Hero Factory 2014 Discussion

[BrickBuilder3213]

They are?!?

He mention some descriptions a couple of pages back, i think you'll like it

I know that he mentioned about a few of the sets, but those two were the ones that he didn't really talk about that much. :P

[Shakar]

They are?!?

They sure are, even compared to last year (which was super-late already).

He mention some descriptions a couple of pages back, i think you'll like it

He described all sets fairly well, but Rocka M. and Evo XL M. are missing. He doesn't remember anything about Rocka M. but he said that one of them has a tr. green launcher (I'm 100% sure that's Rocka M.) and that Evo XL M. has flick missiles. I'll assume he forgot about Evo XL M. like with Rocka M. .

[BrickBuilder3213]

They sure are, even compared to last year (which was super-late already).

He described all sets fairly well, but Rocka M. and Evo XL M. are missing. He doesn't remember anything about Rocka M. but he said that one of them has a tr. green launcher (I'm 100% sure that's Rocka M.) and that Evo XL M. has flick missiles. I'll assume he forgot about Evo XL M. like with Rocka M. .

Ah, I see... Did he talk about what the mimifigures have as weapons and accessories?

[Shakar]

He said Stormer in S. Freeze Machine has a torso armour piece similar to the Space Marine from CMF S7, and he somewhat implied the Heroes use weapons:

From what I got from his words, Villain sets are a full size villain+Hero minifig. I guess minifigs have a weapon to fight with but that's it.

Yes and yes.

Personally I'd like to see "energy" (transparent) weapons like those double blade weapons Galaxy Squad good guys used. And I can see something from Ninjago getting reused.

Oh, and welcome to EB

Edited October 17, 2013 by Shakar

[BrickBuilder3213]

He said Stormer in S. Freeze Machine has a torso armour piece similar to the Space Marine from CMF S7, and he somewhat implied the Heroes use weapons:

Personally I'd like to see "energy" (transparent) weapons like those double blade weapons Galaxy Squad good guys used. And I can see something from Ninjago getting reused.

Oh, and welcome to EB

So he assumes that they have weapons?

And thank you for welcoming me!

[Chro]

Yes, he confirmed that the minifigs have weapons.

[BrickBuilder3213]

I wonder if the weapons will be miniature versions of the Brain Attack weapons that they used this year... If they do use them, that would be pretty cool!

Edited October 17, 2013 by BrickBuilder3213

[bacem]

I wonder if the weapons will be miniature versions of the Brain Attack weapons that they used this year... If they do use them, that would be pretty cool!

maybe not. usually, when the theme changed, the weapons change as well.

[Jetrax99]

I just hope Lego does something new with the minifigs this time.

[Aanchir]

I just hope Lego does something new with the minifigs this time.

How new are we talking? It's hard to speculate because it's not clear quite how robotic the minifigures would be.

Personally, I think unique robot minifigures with swappable arms and legs and all the same points of articulation as a classic minifigure would be ideal, kind of like the Exo-Force robots but with removable heads as well. I think ball-and-socket limbs are unlikely at this scale, but with the new mixels joints, I suppose the possibility exists.

I would prefer if the minifigures still were stylistically comparable to the aesthetic Hero Factory has previously established: specifically, lots of smooth surfaces. The framework-like look of the BIONICLE minifigures was appropriate for that theme, but Hero Factory has established its own aesthetic which I'd argue can be scaled down to minifigures even more easily.

[Jetrax99]

To sum that up, I'll refer you back to page 12, post #287. I explain it all there.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Honestly the minifigs could go both ways. They could be styled like Chima with similar print and moulded helmets (thus saving money moulding other things) or they could be like Galidor figures...you know, if they were good (I mean to say megabloks figures really but you know what I mean) by utilising interchangeable limbs and heads. I dunno. :S

[Corydoras]

Well, pics are late it seems, so two questions for Corydoras (if he doesn't mind)?

1)You described SB's and JW's heads well. How would you describe Flyer Beast's head? Bird-like? Insect-like? Demonic? Other?

2)You compared Furno Jet Machine to River Dragon. Was it just for the shape or the colours too? So is FJM red and white?

Wait, what? I didn't say much about the Jaw Beast's head, just that the head is purple and weird-looking... Flyer's head is rather small, yellow (with some black markings) and vaguely triangular, so it's probably more bird-like than insect-like. As far as I remember, the creature appears slightly hunched, with its head protruding forward, adding to a nice sinister feel. The Furno Jet Machine is mostly red with some black or DBG.

He said Stormer in S. Freeze Machine has a torso armour piece similar to the Space Marine from CMF S7, and he somewhat implied the Heroes use weapons:

Personally I'd like to see "energy" (transparent) weapons like those double blade weapons Galaxy Squad good guys used. And I can see something from Ninjago getting reused.

Well, the Stormer minifig with armor I was talking about is included in the Jaw Beast set, but it's safe to assume he looks the same in his mecha set. As for the weapons, I vaguely remember one of the heroes in the SB set holding something like the elemental fire sword blade from 2013 Ninjago wave. The package for the Splitter Beast shows a rather dynamic battle scene suggesting the other hero rides some kind of a small vehicle (a bike?), but I can't say for sure - I don't want to spread false information.

[Aanchir]

To sum that up, I'll refer you back to page 12, post #287. I explain it all there.

