Hero Factory 2013

[Kalhiki]

It is worth noting that Dragon Bolt is the first non-humanoid large figure ($19.99 or higher),

What about Scorpio?

(Though Dragon Bolt looks much cooler than him. Plus he has the neat wing flapping feature)

Kalhiki

[Aanchir]

What about Scorpio?

(Though Dragon Bolt looks much cooler than him. Plus he has the neat wing flapping feature)

Kalhiki

Oh, right, I forgot Scorpio. Still, it's nice to have a larger non-humanoid villain after a year of smaller ones.

[Shakar]

After Jang's reviews, my thoughts slightly changed.

Surge, Stormer, Evo and Frost Beast are confirmed as must buys. Stormer is just so gorgeous with his colours, his weapons, his helmet and the overall style: he's even better than I thought. Frost Beast is only slightly disappointing as far the back is concerned, but he's still great. Surge is nearly perfect (the upper arms being the weakest part IMO) and Evo is very cool.

Aquagon is slightly better than I thought, but he's still incredibly bland. Parts pack indeed.

Dragon Bolt is a good set, but probably not the one I need. I've already got a dragon HF MOC built, and I'm pretty happy with him. The parts don't interest me much either, I have enough blue shells already and I really have no use for blue spikes, yellow katana and another brain (I don't know how to use them in general TBH).

Now, Rocka interests me less than before. I sorta saw the non lockable wings coming (at Toy Fair, the wings were always closed- hmmm..), but that's not even it. The jet looks clunkier than I thought, Rocka just looks weird..but overall, it's the sense of "uselessness" that tips me off the most. It's far from being a terrible set, but like Dragon Bolt I'm not sure if I need it.

And of course, there's the feeling of "another Rocka? Really?". I would've rather had Nex/Stringer as a 9 Euro set to replace Winter Rocka, who isn't very exciting anyway (parts wise, the only loss would've been the gold shield- everything else is already available elsewhere).

And I've sorta fallen in love with Stormer+FB. I really like the extra arms covered in tr. shells especially: they remind me of energy wings (like those four Ginjou from Bleach sprouts in his Bankai form). I'm actually thinking of giving 4 of those to Stormer or another character.

EDIT: I realized I had left two sentences half complete...fixed it.

Edited May 17, 2013 by Shakar

[pocketmego]

For me Evo , Stormer, and Frost Beast are must gets, Aquagon and Dragon Bolt are bags of parts, and Jet Rocka , is a total pass. Especially with the TON of gold parts available with LAVAL.

Edited May 17, 2013 by pocketmego

[Takanuinuva]

After seeing LegoJang's Reviews. I know I'm still getting Surge, Stormer, Frost Beast and Aquagon. I like Dragon Bolt but I have no need to get him. Jet Rocka looks just as bad as before. The jetpack has redeemed itself slightly but the Rocka included is utter trash. I will be making a revamp of Jet Rocka but I will use my own pieces since the Jet Rocka set has no exclusive pieces except that windscreen which I was going to swap out for a large one anyways.

[DOTM Shockwave]

After watching LegoJang's reviews on the sets, my opinions are as follow:

Surge, Aquagon, and Frost Beast are on my "Buy on site" list.

Dragon Bolt is on my "Maybe" list.

Stormer and Evo might be purchased only for parts.

Jet Rocka is being past on, until he goes on clearance (even then, I still might not buy him).

Maybe I'll do what Takanuinuva is doing instead, and build the Jetpack with parts I already own/will order from Bricklink.

[MakutaNocturn]

Why so? I personally think it does a good job giving that sea monster/lake monster look the designers were going for. And it manages to strike a good balance between looking machine-tooled and looking organic.

It looks too flat and too big.

[Chro]

Hmm... it's interesting seeing people class sets as parts packs or not, because for me everything is just a parts pack. XD

I'll post my thoughts on the wave in a bit.

[Dorek]

It's mostly the polite way of saying "I think this set is crap, but here is a redeeming feature so you don't think I hate for no reason".

Also Aquagon's facemask is amazing no judgments.

[DraikNova]

Ok, so first Dragon Bolt is the best set ever, then Dragon Bolt is the best set possible and now it's considered one of the "meh" sets of the wave?

Edited May 18, 2013 by DraikNova

[bacem]

am i the only one around here who still love Dragon Bolt?

[Aanchir]

am i the only one around here who still love Dragon Bolt?

Nah, I think a lot of people like Dragon Bolt. I certainly do. But I think some people were hoping for something larger. I think he's a pretty substantial size myself, but if people want to use his parts for a larger revamp, more power to them.

[Kalhiki]

I like Dragon Bolt (we'll see if that changes once I get him). Since I didn't expect to see his massive size from the episode transition over to the set, I'm not disappointed with how he looks.

Kalhiki

[Cahillrebel]

Nah, I think a lot of people like Dragon Bolt. I certainly do. But I think some people were hoping for something larger. I think he's a pretty substantial size myself, but if people want to use his parts for a larger revamp, more power to them.

Actually, Lego Jang just posted his alternate combination videos he came up with on his youtube channel. He made Dragon Bolt look awesome and large.

