Hero Factory 2014 Discussion

[VBBN]

I gave up on Hero Factory's story a long time ago. It's too dry and uninspiring. I know I'm reverting to my usual "bionicle master race" attitude here, but there were aspects of Bionicle's story that Hero factory completely lacks. Mainly, character development in Hero Factory is crap. In the first year, we got to see a lot of the heroes and their attitudes, especially the rookies and stormer. As years progressed, they have become Heroes with nothing that makes them very unique at this point (they do not have the characteristic traits of the first year) and villains are now just mindless beasts with no interaction to make us care about them in any way. And even in stories like Breakout where the villains were a huge focus, all we got from them was "haha try to kill me heroes you won't win" The story can be as creative as you want, but when the characters have no individuality, it really makes the entire story as a whole quite terrible.

And for "ignore the story then", the story is what made me buy everything Bionicle, and the same case with DC Universe classics, marvel legends, and transfomers. I only buy 1-2 sets a year now, just because I think they look well made. I'd pick a lot more up if I loved them in the story.

[dviddy]

The story talk is interesting, but Hero Factory was never supposed to have the story BIONICLE had. That story, regardless if our feelings, was a liability. For the story fans, Ninjago and Chima exist to pull support to TLG's core system, well, system.

To be blunt, the constraction line exists to try and bridge a gap between traditional action figure fans and traditional lego fans. As long as people are "graduating" from Hero Factory into the wider system fields, constraction lines are successful. I talked with Keith, who leads the CEE team this past weekend at BricksCascade, and he told me that this system has been incredibly successful in that goal, much more so than BIONICLE. BIONICLE fans tended to be single-line fans, when they moved on from the theme, they moved out if LEGO. Not so with Hero Factory fans. As such, he said to expect this building system, whether HF sticks around or not, to be around under some theme name for a long time.

[3rdeye88]

The story talk is interesting, but Hero Factory was never supposed to have the story BIONICLE had. That story, regardless if our feelings, was a liability. For the story fans, Ninjago and Chima exist to pull support to TLG's core system, well, system.

To be blunt, the constraction line exists to try and bridge a gap between traditional action figure fans and traditional lego fans. As long as people are "graduating" from Hero Factory into the wider system fields, constraction lines are successful. I talked with Keith, who leads the CEE team this past weekend at BricksCascade, and he told me that this system has been incredibly successful in that goal, much more so than BIONICLE. BIONICLE fans tended to be single-line fans, when they moved on from the theme, they moved out if LEGO. Not so with Hero Factory fans. As such, he said to expect this building system, whether HF sticks around or not, to be around under some theme name for a long time.

Wow that's pretty cool! I'm quite relieved to read that. :) This basically confirms our suspicions that the CCBS system will be with us a while. And that makes a lot of sense actually. I myself have taken to buying more system now than I ever did when bionicle was around. Them blending the new system into other themes like Chima and the Super Hero UBs definitely helps with that to I think. I look at some of those Chima system sets and Ultra Agents and they're far more appealing to me because they contain HF parts in colors we don't have in HF or a dedicated CCBS system yet. Do those long HF armor parts com in Bright light Orange(keetongu orange/yellow if you prefer) in an actual HF set?

[VBBN]

Do those long HF armor parts com in Bright light Orange(keetongu orange/yellow if you prefer) in an actual HF set?

No there has only been trans yellow with waspix and silver with drilldozer. (Quite a shame, I really love that shell and would love to have it in a more inspiring range of colors..)

Not planning on getting that set but I'll scavenge BL for it. Reminds me of back in the day when EF had recolors of Bionicle parts (though I did purchase those sets, whereas I have no interest in the Chima system sets) Always nice to see themes bring cross-enticed in that way.

[3rdeye88]

No there has only been trans yellow with waspix and silver with drilldozer. (Quite a shame, I really love that shell and would love to have it in a more inspiring range of colors..)

Not planning on getting that set but I'll scavenge BL for it. Reminds me of back in the day when EF had recolors of Bionicle parts (though I did purchase those sets, whereas I have no interest in the Chima system sets) Always nice to see themes bring cross-enticed in that way.

Like I said, I've been getting more system than ever. I haven't really said much on the latest action figure buy thread cause I've focused more on system this time. I got a Hobbit set(it was on sale), and three Galaxy Squad sets over the Christmas season and when the new stuff hit my store shelves I got two Legend Beasts cause I was honestly more interested in them and the Mixels than IFB. I also got a couple EF sets back in the day. I've noticed like back then it took a few years for designers to figure out "hey this can be used for ___ over here." I think we're starting to see that in HF. Think about it, it was what 2004-06 when we started seeing bionicle in system sets? Its taken about that long for HF to make it there to. It was mostly EF and Vikings to get Bionicle parts right. Trying to think of anything else to feature bionicle parts a lot. Racers I guess? But not to the same extent. I hope they keep it up and we see even more CCBS stuff in other themes. Would love to see another year of Galaxy Squad with some cool CCBS recolors and printings for it.

