Hero Factory 2011

[thehealthinspector]

still no news on a limited edition set?

[vexorian]

I would say it is highly unlikely we'll be seeing one this year.

[toatali]

Just to let you know Hero Factory is now available in the UK at Argos

[Studs Not On Top]

I went to my local Toys R Us today hoping to buy Stringer 3.0, but the shelves were nearly bare. I bought Nex 3.0 instead. He's a lot cooler than I thought, and everything about him screams "tiger". My only complaint is that due to the position of his weapon, his left arm can't even bend up to a 90-degree angle; besides that, great articulation and a great look overall. I like him even more than his 2.0 version.

I did try to paint tiger stripes on him, but it just didn't work out. He's back to solid orange now.

Edited August 2, 2011 by Studs Not On Top

[Aethersprite]

I think we've discussed this before, but... What's Rocka's first name? I checked his bio on the HF website and it doesn't have it.

[The Mugbearer]

Daniel, as I can remember.

[Aanchir]

Daniel, as I can remember.

A reliable source for that has never surfaced-- the original source for that name was on Wikipedia, and it then spread like wildfire, much to the chagrin of editors on HS01. If it counts for anything, Swert of BS01/HS01 asked Kelly McKiernan (the web director for the Hero Factory site) about the subject and was given the response that Rocka had not yet been given a first name. Since this was after the name "Daniel" surfaced, I think we can agree that the name "Daniel Rocka" is bunk (even if it would have been a cool name with some biblical parallels to the lion motif).

I sincerely hope that Rocka gets a first name at some point. But as of right now, no first name has surfaced from a reputable source. And I hope this is not an omen of how hero names will be selected in the future, since it would cause a great deal of in-universe inconsistency.

[Jouster]

In my honest opinion Daniel Rocka sounds like a pretty cool name. Well, maybe it's because Daniel is my middle name. But I do hope he gets a first name soon. Anyway, I've found this: No, it's not 2012 info

I like the signature sticker-circle-pose things that they've done for the 2.0 heroes.(Although the 1.0 versions are better). I wonder if the 3.0 sets will get something like that too.

[Aanchir]

In my honest opinion Daniel Rocka sounds like a pretty cool name. Well, maybe it's because Daniel is my middle name. But I do hope he gets a first name soon. Anyway, I've found this: No, it's not 2012 info

I like the signature sticker-circle-pose things that they've done for the 2.0 heroes.(Although the 1.0 versions are better). I wonder if the 3.0 sets will get something like that too.

Something interesting I noticed about the 1.0 versions of those is that they show the sets in poses that they haven't really shown up in in any other media. For instance, Surge holds his tools on opposite sides of one of his hands, creating a "double-bladed lightsaber" effect, and Furno wears his weapons on his shoulders, presumably for flight or something similar. They can all be seen in

, starting around 50 seconds in.

These 2.0 versions of them are much less exciting (the less exciting text doesn't help). They're just the same as the main product images, except as silhouettes.

[Mesonak]

Picked up Witch Doctor today; I was not disappointed.

After building the set and having it in front of me, I can definitely see many things that some would consider problems. The technic doesn't mesh well stylistically with the HF building system, he has no eyes, his staff is short and looks much like a wand, and his torso armor does not cover his torso well. Not to mention the fact that his legs can't bend at the first knee joint. Despite all of that, he still ranks as my favorite humanoid set since Takanuva '08. There's a great level of complexity in his build that we haven't seen since Titan Mata Nui, and as far as pieces go, he's a goldmine. The mask looks wonderfully villianous, and the color scheme is commendable; red pins actually accent his red highlights well, unlike other sets where they stick out like a sore thumb. The technic, while it does conflict with the smooth and streamlined HF parts, strikes me as a true "skeleton", while the Hero Factory armor is just that; sleek armor that fits over a mechanical skeleton. It works much better for me in person than what I had assumed from pictures, and I don't consider it a major flaw.

What I do consider a flaw, however, is the fact that his legs are permanently fixed forwards due to the odd articulation. He can do the splits, and he can kick his legs forward or backwards, but they will always be positioned towards the front. Having great ankle articulation helps with posability, and he can still get into some pretty menacing poses, but he's definitely not viable for those that enjoy playing with their sets. He strikes me as more of a figure that I would keep as display, and that's where he excels; he's massive, and looks wonderful when posed next to other Hero Factory (or even BIONICLE) sets.

The whole theme of the set (skeletons, voodoo, etc.) is a winner in my book, and despite the high price tag, I'd recommend him to anyone. He definitely has a number of flaws, which I can't ignore, but I don't think they weigh heavily enough (at least to me) to classify him as a failure.

-Mesonak

Edited August 8, 2011 by Mesonak

[Aanchir]

Picked up Witch Doctor today; I was not disappointed.

