Brickthing Posted July 15, 2011 Set name: Stringer 3.0 Set Number: 2183 Price: $7.99USD , 9.99 Euro Pieces: 30 Year of release: 2011 Peeron Bricklink Brickset Time for action Stringer! Distress signal from jungle planet Quatros indicates that Witch Doctor is extracting the planet’s Quaza core. If he succeeds, the planet is doomed!. Cover Furno’s back with your black bear animal power and use your triple-bladed bear claw to fend off Witch Doctor’s vicious band of beasts. The Box Front An immediate detail that you will notice when you see these sets on the shelves is that the new 3.0 Heroes have Lime lids and lush green backgrounds to suit their jungle theme, just as the 2.0 Heroes had Orange lids and backgrounds. I personally think it’s a pity that the canister lid isn’t a new recolour, but the different style of box-art sets these canisters far apart from Breez 1.0, who also had a Lime lid. Each Hero has his own intricate background, and Stringer 3.0’s is especially nice. There are bioluminescent sporangia in the foreground and moss-covered trees in the background, which create a very atmospheric welcoming to the jungle for the Heroes. Stormer 3.0 can be seen standing in the back right while Furno jumps down from a drop-ship in the left. Unlike the 2.0 Heroes, Stringer does not pose for publicity shots while villains rampage unchecked in the background. Back The back of the new canisters are identical to the back of the 2.0 canisters, except with a green theme and different character combiners. This formula evidently works well, and it shows plenty of information, although I can’t help but wish that the legal disclaimers took up less space – almost two thirds of the back is just text! The size comparison Hero Core for Stringer is Orange, although the actual core used in the set is Yellow-Orange. I suspect this was changed because a Yellow-Orange core on a Lime background would look horrible. The legal disclaimers again mention that there is no requirement for a purchase to play the online game, and there is a unique code printed on the lid of the canister (no you can’t see my code! ). Overall the new canisters stick to the same formula established by the 2.0 Heroes and it works even better in this wave, because the jungle backgrounds contain so much more beauty than rows of tankers and explosions. You’ll have no trouble finding 3.0 Heroes when they arrive in stores, although it may be hard to find the specific Hero you’re looking for if they aren’t at the front of a row. Contents Instructions The front cover of the instructions has the same art as the box, only not wrapped around a canister, and there are a few less information labels obscuring it. A full booklet is given, but you could easily build Stringer in 4 steps that could be printed on a double-sided instruction sheet similar to Metru/Voya Nui Matoran. But then again you wouldn’t receive advertising pages such as these two, which brilliantly explain the complicated process of accessing the online game using your unique Hero code. Currently this procedure is made more difficult by the game not being available yet, but that should change in the upcoming weeks. Here is a random instruction page showing the faint green background and an essential step for building Stringer. It’s quite easy to tell Gunmetal apart from Black and Dark Grey, although it’s not required in this set because there are no similar pieces in different colours. At the back of the instructions there is a larger image of the combiner that can be made from Nex and Stringer. It’s awesome to see that the combiners continue to be creative and different and good looking despite each of the six combiners so far using almost identical pieces. The instructions for this combiner can be found online here, although sadly I do not have both Stringer and Nex to build the combiner myself. The back pages show Raw-Jaw fighting Bulk 3.0 atop a thick tree branch. I’m not sure if Raw-Jaw is trying to steal Bulk’s Hero Factory DVD or if Bulk is trying to con Raw-Jaw into buying it, but either way it is odd that there isn’t an advert for the 2.0 Hero episode instead of the 1.0 Series. Pieces Stringer 3.0 has 30 pieces, which is considerably more than his previous incarnation, which sold for the same price-point. Naturally after the 2.0 revamp there are only a few new moulds (three), however because Stringer 3.0 is a different colour to those of the previous Hero sets, there are a lot of recoloured pieces. The recoloured pieces include Dark Grey bones, Yellow-Orange Hero heads and cores, Black Hero hands, feet, chest plate, and Black size 3 shells. There is also a single Exo-force arm in Gunmetal, which initially seems very strange considering that there are no other Gunmetal pieces in the set and Black Exo-force arms are even being used in Bulk 3.0 (where there is Gunmetal). Each Hero has his own animal totem shell, printed on a trans-green shell. It’s been a while since trans-green was used in BIONICLE/Hero Factory, but I’m glad to see it being re-introduced. It works well for a non-distracting jungle colour, although you can see through the printing slightly due to the transparent base colour. Stringer’s animal is supposedly a cross between a black bear and a panther, but once you see it as a slightly overweight panther you’ll have trouble seeing it as anything else. ( ) Surely the star piece of the set must be the new helmet, which is beautifully designed in detail and overall look. The helmet reminds me of previous black BIONICLE masks, as it has teeth like Stronius and similar eyes to Onua Mistika, but it also strongly resembles a Predator head. The smooth surfaces and technological ears match the style of other Hero Factory pieces, and although the spot texture on the forehead is used on other Heroes as well, here it looks like an audio speaker texture, linking this helmet back to the