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LEGO 4-Juniors minifig customization

Between 2001 and 2004 LEGO released a line of “juniorized” sets called LEGO 4-Juniors. These were aimed at kids who grew out of DUPLO, but may not be ready for regular size LEGO. The sets were simple to build, and included 2-inch tall minifigures – easier to handle for smaller hands, than regular LEGO minifigures.

A lot of enthusiastic LEGO fans have a dislike of the LEGO 4-Juniors line, thinking of them as too childish, however there are some cool sets and parts in this series. And in my opinion there is no such thing as useless LEGO. 😉

I particularly like the LEGO 4-Juniors figures (also called Jack Stone figures). They have interesting features not available on regular LEGO figs. Also, they are extremely cheap on Bricklink, Amazon and eBay! (Click on any of the links to take you to relevant listings.) Most sellers just want to get rid of them, so we can use this to our advantage! 😀

However because the figures are larger than regular minifigs, it requires some imagination to incorporate them into a regular fig-scale MOC, but it can be done! As an example, here is JasBrick’s conversion of a LEGO 4-Junior’s figure to Avatar’s Jake. I love this fig!

Also, because the LEGO 4-Juniors figs’ head is the same size as regular minifig heads (except they have cute little nosies – sorry I just had to say that!) with a little modification their heads fit quite nicely on regular minifigure torsos. Once the modification is done you will see how nicely they blend in, and ad some variety to your minifig collection.

This modification is not for the faint of heart, as we will have to cut off the LEGO 4-Juniors fig’s head. But other than that, it is quite an easy process. (You can click on any of the pictures for a larger view of the procedure.) If it helps, just remember that we are going to resurrect the little guy into a new body. 😉

(Before attempting to perform this “operation” on your LEGO 4-Juniors figures please read our Tutorials Disclaimer for your safety.)

THE PROCESS:

1. Choose a LEGO 4-Juniors figure that has the facial features you like. Here is a list of all the LEGO 4-Juniors figures: LEGO 4-Juniors Figures

Please note there are 2 types of LEGO 4-Juniors figures; some of them have more angular facial features, and some have more rounded heads. I personally prefer the rounded head version, because they are more like regular LEGO minifig heads. However I will show you a modified angular-face minifigure as well, so you get an idea how it looks after being modified.

2. Use an X-ACTO knife, or other hobby-knife to cut off the LEGO 4-Juniors figure’s head. Try to make the cut close to the torso, leaving as much of the neck attached as possible.

3. You will see a stem inside the neck, going all the way up into the head. Use your knife (small, sharp scissors also work) to remove as much of the this as possible. (This is probably the hardest part of the process. I just insert my knife into the neck-hole and chop and scrape the stem, until it is no longer in the way.)

4. Use a file or sandpaper to start sanding down the neck to the right length. (I usually sand the neck down to the same neck-size as regular LEGO heads.)

Make sure you are filing the neck down in the correct angle. Otherwise the head won’t sit straight on the torso.

5. Start enlarging the neck hole. You can use various tools for this. I just insert my small scissors (it has a sharp outer edge) and keep rotating it inside the hole, shaving off the access plastic, until it reaches the correct size. I check from time to time to see if it fits on the torso – if not I continue enlarging the hole.

6. Attach the modified head to a regular minifig body, and there you have it – a cute minifig!

What to do with the rest of the LEGO 4-Juniors fig’s body? In case you are wondering; here is how the rest of the LEGO 4-Juniors figure’s body looks disassembled:

If you are into customizing, I’m sure you will come up with something for the rest of the LEGO 4-Juniors figure’s body parts. I personally like their boots, so I cut them off and line them up in a shoe-rack for my LEGO houses.

{ 27 comments… add one }
  • waverider April 17, 2011, 9:23 AM

    These are just so crazy good! Finally some use for those crappy figs! 😛

    • admin April 17, 2011, 6:19 PM

      Yep, the only useful thing I have found on these figs is the heads! 😛

      • hades ninja of darkness March 17, 2013, 8:47 PM

        But if you take off the hair, and stick the head into a lego helmet, It gets stuck. any ideas to stop that from happening?
        Ps: this happend to my friend( 🙁 ), I want 2 help him.

        • admin March 18, 2013, 9:16 AM

          Just attach the head to a torso and wiggle it out. If you still have trouble, you can do it under soapy water. 😉

  • BrickBox April 21, 2011, 5:39 PM

    These are just great! I’m going to dig out my crappy Jack Stone figs right now!

  • BigShawn May 3, 2011, 10:13 PM

    I’m gonna do this too! Great looking figs!

  • amy November 3, 2011, 1:19 PM

    I see the picture, but where is the tutorial?

