LEGO Ultra Agents 2014

[Pigbrick]

Let me take another shot...

The off color being a trans color makes most of the Ultra Agents' vehicles seem TRON-like.

I'm also not sure where the phrase "Bad to the Bone" comes from, but that little nod on the back Terabyte's torso ("Bad to the Code").

Perchance is Max Burns a nod to the Max minifig that's on all of the Lego Club promos?

I like your dedication there Penkid11!

Tron was inspiration, but not our sole inspiration, for this. We wanted something classy but set in the future so sleek dark vehicles with a hint of secondary colour was a strong choice and I think it worked here really well.

You're spot on about Terabyte's jacket I was more than happy to get that joke through (A fun note: Designers Alex and Tore came up with the initial design of the character but I finalized the style and added Terabyte's motto on the back of the character).

Can't say the Max one is correct though. Max just happens to be a cool name

If you guys enjoy playing the guessing game I can keep it going or I can list the references if you would like to know right away all the "top secrets" hidden within the designs of line

[genecyst]

i don't know if it were a real reference or not, but the way the quad in the riverside raid transforms really remind me to one of the most iconic set from the m.a.s.k. line:

by the way i would really love to see something like this coming next year:

well... i mean this to be honest... http://brickset.com/...-1/Volcano-Base

Edited September 5, 2014 by genecyst

[PenPlays]

or this... http://brickset.com/...-1/Volcano-Base

To date, the Volcano Base remains as one of my favorite sets of all time. It was only built once, and has never been scavenged for parts. (I love me my Inferno stuff).

I also notice that all the Ultra Agents have last names that, in some shape or another, have to do with fire, or burns.

-Burns (speaks for itself)

-Fury (form of anger, occasionally described as being like fire or to describe an intense fire)

-Bolt (Lightning bolts can instantly destroy with intense heat)

-Phoenix (Flaming mythical bird)

-Blaze (speaks for itself)

-Hydron (Very reactive molecule, known to form acids that cause burns)

Likewise, all of the villains so far are based off of natural disasters.

-Toxikita, Adam Acid, and Retox are based off of nuclear disasters.

-Tremor is based off of earthquakes

-Infearno is based off of infernos

-Cyclone is based off of tornadoes and cyclones (obviously )

-Terabyte is based off of data breaches which are various and can reach a catastrophic scale.

I'm curious if next year will follow suit with these name types. Anti-Matter seems to imply that we'll be heading into more sci-fi type disasters.

Edited September 5, 2014 by Penkid11

[Drock]

Earth Wind and Fire (Terra-, Psyclone, Infearno)

[tonif430]

Pigbrick,do you work at Lego?

[Pigbrick]

i don't know if it were a real reference or not, but the way the quad in the riverside raid transforms really remind me to one of the most iconic set from the m.a.s.k. line:

M.A.S.K. holds a special place in a lot of our child-like minds

As for names, that's pretty much right. Also, it produces rather cool names

Pigbrick,do you work at Lego?

Just your top-secret undercover agent (but yes I do )

[Lind Whisperer]

Two questions of my own:

Is Ultra Agents officially(or internally) supposed to be a continuation of the 2008-9 Agents line, or is it a separate group of Agents, as the Astor City location would seem to suggest? Or, are they supposed to be a specific branch inside the overall Agents line, with their lightning A logo being their own designated variant of the Agent's A?

And, to the best of your knowledge, is Ultra Agents supposed to take place in the future, or in the present*?

Thank you very much, and I'm sorry if I come off as a bit pushy. One of my favorite things to do is create a timeline of what themes canonically exist in the same timeline, and it's the first time I've ever gotten to ask an actual LEGO designer.

*I was presuming it was in the future, because of Solomon Blaze's inclusion, but there was nothing that said that it couldn't be in the present, with hovercraft technology existing in Clutch Powers-era(2009) spacecraft.

Edited September 6, 2014 by Lind Whisperer

[Mandate]

I wouldn't take Clutch Powers as any indication of past or present, Clutch Powers is a very special case in the sense that the only LEGO line to reference it openly as part of its plot (that I can recall) was NINJAGO, and it was only a brief one-time reference that has not been touched since then. Assuming that it has any plot connections to past or future lines, including NINJAGO, is a bit of a touchy subject because of how easily it can backfire. Castle, Space Police and Power Miners all were featured in the movie, but their actual plots were all seperate/loosely connected by the passage of time. AGENTS, City, Mindstorms, Mars Mission and who knows how many other themes were also present in the background.

