Hero Factory 2013

[BrotherDog]

Ogrum is amazing and a must get for clawfoot fans that want more colors. On that note Scarox would be better if the feet were either gold or green.

Only other suggestion for Scarox is add a shell as his name screams SCARaB! Beetle shell would rock with that head.

[Kalhiki]

Y'know, it may be the pictures, but I feel that the new fire pieces could double as lightning pieces. Y'know, if they were recolored yellow or somesuch.

Kalhiki

[Cap'n Kopaka]

I'm really excited for this next line. Even though they look sorta Bionicley, and the names are very Bionicle as well (as opposed to the hilariously campy Xplode, Splitface, Raw-Jaw, etc.) I'm very impressed by the theme. When I heard the rumors for Rampant Oceans and the ice one I was hoping they weren't true because something I disliked about earlier Hero Factory and some years of Bionicle was themed lines (Bionicle had insect, water, desert, sky, and swamp, and HF had fire and jungle). This line looks like a weird cross between Knight's Kingdom and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

I hope the line doesn't go for this organic feel in any more lines because I can't say I like it all that much compared to Savage Planet, Breakout, etc. but the almost gross-looking parasitic theme reminds me of an aspect of silver-age comic books not touched by Hero Factory: horror pulp fiction. Very Creepshow lookin'.

I'm particularly looking forward to Bruizer, Furno, Breez, and the brown pieces on Ogrum.

[Jetrax99]

I'm really excited for this next line. Even though they look sorta Bionicley, and the names are very Bionicle as well (as opposed to the hilariously campy Xplode, Splitface, Raw-Jaw, etc.) I'm very impressed by the theme. When I heard the rumors for Rampant Oceans and the ice one I was hoping they weren't true because something I disliked about earlier Hero Factory and some years of Bionicle was themed lines (Bionicle had insect, water, desert, sky, and swamp, and HF had fire and jungle). This line looks like a weird cross between Knight's Kingdom and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

I hope the line doesn't go for this organic feel in any more lines because I can't say I like it all that much compared to Savage Planet, Breakout, etc. but the almost gross-looking parasitic theme reminds me of an aspect of silver-age comic books not touched by Hero Factory: horror pulp fiction. Very Creepshow lookin'.

I'm particularly looking forward to Bruizer, Furno, Breez, and the brown pieces on Ogrum.

Well I for would like to see more organic characters, but not in every wave. If they did the whole "the entire galaxy is populated by soley robots" thing from the start it would've went down hill. The introduction of Toxic Reapa and split at least showed us there are organic beings in the HF galaxy and I'd like to see more.

[Cap'n Kopaka]

That's a good point you bring up, Jetrax99. I didn't even think of it that way but personally I'd prefer to see organic characters more scattered. The whole line has a very organic feel and that includes the heroes, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. For the theme which is very thematically organic-feeling (parasites/brains or whatever) it fits, but I just don't want this direction to be followed for all future sets. Not to say it will of course but LAFs tend to follow their own trends for a while. But yeah in a universe very populated with robots, bio-mechs, and organic aliens, it only makes sense that there's the occasional organic-looking villain and might I add that Split and Reapa pulled off that look VERY well. Not sure if Thornraxx was supposed to be organic too but kudos to his designers anyway for designing him in a style that fit his line but still looked very much like a real insect.

[Jetrax99]

That's a good point you bring up, Jetrax99. I didn't even think of it that way but personally I'd prefer to see organic characters more scattered. The whole line has a very organic feel and that includes the heroes, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. For the theme which is very thematically organic-feeling (parasites/brains or whatever) it fits, but I just don't want this direction to be followed for all future sets. Not to say it will of course but LAFs tend to follow their own trends for a while. But yeah in a universe very populated with robots, bio-mechs, and organic aliens, it only makes sense that there's the occasional organic-looking villain and might I add that Split and Reapa pulled off that look VERY well. Not sure if Thornraxx was supposed to be organic too but kudos to his designers anyway for designing him in a style that fit his line but still looked very much like a real insect.

ARGH! TYPO! I can't belive I typed "split" instead of Split-Face and didn't catch it till now! *hits head on desk* But yeah, organic beings every once in a while is a good thing.

[Cap'n Kopaka]

Hehe I just figured you were giving him a nickname. I kinda like it. "Split."

[Cirkit]

Okay, so when I saw the new Heroes and Villains, I almost exploded on account of how excited I was.

Now that I've calmed down a little, here are my thoughts.

Rocka's got a neat sword, and 4M gold(and I assume trans lime green on the shoulder) cladding. He is simple, but sleek, and I love the shield-blades.

