Hero Factory 2011

[Aanchir]

I love the heroes and villains for next year. But is it just me, or did LEGO turn the spikiness of the villains up to eleven? Seems like they threw one of those spiky bits on every exposed hole they could find on each model!

Drilldozer's proportions are kind of awkward... hard to get a good read on him. And Fire Lord seems like his shoulders should be wider. But the villains are otherwise gorgeous. Nitroblast definitely wins the award for having the best portrayal on his box art-- the pose he's in and the angle of the camera really help show off all the personality in his design. Jetbug's still one of my favorites, though.

I also love the heroes. IMO, the asymmetrical design is a good thing, as it makes them actually interesting in design. Not that I don't like symmetrical heroes, but when you're working with a limited parts palette it's always a good idea to use it in as many ways as possible, and the heroes do that effectively. They're certainly way better in my eyes than the clonetastic 2010 Heroes, where the part design was one of the only redeeming features (granted, good part design is one of the things I'm always looking out for).

Color schemes are great. I love the new box art for the heroes, too-- the roundedness of the cans means there's plenty that can't be appreciated from a single picture, of course, but from what I can see there's a lot more variation than there was with the preliminary versions.

[Bfahome]

High-res pics on the Amazon.de pages.

[SpiderSpaceman]

High-res pics on the Amazon.de pages.

these sets are gorgeous. I'm wondering about the head piece though, how accurate the big bubble eyes and beaming grins on the renders are. also, that sure looks like an illegal connection on Surge's lower leg armor The orange chap's headgear is a riot, with a head mounted buzzsaw and a little H shaped pack on the other side. all the little helmet attachments are stuffed with fun and wacky details

Edited November 30, 2010 by SpiderSpaceman

[VBBN]

Those gaps in the hands concern me.

[Aanchir]

these sets are gorgeous. I'm wondering about the head piece though, how accurate the big bubble eyes and beaming grins on the renders are. also, that sure looks like an illegal connection on Surge's lower leg armor

It seems to be a render error. Guess with CGI we're never free of that-- I remember some rather egregious errors on the box of Toa Ignika.

But I agree, the sets look gorgeous and I wonder how long it'll be before we see our first out-of-box pics and/or reviews.

I'm observing that one of Jetbug's pincer pieces is connected directly to Nitroblast's right arm armor. Sure enough, a good look at the piece as Fire Lord's horns demonstrates that the side has two 1.6-mm. pegs sticking off of that side. That could lead to some creative new concepts. While this style of hole has been available in BIONICLE for quite some time, it's only really been used with tiny detail pieces and hoses. The fact that pieces are now being designed to mount weapons on this style of hole shows just how promising the new building style of these heroes can become.

Also, all the bad guys' Zamor spheres look printed. Wonder if we're seeing a return to blended Zamors. I certainly wouldn't mind.

[Front]

Those gaps in the hands concern me.

Is your concern that the "+ hole" (or cross hole) is connected to the rest of the hand, making the + open ?

This is the best way to make a "+-hole" when it comes to function.

A similar solution is seen here:

2 M beam on bricklink

[Darkness Falls]

I hope we see more reviews of the other heroes pop up here, I'd like to see more of their Headgear.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the amount of variation in the sets- even though they all have a pretty "stock" looking skeleton, each Hero and villain seems to have a different element that distinguishes them from one another. I don't just mean the colors and the masks, the weapons and additional limbs give these guys a lot of individuality- and they intrigue me when I think about using these pieces for MoCs.

[Zarkan]

I'm pleasantly surprised by the amount of variation in the sets- even though they all have a pretty "stock" looking skeleton, each Hero and villain seems to have a different element that distinguishes them from one another. I don't just mean the colors and the masks, the weapons and additional limbs give these guys a lot of individuality- and they intrigue me when I think about using these pieces for MoCs.

With the villians, I agree, but with the heroes, I couldn't disagree more. These pictures of the finalized sets have solidified my already harsh stance against these new good guys sets, which in my opinion lack an ounce of individuality or personality. The useage of similar heads with ugly silver headgear prevents them from looking different enough from one another, and the asymetricality is random and ugly. Even the color schemes seem to have taken a beating since 2010, with sets like Surge using odd mishmashes of shades. Add that to an armor system that makes the backs look way more unfinished than the Inika ever did, and you have possibly the worst good guys since the Hordika. I'm utterly disapointed with this move, and even after the 2010 heroes have really grown on me.