[VBBN]

Like I said, I've been getting more system than ever. I haven't really said much on the latest action figure buy thread cause I've focused more on system this time. I got a Hobbit set(it was on sale), and three Galaxy Squad sets over the Christmas season and when the new stuff hit my store shelves I got two Legend Beasts cause I was honestly more interested in them and the Mixels than IFB. I also got a couple EF sets back in the day. I've noticed like back then it took a few years for designers to figure out "hey this can be used for ___ over here." I think we're starting to see that in HF. Think about it, it was what 2004-06 when we started seeing bionicle in system sets? Its taken about that long for HF to make it there to. It was mostly EF and Vikings to get Bionicle parts right. Trying to think of anything else to feature bionicle parts a lot. Racers I guess? But not to the same extent. I hope they keep it up and we see even more CCBS stuff in other themes. Would love to see another year of Galaxy Squad with some cool CCBS recolors and printings for it.

For me it's more of an issue of being a budgeted buyer. I buy system sets because I like the set, which is mainly why I stick to Star Wars (because it's a theme I like and the sets look good on display afterward for me) With constraction themes I usually always scrap them down for parts after a while, the entire wave of IFB that I got back in November has already been taken apart. So for me it means I have to resort to BL to get parts that are exclusive to a system set because I don't necessarily need the system parts or like the set. (The same logic of course can be applied to any constraction set, but generally any constraction parts will be a good addition to my collection seeing as that's what I moc with) A minor nitpick f course, anything that means more parts is good with me.

Constraction systems being implemented into the brick systems is definitely showing progression, one major one that I've noticed is the implementation of the ball and socket system into system sets in mechs and turrets. At first it was the click-hinge system (creator, 2006 exo force, even teridax and the Bahrag used a variant of that) and then we saw mechs begin to use the 2x2 brick with socket or balljoint. Ignoring the fact that those joints shattered to pieces because they used that terrible 08-10 design, they are now a big part of system builds. I think we saw less of this implementation with Bionicle because it was so technic-drawn at the start, and given that technic was already making its way to being the structuring element for a lot of larger system sets and functions, the only true Bionicle influences could have been weapons or masks or something. With hero factory the part styles fit in a lot more with system sets than bionicle parts did (they are a lot less stylized. Every character has the same type of shell piece, just flat and in that general shape) so it can be used in other things and people don't think "that should be a leg shouldn't it?"

For example, "Ew they have more gray rahkshi limbs?" We associated parts with a character. With hero factory, we more commonly refer to shells and pieces as their name and not in reference to a character (with some exceptions. Drilldozers chest armor, for example) I think that really helps with what DeeVee referenced with this being a more universal 'gateway" to system parts, and it does so quite well.

It's not the direction I personally like it going, but that matters not.

[3rdeye88]

For me it's more of an issue of being a budgeted buyer. I buy system sets because I like the set, which is mainly why I stick to Star Wars (because it's a theme I like and the sets look good on display afterward for me) With constraction themes I usually always scrap them down for parts after a while, the entire wave of IFB that I got back in November has already been taken apart. So for me it means I have to resort to BL to get parts that are exclusive to a system set because I don't necessarily need the system parts or like the set. (The same logic of course can be applied to any constraction set, but generally any constraction parts will be a good addition to my collection seeing as that's what I moc with) A minor nitpick f course, anything that means more parts is good with me.

Constraction systems being implemented into the brick systems is definitely showing progression, one major one that I've noticed is the implementation of the ball and socket system into system sets in mechs and turrets. At first it was the click-hinge system (creator, 2006 exo force, even teridax and the Bahrag used a variant of that) and then we saw mechs begin to use the 2x2 brick with socket or balljoint. Ignoring the fact that those joints shattered to pieces because they used that terrible 08-10 design, they are now a big part of system builds. I think we saw less of this implementation with Bionicle because it was so technic-drawn at the start, and given that technic was already making its way to being the structuring element for a lot of larger system sets and functions, the only true Bionicle influences could have been weapons or masks or something. With hero factory the part styles fit in a lot more with system sets than bionicle parts did (they are a lot less stylized. Every character has the same type of shell piece, just flat and in that general shape) so it can be used in other things and people don't think "that should be a leg shouldn't it?"

