Review: 7170 Jimi Stringer

[Ratbat]

I've been a Bionicle fan since the beginning, so I was sad to see it go. However, over the years, I felt as if the story got overly complex, and lost it's charm. Even though I'm sad to see it go, I'm quite excited for Hero Factory. It's a fresh new start, which I'm very happy about.

NOTE: I used Perfect Touch Tech. on my camera. It essentially brightens the picture, bringing out more of the details, but it did offset the colors just a little bit.

Set Name: Jimi Stringer

Set #: 7170

Piece Count: 17

Price: $7.99 USD

The Canister

Not too much to say. The canister is the same as the Stars canisters, but the lid is new.

The Pieces

Most of the parts are new or recolors, excluding the three black ball sockets, and the head.

Building Process

The building process is very easy, and will only take a minute. The small Bionicle (Now HF) sets have never been about the construction, so no surprises here.

Completed Figure

Stringer looks badass, with his giant arm cannon, and that "I hate everything" glare. Even though his profile would say otherwise, I can't help but think that this guy is always in a bad mood, despite being one of the heroes.

Back view:

The new torso piece looks great from the back. His feet also have what look to be some thrusters on the back.

Some close ups:

The helmet looks to have a small flood light on the side, along with a communicator, and a speaker.

The chest armor is great. I like how it was made specifically for Stringer, with the speakers on each side. The hero core in the center really finishes it off nicely.

The legs use the same limbs as the arms, but with some armor over them. The feet look good as well.

The arm cannon is what really drew me to get Stringer first. The arm under all the armor is shorter than the other arm, but if it was the same length, than I think the piece would be just a bit too long. It looks more practical than the other two, which I like. Unfortunately, this figure's biggest problem comes from this piece. From this angle, it looks great. However, from the other side...

It's completely hollow.

I understand why making it hollow is a better choice as far as production costs go, but I really do wish that they could have done something to make it look just a little better.

Articulation

Stringer has eight points of articulation. It doesn't allow for a plethora of poses, but I don't see this guy doing much acrobatics, as much just shooting everything in sight.

Conclusion

Jimi Stringer succeeds at being an action figure, but if the hollow cannon arm bugs you, then I'd recommend looking at getting one of the rookies.

Edited August 4, 2010 by Ratbat
Indexed and poll added

[Flare]

Its a pretty neat figure, but it looks pretty much like a simple bionicle to me.

[Nick Wolfe]

I like it. The hollow arm really bugs me though, that's why I'm not sure if i want to get him or not. I also like that his name is Jimi and he has huge badass rock speakers build into his armor and helmet. He should have come with a token guitar and CD of Purple Haze.

Edited August 4, 2010 by Nick Wolfe

[Aanchir]

Bear in mind that LEGO's never made a tool the size of Stringer's weapon arm that was solid. That would be unbelievably expensive, as well as impractical. Note that something BIONICLE weapons tended to have in common was that they were mostly flat. This reduced their cost greatly, especially since most could be molded with two-piece molds instead of needing sliders. Plus, a thick, solid piece of any sort might not cool properly on the inside, which could make the piece brittle. Hence why LEGO never makes any pieces with plastic that thick.

Making the weapon arms hollow is the only way to keep it thin. Even in system there aren't any huge hunks of plastic with no hollow sides. The only things that come close are large animal molds like the dragon or T-Rex. And those pieces are actually made up of several sections which are put together in the factories so as not to be able to be separated. And each individual section has hollow areas so that the parts aren't ridiculously thick.

To sum up, making the weapon arms any different from how they are now would be next to impossible. The only solution would be if there were two halves-- an "inner arm" and an "outer arm"-- and that would be pretty pointless considering how the parts could hardly be used in any way if not used together.

[vexorian]

Just because the pieces have to be hollow it does not mean the overall design has to be hollow. Stronius' maze is very thick and its finished design is not hollow.

[Ratbat]

*Snip*

I still wish they could have done something, like molding it so an arm piece could attach to the inside. As I said, it doesn't bother too much.

[The Crazy One]

Love him, but I don't get all these complaints about the hollow arms. Name me an armour / weapon without a hollow inside. Sure they could have built the arm inside, but the weapons are so complex, to encorperate the arm would be tricky, and a waste considering it's £7.99.

[prateek]

Nice review. Besides the hollow arm, I think this is now my favourite Rookie

[vexorian]

Love him, but I don't get all these complaints about the hollow arms. Name me an armour / weapon without a hollow inside. Sure they could have built the arm inside, but the weapons are so complex, to encorperate the arm would be tricky, and a waste considering it's £7.99.

It is not about the weapon being hollow but about the hollowness being noticeable and ruining 50% of the poses.

Fixing that mistake would take to just make a second piece for the guitar that attaches to the other one.

[Bundalings]

I have this set, and I really like the aesthetic, but man... that weapon arm really is awful. Not as bad a Preston's, but not nearly as good as Bulk's, which actually has some solidness to it.

I like the rookies a lot more than Alpha Team. Stringer's helmet is awesome, though.

[Aanchir]

Just because the pieces have to be hollow it does not mean the overall design has to be hollow. Stronius' maze is very thick and its finished design is not hollow.

That's two identical pieces, though. To make an arm that worked the same way you'd need two separate molds, as I said-- one for the "inner arm" and one for the "outer arm".

Meanwhile, I'm not saying the hollow arms are a good thing-- as Bunda said, it's OK on Bulk but hideous here. However, Ratbat didn't seem to understand why making a solid one-piece arm would be so bad, and I just wanted to share some of the things I knew about the molding process.

And yes, there might have been other options. I don't know for sure which of them could have been cost-effective, since I don't work for LEGO. Maybe someone can ask Front; for all we know he might have helped design these pieces!

Also, might I add that my dad might get a real kick out of this figure. He works in the sound design business, so I'm sure he'd really be tickled by the details like the control sliders on the weapon-arm.

Edited August 4, 2010 by Aanchir

[Ratbat]

That's two identical pieces, though. To make an arm that worked the same way you'd need two separate molds, as I said-- one for the "inner arm" and one for the "outer arm".

Meanwhile, I'm not saying the hollow arms are a good thing-- as Bunda said, it's OK on Bulk but hideous here. However, Ratbat didn't seem to understand why making a solid one-piece arm would be so bad, and I just wanted to share some of the things I knew about the molding process.

I understand why molding a solid piece would not be a good production choice. I guess what I should have said, was that I wish they could have done something to make at look better. As I said, they could have remolded the piece itself, keeping it hollow, but allow an arm piece to fit inside it.

[Ardros]

Jimi Stringer succeeds at being an action figure, but if the hollow cannon arm bugs you, then I'd recommend looking at getting one of the rookies.

Cool review, I have this set and it is epic. To the above statement, though, you could just purchase another Jimi Stringer and use that arm, as I will.

[Ratbat]

Okay, I think Lego has finally fixed the snapping ball joint issue. I have taken this guy apart ten times at least, and not one balljoint has cracked. All of the joints are still tight as well.

[ShadowWolfHount]

Stringer is a really good set in my opinion and is my most favorite in the 1.0, the color of Black and Orange looks nice with the set and i love the recolor of the Glatorian Hand. The Arm Gun and Helmet look awesome but i am not a big fan of the chest armor but i do like that it fit with the set sonic theme.

Overall the set look really good and i do recommend it.

[ToaJaller78]

D-Don't post on these old topics.