Hero Factory 2013

[Vinyl Scratch]

Sweet Makuro that video looks so sexy in HD.

I'm going to download it and provide you guys with sexy HD screenpics.

[Zachattacx]

Very smexy indeed.

Got Breez and Rocka yesterday,both are great,but IMO Rocka takes the best out of the two.

Maybe too early but all these cliffhangers from the episodes recently IMO are leading up to something.

Von Nebula getting plans.Brains being found within cave.Could VN be using the brains to power suits(as their intended power is)sorta like Krangs,like an army(Villain Factory?)I know it doesn't sound right,but that's just what I think.

[Aethersprite]

Any guesses on how Frost Beast's arms and shoulder fur are attached to his torso? I have no idea.

[Zachattacx]

Same front torso attachment as Furno XL, but with 3 long armors on the side as opposed to Furno's Wide armor.Then 2 of those Kiina T pieces connected to each other, then placed on the back.Then with the side axle holes of that T piece,you will connect the hordika necks and place the 3 long armors on the balls of the hordika necks.At least that's what I think.But that's only for the shoulder fur attachment.

I'll do a moc up tomorrow to show you my point of view on it.

Edited March 1, 2013 by Zachattacx

[xxlrocka]

Seriously, I'm sure somebody said a lot of pages ago that the Secret Mission 4 book was out. If anybody has bought it, at least tell us what it is all about because this is the book everyone felt so interested about.

[Dorek]

Isn't the official publication day technically tomorrow? I guess, in theory, someone could have been shipped a copy slightly early, but it's not the official street date release.

That said, looking forward to finding more about it. HS01 always needs more people and information, so if anybody wants to help out...[/shamelessplug]

[Devorath]

Does that mean your release dates are April? Ours are usually February but we got March this year. I wish I knew why.

Nope, NZ has the same situation as Aus.

[Zachattacx]

Here you go Lockon Stratos,

Frost Beast Torso Moc up by Zachattacx, on Flickr

Frost Beast Torso Moc up by Zachattacx, on Flickr

This is what I think Frost Beast's torso is made up of.

[howie28]

Wow, I know Frost Beast and Pyrox look similar but FB is going to be so much better value. I wonder what made the designers make such an odd torso construction compared to the normal way.

[Aethersprite]

Interesting. I don't know about you guys, but I'm really liking Frost Beast more and more. Maybe even more than Dragon Bolt. He has a very solid design.

[Shakar]

Yeah, I really like FB too, he's my favourite villain this year along Dragon Bolt (they don't have a lot of competition, though..). The head, the colour scheme, the unique torso design and the weapons (tr. light blue claws FTW!)..way better than Pyrox.

And I never realized how big Scarox's head really is. That MOC of mine is going to turn out sweet!

[Takanuinuva]

I like Frost Beast a lot as well. There is only one thing I dislike about him and that is his name. All of the other Brain Attack villians have interesting names but Frost Beast just seems to generic. I'm going to be calling him Chillax instead. It sounds cooler and still fits the ice theme of the villian.

[Aanchir]

I like Frost Beast a lot as well. There is only one thing I dislike about him and that is his name. All of the other Brain Attack villians have interesting names but Frost Beast just seems to generic. I'm going to be calling him Chillax instead. It sounds cooler and still fits the ice theme of the villian.

Eh, personally, I like names like this. While I can agree some names like Pyrox are pretty cool, I really loved how very approachable the names of early Hero Factory sets were, and Frost Beast is a lot like those. Think about it: you have heroes with real first names and last names with obvious connotations. You have villains with real words that quite clearly describe them used as names. Even the early 2011 villains tended to follow this same principle, with names like Drilldozer, Fire Lord, Jetbug, and Nitroblast. But in mid-2011 some of the names started to shift towards a more BIONICLE-like naming scheme. You had a few basic, iconic names like Raw-Jaw, Scorpio, and Witch Doctor, but then you also had villain names like Waspix or Fangz that just seemed to use weird spellings to seem "unique", and the new hero Rocka whose name had no obvious connection to his theme or role. And since then there's been a fairly consistent blend of the two.

Now, on one hand, the Hero Factory universe definitely has room for names that are less self-evident in their meanings/derivation: just look at Zib and Quadal. But on the other hand, one thing I've always liked about Hero Factory is that it's more approachable in many respects than BIONICLE was. The names are one part of that. I've read one review of a 2002 BIONICLE comic that criticized how the names "sounded like they came out of a KGB hitlist" and my dad never stopped getting a kick out of making fun of the ludicrous names in the theme (for instance, who can forget the seventh Toa "Taco Nuevo"?). Perhaps TLG thinks kids will enjoy having interests that their parents won't get — it's been used as a marketing technique in the past — but as an adult fan of LEGO I prefer when my interests are a little bit more self-explanatory.

I'll admit this year's HF names tend to be rather tame compared to, say, Thornraxx. Pyrox's name has an obvious derivation. So does Aquagon's. Scarox's is pretty simple as well, though it relates to the character in a much more abstract way (OK, spiders are scary, I guess that makes sense…), and Bruizer's name is one of the best of the bunch since it's spelled differently enough to be unique, but doesn't look ridiculous written out and is pronounced like a real word. But on the whole, I still have a real fondness for names that are simpler and more iconic. I guarantee you that if I made a Hero Factory self-MOC, I wouldn't be naming him Aanchir, or even something more meaningful like Aurik. Chances are I'd aim for something a little more straightforward.

