For years, LEGO fans have had to piece together their own custom steampunk characters from random parts across different themes, but recently, LEGO has given the fandom a break from all that BrickLink diving. In the past couple of weeks, LEGO didn’t just release a companion CMF to Series 27’s Steampunk Inventor; it also released a seemingly related character in the Build-a-Minifigure wave for May.
So right now is the easiest and best time ever to start a LEGO steampunk collection.
Three Official Steampunk LEGO Minifigures
The first official character was the Steampunk Inventor from Collectible Minifigures Series 27 released in January 2025. With printed gauges, goggles on a top hat, and Victorian-inspired fashion, it immediately stood out as one of the best steampunk-style minifigures LEGO has ever produced.
A little over a year later, LEGO followed it up with the Monster Hunter in Series 29. While not specifically named “steampunk”, the minifig carries many of the same design elements as the Steampunk Inventor. The green-tinted lenses and the golden flourishes on the straps are identical.
Then LEGO unexpectedly released a third steampunk minifig: the Balloon Pilot through Build-a-Minifigure stations in LEGO Stores. This figure shares several design details with the previous two minifigures, including the printed gauge, golden flourishes, tanks and tubes, and Victorian-era styling.
Together, these three figures look like they belong in the same universe.
The important thing here is availability. The Balloon Pilot is only available for a limited time in Build-a-Minifigure stations, and CMF Series 29 will leave store shelves to make way for Series 30 in September. If you want a ready-made LEGO steampunk crew without doing any custom work, now is the time to grab them from the LEGO Store.
You’ll be able to fetch these minifigs from BrickLink too, so if you missed out on CMF Series 27, you might be able to get all 3 from one shop.
Build Custom Steampunk Minifigures From Existing LEGO Parts
The best part about steampunk is that it thrives on mixing and matching parts. Steampunk works because everything looks assembled from scavenged technology, old-world fashion, and experimental machinery. That makes LEGO’s enormous back catalog of minifigure parts perfect for creating custom characters.
A great starting point is any torso with Victorian-inspired clothing, formal jackets, or ruffled shirts. For example, the Tuba Player from CMF Series 29, Nutcracker from CMF Series 23, Chess King, Garrick Ollivander from Harry Potter, and Mystery Man from CMF Series 17:
These parts instantly create the old-world fashion that gives steampunk its identity. (I used the Tuba Player’s body and Garrick Ollivander’s torso for the other two steampunk characters in the lead photo.)
Harry Potter minifig parts are especially useful because many characters already wear layered coats, vests, scarves, and formal clothing.
Mechanical upgrades also help sell the aesthetic. A simple power glove or mechanical arm instantly pushes a character into steampunk territory. One of the best examples is the LEGO “Gorilla Fist” element, which works great as a powered gauntlet or steam-driven prosthetic.
If you’re looking for more detail, US-based third-party accessories maker BrickWarriors also sells Powerfists as a pair.
Goggles and eyepieces are another key ingredient. For printed heads, Ronin from Ninjago has a copper eyepatch, and Christina Hydron from Ultra Agents has dual expressions featuring goggles. (In the lead photo, the two other mix-and-matched minifigs use the heads from the Crazy Scientist from Monster Hunters and The Mechanic from Ninjago.)
Even modern sci-fi or adventure themes often include goggles, mechanical lenses, or rugged expressions that work surprisingly well once paired with Victorian clothing. LEGO also makes a goggles accessory that you can sit on the brim of a top hat. They don’t attach to the hat securely so though so you have to be careful not to lose the part when moving the minifig.
Top hats, bowlers, aviator caps, satchels, printed gauges, sextants, flintlocks, and mechanical accessories all help complete the look.
Build an Entire LEGO Steampunk World
Once you have the minifigures, the next step is giving them a world to live in.
The LEGO fan community has been building incredible steampunk creations for years. The LEGO Steampunk group on Flickr has over 6,000 photos in it, and Rebrickable has some instructions (free and paid) for airships, factories, Victorian streets, trains, and mechanical contraptions.
One of my own builds, a steampunk city car, was inspired by the work of Masternik1 who created one based on Emmet’s car from The LEGO Movie.
Steampunk works especially well for LEGO builds because it rewards visible machinery and layered detail. Pipes, gears, smokestacks, boilers, exposed engines, and asymmetrical designs all add character. And they’re easily achievable with special LEGO elements like TECHNIC gears, mechanical arms, bar holders, and even lightsaber hilts. Look for parts in colors like Pearl Gold or Flat Silver for the steampunk palette.
If you’re looking for more inspiration, there’s also a fantastic book called Steampunk LEGO by Guy Himber that showcases a huge variety of fan-made creations and techniques for building in the genre.
Interestingly, newer brick brands like Lumibricks and Pantasy have already embraced steampunk themes with official sets and designs. Lumibricks has 13 sets in its Steampunk World theme, while Pantasy has 2. LEGO itself is far more focused on licensed themes, so a LEGO steampunk theme may never happen unless there’s some winning game, series, or movie that can be attached to it (ahem, Arcane).
Conclusion
If you’ve ever wanted LEGO steampunk minifigures, there’s never been a better time to start.
Between the Steampunk Inventor, Monster Hunter, and Balloon Pilot, LEGO created a near-perfect starter cast for a steampunk universe.
From there, it’s incredibly easy to expand your collection using existing LEGO parts. A few goggles, Victorian torsos, mechanical accessories, and custom combinations can quickly turn ordinary minifigures into inventors, airship captains, engineers, bounty hunters, and clockwork adventurers.
And once you have the characters, the LEGO community already provides endless inspiration for building the world around them. Who needs The LEGO Group to make an official set? Although that would be neat.
One final tip: if you’re hunting for the Monster Hunter or other CMFs in stores, free apps like omgbricks can scan QR codes on modern CMF boxes so you can identify the minifigure inside before buying.
If you want the Balloon Pilot specifically, don’t wait too long! Build-a-Minifigure selections rotate regularly, and this is one of the best steampunk-compatible figures LEGO has released in years.