Hero Factory 2011

[CabooseBM]

I hope Waspix's wing panels stay trans yellow, I'd love to use that on a toy.

[Baylego]

FBTB has more pictures. The Witch Doctor is looking awesome!

[InfiniToa]

OK SRS TIME:

Bulk- wow lego. you fooled me there, looks A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

Stringer- could it be? REAL orange? if so i'm excited

Stormer- same as Bulk, really got me there. i'm sold on Stormer

Furno- should have quit while you were ahead lego

Rocka- gold lack there of

Nex- nothing to say really

Witch Doctor- ok prelim still looked better

Scorpion, NN, and Mamut- all the same FREAKING INCREDIBLE!!!!!!

Rocka XL- lego if you are listening thank you so much for making me forget about fire lord

All in all, I am pleased man. 8/10 lego

[Jouster]

Did any of you notice the fact that the Winter/Spring wave (the 2.0's) have green lids on the canisters?

Anyway, all I can say is that these sets are very good. Only 2 sets make me barf, and those are Waspix and Scorpio. Why? I hate the helmet, the colours clash horribly on Scorpio, and that Scorpio is a rip-off. Seriously, 25$ for 104 pieces. Rocka XL has 186 and he is 25$. Why the hell should we pay 25$ for a bad figure with less pieces than Rocka XL. I don't like Waspix mostly because of the overall look, but I do like the translucent pieces.But, I do like the other sets. My favourite sets are probably Bulk 3.0, Rocka 3.0, Witch Doctor and Rocka XL.

Edited February 13, 2011 by Jouster

[Front]

................ Scorpio is a rip-off. Seriously, 25$ for 104 pieces. Rocka XL has 186 and he is 25$. Why the hell should we pay 25$ for a bad figure with less pieces than Rocka XL...................

Maybe it's not fair to compare a new bone piece with a 3M axle ? Counting the number of parts makes little sense.

[Strakk]

The 3.0 heroes don't look bad but, as I said for the 2.0, the armour makes them look too heavy. I personally prefer thiner armour. And most of the helmets aren't as cool as on the box pictures.

The creatures have a good design but some part of them (Scorpion's body and NN's legs for example) don't convince me.

Wasp sadly looks like a Mega Blocks's set. Really disapponted about this set.

Rocka XL is great but the connection between body and legs might be a bit weak.

Finally Witch Doctor. I am going to buy this set because I like the sets with titans but what is its price? I read 29.99 $ in the picture but considering the amount of pieces, I'd say 39.99 $...

The best Hero Factory wave of sets. I hope the creatures are going to sell well because I'd like to see a giant creature set soon. :D

[Bfahome]

So, preliminarily, I want to get Rocka, Rocka XL, and Waspix.

Then I can put some of RXL's armor on Rocka and use the many remaining lovely parts as I see fit. <3

I also wanted to get Stormer 2.0 but that's pretty much gone out the window now that I've seen this lineup and the Alien Conquest sets.

Edited February 13, 2011 by Bfahome

[Ceroknight]

the heroes look fantastic, I might get a few!

The villains however..they seem like they have issues...

[The Iron Knight]

My thoughts:

Heroes:

Rocka 3.0 - Man, this dude looks pretty sweet. Colors are a bit jumbled - gold, black, white, and pearl dark grey (?) - but I've gotta' say, probably one of the better heroes of the first three waves in terms of overall aesthetics. I don't like the small armor bits being on his upper legs; I think they could've easily just been two gold five-length armor panels, but that's really my only true complaint. Never have liked the badges, but I suppose they were inevitable. I'm actually hoping pearl dark grey is a color on Rocka, though, as that'd bring up the possibility of having his fist being in that color, which would be pretty sweet. Also liking the white head/core. I think that looks pretty sweet.

Nex 3.0 - Well, I suppose this would be my second least favorite of the heroes. He's not bad, but... he's pretty much his 2.0 form in terms of design. Furno and Stormer, at least, had new armor setups and things that made them unique, but I don't see anything "stand out" about Nex. I think the two orange fists in one set are a plus, though.

