Mesonak

I agree. I have several problems with Stormer, three and three alone at this point in time, and most are things that are hard to determine whether they truly are as bad as I believe they could be, and there's no way to tell until February. The actual set looks very nice and formidable. Here are the problems I have: 1. His leg design, mainly because it has never been used before, and as such, there's no precedent to determine if it's a good design or not. i'm going to attempt to create a mock-up of the leg design in the next couple of days to see if it's decent. But from the pictures, the posability looks awkward, and for a titan, it looks ridiculously simple. But that could all change come Toy Fair. 2. Speaking of things changing at Toy Fair, this brings me to problem two: The overall simplicity of the set considering the probable price, $20-$25. The torso, due to the overly large but very cool looking chest armor, appears very simplified, and the skimpiness of the leg and arm designs. But again, that all could change. 3. The feet. From what I can see, they look... odd. Almost like two 2.0 feet were slapped together and turned into one piece. But yet again, that all could change when the set is finalized. As it stands, though, the reason these problems bother me is not because they cause the set to look bad, contrary to what some people believe, but because I don't think the probable price justifies the set as it stands. Depending on the final piece count and structure of the set, my opinion will likely change (especially since we've only seen it from one angle), but as it stands now, that's that.

Just got word from Customer Service that Breez and Thornraxx are expected to be available for purchase on January 1st. So for some odd reason, they withheld those two sets from US shipments and their website until the beginning of the year, while releasing the rest of the wave weeks ahead of schedule. Whatever, at least they'll be available soon. Also, @Dorek: Good to hear that Splitface is a good set overall. I'm interested in picking two of him up eventually.

Furno's also one of the rarer ones, yeah. At least he's available on Shop at Home, though he doesnt appear to be available anywhere else... I've sent an email to Lego Customer Service regarding this matter (the European-only release of Breez and Thornraxx), and while I don't really expect a complete explanation, hopefully I'll get some info.

That wouldn't surprise me at all, though it doesn't follow the precedent set by the HF specials. Of course, Breakout in general isn't following the norm, featuring winter and summer sets, similar to Ninjago... It would be logical that, like Ninjago, they have a multi-episode series. Seems a little too much to hope for, because having an episode for each fight would require... character development.

Not only that, but where's Nex and Bulk? Perhaps they're a seperate unit?

That's the way all boxes are. It's an "alternate" way to assemble The Joker. Don't ask me why they chose to mismatch all armor plates and generally make a horribly structured model as an alternate, though.

Yeah, not going to lie, that's a concern in the back of my mind as well. I've grown quite attached the HF, so I hope it doesn't end anytime soon. But I suppose there's no way to know till September.

That actually holds true for me as well. Sure, I'd love to get a wave comparable in size to last summer's 12 sets, but alas, I have other expenses and wouldn't be able to get all the sets I'd want. At least this wave's small number of sets will hopefully allow me to hone in on the ones I really want (Core Hunter, Stringer, XT4, Voltix) and prioritize the others.

Yeah. for instance, there's supposed to be a set in the Monster Fights theme called "Zombies", which wasn't shown in the catalog. Couple that with the fact the Marvel system sets weren't even included in said catalog, and I'd judge that it's incomplete. As such, I fully expect a similar case here. Hopefully someone else will acquire a picture of the set in between now and February. If not, well, as you said, there's always Toy Fair.

I actually think Iron Man looks really great as a stand-alone set. I think because the HF aesthetic really works with his character. I'll definitely be getting him, though I don't think I'll touch Hulk and CA.

Oh wow, you're right. ... Well, that just made that idea much easier to realize. And another place to get an awesome piece.

I swear though, he's not the only one that's crazy about that set. One of the best designed "normal sized" villains in a long time, IMO. And that says something considering the many unique villain designs we've seen thus far. Talking about core Hunter, that is.

@Omicron: Thanks for the group shot pictures. Any chance we could get reviews/individual pictures of Thornraxx and Breez?

The purple villain from the TV show is Voltix.

Just got word that there IS one set not pictured here. The main villain, comparable in size to Stormer XL, is called... "Speeda Demon" ... If my source hadn't been right numerous times abou this list and other things, I would call him crazy and never believe another thing that was said by this person ever again just because the name sounds so ludicrous. Be that as it may, what an awesomely corny name. Hoping for some sort of freakish half-car/half-robot hybrid.

