Hero Factory 2011

[vexorian]

I complain about the clonism of the Bohroks.

The main difference though is that the Bohrok design was worth cloning. They rock and are completely packed of features and INCREDIBLY USEFUL PARTS (I mean seriously, the shields were also basic stuff for titans and vehicles, whereas the canopy and eyes became such basic building blocks that even HF had to use them...) whereas NS... well, besides of all pics I could see of them being very disappointing. The few NS stuff I could get over the time in random lots is full of pieces that are useless in anything else, comparable to Galidor in uber specialization. Even Ben 10 parts are more versatile. And from what I can see from HF 2.0, it would be very unfair to equal it to NS...

Edited October 2, 2010 by vexorian

[Zennia Jorra: Toa of Slush]

Ouch. Sounds like you guys have those horrible 1st/2nd wave Neo-Shifters. They fall apart like crazy, I've heard.

I have 2 Shifters from the 3rd (arguably best wave, in terms of quality and individual design differences. I reeaally need to get that review up), and I can honestly say that I had more fun playing with them than any canister-sized Bionicle set. Ever.

Oh, and the Bohrok are even more clone-ish than the Shifters (2 waves of only 6 different molds total, applies to Kal), so I don't see why anyone is complaining about that.

Indeed. I have a 3rd wave set that has held together well. I only have a few so I don't know much about the diversity of the designs, but it does have some pretty decent stability and playability. I like the Bohrok because they're kinda cute... but you're very right, they're less versatile than Shifters by a long mile.

[The Dor]

It looks like it will be. Jetbug's left arm shows fairly clearly that there are square "brackets" (I really don't know what to call them) on either side of the ball joint, which probably push up against flat surfaces on the inside of the armor pieces to prevent them from turning or wiggling.

I assume you aren't actually referring to Jetbug, because he has no indication of such brackets on his armor, which is the torso armor of the Heroes, but on Nex's arms I can see what you're referring to.

Though there's one thing that bugs me; Stormer, Surge, and Evo's lower left arm pieces seem to be shorter than the other lower arm piece and don't have the middle ball joint, though overall their left arms appear to be the same length as the others'. I can't tell if this is just an illusion or if it's actually the case.

Because an even shorter arm piece would be twice as much <3.

(Breez and Nex's left arms look like the longer piece, and I can't see Furno's for obvious reasons.)

I'm pretty sure that they are separate pieces, because there IS no ball joint, and the difference would actually be pretty small and probably hard to notice. I had thought that of the Heroes had armor on one of the shortened pieces, and as such hoped there would be a non-ball joint attaching armor piece, but I was mistaken. Also, you can't see Furno's which is proof that he has the longer pieces, otherwise there would be no way to attach the armor :)

[The Crazy One]

I think it is just perspective. I can't imagine there being any differences between arm lengths. One think that does bother mr is the fact the armour plates are uneven on the arms and legs. Easy fix, but IMO it does look stupid.

[Aanchir]

I complain about the clonism of the Bohroks.

The main difference though is that the Bohrok design was worth cloning. They rock and are completely packed of features and INCREDIBLY USEFUL PARTS (I mean seriously, the shields were also basic stuff for titans and vehicles, whereas the canopy and eyes became such basic building blocks that even HF had to use them...) whereas NS... well, besides of all pics I could see of them being very disappointing. The few NS stuff I could get over the time in random lots is full of pieces that are useless in anything else, comparable to Galidor in uber specialization. Even Ben 10 parts are more versatile. And from what I can see from HF 2.0, it would be very unfair to equal it to NS...

I agree, the Bohrok were worth cloning, although I think many BIONICLE fans would agree they certainly weren't worth cloning a second time (Bohrok-Kal).

Anyway, I think the Hero Factory 2011 sets definitely have a great deal of versatility. They demonstrate this well enough just by virtue of all the different armor and weapon configurations they have. Speaking of which, I really ought to tally up how many new parts they have-- it's something I used to do every year for BIONICLE, and it would be nice to see how these sets stack up in contrast. For reference, BIONICLE canister sets in general have no more than 30 new parts to a series (counting canister pieces), but there have been periodic low points (the Bohrok-Kal, for instance, had only six new molds, while the Vahki had just 13). The usual number of new parts tends to be between 20 and 30.

