Hero Factory 2014 Discussion

[DraikNova]

That does have a huge PRELIMINARY stamp over it though.

Which is why I asked. I'm removing the link though, just to be sure.

Brickset posted a review with images of a rare Hero Factory polybag.

"It's currently very rare: it's not even listed at BrickLink yet and I can't find any on eBay. However, you can get hold of it for free from Toy Hub Direct when you spend over £15 on HERO Factory sets."

The review: http://brickset.com/article/10655

Images can also be seen on the Brickset flickr page.

We've already discussed that, actually.

Edited March 26, 2014 by DraikNova

[bacem]

That does have a huge PRELIMINARY stamp over it though.

i think it's ok, given that the link were we first seen IFB winter sets pictures were having a huge preliminary stamp either. and besides, almost all of those sets has been showed to public through NY toy fair anyway.

[Bfahome]

The maroon color looks to me like the result of wonky photography. It seems like what we saw at ToyFair is what we're seeing here.

I actually kind of like the translucence of the "petals". It gives them a more organic, membranous look.

[VBBN]

The link is fine, we just don't want confidential photos to be directly hosted on EB by means of being deeplinked in img tags as Vinyl said.

As for the cocoons, I'm not as opposed to the more translucent look as opposed to the opaque look as I previously was. While I do think that the more opaque colors are more vibrant, for example Tunneler Beast's cocoon shell on his back would be more of a lime green vs a transparent green, they do look nice overall and it gives them a more "alien" or organic feeling, especially if we are able to see the shadow of the minifigure/jumper inside of it.

[-Horizon-]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that LEGO should bulk up the machines. To me the legs look kind of skinny

[Aanchir]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that LEGO should bulk up the machines. To me the legs look kind of skinny

Which machines are you referring to specifically? Evo Walker's legs are appropriately spiderlike, albeit without a whole lot of articulation. The same is true of most of the other multi-legged machines like Bulk Drill Machine, Breez Flea Machine, and Evo's machine from the Queen Beast set. Of the bipedal machines, Rocka Crawler is too small to really need bulkier legs, and the thin legs on Furno Jet Machine and Rocka Stealth Machine make those sets look more nimble. The only sets that are really crying out for beefier legs are Evo XL Machine, which mainly just suffers between the knee and the shin, and Stormer Freeze Machine, which in some respects is crying out for beefier everything — the whole thing strikes me as a bit of a gappy mess compared to the other, more elegant mid-size machines.

Some more variety in the bulkiness of the legs could be cool for sure, but I don't feel like most of the sets on their own need to be bulked up. Look at LEGO Exo-Force — it had the exceptionally beefy Assault Tiger and Golden Guardian, but it also had the lean and limber Chameleon Hunter and Sky Guardian. All of those sets have narrower upper legs than Furno Jet Machine or Rocka Stealth Machine, and Chameleon Hunter coupled that with long and narrow lower legs. In previous years, even the massive Supernova had thinner upper legs than most of this year's Hero Factory battle machines, and the equally large Silent Strike had upper and lower legs just four modules wide. Considering that these models were about eight inches tall not counting wings and fins, versus Furno Jet Machine which is just over seven inches tall including its jets, it doesn't make for a big difference relative to the overall size of the battle machine.

Come to think of it, the Exo-Force battle machines have a lot in common with this year's Hero Factory battle machines besides just structure. The mid-size battle machines like Grand Titan and Stealth Hunter were $15 and a little over seven inches tall. Of course, they had more pieces on average — they WERE System sets, after all.

[Shakar]

Still not interested in the Machines, but gotta love the Beasts. The Queen might be my favourite large villain so far. I can't wait to get those three to build my own take on them. Some designs this year (like Jet Machine and Queen Beast) have been very inspirational for my MOCing purposes!

[DraikNova]

As for the cocoons, I'm not as opposed to the more translucent look as opposed to the opaque look as I previously was. While I do think that the more opaque colors are more vibrant, for example Tunneler Beast's cocoon shell on his back would be more of a lime green vs a transparent green, they do look nice overall and it gives them a more "alien" or organic feeling, especially if we are able to see the shadow of the minifigure/jumper inside of it.

Annoyingly, the picture of the Queen Beast still teases us with what I would consider the perfect mix of translucent and opaque. I like the alien look the translucent cocoons have, but, because the rest of the Beasts do not look like that, it stands out unpleasantly.

[Aanchir]

Still not interested in the Machines, but gotta love the Beasts. The Queen might be my favourite large villain so far. I can't wait to get those three to build my own take on them. Some designs this year (like Jet Machine and Queen Beast) have been very inspirational for my MOCing purposes!

I'm still the other way around... a lot of the machines impress me, but I haven't fallen in love with any of the beasts besides Tunneler Beast. I suppose it's partly because I really love new and creative builds, and the beasts either don't deliver on that or aren't the best in terms of execution.

