Review: 7164 Preston Stormer

[Zarkan]

I will take that weapon arm and use it on a MOC. Just to spite you guys.

Good luck trying to use it as anything other than a weapon arm.

[TheCrimsonTrooper]

Good review. I still won't buy thee Hero Factory line, mainly as I am still unhappy with the end of Bionicle.

[Zip]

Good luck trying to use it as anything other than a weapon arm.

Do you honestly think I'll be that predictable?

[---Vertea---]

good to know the Hero Core is LEGO compatable... it would make a good add-on on the hull of a spaceship.

On topic, tho, despite the obvious hindrance of the power arm, I realize that it's perfect for playing with. so many times I've been playing with my Agori/Av-toran/Stars etc. and have been troulbed by the fact that with the hands, swords and such cannot be pointed forward realistically. Teh weapon arms provide a full-on epic weapon at the right angle for playability.

[Zarkan]

Do you honestly think I'll be that predictable?

It's not about predictability, it's about feasability. Honestly, that piece looks more useless than just about any other lego piece that's ever been made. The only piece that really compares is the legs of the giant lego dino sets, which are also asymetrical, have an ungainly shape, and lack decent connection points.

I'm not saying you're a bad builder, Zip. I'm just saying I'm not sure how anyone is going to be able to use these pieces as anything other than gun arms. If you can prove me wrong, though I'll be really impressed.

[Zip]

It's not about predictability, it's about feasability. Honestly, that piece looks more useless than just about any other lego piece that's ever been made. The only piece that really compares is the legs of the giant lego dino sets, which are also asymetrical, have an ungainly shape, and lack decent connection points.

I'm not saying you're a bad builder, Zip. I'm just saying I'm not sure how anyone is going to be able to use these pieces as anything other than gun arms. If you can prove me wrong, though I'll be really impressed.

I meant that in a joking manner. In all seriousness though, I think that the piece has a lot of potential. I think the only thing that might be a hindrance is the asymmetry, but that all depends on the style of the MOC.

[Front]

I did part design (engineering of a designers input) on the silver weapon arm. This type of element is not my cup of tea, but to be honest they look super cool. Off course the silver sphere shooter of Duncan Bulk is the coolest

If somebody ask me to make engineering on such a big chunk of plastic again, my head will turn red, and I will start shouting at whoever has this idea.

So please fellow fans of the action figure products, have faith in the future.

[1st Lieutenant Jed]

Nice review. I got Mark Surge recently, and I got to say, he's a pretty cool little guy.

Actually, the story is still going on online.

-Jed

[Still Raindrop]

I like it--I might have to pick one up. I was a fan of Throwbots (Slizers) when they came out, and also of Bionicle. Bionicle was a departure from the Throwbots platform; they used fewer pre-existing Technic parts, they seemed designed more for play than the Throwbots, etc. However, they didn't look too different from the Throwbots, despite this departure--many of them even had the same style of large, two-fingered hands as the Throwbots (which would never be seen again after the Toa Mata). I think that these are a promising departure (though not too drastic yet). It reminds me of the first Toa vs. the Throwbots--these use very few Bionicle parts, but still look reminiscent of the theme. Perhaps, as KimT suggested, Hero Factory will progress in its unique style, just like Bionicle grew into its own, with its own standard.

Good review, by the way! Very nicely done.

Jed, do you have a camera that can take good pictures? I'd like to see a review of Mark Surge.

Edited June 23, 2010 by Mariko

[Special K]

I think hero factory is better than bionicle nice review.

[Aanchir]

Nice review. One thing I'd like clarification on that's been kind of bugging me-- what's the distance from the pin-hole at the elbow (the one that fits a black two-length peg) and the wrist joint? It's hard to gauge that sort of thing without having the set on hand. The Agori/Av-Matoran limbs had lengths of nice Pythagorean numbers so that if the legs could be straightened out, they'd have a predictable and useable length. I've been trying to draw myself some Hero Factory stuff and this mystery is one of the things standing in my way (besides my lack of any creativity worth speaking of).