For example, "Ew they have more gray rahkshi limbs?" We associated parts with a character. With hero factory, we more commonly refer to shells and pieces as their name and not in reference to a character (with some exceptions. Drilldozers chest armor, for example) I think that really helps with what DeeVee referenced with this being a more universal 'gateway" to system parts, and it does so quite well.

It's not the direction I personally like it going, but that matters not.

I guess I need to clarify. I keep no set together. They all come apart and get used for MOCing at some point. I might have it done in a few days and when I do I'll post it, but I'm actually workin on revamping a MOC of mine that uses a lot of system, HF and Bionicle all at once. So that'll show how I really do utilize the varous main systems. Its not overly technic based, but with my last MOC I posted here I showed how I can heavily utilize that as well. I just happened to buy more system sets this last chirstmas because My dad came into some money in 2013 and I got all of HF BA. Wasn't much else to focus on and I do want to increase my library of system parts. I'm sort of refamiliarizing myself with system and what kinds of things can be done with it. Buying on BL is definitely an option but I don't exactly know what to get if I did. Ya know? I find a good use for a part by having it in my hands and moving it around on a MOC. And now I'm just spent until I get more spending money so I haven't gotten any IFB sets yet. Its in the plans though.

I agree, the CCBS definitely lends more to system inclusion than bionicle did. And the character association is a big difference between now and then. I still call certain parts in bionicle "a metru shin or thigh armor" or associate it to what theme or line it came from. Its a nomenclature that works within the community though. I find the names we use for HF a little confusing because they are more vague though.

[Creatorman]

Somehow, I have a feeling that this year's line is a "filler" line. Look at it, we are moved away from our story arc right now to something totally different, we have a different scale, and the newest episode is only a 22 minute long mini movie. I have a feeling that the designers at LEGO have something super awesome in store for us, they just need extra time to develop their ideas.

[3rdeye88]

Somehow, I have a feeling that this year's line is a "filler" line. Look at it, we are moved away from our story arc right now to something totally different, we have a different scale, and the newest episode is only a 22 minute long mini movie. I have a feeling that the designers at LEGO have something super awesome in store for us, they just need extra time to develop their ideas.

That's wishful thinking if I ever saw it. All the TV spots are about 22 minutes. Go look. They're 22 minutes because with commercials that comes out to a half hour which is pretty standard programming. IFB wasn't the only year to get a single episode. Brain attack and 2.0 got only one episode as well.

[Creatorman]

That's wishful thinking if I ever saw it. All the TV spots are about 22 minutes. Go look. They're 22 minutes because with commercials that comes out to a half hour which is pretty standard programming. IFB wasn't the only year to get a single episode. Brain attack and 2.0 got only one episode as well.

True, but this special abandons the story arc that started in "Breakout". The fact that it is also made by Ghost rather than Tinseltown Toons hints extremely towards it being a filler, there was also no connection with the other story arcs, BA and Breakout had continuity with the rest of the universe, but if you have been following the story, you will realize that there is no continuity with the other episodes. Either way though, the sets are pretty cool though.

[Logan McOwen]

Wow, this thread is a mess...

[Timeline15]

Just got all the wave 1 sets for my birthday today. My thoughts:

-Evo XL machine: Really cool. feels so chunky and powerful, and looks so mechanical. Articulation is limited (almost non existent in the legs) but it feels like a big hulking robot, so this works. I don't get the hate for this set

-Furno Jet machine: Good, solid set. I'm never that enthusiastic about Furno sets, but this one has a good solid feel, and pulls off the main body a lot better than some of the others.

-Stormer freeze machine: the torso doesn't work. The piece they use below the cockpit doesn't fit, sticks out way too far, and hinder leg movement.

-Rocka Stealth machine: cool, feels solid, looks good. Those lightsaber pieces in the torso are incredibly wobbly XD.

-Evo walker: the weakest set of the line, but my no means terrible. It gets the aesthetic across well. Just a shame the build is so flimsy.

Jaw Beast: nice. just a fun small set. also, purple. I don't really like how the mouths of the beasts open though. It looks a bit odd. CHI Cragger pulled it off better. also... PURPLE.

Flyer Beast: also really nice, but good god that tiny arm pisses me off. I LOVE how the wings look though.

Splitter beast: looks good combined, but hard to pose the heads. they don't give each other enough room.

Universal issue. The sets aren't big enough! I want my giant beast giant, or, at least, Inika size. These guys are tiny!

[Kalhiki]

Now that I have all the sets and have had time to mess around with them, I've decided on favorites. Might as well give my 2 cents.