Bulk has got some nice trans-orange cladding, and a silver piece of Captain-America armor. I don't get what is up with the drill, the helmet looks a little odd from this angle, and the orange hand looks a little out of place. I would get him for the parts, but not until I see another view of that helmet.

I have mixed views about Breez. I like silver as much as the next guy, but she utilizes way too much of it. The helmet looks interesting, I like the green-lime 'finger' pieces on the torso, and her bow(I assume), but the lack of red in her is a bit off-putting.

I'm noticing a trend with the most recent XLs. Swords seem to be the norm.

All I need to say about Furno XL is that he looks awesome. He's got that sword, the shield with the clever 'H' formed by the two parts, four of those new trans orange parts, and that helmet. Fry my curcuits that is one bad-A helmet. I wonder if that cape is cloth or rubbery.. Only one way to find out :D

The Villains have proven to be an interesting bunch as well. All seem to be latched with some sort of slug, or perhaps the 'brains' as described on the package. They all come in different colors, and all seem to attach to the back of the villain head somehow..

Rocka's opponent, a four-armed guy named Scarox, has a pretty creepy head. Lots of eyes, green 'fangs', and the guy is covered in gold blades and cladding. The fact that it's another yellow-ish guy with four arms is disappointing. Couldn't they have done something bigger, or given him a tail?

Somebody call in the Power Miners Rock Monsters? No? Oh, well this guy looks it.

Bulk's opponent's name is Bruiser, another heavy-hitter, paired well.

The 'rock monster' look is nailed by this guy. He's got rocky armor pieces, a huge spiked rock club for an arm, and a dazzling rock smile which in no way reminds me of Megatron's face in the Transformers movies. I love the uneven look of this guy, especially the 'paw' part on the torso(wonder how they did that?), and the dagger is a nice touch. Certainly the best looking villain of the wave.

Breez has got this guy named Orgum. Gee, wonder what he's supposed to be.

I wasn't expecting brown to make a comeback, and it's nice seeing it in the big fists(Hulk Style), feet, and flail. Earth Green cladding too? My goodness. The tentacle-vine fingers are interesting, but that face.. ugh. If he's meant to be fleshy, fine, but I have mixed feelings about the whole thing.

Lastly, Furno's got a big job to take on in capturing the Demon Lord of the Gnomes, a baddie called Pyrox.

He's got some biiig horns, black is a nice color for those. New orange claws, black Ben-10 hooves, and Earth Red parts.. my.

His face freaks me out, but he interests me a little.

Isn't it odd that none of the characters have Zamor Thornaxx Meteor plasma blasters? I wonder what's up with that? I was expecting one of them to have a shoulder-mounted blaster or something this wave.

The 'brain' on the bags looks like the Visorak of yesteryear. I don't know anything about the story, but it looks to be an interesting one. I just hope Breez has a big role to make up for the mysterious lack of one in "Breakout".

And those are my thoughts for now. :)

By the way, sorry for such a long read. I had intended it to be shorter but.. I talk a lot :/

Edited October 12, 2012 by Cirkit

[Jetrax99]

Furno's cape better be cloth, and not the stiff kind used for minifigs, or I won't be using it. Also, I hope these guys finally have the remolded glatorian head, as I've been wanting to replace the old ones on my sets before they break.

[Aanchir]

I just hope that the Heroes themselves come with brain slugs, like the villains this year had hero cores.

Doubtful, since the villain sets have a picture of the brain slugs with a bit "x1" next to it on their canisters. If they were going to be in the Heroes as well I'd think they'd be promoting them the same way.

They would make sense as a new theme or as a Bionicle reboot. But they don't really fit in HF. Will likely be buying many of these buy only for the bricks. I don't like that the heroes all have the same face :/

What do you mean by "all have the same face"? They all do seem to have identical face-shields (besides Furno's, which as far as I can tell is printed), but underneath that they have unique helmet designs that strongly evoke their classic helmets. Generally nice designs if you ask me.

I'm surprised that so many people are complaining about Ogrum's mask looking fleshy or organic. It does look out-of-place in Hero Factory, but I wouldn't describe it either of those ways-- its angular design reminds me much more of stylized Asian masks than of actual living creatures. In particular the texture reminds me of the Dragon King Nuo mask on which the creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender modeled the much smoother, more streamlined mask used for the Blue Spirit. Though of course the scowl on Ogrum's face is much more reminiscent of traditional depictions of ogres, demons, and Oni than of the typically grinning face of Dragon King Nuo. The only part of Ogrum's mask that really looks organic to me is its nose, and that's the part we can see in the least detail.

