Set name: Evo XL Machine

Set number: 44022

Piece Count: 193

Year Released: 2014

Price: $24.99 USD, 24,99 EUR (?)

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Evo XL is a set that will either be loved or hated. He takes a new step with the current building system, moving toward a more technic inspired build. Let's take a closer look at the set to see how good it really is...or isn't.

Before we begin I'd like to once again thank The Lego Company and the Eurobricks Staff who made it possible for me to bring these reviews you today. I'd also like to confirm that the release dates for these sets are January 1st for the majority of the world, and March 1st for the U.S.

Packaging

Bag Front

The (very large) bag shows Evo XL running through the city, shooting the miniature red Kaiju at point black range, and firing some missiles from his shoulder. I won't deny this already seems like a bit of a stretch. Would it have been too much to ask to get a larger villain with this set? The top of the bag shows the more comic-styled art that we have been introduced to this wave, depicting Evo running away from the 4 legged beasts toward the rather towering XL "machine." (unlike previous years of the Heroes where they actually have an increased size, Evo just has a really big machine.)

Bag Back

The back shows off the action features of the set. The launcher, the spinning torso(more on that later) the flick-fire missiles, the containment pod, and the jumping kaiju. Most of this is shown by arrows, nothing too exciting to see just yet. Opening the bag is the fun part. A word about the contents; This bag is crammed full of parts. 4 bags of parts and two large lose pieces, the instructions, and a sticker sheet.

Contents

Instructions

The front of the instructions offer no difference in appearance from the front of the bag.

Random Instruction Image

Black parts are outlined in white, which helps with the differentiation between black, pearl dark gray, and dark bluish gray. Due to the simplicity and low number of parts, this has never been an issue with Hero Factory sets, but if we have a 500-1000 piece set, this would be of more concern.

Sticker Sheet

As with all of the Mechs, Evo XL Machine comes with a sticker sheet. The three on the bottom are for the canopy, the two on top are for the containment pod. As with the other sets (Evo Walker excluded) I have no applied the stickers. I may possibly do this soon to show it off, however you can get a good idea of what they look like here.

New parts

I'll comment on the minifig parts in their own sections, for the sake of repetition. We have the same printed piece that was featured in the Walker (two in this set), the new canopy piece in a tinted shade, the new seat in green, the container piece in trans bright green, and the Stormer XL feet in pearl dark gray. This set is the only set to utilize the bars on the side of the set as you will see. Having stormers feet in a dark pearl gray is also a lovely change. The foot design is a nice fit for mechs and so far this piece has only been available with Stormer XL, so it's nice to have a new selection in the color range. Not shown is the paw piece in pearl dark gray and the 5-L shells in yellow, which are recolored for this set.

Minifigures

Front

For a more in-depth look at Evo please see Evo Walker's review. We can see here that Evo is the exact same as he is in the other two sets, featuring the same accessories as his Splitter Beast form.

Side

The side view. Once more I'd like to mention that his articulation is full frontwards and backwards at the hips, shoulder, and a slight turn at the head, though his helmet restricts movement.

Back

All Evos

A look at all 3 Evo minifigures. From left to right: Evo XL, Evo Walker, Splitter Beast. If you only want to keep one built and use the others for parts, you'll get some extra hero cores, datapads, and accessories, which is always a plus.

Miniature Kaiju

Once again for a detailed look at these guys please see my Evo Walker review. (for redundancy's sake) They are similar in size to the visorak minis of 2005, and can "jump" when you push down on their rears in just the same way. The colored portion is a softer plastic, and the black shell is hard plastic.

XL Machine

Build Photos

So here we get to the part that sets this figure apart from previous XL's: The build. Gone is the oversized HF build and in with something new. A partly technic build. No I don't just mean the introduction of more pins and axles, we finally get a proper gear system once again. None of those play features of the Brain Attack sets, now we get to something that is a cool feature that doesn't hurt the set. This construct will build his lower hips and waist, and allow him to have waist articulation once the upper half is installed.

