Hero Factory 2014 Discussion

[Bob C]

I really don't see a need to even compare IFB with any movie, because it's nothing more than a 22-minute long advertisement for the toys. The figures are #1, this is completely secondary and I think LEGO cares even less about it than they do the website or online games.

[Kalhiki]

I really don't see a need to even compare IFB with any movie, because it's nothing more than a 22-minute long advertisement for the toys. The figures are #1, this is completely secondary and I think LEGO cares even less about it than they do the website or online games.

It's not just the episode, but the whole concept of giant robots vs giant monsters. And Pacific Rim being the most recent release in the genre, people will compare the two. Heck, even I've compared the two.

[3rdeye88]

If you'd introduced yourself in a way other than "wow all your opinions are terrible" you might've gotten a better reception.

P.S. by about the twelfth time someone pops into the topic and says "hey guys, has anyone else noticed that these sets are similar to Pacific Rim?" it gets a bit old. It's been happening for literally months now.

The mecha genre has been around for a long time. So has the kaiju genre. So has the combination of the two. Pacific Rim was meant to be a throwback to a lot of them.

(Also the kaiju in Pacific Rim had very different aesthetics between them. You can't really say that the IFB kaiju look like the PR kaiju because there's a lok of variety there.)

(Also, creatures from underground that the heroes battle with robotic armor.)

I did introduce myself before that post. Its not my fault you idiots don't read other threads. See NOW I'm insulting you. I make one unpopular opinion and all of you jump on my dick about it. "OMG he said a thing I like is crap I'm so insulted now ;n;" Really? Grow up. Learn to accept an opinion that doesn't agree with yours. And by the way, I wasn't the only one who said something along the lines of what I said.

And yet there are those who say it was better than Brain Attack. The obviously have no idea what they're saying.

Agreed on all points.

SO go ram your butthurt feelings about it down his throat to. You guys keep saying I should respect other people's opinions, what did I really say about other people's opinion pertaining to it "there's clearly no point in taking them seriously" and I was being factitious when I said it. If you think these things are good, fine you're entitled to your opinion. And I'll think you're an idiot who doesn't know good anything if it walked up and kicked you in the balls.

And with that I'm done. You guys are unreal.

[Lyichir]

And I'll think you're an idiot who doesn't know good anything if it walked up and kicked you in the balls.

Gosh, I hope a staff member comes around to deal with you soon. There is literally no room for that kind of rhetoric here on Eurobricks. We're not "ramming our butthurt feelings down [Jetrax99's] throat" because unlike you, he could express his opinion without being hateful and obscene. But you've repeatedly stated that you think anyone who disagrees with you is an idiot with no taste. That's totally unacceptable.

[Dorek]

Ah, drama. Here I thought BZP had the monopoly on LEGO-related internet drama =P

I really don't see a need to even compare IFB with any movie, because it's nothing more than a 22-minute long advertisement for the toys. The figures are #1, this is completely secondary and I think LEGO cares even less about it than they do the website or online games.

It's not just the episode, but the whole concept of giant robots vs giant monsters. And Pacific Rim being the most recent release in the genre, people will compare the two. Heck, even I've compared the two.

I think it merits a comparison, sure, none the least of which is because the same animators worked on both projects. And LEGO definitely cares about it, if their interactions with the development team are anything to go by (although Ghost and Advance definitely take the cake for "most interested" because they all seemed pretty jazzed about the product). But it still is an advertisement.

Which by itself begs an interesting question on how long the line was actually in development, and at what point they settled on the theme details; as mentioned, part of the comparisons are evoked because Pacific Rim was so recent (although it had been in development for a while). Faber mentions development on the episode started last March, so I just wonder what the decision was to send the line in this particular route.

You guys keep saying I should respect other people's opinions, what did I really say about other people's opinion pertaining to it "there's clearly no point in taking them seriously" and I was being factitious when I said it. If you think these things are good, fine you're entitled to your opinion. And I'll think you're an idiot who doesn't know good anything if it walked up and kicked you in the balls.

