Hero Factory 2012

[Darkness Falls]

The design motif with Split-face pretty much flat-out states that he's a mixture of Xplode and Thunder. The amount of spikes on each side varies, and the jaw is larger on Thunder's side. Also, Toxic Reapa? Totally a fusion of Corridor and Meltdown. Some on, those aesthetic cues are too prominent to be ignored. Both of these, BTW, are going to be bought day ONE. Thornraxx is pretty cool as a homage to Nui-Rama... at least in my mind. Flying shark is a boss.

Rocka looks awesome. I'm getting him for a multitude of reasons- mask, green-shield thing, epic weapon. Yep.

Furno and Breez, and to a lesser extent Surge, look a little disproportional, because their original helmets are HUGE. Just saying. Also, Furno and Breez- what color scheme?

EVO IS AMAZING. METAL ARM. GIANT GUN. BOSS. Almost a perfect representation of a ROBOT. I like it.

As for Black Phantom... ugh.

[Dorek]

I gotta say, I'm really not getting what everybody loves about Breez. Of her three sets, 2.0 is the only one that has ever appealed to me. The weird tribal mask is just... odd... and her newest incarnation is ridiculously overarmored, and looks like she belongs in a shonen magazine (as a boy) more than in Hero Factory. She has some cool design elements, like the feet jets, but a dualhanded sword never works with those hands, and reusing 1.0 feet? Not smart.

Surge seems a little cluttered, but I like some parts he has, so I'll wait to see different angles of him. Evo is cute and compact, if a little uninteresting. Rocka has a cool design, but the constant chains throw it off a bit. And Furno is just being a boss (literally; he's the highest ranked member there) with baller jets and tubes. Lack of a weapon disconcerts me slightly, but give him one of Breez's swords, and problem solved.

Also, is that a green Iron Man head in Black Phantom? Praise the lawd!

[Kalhiki]

Love the new sets! Well, most of them, anyway (Black Phantom...)

As for the Heroes, I'm super happy. Ever since the new build came out I've been hoping for a more classic 1.0 based design. My only complaint is the abs in the armor. I really don't like human features on robots (aside from an overall humanoid look). Also, in the "Catch 'em and Cuff 'em" picture they seem really slim. I like my Heroes with some bulk (Breez is fine since she's a girl). Another complaint are the Cores. Look at Breez in the aformentioned picture. The Hero Core just seems to be jutting out and it doesn't look all that great. But overall the designs are nice and I'm in love with those round should armor pieces.

Villains are also really cool. I'm not really one for mindless animal baddies, so this is a relief from Savage Planet. And despite there being a few animals, they still seem sentient. Well, Jawblade at least. Thornraxx is still 'eh' to me. Toxic Reapa is definitely my fav out of them all.

... And then there's Black Phantom who is just terrible. Fire Lord (who wasn't all that great to begin with) definitely beats Phantom by a long shot. He just seems jumbled up, and I'm not even sure how repositioning the back-spike/arm-things would help his overall appearance. I just hope the final is better.

Personally, I'd love to see these guys animated in the TV show. I think that will look spectacular.

Kalhiki

By the way, has anyone noticed the picture of Makuhero City in the word "Breakout"? Looks like there's missiles and rockets being fired at the Factory.

[Zwen]

They are good... So, I don't think that helmets are going to be in the final versions of the sets, but what if... Those are the original helmets for Rocka and Evo? I mean the 1.0 versions... I must say, and I think that I'm not the only one, that Black Phantom is dangerously similar to Fire Lord...

[The Dor]

The images have been removed from Brickshelf, apparently. Hopefully one of you saved these images for the slow folks such as myself?

Okay, so, I'm a little confused as to why they are returning to the Glatorian helmets? I was quite fond of the heads used in the Heroes these last two waves. Also, the size difference between Furno/Breez/Rocka and Surge/Evo is irritating. I hope that it isn't too glaring once they're released. The reuse of the 1.0 helmets (and feet in Breez's case) is also a little odd. It's possible they're placeholders, but I am certainly not counting on it. The pauldrons are pretty sweet, as are the new blaster pieces, even though they seem pretty much only useful for one purpose. If they are carried through into other releases, it should be pretty cool, but I don't think that will be the case. With Breez and Surge both having a larger quantity of pieces in their secondary colors, I wish the same had happened to Evo. Lego taunted us with the purple! Other than that he looks pretty sweet, much bulkier than his 2.0 version which I'm a big fan of. The tubes and such on Furno and Rocka are pretty sweet too. Also looking forward to these hand cuff pieces.

