Where to begin on this one?  Over 25 years ago I… Let’s just say, when your wife says she wants her MINIon Badge to have Mongo & Hemi, her MINIon Badge has Mongo & Hemi.  As for numbers There are numbers that have a certain mystique in the MINI Community.  It’s a easy test to see who is a newbie by seeing if they know the significance of 37.  In 1964 the Mini won the Monte Carlo Rally in car 37.  This led to other wins and made the Mini a special car not only in Britain but around the world. As for MINIon #0037… It’s Mongo aka failed cloning experiment #6.  A loveable, good hearted, if not sometimes hyperactive character.

I make rules, and then I break them… This is one of those cases.  In the Community of MINI there are different models for some strange reason while they are know by different names they all have “Cooper” on the back.  In the hardtop variety you have “JustaCoopers” all the way up to the “JCW GP.”  The GP is a limited release.  When a new model is coming out, MINI has created the ultimate MINI of that vintage, the GP.  So limited that the first group were individually numbered on the roof.  So my rule was to draw all MINIons that had a GP in Grand Prix racing gear and their MINIon number is their GP number.  It actually would be pretty easy… but what do you do, if you don’t know that someone owns a GP… What do you do if someone has two.   Rules are meant to be bent or at least broken. He’s a rebel, a loaner, MINIon #0028 stands out from the crowd… looking for trouble.  Actually, MINIon #0028 was one of the original MINIons who we met in England during that adventure that started this crazy comic, so I guess maybe he did find trouble.

Not much to say about this one… The last time I remember seeing this MINIon they weren’t really that talkative, and seemed rather 2-dimensional.  No wait, that was a cardboard cut out. This was another one of those (and there will be a lot of times I say) where I just knew what to draw.  I needed to go back and look at some photos to get some of the details, but besides that this design almost drew itself. MINIon #0013 is known for many things (too many to list here) including their prowess in the international sport of karaoke.  It is also considered a badge of honor to say “I kissed MINIon #0013”

You’ll find as I go through these that some MINIons came really easy for me, others not so much.  This was one of those easy ones.  Basically the person who has this joined the group and within 24 hours I had this one done.  The old school compass, the map, all made sense.  If you were to look closely at the map you might notice it is a map of Middle Earth, even though “One does not simply motor into Mordor.”  This MINIon probably has. Want to know where to find a good burger in Tuscaloosa?  Need to wash your clothes while driving through the Badlands?  Need a banana split in the middle of nowhere? MINIon #10-4 has an encyclopedic knowledge of places, some normal, most not, and he’s always willing to help out a MINIon in need.

C’mon, you knew I had to have at least one of these… It is amazing how many MINI Cooper owners are also fans of British TV.  I have seen a few MINI Coopers decked out in various Doctor Who related graphics. It is funny when I talk to people about their design.  If they have never really met me, it starts of awkward as I send doodles to them, or chat about what they might like… Some of them are pretty easy. MINIon #0010 claims to be the actor David Tennant before he played the detective on Broadchurch… He says he’s caught in a time loop because of the “wibbly-wobbliness” of time.  He tends to advise people not to blink for some strange reason.

When I first asked for numbers I knew there would be some numbers that would get snatched right away.  Although many people felt I should violate the 4 digit rule, I stuck to my guns so there wouldn’t be a MINIon #007.  This one is special for me because I had to do some major changes so it could fit the person who asked for the number.  While MINIUSA puts on MINI Takes The States, people from all over participate.  This MINIon happened to be from Canada, so I replaced the U.S. flag with the Canadian flag.  Besides that being one of my first MINIons it was a little more difficult to draw with the basic MINIon anatomy the Sean Connery pose.  I was able to get it down after a few tries. MINIon #0007- is suave and debonair, an international (OK Canadian, but for most Americans that’s “like a foreign country”) MINIon of Mystery.  He’s in a white dinner jacket since MINI Takes The States happens in the summer.  I have heard a rumor that this MINIon might also be wearing a kilt- but due to cropping I cannot say if that is true.

As I mentioned yesterday some ideas come from specific numbers, and others just come from my fevered brain.  This was one of those that popped into my brain when I first started thinking about more unique MINIon designs.  I made a list of MINIon designs I wanted to create and then I made sure I found someone who might like that design.  I created this one based on Speed Racer, something I fond memories of watching when I would get home from school growing up.  My first experience with anime. MINIon #0005 – Likes to drive fast (faster than they should) and while a picnic basket, small child,  and chimpanzee are not in the boot, we aren’t really sure.  No one really knows why they have a “G” on their shirt or an “M” on their helmet.  Go MINIon #0005! Go MINIon #0005! Go MINIon #0005! Go!

As the project continued, many people gave me numbers and I worked through a specific MINIon design for them. Like I said sometimes the MINIon is based on the number, sometimes it’s based on the person, sometimes it’s just a crazy idea I had. As we travel through the Year of MINIons you’ll see just how crazy things can be inside my head. All I can say about MINIon #3.1415926535897932384626433832 7950288419716939937510582097494459230781640628620899 86280348253421170679… is that this MINIon has always been a bit irrational.  Mmmm… pie.

As I start this endeavor, you’ve probably already noticed that we skipped #0002. I did that because I haven’t created a badge for #0002. Simple enough.  So it might be a good time to talk about the actual process of how I go about creating these.  In 2010 a small group of MINI Cooper owners got together while on MINI Takes The States.  When the event came back around in 2012 I put together a group on Facebook specifically to help us plan and organize what we would be doing.  When we arrived in New Jersey, I had a a badge made for MINIons Take The States.  I only had 4 of them.  Our group grew with more and more people, but this was a way for us to avoid the drama and hatefulness that has become part of the Interwebs.  So I decided that instead of doing a generic badge, I would create an individual badge for each member.  For the most part, members get to choose their numbers and one of two things happen, either I come up with a design based on the number, or they give me a little information about what they like and I go ahead and draw from that. MINIon #0003 was one of those requests.  I did some research on San Francisco Giants uniforms and baseball bats (not being a sportsguy).  MINIon #0003 is fun loving and warmhearted.  I think the only thing they like more than the Giants would be their MINI… no really, they got married on MINI Takes The States in 2010.  As with all the MINIons I look forward motoring together in the future, especially if I get out to the West Coast.

As I recently posted about various projects for the year including MINIon Badges so I thought I should just post one each day for the entire year… that will be 365 MINIons. Actually Cecil has an infinite number of MINIons (with an infinite number of typewriters all working on “Romeo & Juliet II: Zombies in Love).  Hopefully this will prepare me for MINI Takes the States 2016 (which will hopefully be when I can attend the entire event i.e. June & July- MINIUSA hint, hint).  While they will start in numerical order, I’m sure at some point they will start getting random after a few months.  Want a MINIon number?  I am not a liberty to discuss how a person gets a MINIon badge, so please don’t ask. Today we start with MINIon #0001 aka Blue Leader Blue Leader has led our merry band of MINIons since 2010 making sure that we are on the right road and stop for fuel at the right time.  MINIon #0001 is responsible and takes his role seriously, although he doesn’t quite understand why Cecil doesn’t wish to lead the group (Cecil is usually asleep after a long night of being Cecil – being Cecil takes a lot out of a monkey).  Blue Leader, being safety conscious wears a helmet and and is ready to take on any challenges from Moons, disguised as Space Stations, to route sheets with mistyped directions.  Faithful and positive, the Force is with MINIon #0001, always.