Hero Factory 2014 Discussion

[DraikNova]

I'm getting Tunneler Beast because I like the set. The reason I'm buying three of him is that I want the cocoon to be complete. Also, I need lots of both small torsos and the Waspix connector. The red sockets, which I've never actually been capable of incorporating into a MOC well anyway (with the exception of this set, I generally dislike combining black and red), are just a bonus.

Edited June 16, 2014 by DraikNova

[ZORK64]

Sorry, I don't usually point out stuff like that, but someone else was bound to.

I don't know how to feel about Tunneler and Crystal. Splitter and Queen are the best Beasts, in my opinion.

Don't worry, I was joking there.

Otherwise I wouldn't have posted a link to a memetic TF2 video and would have probably acted far more... butthurt instead (get it?).

I mostly want these two little dudes for the minifigs, but they also both offer great parts for MOCing. In fact, I plan on revamp my Von Nebula (who was already heavily inspired by Beast Wars Megatron) by making him red and giving him an actual beast head for his right arm, probably also trying to come up with a custom torso to make this sucker actually transforming.

[Shakar]

I tried using orange in place of tr. orange on Splitter Beast. It looks horrible; the translucence is necessary to balance out the vibrant hues of the rest of its colorscheme.

The Berserker class of the Xivian Empire disagrees with you:

(Then again, that's my taste, and the way the colour is distributed is quite different than the original Splitter Beast.)

I mostly want these two little dudes for the minifigs, but they also both offer great parts for MOCing. In fact, I plan on revamp my Von Nebula (who was already heavily inspired by Beast Wars Megatron) by making him red and giving him an actual beast head for his right arm, probably also trying to come up with a custom torso to make this sucker actually transforming.

You read my mind on that! The hand/head is one of my favourite Transformer features and one I tried to replicate many times in my Bionicle and HF MOCs. Does it make sense? Not much, but it just looks so cool! The Beast head, especially the underbite variant, seems perfect for that purpose. I'm pretty sure I can make a cool robot and beast, but I'm not sure if I can actually work them into a transformer.. never tried to build one.

[8BrickMario]

I also like the multi-use designs of HF parts. Splitface's face pieces could be rotated to switch the colors (or if you got two, make a single-color head), and the beasts' heads can be jaws.

[ZORK64]

You read my mind on that! The hand/head is one of my favourite Transformer features and one I tried to replicate many times in my Bionicle and HF MOCs. Does it make sense? Not much, but it just looks so cool! The Beast head, especially the underbite variant, seems perfect for that purpose. I'm pretty sure I can make a cool robot and beast, but I'm not sure if I can actually work them into a transformer.. never tried to build one.

The rule of cool rules the need to make sense out in this case, if yo ask me.

I pulled the hand/head thing quite often back then with the Slizers, since some of their heads looked generic enough to be used as arm cannons (City and Energy come to mind, and of course, Flare, who just looks like some sort of flamethrower).

My last attempt at this concept wasn't nearly as awesome though, so it's about time to get this right.

Making him a Transformer makes this even more complex for me though, since I never owned the BW Megatron toy. But oh well, odds are likely I'll get Scorn from the movieverse toyline, who seems to transform in a somewhat similiar fashion. But even if I know how to take care of stuff like the back and the belly of the T-Rex body, making a stable torso that still allows all these parts to move around will be an ordeal for sure.

[Aanchir]

I built 44028 Surge & Rocka Combat Machine on LDD today to see how it looks from different angles. I figured I might as well share the LXF here in case anyone else wanted to see. The sections are grouped so that you can pull them apart and see them individually. Obviously I used placeholder parts for Surge's helmet and the cocoon petals. But otherwise it's as accurate as I could manage.

LXF file

The set looks much better than I expected it to. I honestly had low expectations after seeing how bad it looked at Toy Fair, but it seems a lot of its ugliness in Toy Fair photos is a result of shoddy posing. The rear section is rather bony but I don't think it hurts the overall appearance. Of course, I still need to see a review to know how well it holds its shape — lots of pivot points in that front section. And there are a lot of gaps, which don't bother me really since it's just a machine rather than a character, but might bother some people who expect something sturdier-looking. On the whole, though, I'm MUCH more enthusiastic about this set than I was when I woke up this morning.

[TheDesuComplex]

I tried building the structure, and it's rather interesting. It doesn't have any give going to the left or the right (thanks to how it is connected to the bottom torso), but it has up and down movement. Due to how many joints are used though, it's super sturdy and will easily hold its position.

