461 replies to this topic

[Front]

The new chest shell (armor) is huge. It connects on the two outer balls on a wide torso. Hard to use on small mocs, but quite cool for large experiments. In a way it is similar to the drilldozer shell, regarding connections.
I actually used it today on a moc I made at work today. It ended up covering the back of a robot kind of thing.
I moved back to the HF office friday, not working on the project though, but somewhere I have to have a table It is the best office in all of the LEGO company. This also allows me to play more Gran Turismo 5 on PS3 and 55 inch screen with my friend and HF/Bionicle designer Jeffrey. I guess I don't have to tell you that I do use the handbrake a lot on in Monaco   Dark lines all over the place, and a lot of power slides.  
Did some secret stuff and some system parts while I was away from my favorite toy line, the new building system used in e.g. HF.

Erland, Part Design

Edited by Front, 21 March 2012 - 12:22 AM.

[Aanchir]

Front, on 21 March 2012 - 12:18 AM, said:

The new chest shell (armor) is huge. It connects on the two outer balls on a wide torso. Hard to use on small mocs, but quite cool for large experiments. In a way it is similar to the drilldozer shell, regarding connections.
I actually used it today on a moc I made at work today. It ended up covering the back of a robot kind of thing.
I moved back to the HF office friday, not working on the project though, but somewhere I have to have a table It is the best office in all of the LEGO company. This also allows me to play more Gran Turismo 5 on PS3 and 55 inch screen with my friend and HF/Bionicle designer Jeffrey. I guess I don't have to tell you that I do use the handbrake a lot on in Monaco   Dark lines all over the place, and a lot of power slides.  
Did some secret stuff and some system parts while I was away from my favorite toy line, the new building system used in e.g. HF.

Erland, Part Design

I keep thinking that the large chest shell from Hulk would be cool on a vehicle MOC, perhaps as the hood of a car. I'd love to someday make a Hero Factory car (or hovercar) using the new building system, as I think it could fulfill the purpose well. Yes, it's mostly based on joint pieces, but in The LEGO Ideas Book one of the builds featured is an assembly line featuring a car body made almost entirely from click hinges. I think a similar build with Hero Factory beams and shells could be similarly effective, even if it still featured a lot of Technic at various places.

[Shakar]

So much for my theory about the Hulk chest shell attaching via two small pins, but a Drilldozer chest armour style (what happened to that piece, by the way? It used only once in its debut set!) connection is fine too. I thought the blue shells on Stormer XL's torso attached via the ball joints on the shoulders, but I guess they'll connect via another method.

[Aanchir]

Shakar, on 21 March 2012 - 09:27 PM, said:

So much for my theory about the Hulk chest shell attaching via two small pins, but a Drilldozer chest armour style (what happened to that piece, by the way? It used only once in its debut set!) connection is fine too. I thought the blue shells on Stormer XL's torso attached via the ball joints on the shoulders, but I guess they'll connect via another method.

They do attach by the shoulders, but Stormer (like most of the Super Heroes sets) has two torso beams, one in front of the other. Just as in the Hulk set, the chest is attached by the front torso's shoulders while the actual arms and shoulder armor attach by the rear torso's shoulders.

[Shakar]

Ah, that explains a lot, thanks! So that is how the mid torso bones attach, and I guess that torso beam also allows the back armour to attach (looks like he uses a white 2.0 torso shell, just like in the TV show).

Stormer owes a lot to the Ultrabuild Superheros, it seems. I may not like the sets as whole, but they brought great recolours, the sweet new friction joints and the new chest armour (getting my hands on those two pieces is one of the many reasons I'm anxious to get Black Phantom) and some nice building techniques. I actually hope the line continues in 2013.

[Lockon Stratos]

Darth Vader, on 20 March 2012 - 09:13 PM, said:

Mine are slated to arrive Saturday. I will have photos up that night most likely.

Glorious. Looking forward to seeing pics!

[Darth Vader]

So I actually like Captain America a lot in person. His shoulder armour works surprsingly well when it's not floating terribly like in all the promo photos. It lays flat really easily, and it looks great. Iron Man is cool, and I like how that chest piece makes it feel like his torso armour goes up over his shoulders like the movie version. And the Hulk is terrible.