Stormer 3.0 - All I can really say is that this isn't exactly a "stand out" set, either, unfortunately. I suppose that the clonism of these sets from the previous wave makes the three returning from the 2.0 wave less... well, exciting. I also don't really like his mask too much. Like Nex, he's just a tad boring. I guess the cool thing is that he has those hero spikes in blue, unlike his 2.0 set, but other than that, he doesn't bring too much to the table, I don't think.

Bulk 3.0 - Definitely tied with Stringer for my favorite of this wave. Orange head and core look nice, and it's good to have some recolors, but I suppose the main thing that I like is the fact that he's silver. Decent recolors, and I think it's just a really cool color, less showing off than gold, but still nice and metallic. His mask looks awesome, as well, and he's also the cheapest set with two silver fists yet.

Stringer 3.0 - I've heard people hoping that he has orange as opposed to yellow-orange, but I couldn't disagree more. I've not seen primary black/secondary yellow-orange since Oohnorak, and I think it looks great here. I'm hoping for two black fists on him, but I suppose that the Hero Creator on DesignByMe could also allow for that. His bear mask looks awesome, too, and makes for an impressive figure. Again, I'm not a fan of those tiny little armor pieces on the legs, but I think that's easily overlooked.

Furno 3.0 - I've never liked Furno. Really, my only reason to get the first two sets of him is to finish off my first and second wave collections, as well as the third. Still, he looks far less silly than his 2.0 form, and the hawk mask looks decent enough. The odd thing about him, IMO, is the total lack of armor on his upper legs. ? Why? I'd prefer the small armor pieces over nothing, and this legitly is nothing. An odd little quirk, I guess.

Villains:

Waspix - It looks like Bitil but better. Well, expect for maybe the mask/head. The legs seem a bit unarmored, but for an insect, I suppose it works. The four arms are a nice touch, and work well on this set, though I'm still not sure how much I like the unarmored-ness. The blade weapons on the upper two arms look neat, as do the trans-yellow wings on his back.

Raw-Jaw - ¿Qué carajo? Um... what is it? I guess would be the first question to ask. Its preliminary (and hopefully final) name "Mamut" hints at a mammoth or something of the sort, but I'm not too sure that I see it. Overall, it has a very odd aesthetic, but I think that it's an interesting set, and it shows that this new building system works well on animals... or whatever Mamut's supposed to be. Also, I can tolerate most corny names, but I think "Raw-Jaw" takes the cake. Please really be called "Mamut."

Fangz - Now this is a sick-looking set. This really shows off how this new system can be used on animals, and is easily my favorite of the three. Hind legs look a bit frail, but that's really my only issue with this one. Otherwise, this looks to be a very well-designed, very nasty set.

Titans:

Scorpio - Not sure how I feel about the lime/black/red, but this is definitely a very interesting (if not expensive; twenty-five dollars for this <110 piece set when the Fire Lord was only twenty?) I think the Thornax would have been better off being recolored into red, but the stinger looks pretty cool. The lime Waspix head also looks better here than in yellow, I think. I suppose I'll have to get this one to see if it's really worth its price.

Rocka XL - A little similar to the Fire Lord which, while not bad, isn't something I'm too big on. It also doesn't improve much on the Fire Lord's main two flaws - the upper thighs and the arm restraints. I'd say the gold Zamor's a cool addition, but I've like ten of those from Zamor packs. Gold Thornax would've also looked cooler, I think.

The Witch Doctor - God damn. This could easily be the best Hero Factory set released by summer's end. White, red, and black all look really nice in one color scheme, though I do wish this set actually had some more red. In terms of appearance, he's a giant skeleton villain. And that's extremely well-pulled off here. His skull mask looks far better than the Piraka skull, and most everything from the Ben 10 tails in white to the red parts seem to work together to form an extremely awesome skeletal appearance. I wish his staff had a longer hilt, but that's an easy fix if I were to bother.

[Zarkan]

I think that's a bit too harsh

Not in my mind. We haven't had this level of cloneism in a very long time. Seriously, you take these latest heroes, swap out their helmets and tools with the ones from the previous wave, and you HAVE the previous wave. That's not good, man.

