Hero Factory 2014 Discussion

[bacem]

dang aanch, you beat me to it. oh well, i'll still put the pictures anyway.

the remaining pictures of 2014 HF

44016 Jaw Beast VS Stormer

44015 Evo Walker

soo, comments.

first, jaw beast. the head is he same mold with the other "kaiju" in this line. no surprise here. still neat head tough. what actually surprises me is the fact that they actually use only #M shell for the front torso armor. and, hey, transparent bones! yay!

for evo walker, it's interesting that we got a completely custom build. the last time i remember getting completely custom build is with thornraxx. and i actually like the idea. this way, the turret can actually move.

[Dorek]

I still find it odd that Evo and Stormer have the coms device across all of their incarnations, but none of the other Heroes have it all. That has to have some kind of significance.

[Gatanui]

THE BONES ARE TRANSPARENT AAAAAAAHHHHHHH

Evo Walker doesn't look bad at all! It's got quite a few nice pieces.

-Gata

Edited November 21, 2013 by Gatanui

[Leewan]

I'm gonna buy tons of Jaw Beasts !

Evo's Walker is original. I find it ugly, but at least it's original.

[Shakar]

I just don't get why making transperen transparent bones for one set.. and in the shortest size. They're nearly useless and ruin the color cohesion among the Beasts.

The transparent bones should've been the longer ones found in the other two. That way, all 3 could've had transparent bones. It just feels weird and incomplete this way.

[Aanchir]

I just don't get why making transperen transparent bones for one set.. and in the shortest size. They're nearly useless and ruin the color cohesion among the Beasts.

The transparent bones should've been the longer ones found in the other two. That way, all 3 could've had transparent bones. It just feels weird and incomplete this way.

I wouldn't say it ruins the color cohesion. As I mentioned before, Transparent Light Blue is almost a perfect match for Medium Azur. I have to admit that Medium Azur might have been more useful for MOCs, but it hardly makes a difference for the look of the individual set or the line as a whole.

It would have been cool if we could have gotten transparent light blue bones in another size, but I think it's just as rewarding to see the Medium Azur Y-joints and 5M beams from Thornraxx being used more widely.

EDIT: Also, having the 5M beams be transparent instead of the 3M beams still wouldn't have the same colors used for all three beast sets, because Jaw Beast doesn't seem to have any 5M beams in Medium Azur anyway. I suppose you could swap the 5M beams from his arms and legs for transparent ones and just use black 3M beams, though.

Edited November 21, 2013 by Aanchir

[Kalhiki]

Jaw Beast looks nice. Very cute little beasty. May have to get multiples.

Evo Walker... Good job on the custom build. However, it looks very flimsy. The front leg connection, the turret connection, the seat connection. I can just see that I'd be able to toss it around and crumple it in my hands. Not a very sturdy build. Mainly the fact that the gun is separate from the seat. And the seat itself is hooked on the back leg of the walker.

I want to get a one of Evo's mechs, but not necessarily both. But they both have such... strange design choices that I'm not sure which to get. I'll have to think on it.

[Aanchir]

Jaw Beast looks nice. Very cute little beasty. May have to get multiples.

Evo Walker... Good job on the custom build. However, it looks very flimsy. The front leg connection, the turret connection, the seat connection. I can just see that I'd be able to toss it around and crumple it in my hands. Not a very sturdy build. Mainly the fact that the gun is separate from the seat. And the seat itself is hooked on the back leg of the walker.

I want to get a one of Evo's mechs, but not necessarily both. But they both have such... strange design choices that I'm not sure which to get. I'll have to think on it.

Evo XL Machine is an excellent parts pack, not just because of its size, but because it has lots of amazingly useful parts in amazing quantities. It has three each of the 3x3 connector block from Drilldozer (90630) and the 5x6 torso beam from XT4 (98590), and five of the 3M Technic beam with center ball joint (98577). Also, four square shell covers (98592), seven bright yellow 5M shells (90639), two printed 5M shells, a Titanium Metallic Savage Planet paw (92233), two Titanium Metallic Stormer XL feet (98597), and two jumpers.

The main things Evo Walker can boast are three bright yellow 5M shells, a printed 5M shell, a 3M C-beam (98565), a 3x3 connector block, a 3M Technic beam with center ball joint, and three jumpers. As a parts pack, it wouldn't have a whole lot of value except in multiples. Of course, it IS cheap. But since Evo XL Machine has most of the same parts in much larger quantities, plus lots of other parts and much more impressive functions, for only two and a half times the price, I'd consider it the more desirable option.

Of course, there's also the option of just getting the Evo minifigure from Splitter Beast and not getting either of his machines, which might be best if you aren't fond of either machine's design. That way Breez has someone on the ground to keep her company.