As far as the villains are concerned... Black Phantom looks dreadful. I'm not often one to say it, but he is. An overbulky torso with chicken legs far worse than Fire Lord. He seems, to me, to be a less impressive version of Fire Lord, but without the excuse of being an early titan. By the third wave, the sets should not look this shoddy. The innovation in Jawblade and Thornraxx makes me hopeful though. The similarities between Splitface / Toxic Reapa and Thunder / Meltdown does lead me to think that the characters are related storyline-wise. They certainly look better than the Heroes, in my opinion, for the first time since the introduction of Hero Factory.

I'm a little afraid of Hero Factory making large transitions like this frequently. It makes me more hesitant to buy them if the style is going to be inconsistent. I loved the fact that the 2.0 and 3.0 Heroes were so compatible. But I guess the similarities would cause problems if carried on for too long.

Edited September 15, 2011 by The Dor

[Aanchir]

I gotta say, I'm really not getting what everybody loves about Breez. Of her three sets, 2.0 is the only one that has ever appealed to me. The weird tribal mask is just... odd... and her newest incarnation is ridiculously overarmored, and looks like she belongs in a shonen magazine (as a boy) more than in Hero Factory. She has some cool design elements, like the feet jets, but a dualhanded sword never works with those hands, and reusing 1.0 feet? Not smart.

Surge seems a little cluttered, but I like some parts he has, so I'll wait to see different angles of him. Evo is cute and compact, if a little uninteresting. Rocka has a cool design, but the constant chains throw it off a bit. And Furno is just being a boss (literally; he's the highest ranked member there) with baller jets and tubes. Lack of a weapon disconcerts me slightly, but give him one of Breez's swords, and problem solved.

Also, is that a green Iron Man head in Black Phantom? Praise the lawd!

I like 2.0 Breez best as well, but the Samus vibe I'm getting from the new Breez is pretty great. She's a stylish design with cool leg-rockets and a great color scheme. I also think her torso print is one of the best. I hope there are still name badges, though... I don't see what's wrong with that blade she has; I think it looks pretty great (Batman also has it).

The 1.0 feet were probably reused because they look like high heels; I've seen MOCs that use them that way for Breez as well. I don't see the problem with them... they're not really worse than the 2.0 feet, are they? Both have their flaws, and I like that TLG isn't just abandoning the 1.0 foot mold now that a newer one is available. Overall, because of the stylish and well-organized color scheme for the most part, Breez is my favorite of the new heroes, followed by Evo and then Furno in that order.

Also, you're going to have to stop calling Glatorian heads "Iron Man heads" now that there's an actual Iron Man set coming out...

EDIT: And Kalhiki, I think the lights in the Makuhero City picture are searchlights, not missiles. Searchlights make more sense if this is indeed a "prison break" story, especially since there's at least one flying villain. Also, I just realized that if this is a prison break story, it will probably be the first story to take place almost entirely in Makuhero City.

Edited September 15, 2011 by Aanchir

[Ceroknight]

Nice! Thank you for the pictures!

I am kind of disappointed that they are back on the original planet rather than on a different one..

I really like the return of the 1.0 helmets

Splitface strikes me as a gangsta all the way which is cool.

[Vinyl Scratch]

I noticed something.

Thornraxx's background is a Bee Hive-esque place - or a jungle, the same place as Breez, with other similar to him/her. Means that Thornraxx is one of a species.

Surge is in somekind of Coliseum or Arena, similar - not exact - to Splitface's.

Evo is in somekind of Jungle, same as Toxic Reapa - There's also something weird on the top right of Toxic Reapa's background.

Jawblade is obviously in somekind of Underwater base... Thing. Furno is there too.

Now here is the thing, Rocka is someplace that looks REALLY similar to the Training Sphere from Trials of Furno, or the Assembly Tower, while Black Phantom seems to be in the Hero Factory or sometype of factory.