As for mechs, I'm quite surprised to say the Freeze machine is my favorite. And I have no idea why. I just think it looks cool.

Second would be Evo XL. I figured I'd like it. Big and bulky and gives the appearance of a mech.

Third is the Jet machine. Nice and solid with an awesome build.

Fourth is the Stealth machine. I thought I'd like it more than I do, but it just feels kinda bland.

Last is Evo Walker which is just bad. Made the alternate, humanoid build that was posted here a while back. Makes it a lot better.

The Beasts I'd say would start with Splitter and end with Jaw. Splitter is just a big, fun two in one, Flyer is just cool looking, and Jaw Beast looks nice, but for some reason seems kind of awkward to me. Maybe its his four-legged stance.

[ATBro]

Hi I'm new to euro bricks but I have been following the forum. Could someone link me to this alternate Evo walker build please?

[Mesonak]

Hi I'm new to euro bricks but I have been following the forum. Could someone link me to this alternate Evo walker build please?

you go. :D

[ATBro]

Thanks for the link. Just wanted to say that I agree with Creatorman, it could be a filler year, to give them more time and to introduce more system fans to the line before they bring out the new theme.

[exxtrooper]

Does people generally consider Splitter beast to be a good buy?

[Mesonak]

Does people generally consider Splitter beast to be a good buy?

Well, I own the set and I'm very pleased with him both from a parts pack and a set perspective. As far as parts are concerned, you can't beat him. Both new feet, the claw/talon pieces, azure, beast heads, two mini-heroes, etc. It's great.

As far as the actual set goes, I love how menacing it looks; the splitting function makes me nostalgic of BIONICLE 2008, and it works quite well. I'd definitely recommend him.

[Shakar]

It's the best starter set you could buy- two minifigs, all new Beast parts, Beast heads in both styles, useful pieces..

If I had to buy only one Winter set, it'd be this one.

[Aanchir]

Splitter Beast is not too great in terms of price-per-piece. It has 108 pieces for $20, and 24 of those parts go towards minifigures and minifigure accessories. But when you look at what those pieces are, it definitely stands out as a great way to accumulate "beast" parts. Both of the new foot styles (two of each), two heads (built in the reverse of one another, so it gives you the potential to build a single all-black head or claw), three of the new talon pieces, two black "paw" pieces, and a bunch of useful shells and beams.

Really, the main reason I'm not certain I want to get it is because the only mini-heroes it comes with are the two my brother and I already have: Furno and Evo. But it's definitely a set we're keeping in mind for later in the year. Really, none of the beast sets besides Tunneler Beast have been super-duper enticing for me. Splitter Beast, Flyer Beast, and Jaw Beast are all cool, but in terms of construction they're somewhat run-of-the-mill — not as daring and non-traditional as past villains like Jawblade, Toxic Reapa, Thornraxx, and XT4. Crystal Beast is likewise a generic humanoid with very few assets to boast other than its unique color scheme. Queen Beast is nice, but a little bit bare-bones in some areas, and she'd get me at least two duplicate heroes and a second machine for Evo (lovely design, but I don't know that we need another after Evo XL Machine).

I know I want some of the beasts this year just to try MOCing with them, and have weighed my options to see which machines I might skip in favor of a beast. I'd be happy to get Tunneler Beast either in place of or in addition to Surge & Rocka Combat Machine. But I'm not really sold on any of the other beasts as either sets or parts packs. They have a lot of the same parts between them, and I'd prefer to get the heroes they come with in the machine sets in most cases, so it's very difficult to decide which of them would be the best for my collection.

[ShadowWolfHount]

Does people generally consider Splitter beast to be a good buy?

To me, I don't consider it and I don't find that to be a good to buy because with Parts for MOC is not that useful and the set it's set is not good at all IMO but I do think Jaw Beast and/or Furno Jet Machine is a good buy.

[Bfahome]

Flyer Beast arrived today. Pretty meh as a set. Got it for parts and Breez. I needed Breez quick.

But I DID NOT KNOW about the awesome picture on the bottom of the bag. That's really cool.

[Gatanui]

Flyer Beast arrived today. Pretty meh as a set. Got it for parts and Breez. I needed Breez quick.

But I DID NOT KNOW about the awesome picture on the bottom of the bag. That's really cool.

I think I may even know what you need Breez for. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

-Gata

[Bfahome]

I think I may even know what you need Breez for. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

-Gata

shhh

[Bob C]

Hopefully next year Lego steers away from media and makes better sets and distributes them more effectively. Where I live, there are NO 2014 Technic sets and the entire TRU is like a TLM wasteland. I did see HF, but there were only a couple sets and overall it was sparse.