Ah, OK. Knee and elbow joints could be OK but they might require the arms and legs to be longer if you wanted to keep things versatile. One of the best things about LEGO robot and skeleton parts is their versatility. If you try to put too much articulation in a small space, then the spacing and connection styles can also become awkward. Mega Bloks can get away with it because they don't especially care about the figure parts ever being useful for anything other than those particular joints on figures. Plus, you don't want the joints to be too fragile...

I'd say, keeping with the LEGO standards of quality, you couldn't likely create a figure with eleven to thirteen points of articulation at a size much smaller than three inches. Go much smaller and you'd have to get into increasingly specialized connection styles.

Here's an example of a three-inch LEGO figure:

Any of the joints in this could be switched out with ball joints, but the size of the figure as a whole would remain more or less the same unless you removed some of the points of articulation.

Edited October 17, 2013 by Aanchir

[VBBN]

Ah, OK. Knee and elbow joints could be OK but they might require the arms and legs to be longer if you wanted to keep things versatile. One of the best things about LEGO robot and skeleton parts is their versatility. If you try to put too much articulation in a small space, then the spacing and connection styles can also become awkward. Mega Bloks can get away with it because they don't especially care about the figure parts ever being useful for anything other than those particular joints on figures. Plus, you don't want the joints to be too fragile...

Not entirely sure these ever qualified as versatile...

Personally I'd love it if we saw figures with a balljoint system similar to MB, but I doubt we will ever see steps that are that drastic. And if this line is a one-year theme and we never see minifigs again after this, I can't see lego putting a lot of effort into revolutionizing a design to start.

For example, in 2005 lego just gave us those "chess statues" as minifigures because they were testing the idea of Bionicle playsets. In 2006 we saw more effort, and after decent sales we saw that last year with slight advancements to the figures, but not a huge change. So with this wave of HF sets, they may be testing out the idea of minifigs in a constraction line; While they may use the figures elsewhere, (though no bionicle minifig ever made it outside of constraction), really it's all a "test" and I'd be perfectly happy with well printed minifigure based designs.

[Chro]

Not entirely sure these ever qualified as versatile...

I think Aanch was referring to specific parts, such as the pieces used in the arms of his small MOC above, as opposed to the figures themselves.

[VBBN]

I know, I just like to poke fun at those figures whenever the moment is presented

Though I suppose it's not all unjustified, relating back to my point about them being a "test" Not sure what would be wrong with just having put hordika heads on a minifigure torso to test the idea, but that's the past.

[vexorian]

I think Aanch was referring to specific parts, such as the pieces used in the arms of his small MOC above, as opposed to the figures themselves.

That figure is the part. A single part, in shape of a figure.

[bacem]

rather than some kind of specialized minifig like in bionicles, i actually prefer a normal minifig with printed part and armors.

[Shakar]

I do agree. Non-minifig..minifigs designs are useful if a character is strikingly non humanoid or way too skeletal to be made as a classic minifig... like battle droids or Grievous. I don't think HF Heroes fit either case, as they're fully figured (sometimes bulky even) humanoid robots..like the Galaxy Squad bots. The new legs are already too much for me- so I'd be happy if the rest of the figures' bodies were built like regular minifigs.

[Front]

To me, Stormer (or any other HF character) with minifig legs and the rest of the square shape, would look really strange. But strange things do appear from time to time.

[bacem]

hey front. when will the pictures comes? we're practically thirsty of it by now.

[Leewan]

I don't really think Front is responsible of the pictures' publication... But we all know we can count on him to give us some hints about the next wave sets (evan fake ones ). :D

[Kalhiki]

Honesty, it seems to me that the only part from a minifig that would be used for the Heroes would be the body (and the head unless they do something like with the GS robots). The legs were described as bulky, so I doubt they're regular minifig legs. The only other option would something like the 2006 Bionicle minifigs/Exo-Force robots where they were completely separate from minifig builds all together like the arms and hands being separate pieces.

Edited October 18, 2013 by Kalhiki

[Aanchir]

rather than some kind of specialized minifig like in bionicles, i actually prefer a normal minifig with printed part and armors.

I do agree. Non-minifig..minifigs designs are useful if a character is strikingly non humanoid or way too skeletal to be made as a classic minifig... like battle droids or Grievous. I don't think HF Heroes fit either case, as they're fully figured (sometimes bulky even) humanoid robots..like the Galaxy Squad bots. The new legs are already too much for me- so I'd be happy if the rest of the figures' bodies were built like regular minifigs.

The issue I have with that is that regular minifigures are not optimized for part-swapping. You CAN switch the individual hands, arms, and legs, but after a certain amount of mixing and matching it can weaken those connections. Whereas the BIONICLE minifigures, Exo-Force robots, skeletons, etc. have arm and leg connections that are designed so they can be assembled and disassembled indefinitely, much like constraction figures. Plus, those LEGO skeleton and robot parts can often be reused for totally different applications, including as details on larger constraction models.

Furthermore, keeping a certain amount of molded versus printed detail would help make the transition to minifigures less jarring for people who are already Hero Factory fans, and could potentially mean less of a disconnect between the characters' cartoon appearances (which will presumably still be high-detail designs so as to remain consistent with the designs of secondary characters like Zib and Makuro) and their minifigure appearances.

Edited October 18, 2013 by Aanchir