    • admin November 3, 2011, 1:31 PM

      Amy, there was some code that was messing up the page and blocked the post. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I just fixed it, so check the tutorial now. 😉

  • Dave e May 6, 2012, 7:57 AM

    Oh God , you shoud of told me Ealyer I gave away all my Lego4juniers

    • admin May 6, 2012, 9:18 AM

      Yeah, I love the Juniors heads! I have converted many more since this tutorial was written. They are really cute and blend in well with regular LEGO figs. The only difference is the little nose (which is cute) and the awesome hair/hat styles. The pirates are particularly great! 😀

  • nace10 June 12, 2012, 5:38 PM

    They are not cheep anymore!!! Look on Amazon. (Maybe that’s just the new ones though!!!)

    • admin June 12, 2012, 8:49 PM

      Look on eBay or Bricklink. They are the most unappreciated figures. Amazon is not a good place to buy discontinued LEGO as they are from private sellers and the prices are too high. But eBay and Bricklink are your friend – at least in regards to Juniors figs. Everyone just wants to get rid of them. 😉

  • nace10 June 12, 2012, 6:28 PM

    i have some, but I feel kinda bad to modifiy them.

    • admin June 12, 2012, 8:55 PM

      Nace, that’s all right. If you like them as they are, just keep them. 😉

  • nace10 June 12, 2012, 7:26 PM

    Admin may you please change all my comments Gravitars to my normal one??? My sister made a Gravitar and it screwed up my comments.

    • admin June 12, 2012, 9:15 PM

      Oh! I see what you mean! Unfortunately I can’t do it. Your gravatar is tied to the email address being used. If it would be a couple of comments messed up I could do it manually, but you have like like 60 comments with that email address! The only thing I could suggest is that you create a separate email address for her, so she can make her own avatar, and you put your avatar back on that email address so they will automatically change back. 🙁

  • nace10 June 18, 2012, 11:10 PM

    It’s fine.

  • Håkan, Sweden September 15, 2012, 9:58 PM

    I wonder if anyone have tried customizing the McDonalds sports figures to salvage their heads/ helmets. They looked Lego-like but they had a pretty non–modular format and were basically only compatible among themselves.

    http://peeron.com/inv/catpic/x1158cx2
    https://lego.fandom.com/wiki/7919_White_Hockey_Player

    • admin September 16, 2012, 10:22 AM

      Hakan, I have been actually thinking about giving that a try. 😉

  • tgb.legoguy February 9, 2013, 9:12 AM

    Would this work with duplo figs?

    • Håkan February 25, 2014, 9:59 AM

      I’m not quite sure about what you are referring to, but even when disassembled, Duplo figs probably wouldn’t be very compatible with minifigs, since all the connections seem to be twice the size.

      • Håkan February 25, 2014, 10:11 AM

        According to this site, it’s possible to disassemble and customize your own Duplo figs by combining parts between different figs.

        (I accept no responsibility for any users choosing to follow this advice. In any case, be patient, and keep a steady hand.)

        Those who are crafty can reconfigure your own minfigs. All you need is a metal pin or smooth side of a drill bit to push out the hip pin in your minfig. Once removed, everything comes apart easily, except the head. Use a set of needle nose pliers to close the inside of the neck and the head and hair/hat will separate from the torso and each other. You can now reconfigure as you like.

        If you are disassembling a lot of minifigs, you will want to special built tool for this process. You can make a very simple tool from a large C-clamp, a proper sized Hex Bit, a small 1/4 socket and two part molding epoxy. epoxy the Hex bit on the static side of the C-clamp so that it point to the centerline of the moving end of the C-clamp. Epoxy on the 1/4″ socket so the hole will center around the axle pin on your minifig. Let it harden and this should allow you to press out the hinge pin with a few twists.

  • tgb.legoguy February 9, 2013, 9:14 AM

    My comment didn’t show up. 🙁

  • tgb.legoguy February 9, 2013, 9:15 AM

    Wait it did.

  • legogeek September 10, 2014, 6:50 PM

    Yay a use for crappy figs!

  • BrickFan November 5, 2014, 3:36 PM

    Is possible to use 4 juniors hairs for normal minifigs? Cause I’d like to put the hair from jack stone/doc ock to a minifig

    • admin November 5, 2014, 3:42 PM

      With LEGO 4 Juniors minifigs the hair is permanently attached to the head. The head and the hair are two separate parts, but they are firmply and permanently attached. They are not at all like regular LEGO minifigure hair pieces. At one time I tried to remove a hair-piece from a 4 Juniors minifig but it was a major endeavor, and even after it was removed it would not fit a regular minifig and would require some remoulding the inside. In my opinion it’s just not worth it. Especially with all the hairstyles LEGO offers these days for regular minifigs.

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