Set name: Stormer 2.0

Set Number: 2063

Price: $?USD , 9.99 Euro

Pieces: 32

Year of release: 2011

Peeron

Bricklink

Brickset

The Box

Front

The first thing you will notice about these sets is that they use the same container and lid as the previous wave of Heroes did, only with orange lids. This is the third time the canister as been used, starting with the Stars, so while it's nice to finally have standardized canisters that can be packed together well, it looks a bit strange on a 2011 set to have "Copyright 2009" on the bottom of the canister. I really like the orange lids for these sets, because it keeps with the Hero Factory theme, and suggests that these pods were made with heat resistance to deliver Heroes into hostile planets with extremely hot atmospheres.

The front of the canister shows Stormer 2.0 posing heroically in front of burning industrial structures. He hasn't noticed Jetbug flying out of a glowing tunnel, probably because he's focusing on looking his best for this photo, which will be placed on a billboard back in Makuhero City. The image of Stormer is rendered with extra shine and without scratches that are typical of BIONICLE box images.

There's an extra amount of shine on Stormer's blue tubing - could that be what I hope it is?

Side

Here you can see the Hero Factory assembly tower back in Makuhero City, which has a peaceful blue sky that looks out of place with the rest of the front image, but is probably there to remind us where the Heroes came from. There are two Hero ships flying above, but they're in a different position to the ships on Breez 2.0's canister - I have no clue why. There is also a graphic showing us that there is a code that lets you play a game online. It's nice to have something like the Kanoka Club back, with unique codes that require you to purchase a set rather than reading them on the back of the boxes in store.

Back

The back of the canister has an inspiration combiner model with Breez 2.0, a size comparison of the Hero Core, and the usual hazard warnings. The background is the Hero Factory logo embossed on brushed steel. It's a nice detail that the steel is clean and unscratched unlike the Villain boxes, which gives the impression that these Heroes are brand new to the warzone fire planet, with their Hero Cores fully charged and ready to fight!

Next to the warnings is the text "No purchase necessary to access online game. Contact LEGO Customer Service to receive a code for the free online game", in multiple languages. So what is the purpose of the unique codes requiring a set purchase?

Contents

Pieces

When you open the canister, an amazing amount of pieces pour out, almost twice as many as previous Hero sets! All but four pieces are new, one of which is recoloured, and another has only appeared in one other BIONICLE/Hero Factory set. Many of these pieces have been covered in other reviews, so I'll talk about more interesting pieces exclusive to this set.

Like all of the new 2011 Hero Factory sets, there is a printed armour piece, which in the case of the heroes, identifies them by their name. These printed pieces are the only pieces truly unique to the characters the sets represent, while the rest of the pieces are designed to be interchanged for people to create their own Heroes.

I might add now that I think it is very strange for this set to be called Stormer 2.0 - in all his years operating as a Hero, Stormer has never undergone a significant upgrade that would qualify him as a new version? If not, he must have been very outdated technology compared to the other 2010 Heroes, unless technology in the Hero Factory universe advances only in massive leaps spread years apart.

Here we have the most fabulous piece in the set - the Mahri tube. Just as I hoped after seeing the canister image, the tubing is trans-clear with a blue core! In this set it is used to represent an ice-slush/energy being fed to Stormer's weapon.

The other interesting pieces of Stormer are the new spears - they've been recast in a flexible rubber, probably for safety of both children and the shield piece the spears are connected to. They return to their shape after being bent well though, so they can still be used as minifig spears in a MOC without looking "cheaper" than plastic spears.

Instructions

The instruction booklet has the same image as the front of the canister. One item of note is the link to a page specific to Stormer on the Hero Factory website.

The first two pages illustrate how to use the special code to unlock an online game. The colour of the arrows changes in different Hero instructions, but unfortunately the chibi Stormer in the game does not, so the unique code probably does more than unlock the Hero the code came with. The game appears to be a side-scrolling shooter.

Here is a random instruction page. The background is the same as all the 2011 Hero Factory instructions, which is a light background with a non-distracting Hero Factory logo. The instructions are very clear, and it is very easy to tell which colour is which (although Stormer doesn't have any extremely similar colours).

