Logan McOwen

Hero Factory 2013

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Are they holding out on us?

No way to know. Perhaps some of them are due for release in upcoming sets we haven't seen yet, like 2013 Ultrabuilds or Summer 2013 Hero Factory sets. Perhaps some of them were produced for preliminary versions of sets that didn't make it through focus group testing. In any event, I strongly doubt parts being produced for the Master Builders but not ending up in sets is a rare occurrence. Plenty of Element IDs are assigned to parts that have not appeared in any sets, such as Toa Mata eyes in Phosphorescent White (pre-2006 glow-in-the-dark), Toa Nuva legs in Metallic Sand Yellow (the color of Takanuva's Avohkii), or 2001 Matoran parts in all sorts of colors they were never released in.

These are just the examples I've found by sifting through Element IDs one-by-one on cache.LEGO.com, but there are probably dozens of examples every year. It's probably just a matter of set designs changing before the eventual release, and that doesn't at all mean that we get the rotten end of the deal, as there are probably just as many examples of preliminary sets using already-existing parts but being upgraded with new, unreleased parts before they go to production.

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No way to know. Perhaps some of them are due for release in upcoming sets we haven't seen yet, like 2013 Ultrabuilds or Summer 2013 Hero Factory sets. Perhaps some of them were produced for preliminary versions of sets that didn't make it through focus group testing. In any event, I strongly doubt parts being produced for the Master Builders but not ending up in sets is a rare occurrence. Plenty of Element IDs are assigned to parts that have not appeared in any sets, such as Toa Mata eyes in Phosphorescent White (pre-2006 glow-in-the-dark), Toa Nuva legs in Metallic Sand Yellow (the color of Takanuva's Avohkii), or 2001 Matoran parts in all sorts of colors they were never released in.

These are just the examples I've found by sifting through Element IDs one-by-one on cache.LEGO.com, but there are probably dozens of examples every year. It's probably just a matter of set designs changing before the eventual release, and that doesn't at all mean that we get the rotten end of the deal, as there are probably just as many examples of preliminary sets using already-existing parts but being upgraded with new, unreleased parts before they go to production.

Well, if Stringer is blue again next year I want to see those transblucent shells on him.

Wait, that was Metallic Sand Yellow for the Avohkii? NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

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Well, if Stringer is blue again next year I want to see those transblucent shells on him.

Wait, that was Metallic Sand Yellow for the Avohkii? NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Why is the Avohkii being Metallic Sand Yellow a problem? Unless you were hoping that it was a color that was still on the current palette...

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Why is the Avohkii being Metallic Sand Yellow a problem? Unless you were hoping that it was a color that was still on the current palette...

I always thought it was a dark gold.

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Alright, happy to see the forums back with 2013 prelim pics.

After, looking a them I don't have a much to describe. I see nothing wrong with the villains, each one is unique and creative as usual. Not sure how organic looking villians is a problem in a story that covers space travel and sci-fi.

Bulk, Breez, and Rocka are very basic in design. Looks like a downgrade for the most popular heroes in breakout. I'm holding out for better versions since they're prelim. Those mask are going to change you can tell and I'm sure Bulk and Rocka will have printed shields before release. Adding more color to each of them will improve their looks. Only part I don't like is prelim are about 80% of the finalize set, wish they would pick bigger armor plates on the arms and legs.

Also wish they take their time making better looking combiners....

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I always thought it was a dark gold.

That's what Metallic Sand Yellow is-- a dark gold. LEGO color names aren't as intuitive as most fan names, though they have a sort of internal logic if you pay close attention.

For instance, LEGO also has a color just called Sand Yellow, which AFOLs tend to know as Dark Tan. The fact that the two colors are related is why this Makuta MOC's Sand Yellow hands so closely match his Metallic Sand Yellow Kanohi and armor.

A while back I put together a BIONICLE color chart as an LXF and corresponding Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. It doesn't directly cross-reference with Bricklink and other AFOL naming systems because that would get confusing (Bricklink tends to conflate a lot of colors-- there are at least three very distinct colors which Bricklink collectively refers to as "Copper"), but it does have useful notes and timeline information so that there shouldn't be any confusion about which colors are which.

Edited by Aanchir

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The Villains were marked as 12,99 Euro in that site where we got the set list from, though I'm not sure if they're worth the price. Bruizer seems to be the most complex one, but the others? Scarox barely looks more complex than XT4.