[Bfahome]

Do the new hero cores fit in the chest plates of this year's heroes?

[dviddy]

No they don't.

[Brickthing]

Do the new hero cores fit in the chest plates of this year's heroes?

They fit, but they don't connect - the connector rod is half a stud higher:

It looks good, but don't turn it upside-down.

Before you ask, the old cores don't fit in the new chest plates, because there is no space for the core to "hang" from. The new core piece looks like it was made by truncating the old core, removing the lower section and doubling up the edge detail around the core.

[Zip]

I must ask... how much larger are the new Heroes compared to the older ones? A picture would be a nice reference.

I'm also curious about how much they cost USD.

Edited December 1, 2010 by Zip

[Aethersprite]

Seems like it's a love-it-or-hate-it thing for HF 2011.

[Brickthing]

I must ask... how much larger are the new Heroes compared to the older ones? A picture would be a nice reference.

I'm also curious about how much they cost USD.

Stop asking questions I've taken pictures for in my next review!

The height of the heroes vary, because there are a limb pieces with slightly different lengths (ball joint on the limb, then 1 or 2 Technic holes as well).

I don't know anything about prices, but the online shops that have listed them so far use the same prices as this year's sets, so I hope there won't be a price increase.

[dviddy]

[VBBN]

These villains are the byproduct of a not yet fleshed out building system.

[Santhor]

My only complaint is that it seems most of their weapons are very similar-two spears or lightsaber blades on a large shield-type thing. Kind of disappointing to me, because it seems a bit childish. "Ooh, I have a giant shield-blade-laser-thing! Fear me!"

-Santhor

Edited December 1, 2010 by Santhor

[Aanchir]

The bootlegs you're describing are the ones I consider good. They're almost completely unique from BIONICLE (besides the inexplicable large sets) and visually haven't got a single problem with quality. In fact, people who spent much of their time hating on BIONICLE during its later years were always quick to admit they'd prefer those so-called "bootlegs" (especially with regard to a female set that actually looked feminine).

But I guess tastes differ. IMO, these designs are a lot "purer" and truer to the LEGO aesthetic than BIONICLE was, and as much as I loved the intricate details of BIONICLE part design I can understand how this simpler, more pragmatic part design is "the way forward".

I felt the same way about the Ben 10 parts aesthetically, but being licensed many of their parts were more specialized, and furthermore they didn't have the new and improved building style going for them. These heroes, on the other hand, take the same smooth, sleek designs and couple them with parts that look perfectly suited for creative uses. Props to LEGO on these designs, I say.

[dviddy]

Just wanted you guys to know that the first of the BZP 2011 HF reviews is up as well. Furno 2.0

[Aethersprite]

Stop asking questions I've taken pictures for in my next review!

The height of the heroes vary, because there are a limb pieces with slightly different lengths (ball joint on the limb, then 1 or 2 Technic holes as well).

I don't know anything about prices, but the online shops that have listed them so far use the same prices as this year's sets, so I hope there won't be a price increase.

Bring it!

Stormer 2.0's looking great there. He's my favourite Hero along with Surge.

[Ceroknight]

Furno 2.0 looks fantastic...WITHOUT his helmet...

[vexorian]

Not digging these at all.

I like Evo and Nex for their colors,

but,

I cannot stand the new system. Sure, its a whole new system of parts. And I give props to lego for that.

But everytime I see these, I keep thinking Blocko or whatever those bootlegs that Jinzo has on his bshelf are.

The villans look horrendous and lanky, and like beefed up ben 10 figures.

The heros are okay, I'll get some of them I guess.

I have actually seen the resemblance to those bootlegs in HF ever since the first wave. It is actually because of the smoothness. The smoothness is really something that LEGO should have done with Bionicle years ago and it is good to see they finally did it with HF. Edited December 1, 2010 by vexorian

[______]

The plastic looks rather cheap.

[ZORK64]

After reading his review, DrillDozer's parts look very appealing to me. Surge became less interesting (but only because thinking about not using blue in my MOC).

However, the lack holes for pins/axles and such is a downside IMO.

[Geki Brick]

Out of the 3 minions, I personally like Nitroblast the best, then Drilldozer and finally Jetbug. I usually don't prefer the agile types like Corroder and this time, Jetbug.