[Lockon Stratos]

Darth Vader, on 24 March 2012 - 10:35 PM, said:

So I actually like Captain America a lot in person. His shoulder armour works surprsingly well when it's not floating terribly like in all the promo photos. It lays flat really easily, and it looks great. Iron Man is cool, and I like how that chest piece makes it feel like his torso armour goes up over his shoulders like the movie version. And the Hulk is terrible.

Very, very nice. Thanks for these! Might I ask when we might see reviews of them, or a link to a gallery perhaps?  

[Darth Vader]

Lockon Stratos, on 25 March 2012 - 01:12 AM, said:

Very, very nice. Thanks for these! Might I ask when we might see reviews of them, or a link to a gallery perhaps?  

Okay, more photos:










| |

Edited by Darth Vader, 26 March 2012 - 06:56 AM.

[Shakar]

Thank you for the photos!

Captain America looks suprisingly good, all the cladding choices work really well together. Ironman looks great, as well. Both look bulky and well proportioned.

One note about the legs: I know the DC figures use the same design, but I have to say that the Stormer 2.0 lower legs work so much better than the longer bones of the 13 Euro Heroes+Splitface. The cladding just looks better that way, as it covers the leg more and makes the figure look less spindly.

Overall, both look wonderful and- I dare to say (and I could say the same thing about Green Lantern)- some of the building techniques and bone choices surpass those of the Hero Factory medium sized sets this year.

And as you said, the Hulk is indeed terrible. What a wasted design. By the way, is he using a large torso piece (like the one in Black Phantom and other larger sets)? Looking at that and all the various bones, it seems he is a decent parts pack at the very least. Still, I doubt I'll buy him.

Edited by Shakar, 25 March 2012 - 01:37 AM.

[The Iron Knight]

I actually think that the Hulk has a decent torso design; I personally like it more than Stormer's, especially with how the arms/shoulders have been handled. It's not perfect, but definitely a neat concept. That said, I think it could use one of the HF torso shells on the back.

Edited by The Iron Knight, 25 March 2012 - 02:08 AM.

[vexorian]

I can't believe it but The Hulk managed to disappoint me more than before. The back finally explains the great mystory about why they chose to give him armor. Without the silver things, the completely unorganic messed up look of his back would make even less sense. Now at least we can say that it is a cyborg hulk that lost the back skin.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

vexorian, on 25 March 2012 - 03:25 AM, said:

I can't believe it but The Hulk managed to disappoint me more than before. The back finally explains the great mystory about why they chose to give him armor. Without the silver things, the completely unorganic messed up look of his back would make even less sense. Now at least we can say that it is a cyborg hulk that lost the back skin.

In that case just put a normal torso shell on the back, better yet, all those gunmetal pieces could be lime. We haven't had a lime torso yet (besides Breez 4.0, where even then it's a different kind of torso plate).

[DarkSurgeXL]

I just love Iron Man and Cap, can't wait to get  them.

[Shakar]

I'm liking Iron Man way more than I should. He's just so....bulky. Breakout Bulk is cool, but I wonder how he would look like with some of Iron Man's building techniques.

[vexorian]

What I don't like about Iron Man is the skeletal wrists. I think the smaller bones would have worked there as he does not really need that much mobility in there.

[Aanchir]

The reason for the metallic shells on Hulk, as with his lack of back armor, is obviously a matter of cutting costs. In the case of the lack of back armor, that's probably because they had to cut corners to keep him at the same price point as the others (similar number of pieces to some of the others, but those pieces tend to be quite large), whereas the use of titanium metallic instead of lime shells on Hulk's shoulders is probably because they exhausted their budget on new parts and parts in new colors in other sets. Of course, they could have given him 5M lime shells on his shoulders since those are used elsewhere in the model, but I guess they decided that if they were going to have the "power armor" be a conspicuously different color they might as well try and spread it out some.

I agree, Captain America is looking much better now than he did in official images. Hulk's new chest piece and Captain America's kneepads look very cool as well. I'll definitely want to see what Hulk's chest piece looks like over a Breakout-style Hero torso... it kind of bugs me that Stormer XL is inconsistent with his teammates in that regard.

