Legends of Chima 2013 (Action Figures)

[WARHEAD]

Watch as it turns out they're just Duplo animals in polybags with angry eye printing :v

That's kinda what they look like in the show from what I've seen.

[Mesonak]

Not going to lie, I was hoping for constraction Beavers, Bears, and Rhinos. :(

Oh well. I'm surprised there's no Raven Legend Beast, but hey. These could still be pretty cool.

[Dorek]

Maybe it was just omitted from the list, or maybe not.

I like the idea (I don't know how it ties into the Chima story, but I can imagine), but repeating the same animals is a little uninspired. Hopefully we get less humanoid designs, and not just a rehash of the previous constraction sets.

[Leewan]

Hopefully we get less humanoid designs, and not just a rehash of the previous constraction sets.

IIRC, Legends Beasts are "pure" animals who haven't drank the chi. So we should expect "real" animals. This should be interesting...

[Dorek]

I'd love a full on constraction gator, or wolf, but I don't think animals sell as well as humanoids. But who knows, maybe LEGO has bought themselves enough market goodwill to sell it properly.

[Takanuinuva]

I have this strange feeling that the Wolf Legend Beast was the Mother wolf of the Wolf tribe. It would explain why the Mother Tooth was big compared to Worriz and the other wolves.

[wghost]

Lame question for experts: why do all of these sets use friction joints where in comparison only the XL-sized HF sets do the same? Are these sets considerably heavier because of the weapons/armor/back coverage? Could they not use simply longer bone pieces?

[bacem]

Lame question for experts: why do all of these sets use friction joints where in comparison only the XL-sized HF sets do the same? Are these sets considerably heavier because of the weapons/armor/back coverage? Could they not use simply longer bone pieces?

increase the piece count? i don't know, but those friction joint pieces are always welcomed to me.

[Aanchir]

Lame question for experts: why do all of these sets use friction joints where in comparison only the XL-sized HF sets do the same? Are these sets considerably heavier because of the weapons/armor/back coverage? Could they not use simply longer bone pieces?

The Super Heroes sets did the same. My guess is that yes, they ARE heavy enough that it might make a difference in the long term (They're not as big as XL-sized Hero Factory sets, but certainly bulkier than the typical medium-sized Hero Factory set). Alternatively, perhaps it's a combination of their default size and the fact that both the Super Heroes and Chima constraction lines have a heavy emphasis on combination models.

One thing's for sure, they're definitely not just being used as a substitute for longer beams. I'm not sure how costly the friction joints are to make but they're certainly more complex than basic beams just by virtue of being co-injected.

[wghost]

They're not as big as XL-sized Hero Factory sets, but certainly bulkier than the typical medium-sized Hero Factory set.

I'm unsure because larger HF sets like Breakout Breez, Furno & Bulk/Brain Attack Surge & Stormer still don't use them although they're also weapon- and part-heavy and are roughly the same size as the Chima models. It's also true that Superheroes sets also saw an implementation of friction joints which makes it all the more interesting. And if it makes a difference, why not use them in larger (but not XL-sized) HF sets as well?

Btw what do you mean by co-injection? Are these parts moulded differently?

Edited August 30, 2013 by wghost

[bacem]

I'm unsure because larger HF sets like Breakout Breez, Furno & Bulk/Brain Attack Surge & Stormer still don't use them although they're also weapon- and part-heavy and are roughly the same size as the Chima models. It's also true that Superheroes sets also saw an implementation of friction joints which makes it all the more interesting. And if it makes a difference, why not use them in larger (but not XL-sized) HF sets as well?

Btw what do you mean by co-injection? Are these parts moulded differently?

they have a special rubber inside them to increase friction further, and to hold a ball joint better.

[Leewan]

One thing's for sure, they're definitely not just being used as a substitute for longer beams. I'm not sure how costly the friction joints are to make but they're certainly more complex than basic beams just by virtue of being co-injected.

They could be in fact used to "absorb" faster their production/design cost.

[Bfahome]

I imagine the Chima Ultrabuilds use them because of things like Eris and Razar's wings and Cragger's neck, which are larger than average and could cause them to fall over.

And then they probably just used them across the entire line for consistency.

[wghost]

they have a special rubber inside them to increase friction further, and to hold a ball joint better.

Had no idea, thanks for the info.

I imagine the Chima Ultrabuilds use them because of things like Eris and Razar's wings and Cragger's neck, which are larger than average and could cause them to fall over.

I admit, Batman also had wings, Iron Man had a gatling gun and Hulk were just plain large - it makes sense.

