Hero Factory 2014 Discussion

[DraikNova]

What has now been described (constraction-scale villains and mechs with minifigure-sized pilots, plus the "Invasion from Below" tagline) gives me a really strong "Pacific Rim" vibe, which is promising, since we know Ghost is working on animation for the TV special for next year. Guess what major theatrical film they recently worked on!

I think this sum's up my thoughts on this matter perfectly. Kaiju villains = pure awesomeness. Proper HF-based mecha for minifigs = awesome. Pacific Rim-ish LEGO? Awesome.

[Vinyl Scratch]

Saw small pics of the new sets. This wave is called: Invasion from Below and it features the heroes in chibi (minifig) forms piloting mechs and battling giant villains (I mean regular HF-sized figures). I don't collect HF, but I honestly think the sets look cool and certainly wouldn't disappoint fans of the theme.

Invasion from Below sounds sweet from what you've been saying, I like it. But where did you see those pics anyway? Can you share them or...?

[ToaJaller78]

.............................................................................................................................................Whelp.

This is megablocks.

NOW Hf is getting minifigures. There goes the "Unique" Feel HERO Factory. I hate that We're not getting actual Figures.

F%#&. Bye HF Dreams. You've had a good run, and now you're F%^&*#d.

[bacem]

.............................................................................................................................................Whelp.

This is megablocks.

NOW Hf is getting minifigures. There goes the "Unique" Feel HERO Factory. I hate that We're not getting actual Figures.

F%#&. Bye HF Dreams. You've had a good run, and now you're F%^&*#d.

if it was me, i just hold all negative thinking until the pictures are out. we still don't really know how it will turn out. and the monsters is the same size as regular sized HF set, so there's still hope that at least the monster still keep the originality of HF. all the monstre (a.k.a villains) in Hf we seen so far is pretty badass too.

[vexorian]

Villains will still be the usual figures, supposedly.

When he says "minifig", why did we suddenty abandon the idea of Mixels scale parts?

Mixels are too large for what is being described, imo.

Edited October 9, 2013 by vexorian

[MakutaNocturn]

Hahahah xD Once I was laughing that these sets will contain minifigures and someone replied that this is impossible

[Gatanui]

This is totally like LEGO Pacific Rim. :P I'm pretty excited. I do hope wonder how the Heroes will be animated, though.

-Gata

[bacem]

i also wonder how they managed that mech with piece count restriction.

[Mesonak]

Huh.

This is very interesting to me.

Honestly, the idea of HF minifigures sounds pretty appealing. Any doubts I had went away when I saw that the "machines" will be constructed out of HF parts rather than system. I say bring it on. I always appreciate variety and innovation in themes, and the fact that HF is trying this speaks to the theme's desire to try new things. Looking forward to it.

(also invasion from below is a great title)

Edited October 9, 2013 by Mesonak

[Aanchir]

This is totally like LEGO Pacific Rim. :P I'm pretty excited. I do hope wonder how the Heroes will be animated, though.

-Gata

I wouldn't be surprised if they're animated the same way they always have been in the TV episodes and commercials, the same way that the Toa Hordika in the CGI portions of the 2005 playset commercials were depicted like the constraction versions, with their minifigure-scale weapons and surroundings sized up accordingly.

Overall, I doubt that they'll change the animation style for the characters considerably, since that would mean they couldn't rely on assets created for previous episodes. The civilians, for instance, would end up looking severely incompatible in their level of detail.

[DraikNova]

I think I've figured out how the mechs are built: Mixels-style balljoint parts.

[Shakar]

Hahahah xD Once I was laughing that these sets will contain minifigures and someone replied that this is impossible

I suggested it as a way to explain the "Hero Vehicle", but I was half joking. I never thought it'd become reality.

Maybe the mechas are like the ones from Exo Force: the cockpit is located in the torso, and the pilot stands up inside it. The head would be too big to fit a minifig inside, so I feel new torso pieces are more likely. HF mechas were roughly around the size of HF mid size sets (I remember they were slightly shorter than Bionicle figures). So they'd be standard Hero figures with a special torso. That's my theory.

The new scenario is really interesting to me, my only disappointment is that, since she's in a villain set, Breez will get only a minifig. If I interpreted Corydoras's words correctly.

I think I've figured out how the mechs are built: Mixels-style balljoint parts.

No, Corydoras confirmed te Hero mechas are built with HF parts. Seems like there are no Mixel parts involved, thankfully. I don't hate Mixel sets, but it would kill the compatibility that made the 2.0 system successful (what does CCBS stand for, BTW?).

[Aanchir]

(what does CCBS stand for, BTW?).

Character and Creature Building System.

And I (and apparently the Hero Factory designers, based on what was seen in that video of the workshop they had with ADVANCE) agree that using differently-sized ball joints would just hurt compatibility. As awesome as they are, it would destroy the simplicity of the HF building system, which would be a bad thing for novice builders.