[DraikNova]

Here is my opinion on the sets:

Breez is awesome, with her silver blades (Ninjago's getting them in gold BTW) and beatifull trans green plating.

Bruizer seems too off-balance for me, but HF doesn't have enough grey, so I'll be getting him anyway.

Bulk looks very weird, but has a good shield. As others have said, his drill looks pretty silly (why are flick-fire missiles even sneeking into constraction?).

Furno's shield makes up for all the flaws in this line with it's H pattern. His helmet however is horrible and looks like the visor was stuck directly onto his 1.0 mask. His multi-part chest (are those gunmetal mace parts?), awesome flames and blade are perfectly executed. The cape is a nice touch.

GREEN AND BROWN.

I called it. Anyway, Ogrum's face screams "SHREK RAGE!". I'm glad about the colors, since trans lime is rare and brown and dark green haven't appeared in HF before, but why does his left hand not need fingers?

Pyrox is the hellish character, with a dragonoid face and charred body. I love his trans orange fingers and black Ben 10 feet.

Rocka has an akward helmet, but his equipment is great, as I am in need of a gold shield. Combined with the hex shield, that would be perfect. Plus, he has gunmetal boots.

Scarox is my favorite. He's got the mask that saved Core Hunter from being my least favorite 2012 set, which, being in gold, having red eyes and trans lime poisonous-looking claws on it along with those on the main piece, is pretty awesome. Plus, he has four gold blades, plus two gold 4 length shells. He looks like he has an interesting build too.

The slugs are pretty cool in my opinion. They are just plain creepy. Karf Oohlu's going to have a field day with these.

Also, Kalhki, you've got a pretty good point, the flames would look great as lightning.

Edited October 12, 2012 by DraikNova

[vexorian]

I think the most interesting advance is the way those exo force arms were added to the hero cores. It is either a new torso piece with handle bars like Shakar mentions in his images, or it might be a separate piece like that is attached to the back. The later would probably involve a solution to the empty backs.

BTW, I find it hard to believe the heroes are larger than the villains or vice versa in this wave. Maybe they are all (except furno) the same price?

Edited October 12, 2012 by vexorian

[DraikNova]

I too wonder what the connection of the exo-force arms are.

[Aanchir]

Here is my opinion on the sets:

Breez is awesome, with her silver blades (Ninjago's getting them in gold BTW) and beatifull trans green plating.

Not just in Ninjago-- Scarox also has them in gold.

Bulk looks very weird, but has a good shield. As others have said, his drill looks pretty silly (why are flick-fire missiles even sneeking into constraction?).

Because they're an action feature that is generally unobtrusive and doesn't require any kind of bulky launcher. I've never had a problem with the current style of flick-fire missile, as they're basically the easiest shooting function to incorporate well in any set (and as such, also the easiest shooting function to remove or replace without affecting the look of a set) and generally far superior to the many ridiculous styles of flick-fire missiles they replaced.

I too wonder what the connection of the exo-force arms are.

I imagine it's just a new torso style. The Exo-Force arms aren't long enough to wrap all the way around the body, and you can see on Bulk's image where they seem to attach.

[TheRedGuy]

Why do I always love what most people hate and hate what most people love? :P I also notice how people like the simplicity of the heroes. I for one dislike that.

[lemmyfan396]

Hmmm,maybe Furno XL will cost 25 euros... ( Sorry for the american people in here ).

Why?Since the normal heroes cost 10 euro and are worth 400 Brain Attack points,

Furno XL is worth 1000 points,so maybe 25 euros?Or you'll get 200 free points xD.

[DraikNova]

I imagine it's just a new torso style. The Exo-Force arms aren't long enough to wrap all the way around the body, and you can see on Bulk's image where they seem to attach.

Yes, but it appears to use on that picture.

Anyway, I think the topic should be renamed HF 2013 Discussion.

[Aanchir]

Why do I always love what most people hate and hate what most people love? :P I also notice how people like the simplicity of the heroes. I for one dislike that.

The simplicity of the heroes is so-so. I don't like sets that are needlessly complex-- to me that's just a lack of design economy-- but I do have to say I preferred the Breakout heroes in most respects. They had a lot of things other than just their helmets and weapons that made their designs look unique, and they were typically more well-armored than some of this year's Heroes.

Yes, but it appears to use on that picture.

Not to me. But I suppose we'll see when bigger pictures come out, or perhaps when the actual sets start showing up.

[Bfahome]

Yes, but it appears to use on that picture.

No, it's a new torso piece. The molding around the core connection and the lower abdomen give it away. Plus that piece isn't nearly wide enough to hook Exo-Force arms around HF torso armor.