Scarox is a 10 EUR/USD set, actually, and has always been marked as such.

Alright, happy to see the forums back with 2013 prelim pics.

After, looking a them I don't have a much to describe. I see nothing wrong with the villains, each one is unique and creative as usual. Not sure how organic looking villians is a problem in a story that covers space travel and sci-fi.

Bulk, Breez, and Rocka are very basic in design. Looks like a downgrade for the most popular heroes in breakout. I'm holding out for better versions since they're prelim. Those mask are going to change you can tell and I'm sure Bulk and Rocka will have printed shields before release. Adding more color to each of them will improve their looks. Only part I don't like is prelim are about 80% of the finalize set, wish they would pick bigger armor plates on the arms and legs.

Also wish they take their time making better looking combiners....

Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm fairly certain these are finalized pictures. ;)

-Gata signoff.png

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Oh, you're indeed right- Scarox is the sole 9 Euro villain of the quartet.That's much better.

Did anyone notice that Furno XL isn't in a box, but in a bag?

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Oh, you're indeed right- Scarox is the sole 9 Euro villain of the quartet.That's much better.

Did anyone notice that Furno XL isn't in a box, but in a bag?

Yeah its kinda weird,To be honest don't know why they did that..I guess it could be that Furno XL would be the only one to have a box and its probably not worth having only one set in a box while the others get bags :sceptic: ,still weird though.

Love all these sets though :wub:...Well maybe not Bulk :sceptic:....Still can't get over what Mesonak said on his video,about this theme being like fairytales :laugh: ,and to be honest it kinda is,but still should be interesting to see how the story plays out on this theme "Brain Attack".

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Just noticed something...

wdU8J.png

You know that resemblence toward the tower..Idk why I think this but is there a possibility that Furno can or could be a giant along with the other heroes because the aliens are extremely tall....Go Go Power Rangers :laugh: ,crazy thought though.

Edited by Zachattacx

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As a whole, I'm mildly disappointed with the wave, but after Breakout that's not really a surprise.

Breez just has too many colors and I have no idea why her helmet isn't lime, though I'll probably find it more useful in silver for MOCing. I don't use lime much.

I seriously thought Bulk was Nex until I saw the name, the silver looks kind of white in the pictures and he's not at all bulky so I just jumped to Nex. Not to mention he is the only Hero with a tech based weapon rather than a sword. To say the least, I'm disappointed. The drill fails to look intimidating, I would prefer flat orange to trans, and I would also prefer more silver and less titanium metallic.

Not seeing what everyone else sees in Furno, I can't stop staring at his complete lack of a waist and crotch. The whole upper torso just looks a bit busy, as well, especially with the mace piece for shoulder armor. Not sure why he has any titanium metallic, either. I do like the sword and shield, though, and he's the only Hero I think the visor thing really works for. And that cape is cool.

Rocka's pretty slick looking, but I feel he could have used a lot more gold. That's a trend throughout the Heroes this wave, not enough of the base color.

As for the villains, nice colors but at the moment the only one I can say I really like is Bruiser. I will probably be able to warm up to Pyrox over time, though, and I'll have to get Ogrum regardless of how much I like him simply because of the colors.

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You know that resemblence toward the tower..Idk why I think this but is there a possibility that Furno can or could be a giant along with the other heroes because the aliens are extremely tall....Go Go Power Rangers :laugh: ,crazy thought though.

And Furno just uses the tower as a bash-bash weapon of doom with all the robots inside

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You know that resemblence toward the tower..Idk why I think this but is there a possibility that Furno can or could be a giant along with the other heroes because the aliens are extremely tall....Go Go Power Rangers :laugh: ,crazy thought though.

I don't think there's two Assembly Towers then. Considering the shield is identical in both sides. :P

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You know that resemblence toward the tower..Idk why I think this but is there a possibility that Furno can or could be a giant along with the other heroes because the aliens are extremely tall....Go Go Power Rangers :laugh: ,crazy thought though.

That reminds me of that one PR series where the entire POLICE HEADQUARTERS was a 'Zord. But, if that were true, would there be two assembly towers?

I find it quite humorous that just the other day I was wondering when the prelims would come in- and now that they have, it feels really early. This theme. Oh, this theme. It feels like a bit of a letdown since the amazing designs of Breakout, but the pieces..... Earth Green.... :wub_drool:

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Some musings/theories:

1)Those pieces are marvelous, Aaanchir. Those tr. blue shells... :cry_happy: Hopefully we'll see them on Surge and/or Stringer.

