Thinking of getting into HF

[Snark]

So Bionicle and HF have always been things I was interested in, but never actually got into.

I'm thinking of taking he plunge into HF, but was just wondering, is there anything I should know before throwing money into this? In particular, I've heard that HF pieces have a propensity to break over time, any truth to that? Thanks.

[Zachattacx]

So Bionicle and HF have always been things I was interested in, but never actually got into.

I'm thinking of taking he plunge into HF, but was just wondering, is there anything I should know before throwing money into this? In particular, I've heard that HF pieces have a propensity to break over time, any truth to that? Thanks.

Well Snark,HF pieces have never broken..well at least on me.Are you a brick fan?As in lego bricks

Edited September 16, 2012 by Zachattacx

[Mesonak]

The initial wave of sets released in the summer of 2010 contained parts that were easily prone to breaking. With the parts redesign in early 2011, however, all further pieces, with the exception of the eye piece used for the Breakout waves as well as the two-toed clawed feet used in Toxic Reapa and Waspix (until recently - the piece was redesigned), are very resilient. I've only had one piece break, and it's an upper leg piece that I received from the Ordeal of Fire line. And I'd attribute that to being at the bottom of a large pile of limbs for several months and being crushed underneath their weight rather than inferior piece quality.

Other than that, there's really nothing you need to know. You get what you see with HF; ball and socket based build system that, while simple at first, is really quite complex below the surface. It's a pretty cool theme and such.

Edited September 16, 2012 by Mesonak

[Zachattacx]

The initial wave of sets released in the summer of 2010 contained parts that were easily prone to breaking. With the parts redesign in early 2011, however, all further pieces are very strong. I've only had one piece break, and it's an upper leg piece that I received from the Ordeal of Fire line. And I'd attribute that to being at the bottom of a large pile of limbs for several months and being crushed underneath their weight rather than inferior piece quality.

Other than that, there's really nothing you need to know. You get what you see with HF; ball and socket based build system that, while simple at first, is really quite complex below the surface. It's a pretty cool theme and such.

Could have not said it better.Simple as that.

[Snark]

Thanks for the answers guys. Good to know the new pieces are sturdier. Just one last question then, do the pieces grow brittle over time or through extensive use? I will likely be constantly taking figures apart and rebuilding them into new designs, so will that possibly cause any damage?

[Mesonak]

Not from my experience. With heavy usage, the pieces will loosen up, yeah, and obviously constant usage will cause them to wear down faster than if they were left alone. But from my experience, and create MoCs quite often with my sets, the pieces do not grow brittle. You should be fine.

[DraikNova]

Within all my Hero Factory MOCs, the only thing that broke was a technic connector, so you should be fine. They are very strong, something I think I have definitely confirmed by making a 1-foot long T-rex solely out of the bone pieces and the aforementioned technic connector.

[MakutaNocturn]

HF is cool for MOC. BTW, IMO people should try making their own... themes :P Nobody can end it, you create the story and characters etc. Pretty cool thing to do.

[Aanchir]

So Bionicle and HF have always been things I was interested in, but never actually got into.

I'm thinking of taking he plunge into HF, but was just wondering, is there anything I should know before throwing money into this? In particular, I've heard that HF pieces have a propensity to break over time, any truth to that? Thanks.

Post-2010 Hero Factory parts in general actually tend not to break. There are exceptions-- some sets will use older styles of joints, and you'll want to be slightly more careful than usual with those (examples include the head piece used in the 2010 and 2012 Hero sets-- any parts that use a joint resembling this one should be used with caution). But for the most part the "breaking joints" issue from BIONICLE has been eliminated.

Other tips:

• This should go without saying, but when you're just starting out a collection it can be best to try to obtain sets with compatible colors.
  
• The "new building system" everyone's raving about was introduced in the early 2011 sets along with the new style of Y-joint. Any sets before that will be a bit harder to build with since they will use more Technic-style or BIONICLE-style building techniques.
  
• Bricklink and the online Pick-A-Brick site are your friends when it comes to getting extra parts for MOCs. This especially applies to parts within the new building system, since those started being added to Pick-A-Brick in early 2011 and even those which have been removed often have reasonable Bricklink prices as a result.
  
• Get yourself acquainted with the selection of bone and shell pieces. For instance, there are currently four torso bone sizes (5x6, 7x9, 9x9, 9x11), which have very different applications. Some people get frustrated with the proportions of the parts they have, not realizing that other options are available in other sets.
  
• The ABSOLUTE BEST way to become acquainted with the Hero Factory building system and the parts it includes is through LEGO Digital Designer, which has a nearly-comprehensive list of Hero Factory parts (some helmets and a few of this year's newest parts are missing, but in general it's got a great bank of parts). Goof around with it either before or after you get your first Hero Factory sets to experiment with your options. With that said, LDD is not always a good substitute for real-life building, especially when working with complex multidirectional hinges like Hero Factory ball joints. So if you want to really get complex in your building, you're going to want to get the physical parts you need in your collection.

[DraikNova]

Another piece of advice is to make a rough guess as to what colorscheme you want to use and to buy as many sets with those colors as possible.

[sheedun17]

Speaking of pieces breaking, i think that the mahri and on for bionicle were crapy pieces.