After building the set and having it in front of me, I can definitely see many things that some would consider problems. The technic doesn't mesh well stylistically with the HF building system, he has no eyes, his staff is short and looks much like a wand, and his torso armor does not cover his torso well. Not to mention the fact that his legs can't bend at the first knee joint. Despite all of that, he still ranks as my favorite humanoid set since Takanuva '08. There's a great level of complexity in his build that we haven't seen since Titan Mata Nui, and as far as pieces go, he's a goldmine. The mask looks wonderfully villianous, and the color scheme is commendable; red pins actually accent his red highlights well, unlike other sets where they stick out like a sore thumb. The technic, while it does conflict with the smooth and streamlined HF parts, strikes me as a true "skeleton", while the Hero Factory armor is just that; sleek armor that fits over a mechanical skeleton. It works much better for me in person than what I had assumed from pictures, and I don't consider it a major flaw.

What I do consider a flaw, however, is the fact that his legs are permanently fixed forwards due to the odd articulation. He can do the splits, and he can kick his legs forward or backwards, but they will always be positioned towards the front. Having great ankle articulation helps with posability, and he can still get into some pretty menacing poses, but he's definitely not viable for those that enjoy playing with their sets. He strikes me as more of a figure that I would keep as display, and that's where he excels; he's massive, and looks wonderful when posed next to other Hero Factory (or even BIONICLE) sets.

The whole theme of the set (skeletons, voodoo, etc.) is a winner in my book, and despite the high price tag, I'd recommend him to anyone. He definitely has a number of flaws, which I can't ignore, but I don't think they weigh heavily enough (at least to me) to classify him as a failure.

-Mesonak

My little brother picked up basically all the box sets, so I've finally gotten a good look at Witch Doctor in real life myself. The heavy use of Technic and limited posability do bother me, and his legs and torso look about as bad from side view as I anticipated. I've never had any problems with the staff, though. Frankly, in BIONICLE we had more than enough staff-wielding characters, and I actually feel the more wand-looking staff wielded by Witch Doctor makes more sense for his character and for the staff's function than a longer weapon would.

Frankly, Witch Doctor is an amazingly-designed set. He manages to use the Hero Factory building system in a way that it hasn't been used before, that being as a structural tool for extremely large figures. With that said, I don't really like the direction that was taken in his design. I feel that it would be more practical to try and streamline more typical "action figure" builds at that size than to go for something so radically different that comes with its own flaws and assets.

I was a big fan of Fire Lord because while he had design flaws, he felt like a step in the right direction design-wise-- demonstrating that the new building system could be used at multiple scales without a very visible dependence on Technic. This wave, while wonderful in many ways, failed to really build on that, with Rocka XL improving only slightly on Fire Lord's design while introducing scores of new flaws, and Witch Doctor abandoning that style altogether in favor of a more Technic-intensive build with a level of posability that could have been achieved just as easily without any ball joints at all.

So no, he's definitely not a failure by any means. But I hope that future sets will work to improve on either his structural design or Fire Lord's rather than continuing to branch out in entirely new directions. Or ideally, both: new designs to demonstrate that the new building system has lasting potential, and improvements on older designs to work towards a more streamlined and dependable structure for "titan" sets in this theme. We have yet to totally match the design quality seen in 2005-2006 BIONICLE titan sets or the 2008 Takanuva set.

[Aanchir]

Today LDD updated to version 4.1.8, which contains a number of new Hero Factory parts. In fact, it includes every Hero Factory part from the current wave except for the faces/helmets of the villain sets. And yes, the quaza spike piece (92235) can be dual-colored.

Additionally, many parts on LDD have been recategorized in this version. What this means is that pretty much every Hero Factory or BIONICLE part is now in either the category marked with a Hero Factory bone or the category marked with a Hero Factory shell. Joints such as bones, hands, and feet are typically in the bone category, with everything else in the shell category.

A fair number of older Hero Factory and BIONICLE parts have also been added, including Toa Metru thigh armor (47299), Brutaka's sword (54272) the 90-degree Av-Matoran leg (60896), the Glatorian hand (64251), Ackar's sword (64297, which unfortunately doesn't seem able to be dual-colored), Kiina's 7M joint piece (64311), the 1.0 hero leg shell (87798), and the rookie hero torso shell (87807).

Here is a post by Superkalle with a file containing all the newly-added parts. I haven't yet asked Superkalle if there are any new decorations, like the 3.0 "name badge" decorations, available currently. But even without those, I'm impressed with how comprehensive this update is with regard to Hero Factory parts. It makes me wonder whether there might at any point be an update to Hero Recon Team, although as of right now there have been no changes to the DesignByMe or PAB palettes.

[Front]

Very cool with the LDD update, thank you for info.

Where do I find that bone piece with 3 balls that waspix use ?

Maybe it's not there.

[Aanchir]

Very cool with the LDD update, thank you for info.

Where do I find that bone piece with 3 balls that waspix use ?

