93 replies to this topic

[~Shockwave~]

Xt4, I want. It reminds me of the crazy caffeine crazed casseticon frenzy. And that is win.
Core hunter is cool.
Stringer, meh, maybe
Speeda, is win, also want.
I do need more villains.

[GeluNumber1]

I'm gonna buy all of them, me being the completist I am.

[Obsessionist]

Definitely my least favorite wave so far as far as set design goes, but still pretty cool sets for the parts. I'll be getting Voltix if I can, but with other cool lines coming up, I may have to divert my meager funds away from HF.

[Roxy Lalonde]

proceeds to throw wallet away because there is no way money will make it inside once these come out

Nex: Kinda boring. Wish the helmet wasn't just a single-mold Glatorian-compatible version of his original, but what can you do? The system harpoon is pretty cool and I love the laser.

XT4: Also kinda boring. Unsure how to feel about the head since it's essentially a smaller version of Meltdown's. Not enough yellow. Glad to see that saw piece and an orange antenna in a smaller set, though.

Stringer: This is the part where I start hyperventilating. New speaker armour? Tans-blue chest armour with sound waves coming from his core? Silver versions of the new launcher piece and the 2.0 shield? I'm a little dismayed that they gave him a colour scheme at the complete opposite end of the colour wheel here (they could've at least kept his orange eyes u_u) but I think it's worth it.

Core Hunter: Another cool set. The black helmet is wicked awesome and I'm glad to see Lego finally made a black 2.0 shield as well.

Bulk: Eh, not really one of my favourites. I like the armour on his shins (and that they're finally making orange armour in more lengths) though.

Voltix: what. This guy actually deeply intrigues me for reasons I can't fully comprehend. Will definitely buy (mainly for those new smaller lightning pieces on his helmet there), especially if they keep this whacked-out colour scheme. I just wish the handles on the smaller lightning pieces weren't oriented so weirdly, because holding your weapon at a perpetual 45° angle just doesn't seem very efficient.

Stormer: Haha his hero core looks so ridiculously tiny on that oversized chest of his. I'll likely only buy him for those new foot pieces.

Speeda Demon: And this is the part where I die because this is my favourite one. I just wish they had made a new helmet for him too (thee different colours of one helmet in one year? I think you've set a new record for yourself, Lego), but aside from that I can tell this is another definite buy.

[Gatanui]

Let's get reviewing, shall we?

Nex: I do not see why everybody hates Nex. The colour scheme is awesome, in my opinion. I wonder whether it is a coincidence that they took the Mindstorms NXT colour scheme for Nex. The torso printing is lovely, too. Oh, and the biggest highlight of this set is definitely the new helmet à la 2.0. Lovely. Only his left arm is slightly awkward. It was certainly not a good idea to jumble the colour scheme with gunmetal. And I don't think I am very fond of that green tube either...

XT4: The only thing I like about this set is the name. I wonder why everybody seems to like XT4. Am I the only person that doesn't like the junk-bot-resembling appearance of this set?

Stringer: Ever since HERO Factory started, Stringer has always been the best Hero of every wave (excluding the second wave, of course). Wave five proves, once again, that Stringer is the coolest Hero ever and that it's better not to mess with him. I am not at all disappointed by the fact that Stringer's secondary colour has switched from orange to blue... to transparent blue, you may want to add. The colour scheme is simply beautiful. Add the new beatbox-armor pieces, the gun looking like an electric guitar and astonishing 42 parts for a 10 EUR/9 USD set and you will realize that Stringer is not only the best set of the fifth wave, but also close to being the embodyment of perfection with the new building system. The gap in the back is the only major issue as far as I can determine so far. This hero should definitely be regarded as an exemplary model for future heroes by TLC.

Core Hunter: I can't recognize much, but Core Hunter looks quite appealing so far, although being a rather mediocre villain apart from the new shin-pieces and the helmet.

Bulk: Bulk is my second favourite Gero of the fifth wave. The switch from steel grey to gunmetal is a welcome change, and so is the stronger prominence of Bulk's secondary colour, orange. I am just a bit disappointed that some pieces, in particular his helmet, were not changed to gunmetal as well. Overall, this does not seem to worsen him too much as a set, though. I am also glad that Bulk has actual heavy-duty equipment again, which was not the case in the third wave. Well done, LEGO!

Voltix: Why does everybod hate Voltix? Sure, the colour scheme is rich in contrast, even crazy, but isn't the anarchic, wild colour scheme what seems so attractive about this villain? I, for my part, consider him to be the best villain of this new wave.

Stormer XL: Finally, we have a hero whose structure clearly differs from that of other heroes released so far. Stormer is quite an interesting set. The bulky build suits Stormer very well, and there are plenty of new pieces with MOCing potential awaiting those who buy Stormer. However, for some reason, I fear that Stormer will not look as attractive from behind as from the front. Furthermore (and I suppose you will all agree) his arms are ridicously short.

Speeda Demon: Although the villain himself is not very spectacular, the bike is very appealing. Especially since it is purple! 'Nuff said.

So, all in all, I am very pleased with how the fifth wave turned out and I can't wait to get Stringer, Bulk, Nex and Voltix.