Anyway, I'm liking what I see for the most part. I look forward to seeing the brain slugs in all their glory.

I don't really like the random brown on Breez's bow thing, and the mini Piraka spines on Ogrum clash a bit too much with his otherwise smooth look. Also Scarox's arms look a bit too short.

But I love all the new shell coloring. And all the yummy transparent pieces. I think my favorites right now are Rocka and Bruizer. Rocka's nice and simple with the trans-sword (I like that they're making more widely-useful sword molds) and gold Captain America shield, and I really like the clawed chest in general. Bruizer reminds me of Stronius, but with the club kind of fused into his right arm and asymmetrical armor.

[Krulis]

I love Pyrox fire demon/minotaur theme. Out of heroes Rocka is my favourite.

[Rocketbilly]

I think the hero heads will be the 2.0 and 3.0 series heads as opposed to the Glatorian heads. They have the same chins from what I can see and it would make sense, what with the helmets and visors being seperate pieces.

Breez's weapon looks like it's going to be very floppy. I don't like it when weapons use pins as opposed to axles for weapons that really look like they're supposed to be static.

I expect the game codes will be printed on the brain slug creaure things for the villains and on the cores again for the Heroes. It would be nice if the Heroes contained a brain slug withthe code on instead but like Aanchir pointed out, it seems likely that that would be pointed out on the packaging. Furthermore a brain slug looks like it would be more expensive to produce than a Hero Core...and TLG already have the means to print the cores with codes anyway.

Just a few random musings.

Edited October 12, 2012 by Rocketbilly

[Shakar]

Somebody mentioned that Ogrum looks like a Japanese monster. I believe he was referring to Oni. I have to say, this made me like him much more, though Pyrox is my favourite (he's a dark red dragon humanoid, for Stormer's sake!). He and Ogrum do look like they came out of some folktale, which is actually really cool.

Scarox definitely has the scariest face (it looks like it belongs to a mutated Mantax..and Mantax was pretty darn scary on his own)..I just wish he were better designed- I'm sure I'll revamp him. Bruizer looks cool, but I'm still not sold on the face (those teeth look kind of silly) and the rocky look (they pulled it off well, I'm just not used to elemental aesthetics in HF).

On the Heroes:

Somebody mentioned the 2013 sets look more colourful than the Breakout line, but I think the new Heroes are less colourful than the Breakout team. A sense of unity is nice, but the 2012 Heroes already did a good job on that- they all have the same torso (except Stormer), the same core style and colour and common weapon equipment (the plasma gun, which I'm going to miss a lot, and the cuffs, which I'm not going to miss much).

These sets have some spots of one or two colours that makes them stand out, but then it's silver, gunmetal, silver, gunmetal... it's like the 2008 Nuva all over again, except these are much better in most aspects anyway. I'm going to miss crazy combinations like Breakout Bulk's gunmetal+silver+orange+gold+tr. green. I LOVE all dat transparent cladding however.

Also, I'm not really sure if we needed a whole new torso plate. The Breakout one was fine I think, especially since I wanted more colours of it (*coughsilvercough*). The abdomen area feels weirdly organic, (especially if compared to the smooth aesthetics the Heroes keep using), not to mention those clawed mecha arms pointing at the cores look kind of...evil.

But I do like the handlebars (I'm with Aanchir on this- they're part of the piece) feature due to its potential, so rather than getting rid of the new plate I would've preferred if it were reduced to a chest armour, like the 2.0/3.0 Hero torsos.

Lastly, the helmets seem to be rehashes of the 1.0 versions. Breez's and Rocka's especially look good due to their similarity to the originals. Bulk's and Furno's kind of look awkward, but I'll wait for new pictures. The new visors are very cool, although I've yet to figure out the colour of Furno's.

On the prices- all Heroes except Furno are 8,99 Euro sets (9,99 Euro in some countries like Germany), like, say, Stringer. This is obvious from the short forelegs and lower arms. One thing does set them from Breakout small Heroes- that is, their lower leg bones are the longer ones used in Stormer 2.0 and Rocka 3.0, so they're obviously a bit taller.

The Villains were marked as 12,99 Euro in that site where we got the set list from, though I'm not sure if they're worth the price. Bruizer seems to be the most complex one, but the others? Scarox barely looks more complex than XT4.

[Rocketbilly]

The Villains were marked as 12,99 Euro in that site where we got the set list from, though I'm not sure if they're worth the price. Bruizer seems to be the most complex one, but the others? Scarox barely looks more complex than XT4.