2)I do think those tower-like blades on Furno's shield are intentional- but they're meant to be symbolic, just like the big H.

3)The Heroes use Glatorian heads- look at Rocka's helmet, which really is a slightly modified version of his Breakout one. You can see a tr. (bright? neon?) green head under it, which is very similar to a Glatorian head. I think the helmets work much like the 1.0 ones, but have two short bars on top for the visors to attach over, much like the 2.0 headgear.

4)The Heroes are growing on me, actually. I think some colour schemes need some cleaning, however. I'm thinking of trying something with LDD.

4,5)I realized the Titanium Metallic on Furno needs to disappear- it just makes him look too dark, and it doesn't work. Nothing can be done with the weapons, otherwise I just need to replace those Bulk 3.0 claw mounts with their silver counterparts, and replace the BP mace halves on the shoulders with...something else- I just don't think they work. I'm not sure if I'll keep the cape on him- black capes work on villains and anti-heroes, and Furno is..neither of those. Sorry Will.

5)A crazy or maybe not theory: the real villains are the..slug/insect...things, and the figures we see are just battle suits.

6)The fact we're having insect-themed villains might give some hope to the idea of a female Big Bad, like a sort of Hive Queen. Please, Lego?

Edited by Shakar

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Yes! Female Villain! Please LEGO, MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Also, I think the cape really suits Furno. He's always had somewhat of a regal vibe to me and the cap just enhances it.

As for the villain figs being battle suits, you and I are on the same page Shakar.

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6)The fact we're having insect-themed villains might give some hope to the idea of a female Big Bad, like a sort of Hive Queen. Please, Lego?

You mean, like a Hivemind?

I am so going to love LEGO if they do a Hivemind set.

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You mean, like a Hivemind?

I am so going to love LEGO if they do a Hivemind set.

Glad to see we're on the same page here.

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I seem to be the only one here that likes all the sets, don't I? I especially like Pyrox because he looks like the Devil and I like Furno XL because he has design features reminiscent of a fantasy knight because of his sword and shield and the cape which I hope is cloth so it can flow behind him.

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I seem to be the only one here that likes all the sets, don't I? I especially like Pyrox because he looks like the Devil and I like Furno XL because he has design features reminiscent of a fantasy knight because of his sword and shield and the cape which I hope is cloth so it can flow behind him.

I love them all. Rocka is the only one I'm iffy on. Mostly because he's so simplistic it's not even funny.

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I love them all. Rocka is the only one I'm iffy on. Mostly because he's so simplistic it's not even funny.

I disagree. Rocka is at least less simplistic than Bulk in my opinion since his shield has blades coming off the sides. It's true that Rocka's sword is simpler than Bulk's drill, but the added complexity of Bulk's drill does nothing for its looks, as the Technic parts serve a purely functional purpose. In terms of armor styles the two are pretty much equal, with neither significantly more complex than the other.

The thing that seems to make the 2013 Heroes more simplistic in appearance is that in general, they are more uniform than the Breakout heroes. Furno of course defies this, but Breez, Bulk, and Rocka have identical torsos, near-identical color scheme distribution, and large shoulder armor on one arm. Their masks remain distinct from one another, but each has a visor over top of it to provide a sense of uniformity.

I have no problem with uniformity among sets. I loved the BIONICLE sets prior to 2006 which followed fairly strict color scheme rules, and had a similar liking for the 2.0 Hero sets which likewise followed strict color scheme rules (with variation only in the armor styles on their limbs). So this coming year's uniformity is not extremely off-putting for me. What bothers me about next year's sets are the ways in which some of the sets are not uniform but perhaps should be. For instance, Breez has poorly-armored lower limbs where the other sets do not, and has a silver mask instead of one in her primary color. If these things were amended I think she would be a much more appealing set. Even though I felt compelled to mod my Breakout version of Breez to look more feminine and cohesive, I still think the overall design of that set was much more refined than the new Breez set.

Edited by Aanchir

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I disagree. Rocka is at least less simplistic than Bulk in my opinion since his shield has blades coming off the sides.

I feel ashamed that I just noticed the blades. But eh, I have to see real-life pictures before I can judge correctly. But so far my favourite is Breez, followed by Furno XL, then Rocka and Bulk.

But overall, the Brain Attack is one of (if not the) my favourite themes from Hero Factory.

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