[SmoothJazz]

Does anyone else find it ironic that Evo Walker is actually a crawler, and Rocka Crawler is actually a walker? You would almost think the names got mixed up in production.

[Agent Fusion]

Well, in the show, Evo refers to it as his "Turret Machine", which I greatly prefer over the "Walker".

[godzilla]

Well, in the show, Evo refers to it as his "Turret Machine", which I greatly prefer over the "Walker".

But, then again, who actually watched the show?

[VBBN]

Reviews of the IFB Wave 2 have now been posted

| 44023 Rocka Crawler | 44024 Tunneler Beast vs Surge | 44025 Bulk Drill Machine |

| 44026 Crystal Beast vs Bulk | 44027 Breez Flea Machine | 44028 Surge & Rocka Combat Machine |

| 44029 Queen Beast vs. Furno, Evo & Stormer |

As always enjoy and please be sure to participate in the polls.

Theres a few photos I still want to add and modify in these reviews, however the weather has not be cooperative and I have been feeling rather ill these last few days- Hopefully you guys enjoy what has been presented so far, and I will note any additional photos I include (namely some changes in the two boxed set reviews)

But, then again, who actually watched the show?

Well, a lot of people did. It's really the only element of a story that HF has at this point apart from the small comics in the instructions, so it's ultimately the main source of a story for Hero factory.

[TheOneVeyronian]

Well, all the 2H sets are looking very nice indeed and I'm looking forward to picking them up, but I'm disappointed about how they have omitted Nex and Stringer from this year entirely (yes, I know this was mentioned several months ago ). Plus, I like a different character in every cockpit of every machine and mech we get (I count 11 cockpits unless I'm mistaken), so with the spare Stormers and Evos I had (not too hard really if you're collecting all of the sets like I am), give one of each of them a coat of black or orange paint respectively and I think they make fairly reasonable approximations of Stringer and Nex in minifigure form. It should be enough until official ones exist (if that ever happens of course). Like this:

(yeah, before some other forum members point it out, I know the colours don't exactly match LEGO's colours (it's all I had), but I don't mind how they turned out in this case)

Back to the 2H sets now: Now I've seen the additional pictures and the reviews, I think the Beasts are still easily the strongest sets of this wave for me. The mechs and machines somehow leave me a bit cold, or at best, lukewarm. But it is nice to see some very unconventional builds once in a while, so I'll give the mechs that

Edited June 15, 2014 by TheOneVeyronian

[Kalhiki]

Reviews of the IFB Wave 2 have now been posted

| 44023 Rocka Crawler | 44024 Tunneler Beast vs Surge | 44025 Bulk Drill Machine |

| 44026 Crystal Beast vs Bulk | 44027 Breez Flea Machine | 44028 Surge & Rocka Combat Machine |

| 44029 Queen Beast vs. Furno, Evo & Stormer |

As always enjoy and please be sure to participate in the polls.

Theres a few photos I still want to add and modify in these reviews, however the weather has not be cooperative and I have been feeling rather ill these last few days- Hopefully you guys enjoy what has been presented so far, and I will note any additional photos I include (namely some changes in the two boxed set reviews)

Out of curiosity, any word from Lego about when these'll be released?

Regardless, thanks for the reviews. They really got me hyped for the sets.

[VBBN]

Out of curiosity, any word from Lego about when these'll be released?

Regardless, thanks for the reviews. They really got me hyped for the sets.

You're welcome(that goes for everyone who has said thank you among the reviews, It's a pleasure to do them and I'm glad people like them)

No I didn't get any word on that. Really right now it could be from now to August, it's anyone's guess.

[Aethersprite]

Thanks so much for the reviews as usual, VBBN! Unfortunately, after getting a close up view of the sets... I have to say that none of them really stand out for me. I'm not much of a MOCist so the new parts don't really appeal to me, plus most of the builds look quite boring and lacking. The only one that looks good to me is the Queen Beast, but I'm not a huge fan of her colour scheme. Looks like the only HF set I'll own from this year is FJM, but on the bright side, I guess that leaves me with more funds for the Chima Ultrabuilds and other System themes.

[DraikNova]

Thanks VBBN!

I feel the summer sets are a bit of a mixed bag. Some of the sets, most of all Bulk Drill Machine and Crystal Beast, feel rather small for their price slots. On the other hand, all of them seem like the sort of sets that go through the roof in terms of play value and aesthetics, the Queen Beast in particular. And all of the sets are great parts packs. Even Bulk Drill Machine has a blue cocoon.