Maybe it's not there.

Oh, shoot! Great catch! I thought I had been pretty thorough in seeing which parts got added to LDD and which didn't, but I guess I didn't. So to revise my statement, all the new Hero Factory parts besides the villain sets' helmets/faces and the bone piece unique to Waspix have been added. Unless, of course, you catch another part that I failed to account for!

It's a shame that one in particular is missing since it's one of the ones I was most anxious to use in LDD MOCs. It'd be excellent for making creatures not based on the existing torso beams.

[Darking]

We're also missing the Waspix's feet.

I can't understand why they implemented parts from the first season, but let out only five from the actual one, though it looks all the missing parts are from the villains, wich may mean that Recon Team could be updated soon.

[Zarkan]

Regarding Rocka's first name, part of me would rather it not be released, so the character can remain ambiguous enough that I can continue my personal preference of Rocka being a female. Becuase I have a bad suspicion that TLC is more likely to declare 3.0 an all boys wave than to officially introduce a second female hero.

[Aanchir]

Regarding Rocka's first name, part of me would rather it not be released, so the character can remain ambiguous enough that I can continue my personal preference of Rocka being a female. Becuase I have a bad suspicion that TLC is more likely to declare 3.0 an all boys wave than to officially introduce a second female hero.

They already have-- Rocka's bio uses masculine pronouns for him. Personally, I am a bit disappointed that there are no females in the 3.0 wave, but really I'd much rather have Breez back on the team and have some more cool colors to offset all the yellows, oranges, etc. than have Rocka be female. This isn't saying I want Breez to remain the only female hero, but frankly I think the color imbalance in the 3.0 wave is a bigger issue than the gender imbalance (now, I would be very disappointed if Breez never came back to the team, but I don't anticipate that considering that Bulk and Stringer both got another chance as canister sets).

Anyway, I just watched Ordeal of Fire on Youtube with my little brother, and was fairly impressed. I liked the dialogue a lot. The pacing, as I expected, was much worse than in Rise of the Rookies-- let's hope that Savage Planet being four episodes will spare it that fate.

One thing I definitely liked about Ordeal of Fire is that Breez and Surge got much more time in the spotlight than they had in Rise of the Rookies (rather than just offering commentary on RotR's "stars" Stormer and Furno). The animation was fairly good, even though some of the fight scenes were a bit awkward. I liked the animation of the upgrade process a great deal.

Zib was still more annoying than fun in Ordeal of Fire. His voice actor (and script) in the television episodes just don't put as much life into the character as David Carr at ADVANCE did for the various online animations and Hero Factory FM. Mr. Makuro, on the other hand, continued to be awesome, even though the pacing made his change of mind regarding the upgrade ("It's too dangerous... oh, wait, you really want it? OK, sure!") feel fairly shallow.

[HumanPackMule]

Are there any recent HF sets that have similar construction to the old Bionicle sets? I tried Stormer and Surge 2.0, and they just didn't feel right. Are the villains any better?

[Mesonak]

If you're looking for BIONICLE-style deisgn, you're out of luck; that connection system has, more or less, been pushed to the backburner in favor of the new build system introduced with Hero Factory 2.0. The titans, however, have many technic pieces, namely Witch Doctor, Fire Lord, and Rocka XL.

-Mesonak

[K-Nut]

Are there any recent HF sets that have similar construction to the old Bionicle sets? I tried Stormer and Surge 2.0, and they just didn't feel right. Are the villains any better?

If you can find any villains from last year, their construction is somewhat similar, especially the titans and Xplode.

[Zwen]

Just because Stringer looks good: Savage Planet DVD

Edited August 13, 2011 by Zwen

[The Iron Knight]

Furno grin's the weirdest thing ever, I swear. On the plus side, it looks like we'll maybe get some decent shots of Stringer and Bulk 2.0. That's good for wiki purposes, I suppose.

[The Iron Knight]

It makes me wonder whether there might at any point be an update to Hero Recon Team, although as of right now there have been no changes to the DesignByMe or PAB palettes.

Well, there's this in regards to an Hero Recon Team update.

[Bundalings]

I picked up a copy of all the HF3.0 sets (bar Scorpio) that I could find on-island - that is, Bulk, Stringer, Rocka XL and Witch Doctor. Gotta say I'm really disappointed. Stringer is good, Bulk is pretty okay, Aldous has terrible torso armor but I like the rest of him, and Rocka... bleeeeeh. He improves on Fire Lord in some ways but his stomach is lame and his arms seem to be almost worse than Fire Lord's. Stupidly hard to pose.

Great parts all around, though. I don't regret my purchase. But all of them have been disassembled, put in bags and thrown in drawers until I need their parts for MOCs.

[Studs Not On Top]

I decided to give Nex some stripes! I used a regular Sharpie marker, which is why it's fading so quickly, but I like the effect.

Front

Helmet Detail