Hero Factory 2014 Discussion

[Jetrax99]

I was more referring to the current 2014 one =P. I'm still holding out hope for HF 2015, man.

As am I.

Lego, give us BOTH!

[Dorek]

So, totally not 2014, but I recently stumbled upon this old cover Pop Mhan (BIONICLE comics artist 2009-2010) did for one of the HF comics (probably the 4th one). Man, why couldn't we have gotten that? Looks sick, dude.

[Kalhiki]

That looks sweet.

Man, I miss the comics...

[CabooseBM]

Man, those hands though. He had a real knack for drawing those in that stupid scene-breaking "literally a LEGO piece" style.

Edited September 11, 2014 by CabooseBM

[Dorek]

What, any worse than Sayger's random omission of pieces altogether? =P.

Mhan drew fingers a few times, but D'Anda was really the best at it. Regardless, I still really liked the comic vibe Mhan gave the characters, and it would have been cool to see him tackle Hero Factory more.

[Logan McOwen]

What, any worse than Sayger's random omission of pieces altogether? =P.

S a y g e r... *shudders*

[Shakar]

The sad thing is that Sayger's first issues looked pretty sweet, I still remember how cool the Piraka looked. But halfway through 2006 he really begun to drop the ball, and by 2007 characters were little more than stickmen. What a waste.

[TheGreatSpirit]

So as it turns out, Target only sells 5 HF sets, and some smaller Walmarts (at least in my area) don't carry any at all. Does anyone know why?

(And btw, I never realized how tiny the boxes were for Queen Beast and the Combo Machine; they are incredibly small compared to similarly priced Lego sets)

Edited September 12, 2014 by TheGreatSpirit

[Chimaninja454]

Any news on next year's sets yet?

[Kalhiki]

Any news on next year's sets yet?

I don't think we're getting another wave, unfortunately.

[Chimaninja454]

I don't think we're getting another wave, unfortunately.

Woah, so is it likely to be discontinued?

[Kalhiki]

Woah, so is it likely to be discontinued?

All signs point yes. Haven't seen anything in terms of leaks, and with Bionicle's return it seems all focus would be put on that.

And most people don't see Lego running two Constraction themes at once, either. Constraction has never been incredibly popular.

[Chimaninja454]

All signs point yes. Haven't seen anything in terms of leaks, and with Bionicle's return it seems all focus would be put on that.

And most people don't see Lego running two Constraction themes at once, either. Constraction has never been incredibly popular.

Did IFB sell poorly?

[Kalhiki]

I wouldn't say so. Constraction sells enough to keep itself alive, so I don't think IFB sold any worse than previous HF waves. But at the same time, I don't think it did amazingly better.

I figure Bionicle's return has been in the works for a while, and now that it's ready, they decided to release it.

[Chimaninja454]

P

I wouldn't say so. Constraction sells enough to keep itself alive, so I don't think IFB sold any worse than previous HF waves. But at the same time, I don't think it did amazingly better.

I figure Bionicle's return has been in the works for a while, and now that it's ready, they decided to release it.

So.... Unity. Duty. Destiny to all the BIONICLE fans! :)

But it's off-topic.....

[Chimaninja454]

Is Hero Factory becoming unpopular?

Sorry, two posts indeed, :)

[Aanchir]

Is Hero Factory becoming unpopular?

Sorry, two posts indeed, :)

I'm sure its popularity is dwindling, yes. Happens to most themes, especially once they've been around for three or more years. But I think this is happening at a fairly steady rate — if its popularity were plummeting rapidly, there'd probably be far fewer sets this year than there were last year (as it is, there are about the same number of sets, not counting multi-set value packs, and the total cost of the full Invasion from Below series is actually higher than the Brain Attack series).

I think a lot of people will try to use BIONICLE's return to suggest that Hero Factory failed. Don't make that mistake. If the theme had failed, it would have been cancelled after its first three years (actual LEGO employees said as much in interviews back in 2011). The fact that they kept it going for two years longer than that proves it had staying power — maybe not as much as BIONICLE, but more than a lot of other successful LEGO themes such as Atlantis, Power Miners, and Agents.

Edited September 13, 2014 by Aanchir

[Chimaninja454]

I'm sure its popularity is dwindling, yes. Happens to most themes, especially once they've been around for three or more years. But I think this is happening at a fairly steady rate — if its popularity were plummeting rapidly, there'd probably be far fewer sets this year than there were last year (as it is, there are about the same number of sets, not counting multi-set value packs, and the total cost of the full Invasion from Below series is actually higher than the Brain Attack series).

I think a lot of people will try to use BIONICLE's return to suggest that Hero Factory failed. Don't make that mistake. If the theme had failed, it would have been cancelled after its first three years (actual LEGO employees said as much in interviews back in 2011). The fact that they kept it going for two years longer than that proves it had staying power — maybe not as much as BIONICLE, but more than a lot of other successful LEGO themes such as Atlantis, Power Miners, and Agents.

Aanchir, you're right! Are we leaving HF because of BIONICLE's highly anticipated return for 2015? I'm already warming up! :)

I'm just hopeful!

Edited September 14, 2014 by Chimaninja454

[Thelegomaster]

I will really miss this theme. Which set is better to get? The Combi Machine or Queen Beast?

[Mesonak]

I will really miss this theme. Which set is better to get? The Combi Machine or Queen Beast?

I would recommend the Queen Beast. Even discounting the fact that I somewhat loathe the Combi Machine, the Queen Beast is a fantastic set that features a great variety of content.

[TheGreatSpirit]

Yup, none of my local Walmarts carry ANY of the 2014 sets, even though they had Brain Attack sets earlier. In fact, they had a Furno XL in the clearance section which I gladly bought, but no 2014 sets anywhere. Oddly enough they were listed as "In-Stock" on the website. Huh.

[Kalhiki]

Yup, none of my local Walmarts carry ANY of the 2014 sets, even though they had Brain Attack sets earlier. In fact, they had a Furno XL in the clearance section which I gladly bought, but no 2014 sets anywhere. Oddly enough they were listed as "In-Stock" on the website. Huh.

Same. Walmart doesn't stock any HF around here. I saw a couple IFB wave 1, but nothing from wave 2. And Target only has the Combat Machine.

Makes me wonder...

[TheBrickPal]

R.I.P. Hero Factory. No set list or prelims + Return of BIONICLE = The end of a (slightly) great theme.

[bacem]

hero factory's end is pretty much confirmed, i was talking with a retailer employee few days ago, and he said there's no Hf at all on the retailer catalog. there's only bionicle.

[Agent Fusion]

To quote Jontron:

"Ech"

HF was OK, just wasted potential.