You make a fair point - I expect that perhaps the brain creature is an expensive part to manufacture. That would lead to the sets being more costly. ALSO we're yet to see the backs of these figures. From what I can tell there's some sort of Technic assembly behind some of them. There may be more to them than meets the eye (and I don't mean they're going to transform)...

I do hope that the Hero torso shell and the area on the chest around the core with the robot arms will be a seperate piece - but they look to be one and the same, which is really disappointing. It makes them less customisable and also I really don't like how the abdomen looks. It looks too skinny for my tastes, and I've been fine with the previous torso pieces whereas I know many have considered them too skinny. Looks like they've finally crossed the line for me

Edited October 12, 2012 by Rocketbilly

[Aanchir]

You make a fair point - I expect that perhaps the brain creature is an expensive part to manufacture. That would lead to the sets being more costly. ALSO we're yet to see the backs of these figures. From what I can tell there's some sort of Technic assembly behind some of them. There may be more to them than meets the eye (and I don't mean they're going to transform)...

There's definitely an ugly Technic assembly behind Scarox, but I can't see any evidence that it's much more than a lousy way to attach his additional limbs. The series as a whole is using more Technic than usual for many things, though, and in a lot of cases that's a good thing. Just not on Scarox, who's ugly enough without exposed Technic that seems to serve little practical purpose.

Anyway, I guess I might as well share this 5616x3744 image here, even though it's not directly related to 2013 and not quite as impressive as it was before we saw pics of the new sets. It's row after row of the part shelves in the LEGO design headquarters in Billund, but what's noteworthy is that there are many elements in colors we haven't seen in sets.

First pair of shelves:

• 2.0 Hero Core (92199) in Earth Blue, from the look of it.
  
• 8M Fire Villain engine block shell (92215) in Silver Metallic.
  
• Lots of them preliminary Breakout plasma launcher lower halves (90564). You know, the ones that are shorter than the Thornax Launcher but have two connection points. These will probably never show up in sets except perhaps as a different mold since they have the same Design ID as the regular version, as evidenced in an older version of LDD.
  
• 3M shells (90641) in Bright Green (Green Lantern ultrabuild's primary color), Medium Lilac (Joker ultrabuild's primary color), Transparent Fluorescent Reddish-Orange (Trans-Neon Orange, probably from Bruizer and the new Bulk), and Transparent Blue.
  
• 4M shells (90640) in Tr. Blue, White, and Titanium Metallic (Gunmetal).
  
• 5M shell (90639) in Medium Lilac.
  
• 6M shells (90638) in White, Bright Red, and Tr. Fluor. Reddish-Orange.
  
• 8M shells (90636) in Black, Flame Yellowish Orange (Keetorange), and Titanium Metallic.
  
• 6M "C" shell (90650, the type from Breakout Surge, Breez, Furno, and Rocka's shins), in Tr. Blue.
  
• 4x7x5 "T" shells (90649, the type on Drilldozer's chest and shoulders) in Tr. Fluor. Reddish-Orange, Bright Yellow, and what could be either Medium Stone Grey (Light bley), Silver (pre-2011 silver) or an off-color Silver Metallic.
  
• 5x8x3 "T" shells (90652, the 2.0 torso shell) in Bright Red, Bright Green, Dark Green (Mata Green), and Earth Green (Metru Green). The Bright Red one is seemingly going to appear in Pyrox, and the Earth Green one in Ogrum, but we've seen no signs of the Bright Green and Dark Green ones.
  
• 2.0 Hero feet (90661) in Medium Lilac.

Second pair of shelves:

• 4M "A" beam (90611, ankle/wrist) in Medium Stone Grey.
  
• 6M "A" beam (90608) in Medium Azur (Thornraxx's new color).
  
• 7M "A" beam (90607) in Medium Lilac.
  
• 6M "B" beam (90616, knee/elbow) in Medium Stone Grey.
  
• 7x9 torso beam (90626) in Bright Orange (Mata Orange).
  
• 9x11 torso beam (90623) in Bright Red.

That's it for Hero Factory parts, though there are also some System parts like the never-released Ninjago spinner "boost" element intended for characters with short legs, a 6M chain in Transparent Fluorescent Green (Trans-Neon Green), the Ninjago Snake Staff in Silver Metallic, and the white-printed rock wedge (94867) in Transparent Fluorescent Blue, never released in sets but visible on some prototypes Mark Stafford has displayed for Zane's snowmobile in the Ninjago theme. Always neat to know that even if we haven't gotten some of these parts in these colors in sets, TLG's designers have at least at one point been open to the possibility.

[Jetrax99]

Are they holding out on us?