I haven't bought any new Hero Factory sets in a while, but at Brickfair Virginia I managed to get a lot of useful parts from Splitter Beast in the BZPower Parts Draft. Check out my haul! Hopefully I should be able to make some awesome MOCs now, including beast MOCs. I also bought some other loose parts from a vendor, including several which should prove useful.

Looks like quite a nice haul! Sadly there didn't seem to be many Constraction fans at Brick Fiesta, but that did mean I was able to snag BA Stormer and Fire Lord for $15 from a vendor.

The daily trawl of LEGO's cache has uncovered the combination instructions! only 6 days late LEGO, not too bad considering how long it took to get the ultrabuild combiners up

44023+44025+44027 (mech combiner)

44024+44026+44029 (beast combiner)

I have to say... that mech combiner looks pretty awful to me, but I am compelled to build the scorpion beast soon. Hopefully I'll get a second copy of Tunneler and Crystal Beasts so I can have both the scorpion and the other beasts

Yes. So much yes. Going to build the Scorpion Beast pronto!

EDIT: Built it. Actually quite nice. The claws are a little weirdly positioned, and the front legs attach to its back, but it looks pretty cool. I'd say its worth your time.

Though I was sad to see it needs pieces from Spider Machine. I know it's part of the Queen Beast set, but it makes the scorpion not feel like a pure Beast combiner.

Edited August 8, 201410 yr by Kalhiki

The Tunneler beast might my favourite set of 2014! For such a small set it's a wonderful little thing. Small but fierce, with tons of articulation and a kickass colour scheme.

Would anyone say that the Queen is worth the asking price, or should I wait for a price drop? The set looks great, but the price is putting me off.

I think it's worth it but only if everything the set has appeals to you. If you're only getting it for the Queen, then maybe wait. Otherwise, the Spider Machine is a wonderful little model, and the Queen looks fantastic as well. So, I'd recommend it.

Alright, I'll wait. It'll probably be cheaper by January.

I was actually surprised to find out that Queen Beast has a similar price, piece count, and weight to the Nui-Jaga from 2001. Even after thirteen years of inflation and other rising costs!

Nui-Jaga was the scorpion Rahi, right?

Nui-Jaga was the scorpion Rahi, right?

Yessiree! The Nui-Jaga had eight more pieces than Queen Beast vs. Furno, Evo & Stormer (all of which were rubber bands), but according to Bricklink it weighs 459 grams while Queen Beast weighs 469 grams. Which is especially surprising since Nui-Jaga cost the same price — $35 — back when it first came out. According to WolframAlpha, that would be about $47 in today's money. Now, Bricklink's weight measurements are not a foolproof way of comparing the size of a set, since they describe the weight of a sealed box, complete with extra pieces and instructions. It might just be that the single instruction booklet in Queen Beast is heavier than the two smaller instruction booklets in the Nui-Jaga (paper can be heavy). Still, it's interesting to say the least.

Edited August 8, 201410 yr by Aanchir

It is interesting, but keep in mind that many of the pieces in Nui-Jaga were smaller Technic pieces.

It is interesting, but keep in mind that many of the pieces in Nui-Jaga were smaller Technic pieces.

But that makes it even stranger. Normally you'd expect a set with lots of tiny pieces to have a considerably lower price-per-piece than a set that uses larger and bulkier pieces. But instead, the Nui-Jaga's price-per-piece is practically the same as Queen Beast's if you don't adjust for inflation, and much higher if you do.

Of course, Queen Beast also has lots of small parts, particularly minifigure parts and accessories.

Yessiree! The Nui-Jaga had eight more pieces than Queen Beast vs. Furno, Evo & Stormer (all of which were rubber bands), but according to Bricklink it weighs 459 grams while Queen Beast weighs 469 grams. Which is especially surprising since Nui-Jaga cost the same price — $35 — back when it first came out.

I find that piece of information very interesting. I would have thought that the Jagas has at least 30% more pieces. Another fact is that Nui-Jaga cost 35€ in Finland back in 2001 (checked in 2002 catalogue) whereas Queen Beast gets 10 more with her ugly 45€ pricetag here. That's the reason why I don't buy much constraction sets (got Brain Attack breez for 2€ so I guess no one buys them here neither). I'd like to get one cocoon though, the "petals" look like neat pieces for MOCing.

Edited August 8, 201410 yr by Pate-keetongu

In that case, I would recommend the Rocka Crawler. It's the cheapest way to get a cocoon, as well as some other nice pieces.

This year sure released quite unusual sets, I like inclusion of the minifigures and that the figures are mechs. But as far as for possible Hero Factory Playsets, similiar to how Bionicle had them during 2005-2007 this is probably the closets we will get. Besides that I dislike absence of Stringer and Nex again. How hard it is to bother making two new minifig helmets and repaint certain amount of parts? I think Stringer and Nex should be the choice figures for Nex Walker and Stringer Climb Machine. Or atleast replace Bulk and Rocka with them.

I got both Rocka Crawler and Tunneler Beast. They're both pretty decent, each having the small torso introduced in XT4 and several smaller limb pieces. They both have their own charm, but I think Rocka edges it out by having both a pod and the new small foot mold.

I got the Tunneler Beast and the Queen Beast. I thought that the Queen would cost less than Witch Doctor, but nope. It costs 55 dollars at where I live, but I bought it anyway.

Got Evo Walker and Crystal Beast, I'm currently MODding it :

Crystal Beast MOD / revamp WIP by ToaLeewan, on Flickr

As said in the pic description, I can't add any more tr. blue, unless I buy more parts (which I'll eventually do sooner or later^^). Here's a picture of the back assembly, if anyone's interested.

Nice mod. Interesting back design. I have something similar with my Crystal Beast Mod in Ldd. May I borrow your idea. I may use it on my mod.

Are you planning on keeping the staff or getting rid of it all together. My mod removes the staff entirely since I don't think it works for Crystal Beast.

Thanks. (:

May I borrow your idea. I may use it on my mod.

Yeah, of course !

Are you planning on keeping the staff or getting rid of it all together. My mod removes the staff entirely since I don't think it works for Crystal Beast.

I will keep it, I think a staff is appropriate for a tall and thin character like my Crystal Beast. I just need to find an interesting design. The only one thing I'm sure about is that it will have a Chi part at the end.

Have you guys seen this? http://brickset.com/article/12021/new-hero-factory-polybag#comments

Have you guys seen this? http://brickset.com/...olybag#comments

That's actually a really good set for parts, what with the beast head, trans-blue armour, four beast spikes and an XT4 torso in a polybag. I hope we see it released in other countries later this year. Also, what's with the socket on the bottom of it? Is it meant to connect to another beast?

Have you guys seen this? http://brickset.com/...olybag#comments

2 polybags from Hero Factory this year? Sweet

This one has good set of useful parts. While I doubt its any specific beast I think its a jumper undergoing metamorphosis into becoming one of the larger beasts we already have.

Looks great. Too bad it probably won't get a wide release (I never was able to get the small Breez Machine polybag from earlier this year).

I'm wondering if the polybags will even see release in the US this year, based on the poor preformance of the Black Brain poly. I believe they were still giving it away quite a while after the promotion started.