Edited November 21, 2013 by Aanchir

[Timeline15]

Loving how unique all the hero machines look. Evo XL machine has really grown on me since I first saw it. Any complaints about the legs aren't all that legitimate, as they convey the mech feel perfectly. People need to remember that despite all the pacific rim similarities, Lego is going for a much more improvised and cumbersome feel to this machine, and it still looks powerful nonetheless. The legs so seem like they might be a pain to move, but the waste articulation means this probably wont harm posing. Evo walker,s build does look flimsy though, albeit interesting. Also, Jaw beast is cool looking, doesn't have any daft design flaws like so many HF villains of the past, and is PURPLE!!!. Just wish he were a little taller, and maybe had the original medium azure, or more parts of the trans kind, cos, while I love rare colours, I don't like them staying rare, because I'll never be able to make a decent sized moc of that colour. Even purple, which HF has been including a lot of, is not available as bones, or much cladding, so still has to be used sparingly. Also, guys, sorry for text wall, I can't seem to get carriage return(new line) to allow me to do new paragraphs. Is this a limitation cos my account is new or something? EDIT: also, I apparently can't colour my text. same question applies. EDIT 2: oh wow, apparently I don't even have permission to view MY OWN player profile!

Edited November 21, 2013 by Timeline15

[Kalhiki]

Of course, there's also the option of just getting the Evo minifigure from Splitter Beast and not getting either of his machines, which might be best if you aren't fond of either machine's design. That way Breez has someone on the ground to keep her company.

Which is what I'm considering doing. And once there're reviews of the sets, maybe I'll make a decision then. But now that you bring up those points, Evo XL does look promising.

@Timeline15: There's an icon in the top left corner of all your post options. It's the "toggle editing mode". Same thing happened to me. Click it and you should be able to make a new line.

[VBBN]

Sad day for VBBN when he realizes how expensive those trans bones will be on bricklink in bulk...trans light blue claws from Frost beast are already skyrocketing as it is.

[Aanchir]

Sad day for VBBN when he realizes how expensive those trans bones will be on bricklink in bulk...trans light blue claws from Frost beast are already skyrocketing as it is.

Really? They're still under a dollar apiece — hard to buy in huge quantities, but not too awful. Transparent Light Blue 3M shells (also exclusive to Frost Beast) have sold for 70–75 cents apiece on Bricklink, even though they were included in the set in even fewer quantities. The Bright Yellow 4M beams, which likewise only appear in just one $10 set, are even cheaper — no higher than 50 cents. Transparent Fluorescent Reddish-Orange ball cups, which only came in quantities of one in two $9 sets, are cheap as candy on Bricklink and always have been, although no sellers have them in sizable quantities. And that should be just as desirable a color as Transparent Light Blue.

I think the parts that are likely to sell for the most egregious prices on Bricklink are always going to be those that are well-suited to System building styles as well as constraction, like those claws. Beams, shells, and other obvious constraction parts don't tend to fit in that category.

[VBBN]

Problem is buying in bulk. For the things I'm doing I need these in mass quantities; 78 cents for one of those claws? That's almost 50% the cost of a frost beast (Well, my local Meijer which is where I get my sets from usually has Frost beast for $10) for the 4 of those. Now you throw in the cost of shipping some stores have (My shipping charge runs from 2.50-5.00 on my store, and compared to some stores that's cheap as many use it for a means of profit) and the difficulties arise. And that's only one lot, then you get into what, 98 cents a piece? And some stores with a minimum buy, further boosting up my cost? There are only 4 lots of the claw pieces on BL currently, totaling 21 pieces. For my purposes I'm looking to obtain around 50, but I'm holding off in hopes that the part appears in another set to drive costs down.

And that's the other problem; We only have 4 of these in jaw beast, which will cause an equal issue. Not many sellers with a huge lot of them up for sale. bring a constant Bricklink shopper and seller, the trends I have noticed do not necessarily reflect usefulness to System cross compatibility. In particular I have made the most off of printed pieces, gold parts(after having 4 rocka XLs you really have a lot leftover 0.o) And some other parts. Someone even paid around $2 for a raw jaw head. In the case of trans bones, it's a cool part that a lot of people are excited about, and obtaining a lot of them is a costly measure. We won't know until they start hitting the stores, but I'm just throwing my assumptions out there.

Sometimes you just gotta decide if buying a bunch of clearance sets is better or buying the individual parts.

[ToaJaller78]

STORMER vs. JAW BEAST: Trans Bones. A Steal!

EVO WALKER: Why Yes!