The parts inventory is refreshingly long for such as small set.

Build

Body and Armour

We start the build by adding the legs and half of the arms, then adding armour to the legs. I would really have preferred that the entire skeleton was built first then armour was added afterwards, because that would match the way Stormer would be built in a bot assembly tower. The building process is so simple that you won't get lost without the instructions, so I could have done it my way if I wanted to.

Weapon

Stormer's ice weapon is a built out of parts non-specific to him, yet the result is a unique weapon - an Ice bolt launcher it seems. I really like the versatility of these new parts to serve multiple purposes, both in the 6 official Heroes and any that you create yourself.

Chest

We then build the three part torso armour and add it to the body, before adding the head. This order again goes against how Stormer would be built in the assembly tower, where the core is added last, but it's not really worth complaining about because you can build it in any order you'd like.

You'll be pleased to know that the new Hero Core fits onto old Hero armour, so you can give a solid core to your other Heroes. It's not a perfect fit, because the connecting rod is half a stud higher, so the core isn't secured and will fall out if you tip the armour. I see it as software that isn't fully backwards compatible.

Head

The head made up of four pieces, which depend on each other to be together. By themselves, the head looks lobotomized, the accessory piece has an ugly connection point, and the helmet can't attach to the head without the accessory piece. Together, they form a detailed and multi-toned head that can be customized widely. The accessory piece can also be put in backwards and/or upside-down, and the helmet can be put in backwards to look like a skate-boarding helmet.

Finished Set

Stormer 2.0

After adding the head and tubing, the set is complete! The finished figure is very posable, with all the articulation points of BIONICLE canister sets. Stormer's White, Blue and Sivler colours work well together, although these lighter colours don't mix the best with the black frame underneath. Compared to some of the other Heroes, I think that Stormer has a better design because his armour pieces are symmetrical, and the use of shorter lower arm pieces and longer shin pieces mean that his limbs proportions are closer to human proportions! No more gorilla arms!

Back

The back of Stormer isn't as bad as Heroes with white torso armour pieces, and it is aided by the Mahri tube obscuring his back slightly, but you can still see how hollow his chest is from behind. The armour on the side of his arm and legs helps give him at least a bit of protection from behind.

Meet Preston Mistika

Even in the same pose, Stormer 2.0 is almost completely indistinguishable from the original Preston Stormer. The main colours are the same, but the strong character of the original Stormer is gone, due to the use of standard pieces for all the new Heroes. Even the weapon is mostly different, without a buzz-saw that easily could have been included using the new buzz-saw piece found in other 2011 Heroes. In the TV series the Heroes worried that if Bulk had his Hero Core replaced he would never be the same, because the core makes them who they are. It seems that the core is the only thing that makes a character - everything else can change in an upgrade.

Head Comparison

Despite the overall lack of similarities, the one piece that is unique to Stormer 2.0 does carry a few similarities his original helmet. Although a mirror image, both helmets have an identical camera and antennae on one side, a similar earpiece on the other side, and a large under-bite of the "jaws".

Final Thoughts

Colour Scheme - 10/10 - The colours of Stormer 2.0 look good, and they conveniently match the ice weapons that the Heroes are using to fight the fiery villains. The black framework beneath might have looked better on the final figure as a lighter colour, but it matches with the rest of the Heroes and is much more useful for using in MOCs as this colour.

Parts - 10/10 - Along with a large selection of armour, joints and new weapons, Stormer 2.0 also contains an orange Barraki eye and a recoloured clear and blue Mahri-tube. What more could you want from a set of this price range?

Design - 9/10 - The new Heroes are sleek, customizable, robotic and heroic. The only short-coming of this set is that he lacks the strong character and resemblance of the original Stormer due to the standardized design, but that's a fault due to another set. If Stormer 2.0 was a new character, I wouldn't see a flaw in the design at all.

Articulation - 10/10 - Stormer 2.0 has 13 points of articulation, and only the head articulation is restricted slightly by the chest armour. But for a set this size, the articulation is absolutely incredible and a first for smaller action figures.