Sound-based Stringer 1.0. The face has a determined “Let’s get down to business” expression and I was pleased to find that the piece is perfectly symmetrical. All of the 3.0 helmets use a double-rod connector to attach directly to a Hero head, and there is a large amount of space around this connection point within the helmet. Stringer’s helmet will work perfectly for a lower jaw of an angry creature, especially because the eye holes are quite small so can go unnoticed without an eye colour behind them. The other new pieces to this set, which are used to make Stringer’s giant claw weapon. The new Hero shield shell is also available in black from Scorpio, while the new finger pieces are exclusive to Stringer in this colour, and the piece itself only available from Stringer and Rocka. The finger piece serves its purpose for Stringer, although it is a lot less detailed compared to other new pieces, which makes me wonder if it will be used for other themes in the future instead of Hero Factory. Build The building process of this set is almost identical to the 2.0 Heroes, and although it isn’t challenging at all, it is still very satisfying to click together balls, sockets and shells, especially without the fear of them breaking. The main differences from the 2.0 sets are the asymmetric arm lengths and the use of clips instead of axles for assembling the weapon. Stringer 3.0 comes together quickly and easily, so is ready to ship off to Quatros immediately! I think it’s a slight shame from a storyline point of view that the skeleton structure of the 3.0 Heroes are different to their 2.0 counterparts (if they have one), that prevents you from simply swapping shells and weapons around to upgrade the to their new forms if you have both sets. Completed Set Stringer 3.0 is themed around a black bear/panther, and you don’t need the namebadge or online description to tell you that! Along with the helmet, I was pleased to find that the rest of armour contributes to his look – despite the small range of shells, this certain combination works well to emphasize his upper body strength and bulk. Being nearly identical to the 2.0 Heroes in pieces and design, Stringer 3.0 shares most of the same strengths and weaknesses of the 2.0 Heroes. There are improvements, including a more distinct appearance compared to other 3.0 Heroes, and a personal one-piece helmet. The 2.0 Heads were good for creating your own Heroes, but they lacked personal character. Stringer’s 3.0 head has a lot of character, but I personally see it as more “Bear character” than “Stringer character”, so Heroes I make myself will be Bear Heroes rather than Refitted Stringers. Stringer 3.0 looks decent from side angles as well, and the green name badge doesn’t glaringly stand out. The gunmetal Exo-force arm is next to the green shell so it doesn’t look out of place as you mind think it would. I’m not sure what that arm and Hero spike are meant to be, but they cover the exposed arm bone underneath. Sadly, nothing is included in the 3.0 Heroes to cover up the open backs, so Stringer 3.0 suffers from the same hollow back syndrome that plagued the 2.0 Heroes (some more than others). The Yellow-Orange torso shell doesn’t hide the empty space, but the colour-scheme matching torso bone helps provide relieve from that problem. In this shot you can clearly see how Stringer’s arms are different lengths, which you may or may not forgive due to one arm being an exaggerated weaponised club. Now is as good enough time as any to wonder why Stringer’s weapon arm has switched from 1.0 to 3.0, in a similar case to Kopaka’s Akaku scope. From the other side Stringer is a lot less interesting, with only a single spike to add detail to the few black armour pieces. I imagine he uses that shoulder armour to block Zamor Compressed Air Midak Metal Meteor Lava Energy Spheres? Stringer runs headfirst into battle! Hunched over and hiding, waiting to spring the ambush… Ah ha! Prepare to have the honey knocked out of you Waspix! Oh right, there you are. It’s a bit hard to see with this helmet on. Final Thoughts Colour Scheme - 10/10 – I have no problems with Stringer’s colour scheme whatsoever, and I’m very glad to see it return to an “Earth” set as opposed to a “Stone” set. Black and Yellow-Orange is as faithful to Stringer’s 1.0 colours as is possible unless Bulk was to use Nougat or Burnt Orange as his core colour. Stringer is also only 3.0 Hero not to use any Silver, which is great if Silver antagonizes you. Parts - 9/10 – Stringer 3.0 is one of the three 3.0 Heroes that gives you the most recoloured pieces; standard Hero gear in Black, and a new Hero/Core colour. Black is one of my favourite colours to work with, and Stringer offers 4 new size 3 shells and another Black torso shell. Although they are new to Heroes, the Yellow-Orange torso armour and spikes are only really useful if you didn’t pick up Nitroblast or Jetbug. My only qualm with the piece selection is that there aren’t any proper weapon pieces, and his Yellow-Orange claws come in an odd quantity. For MOCing purposes, replacing the Exo-force arm and spike with another claw would’ve made Stringer’s claws twice as useful. Design - 10/10 – The Hero 2.0 building system may seem to have reduced the variation of Heroes to which colour and size shells used, but Stringer 3.0 demonstrates how those choices can have powerful results. Even without his Bear helmet and name badge, you couldn’t mistake Stringer for a 2.0 Hero. Articulation - 9/10 – Stringer has 17 points of articulation, including the claw and Exo-force arm hinge joints. Naturally with this building system Stringer articulates well, and none of the armour shells significantly hamper movement. The shield shell used for his claw does have a limited range if you don’t want to expose the un-armoured arms underneath, and the claw pieces will disconnect if you don’t turn them