Dorek

I think looking at it in terms of sheer succession is kind of limiting. They took stuff that worked and stuff that didn't and applied it in different areas. That's marketing 101 right there. Hero Factory is obviously meant to be more of a spiritual successor because it utilizes a similar building system, is their main focus constraction line, and is branded "from the makers of BIONICLE", but again, that's just the draw. Ninjago just took some of the successful portions of BIONICLE because one of the line developers had some good ideas as to what would work and what wouldn't.

I don't see it as replacing BIONICLE (HF clearly did that) so much as they're just trying to apply techniques that they saw were successful to a different line and build something new. And, clearly, it worked.

So they get Lloyd's blog up but not the HF short stories? Thank you, LEGO[/sarcasm]. Buuuuut seriously hopefully those will actually be up soon. Also, checked out the online mag (since mine never came in and they got the march one up in like, two weeks, which is some kind of record?) and there's some cool new facts there. Also a cool poster and cover.

Another new book, eh? Hope they actually fit with the episode. I mean, what's the point otherwise, y'know? Maybe Breakout Part 2 actually incorporates these two books.

Huh, those are actually some cool pictures. I'm still pumped for Stormer and Speeda Demon, even though combined it's gonna be pretty expensive. Bulk is starting to look pretty snazzy too.

It appears to have premiered in South Korea (that's where it was, right?) already, but aside from that, we don't know too much. That's unfortunately the biggest failing of the Hero Factory line; they lump a lot of cool information on us at the beginning, but then news is totally stagnant until shortly before the TV show airs or until the new wave arrives. Yeah, Jawblade is a cool set. My one complaint is the fin/legs thing; they can make some cool poses, but you always have to adjust them in order to get something else to pose correctly.

Lol, I guess not necessarily puzzle, but just think of whatever it is they do in the Club Jr. Magazines, and that's probably about it.

It's a level two reader infoguide book, if it's the same thing as the B&N link I posted. Nothing interesting.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lego-hero-factory-meet-the-heroes-dorling-kindersley-publishing-staff/1107070538 on Barnes and Noble. So I wouldn't go getting your hopes up about anything interesting =P

Hot damn, them's some fine pictures. Still a little curious as to where Bulk, Breez, and Nex are. Stormer does look pretty ridiculous on his bike, but scout drones lol.

The way I see it, Stormer already settled his score =P. He achieved the moral victory over his nemesis, proved that he had matured and was more capable than VN, and defeated/imprisoned him. Obviously the evil chuckling at the end of RotR was meant as a potential plot thread if they ever came back to it (which is looks like they might) but the storyline has already achieved full closure. Even if we see VN, we're unlikely to get more character development out of it, it will just be those two facing each other down again, unless they decide to insert some heretofore unmentioned previous event that sparks a whole new conflict between them (unlikely, as the previous story established that they had never met again until the most recent point).

Well, not yet =P. I'm hoping that he won't be, as that would just be so boring. Lyi is right; if you connect everything, it just becomes a little silly, and ruins the episodic format HF was trying to go with in the first place. Unlikely, but who knows? I think the challenge is more in keeping the proportions than anything else; Stormer on Furno Bike (yes, I will try this when I get Stormer) would be kinda silly =P.

Go with Reapa. Less playable than Jawblade, but he pairs with Evo, and damn if he isn't one of the most inventive looking sets, even if some playability is sacrificed for it.

But that sounds exactly like what Makuta was doing. 2006 he's nothing but antidermis, giving the Piraka a few ideas. 2007, he's there, but he's not even the main villain, he's actually helping the good guys to further his aim. 2008 he isn't there at all, until the end, where it's revealed that he won. Same with 2001-03, and 04-05; yes they actually confront him a few times, but he's always hidden and in the shadows up until that point. At the beginning of this year, I thought there was a decidedly more "no returning villains" sentiment, and I'm surprised to see how quickly that changed. Then again, we are the spiritual descendants of BIONICLE fans; I shouldn't be that amazed.