[Bfahome]

I assume you aren't actually referring to Jetbug, because he has no indication of such brackets on his armor, which is the torso armor of the Heroes, but on Nex's arms I can see what you're referring to.

No, I meant the square "brackets" (again, I can't think of anything else to call them) were on either side of the ball joint that's in the middle of the actual arm piece. I circled it here.

Also, you can't see Furno's which is proof that he has the longer pieces, otherwise there would be no way to attach the armor :)

I was talking about his left arm, because there's a giant weapon in the way.

[The Dor]

I think it is just perspective. I can't imagine there being any differences between arm lengths.

I'm pretty sure the opposite is true- I can't think of any reason why a shortened arm piece would not make the arms shorter.

No, I meant the square "brackets" (again, I can't think of anything else to call them) were on either side of the ball joint that's in the middle of the actual arm piece. I circled it here.

Ah, that makes more sense. Well, that combined with what you can see of Nex's left arm (by his wrist) and Stormer's left leg (inside of his lower leg) armors here, the armor should be quite stable.

I was talking about his left arm, because there's a giant weapon in the way.

Oh, I hadn't even thought of that.

Also, I just noticed that Surge has Furno / Stormer's weapon attached to Evo's. That's kinda really awesome. These sets just keep looking better and better to me. :D Well, at least the Heroes. The villains look to preliminary for me to appreciate them yet.

Edited October 4, 2010 by The Dor

[The Crazy One]

I'm pretty sure the opposite is true- I can't think of any reason why a shortened arm piece would not make the arms shorter.

No no no no, you misunderstand me, I was referring to the fact I couldn't imagine a case where the Heros would have differing arm lengths.

One thing I just realised and am dissapointed about: No unique chest pieces! :O What a disaster! * insert dramatic music *

[Aanchir]

Follow-up on my last post: I counted the parts in the 2011 "Heroes 2.0", and in total they have 22 new pieces. That's the same amount of new pieces the 2010 Heroes had, although admittedly it's one more if you choose not to count the Hero Factory canister lid.

Villains are harder to tell with. I can say with certainty, though, that they have more new parts than the 2010 villains had. The 2010 villains had only 10 new parts, whereas I can count at least 12 new parts on the 2011 villains that aren't on the 2011 heroes:

• 4 helmets
• 2 types of decorative armor plates (Jetbug has one type, while the other three have a smaller type)
• 1 cutter piece (Jetbug's weapon and Fire Lord's horns)
• The "flame" piece
• The jetpack/flamethrower piece (the one which the flame seems to be attached to on all the villains)
• 1 odd black connector on Fire Lord's upper legs-- basically like this but with ball joints on one side instead of pins
• 2 joint pieces on Fire Lord-- the longer upper and lower limb pieces

And there's almost certainly more than that. Thankfully, the villains don't rely on specialized pieces, instead using plenty of the hero pieces: Fire Lord, Nitroblast, and Jetbug all clearly use the Hero torso armor (not the chest armor, but the part which is covered by the chest armor and which in turn covers the groin area) as torso armor, with the aforementioned decorative armor plates on top of it. Both Jetbug and Nitroblast also use this torso armor as armor for their upper arms-- Jetbug has it in yellow, while Nitroblast has it in dark silver.

It's also worthy of note that all the heroes have at least one piece of armor that is printed (possibly stickered, but a comment of Front's which I may be misinterpreting leads me to believe they'll be printed). Furno's says something about "SUB-0" something. Nex and Breez have the printed armor on their right upper legs, Furno has it on his right lower arm, Evo has it on his left upper leg, and Stormer and Surge have it on their right upper arms.

Overall, I haven't been too into Hero Factory this year-- I've been keeping tabs on it, but haven't had any inspiration to actually buy any of the sets for anything but parts. Next year's sets, however, are very appealing to me, and I look forward to them actually coming out so I can see reviews of them. Hero Factory seems to be developing into something entirely separate from the BIONICLE line that predated it, and I am liking the change. Here's hoping its popularity comes to match that of BIONICLE.

[Bfahome]

Also, I just noticed that Surge has Furno / Stormer's weapon attached to Evo's. That's kinda really awesome.