Edited August 30, 2013 by wghost

[Aanchir]

Had no idea, thanks for the info.

I admit, Batman also had wings, Iron Man had a gatling gun and Hulk were just plain large - it makes sense.

Plus, keep in mind that before Stormer XL introduced the 3M Technic beam with center ball joint, pretty much all of the Super Heroes sets were constructed with not one but two torso beams.

Additionally, I think many of the Chima constraction sets are definitely even more parts-intensive than the medium-sized Hero Factory sets from the past couple series. Laval and Worriz are good examples. They have full armor (including back armor), two weapons each, AND fully-articulated paws from the Savage Planet series. Eris and Razar also have every surface but their backs armored, and fairly large and bulky wings. Gorzan is, of course, Gorzan. Again, he has fully-articulated hands and a large club in addition to his bulky torso. And Cragger has a custom neck construction, two pieces of back armor, and a fairly large weapon.

But this is all a bit speculative, isn't it? Let's compare the sets' weight directly. According to Bricklink, CHI Worriz is 158 grams in weight, CHI Laval is 159 grams, CHI Eris is 167 grams, CHI Razar is 169 grams, CHI Gorzan is 165 grams, and CHI Cragger is 156 grams. Now let's contrast some medium-sized Hero Factory figures. This year's Stormer is 144 grams, Surge is 143 grams, Bruizer is 152 grams, Ogrum is 154 grams, and Pyrox is only 114 grams. Bruizer and Ogrum are getting close to the Chima figures, but none of the sets quite match the weight of the Chima constraction sets. The bulky head molds of the Chima sets might play a part in that.

Incidentally, wghost is right that some of the 2012 medium-sized figures DID apparently tend to be heavier. Core Hunter weighed 155 grams, Breez creeps up on the Chima constraction sets at 156 grams, and Splitface surpasses some of them at 160 grams. Bulk weighed a whopping 166 grams. This makes things a bit more confusing. Still, they're much lighter than the Super Heroes sets from that year: Captain America is 176 grams, Joker is 196 grams, Green Lantern is 199 grams, Batman is 200 grams, Iron Man is 201 grams, and Hulk is 212 grams. Bricklink might not be entirely reliable here, since they measure item weight as the weight of a sealed package, and so extra parts, packaging, and instructions would affect a set's listed weight. But it's not entirely unlikely that the Super Heroes sets were heavier than Chima or Hero Factory sets of comparable size, due to the doubled-up torso beams I mentioned earlier.

There's another possibility I haven't gone into: since friction joints are presumably more expensive than just using a longer beam, avoiding them in medium-sized Hero Factory sets might be a means of cost-cutting rather than necessarily meaning the sets need them less. LEGO pricing can often reflect demand, so perhaps the LEGO Group thinks the more heavily-promoted characters of the Chima and Super Heroes themes might be able to command a higher price than Hero Factory sets, and thus they can more easily afford to include friction joints.

Or, as I said in my previous post, it could have to do with the non-HF constraction sets' heavy emphasis on combination models. In HF, most of the combination models that lack friction joints combine two small sets or a small set and a medium-sized set. In Chima and Super Heroes you're invariably combining two medium-sized sets. That still leaves a bit of a question regarding Core Hunter and Bulk's combi model, though...

Edited August 31, 2013 by Aanchir

[wghost]

Plus, keep in mind that before Stormer XL introduced the 3M Technic beam with center ball joint, pretty much all of the Super Heroes sets were constructed with not one but two torso beams.

Good point.

There's another possibility I haven't gone into: since friction joints are presumably more expensive than just using a longer beam, avoiding them in medium-sized Hero Factory sets might be a means of cost-cutting rather than necessarily meaning the sets need them less. LEGO pricing can often reflect demand, so perhaps the LEGO Group thinks the more heavily-promoted characters of the Chima and Super Heroes themes might be able to command a higher price than Hero Factory sets, and thus they can more easily afford to include friction joints.

Since HF sets from last year tend to match the weight of this year's Chima sets, I'm also inclined to say it's due to cost-cutting - Chima and Superheroes sets are/were all more expensive than matching-size HF sets. My concern is thus raised on MOCing and stability - although I think normal bones are sturdy enough, this just leaves me wonder if my modded sets are gonna be in a good shape in the future as well. Since I don't own any medium-sized Breakout sets, any comments on Bulk or Furno regarding stability would be appreciated.

Or, as I said in my previous post, it could have to do with the non-HF constraction sets' heavy emphasis on combination models.