Edited February 14, 2011 by Zarkan

[Bundalings]

I'm gonna ignore the builds on these guys because they have a track record of building things wrong at Toy Fair or just posing them terribly.

Of note is that all the bone pieces that are five long are now grey. I wonder why? It's kinda strange.

[Zarkan]

I'm gonna ignore the builds on these guys because they have a track record of building things wrong at Toy Fair or just posing them terribly.

If you're referring to the titan sets, I agree, but if you're refering to the new heroes... dude, it's the exact same design they used for the winter wave. The only things different are the weapons, the helmets, and some of the colors. Everything else is just lifted directly from the Hero 2.0. sets, lock, stock, and barrel.

Edited February 14, 2011 by Zarkan

[Bfahome]

Given that LEGO introduced I-don't-know-how-many new molds in this past wave, they can have a wave of exact clones for all I care. It's great to see they made so many new molds for this wave, too.

Plus, clones aren't that bad when half of them have major pieces in new colors.

[Aanchir]

Love the 3.0 line. Rocka's pretty cool. Seems a bit silly that people consider the ample gold "not enough". Furno IMO looks good, even without thigh armor. Can't tell what kind of animal he's supposed to look like, though. My brother says he looks like a hawk; guess that's a pretty good assessment.

Stringer, with his new bear-mask, still has those amplifier vibes in his helmet texture that made the original set so distinctive. I'm not sure what's up with Stormer... I guess he's supposed to look rhino-like, but the new mask doesn't feel reminiscent of his old mask, not even in terms of personality. Maybe if I see it in CGI it'll look better. Bulk is awesome and... you know, bulky. Nex is OK, but like in the 2.0 series he doesn't exactly excite me (he's the only 2.0 hero my brother and I still haven't gotten).

As for the villains, for starters, guys, remember that the names on the name-cards (NOT the names on the boxes) are the finalized ones). Our posts are just going to confuse each other if we're using two sets of names.

Fangz is kinda cool and goes for the same sort of posture that Spinax had. Those tusks or whatever are kinda silly-looking. Waspix is amazing, but apparently uses the old-style joints for his feet... not sure if that'll change by the final version, but I'd like to see LEGO continue moving forward with this newer and more reliable joint style. That transparent yellow will potentially be good for Blacktron MOCs.

Raw-Jaw is amazing. His tusks, unlike Fangz's, work spectacularly, as do his big ol' cuddly-lookin' paws. I don't really like Scorpio-- his inconsistent leg designs lead to a somewhat cluttered-looking aesthetic.

Not particularly impressed with Rocka XL. Witch Doctor, on the other hand, is amazing. But with both I'm kind of uncertain about how I feel about the heavy use of Technic. Fire Lord had a unified aesthetic, even if his anatomy was a little lacking. I think LEGO would be better off trying to perfect that building style before they get into integrating Technic underneath.

...And those are my thoughts in a nutshell. A really... spacious nutshell. =P

[Shine]

Anyone else notice the hero heads on a stick on Rocka XL's box? I think I know what happened to Evo and Breez.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5179/5442290309_f5afd4bd75_z.jpg

[The Iron Knight]

Anyone else notice the hero heads on a stick on Rocka XL's box? I think I know what happened to Evo and Breez.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5179/5442290309_f5afd4bd75_z.jpg

Aw, why couldn't one have been Furno?

[The Dor]

I'm gonna ignore the builds on these guys because they have a track record of building things wrong at Toy Fair or just posing them terribly.

Nothing seems to be all that severely built incorrectly, from what I have seen. I've noticed a few inconsistencies from the box images, but that may be due to finalization.

Of note is that all the bone pieces that are five long are now grey. I wonder why? It's kinda strange.

Not all of them. Waspix still has a few black ones. Even so, I think that most of them look fine, and a little variety is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned. I don't really know what justification this change really needs :)

If you're referring to the titan sets, I agree, but if you're refering to the new heroes... dude, it's the exact same design they used for the winter wave. The only things different are the weapons, the helmets, and some of the colors. Everything else is just lifted directly from the Hero 2.0. sets, lock, stock, and barrel.

