Review: 7162 Rotor

[VBBN]

Welcome back, next up is a review of Rotor! Rotor is one of the two large bad-guy sets alongside Von Nebula (Vapour is as well but he comes with bulk so he's expensive. Really he's about the size of a medium set). So anyhow, I ordered Rotor here for $20 along with Meltdown. And I have to say,I was actually extremely happy with the set. I liked him, but I didn't think he would be as cool as he really is. Boy was I wrong, read on to see what makes this guy awesome!

Set name: Rotor

Set Number: 7162

Price: 19.99$, 23,99(?) Euro

Pieces: 145

Year of release: 2010

The Box

Front

Rotor's box is standard for most 20$ Bionicle villans. Rotor is flying, it shows the set info, and his name. Also shows is that Bionicle tribute logo that's on all the HF sets.

Back

The back shows Rotor fighting Surge and Bulk(Bulk is a busy guy!) Also shown are the set's funtions.

Contents

Bags

As we open the box we are greeted by many things. First up are 4 bags of parts. Next, the instructions. FInally, we have the sticker sheet.

Instructions

Standard instructions. Unfortunatly,mine were a bit wrinkled.

New pieces

New pieces include his mask, which is very interesting in design. At first we thought he had no eyes. Personally I would have liked if those huge vents on the side of the face were his eyes, give him a very bug-like look. Anyways it fits over a Glatorian skull piece. Next we have the...well,I'm going to dub this the "Hero Factory Chunky Thing or HFCT" because I have no idea what to call it, in black. We also have what I assume to be a new technic bit, but I could be wrong since I didn't collect the vehicles or Technic sets. He also has that new pin with the flat head.

Recolored pieces

Like most of the villans, Rotorincludes a heafty amount of recolors. The zamor is a slightly darker shade than the one that came with meltdown. We have the Mata Nui/Ackar ankle guards in orange, the titan pistons in orange, the thoranx launcher in orange, the jet rockets in orange, and the inika shoulder armor in, take a guess, orange. We also have those tan stud-axles, and the Avtoran jetpack in the new silver.

The New Silver

Here is a picture to clear up the confusion we were having over the new silver. As you can see,it's much lighter than gunmetal and slightly darker than the old silver. It's really nice and looks less cheap.

Buliding

Torso

.Here is the start of his torso. As you can see, the new HFCT forms his chest armor. As I mentioned in my review of Meltdown, the stickers look good if you take the time to apply them correctly.

Legs

The legs are a decent build and get quite bulky as you add more onto them. The orange pistons look really nice here.

Legs added

Armor gets added to them later.

Arms and head added

His arms use the HFCT like most of the Villans, and he uses a Glatorian skull. At this point he's about 12 inches tall.

More torso

This is where the Backpack starts to come together. Build on the rotors and put on some finishing touches and....

Finished Set

Front

I'm going to go ahead and explain his gimmick. Essentially, his rotor can spin around freely, and it can pivot forward and back. As you move the pivot forward and back, his thrusters on the back move accordingly. Simple, yet effective.

Back

Posed

He has some good articulation, unlike his counterpart Von Nebula. His legs have great articulation and are very stable.

Bonus Images

Size comp

He's really big. From his foot to the tip of the Rotor, he's 15 inches tall.,a nd he's really bulky.

You feelin' lucky, punk?

Overall, Rotor is yet another excellent figure from the Hero Factory line. His gimmick is fun and he has good articulation and parts. Unforutnatly, this is where my positve thoughts on the HF line stop. Von Nebula and the other villans are nowhere near as cool as the figures I have already reviewed. I don'tplan on picking up the other 3 heros or villans at this time, perhaps when they go on sale. However, I will be for sure picking up the Furno bike and Dropship set when I get some money together.

Colors scheme- 9/10 (Not really a fan of halloween schemes )

Parts- 9.5/10 (Would have liked a new weapon besides the jetpack gun. )

Design- 10/10 (Fantastic Looking)

Articulation- 9/10 (Again, the arms leave something to be desired)

Quality- 9/10 (Instructions were wrinkled)

Overall: 46.5/50 Excellent

As always, questions,comments, and pic requests welcome!