I guess this and all of the aforementioned factors were put into consideration in the design process. Thanks for the replies!

Edited August 31, 2013 by wghost

[Shakar]

Assuming these are Ultrabuild sets, that means well for constraction lines. For the first time ever, Lego released two constraction lines from their own IPs at once, and both sold well.

Onto the list: Legendary Beasts? This really isn't what I excepted, but hey, why not? We probably might not get new weapon molds from LoC, but animal parts are always welcome. And I bet they are going to bring some interesting designs, like the Savage Planet beasts from HF did in 2011.

Who knows, we might get some humanoids in Summer 2014. I still want Special Edition Lagravis and Crominus.

[Infernum]

Onto the list: Legendary Beasts? This really isn't what I excepted, but hey, why not? We probably might not get new weapon molds from LoC, but animal parts are always welcome. And I bet they are going to bring some interesting designs, like the Savage Planet beasts from HF did in 2011.

Yes! Personally I love animal type sets. They bring much more originality (most of the time) than humanoids.

[Shakar]

I know it's sort of weird to bump this, but I got Razar for the parts last week and I still haven't disassembled him. Why? Easy, I love him. The guy is just great and the wings are a lot of fun to play with. Looks quite menacing too. I have Worriz too, and while he's in pieces now he's a great figure. I got Laval and Gorzan as well. All 4 figures look impressive and fully armoured.

It's no secret I didn't enjoy this year's HF sets very much, especially the Villains (in fact, there are only 2-3 of them I actually consider good sets). And indeed, I only wish the Villains looked more like Razar, Worriz and Cragger- unfortunately the HF Villains were severly limited by the Brains, large expensive pieces that took a lot from the budget of each set (Pyrox being a glaring example, a 13 Euro set with the size and complexity of a 9 Euro figure).

And these CHI sets more or less crush the Superhero sets which, while innovative in many aspects, often didn't work well (Joker being the worst offender). These guys are innovative and do look awesome. This is why I'd love a second wave in Summer.

[Mesonak]

Yep, the Chima sets were truly a wonderful surprise. I love them all (except Eris, cause yeah...).

Here's hoping they make a return.

[vexorian]

Between me and my brother we most of the Chima sets except for lion dude and crocodrile, which I assume judging by the quality of their sets they are side characters so not very important.

Eris looks epic actually. Probably the first place but not my thing because of all the white and gold, never a fan of that combination. I like dark sets.

Wolf guy is ok. I really resent the dark red blocks. Would have preferred any of the following colors: red, black, silver, gunmetal, blue, green, yellow, any color really.

Gorilla's front is awesome, but the back offends me. Was it so hard to get just one armor piece? Just one more piece? Really , the back is such a drawback on this set. Mod-worthy, I guess. It is great he uses stickers, these sets look better without those armor decorations and the golden large armor piece will be a ton of times more useful without them.

My favorite is the crow, although mostly because of the purple gallore. I regret getting Voltix last year, this is a much better source of purple.

I plan getting Duplicates or triplicates (specially if HF 2013 sets don't arrive, which seems likely) of Eris, Gorilla and Crow, they have great pieces for me.

[bacem]

Between me and my brother we most of the Chima sets except for lion dude and crocodrile, which I assume judging by the quality of their sets they are side characters so not very important.

Eris looks epic actually. Probably the first place but not my thing because of all the white and gold, never a fan of that combination. I like dark sets.

Wolf guy is ok. I really resent the dark red blocks. Would have preferred any of the following colors: red, black, silver, gunmetal, blue, green, yellow, any color really.

Gorilla's front is awesome, but the back offends me. Was it so hard to get just one armor piece? Just one more piece? Really , the back is such a drawback on this set. Mod-worthy, I guess. It is great he uses stickers, these sets look better without those armor decorations and the golden large armor piece will be a ton of times more useful without them.

My favorite is the crow, although mostly because of the purple gallore. I regret getting Voltix last year, this is a much better source of purple.

I plan getting Duplicates or triplicates (specially if HF 2013 sets don't arrive, which seems likely) of Eris, Gorilla and Crow, they have great pieces for me.

laval is the main character of the series, and cragger is the main villain.

[Shakar]

I'm pretty sure vexorian was being sarcastic.

[bacem]

I'm pretty sure vexorian was being sarcastic.

oh, i see. didn't notice that, sorry.

[Dorek]

Watch as it turns out they're just Duplo animals in polybags with angry eye printing :v

That's kinda what they look like in the show from what I've seen.

It's terrifying how accurate this statement was.