Opening up a Lego maxifig block

Before there were minifigs, Lego had something slightly less cool, that we now (unofficially) refer to as maxifigs.

Whilst you may not want to use them in your builds as they are, the component parts can be useful for other things.

Most importantly, this is one of the very few Lego bricks that doesn't come apart easily or intuitively.

You're in danger of breaking part of it.... as I have done myself.

The photo above shows how the components of the maxifig.

You can see how the 2x2 brick and the arm segments are used in other items such as this grabber.

Most of the arm segments can be pulled apart by hand - they are removed in the photo above, and just the final 'shoulder' joint is shown.

The red arrows show how the maxifig head has a very small protrusion on the bottom of the neck, and so it can be pulled out by hand.

But notice the much bigger protrusion on the final arm/shoulder segment - it will not yank out, so DON'T PULL IT!

The 2x2 brick must be split along the horizontal seam, by carefully inserting a sharp knife, and prising it apart.

Use the flat of the whole blade (not just the tip of the knife as that will cut into the plastic).

Only then can the final arm/shoulder segments be taken out.

It takes a surprising amount of force to split the brick in half.

This is due to the clip which engages on the inside. This is visible on the inside left of the left-hand brick (click to zoom in).

To summarise: the head just pulls out, but you must open up the brick to get the last arm joints out.

The excellent vlogger 'Waffle Sheep' has also made a video about the process - see Dismantle Lego Maxifigs below.