Legs

The legs are also a new build, taking on a mech-inspired appearance. (A "chicken leg" bend, thinner proportions, and a more static posing ability.) I must say, the posing is the one issue I have here. I know the ankle articulation was an annoyance to many people, but the entire leg is a mess. The hips can move outward and somewhat forward and back(until you knock the armor off after a certain point), but the knees are very limited, and overall there in't much you can do to pose them dynamically.

Added on to Hips

Added on to the hips. I really like the look of the build at this point. it's not everyone's cup of tea, but will the upper half complete this set properly?

Shoulders and body

Firstly, that dog-bone piece is in fact a new technic piece. Thanks to Jim for pointing that one out; I'll have it in the new parts section when I can, but you can get a good view of it here or by checking out his review of the Construction Crew set. We begin to build the upper torso. Using some technic beams, we set up the structure for two XT4 torsos to be placed on. You may be thinking, why does he need that many balljoints? He doesn't, but I'll get to that at the end of this review, as they serve another purpose.

Building Further

As we connect this to the torso, the shape continues.

Arm

The...hand arm. I'm not sure what the fascination is with putting this hand piece on an arm lik this manner is, but it's terrible. There is no wrist articulation. As you'll see, there is also limited shoulder articulation. For a menacing mech, having a T-rex arm is somewhat of a disappointment. Also I'm really not a fan of this finger design. One of the fingers is flipped to act as a thumb, and while it looks convincing on Splitter Beast, it looks a bit silly on here and the Freeze Machine.

Gun Arm

The other arm is...A very sturdy, triangular shaped build. Certainly something new, and it's not all bad, it can bend at the elbow and can move slightly at the wrist.

Armored

Once the arms are added on we can finish adding on some torso armor and the containment pod.

Some various Constructs

So here we have the final parts of the build, just some random bits. The cockpit, flick fire missile launcher and ammo belt, a radar-dish construct, and some little lightbar bits that will complement the cockpit.

Finished Set

So here it is, the largest set of this wave. Overall, it looks aesthetically pleasing. I know some people have complained about the width of the legs. It's no lie they are thin at one point, but it really isn't a major deal. I enjoy the very mechanical look they give him, and overall he looks very much so like a robot mech. Let's take a look at him from some various angles, and then we will uncover the issues I have with the set.

Front

Side

The cockpit does stick out which I think complements the look of the mech, especially when added to the "chicken leg" aesthetic, however it looks almost too small in comparison to the rest of the mech. Perhaps that's all a matter of preference.

Back

Looks fairly good from the back, and features a nice black gear to activate the torso spinning gimmick. You can more clearly see those exposed extra balljoints that are used on the combo model.

Action Shot 1

Well...yeah. There you go. Move his legs much more and he will fall over, and that's about as much as you can do with his arms.

Action Shot 2

Being able to turn his body 360 degrees can result in some unique poses. Those are also some very ambitious little kaiju there.

Action shot 3

Most posing ability comes from the torso joint.

With Evo Walker

Here you can see him alongside the smaller Walker, which according to the set bios is destroyed in the story, and then he takes over the XL machine.

Overall, is Evo XL machine a masterpiece or a mess-chine? I like the originality and the technic inspired build. However I feel as though the set is run down to to his combination gimmick which creates those off arms, and some odd choices when it comes down to the legs. He looks and feels very mech like, and it's all up to you whether or not you like the aesthetic of the set. The only thing I really have to say is that I can't see myself paying $25 for the set. I don't see enough MOCist potential here myself to really fulfill that price tag, and as a set it feels like you are overpaying. It's a fun set to build, but I might wait for a sale before jumping at this one.

I actually really like this one. Love the unique, mech-y feel. Love the gear function too! Three Evos though...

Personally, I think this set is quite nicely designed. There are some drawbacks like the lack of articulation in the legs, but overall I think most of them are worthwhile for the sake of such an original and beefy design. One thing I don't like about this set is how Evo's feet just sort of dangle. I much prefer how Furno Jet Machine and Rocka Stealth Machine use a simple shell to cover the mini-robot's feet. Then again, I'm not sure how easily that could be done in this set, what with the swiveling waist.