Quality - 10/10 - The plastic quality is consistent, the dual injected tubing looks amazing and most importantly, the sockets no longer break.

Overall - 49/50 - This set is near perfect! The new building style of Hero Factory is different in both function and looks, but it's important to remember that these action figures aren't meant to be like BIONICLE anymore. The quantity and usefulness of the parts, the articulation, the detail, and the recoloured BIONICLE parts of Stormer 2.0 are far better than the Stars and original Heroes, yet still come for (presumably) the same price. If you're a BIONICLE fan, you should get this Hero set for the 2 nice BIONICLE pieces and new joints, although if the recoloured Mahri tube (somehow) doesn't appeal to you, I'd recommend you purchase a different Hero that has more interesting colours, such as Evo's Yellow and Purple or Nex's Orange and Mata Green.

Questions and photo requests are welcome. Gallery of high-res versions of the photos in this review.

I WANT DAT TUBE OF BLUE AND TRANSPARENCY

Thanks for the review! Eagerly anticipated this, since Stormer is my favourite Hero along with Surge.

As stormer is the only of the origional heros I got I, I wanted this the best and still do. The colour suits this hero the best and the new parts are just so lovely . I so want need this.

Thanks, CB

Great review.

If the "Build your own hero"-thing doesn't mean I can also order several of the new HF-pieces in the colours I want, I'll probably get Stormer just for all the white pieces he has.

This is my favourite Hero 2.0, but I think this guy needs a new weapon.

Hello, fantastic review!

One question though, can you put the helmet with out the metal-coloured part?

I'll come right out and say that, in my honest opinion, Stormer is the ONLY hero who actually looks slightly better in his 2.0 form. True, he doesn't have his unique ice armor anymore, but he also loses the ugly gun arm and adds a weapon that retains some similarities while not looking terrible. Plus, the new universal head-piece looks more like his old helmet than any other heroes.

However, as much as I'm glad TLC is trying something new with the system, I just don't like how they've removed almost all technic-pin and axle holes. Sure, we still have some connection points, but by and large they offer fewer possibilities for MOCing, especially when combining the new molds with Bionicle parts. Worse, the new head is virtualy useless outside of it's intended position, which is a major downer even when it also comes in purple.

So, overall my feelings are mixed, and in regards to the other five heroes, they are downright negative. This new line could have been great, but TLC chose to cut corners in the place that they least deserved to be cut, and as a result we've gotten six Hero 2.0's that all look almost exactly the same. So much for clone sets being a thing of the past... but then again, even the Toa Metru and Inika had unique masks.

Edited December 3, 201014 yr by Zarkan

I want him so I can use his limbs with the 2010 Stormer torso and head.

By the way, how does that look? :P

Hello, fantastic review!

One question though, can you put the helmet with out the metal-coloured part?

You'll need to use a piece with a rod connector like the head gear piece, to connect the head and helmet together. A pneumatic T-piece doesn't quite fit, but cut hosing or a 3L rod (from collectible minifigs) might work quite well. There will still be a hole through the side of the helmet where the headgear piece comes out of.

This new line could have been great, but TLC chose to cut corners in the place that they least deserved to be cut, and as a result we've gotten six Hero 2.0's that all look almost exactly the same. So much for clone sets being a thing of the past... but then again, even the Toa Metru and Inika had unique masks.

Given how previous BIONICLE and Hero Factory sets have devoted so many unique pieces to creating unique characters, I think it is intentional that these new Heroes use similar pieces, so that it is easier for people to create their own, equally unique Heroes that fit in with the main sets. Each Hero still has a unique "mask"/headset, but the point of those pieces is to allow more customization options rather than giving a unique character to a set.

I want him so I can use his limbs with the 2010 Stormer torso and head.

By the way, how does that look? :P

It doesn't look too bad, but I personally don't think the 2010 and 2011 parts look too good together, because of the different aesthetic styles. I also made Stormer 2.0 with the 2010 limbs, arm and weapon arm, but he wasn't even worth taking photos of.