I'd be complaining if the Hero sets weren't already the best impulse sets we've ever had, as well as the fact that Agori, Av-Matoran, Stars, were all just as much clones. I figured it was pretty standard.

Given that LEGO introduced I-don't-know-how-many new molds in this past wave, they can have a wave of exact clones for all I care. It's great to see they made so many new molds for this wave, too.

Plus, clones aren't that bad when half of them have major pieces in new colors.

Especially considering the entirely new system means that having some consistent "simple part packs" like the Heroes is a great help. I am a major fan of re-armoring a basic frame that remains fairly consistent. I think that's a major benefit of the new system. I actually hope for MORE Heroes like this, with more recolors and a few new additions to the armor (such as the claws! :D)

Oh, and Jimi is totally a bear. Just look at his little bear ears! I think Jimi is my favorite Hero of this wave. Raw-Jaw is probably my favorite small villain. All the titans seem to be of similar quality, but I'm looking forward to Scorpio, because it looks like he's a pretty good example of an almost entirely new system large scale set. I will probably have to remove Rocka XL's shoulder supports as well. It looks like he might have some waist articulation as well, but that may be nothing more than "box art magic".

[dviddy]

I am going to buy so many of these heroes so I can finally realize my childhood dream of building a series of animal-themed knights. Oh yes.

Also, Bill is awesome, and he has no upper leg armour because he's a bird. Which are light and whatnot.

[Bfahome]

On RXL's box, it shows him with double ankle articulation.

On the physical set, the setup is the same as Flord. No extra articulation.

why lego why ;__;

He's still got the great claws and black hand and stuff, and I still want him, but that's a nice feature and several gone right there.

[Bundalings]

I would believe the box more at this point.

Rocka definitely looks like he had his head designed for the big set. It looks pretty terrible on the little guy.

All the medium villains are posed oddly so... I'll just say they show promise.

Bulk is the only MUST BUY Hero in terms of coolness. I'll probably get the other ones too, though, just because they're pretty nifty.

[Ceroknight]

rocka xl's legs are messed...

and why it the head not black for witch doctor's staff?

[SpiderSpaceman]

I am going to buy so many of these heroes so I can finally realize my childhood dream of building a series of animal-themed knights. Oh yes.

reminds me of a playskool (best guess) minigolf thing I had as a kid. it was just a ball, a club, and 2 or 3 animal head caves to putt into. I would of course put them on my little kid head, and I swear I looked exactly like Nex (though at the time I think it made me think of the living tiger cave in Aladdin)

Anyone else notice the hero heads on a stick on Rocka XL's box? I think I know what happened to Evo and Breez.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5179/5442290309_f5afd4bd75_z.jpg

I did! In fact this was what ultimately made me start to hope we never leave savage planet (but then my cowboy themed line won't happen so I guess I gotta watch what I wish for )

Couple other notes: Raw-Jaw, everyone's favorite tandoori warthog, has two of each paw/claw hand on the heroes in red. I only ever noticed the ones as front feet but he uses the other type further up his leg. happy day for my parts collecting. I may have to get furno after all to hero-fy this monster.

and the way the hero breastplate fits the paw is awesome. I almost thought I was looking at a variation of the breastplate on Rocka XL, but I'm happy to see this "match made in heaven (billund)" combo. kudos, parts design!

oh and I love the green ID plates with the animals spelled out for those dummies who can't see the resemblances but seriously, I love the prints

Edited February 14, 2011 by SpiderSpaceman

[Brickthing]

Anyone else notice the hero heads on a stick on Rocka XL's box? I think I know what happened to Evo and Breez.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5179/5442290309_f5afd4bd75_z.jpg

Is it bad that I laughed when I saw those? (I really wonder how that got past the radar - kids can even build that!)

I would believe the box more at this point.

The boxes look the same as the preliminary images, so I think the sets are more finalized. Although Rocka XL is back to Fire Lord ankles, she uses the new armour pieces absent from the box that fix Fire Lord's thigh issues.