[Front]

The ball cups and balls used in Mixels are placed on plates, that is within the BRICKS system. The balls are shared with the TECHNIC system, where it's used for suspension linkages.

If there is going to be themes in constraction, and which, I have no clue. I have seen new feet parts and CCBS parts in new colours though, but maybe these were just try-outs that actually are not going to be used in real sets.

Erland

Part Design.

[Corydoras]

I dig "Invasion From Below", as cheesy as that is, especially given the ending to episode 10: Brain Attack. I'm pro for the whole shaking things up thing. It'll certainly be something to get used to, but I imagine we're going to get some cool vehicles and tech out of the whole thing.

Cheesy? These sets look pretty awesome to me. The villains remind me of some titans or angels from Evangelion and they look very menacing, some apocalyptic backgrounds adding to the effect. One of those guys is a black&red Balrog-like monster with what seems to be a scythe as a weapon. Most of the sets also contains some small four-legged bug minions.

Maybe the mechas are like the ones from Exo Force: the cockpit is located in the torso, and the pilot stands up inside it. The head would be too big to fit a minifig inside, so I feel new torso pieces are more likely. HF mechas were roughly around the size of HF mid size sets (I remember they were slightly shorter than Bionicle figures). So they'd be standard Hero figures with a special torso. That's my theory.

The new scenario is really interesting to me, my only disappointment is that, since she's in a villain set, Breez will get only a minifig. If I interpreted Corydoras's words correctly.

You're right. The hero mechas have no heads, but large cockpits in the center and the figs are standing inside them (I clearly remember the orange one standing, not sitting). Maybe the new legs are to make them connect to the mech without studded system parts? The villains, on the other hand, have heads. Breez is the green one, right? As far as I remember, she is standing on top of the winged villain (Flyer Beast?) like she is trying to control him or to find some weak spot on his head. That's what it looked like to me, at least.

[Mesonak]

One of those guys is a black&red Balrog-like monster with what seems to be a scythe as a weapon. Most of the sets also contains some small four-legged bug minions.

Go on, Lego. Take my money. You know you want to.

Thanks very much for the update. These sets are sounding better and better.

[Leewan]

Yup, all that sounds very exciting. Thanks, Corydoras !

[SmoothJazz]

Cheesy? These sets look pretty awesome to me. The villains remind me of some titans or angels from Evangelion and they look very menacing, some apocalyptic backgrounds adding to the effect. One of those guys is a black&red Balrog-like monster with what seems to be a scythe as a weapon. Most of the sets also contains some small four-legged bug minions.

You're right. The hero mechas have no heads, but large cockpits in the center and the figs are standing inside them (I clearly remember the orange one standing, not sitting). Maybe the new legs are to make them connect to the mech without studded system parts? The villains, on the other hand, have heads. Breez is the green one, right? As far as I remember, she is standing on top of the winged villain (Flyer Beast?) like she is trying to control him or to find some weak spot on his head. That's what it looked like to me, at least.

Are the villain sets full-size as usual?

[Corydoras]

Go on, Lego. Take my money. You know you want to.

Thanks very much for the update. These sets are sounding better and better.

I don't collect HF, but I honestly think they're way better than the Brain Attack stuff which I considered buying for parts for mecha MOCing.

Are the villain sets full-size as usual?

They are regular HF action figures. Is this what you're asking?

[Jetrax99]

A bit off-topic, and no offense Corydora, but what you just posted reinforces my thought that a lot of people seem to think about Neon Genesis first when it comes to giant robots. And the Eva units aren't even robots. So why compare them?

Back on topic, this sound really interesting. Minifig heroes piloting constraction mech vs giant monsters? Yeah, if it's the closest LEGO can get to a mech centered theme w/o being overly expensive, I'll take it. I still want pics though.

Also, judging by the name "Invasion From Below", it seems LEGO is obviously drawing inspiration from Pacific Rim.

[Mesonak]

Hmm... so I have but one question which I'd be very grateful if you could answer. What are the villains' colors? One of them is red and black, as you say, but what of the other two? And is the shade of red on the Balrog-esque villain normal or dark red?

Thanks very much.

Edited October 9, 2013 by Mesonak

[Logan McOwen]

If this is all true, then I am so disappointed. However, I'm very skeptical.

[Infernum]

This sounds awesome! Loving the Pacific Rim vibe, great idea to change the scale!

Anyone one thought of this: Maybe the mechs are normal Hero type builds, only with a new torso armor piece that allows the pilots to be placed inside? If so, this sounds awesome! Hero Factory: We build Jaegers Heroes.

[Logan McOwen]

Hey, here's a novel idea: Could you actually show us these alleged pictures? Maybe then, more people would actually believe you! Just a handy hint

[Shakar]

So the Hero mechs have no heads? Kinda disappointing, but that seems to be the only problem. Everything else just sounds fantastic.