They ALL have sometype of black circle thingamajig that looks similar to the entrance to... Somewhere. It can't be something for appearance because Toxic Reapa seems to be standing in it.

My point being is that either this storyline is actually all part of a Training Sphere and isn't happening at all in the real world, explains why there's only rookies and it's all part of a training session and it's a what-if story

That, or either there are artificial created "enviroments" on Makuhero City - which are surprisingly big - and the villains spread destruction there

Or, most possible storyline, 2010-Winter 2011 villains do a Prison Break and somehow get fused together and spread havoc through different planets.

And I noticed something else, in the Group Shot, you can clearly see scratched cells - something like a villain prison.

So yeah, means either I guessed the 2012 storyline without any idea, LEGO stole my idea or it's just a rare coincidence that I was writing a Prison Break story for five months and the 2012 line is a prison break storyline

[Dorek]

I like 2.0 Breez best as well, but the Samus vibe I'm getting from the new Breez is pretty great. She's a stylish design with cool leg-rockets and a great color scheme. I also think her torso print is one of the best. I hope there are still name badges, though... I don't see what's wrong with that blade she has; I think it looks pretty great (Batman also has it).

Never been a Metroid guy, so that might explain it XP.

I'm just never a fan of using double weapons when the joints can't angle down properly (Icarax is another prime example; however, his are reversable with zero difference in stud with or anything of the sort, which is what I did) One would be fine, two is overkill.

The 1.0 feet were probably reused because they look like high heels; I've seen MOCs that use them that way for Breez as well. I don't see the problem with them... they're not really worse than the 2.0 feet, are they? Both have their flaws, and I like that TLG isn't just abandoning the 1.0 foot mold now that a newer one is available. Overall, because of the stylish and well-organized color scheme for the most part, Breez is my favorite of the new heroes, followed by Evo and then Furno in that order.

I'm all for reusing parts, but only if they don't suck =P. As a piece, it had a certain amount of architectural intrigue, but it's ultimately very limited in terms of movement and overall functionality, so it was probably my least favorite piece from the 1.0 line. The 2.0 foot has issues, sure, but I'd prefer a full range of motion for feet rather than an attempt to mimic real foot limitations (and get it wrong at that).

It's not a bad set as it is, but it's just weirdly bulky and overarmored, and I don't get why a lot of people seem to like it. Metroid probably has a lot to do with that, though =P

Also, you're going to have to stop calling Glatorian heads "Iron Man heads" now that there's an actual Iron Man set coming out...

Never!

EDIT: And Kalhiki, I think the lights in the Makuhero City picture are searchlights, not missiles. Searchlights make more sense if this is indeed a "prison break" story, especially since there's at least one flying villain. Also, I just realized that if this is a prison break story, it will probably be the first story to take place almost entirely in Makuhero City.

Jawblade hunting in the waters around the Factory itself? Gorgeous.

[CabooseBM]

The only set I don't like this wave is Black Phantom, and I'll still buy him for the peices.

BTW- Any chance I could get a brohoof?

*Totally brohoof'd dudarino.*

[Aethersprite]

I have to say: These are absolutely AMAZING! Oh my goodness. I have mixed feelings about reusing the 1.0 heads (and weapon, for Surge) but they were awesome anyway.

Also, loving the Breakout theme and the new handcuff pieces.

Furno: Meh.

Breez: Love that sword, otherwise a pass.

Suge: His 1.0 helmet doesn't really fit him, but I may get him nonetheless.

Evo: FANTASTIC. I absolutely love how his helmet echoes his 2.0's helmet design. And loving his colour scheme. Really giving off the heavy weapons vibe here, a definite buy.

Rocka: AMAZING. That honeycomb thing on his arm is weird, though. Still - loving his helmet (could do with my love for Kopaka, heh), and all that gold armour, plus his cannon arm. Wow. With those blades it looks like a crossbow. Definite buy.

Thornraxx: Ehh. I have mixed feelings about this guy. I have too many Bionicle/HF bugs already, might pass on this one.

Toxic Reapa: He looks like some fat toad. Nevertheless, he has some odd appeal to him. Loving the green flames. His overall look just gels together very well. A definite buy, my favourite villain.