And with that I'm done. You guys are unreal.

See, you try and pass that off as being "facetious" but then immediately turn around and do the exact same thing you were pretending was a joke. I think the rest of us are the ones who should find this "unreal".

[korpen4444]

Guys, the Mods are handling this. Let's give it a rest.

[Vinyl Scratch]

(Also, creatures from underground that the heroes battle with robotic armor.)

LEGO did Pacific Rim before Pacific Rim did itself. Plot twist.

Anyway, I can't help but RAGE at the fact that I just realized they got the Queen Beast's chest armour upside down at Toy Fair. Do the guys that build the sets even try with the constraction sets?

[Dorek]

Haha, I didn't even look at Bfa's link, I assumed he was referencing Rock Raiders, or Power Miners.

BIONICLE works just as well.

[Kalhiki]

I never thought about comparing Bohrok to Pacific Rim. I guess you could, but IFB has a lot more similarity.

Ah, Bohrok. How I miss thee...

[DraikNova]

Oh boy, Bfahome has definitely won this one. Glad to see I won't have to have an argument any more. I always expect that I'm going to overreact and get banned myself.

Back on topic, does anyone have any more Beast ideas? So far, the only one I have been capable of coming up with are "Claw Beast" (aka Deinocheirus Mirificus) and "Tail Beast" (a Jaw Beast mod).

[korpen4444]

Swimmer Beast? It could come with Stringer and Nex!

Let's see, they've got everything else.

[DraikNova]

Tentacle Beast? Saw Beast? I'm just stealing ideas from my signature here. Explosion Beast? Nah.

Which of the following ideas seems best to you guys?

Tentacle Beast

Saw Beast

Explosion Beast

Fire Beast

Runner Beast

[Aanchir]

I'd love to try building a long-necked beast of some kind, as well as some aquatic beasts, and maybe a centipede-like beast. There are all kinds of directions you could go with this series's aesthetics.

[Kalhiki]

I was thinking a dragon, but that seems to be covered with Flyer.

Or a Claw Beast. It could be vaguely crab-ish.

[Bfahome]

Haha, I didn't even look at Bfa's link, I assumed he was referencing Rock Raiders, or Power Miners.

BIONICLE works just as well.

Huh, those too I guess. I wasn't really thinking outside constraction themes.

Though RR and PM weren't really as mech-focused. Heck, even Atlantis had a humanoid vehicle or two, and that was underwater!

(… also I have a giant bias towards 2002 and the Bohrok because they're the bestest sets ever. <3)

ANYWAY POINT IS it's not a new concept, but neither is anything else anymore if you boil it down far enough.

Or a Claw Beast. It could be vaguely crab-ish.

I kind of want to make a crab thing using the black jaw segments as claws. Hopefully BrickLink will have them for a decent price at some point.

(Or maybe the beak to a giant octosquidthing if someone's feeling really adventurous.)

[DraikNova]

All you need to do is get Splitter Beast, Tunneler Beast and either Flyer or Jaw Beast and you'll have two. Although making that into a squid's beak sounds like it could work out well.

[Kalhiki]

Squid Beak. Wow. Didn't think of that.

And have Brain Slugs as tentacles. Because I think it'd be neat to use those as such.

[ZORK64]

Or a Claw Beast. It could be vaguely crab-ish.

Oh please yes, I want a Giant Enemy Crab!

Edited February 25, 2014 by ZORK64

[DraikNova]

What would it's weak point be ?

[Bfahome]

All you need to do is get Splitter Beast, Tunneler Beast and either Flyer or Jaw Beast and you'll have two. Although making that into a squid's beak sounds like it could work out well.

Yeah, but I don't really want to buy all those. :P

I'm saving for the summer wave to get Flea Machine, Tunneler, and Rocka Crawler. Plus Benny's SPACESHIIIP!