Edited by Aanchir, 25 March 2012 - 04:31 PM.

[SpiderSpaceman]

I threw together a "HULK XL" in LDD  

And that's the link, by the way.

Disclaimer:

• He's suffering from a serious medical condition known as Unsightly Butt Jut.
  
• Also, he does not have the part-of-your-back-you-see-from-in-front-(if-you're-obscenely-muscular)* that official release hulk notably does have.
  
• Some of the parts don't come colored properly, so in real life I'll have to use the 'power armor' excuse and do some substitutions.
  
• A black phantom chest belongs tucked under the head, and the head is obviously a placeholder.
  
• Limbs are lacking a few connections that I'm still trying to work out - and there's a couple spots in particular that the friction enhancer is very obviously a necessity. .

Hope y'all enjoy it. If anyone does it better, please feel free to take me to school.

Picture down here

Spoiler

EDIT: *Lats.

Edited by SpiderSpaceman, 26 March 2012 - 03:34 AM.

[BrotherDog]

SpiderSpaceman, on 26 March 2012 - 03:01 AM, said:

I threw together a "HULK XL" in LDD  

And that's the link, by the way.

Disclaimer:

• He's suffering from a serious medical condition known as Unsightly Butt Jut.
  
• Also, he does not have the part-of-your-back-you-see-from-in-front-(if-you're-obscenely-muscular) that official release hulk notably does have.
  
• Some of the parts don't come colored properly, so in real life I'll have to use the 'power armor' excuse and do some substitutions.
  
• A black phantom chest belongs tucked under the head, and the head is obviously a placeholder.
  
• Limbs are lacking a few connections that I'm still trying to work out - and there's a couple spots in particular that the friction enhancer is very obviously a necessity. .

Hope y'all enjoy it. If anyone does it better, please feel free to take me to school.

Picture down here

Spoiler

That is awesome and is so very Hulk.

[Darth Vader]

Just so you guys know if some of the photos load in here as "This picture is currently unavailable" over the next couple of days it's because I'm replacing them on Flickr with actual set-review quality photos for my BZP set reviews, and not these "I just got these quick snaps" photos I had. The Captain America photos are updated, but Hulk and Iron Man might go down for a bit tonight or tomorrow. Depending on when I feel like spending that much time in Photoshop editing.

Also, if any of you have anything to do with the Rusherofactory.com site, let them know that's why the photos they snatched without properly linking to are gone.

Edited by Darth Vader, 26 March 2012 - 07:04 AM.

[Cirkit]

The new Superheroes look great! Save maybe The Hulk, but I'll get to him in a minute.

I thought the Captain would look odd with the armor, but it looks like it suits him well. It's not overly-bulky, but it's not thin and floaty either. The kneecaps and the shield look great, and I'm glad that the wings were included on the side of his head- I almost thought they forgot to include them when I was looking at the promo pics! Great looking guy, one I really would like to pick up.

Iron Man is next, and I really think the HF system suits him(or at least Stark's armor). I don't if it was intentional or not, but the friction-cups on the legs make the legs look more proportionate to the rest of the body, and I quite like the look. The red and gold armor looks great, I'm thrilled about the torsos for shoulder armor- Not only do they provide us with two additional new, red Hero Torsos, they cover the shoulders and give that rounded feel to the armor, like in the movies, and I really like how that is. Printing for the face and torso armor is great, as is the ammo chain.. For the life of me, I can't figure out how the trans icy-blue part that looks like it's shooting energy bolts attatches. I see the red plus axle, and then..? I am confused.
  Overall the set is brilliant, and is my favorite of the series.

And finally, I move on to the Incredibly Horrific Hulk.

Seriously.

From the front I think he looks alright. The new upper-torso armor works alright, the head looks comically-angry, like the Hulk, and he's got proper big fists to match the character. He's got blue cladding for pants, stubby green legs, and green feet, all which match the Hulk we know and tolerate. Again, not bad, our badly-tempered Hero looks okay, but then I see the metallic 'armor' used for the torso, and I have to wonder.. why? Surely the designers could have used a Breez torso without print, that would have worked better, or even just a piece of green, non-torso cladding. Here, that metallic piece looks odd, much more so than the shoulders, which I could get if they were armor (or doors ripped off cars and slapped to his shoulders), but not the torso. I mean, really. The upper arms are a bit of an issue too, again you can use an unprinted lime-green new Hero torso for the arms, you did it with Iron Man after all, why not Hulk? Again, if I try really hard, I could imagine some form of armor there, or maybe it's just that our big green buddy's been burnt or something. From the front, it's not too bad.