Jawblade: WOOHOO A SHARK! That alone warrants a purchase from me. I wish they would give him the characteristic shark fin though, a Quaza spike could easily do the job. Still, very nice. Pulls off the shark look really well even with the hands. Looking forward to those lovely recoloured red Furno blades.

Splitface: Wow. Just wow. This guy looks like he walked out of an Iron Man movie. Fantastic. A definite buy.

Black Phantom: Yucks. Puts the other villains to shame. He looks worse than Fire Lord!

I really have to applaud TLG for the use of the Thornax launcher here. Although it's still the same ball and 1 half of the original launcher, I love how they decided to give us a second, new piece to cover it. It really gives a refreshing new look to the launcher, fantastic job.

[SoupOrFishOil]

I seemed to have missed these pictures. Would somebody be able to pm me with them? Thanks

[Nightmare]

I seemed to have missed these pictures. Would somebody be able to pm me with them? Thanks

Just search Hero Factory 2012 on Brickshelf, they should be the first result.

I see everyone criticizes the Black Phantom. I know, we've seen much much better, but this time he's trying to look like the Grim Reaper or Death, didn't you notice?

I also notice that Furno and company don't have the suffix 4.0, and they look like their original incarnations. Is it posssible they return to base state and from then make another kind of 2.0?

Edited September 15, 2011 by Nightmare

[Tanma]

I just noticed the new Evo's resemblance to his predessor's form, how did I miss it? I have to say that his gun arm is impressive, at least from the angle shown. I am disappointed by the lack of purple, as stated but others it would be nice to continue his color scheme. More to the point, purple hasn't been in a set in ages, I think that Onu-Matoran from 2001 was the last one. I for one was glad to get some rarer colors, despite the fact that Evo only had three.

[Aanchir]

I just noticed the new Evo's resemblance to his predessor's form, how did I miss it? I have to say that his gun arm is impressive, at least from the angle shown. I am disappointed by the lack of purple, as stated but others it would be nice to continue his color scheme. More to the point, purple hasn't been in a set in ages, I think that Onu-Matoran from 2001 was the last one. I for one was glad to get some rarer colors, despite the fact that Evo only had three.

To be fair, Purple isn't totally disappearing from action figure themes-- the Joker has a lot of it in the Super Heroes "Ultrabuild" subtheme. But it does bother me that Evo loses his purple completely without even the slightest approximation of it anywhere in his color scheme. He could have been given a Transparent Fluorescent Blue head without being terribly inconsistent with the rest of the team (since it's a fluorescent color that this head, if it's what we believe it to be, already exists in). That would have been closer to his original color scheme than the Transparent Fluorescent Reddish-Orange that the designers seem to have chosen in these pictures.

Granted, colors are one thing that's easy to change between preliminary and final versions of a set. But I don't really expect them to put the purple back in his color scheme if they didn't have the intention of keeping it in the first place.

Also, the original purple color (Bright Violet) arguably appeared in sets more recently than the Onu-Matoran-- it was Gahlok Va's Krana color as well as the color of Shadow Kraata in 2003. I don't think it was used in any themes after 2003, though, so it may have been discontinued at the same time as many other colors like the old greys. This is also around the same time TLG introduced the current dark purple color, Medium Lilac, which is seen in Evo 2.0.

What currently bothers me a great deal more than Evo's missing purple is of course the switch from having uniquely-colored Hero Cores and faces in general to having generic face colors and hero core colors. The 2.0 and 3.0 series both were extremely good about echoing the 1.0 Hero Core colors for returning characters. This series in comparison feels like a disappointment in that regard. I'm also a bit sore about returning to transparent head colors, partly because I'd gotten used to solid-colored ones (they're so much prettier on LDD, and also very pure and vibrant in real life), and partly because I'm afraid the new masks for Evo and Rocka might be designed carelessly like Fire Lord's helmet and not allow enough light in for the eyes to look nice and glowy.

[Aethersprite]

I just noticed the spear piece on Rocka's launcher. Combined with the 2.0 villain blades positioned at that angle, it looks like a huge, hulking, laser-shooting crossbow. Badass.

[Bfahome]

I don't think Breez should have used the 1.0 feet, at least not in that way. On the 1.0 sets the weird backwards joint and massive gap were mostly covered by the leg armor, but here they're right out in the open.