[DraikNova]

Note that Frost Beast is just a generic name for the species. Perhaps it's a yeti in more ways than one and it's a creature that was unknown to Hero Factory before the encounter and it therefore doesn't have a name yet.

[Chantastic1]

Eh, personally, I like names like this. While I can agree some names like Pyrox are pretty cool, I really loved how very approachable the names of early Hero Factory sets were, and Frost Beast is a lot like those. Think about it: you have heroes with real first names and last names with obvious connotations. You have villains with real words that quite clearly describe them used as names. Even the early 2011 villains tended to follow this same principle, with names like Drilldozer, Fire Lord, Jetbug, and Nitroblast. But in mid-2011 some of the names started to shift towards a more BIONICLE-like naming scheme. You had a few basic, iconic names like Raw-Jaw, Scorpio, and Witch Doctor, but then you also had villain names like Waspix or Fangz that just seemed to use weird spellings to seem "unique", and the new hero Rocka whose name had no obvious connection to his theme or role. And since then there's been a fairly consistent blend of the two.

Now, on one hand, the Hero Factory universe definitely has room for names that are less self-evident in their meanings/derivation: just look at Zib and Quadal. But on the other hand, one thing I've always liked about Hero Factory is that it's more approachable in many respects than BIONICLE was. The names are one part of that. I've read one review of a 2002 BIONICLE comic that criticized how the names "sounded like they came out of a KGB hitlist" and my dad never stopped getting a kick out of making fun of the ludicrous names in the theme (for instance, who can forget the seventh Toa "Taco Nuevo"?). Perhaps TLG thinks kids will enjoy having interests that their parents won't get — it's been used as a marketing technique in the past — but as an adult fan of LEGO I prefer when my interests are a little bit more self-explanatory.

I'll admit this year's HF names tend to be rather tame compared to, say, Thornraxx. Pyrox's name has an obvious derivation. So does Aquagon's. Scarox's is pretty simple as well, though it relates to the character in a much more abstract way (OK, spiders are scary, I guess that makes sense…), and Bruizer's name is one of the best of the bunch since it's spelled differently enough to be unique, but doesn't look ridiculous written out and is pronounced like a real word. But on the whole, I still have a real fondness for names that are simpler and more iconic. I guarantee you that if I made a Hero Factory self-MOC, I wouldn't be naming him Aanchir, or even something more meaningful like Aurik. Chances are I'd aim for something a little more straightforward.

Or, you know... Scarox could come from Scarab because they both are have the insect theme going on.

[howie28]

That's exactly what I thought! Scarab beetles have connections to Egyptian mythology, and Egypt is in the desert. And in the Brain Attack show pre-transformation Scarox was in sand dunes.

[Aanchir]

Or, you know... Scarox could come from Scarab because they both are have the insect theme going on.

That's exactly what I thought! Scarab beetles have connections to Egyptian mythology, and Egypt is in the desert. And in the Brain Attack show pre-transformation Scarox was in sand dunes.

D'oh! I can't believe I didn't make that connection. Let me revise my original statement: I have a real fondness for names that are simpler and more iconic because I'm too dull to figure them out otherwise!

Scarox's design definitely has more spider than beetle in it, both in his set design and his pre-mutation form as shown in the Brain Attack episode. But overall scarab seems like it would be the most likely derivation of his name. It wouldn't be the first time a name's real-world inspiration was a bit of a leap away from the model's direct inspiration.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

D'oh! I can't believe I didn't make that connection. Let me revise my original statement: I have a real fondness for names that are simpler and more iconic because I'm too dull to figure them out otherwise!

Scarox's design definitely has more spider than beetle in it, both in his set design and his pre-mutation form as shown in the Brain Attack episode. But overall scarab seems like it would be the most likely derivation of his name. It wouldn't be the first time a name's real-world inspiration was a bit of a leap away from the model's direct inspiration.

Ehlek anyone?

[Zachattacx]

That's what I thought,but then again half of the Barraki's names did have intention.Kalmah=Calamari Mantax=Manta Ray.You get the idea.

[Cahillrebel]

Why the show did show six legs. Plus, it might be a spider and scarab like creature. Just has more spider than scarab.

[DraikNova]

Because one pair of pinchers were turned into feet.

[Cahillrebel]

That wasn't a question. I meant well it did show six legs. Sorry.

Edited March 5, 2013 by Cahillrebel

[ToaJaller78]

Any guesses on how Frost Beast's arms and shoulder fur are attached to his torso? I have no idea.

Well I would have PREFERED the Furno XL build Edited March 5, 2013 by ToaJaller78

[Shakar]

Well I would have PREFERED the Furno XL build

Um, are you sure that would be possible/sensible? Furno's Technic backback alone takes about 11 pieces (a big portion, in a medium set), besides that build was done solely for the cape to attach. Edited March 5, 2013 by Shakar

[DraikNova]

Using that amount of parts just for the basic torso would have reduced the amount of armor pieces he could have severely.