While it's good to know that the pieces can be used multiple ways, it seems sort of awkward for Surge to have the largely defensive weapon of gun while everyone else has what look like melee weapons (plus he and Breez are the only ones without the large shield-like pieces, which I think look better).

[Aanchir]

While it's good to know that the pieces can be used multiple ways, it seems sort of awkward for Surge to have the largely defensive weapon of gun while everyone else has what look like melee weapons (plus he and Breez are the only ones without the large shield-like pieces, which I think look better).

In my opinion, Stormer and Evo's weapons could very easily be projectile weapons. But even if they're not, note that one of the catalog pages lists Surge as a sniper, Furno as a scout, Stormer as the commander, and Breez as a close combat specialist. So it makes sense that Surge's would be the one with a projectile weapon.

Same page mentions the as-of-yet unknown characters of Mac Brainy (Tech Guy) and Bill Dozer (Heavy Artillery). I'm curious who these characters are-- possibly earlier preliminary names for Evo and Nex, or possibly non-set side characters like Zib, Lucy, Big Joe, and Quadal. It would make more sense for them to be preliminary names for the other two known "heroes 2.0" since they'd presumably want to market the six as a team.

Also, I lol'd at "largely defensive weapon of gun." I see what you did there.

[rex us eon]

No, I meant the square "brackets" (again, I can't think of anything else to call them) were on either side of the ball joint that's in the middle of the actual arm piece. I circled it here.

I was talking about his left arm, because there's a giant weapon in the way.

OK i think i figured something out in the pick in the post above u c a ball in the middle of

the fore arm or (leg/shin) i was wondering how the armor would attach to the new pieces as

they don't have axle holes on either side of the ball cups. i think its a prong fitting on

either side of the ball much like the ball joints do. im kinda sad if that's true cus it makes

these new armor pieces incredibly useless for mocking with older bionicle parts. :angry:http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/default_huh.gif

any one have any thoughts ont whats under neath the 2 chest plates and hero core?????????????

and whats with the mini figure pick axe in the fire lords hand??? it looks so bad

[Bfahome]

i think its a prong fitting on

either side of the ball much like the ball joints do.

We figured out the armor was attached by ball joints a while ago.

[Aanchir]

Alright, something that's been bugging me. I just recently wrote up an inventory for the 2011 Heroes to figure out what parts they each had. All well and good for the most part. I came up with a total of 32 parts for all the heroes with the "weapon plate" and 31 for those without.

However, an image from the catalog that shows their canisters lists different piece counts. It lists 31 for Stormer, 30 for Surge and Furno, and 29 for Breez. Now here's where it gets tricky.

The fact that all of the counts are off by at least one makes sense, for the most part. It means two parts that I considered separate are actually a single part. My bets are either that the head and primary-colored "helmet" are the same part, or that the chest armor and Hero Core are a single part (or both, but I'm getting to that). However, that doesn't explain why my count would be off by two for Breez and Furno.

Here are the possibilities I've considered:

• Either the chest and hero core or the head and helmet are one fused piece, and there's an additional piece that looks like two separate pieces on Furno and Breez exclusively that is in fact one piece. Not very likely, considering Furno and Breez don't share any pieces with each other that they don't share with any of the other heroes.
• Both the chest/hero core and the head/helmet are single pieces, and there's a piece on Stormer, Nex, Evo, and Surge that is not visible in the pics. Possible, but I can't come up with a reason they'd have an additional piece basically concealed on their backs somewhere. The fact that we have pics of the new heroes from multiple angles also makes this unlikely.
• Both the chest/hero core and head/helmet are single pieces, but additionally Stormer, Nex, Evo and Surge have two pieces that look like a single piece. Again, possible, but which would it be? They have very few parts that they don't share with Furno or Breez-- the only possibility are the helmet accessories, and I have no more reason to believe Stormer and Nex have two helmet accessory pieces than that Furno and Breez do.

So basically, I'm utterly baffled. Has anyone noticed anything Stormer, Nex, Evo, and Surge have in common with each other that they don't have in common with either Breez or Furno?

There's the additional possibility that the piece counts listed on the canister images are just wrong and are more preliminary, or that the full images of the heroes are wrong and more preliminary. But since the full Hero images I'm using for my primary point of reference are the same as the hero images featured on the canister art, I strongly doubt that either is from an earlier stage of production than its counterpart.