However, I think that Ultra Agents is set in the near-future. Astor City guards feature somewhat retro uniforms, as do many of the "civilians", even the Ultra Agents themselves wear tuxedos, not exactly far-off clothing. It could be seen as the MARVEL universe, present day but with super-tech stuff, etc. But unsurprisingly Ultra Agents isn't too far off into the future in terms of IRL technology. Lasers, after more testing and research has been done, are soon going to become staple tech in the US military against Drones. Powered armor, invisibility, and a whole bunch of other previously science-fiction technologies are becoming real things, and not in the Buck Rogers sense of wildly speculating the future.

But that's a can of worms for another day

If I can make a request, what inspired the bizarre nature of Terabyte? I mean, not every hacker builds a Mech and then literally hacks into secret computer databases

[8BrickMario]

I think it's a terrific theme and I am seriously excited for the next wave. I think it's a spy movie standby: the agents have ridiculously hi-tech stuff, and the villains have clunky, over-the-top vehicles.

I thought Terabyte was designed to be a counterpart to the Agents. Both use a neutral tone as a base color with transparent lines and pieces (Agents-black with trans-light blue highlights, Terabyte-dark gray with trans-bright green highlights), and Terabyte is the best foil, since the Agents run on protected data, and he can remove it.

[Dr.Cogg]

Maybe Tera-Byte didn't build his Mech, maybe it was AntiMatter who gave it to him.

P.S. Pigbrick have you ever seen the Anime Psycho-Pass.

Edited September 6, 2014 by Dr.Cogg

[Drock]

Just put together Mission HQ and I love it. There is so much fun stuff in there. And the mechanism to separate/connect the cab from the trailer is ingenious.

Still going to get Toxikita and Hurricane Heist

Edited September 6, 2014 by Drock

[Faefrost]

References in Ultra Agents. Would Solomon Kane's car basically being a police spinner from Bade Runner be on the list?

Tremor has kind of a He Man character feel to him?

Edited September 7, 2014 by Faefrost

[Pigbrick]

Two questions of my own:

Is Ultra Agents officially(or internally) supposed to be a continuation of the 2008-9 Agents line, or is it a separate group of Agents, as the Astor City location would seem to suggest? Or, are they supposed to be a specific branch inside the overall Agents line, with their lightning A logo being their own designated variant of the Agent's A?

And, to the best of your knowledge, is Ultra Agents supposed to take place in the future, or in the present*?

Thank you very much, and I'm sorry if I come off as a bit pushy. One of my favorite things to do is create a timeline of what themes canonically exist in the same timeline, and it's the first time I've ever gotten to ask an actual LEGO designer.

You're not coming off as pushy, you're fine . The brief we got was that it was suppose to take place 20 years after the victory of Galaxy Squad. As for any connection with the previous Agents, I was always under the assumption that this was a reboot for a new generation of builders.

If I can make a request, what inspired the bizarre nature of Terabyte? I mean, not every hacker builds a Mech and then literally hacks into secret computer databases

What can I say, kids and model builders love giant robots (I was one of two of the graphic designers on this team, so I did design work for the minifigures and the stickers for Hurricane Heist. The rest of the stickers were designed by the other Graphic Designer, Julian).

Maybe Tera-Byte didn't build his Mech, maybe it was AntiMatter who gave it to him.

P.S. Pigbrick have you ever seen the Anime Psycho-Pass.

Can't say that I have but after doing a quick google image search I can see why you asked that

References in Ultra Agents. Would Solomon Kane's car basically being a police spinner from Bade Runner be on the list?

Tremor has kind of a He Man character feel to him?

Mmm, the Blade Runner inspiration I really can't discuss... not because it's a secret or anything but I really can't remember what inspired the model builder for the design. All I remember is that all the kids loved Chris's (the model builder) design

As for references, look more into the sticker sheets and minifigures and less of what the whole theme is. You'll start to see them more

Edited September 7, 2014 by Pigbrick

[Lind Whisperer]

Thank you very much!

Also, not sure if it counts as a reference or not, but I'm guessing "JULU" on the Tremor Track sticker sheet is a reference to the other Graphic Designer Julian.