To say the least, I'm looking forward to getting these. Do you guys think they will be out by the 27th?

[SmoothJazz]

I was rather surprised in a way by the reviews. A week or two ago, I liked Crystal Beast best, and didn't really care about the others. Now almost all of the other sets appeal to me, and Crystal Beast is low on the list.

[Aanchir]

Out of curiosity, any word from Lego about when these'll be released?

Regardless, thanks for the reviews. They really got me hyped for the sets.

We heard August at Toy Fair, which means they should start showing up sometime around July and be widely available by August 1.

[Mutant Orc]

I think the Beasts are still easily the strongest sets of this wave for me. The mechs and machines somehow leave me a bit cold, or at best, lukewarm. But it is nice to see some very unconventional builds once in a while, so I'll give the mechs that

I agree with all you've said. It's a shame they omitted some characters, and the mechs can be quite poor. It's the beasts that are good.

Nice recolouring!

[Kalhiki]

We heard August at Toy Fair, which means they should start showing up sometime around July and be widely available by August 1.

But don't we always hear August? I never usually take those dates as 100%, which is why I asked.

Guess I'll just be patient.

[Aanchir]

But don't we always hear August? I never usually take those dates as 100%, which is why I asked.

Guess I'll just be patient.

Not always. Some sets are announced for June, and they usually start showing up in May. Some sets are announced for August, and they usually start showing up in July. Except for LEGO exclusive/direct-to-consumer sets, you can never expect a set to adhere religiously to its slated release date, but generally you can expect sets to start showing up within a month of their slated release date.

If we start seeing them sooner, great! But that's not something we can rely on, and you specifically asked what we had heard from LEGO. It's not like they ever tell us how far in advance we can expect sets like this to start showing up.

Personally, the machines impress me far more than the beasts do. Other than Queen Beast and Tunneler Beast, the two most unique beasts in terms of construction, it's hard for me to think of the beasts as more than parts packs (albeit really good ones with stylish parts and well-coordinated colors). Construction-wise, they're very refined, but there's little they offer that I haven't experienced in some form or another already. But the machines generally feel amazingly fresh and innovative to me. Furno Jet Machine, Evo XL Machine, Breez Flea Machine, and Bulk Drill Machine are probably my favorites. I'm not quite as excited about Stormer Freeze Machine or any of Rocka's machines, though Rocka Stealth Machine is a very elegant design and Surge & Rocka Combat Machine seems to exceed my previous expectations.

I've warmed up to Stormer Freeze Machine a bit after testing out its torso construction with the parts I already have in my collection, and I might very well end up getting it, but it's not at the top of my wanted list and I still haven't decided whether I'll leave it assembled or use its decorated shell, cockpit, and storage container to create a different machine for Stormer.

The sets this year that excite me the least are Evo Walker and Crystal Beast. The former just feels underwhelming compared to the walkers we get in the summer sets, and doesn't offer much in terms of pieces that you wouldn't get from Evo's other two machines. Its main value is as an army builder for jumpers, if you had any interest in doing so. The latter is really flashy in terms of colors, but its coolest feature in terms of construction is its articulated claws, a trait that Queen Beast and Tunneler Beast share (and Queen Beast has a better thumb anyway).

[Niloc]

I just acquired Rocka Stealth Machine as my first Hero Factory set ever. I was never much of an action figure guy, but the HF mech line hit my mech love! I think it's a fabulous concept.

I have to say I was very impressed with this little set, much more than with just looking at it in pictures. It's worth the money, has a nice variety of basic pieces, the minifigure is cute, plus the zamor sphere shooter and the claw are cool weapons... The mech has great posability and color scheme (trans-green ), elegant is indeed the word to describe it. I think that from every angle, it doesn't look "empty" and it just scream coolness. The jumping bug is icing on cake. (I always liked critters that jump when you press on it, anyway)

Very pleased.

[Zorglorfian]

I went to the LEGO Store today and while asking about HF, I heard from an employee that LEGO is considering not having HF in North America this year. Anyone hear the same story? Hoping it's not true!!!

[Kalhiki]

That's ridiculous if it's true. Hopefully the employee is confusing himself with the Chima ultrabuilds which didn't get a North American release?

[Artoo Detour]

I went to the LEGO Store today and while asking about HF, I heard from an employee that LEGO is considering not having HF in North America this year. Anyone hear the same story? Hoping it's not true!!!

I would take that with a great big grain of salt; I'm an Assistant Manager at LBR and haven't heard anything to support that.