And now I make my long-winded lines of thoughts on the line.

Stringer: I like that the sound motif was carried over from his previous form, but he doesn't look the same with only 2 eyes. Black and Yellow-Orange are new for 2.0 Heroes, but most of them are already avaliable in Winter/Summer sets. I wish those claws were in Black, which would make them look less plastic and match his other hand.

Stormer: Stormer doesn't looks too interesting either, because he mostly uses pieces from his previous form. The helmet and three blue spikes might be worth getting from him though. I hope the final helmet has an open chin area as the box image does - It worked for Sahmad, so why not Stormer?

It seems there's a trend that Stormer uses pieces from the previous wave such as with the trans-blue hose and now the Villain core. Unfortunately it's not recoloured this time though.

Furno: As a set, I love the winged/hawk archer, but I'm annoying that armour pieces are sacrificed for that bow made out of pieces plentiful in the winter line. Hopefully the final version will at least have a recoloured silver bow, to match the wings and torso armour. I really love the vibe of the helmet, and I'd love to make a phoenix MOC from it.

Nex: I don't think this Nex is as good as the 2.0 Nex, but the Silver 5 plates and new claw/armour piece make this set worth getting for me.

Rocka: I can't wait to get my hands on this set! Gold armour, black armour, white core/head and a black hand! I would have bought doubles, but Rocka XL will serve that purpose instead.

Bulk: My thoughts are the same as on Rocka, as there aren't any pieces on Bulk that I don't love. That wolf helmet is gorgeous!

Waspix: This set looks very good in terms of parts and the final set. I especially look forward to the trans-yellow plates, wasp printed armour and excess amount of Ben 10 claws. Hopefully the Shadow Matoran feet will be remoulded to have new sockets, because it would be a real shame to include breakable sockets after they were finally eradicated in the winter wave.

Fangz: I don't know if it's a good sign that we're already getting villains with unconventional torso designs, but I like those segments. The spears don't make the best fangs when they're like that though...Although that could be due to bad Toyfair posing that also ruined the digigrade legs. The hind legs aren't correct though, as they have two sets of ankles, and the number of claws doesn't match the front paws. The mask/face looks very cool and Zoid-like, but it seems a bit small for Fangz.

Mamut: I can't really see much from the picture angles, but he looks quite cool as a set. There are a lot of repeated pieces from winter Villains, but at the very least he has red Ben 10 feet and plenty of silver Exo-force arms.

Scorpio: He don't look very scorpion-like, but that's only due to the Toyfair posing. At the same price as Rocka XL, he looks to be a great source of bone pieces, black armour pieces and most of the new Summer pieces as well. My main complaint is that the head isn't more integrated into the body like a real scorpion.

Rocka XL: This set is another absolute purchase for me! The new armour pieces fix Fire Lord's thigh issue, and there is a very generous selection of gold and spiky pieces.

Witch Doctor: My absolute favourite Hero Factory set so far. The set has a fantastic colour scheme and vibe to it, helped along by the red/black and white spikes that the skeleton masks. The pieces within are a gold-mine of balls, bone pieces, armour pieces and even a few new summer pieces as well (I think the chest armour is the same as on Nex). The skeleton mask looks very dark and suitable to the character, although from this distance it looks slightly too organic for a Hero Factory robot.

Plus, I think the Witch Doctor set has white Mahri tubes!

[SpiderSpaceman]

Plus, I think the Witch Doctor set has white Mahri tubes!

I forgot that was the origin of that part! I love that part more than I can say. Stick cones on the end and it's just like the old hoses. weave it through technic holes. connect it in a hollow stud. really the only flex piece I need in lego (If you guys retire the classic hose I will hunt you down, make no mistake. but I love the pure all use design)

[Brickthing]

The first post has been updated with Toyfair pictures! I couldn't make out the ? piece counts and prices from the pictures..

Looking at this picture, Witch Doctor's face does have the angular aesthetics of HF armour pieces, along with the bone/rock aesthetics on his face.