Edited September 7, 2014 by Lind Whisperer

[Drock]

Was Tremor's armor inspired by Ram Man from Masters of the Universe? ;)

[DuckBricks]

I like your dedication there Penkid11!

Tron was inspiration, but not our sole inspiration, for this. We wanted something classy but set in the future so sleek dark vehicles with a hint of secondary colour was a strong choice and I think it worked here really well.

You're spot on about Terabyte's jacket I was more than happy to get that joke through (A fun note: Designers Alex and Tore came up with the initial design of the character but I finalized the style and added Terabyte's motto on the back of the character).

Can't say the Max one is correct though. Max just happens to be a cool name

If you guys enjoy playing the guessing game I can keep it going or I can list the references if you would like to know right away all the "top secrets" hidden within the designs of line

I don't mind you posting the "top secrets," but perhaps you can put them in "spoiler" tabs? That way people who don't wish to see it don't need to chance upon it...

[Pigbrick]

I don't mind you posting the "top secrets," but perhaps you can put them in "spoiler" tabs? That way people who don't wish to see it don't need to chance upon it...

Don't think it'll be earth shattering secrets but yes, I can do that

Thank you very much!

Also, not sure if it counts as a reference or not, but I'm guessing "JULU" on the Tremor Track sticker sheet is a reference to the other Graphic Designer Julian.

Right on the dot! I believe it's a combination of both designers, Julian the Graphic Designer and Luis the Model Designerl

Was Tremor's armor inspired by Ram Man from Masters of the Universe? ;)

He's been called a lot of things, Juggernaut being another. It's what happens when you decide to be strong and wear a helmet ;)

Graphic Designers, since they're the ones designing the minifigures, will tend to hide little call outs here and there as well

Edited September 9, 2014 by Pigbrick

[Lind Whisperer]

Graphic Designers, since they're the ones designing the minifigures, will tend to hide little call outs here and there as well

If you're ever designing a villain overlord type, that's not tied down to a specific plot line(e.g., the Overlord would work perfectly, Pythor wouldn't, as he's been trapped in a cave for years). one really awesome call out you could include would be

An Omega (Ω) symbol tucked away somewhere on his costume. In Clutch Powers, it's mentioned as being the sign of a "a EVIL and DANGEROUS group of powerful beings* responsible for numerous acts of violence and evil..."

...and that's as far as it goes. It'd be really awesome to have another reference to it.

*Beings was being used as a term for "life-form", not as a specification.

[Dr.Cogg]

Pigbrick, how long did it take, to come up with the final design for these sets ,and if your able to , could we see some of the concept art and Preliminary of the sets.

I like looking at the art work and seeing all the changes to a set before its finalized.

Thanks .

Edited September 9, 2014 by Dr.Cogg

[DuckBricks]

If you're ever designing a villain overlord type, that's not tied down to a specific plot line(e.g., the Overlord would work perfectly, Pythor wouldn't, as he's been trapped in a cave for years). one really awesome call out you could include would be

An Omega (Ω) symbol tucked away somewhere on his costume. In Clutch Powers, it's mentioned as being the sign of a "a EVIL and DANGEROUS group of powerful beings* responsible for numerous acts of violence and evil..."

...and that's as far as it goes. It'd be really awesome to have another reference to it.

*Beings was being used as a term for "life-form", not as a specification.

That would be one of the best "easter eggs" ever... Hopefully a new UA villain will have it!

Pigbrick, how long did it take, to come up with the final design for these sets ,and if your able to , could we see some of the concept art and Preliminary of the sets.

I like looking at the art work and seeing all the changes to a set before its finalized.

Thanks .

I agree, I love looking at the concepts for all sorts of sets and seeing how the design process evolved.

[Kalhiki]

I agree, I love looking at the concepts for all sorts of sets and seeing how the design process evolved.

There should just be a big Lego artbook with sketches and stuff from various themes...

On topic, it's cool to see all the references stuffed into these sets. Makes them all the more entertaining.

[DuckBricks]

There should just be a big Lego artbook with sketches and stuff from various themes...

On topic, it's cool to see all the references stuffed into these sets. Makes them all the more entertaining.

I agree... If only DK put together a "LEGO Concepts and Final Products: Through the Years" book, I would be extremely happy. (Even happier if it included a concept minifigure!)