Regarding the question of "Would it have been too much to ask to get a larger villain with this set?", the answer is of course "yes". That would have required at least bumping the price up to $35, I'm sure, and while there have been plenty of Hero Factory sets at that price point, I generally would prefer to get a larger overall model at that kind of scale versus what would probably be a rather mundane opponent to face off against the already impressive Evo XL machine. If you want a larger opponent for this set, buy a Jaw Beast — your total expense will end up being about the same.

I'm surprised that when you were calling out new parts you didn't mention the hand/paw piece, which is new in Titanium Metallic. Or the 5M Bright Yellow shells, which only come in this set and Evo Walker.

Edited December 1, 201311 yr by Aanchir

Regarding the question of "Would it have been too much to ask to get a larger villain with this set?", the answer is of course "yes". That would have required at least bumping the price up to $35, I'm sure, and while there have been plenty of Hero Factory sets at that price point, I generally would prefer to get a larger overall model at that kind of scale versus what would probably be a rather mundane opponent to face off against the already impressive Evo XL machine. If you want a larger opponent for this set, buy a Jaw Beast — your total expense will end up being about the same.

I wouldn't mind having a higher price point if it meant balancing the amount of villains with the Heroes. if anything I would rather they have dumbed down Evo Xl in favor of a better opponent to face off, as right now Evo XL is too large; he towers over Splitter beast AND the 3-headed combo model.

And part recolors have been mentioned for now. The paw piece I did mention in my Stormer review but I completely missed the fact that I didn't show it here either. Once again I do apologize for the things that may still be lacking, I'll be adding them in over the course of the week. Events and other such things added to the time constraint suppressed the productivity of my reviewing, I didn't anticipate there would be so much to cover with these sets until I was already doing them.

Initially I disliked this set, and I still do in some regards. However, I think the ingenuity of the build and the added gear function are enough for me to pick this set up. I fully support experimenting in that field again after so long away, and I can't fault them if their first foray back into gears is riddled with some problems.

...However, I'll be fixing some of my issues along the way. Great review. :P

I don't know what you meant about this set not having a lot of MOCing potential. I for one don't have a single one of the mini Technic Turntable, which has never shown up in a constraction set before. Meanwhile, the set has a bunch of XT-4 torsos, which are always nice, along with plenty of those 5M yellow shells and the tried-and-true Titanium Metallic shell covers. Not to mention those connectors with two ball joints and two pins, which I never seem to have enough of. That Hero Factory printed shell looks quite nice, and this set has two of them (far more useful than Evo Walker's one). All things considered I think I'll pass on the walker and opt for this, which is a pretty decent model with some amazing parts selection.

I don't know what you meant about this set not having a lot of MOCing potential. I for one don't have a single one of the mini Technic Turntable, which has never shown up in a constraction set before. Meanwhile, the set has a bunch of XT-4 torsos, which are always nice, along with plenty of those 5M yellow shells and the tried-and-true Titanium Metallic shell covers. Not to mention those connectors with two ball joints and two pins, which I never seem to have enough of. That Hero Factory printed shell looks quite nice, and this set has two of them (far more useful than Evo Walker's one). All things considered I think I'll pass on the walker and opt for this, which is a pretty decent model with some amazing parts selection.

Well to me it's a bit cost ineffective when a majority of the parts you could grab off of Bl in bulk. Whatever, My point is you would pay $25 for a parts pack if you do find a lot of potential here; The set itself should fulfill that price tag in addition to it, but in my opinion it falls short.

The gear on his crotch.. why.

You know, this is the only one that really feels like a mech to me. *shrug*

The gear on his crotch.. why.

Ok, shut up. If you don't like a set or see something on it that you find "disturbing" you don't have to say it.

Hey, VBBN, why is the HF armor plate on the right arm backwards? The arm can bend w/ it facing forward.

Surprisingly, that is how the instructions say to do it. Front facing does allow for bending but not nearly as much, so I think that's what they were going for. it looks quite dumb in this strange positioning I'll admit, but I didn't take any points off for that since the official images express the other configuration and it's all a matter of preference

Nice review, waiting for those dog bone beams! The color scheme is yellow, not gold, right? If it is, I might just have to buy this as my first HF set. I'm planning on actually making a Bionicle MOC for a change and I need lots of yellow for it. You know, $25 seems decent, but I might just have to use BL...