I dislike the weapon arms, but they're not the worst thing LEGO's done, and for every hero with a one-piece weapon arm there's another with a small and innovative weapon that can be dual-wielded. Yes, MOCability is important, but a person buying their first Hero Factory set is probably going to be doing it for the figure on the box, not for custom stuff. Once they have a few sets, they'll figure out what works and what doesn't for MOCing, but by that point having a single piece they can't use easily isn't going to ruin their day.

And before you talk about the rest of the parts being similarly useless for MOCing, I have my doubts. After all, Ben 10 seemed that way, but the alternate models on the boxes and the website are genuinely creative in how they use those huge torso parts and others which would seem useless.

Individual parts' aesthetic appeal and the stylistic consistency between those parts are important aspects of set design that many people are too quick to ignore in favor of "let's take it apart and see what it can do". So are HF sets brilliant from a MOCing perspective? I doubt it, although I'm not one to judge-- as I said, creativity isn't my strong suit. But from a design perspective, yes, they are brilliant.

[Front]

Nice review. One thing I'd like clarification on that's been kind of bugging me-- what's the distance from the pin-hole at the elbow (the one that fits a black two-length peg) and the wrist joint? It's hard to gauge that sort of thing without having the set on hand. The Agori/Av-Matoran limbs had lengths of nice Pythagorean numbers so that if the legs could be straightened out, they'd have a predictable and useable length. I've been trying to draw myself some Hero Factory stuff and this mystery is one of the things standing in my way (besides my lack of any creativity worth speaking of).

The new HF limb has has all functional elements (ball, balcup, cross-hole, technic-hole) placed in grid. This means that there is distance of 8 mm or a multiple of this between functions (measured along a x-axis and a y-axis. This is how it is with all LEGO elements.

Take the new limb, place the

Ball cup in 0,0.

then:

Cross-hole: 0,16

Technic hole: 0,24

Ball: 16, 48

I hope it makes sence.

[Primus]

I'll be picking some of these up as they look pretty spiffy. Much better aesthetically than Bionicle, and some interesting pieces to boot.

[Aanchir]

The new HF limb has has all functional elements (ball, balcup, cross-hole, technic-hole) placed in grid. This means that there is distance of 8 mm or a multiple of this between functions (measured along a x-axis and a y-axis. This is how it is with all LEGO elements.

Take the new limb, place the

Ball cup in 0,0.

then:

Cross-hole: 0,16

Technic hole: 0,24

Ball: 16, 48

I hope it makes sence.

Thanks for the grid values. Unfortunately, though, it proves what I had feared: the lower limbs don't use Pythagorean numbers and thus, if straightened out (I know they're molded in place but bear with me), they would not have an exact length in LEGO modules.

As it is, unlike the Av-Matoran limbs which do use Pythagorean numbers, the lower legs are (from center of knee joint to center of ankle joint) 28.8444 millimeters long. That does not come out to a regular number of LEGO modules, making the Hero Factory limbs extremely inconvenient if I want to use exact proportions when drawing, yet allow for joint movement.

Of course, that's just OCD on my part, but it's still a disappointment compared to the far more convenient limb designs of the Toa Mata and Av-Matoran. Thankfully, the lower limb length can be approximated as a wee bit more than 3.5 modules in length, so the overall height of a HF individual can be approximated to 19.6 modules-- a number I can much more easily handle.

[xyxstradus]

The only parts I like about this set are the head pieces.

[~~Natalie Breez~~]

Awesome.

I hate the fact that his right arm is not like the other. Oh well, that's the meaning of Customer Service

[ShadowWolfHount]

Stormer look like a great set, i do like that they made them without poseable limbs, it makes me think of the Mata when those didn't have Poseable limbs. The Gun Arm i agree about it being completely hollow, plus the arm is too shot to match with the other arm. The look great but i think it will look better without those thing on his shoulder and the helmet looks awesome and i think it my most favorite helmet out of the other 2010 Hero Factory 1.0 helmets.