[Bfahome]

What's your inventory list for each? Are you making sure to count the spikes, lightsaber blades, and tubes?

Also, are you counting the feet as a foot piece + standard singe socket? Because I think it's just one piece.

I hope that the head and helmet base aren't fused, because that would remove sooo much use for them.

Edited October 4, 2010 by Bfahome

[Aanchir]

What's your inventory list for each? Are you making sure to count the spikes, lightsaber blades, and tubes?

Also, are you counting the feet as a foot piece + standard singe socket? Because I think it's just one piece.

I hope that the head and helmet base aren't fused, because that would remove sooo much use for them.

Yes, I'm counting the spikes, tubes, lightsaber blades, spears, etc. Also, I was counting the foot piece and ankle joint as two pieces, so that could be part of my problem (in fact, it probably is-- after all, the villains use the regular style of y-joint, so it's unlikely that one's been designed in the Ben 10 style). Still doesn't explain Furno and Breez, though. Now they're the only ones for whom my count is correct-- all the others have one piece unaccounted for.

Let me list what all the heroes share:

• 1 Head
• 1 Helmet
• 1 Helmet Accessory
• 1 Torso
• 1 Torso Armor
• 1 Chest Armor
• 1 Hero Core
• 4 Upper Limbs
• 4 Lower Limbs
• 2 Hands (or, in the case of those with weapon plates, 1 hand and 1 regular Y-joint)
• 2 Feet
• 6 pieces of limb armor (one of which is always printed)

That comes to a total of 25 shared parts, except with Stormer who for some reason has only 5 armor plates.

Just did a recount and found that Nex and Evo do have the same amount of parts visible as are listed on the canister. So that's part of the mystery solved. However, I still can't explain why Stormer and Surge are each one part shy. Stormer might be hiding his sixth armor piece under his weapon plate, but the same can't possibly be true for Surge (whose arms are clearly visible in all the pictures I've got). So I'll be looking into this further.

Edited October 4, 2010 by Aanchir

[Bfahome]

Here's what I counted:

Stormer (31 pieces):

1x head

1x base helmet

1x helmet attachment

1x chest armor

1x core

1x under armor

1x torso

1x Barraki eye

4x upper arm/thigh limb piece

3x shin/forearm piece

1x short forearm piece

1x (new) Glatorian hand

1x Furno blade

1x hose

1x shield

1x single socket joint

2x spear

5x various armor pieces

2x foot

total counted: 30

(the hose may attach to another piece on his back or weapon, though)

Evo (31 pieces):

1x head

1x base helmet

1x helmet attachment

1x chest armor

1x core

1x under armor

1x torso

1x Crystal King spike

4x upper arm/thigh limb piece

3x shin/forearm piece

1x short forearm piece

2x spear

1x shield

1x single socket joint

2x weapon of gun

1x (new) Glatorian hand

6x various armor pieces

2x foot

total counted: 31

Nex (31 pieces):

1x head

1x base helmet

1x helmet attachment

1x chest armor

1x core

1x under armor

1x torso

1x Crystal King spike

4x upper arm/thigh limb piece

4x shin/forearm piece

1x shield

1x single socket joint

1x (new) Glatorian hand

6x various armor pieces

2x foot

2x lightsaber blade

2x lovely new blade/saw thing

total counted: 31

Surge (30 pieces):

1x head

1x base helmet

1x helmet attachment

1x chest armor

1x core

1x under armor

1x torso

1x Crystal King spike

4x upper arm/thigh limb piece

3x shin/forearm piece

1x short forearm piece

1x Furno blade

1x weapon of gun

1x lightsaber blade

6x various armor pieces

2x foot

1x blue axle/pin (necessary for left hand)

2x (new) Glatorian hand

total counted: 30

Breez (29 pieces):

1x head

1x base helmet

1x helmet attachment

1x chest armor

1x core

1x under armor

1x torso

2x Crystal King spike

4x upper arm/thigh limb piece

4x shin/forearm piece

6x various armor pieces

2x foot

2x (new) Glatorian hand

1x lovely new blade/saw thing

1x Furno blade

total counted: 29

Furno (30 pieces):