I'll consolidate my opinions into two categories: Heroes and Villains. Heroes: Very interesting. Nex is a let-down for me because of bad color placement, i.e. Surge. I was a strong supporter of the white being used as a complimentary color to the orange in his 2.0 form. Using his secondary color as the color of his chestplate? Bad move. That, and while I can see clear inspiration from his 2.0 helmet in his new head piece, it winds up looking overly long and elongated. He's a let down for me. As far as Stringer goes, however, I love the look of the figure. The only thing that bothers me is the blue being used as a secondary color. Not for the reasons that it has never been used on the character before (although that is true), but for the fact that, just like Nex, the blue is used on his torso armor. That does nothing but harm for Stringer. Though the actual set, as stated before, looks well armored and the design of the gun (which looks to be huge, and two handed) is very nice. For a $7.99 set, I have minimal complaints. Bulk looks to be well designed, and I have no complaints regarding the color scheme, but it looks like a very bland figure. Nothing I'll be interested in buying. Stormer XL is another matter entirely. The set, itself, looks great. But the fact that they're calling it an XL, which, if Rocka XL's precedent is to be followed, constitutes a $25 dollar release, I was hoping for something complex. This set looks awesome, but a bit too simple to justify the inevitable high price tag. But I'll reserve judgement. Villains: XT4 looks awesome. Looks like a multi-armed robot wielding a giant buzzsaw, blades, and a laser. Epic. I can spot yellow (or lime?) Raw-Jaw feet. One of my favorite HF villains yet. Core Hunter is also very well designed. The colors look nice and evil, while the figure itself looks well armored and imposing. Loving some of the recolors I'm seeing. He's a priority for me. Voltix is also a must-get. Loving the purple chestplate and new purple armor parts on the shoulders, and the general electric vibe I get just from looking at the head makes for an awesome set. Overall, the villains are all very well done in my eyes (one of the best sets of villains yet in HF, but the heroes are a bit lackluster. I'm very interested in seeing what the 8th and final set will be.

From what I've heard from a source of mine, there will be eight sets in this wave. Only seven are pictured in this video. I would assume the final, unrevealed set would be a large villain to combat Stormer XL. Opinions in a bit.

A great solution I've found for fixing Toxic Reapa's exposed ball joint is to add one of the smallest bone pieces available (not the extenders, but the piece used as Raw-Jaw's lower legs) pointing straight from the balljoint towards the head, and putting a black 3-long armor piece on the balljoint, creating a cool looking effect from all sides. Looking to be my second favorite "normal" sized villain from this wave, and that all depends on how well Thornraxx holds up out of box.

No, not when. He said he has pictures from all themes except Marvel Superheroes, and as such, some may be priorities for him above others. But I did request he show Hero Factory sooner than most, so maybe he'll honor that. I dunno. Still, looking forward to it.

When I saw the Savage Planet prelim pictures last year, it was the day before Christmas. It kind of made some of their appeal diminish, before the Savage Planet sets were so much better. But I still enjoyed Fire Lord. I almost prefer Rocka the way he was designed, but I think all of the other heroes (Evo especially) look better with their old chestplate and hero core color (I tested it on both of them). Contacted the uploader of the Prelim pictures for lotr and Star Wars; he confirmed that he does indeed have HF pictures and will be uploading them soon.

If the precedent set by the DC sets remains true, Marvel set pictures won't arrive until a good bit after initial pictures are leaked, or, worst case scenario, at New York Toy Fair in February.

Thornraxx Video Review Breakout Heroes Overview (Ironically, Breez IS included; so there you go, Bunda :P) If you look at her profile shot in the slideshow, she has the wider torso piece. So yet another wave they make odd decisions (like giving the slimmer torso to Evo, who's supposed to be big and bulky). Looks like a good set overall, though. One of the better heroes.

They look nothing alike. This new piece is wider, and has a different design. The odds of Stormer and the purple villain being a special edition set is very unlikely, considering how Lego hasn't produced a special edition set for Hero Factory since Bulk and Vapour, which I can assume didn't sell well. The chance they would decide to release another at this point is very unlikely. It's much more likely that they're, plain and simply, sets released in the summer. This isn't out of the ordinary for Lego as of late, either. If any of you have watched the Ninjago TV Show you'll know what I mean. In both seasons released thus far, sets that are presumed (and wound up being) released in the summer were featured in the TV Show when it first aired. Sets like the Skull Truck, the Fire Temple, a mecha used by Samurai X which will likely be released, and so on. So, in my eyes at least, it's pretty cut and dry what the circumstances are. Of course, we won't know for certain until the pictures are leaked, which, if the past precedents hold true, should be in about a week (or near then). Also, ha ha Vinyl. Funny guy.

What about Stormer's "crystal spikes" on his shoulders and upper left arm? Those seem to be new pieces. Interesting theory regarding Thornraxx and Breez. EDIT: darn it, this always happens - beaten

I was able to acquire Rocka yesterday, and I would recommend the set to anyone. I think that he's the best hero set made yet. But my number one complaint, is that the legs are ridiculously long and disproportionate. Simply swapping the lower legs with the ones used on Stormer 2.0 fixed the problem and made the model a lot easier to look at in my opinion. Aside from that, I love the set. Great review Sieg.