I also made Stormer 2.0 with the 2010 limbs, arm and weapon arm, but he wasn't even worth taking photos of.

I can imagine. :X

Given how previous BIONICLE and Hero Factory sets have devoted so many unique pieces to creating unique characters, I think it is intentional that these new Heroes use similar pieces, so that it is easier for people to create their own, equally unique Heroes that fit in with the main sets. Each Hero still has a unique "mask"/headset, but the point of those pieces is to allow more customization options rather than giving a unique character to a set.

I realize this, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. With so many shared pieces, these heroes simply don't have nearly as much personality as any previous constraction figures. Are they good parts packs? Oh, certainly, but as display pieces they fail. With that said, I'm looking forward to seeing how MOCer's use these new pieces to make some designs with actual character. TLC's provided a good starting point, but none of what we've gotten yet is personable enough to stand alonside some of the great Bionicle lines or even the 2010 Heroes.

It doesn't look too bad, but I personally don't think the 2010 and 2011 parts look too good together, because of the different aesthetic styles. I also made Stormer 2.0 with the 2010 limbs, arm and weapon arm, but he wasn't even worth taking photos of.

On the contrary, I think that looks WAY better. It combines the best aspects of both Stormers into an ultimate version.

Edited December 4, 201014 yr by Zarkan

Stormer was my favorite of the first wave and now he looks even better! I'm very happy they're more pose able now. Definetly adding him to my "buy" list!

Stormer has a different torso from the other Heroes. It's more slim-shouldered. I think I may have to exchange his torso with Breez's when I get them. He also has long shins, and shorter arms. I'm surprised that they didn't mess around with anyone else's proportions like they did with his.

Stormer has a different torso from the other Heroes. It's more slim-shouldered. I think I may have to exchange his torso with Breez's when I get them. He also has long shins, and shorter arms. I'm surprised that they didn't mess around with anyone else's proportions like they did with his.

Wow I don't know how i didn't notice that but you're right, it's a completely different part. No middle shoulder ball joints

Edit: By the way, they did vary it on the others. Nex has the same torso

Edited December 9, 201014 yr by SpiderSpaceman

Edit: By the way, they did vary it on the others. Nex has the same torso

You're right; I hadn't checked Nex's. I'd just checked the reviews that had been posted so far, of which Nex is the only one missing. Never mind, I must have just missed it earlier. It makes sense that they'd give the tech guy the thin frame, though.

Edited December 9, 201014 yr by The Dor

I'm not quite sure how this happened haha sorry about that

Edited December 9, 201014 yr by The Dor

So I entered a contest on another site called Mask Of Destiny, and you had to build a hero. Surprisingly, I won, and I chose this dude here as my prize. He'll be coming in the mail soon, and I'm pretty excited.

Also, great review. Better than any of BZP's have been in a while. =D

~X

So I entered a contest on another site called Mask Of Destiny, and you had to build a hero. Surprisingly, I won, and I chose this dude here as my prize. He'll be coming in the mail soon, and I'm pretty excited.

Also, great review. Better than any of BZP's have been in a while. =D

~X

Well, BZP's forte is Bionicle, and seeing how Bionicle ended...

Anyway, what is Stormer's weapon, exactly? Aside from shooting those ice spears, I don't foresee him using that hook-blade piece with it positioned like that.

Anyway, what is Stormer's weapon, exactly? Aside from shooting those ice spears, I don't foresee him using that hook-blade piece with it positioned like that.

According to Stormer's official description, it's an "ice-spike-shooting shield and ice blade that freezes everything it touches". A truly multi-purpose tool that he can us to upper-cut people with the hook/ice blade by rotating his hand and tool 180^O.

According to Stormer's official description, it's an "ice-spike-shooting shield and ice blade that freezes everything it touches". A truly multi-purpose tool that he can us to upper-cut people with the hook/ice blade by rotating his hand and tool 180^O.

I can see Furno 2.0 doing that, but Stormer 2.0's Mahri tube would get in the way.

Great review! I bought Nex 2.0 and my freind has Stormer 2.0, and I know I'll be able to get him to trade.