Hero Factory 2012

[Masta' Blasta']

My 2010 and 2012 Furno helmets are hardly distinguishable though the older seems very slightly darker. Also, I find the new one's texture to be smoother overall.

[Front]

Wait, does that shield piece have an axle built-in? Looks like a prototype (not saying the piece inside the polybag is, I'm simply talking about the one pictured there).

By the way, my Breakout Furno's helmet looks like it's made of a cheaper looking plastic compared to the 2010 piece. Does anyone have this problem?

Oops, somebody used an old prototype version of that shield for the picture on the polybag.

The moulds for the helmets are the same as used in 1.0.

To my knowledge no HF part has ever been produced in other places than Europe and Mexico.

Front

part Design

[Aanchir]

Which reminds me. Does anyone know what's up with Black Phantom's offset chin? It seems like it has to be the mold since it's like that with every one of those helmets (I can see it on Speeda from Toyfair). It just seems weird, and even weirder if it was intentional.

Kalhiki

Since it appears on the part on LDD, I'm certain it was intentional and not any kind of mold disparity. The look it gives him makes it look almost like he had a scar on his chin that had to be stapled back together, so it could just be a part of his rough-and-tumble villainous image.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Ummm...I'm not sure if I'm the first to notice this, but Stormer XL uses a dark bley torso piece in his construction.

[Dorek]

Sure that's a torso piece? Looks like one of those Hordika necks, or the straight version we got from the Glatorian.

[Aanchir]

Sure that's a torso piece? Looks like one of those Hordika necks, or the straight version we got from the Glatorian.

It's neither of those, I can guarantee you that. As far as I was able to tell at Toy Fair it's a standard 9x9 torso beam.

Not so positive about it being bley, though. Could just be the lighting is misleading. Not that I'd mind if it were bley.

[SpiderSpaceman]

I'm feeling really impatient to get XT4's skeleton (speaking of torsos)

Edited April 29, 2012 by SpiderSpaceman

[Dorek]

It's neither of those, I can guarantee you that. As far as I was able to tell at Toy Fair it's a standard 9x9 torso beam.

Not so positive about it being bley, though. Could just be the lighting is misleading. Not that I'd mind if it were bley.

Cool beans. If that's the case, it's definitely bley, looking at the contrast.

[Bfahome]

Cool beans. If that's the case, it's definitely bley, looking at the contrast.

Yeah, you can see the color difference a bit better in this pic.

[Omicron Squad Leader]

Summer sets are starting to show up in stores in Germany. It seems like they'll get the summer sets first, as they did in '11.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Summer sets are starting to show up in stores in Germany. It seems like they'll get the summer sets first, as they did in '11.

Not that I mind, at least we get pictures of them soon!

[Kalhiki]

Really? Wow that was unexpected. Hopefully we'll be seening an American release soon. In the meantime, looking forward to seeing reviews of the guys.

Kalhiki

[SpiderSpaceman]

Ummm...I'm not sure if I'm the first to notice this, but Stormer XL uses a dark bley torso piece in his construction.

Oh crap. he's gonna be all stickers, isn't he?

[Aanchir]

Oh crap. he's gonna be all stickers, isn't he?

I don't see that as a problem. They're all on smooth, flat areas where they should be easy to apply and should have no problems staying attached. But yes, from the looks of things all his decorations will be stickers, unless that feature at Toy Fair was preliminary.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Oh crap. he's gonna be all stickers, isn't he?

To be honest, I hope he is. True, they're difficult to apply, but at least you don't need to get rubbing alcohol to peel it off, thus being more MOC friendly.

[vexorian]

It would make no sense to use so many prints on places that didn't need them yet leave Stormer's details with stickers. We got prints on torsos that make the pieces useless for MoCs yet we are going to have Stormer's details all stickered? I am gonna bet it is a Toy fair thing.

Stickers ruin the build experience and are not durable.

Edited April 29, 2012 by vexorian

[Omicron Squad Leader]

Just to clarify, guys, the first time I said "summer sets" I meant summer 2012 sets *other* than Hero Factory, and the second time I meant the second wave of Hero Factory sets per year. So the summer Breakout sets aren't out in Germany yet, but other summer sets are, implying that they'll be released there very soon.

