The new year will, as is now tradition, kick off with a new series of LEGO Collectible Minifigures. Here's our review of 71048 Series 27.

71048 Series 27 will be released on January 1, bringing various deep cuts that long-term LEGO fans are sure to love like the Wolfpack Beastmaster and Pirate Quartermaster. There are also some new faces, including no less than two costumed characters, Hamster Costume Fan and Pterodactyl Costume Fan.

Considering that 71048 Series 27 will probably start popping up in third-party retailers near you in the coming weeks, now is the time to work out which ones you want to prioritise – or whether you need to collect all 12 at once. With scannable codes now added to Brick Search and its best-ever minifigure scanner, you'll be able to have your pick of the crop as soon as they're available to buy.

To help you decide, we've broken down the pros and cons of each and every one in our latest video. How do the 12 new characters from 71048 Series 27 hold up under close scrutiny? Watch Matthew's in-depth review in the embedded video below, including the one that surprised him the most, or head over to our YouTube channel to discuss in the comments.