1x head

1x base helmet

1x helmet attachment

1x chest armor

1x core

1x under armor

1x torso

4x upper arm/thigh limb piece

4x shin/forearm piece

6x various armor pieces

2x foot

1x (new) Glatorian hand

2x Furno blade

1x shield

1x single socket joint

2x lightsaber blade

total counted: 30

Edited October 4, 2010 by Bfahome

[Aanchir]

Here's what I counted:

There you go! Thanks for that. While you were posting that I noticed Nex and Evo's spikes which I'd failed to count, so fixed my count accordingly. However, I still couldn't find Surge's and Stormer's missing pieces. You found Surge's (I hadn't even noticed that Furno's blades had an actual pin hole that Surge's hand could attach to; I thought he was just posed to conceal that his hand couldn't actually connect). I can't tell what Stormer's missing piece is, but upon closer inspection the Heroes seem to have a new torso base that's different than that from this year. Thus, it's possible he requires a 1L pin with stud to attach the Mahri tubing to his back. Thanks for helping me unravel what was wrong with my inventories.

EDIT: Together with the new torso piece and my own observation of a third style of limb armor, your observation that there are two different types of lower limb reveals to me that there are actually 25 new pieces with next year's heroes, contradicting an earlier post of mine where I had counted 22 (the same number as the 2010 Heroes). Seems to be a good sign for Hero Factory, if not only the villains but also the heroes themselves have the budget for an increased number of new parts.

Edited October 4, 2010 by Aanchir

[Front]

The white guy looks to have a translucent Baraki eye piece

[rex us eon]

The white guy looks to have a translucent Baraki eye piece

he does front now my we ask u wats with the torso whats under the 2 pieces of armor and hero core???? is it a new mold or something reused like a Ben ten torso????

[Aanchir]

he does front now my we ask u wats with the torso whats under the 2 pieces of armor and hero core???? is it a new mold or something reused like a Ben ten torso????

It's not large enough to be a Ben 10 torso, and not the right shape, so I'm pretty sure it's new.

Also, could you try to use correct spelling and grammar here? I don't mean to be pretentious or anything, but Eurobricks has standards against that sort of "chatspeak", and they have every reason to-- not everyone here has English as their first language, and so what might be marginally legible to an Internet-savvy Brit or American might be baffling to others.

Also, using chatspeak often implies to staff that you're younger than 18, which is explicitly against registration guidelines and can get you banned. Mature, professional language is the best way to ensure a respected position in the Eurobricks community.

[rex us eon]

It's not large enough to be a Ben 10 torso, and not the right shape, so I'm pretty sure it's new.

Also, could you try to use correct spelling and grammar here? I don't mean to be pretentious or anything, but Eurobricks has standards against that sort of "chatspeak", and they have every reason to-- not everyone here has English as their first language, and so what might be marginally legible to an Internet-savvy Brit or American might be baffling to others.

Also, using chatspeak often implies to staff that you're younger than 18, which is explicitly against registration guidelines and can get you banned. Mature, professional language is the best way to ensure a respected position in the Eurobricks community.

All right Im sorry i didn't know, that's just how i talk.

Are u sure its not a ben10 torso? whats the height on these new guys any way?

[The Dor]

Are you sure it's not a ben 10 torso? what's the height on these new guys any way?

No, from the general shape it's pretty clear (to me at least) that it isn't a Ben 10 torso. Also, as can be seen on Surge, Breez, Evo, and Furno here, there is a joint with the square bumpers right next to the shoulder joint, which is not on the Ben 10 torso, or any torso that's been previously released.

Edited October 5, 2010 by The Dor

[rex us eon]

No, from the general shape it's pretty clear (to me at least) that it isn't a Ben 10 torso. Also, as can be seen on Surge, Breez, Evo, and Furno here, there is a joint with the square bumpers right next to the shoulder joint, which is not on the Ben 10 torso, or any torso that's been previously released.

noted, so i really think its cheep and lazy of Lego to use a mini figure pick axe to hold together fire-lords hand.

[The Dor]

noted, so i really think its cheep and lazy of Lego to use a mini figure pick axe to hold together fire-lords hand.

I actually kinda like the pick-axe, but even so I think that it would be the most minor of Fire Lord's flaws. I will of course withhold my final judgment until we get better pics, but currently I see no appeal in this set.