[Front]

I must say I like Von Nebula more because of untraditional builds. Although that set has the "axle sticking 4 mm out problems multiple times".

[prateek]

Cool. I like this, but I agree about the eye issue, and I thought the arms would be bulkier.

[user]

Wow. This set in my opinion looks awesome I was planning on getting meltdown but after seeing this review I'd much rather get him.

[Vezon]

I can easily agree with you about Rotor being completely awesome.

Something to note is that mine actually came with the Av-Matoran jetpack in normal silver. I've heard that the same thing happened to a few other people, though it looks fine since there aren't any other silver or dark silver pieces on the set that the jetpack has to match with in terms of color.

Edited July 21, 2010 by Vezon

[Aanchir]

I can easily agree with you about Rotor being completely awesome.

Something to note is that mine actually came with the Av-Matoran jetpack in normal silver. I've heard that the same thing happened to a few other people, though it looks fine since there aren't any other silver or dark silver pieces on the set that the jetpack has to match with in terms of color.

Assuming the new silver is just a new version of the old silver (if it weren't, I think we would have seen it on the 2010 color palette listed earlier this year), then it's normal that some sets would have the new silver and some would have the old silver. Same thing happened in 2006 with the change to light silver.

I actually don't mind Rotor's face one bit. The lack of eyeholes feels perfectly natural on a robot, while the eye patterns remind me of the face patterns that are sometimes painted on fighter jets (or, in a LEGO context, printed on Aquashark windscreens). It's especially effective since, lacking color, the eyes feel soulless and inhuman-- perfect for a cold, heartless villain.

[VBBN]

I must say I like Von Nebula more because of untraditional builds. Although that set has the "axle sticking 4 mm out problems multiple times".

Eh, it's an untraditional build that gives him terrible articulation. Though he does get points for creativity, but so does Rotor.

[vexorian]

I am surprised the brutaka swords actually look like a helix , though I guess the credit goes to the designer of the rotation thing and how (s)he placed the swords.

[Brickthing]

Thanks for another great review.

I'm pleasantly surprised that there is the new double joint in black - Rotor is a bit cheaper than the Thornatus for those 2 pieces. The dark-tan axles with stud, double pinned TECHNIC connectors, and orange pistons aren't new though, just for Bionicle/HF.

I've said before that I love Rotor for the useful pieces and great model, so I won't re-describe that. The mask looks like a great new piece, and the lack of eye-holes doesn't detract from it. It's just a pity for the Glatorian head beneath, because you'll never see it and may as well be a socket like on Meltdown.

[Aethersprite]

Sold.

Curse you VBBN, you made me want Meltdown, and now Rotor. I'll have to save up more in the near future.

[Leugi]

About the new silver... It does look interesting...

Is it similar to old silver Kanohi? (you know the silver mata kanohi)

[VBBN]

About the new silver... It does look interesting...

Is it similar to old silver Kanohi? (you know the silver mata kanohi)

Well, in some regards it is, it's got that shade of silver to it, but the silver mata masks were swirly and on the verge of being translucent. The new silver is very opaque, like the original nuva weapons.

[Aanchir]

Well, in some regards it is, it's got that shade of silver to it, but the silver mata masks were swirly and on the verge of being translucent. The new silver is very opaque, like the original nuva weapons.

Silver Mata masks were a color called 179 Silver Flip/Flop, which as far as I can tell was designed to be semi-transparent. This was presumably to let it work appropriately for the Kaukau, which lacked eyeholes (assuming, of course, that the color was designed especially for these masks-- I have never seen it used for any other LEGO parts). Similarly, copper masks were #176 Red Flip/Flop, and gold Mata masks were #178 Yellow Flip/Flop.

The transparency is actually visible in real life even when not backlit-- when you press your finger against the inside of the mask you can see its silhouette from the outside. Additionally, in LEGO Digital Designer, these colors render as transparent copper, transparent gold, and transparent silver.

Yes, I spend too much time on this.