and across the back. The are also some details showing fur. He is carrying a sack, which is also patched up. All in all, you can conclude that this wolf has seen some things! I had him in my winter village, but I will probably place him in the campground once that starts to take shape.

Figure 9: Turkey Costume

As it was fall, I was ecstatic to get this minifigure to celebrate American Thanksgiving. The hard plastic tail is outstanding and the rightful centerpiece of this turkey costume. Uniquely, the figure does not have the standard arms but molded wings with feathering. To offset the dark brown, the ensemble is brightened with red boots, a collar, and a headpiece. The headpiece with a blue eye mask is exquisite, implying this is some sort of turkey superhero. The orange beak, crown, and wattle are all included to give the turkey anatomical correctness.

The torso printing is simple, but it doesn’t need anything further. The design is black lines to show feathering – there is even printing on the back, even though it’s covered with the tail. The figure has two faces – one where he is a happy chappy and the other where he is angered. Turkeys can be ferocious, so I understand including a fearsome option. Finally, the figure comes with a pumpkin accessory, which is a nice touch. This year he will be visiting my Lion Knight’s castle Thanksgiving feast.

Figure 10: Ferry Captain

I confess this figure looked ridiculous to me. Why on earth do we have a respectable captain in a boat? It is pretty awesome, though! First, the ship is pretty amazing and sits between the legs and torso of the figure. There’s no mistaking what it is.

Even without the ferry, the captain is a quality minifigure. First, the hat has three colors (white, black, and gold), complete with the gold decorative ribbon and the sailor insignia. It sits at the correct angle, with a perfectly protruding visor from the face. Yes, I am excited about this hat. The torso printing generates a classy uniform, though no rear printing exists. He has a double-breasted jacket, covering shirt and tie underneath. Finally, it has beautiful arm printing with gold stripes and a swirl.

While the face is one-sided, it is a gorgeous print with a white beard, mustache, and eyebrows; each outlined in a light grey to give subtle definitions. I also appreciate the white hands for gloves!

I don’t know where to place this figure. In a beach scene, or have him in the water thinking about his boat? I prefer to put my figures in the city rather than on a shelf, so let me know if you have any ideas!

Figure 11: Knight of the Yellow Castle

She’s a marquee figure in this collection due to the castle theme’s popularity and recent under-service. The base of the minifigure is only average, there is no leg or arm printing, and the torso print is a muted pink with a crown on the chest (matching the armor) with a chainmail collar. Fortunately, you don’t see this in the full garb, and I am grateful that Lego printed the torso, as they could have left it blank.

The breastplate armor is glorious and flawlessly designed. It is ridged in the center and falls outward to be historically accurate. The helmet has a beautiful gold grate with a pink plume. The emblem on the torso is printed on the armor and shield. A gold sword matches the helmet’s grate too.

The girl has two faces, one is a cheeky smirk, and the other is an annoyed smile. Including the toy horse head confirms this is a kid role-playing, not a female knight ready to take on the world.

It’s a great minifigure with outstanding accessories. I have this one in the Lion Knight’s Castle toy room. I wish I had two so they could battle each other in a fake brawl.

Figure 12: Green Dragon

Perhaps the most sought-after minifigure from the series, and it’s easy to see why. It has everything – a headpiece, wings, tails, arm printing, and a double-sided face.

My favorite element is the dragon head with four jagged teeth protruding into the headspace, two horns flicked back like hair, and sides molded to reflect intimidating cheeks. The head is also printed with black scales, and that design repeats on the arms and the torso. The hard plastic wings are small and sit high on the back to allow room for the tail. The molding on the wings is such that printing isn’t needed to give it depth and texture.

The tail is a work of art, with black spines trailing down to a black pointed tip. The torso is made mostly of a tan print conveying the dragon’s soft underbelly. The final printed element is the toes, which have black claws.

There are two female face options — an open-mouthed angry face or a more subtle annoyed face with questioning eyebrows.

I have two of these figures, and they hang around the castle to create acceptable adversaries for the knights!

Final thoughts

For my first foray into the CMF series, I was constantly surprised and impressed by the design, product quality, and attention to detail in creating these diverse figures. There was a good mix of holiday-themed figures and more generic ones for a seasonal series. Each sparked creativity, leaving me thinking about where to put them and incorporate them into my slow-growing city.

I defiantly have the CMF bug and will keep collecting them in the future (though I am skipping the Disney 100 Series).

What was your favorite figure of series 23? Let me know in the comments below!

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