Also, I'm hoping that we're getting a new Glat head mold, and that they'll be solid colors. Because that would be great.

[TheRedGuy]

My reaction: O MAI GAWD (In a good way.)

In fact, I gonna write a realllly long comment.

Heroes:

Gotta love 'em. These might be the best wave of Heroes ever, tough I don't really like the fact that Breez, Surge and Furno use their 1.0 helmets. I just hope it's a placeholder until the finished stuff comes out, but it's really unlikely. Anyways, I really love the action figure sized cuffs, although I doubt they would work properly, due to their shapes, but I'm probably wrong. I really like the new hero core, as it doesn't seem to have those ugly lower thingies that I never liked. It's kinda funny, because in the first version, it was long, second version shorter and third none at all. And by the looks of things, it doesn't seem to stick in place anymore. (Unless it's double peg-ed.) That's a shame, because I really liked that concept where the armor piece holding it has a special...Shape.. For fitting the cores. They don't seem to use the chestplate piece any more, which is another shame. The new boxes? They are awesome. I was really getting tired of that stars canister. It also seems easier to fit in shelves, which is good news for box collectors like me- I am really running out of space.

The new pieces really interest me, especially that upper thornax launcher piece. My dreams of a new launcher is true-(Kinda.)

I'm not sure if I like the sphere-ish armor piece, but a new piece is always welcome. Those new shield pieces are really amazing, and it looks helpful for hive-ish things. Now for separate critics:

Evo:

The head is my favorite of all of 'em. It looks like is supposed to be a 1.0 version of his 2.0 head. I am really disappointed with the fact that purple is now gone though. Ah well, I guess LEGO couldn't have 2 expensive colors in one theme. I really like that one side bulky and one side skinny concept.

Breez:

Looks like the worse of the heroes. She looks non-femine more than ever, and those mini rockets are really ugly, and the same thing with the 1.0 feet. I mean, is that even necessary? I'm guessing Lego did that to make her look femine, maybe it works, but it is a pain to the eyes. By the way, does she have another 1.0 feet in her back or is it just me? Wait... Could it be? Back-coverage? By the way, those to who are wondering, her swords are not new. I believe it has been used on a Exo-Force set once.

Furno:

Oh yes. I really like that under-water theme. Turbines, pipes and all..... I really like the new white added into his color scheme. The only thing that I don't like, is, that spear thing on the launcher. It doesn't really fit.

Surge:

Good enough for my eyes. Gotta love that blue weapon. Although, the villain "Core" piece sticking out of his shoulders worry me a little.

Rocka:

OHHH YESSSS. Trans-neon thornax launcher piece? LOVE. Bow-ish launcher? LOVE. Medieval concept? LOVE. Ammo clip? LOVE. Can this theme get any better?

Now for the villains:

More non- humanoids? YES! They really have gotten creative with the villains this time. Sharks with fists? Midget corroder? Bugs with only two legs? Awesome.

Fangz Jawblade:

Shark with fists? Awesome. This is like, the best shark in LEGO history I've ever seen. Still, it has flaws.

Toxic reapa:

This is the most flawless figure I've seen in a long time. Transparent armor pieces really see useful for me, and those system tanks really impress me, of course, I've seen people that doesn't agree.

Splitface:

Meh. Another thunder.

Thornrax:

This is my second favorite villain of this line. He looks flawful, true, but the design really impresses me. Besides, look at those pieces! Nice insectoid head, Gorast wings, and Waspix's piece that is used for his extra arms, and orange spikes. Wait did I mention:

TEAL TEAL TEAL TEAL TEAL TEAL TEAL TEAL TEAL TEAL...

Black phantom: AHHHH! Another Fire Lord? Actually, I was expecting another Fire Lord like I said, but this is.. I actually liked the spikes on Fire Lord's head, but this? I mean, LEGO, can we get a big baddie that's not humanoid?

[MrSebi]

I like the Evo model, the fact that he has a weapon arm appeals to me.

(Partly, because I made an updated MOC of him, I decided to give him a different color mismatched arm, this really works for me)

[Vinyl Scratch]

Chances are, we'll see them in the summer wave along with Stormer and Bulk and Harkness...