Queen Beast has an incredibly novel build, but in some respects is a bit lackluster. The back is incredibly bare-bones, and the torso very column-like. The front legs have very limited articulation.

Flyer Beast and Crystal Beast are both fairly mundane humanoid builds lacking any kind of back armor (though to be fair, Flyer Beast has wings and a brick with ball cup that would have made back armor less feasible)

Jaw Beast is quite nice, breaking up the monotony of a humanoid build with decidedly NOT humanoid posture and proportions. Still not certain if it's a must-buy: I'll have to decide how I want to get the Stormer mini-robot, since I'd rather avoid duplicates if possible.

Splitter Beast might be the best of the humanoid beasts, with lots of great pieces, great detail, and just enough uniqueness in its build to break up the monotony of yet another humanoid build. It would be on my "to buy" list from the get-go if it weren't for its minifigs: Furno and Evo, two of the year's most common minifigures, both of which my brother and I already have courtesy of the refreshingly creative Furno Jet Machine and Evo XL Machine.

Even though the beasts don't excite me nearly as much as the machines do, I imagine I'll wind up with several of them, and perhaps I'll grow fonder of them once I own them. Certainly they are all pretty good parts packs. Even Flyer Beast, one of my least favorites, includes lots of Medium Azur beams and ball cups, as well as four Ben 10 tail pieces, four of the new talon pieces, a black torso shell, and two of the larger foot pieces.

[Dorek]

I mentioned the cocoons not being as translucent ages ago =P. Aside from that, though, the sets were a lot more finalized than in years past.

Anyhow, that Breez polybag is pretty cute. Hope it ends up as a S@H promotion or something along those lines.

[Artifox]

I like the simplicity of the polybag Breez. It would be cool if they would release a line of smaller machines like that but a bit more complex and cost around €5. They could just be something to have on your desk.

[Kalhiki]

I like the simplicity of the polybag Breez. It would be cool if they would release a line of smaller machines like that but a bit more complex and cost around €5. They could just be something to have on your desk.

Rocka Crawler Machine in the summer wave seems to be the closest to that. More expensive than what you're saying, but still. Seems like it'll be a pretty small figure with a similar build to the Breez Poly.

[DuckBricks]

I entered the Brick Fanatics competition for that polybag, wish me luck! Thanks!

EDIT: Too bad, I lost... Oh well! Looks like I'll just spend $15 at their store for it :)

Edited March 28, 2014 by legozebra

[Logan McOwen]

Never knew Breez's machine had back armour though! That's lovely a lovely touch.

Edited March 28, 2014 by LewiMOC

[Artifox]

Never knew Breez's machine had back armour though! That's lovely a lovely touch.

It kinda reminds me of Lehvak-Va.

[DuckBricks]

It kinda reminds me of Lehvak-Va.

Oh yeah, it does! I was wondering why I was feeling some déjà vu! ;)

[exxtrooper]

Does anyone have any idea when we can be expecting to see IFB related parts in Pick-A-Brick? I'm looking into ordering a lot of the cockpit windshields as I am quite a fan of them for mocing.

[dviddy]

Well seeing as most HF parts have been removed from at least the US PaB, maybe never.

[bacem]

Does anyone have any idea when we can be expecting to see IFB related parts in Pick-A-Brick? I'm looking into ordering a lot of the cockpit windshields as I am quite a fan of them for mocing.

but those windshields aren't new. they're already used on city before. many of citiy's helicopter used those, if i recall.

[Shakar]

PaB aside, you can buy pretty much any part from the Replacement Parts Service section. Prices are more or less in line with PaB and you spend less in shipping fees (about 5 Euro here, it's 13 for regular orders).

I bought a bunch of stuff and it arrived in 20 days or so.

[DraikNova]

I actually have two of those windshields in blue from a promo set.

Anyway, I found the silliest tagline for IfB on some official LEGO stuff: "Robot invasion". Just...how? How does someone manage to get things that simultaneously correct and incorrect? I mean, sure, the robots invaded the beasts' home, but still...

[bacem]

I actually have two of those windshields in blue from a promo set.

Anyway, I found the silliest tagline for IfB on some official LEGO stuff: "Robot invasion". Just...how? How does someone manage to get things that simultaneously correct and incorrect? I mean, sure, the robots invaded the beasts' home, but still...

where is it?

[VBBN]

Yes they were originally introduced in City last year, but only in the trans light blue. The trans black ones are, currently, exclusive to HF sets.

Sets containing the piece

Being as it isn't a very common piece yet I think it'll be a while before we see it in PAB, if at all.

[DraikNova]

where is it?

Some dutch LEGO magazine.

[exxtrooper]

PaB aside, you can buy pretty much any part from the Replacement Parts Service section. Prices are more or less in line with PaB and you spend less in shipping fees (about 5 Euro here, it's 13 for regular orders).

I bought a bunch of stuff and it arrived in 20 days or so.

They seem to not have the dark version of it yet though.