Then, we proceed to the back.

I had a literal facepalm moment. Not kidding. Ate a bagel, raged a little bit, then sat down and stared AT THE BACK.
It's not like there's anything wrong with having a gaping hole in the 'armor' there.. Typing on a computer, it's hard to be sarcastic. I bet kids might have complained while 'testing' the toys that the Hulk with no back makes him look (vulnerable and) weak, and I would agree with them. It just looks so empty back there. One piece of gunmetal Hero Torso cladding would have cured that up, or a Savage Planet paw piece, like used on the back of Iron Man. There is no excuse for that decision to have the back left open like that. Take away some of those bone pieces just hanging there on the back, and slap a piece of torso armor on the back. It's just that simple. I'd be fine with set as it is, with the gunmetal armor and the comical face and the lack of fingers if there was just some REAL BACK ARMOR.

Honestly. I'd buy the set for parts, but if I had to choose only two sets out of the three, I'd leave Hulk out. He's got lots of bone pieces, and recolors, but in the end it's just not worth it.

Overall, I think TLG made a good effort. A few simple improvements on one of the figures would make the set great, maybe even lessen the price, but for now it's.. okay. I do hope this isn't the end of the Superheroes series, and I look forward to seeing what Lego's got planned as time moves on.

Cirkit

[Shakar]

Cirkit, on 26 March 2012 - 07:53 PM, said:

Iron Man is next, and I really think the HF system suits him(or at least Stark's armor). I don't if it was intentional or not, but the friction-cups on the legs make the legs look more proportionate to the rest of the body, and I quite like the look.

Honestly. I'd buy the set for parts, but if I had to choose only two sets out of the three, I'd leave Hulk out. He's got lots of bone pieces, and recolors, but in the end it's just not worth it.

Overall, I think TLG made a good effort. A few simple improvements on one of the figures would make the set gre sat, maybe even lessen the price, but for now it's.. okay. I do hope this isn't the end of the Superheroes series, and I look forward to seeing what Lego's got planned as time moves on. Cirkit

TThe secret behind Iron Man (and the others, save Hulk) aren't the upper legs: the friction cups are attached to the short forelegs, so the upper legs end up being about as long as the 13 Euro Hero Factory sets. What makes Iron Man and the other 4 so well proportioned looking are the lower legs, which aren't the ones with two holes from those HF sets but the ones with one hole- in other words, Stormer 2.0's lower legs. And this is one of the points in which the Ultrabuild heroes beat HF: the legs look much better that way, IMO. I know I wasn't the first one who realized this, by the way.

Hulk doesn't even have recoloured parts, aside from the hand pieces. The lime bones debuted in Breakout Surge, and the lime 5M shells debuted in Scorpio last year. All the other nice stuff can be bought over Pick a Brick for more reasonable prices. Aside from the new chestplate and the recoloured paws/hands, I agree, he's just not worth it.

I hope they make more Ultrabuild sets, too. Ghost Rider would rock (and if they made his bike, too...oh my).

[CabooseBM]

I find Iron Man to be the weakest set here, he's just so dull, as far as construction goes.

I really like the Hulk, on the other hand, he's got a very, very interesting construction going on there, and aside from the shoulder armor, it's all very necessary for his build.

[Lockon Stratos]

IMO the new bubble shoulder armour pieces would be perfect for Iron Man, I wonder why Lego didn't use those. Still a definite purchase, though.

[xxlrocka]

CabooseBM, on 26 March 2012 - 11:19 PM, said:

I find Iron Man to be the weakest set here, he's just so dull, as far as construction goes.

I really like the Hulk, on the other hand, he's got a very, very interesting construction going on there, and aside from the shoulder armor, it's all very necessary for his build.

I think I must be having a nightmare.