[Pate-keetongu]

You can always use LUGBULK to buy rarer pieces on bigger quantities, at least as long as your LUG is not too big or anti-HF-oriented.

It think I will pass both of there, though the appearance of trans-color bones is cool. It's also nice that EVO walker has double ball cup piece, there are only a few of them on BL right now.

[DraikNova]

Okay, so Evo's walker isn't that ugly. Huh. I might pick it up, as I've got a good amount of christmas budget left over. While the trans bones are the main attraction in Jaw Beast, I've got only one thing to say: Purple spikes.

[Shakar]

I was typing a crazy long post but I somehow lost everything...so I'll sum up things instead:

First point. @ Aanchir:

Yes, the two colours are very close, but the fact that only one of the trio uses transparent bones still feels odd to me.

On the second point, I wasn't very clear I admit. I meant that Jaw Beast's bones, the way I suggested, should be replaced with 5M bones. The bones would be without cladding, yes, but Lego often did that in the past anyway (Reapa, Cragger, etcc..).

I still hope we get more lengths in Summer, unless they switch to another colour (Tr Bright Green?).

And speaking of Azur (I thought it was Azur?), I won't sleep until we get cladding in that colour.

Second point, I'm sure that other people have realized it too, but if you only get the Beast sets you'll get all 5 Hero minifigs. It's very different from what we are used to in System sets. I wonder if some sets in Summer will feature exclusive figs.

Third and final point, does anyone remember this?

I think the biggest set is a "delivery only" set, that get offloaded by a truck at your house

I hope he wasn't joking on that too. Exclusive sets do pop out a while after the main wave afterall, like Ninjago's Destructoid. Though from the sounds of it, this is more akin to a big set like the Tower of Orthanc- just, 99,9% likely, much cheaper. I'm still hoping for Breez battling a giant Beast inside her own Machine.

I was writing another point but I'll do it another time. It was slightly OT anyway.

[Aanchir]

I honestly think that if Jaw Beast's limbs could have been longer, they probably would have been. But it's a $10 set, and I have to imagine the giant printed head eats up a lot of the budget. Plus, it's already a 50 piece set, which is on the high end for a $10 set anyhow.

Third and final point, does anyone remember this?

I hope he wasn't joking on that too. Exclusive sets do pop out a while after the main wave afterall, like Ninjago's Destructoid. Though from the sounds of it, this is more akin to a big set like the Tower of Orthanc- just, 99,9% likely, much cheaper. I'm still hoping for Breez battling a giant Beast inside her own Machine.

He was totally joking. I am still shocked that some people took that comment seriously for even a minute, when I believe less than a week prior he admitted he was just joking around to give us things to discuss. Anyway, D2C sets are a totally different thing from retailer exclusives like Destructoid anyway. If a D2C Hero Factory set ever did get released, it wouldn't necessarily be "attached" to an ordinary retail release.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Aanchir

[Kalhiki]

Second point, I'm sure that other people have realized it too, but if you only get the Beast sets you'll get all 5 Hero minifigs. It's very different from what we are used to in System sets. I wonder if some sets in Summer will feature exclusive figs.

You can only get 4 from the Beasts. Rocka can only be gotten with his Machine. Which is weird considering how much they push Rocka. Still, it's a good majority.

I'll be getting both Machines and Beasts just because they're all too good to pass up (though I'm still unsure on Evo's Machines).

[BrickBuilder3213]

I just checked those links with the new pictures on them... The release date seems to be March 2014.

...Well, that's ruined my Christmas. ;o;

[Gatanui]

I just checked those links with the new pictures on them... The release date seems to be March 2014.

...Well, that's ruined my Christmas. ;o;

I would expect the US and other countries to get them earlier than that.

-Gata

[BrickBuilder3213]

I would expect the US and other countries to get them earlier than that.

-Gata

But I'm from the UK... And I don't really know when we get new sets. The problem is that I can't wait until March to buy them all. ;o;

[Freddy Bricker]

Do we know yet if Hero Factory will get a summer wave? Most themes (well just city and star wars) usually get summer waves, is Hero Factory one of those "one-wave-a-year" themes? I think these figs and machines would be suitable for a building.

[Jetrax99]

Do we know yet if Hero Factory will get a summer wave? Most themes (well just city and star wars) usually get summer waves, is Hero Factory one of those "one-wave-a-year" themes? I think these figs and machines would be suitable for a building.

HF has always gotten summer waves. Why would this year be any different?

[ToaJaller78]

I just checked those links with the new pictures on them... The release date seems to be March 2014.

...Well, that's ruined my Christmas. ;o;

That's for the COUNTRY'S release for whatever website it was made. They'll be out in time, Don't worry.