[Dorek]

This is totally where Hero Factory could have benefited from the Chima approach; individual combiners, using one set as the base and one as a supplement. Granted, that's more or less what the combiners actually are this wave, but it's so one-sided towards the Heroes (as opposed to being one-sided towards the villains in 2012), and not always particularly interesting.

Regardless, I'm still excited for Dragon Bolt. And forum-goers are fickle at best, so that's why you see shifting opinions.

[DraikNova]

Dragon Bolt is my favorite HF set. To solve the size problem, I'm building a massive revamp. I've only built maybe one-third of the body, and it's already over half a foot long.

[Dorek]

Now, see, the thing I never got is the disconnect between "I love the set" and then subsequently saying "but I'm making a bajillion improvements to him". Ship of Theseus, really.

[Mesonak]

Well, there's a very large difference between something being a favorite of yours and it being flawless. For instance, Witch Doctor is my personal favorite HF set based on a number of reasons such as his size, complexity, and overall theme. However, since I'm very critical in regards to my sets, I'm not able to ignore all the flaws he has in his design just because he's my favorite.

That being said, even with those flaws present, he's still my favorite, because I can accept them. This is Lego, after all, so improvements to sets can be made rather easily. To refrain from making those improvements simply because the set is your "favorite"... well, unless you're a purist or simply don't have the pieces, I don't get the logic behind that. :P

Edited May 18, 2013 by Mesonak

[Bfahome]

Hmm... it's interesting seeing people class sets as parts packs or not, because for me everything is just a parts pack. XD

I should start assigning scores to sets based on how long they'll likely stay assembled. It'll be kind of tricky for ones like Toxic Reapa, though, who had a great design but also too many lovely parts not to rip it apart.

[pocketmego]

It's mostly the polite way of saying "I think this set is crap, but here is a redeeming feature so you don't think I hate for no reason".

Also Aquagon's facemask is amazing no judgments.

BINGO! The truth is I don't one single built AS INTENDED HF figure currently on my table. But, some have more value as sets to me than others. Rocka is worthless to me as I am not needing over sized torsos, gold armor, or technic pieces. But, Stormer and Frosty are chock full of nice, usable, delicious, parts. :D

[CabooseBM]

Now, see, the thing I never got is the disconnect between "I love the set" and then subsequently saying "but I'm making a bajillion improvements to him". Ship of Theseus, really.

They're LEGO sets, building is the entire point.

[Aanchir]

Now, see, the thing I never got is the disconnect between "I love the set" and then subsequently saying "but I'm making a bajillion improvements to him". Ship of Theseus, really.

Really, I appreciate that kind of notion. It means a person is willing to accept reasonable sacrifices in set design even if they're also willing to commit the resources to "optimize" the sets. I don't mod my sets extensively, but there are some that I do make slight modifications to based on personal preference (for instance, I made somewhat substantial modifications to the proportions of last year's Breez set, even though she was one of my favorite Hero sets from that year in terms of overall aesthetic).

There are far too many people, in my opinion, who get hung up on flaws that are perfectly understandable when factors like price point are taken into account, and even some who go so far as to think that they know better than the set's designers because they recognize these flaws. Personally, I admire the designers' ability to regularly churn out well-realized sets. But that doesn't mean that with the resources at my disposal I should just accept a set is perfect for me as-is.

Overall, I dislike a lot of revamps that completely re-imagine the set, because often they eliminate what I consider meaningful design considerations from the original work. Even minor Voltix mods that eliminate the blue tubes bother me in this regard, because for me they are a key part of the electrical motif that is central to his design. But at the same time, if we're only willing to love and celebrate a set if we consider it flawless, that's placing unrealistically high expectations on the designers: not just to design awesome, creative sets, but to design sets that perfectly anticipate our personal opinions.

[Chro]

I should start assigning scores to sets based on how long they'll likely stay assembled. It'll be kind of tricky for ones like Toxic Reapa, though, who had a great design but also too many lovely parts not to rip it apart.

My Reapa lasted about... twenty minutes? And that's only because my time was occupied with opening other gifts. (Got him and Evo for Christmas in 2011.)

[Bfahome]

Overall, I dislike a lot of revamps that completely re-imagine the set, because often they eliminate what I consider meaningful design considerations from the original work. Even minor Voltix mods that eliminate the blue tubes bother me in this regard, because for me they are a key part of the electrical motif that is central to his design. But at the same time, if we're only willing to love and celebrate a set if we consider it flawless, that's placing unrealistically high expectations on the designers: not just to design awesome, creative sets, but to design sets that perfectly anticipate our personal opinions.

That's how I go about it. A set that has an interesting theme, even if it isn't done perfectly, is what I look for. Breakout Evo, for example, I liked because he had the simple cannon arm design. My modifications were pretty much just adding more armor to bulk him up some.

[Dorek]

I get modifying, I'm just wondering at what point does it actually stop being the set that you are modifying, and a completely new (if similar in idea) creation? Maybe you don't actually like the set at all, just a few ideas that the set presents, or a specific piece that you intend to use similarly.

I do modifications to my sets mostly to increase functionality; I switch out the locked elbow joints on HF figures, for instance, but I rarely if ever add or take away pieces.