Okay, maybe not that last one, but I get the feeling we'll be getting a good dose of ALL of the heroes this year at different points.

BTW- Any chance I could get a brohoof?

BROOHOOF.

Wait, who the hay Harkness.

Anyway, remember that these are preliminar pictures, things can change.

Plus, don't get me wrong but we always say that the set sucks with the leaked pictures and then love them at ToyFair or when they are released

[Aanchir]

Evo:

The head is my favorite of all of 'em. It looks like is supposed to be a 1.0 version of his 2.0 head. I am really disappointed with the fact that purple is now gone though. Ah well, I guess LEGO couldn't have 2 expensive colors in one theme. I really like that one side bulky and one side skinny concept.

What do you mean "expensive colors"? I'm pretty sure metallic colors in general are much more expensive than Medium Lilac. And there are several of those in Hero Factory.

Medium Lilac may be more expensive than the more basic LEGO colors like Bright Red and Bright Yellow.

Breez:

Looks like the worse of the heroes. She looks non-femine more than ever, and those mini rockets are really ugly, and the same thing with the 1.0 feet. I mean, is that even necessary? I'm guessing Lego did that to make her look femine, maybe it works, but it is a pain to the eyes. By the way, does she have another 1.0 feet in her back or is it just me? Wait... Could it be? Back-coverage? By the way, those to who are wondering, her swords are not new. I believe it has been used on a Exo-Force set once.

No, her swords are entirely new. You might be thinking of this, the only Technic weapon piece to debut in Exo-Force (and sadly never used outside that theme). Breez's weapon is new-- it's also used at the end of Black Phantom's staff and on the "Ultrabuild" Batman action figure, so it's not exclusive to this set, but it's still brand new for 2012.

Personally, Breez is my favorite of the new Heroes.

Surge:

Good enough for my eyes. Gotta love that blue weapon. Although, the villain "Core" piece sticking out of his shoulders worry me a little.

Worry you? How?

Toxic reapa:

This is the most flawless figure I've seen in a long time. Transparent armor pieces really see useful for me, and those system tanks really impress me, of course, I've seen people that doesn't agree.

I like Toxic Reapa also, but keep in mind that it's a bit early to call any figure flawless, especially one like Toxic Reapa who seems to have an unconventional build. While creative builds are nice, they often open up the possibility that the set will look weaker from different angles.

Splitface:

Meh. Another thunder.

Why do people keep saying that? Is it as though Thunder is the only villain set ever allowed to have a big, blocky lower jaw? Honestly, besides his face and the fact that his build is asymmetrical, he has no similarities to Thunder at all. You might as well say that Kopaka Nuva is another 2001 Tahu because he has a sword and an oval-shaped mouth.

[Shakar]

Hello! I came back from the dead. But looks like I came late.

What happened to the 2012 pics? Did Brickshelf delete them? I swear that site scares me sometimes.

Edited September 15, 2011 by Shakar

[Vinyl Scratch]

Hello! I came back from the dead. But looks like I came late.

What happened to the 2012 pics? Did Brickshelf delete them? I swear that site scares me sometimes.

http://submiturpics.com/images/ma9c7bbctdle5r6sqzpv.jpg

http://submiturpics.com/images/yuzxi5ewxnms7w8zm5.jpg

Thank Mesonak.

[Phantoka_Chirox]

They look great! But I hope they're not reverting back to the Glatorian heads :/ I kinda liked solid colors better. Not really happy with the 'classic' helmets too, had too miss them to welcome them, but sadly it's just been 2 years.

Quick question, are the the villains (except Splitface and Black Phantom) the same same price with Evo and Surge?

[Ceroknight]

They look great! But I hope they're not reverting back to the Glatorian heads :/ I kinda liked solid colors better. Not really happy with the 'classic' helmets too, had too miss them to welcome them, but sadly it's just been 2 years.

Quick question, are the the villains (except Splitface and Black Phantom) the same same price with Evo and Surge?

Lookng at the boxes, Black Phantom will probably be the most expensive(titan price), Splitface/Breez/Furno/Rocka at villans price and Surge/Evo/Thornraxx/Jawblade/Toxic Reapa at hero prices

Any chance for Stormer XL?

Edited September 15, 2011 by ceroknight