[genecyst]

yesterday i've finally put my hands on the HQ that was the only set that i were missing of this line, and i've got to say it's amazing.

i've been ipnotized by the locking system of the trailer. I think i've locked and unlocked it like 50 times always saying "WOW".

@Pigbrick great work with the stickers, i usually don't attach them for the most of my sets, but there were some too cute in this that i couldn't resist.

[The Chosen Minifigure]

With a designer in the house, I must ask!

Favorite set in this theme, if you had full control over the theme what would you make, and what licence would you like to see as a theme?

[Pigbrick]

Pigbrick, how long did it take, to come up with the final design for these sets ,and if your able to , could we see some of the concept art and Preliminary of the sets.

I like looking at the art work and seeing all the changes to a set before its finalized.

Thanks .

As a designer I would love to be able to share concept with you guys but I'm afraid that I cannot. Being a business we have a lot of competitors that are searching and finding what makes us so great so I can't show that process because of that. We've had other companies copy or steal our ideas (that's why posting leaks are so bad for us...) If we ever get the chance, a LOT of us would be very happy to share that aspect with you guys. I especially know the graphic designers would love to! I love drawing minifigure concepts! But I'm sorry, I can't share anything like that with you guys.

The best I can offer is this link:

It's the video of the Graphic Designer who mentored me when I first joined the company. Djordje discusses his work on the minifigures for the Hobbit line. Plus he shows some of the cool concept sketches he drew up for them.

yesterday i've finally put my hands on the HQ that was the only set that i were missing of this line, and i've got to say it's amazing.

i've been ipnotized by the locking system of the trailer. I think i've locked and unlocked it like 50 times always saying "WOW".

@Pigbrick great work with the stickers, i usually don't attach them for the most of my sets, but there were some too cute in this that i couldn't resist.

Thanks genecyst! But that was Julian who designed those stickers But it's great to hear that! As graphic designers we usually don't hear much about the stickers, it's usually the "There's too many stickers! I didn't apply the stickers for this review, etc, etc..." So it's appreciated to hear that you liked them

With a designer in the house, I must ask!

Favorite set in this theme, if you had full control over the theme what would you make, and what licence would you like to see as a theme?

Hey TCM, my favourite set in this theme would probably be the Hurricane Heist that Fred built. I'm a sucker for big robots and he delivered! Plus, it has one of my favourite minifigures I designed for the theme: Psyclone! If I had control over the theme, what would I make? Good question! Since I'm not a model designer (but I do build, and have built sketch models for Agents) I really can't say... It's goes with the whole "competitor" aspect thing so I really can't discuss that. Sorry. And the license I would like as a theme? Well, to be honest, we pretty much covered everything I've ever wanted We have Spider-Man, Marvel, and Star Wars so I'm pretty happy

And the last part I want to add is the "Special Top Secret List of References!"

Tremor's sticker has JULU which refernces the graphic designer Julian and the model designer Luis.

Find it weird that Professor Hydron is the only Agent member that has her initials on her badge? Well, those initials are actually the initials for our team's engineer who helped finalize our special elements for the line!

Hurricane Heist has the small reference to Metal Gear in the form of the Codex. Kojima, creator of Metal Gear games, is a giant LEGO fan and this was a little call out to him. Don't think he's discovered it yet though...

In Toxikita's Toxic Takedown, Julian hid model designer Fred's name in the design: FR3D^2.

In the Mobile HQ, the crane arm is name Raph, after the model designer who designed the set.

4-9 appears in the Hurrican Heist sticker sheet for the flying motorcyle. This reference appears in many sets and not just in the Agent line... what does it mean? Is there any connection with the other sets? Who knows, but I'm not telling quite yet ;)

Psyclone has a missing eye which is why he is wearing an eye patch. But, if you look on the reverse face with his goggles on you can see that it's missing a lens and has a big scratch mark over it. This was a small design clue I put in to show how he lost his eye.

The screaming scientist in Toxic Meltdown is designed to look like my friend Tyler. I posted an image of him earlier on in this topic.

Retox was the last minifigure I designed for the line. Nothing really special, just thought it was a fun fact :D

There is a super-dooper-secret reference hidden in the Ultra Agents line and is considered by me to be the HARDEST one to find. SO, I won't be revealing that one. I want to see who'll be the first to find it!

Edited September 14, 2014 by Pigbrick