Mini Steps: The Evolution Of The Yoda Minifigure

With a particularly cute little green fellow putting his mark on fans across the Star Wars galaxy, it’s time for another member of this unnamed species to get the Mini Steps treatment.

Grand Master Yoda took a while to join the LEGO family which may at first seem unusual, but until later in the Prequel Trilogy, we didn’t really know much about him. It wasn’t until his action in Attack of the Clones, that this Jedi would be added into a set.

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First appearing in 7103 Jedi Duel, he would be among the first Star Wars minifigs to come with short legs. His specially sculpted head would be the only version without eye printing. Not recognized on other sources (but this is where the value of The Holo-Brick Archives lies) is an almost identical variant that has darker brown torso printing. This difference has been found to be consistent and not just printing variation, so diehard minifig collectors chase it. This darker brown version was found in two sets – 7260 Wookiee Catamaran and 4502 X-wing Fighter.

Yoda would get a facelift – the Clone Wars effect which is recognizable on many minifigs at the time with oversized eyes and odd facial representations that the majority of collectors despise – for his next variant. Although it may not look good on other minis, this Yoda is undoubtedly an improvement over the last. An updated head sculpt was created, and not only were eyes printed on, but so was hair! The new head was made of a different plastic than the traditional LEGO piece. This version was found in 8018 Armored Assault Tank (AAT) and 7964 Republic Frigate as well as a couple of watches and a magnet set.

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With the exact same body as the Yoda above, the only difference between the two was the color of hair printing. This version came with white hair printed onto the back. It was found exclusively in watch sets.

Using the gray haired head, Yoda got his chance to play Santa – or maybe just an elf – in 2011! Found on Day 24 of the 7958 Star Wars Advent Calendar, his Santa torso is the only one to come with a candy cane printed on the front. His short tan legs were also replaced with red ones. It now seemed that Yoda was divided into two courts – one for the gray hairs and one for the white hairs.

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The year 2013 was a big one for the Jedi because he got his own television series – The Yoda Chronicles – and with that came promotional materials. One of these was the Holocron Chamber that was sent to members of the press. This minifig got an updated torso printing that again included back printing and came with the gray haired head. To keep it even white hair was added to the same body and included in 75002 AT-RT as well as some runs of the 8020295 watch.

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Did we say 2013 was a big year? Well we meant a BIG year! To further celebrate The Yoda Chronicles, a life-sized X-wing was built from LEGO bricks in the style of 9493 X-wing Starfighter in Times Square in New York City. As part of the event, a polybagged Yoda with a NY I ♥️ torso – of which only 1,000 were made – was given away with purchases of the System-sized version of the X-wing. This Yoda came with white hair. An even more exclusive gray-haired version was included in the 2013 Toy Fair Collector Party exclusive. Since the display box is glued, many collectors have questioned if this should even be considered as a separate minifigure, but we will leave that up to you!

Keeping with the trend, 2013 also saw the introduction of the third Yoda head sculpt. This version was created in olive green and had smaller dimensions than the Clone Wars version. Additionally, the molded hair of the previous version was replaced by printed hair only and the battle of the hair colors was no more with gray being selected as the final choice which would persist on all remaining Yoda figures to date.

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Once again the figure received updated torso printing. Two separate versions exist – one came with a light bluish gray neck piece and was included in 75017 Duel on Geonosis while the other ditched the extra piece and was found in a total of four sets. Receiving one last torso update, the Yoda found in 75208 Yoda’s Hut came complete with his Blissl.

As a surprise to everyone, the 2019 LEGO employee exclusive was a holiday-themed X-wing. To the dismay of many collectors though, it carried the 20th anniversary logo which meant that anyone wanting to complete the lineup needed this set. Included in it was the second holiday Yoda. Thankfully all of the pieces can be found in other sets which means piecing the figure together is easy.

Having come to the LEGO world a bit later, Yoda has still managed twelve versions (thirteen if you count the dark brown torso) in thirteen retail sets, three exclusive sets, one exclusive polybag, one magnet pack, and a smattering of watches. With no Yoda figures planned for the Winter Wave, the next version is expected to be included in Yoda’s Galaxy Atlas. Are there any versions we haven’t received yet? Let us know your thoughts down below.

If you want to track all of these minifigs, then check out the LSW Collector app on iOS devices. In a recent update, it now also tracks the more obscure variants which means it’s an invaluable resource for minifig completists!