quite in line with the way they are meant to turn. This is a problem with any hinge joint, but because the hinge pivots are at different angles you usually need to move each claw individually to avoid disconnecting one. Quality - 10/10 – Stringer’s pieces are of equal quality to 2.0 Hero pieces, and the printing uses more colours and detail. His sockets and ball cups hold well and won’t break, and the new claw pieces seem to work well. Time will tell if they loosen from use and if they’re prone to breaking, but I’ve found no indication of it yet. Overall - 48/50 – The biggest “letdown” of the 3.0 Heroes is that they’re essentially identical to the 2.0 Heroes, although that was to be expected when the 2.0 Heroes overhauled the Buildable Action Figure system. It doesn’t at all feel like Stringer 3.0 is a clone of a 2.0 Hero, mainly because of his strong bear/panther features and partly because he never was a 2.0 Hero. I strongly recommend you pick up this set, either for the updated version of Jimi Stringer’s character, the goldmine of parts (but to be fair Rocka does that better), or for the savage Beast Bashing bear Hero that he is. With his upgraded Hero technology, can Jimi Stringer save planet Quatros with a diplomatic handshake? Or will he choose to resort to his fists of justice? High-ho away Raw-Jaw! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prateek Posted July 15, 2011 Great review. I like this one a lot. The mask and weapon are great, and I just love the yellow accents. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aanchir Posted July 16, 2011 Great review. I love Stringer 3.0, and think they really did justice to his color scheme by using Flame Yellowish Orange as his core and face color rather than Bright Orange. I'm a bit curious whether the unique powers of the Heroes will ever return. Currently, it's clear that the story writers and TV episode animators don't want to let go of them, as they use the same effect for Stringer's... claw blasts?... as they did for his sonic weapon before, and in fact made Furno's fire elemental theme a lot more evident with his 2.0 weapon than they had with his Dual Fire Shooter. At the same time, I really liked how the sets had futuristic sci-fi weapons and yet kept a very visible elemental theme with most of them. The real question is whether they could pull the same thing off in a future wave without it feeling overused. The back is very hollow-looking indeed, and I'd like to see that fixed in a future wave, even though it's probably not an urgent priority for the set designers. The back view of a figure isn't likely to show up prominently on packaging, and so won't really help move the set off store shelves, but an interview about the first wave of Hero Factory sets mentioned how kids are more satisfied with a set that has a more solidly-armored back, so it's a real oddity that the designers failed to maintain that in the new building system. Even if it means increasing the price of a Hero set I'm sure some kids and adult fans alike would really appreciate the addition of back armor. I'm not a huge fan of the new claws used on Stringer. They work for this set, but while they have the least stylistic specialization of the new parts they also have the most specialized function-- they have only one attachment point, and so can't be used for much besides claws and otherwise-claw-shaped details on models. Since System already has so many useful claw pieces available, I don't think non-Hero Factory fans would be too fond of these parts appearing in other themes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toatyger Posted July 16, 2011 (edited) I am in love with all of the new black parts, even if most of them are just recolored pieces! Edited July 16, 2011 by toatyger Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zwen Posted July 16, 2011 What I love the 3.0 heroes are their helmets. Because you can use them to create animales inside the HF universe, even with the new system. Good review. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bfahome Posted July 17, 2011 Rocka XL comes with two of the black claw/shield pieces, too. Also I am happy that LEGO decided not to ditch the bear motif. I can say "Jimi the Pooh" and it'll work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightshroud99 Posted July 17, 2011 Ooh I really like this one Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aethersprite Posted July 17, 2011 Thanks for the review! Just might pick this guy up. A;so, is that "yellow-orange" Keetorange? It seems a tad darker than Keetorange, but it's probably just the pictures. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brickthing Posted July 17, 2011 Thanks for the review! Just might pick this guy up. A;so, is that "yellow-orange" Keetorange? It seems a tad darker than Keetorange, but it's probably just the pictures. Yes, it is. It's probably a combination of the pictures and the fact that this plastic isn't ailed by the transparency issues that many BIONICLE pieces from around that time had. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZORK64 Posted July 17, 2011 Thanks for the great review Brickthing! Due to the bear helmet I wasn't much interested into Stringer 3.0, but considering the useful recolours like black feet and hands, I might pick him up one day (since I was also really fond that Bulk had the same pieces in silver). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ha876 Posted July 29, 2011 I know that I will be getting this one soon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Target Head Posted August 8, 2011 (edited) Thanks for the review! But you should post it on Brickset. But anyway I am totaly going to buy him first after finding this review! He has so many awesome poses! THANKS! Edited August 8, 2011 by Target Head Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