To me, that's latent BIONICLE nostalgia; I'm imagining this post in one of those comedic juxtapositions where you replace VN's name with Teridax =P. HF's whole shtick thus far has been a fresh wave of villains every single time, essentially having to avoid referring to previous events to maintain interest. It seems weird that they're going back on that, but hopefully they can keep things fresh.

That seems like even more of a cheat, really. "oh, beeteedubs, what you just did is pointless because some guy had a hand in everything and you haven't caught him yet". To a point, that's what killed BIONICLE; HF has intentionally, thus far, avoided repeating villains in order to not make the same mistake of bogging things down in a mythos. The Breakout was a nice touch, as story goes, but they need to tread a fine line in order to avoid what BIONICLE became entrenched in: repetition.

Ugh, that sounds like a horrible butchering of the great aesthetic HF has; among other things, I don't think children would really appreciate the bad guy always and forever getting away in the end. I'd like him to come back, sure (especially since he could easily use the same mask piece, which opens up a world of new design possibilities), but a recurring, neverending villain just sounds so boring. Anyhow, interesting synopsis. Sounds like a generic amalgamation of everything we've learned so far plus already out-there speculation, but I dunno. Could still happen. Rocka being on the recon team sounds more like he was performing a reconnaissance mission, rather than being on the team itself, but like I said, we'll see. Also, as far as sets, I'd say Rocka and Furno. Rocka is a bit of a jumble, but all of his individual elements are really kinda nifty. And Furno is just awesome. Also also I got BP and am about to build him.

I could be pro Doom Box being its own episode, although I was kinda hoping for some expanded media, as opposed to everything still being centered around the TV episodes.

Copied from my post at BZP:

That was even more condensed that the other vs videos we saw XP. Good to see some high quality stuff, though, and Stringer is definitely holding the weapon like a guitar, even if he doesn't necessarily use it that way. Maybe the description will throw a few bones our way; it is, after all, a "sonic blaster weapon", so maybe the bio on HF.com will flesh it out more.

Mostly how they have MASSIVE WHITE CHEST PIECE with nothing to really balance it out. It might have worked better if Nex was a taller Hero, with more color available to dull the massive amount of white. I don't particularly have any strong feelings for him; he's a small Hero, and he does it generically. However, I had the same opinion about Surge, and I love him, so I'm sure Nex will find a spot in my heart.

It is when you win![/major sarcasm] Agreed with this post wholeheartedly. I didn't even see Bfa's point as being a "lecture" on color layering, so much as a point that, in terms of what has actually happened with the Hero Factory releases, Nex is one of the least consistent sets, contrary to what DV was saying. DV may think the white chest plate is layered nicely, but a lot of people think that it overpowers the whole color scheme anyway. tl;dr: Cool story bro. Even if its executed not as perfectly, I tend to appreciated new ideas over generic but solid designs, hence why I like XT4 more than Core Hunter or Nex. As far as "worst HF set ever" I'm gonna have to go with Corroder =P. But that's another topic altogether...

Sure, his original color scheme was great... when used properly. This white torso might have been more appropriate on a larger size, where he can actually have access to more orange pieces. Here, it's just overkill. His original chest piece, by standards, was orange, and orange is his primary color; they decided to mix that up for this wave, making the torso pieces their secondary color. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Also I think you're in the minority of not liking Evo XP. I even grew to like him after actually buying the set. I'm hoping Core Hunter grows on me the same way, but we'll see.

Derp, mislinked. I meant to do XT4. APPRECIATE NEX INSTEAD.

Pardon me, I didn't realize we were getting into facetious semantics. I would have used Evo as my example otherwise. Or Rocka, I suppose. Edit: Or what bfa said. In other news, here's a cholie pic of XT4: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7059/6866574087_6149a84baa_b.jpg