[dviddy]

It would make no sense to use so many prints on places that didn't need them yet leave Stormer's details with stickers. We got prints on torsos that make the pieces useless for MoCs yet we are going to have Stormer's details all stickered? I am gonna bet it is a Toy fair thing.

Stickers ruin the build experience and are not durable.

I hate printed pieces and think they ruin the play experience. Stickers can come off, prints can't (at least not easily). I would much rather be able to have blank pieces than printed ones.

[VBBN]

I'll second this. While yes, Stickers do eventually discolor or come off, it can be prevented if you are serious enough about it. When I have a sticker sheet that i want to be nice on the figure, i'll make a copy of it on sticker paper(usually a higher grade than lego's, but that's beside the point) And then I'll have backup. Usually I will scrap the set down to parts, and when you are forced to use a printed piece on a MOC, and the printing doesn't match, it is a serious annoyance.

It's more of a MOCist vs Set Keeper situation really

I hate printed pieces and think they ruin the play experience. Stickers can come off, prints can't (at least not easily). I would much rather be able to have blank pieces than printed ones.

[ZORK64]

The new HF sets are already in Germany?

That's ironic, I live in Germany, but the place were I learn this aren't the German toy stores, but it's Eurobricks.

And the same thing happened to me last year as well!

Anyway, odds are realistic that I'll get at least one of the new sets tomorrow (either Stringer or Stormer XL) since I'm already out toy hunting (for Transformers) tomorrow anyway. In that case, you can expect a review from me (though I also wanted to write one for Witch Doctor - I'm awfully lazy when it comes to reviews).

[Omicron Squad Leader]

The new HF sets are already in Germany?

No, as I just said, non-Hero Factory summer sets are in Germany, such as City and Monster Fighters, indicating that Germany will be the first to get the new Hero Factory sets, and very soon at that.

Edited April 29, 2012 by Omicron Squad Leader

[MakutaDreadscythe]

No, as I just said, non-Hero Factory summer sets are in Germany, such as City and Monster Fighters, indicating that Germany will be the first to get the new Hero Factory sets, and very soon at that.

If only if only the woodpecker sighs...

...

I can't believe I just made a Holes reference...

[Aanchir]

One reason I expect most of Stormer XL's decoration to be stickered in the final product, besides the quality of the stickers at Toy Fair looking finalized, is that most of his decorated parts are ones that have never been printed before (the only exception being his 5M upper leg shells). Think about it-- in most cases, printing a LEGO part requires a machine specialized to print a part that shape. This is why slope pieces can sometimes have the inclined portion printed, but the flat sides have always been stickered. While TLG could conceivably introduce machines to print 2.0 Hero torso shells or the Hulk's new torso piece, a sticker sheet seems like it would be the more efficient option unless TLG intends to print all of these parts much more often in the future.

[TheRedGuy]

No, as I just said, non-Hero Factory summer sets are in Germany, such as City and Monster Fighters, indicating that Germany will be the first to get the new Hero Factory sets, and very soon at that.

Lucky Germans.. By the way, is summer wave Ninjago there too?

[Shakar]

I found this (in before someone says "it's Spanish"- it's Italian ):

http://www.plasticiedintorni.com/hero-factory-c-348_294.html?page=1&sort=2a

Two things to clarify:

1)The summer sets aren't available yet.

2)Sets have a 1-2 Euro price mark-up- sets like Thornraxx and Stringer are 10 Euro, Voltix & co are 14 Euro, Black Phantom is 22 Euro.

That being said, it's interesting to note that Stormer XL, who was listed as $24,99 at Toy Fair, is priced at 22 Euro like 19,99 Euro set Black Phantom.

Then there is Speeda Demon. He was $34,99 at Toy Fair, right? He's priced at 33,50 Euro there.

In conclusion, I hope this indicates for Europe a 19,99/29,99 Euro price tag for Stormer and Speeda respectively, since I feel 24,99/34,99 Euro would be too much for them.

Oh, and Speeda Demon became "Speeda Daemon Spade". Which I like quite a bit, actually, but I wonder where it came from.