(All the current sets look cool but not so cool that I feel justified buying them. The three summer sets I intend to buy are all relatively small, plus two come with the awesome pod assemblies which I need. I haven't planned to do anything with them yet, I just want to see what I can do with them. They look like a fun piece to try and work into something. We shall see! Also this parenthetical bit is longer than the rest of my post, whoops.)

[TheRedGuy]

I heard that it takes a year or so to design sets ,so did Pacific Rim have a teaser trailer or even a annoucement when they were designing the sets? If so, how is it a rip-off?

Edited February 26, 2014 by TheRedGuy

[BrickBuilder3213]

I have an Electric Beast that uses a lot of parts from last year's sets (mainly the small and large yellow spikes, the trans-dark blue armour and the green/blue flames from Surge), as well as the Azure Beast's upper jaw and Flyer Beast's lower jaw.

[ZORK64]

What would it's weak point be ?

Well, you have to use Real Time Weapon Change so you can hit its weak point for massive damage.

Also, the main reason why I want Tunneler Beast is because with all the red shells I already own I might be able to make something like Beast Wars Megatron (or T-Wrecks, if we go by the colour). I just have to figure out how to make a good-looking, rotating torso (and how Megatron actually transforms, since I never owned the actual toy).

[bacem]

Well, you have to use Real Time Weapon Change so you can hit its weak point for massive damage.

Also, the main reason why I want Tunneler Beast is because with all the red shells I already own I might be able to make something like Beast Wars Megatron (or T-Wrecks, if we go by the colour). I just have to figure out how to make a good-looking, rotating torso (and how Megatron actually transforms, since I never owned the actual toy).

it's gonna transform?!

[Aanchir]

I heard that it takes a year or so to design sets ,so did Pacific Rim have a teaser trailer or even a annoucement when they were designing the sets? If so, how is it a rip-off?

Most waves of sets have an eighteen-month lead time. Some of the first Pacific Rim teaser materials were posted online in November 2012, which would have been during (not prior to) the design process. They could potentially have been tapped for inspiration, since the design process would not have concluded by that time, though it's not definite.

There was a Comic-Con panel in July 2012 that featured some actual footage and helped build a lot of hype for the movie. Here's some press coverage of the panel. So that could DEFINITELY have played a role in inspiring this series, or at least the concept of it. When you see a lot of hype for a giant monster movie, it's easy to predict that the genre will soon be fashionable once again.

Keep in mind that whether or not the sets themselves are obvious references to recent popular culture, the LEGO Group does keep a close eye on trends in popular culture in order to predict what kids will be hyped about in any given year. LEGO Adventurers came out shortly before The Mummy, for instance. And LEGO Legends of Chima arrived at around the same time that a lot of "animal warrior" franchises like TMNT, Thundercats, and Kung Fu Panda were coming into vogue (I imagine James Cameron's Avatar also provided some inspiration for the series' tribal science-fantasy flavor). I've actually read an interview about the conception of LEGO Ninjago which stated outright that it was inspired by a resurgence in ninja-related media (though of course, new themes have a much longer, often multi-year development time, unlike new waves of existing themes).

I wouldn't be surprised if something similar might have factored into the design of some BIONICLE series, such as the Barraki, who were releases shortly after the much-anticipated Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which featured a crew of similar sea-creature-inspired mutants. But this is less certain since the story team decided prior to 2006 that the next three years would take place on the land, sea, and sky, which means the idea of sea-creature-inspired baddies could have just as easily come to the designers more organically.

In any case, the designers aren't pulling ALL of their inspiration from Pacific Rim by a longshot. The battle machines in "Invasion from Below" do not resemble the humanoid, Gundam-esque ones in Pacific Rim, and the Queen Beast and cocoons definitely draw a considerable amount of inspiration from the Alien film franchise. The jumpers could be inspired not only by the Visorak baddies in the minifigure-scale BIONICLE sets, but also by the parasites in the 2008 film Cloverfield.

Edited February 26, 2014 by Aanchir