Frankly, the bag top art of Evo XL's is my favorite. Really feels grand and Pacific Rim-y.

Nice, but seeing as it's mostly technic (and it doesn't feature any particularly interesting colors), I might decide not to get this set, although it's build is amazingly imposing. Thanks for the review!

I was really curious about this set. The review is great, however I can't say that for the XL machine. There are several points of "WHY??!!!" on this one. I can live with the short arms, but those legs. They look good except the empty knee section, which is very disturbing and there are the articulation problems. Nothing special that some modding can't solve but, I never understand why TLG make these annoying moves on sets.

I really like this set, except those armor plates under the cockpit. The position suggested by the instruction is impossible and your solution is not perfect either: It bends the shoulder armor pieces. Can someone tellor show me the corrcet, official way?

I really like this set, except those armor plates under the cockpit. The position suggested by the instruction is impossible and your solution is not perfect either: It bends the shoulder armor pieces. Can someone tellor show me the corrcet, official way?

Which part are you referring to? The two pearl dark gray 4-long plates that are on an angle under his feet? Everything is constructed according to all official pictures and the instruction, that is the official way. And no pieces are being bent so I'm not sure what you mean

VBBN

One massive mech against two tiny beasties? What is this world coming to?

Seriously though, I love how the set looks. Far better looking than that "Walker" type set, in my opinion.

The gunmetal and yellow work great together, and the trans-apple-green parts work rather well on here methinks.

I do wonder why Evo keeps jumping to different colors, though. Purple, then red, then blue, and now appley-trans-green.

Anywho, I like the torso-spinning function here.The mech doesn't have to have a 'spine' in the build like some of the others do and I like that. The gear function brings me back.. ah.

Not a huge fan of where that hand is. Seriously, they couldn't do what they did with Stormer XL and give it a wrist? I'm sure they had some kind of logic behind designing it like that, but I am perplexed nonetheless. The other arm is brilliant in build and looks. Wonderful use of the new system.

I can say less for the legs.. but they still look bulky and robotic.

Oh, and missiles. Gotta love those missiles!

This is definitely one I have to pick up. May not be perfect, but, come on- it's Evo, he's in a huge machine squashing tiny bugs. And it gives people a reason to buy a larger 'kaiju' beasts for it to fight.. like in the trailer for that new episode. Man, I want to see that!

Great review, thanks for sharing it with us :)

Not a huge fan of where that hand is.

Well, hands are usually at the end of the arms.

But yes, it's a bit weird that using the Savage Planet paw sacrifices the wrist articulation. Especially when they could do like with Raw Jaw and just add an extra armor.

Anyways, this Machine seems to be a good set. And an awesome parts pack. I'll definitely get him.

PS : Bionicle fan tag, yay !

Which part are you referring to? The two pearl dark gray 4-long plates that are on an angle under his feet? Everything is constructed according to all official pictures and the instruction, that is the official way. And no pieces are being bent so I'm not sure what you mean

VBBN

Thanks, that's all I wanted to know. And nice review by the way.

Again, avery nice review VBBN. Your pics are great, same goes for the writing.

As much as I like the mech-like aesthetics of Evo's XL Machine, the limited poseability of this set is kind of a deal breaker for me. I might pick him up once he goes on sales, but otherwise, no.

Evo Walker attaches pretty nicely to Evo XL, forming a double pilot vehicle. The antenna and flick-fire missiles is moved outward to the free balls at the shoulders of XL.

Evo Walker attaches pretty nicely to Evo XL, forming a double pilot vehicle. The antenna and flick-fire missiles is moved outward to the free balls at the shoulders of XL.

I had a funny feeling that you could try that... Thanks for officialy telling us, Front! :D

Evo Walker attaches pretty nicely to Evo XL, forming a double pilot vehicle. The antenna and flick-fire missiles is moved outward to the free balls at the shoulders of XL.

wow! can you show us a picture?