~Gata.

Edited by Gatanui, Feb 14 2012 - 10:00 AM.

[sukapony]

XT4: The only thing I like about this set is the name. I wonder why everybody seems to like XT4. Am I the only person that doesn't like the junk-bot-resembling appearance of this set?

Most people actually seem to find XT4, just to use a few words, "ugly", "spindly", "boring" or "lackluster". I'm pretty sure that the minority are the ones who like him. xP

[Bambi]

I have to get Stringer 4.0

[Roxy Lalonde]

Guys I just noticed though

Apparently that's a newer Thornax launcher mold?

What's up with that

[DeeVee]

Guys I just noticed though

Apparently that's a newer Thornax launcher mold?

What's up with that

The ones from the Winter wave aren't Thornax launchers either. It's a shorter piece that's missing the second connection point.

[Despair]

Voltix is a test to see how ugly they can make sets before we stop buying them for those beautiful purple pieces.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to the summer wave, and I'm definitely going to pick up Bulk, XT4, and Core Hunter.

[Bfahome]

Guys I just noticed though

Apparently that's a newer Thornax launcher mold?

What's up with that

The ones from the Winter wave aren't Thornax launchers either. It's a shorter piece that's missing the second connection point.

Well it's close enough that I think it'd fit under the "Thornax launcher" umbrella.

But Aho I think that's a prototype version, since the winter wave has them too and they don't line up with the top pieces.

[Black Six]

Guys I just noticed though

Apparently that's a newer Thornax launcher mold?

What's up with that

The ones from the Winter wave aren't Thornax launchers either. It's a shorter piece that's missing the second connection point.

Well it's close enough that I think it'd fit under the "Thornax launcher" umbrella.

But Aho I think that's a prototype version, since the winter wave has them too and they don't line up with the top pieces.

I'm pretty sure a couple of the sets weren't properly assembled, hence the misalignment.

[Damaracx 7.0]

The bad guys have hero cores OK that is a little weird (OK I lied really weird), this could take a while to get use to, any way they are finally adding another velicle to HF finally.

[The Inquisitive Automaton]

The bad guys have hero cores OK that is a little weird

The bad guys themselves don't have hero cores. The sets just come with them for the points on the Lego.com game thing. Some silly billy at the Toyfair must have just seen the cores and put them on the sets, assuming they went on.

Also, whilst I still hate XT-4, I think he demands to have a Frenzy-esque voice in the cartoon.

[Pulsate]

My thoughts on these sets:

Nex: Decent, but not the best. Colour scheme isn't the best. Light grey bone pieces don't help. And why the black hand? That just doesn't work...

XT4: Probably the worst set out of all in this wave. Looks they tried to recreate Waspix, only as a robot but failed horribly. Again, the light grey pieces completely throw off the colour scheme. He'd probably look better if all bone pieces were black.

Stringer: Pretty good. The blue and black works here and the light grey pieces aren't too obvious.

Core Hunter: Great. The black and red work well together and he doesn't have too many colours.

Bulk: Best hero of the wave. Great colour scheme and very nice shoulder mounted... thing.

Voltix: Terrible colour scheme. The purple really throws it off, and he would probably look better if the purple was blue or black. Same goes for the tentacle and sphere.

Stormer XL: Oh, finally, we're moving away from the Fire Lord build, which, as proven by Fire Lord, Rocka XL, and Black Phantom, DOESN'T WORK WELL. Good to see a new design, although the chest is way too wide. Pretty decent otherwise.

Speeda Demon: ...I'm in love. Everything just works so well here... and finally... the return of good-looking humanoids on vehicles in a constraction line.

[Mesonak]

Stormer XL: Oh, finally, we're moving away from the Fire Lord build, which, as proven by Fire Lord, Rocka XL, and Black Phantom, DOESN'T WORK WELL. Good to see a new design, although the chest is way too wide. Pretty decent otherwise.

With Fire Lord I have to agree; with Rocka XL, from what I've seen, his problems had nothing to do with the actual design of the build, but rather all the unnecessary attachments they threw on his design which limited posability and created an awkard appearance. Black Phantom had none of these problems and was an excellent set. I, personally, would prefer a FL -rehash with aesthetic improvements than Stormer XL's simplified, awkward-looking, though very original, design. But that's just me, I suppose.

-Mesonak

[Lyichir]

Everyone's hatin' on Nex, XT4, and Voltix. I personally think all three of them take traditionally-shunned techniques (such as a less balanced color scheme, a largely-unclad figure, and an eclectic color scheme) and make them work for the characters. Nex reminds me of Mars Mission sets, and while he has more white than his previous form I think it comes across looking pretty okay. XT4 is a more utilitarian robot than the Heroes, and as such has the bare-minimum amount of cladding. But I think this has the net effect of making him look like a drone gone berserk, and the fact that he includes a new, smaller torso piece is amazing in my book. Voltix, meanwhile, has one or two primary colors and about a bazillion secondary colors. But it gives him an appearance that simply radiates power, as I reckon they tried, and largely failed, to do with the previous supercharged character Fire Lord.

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

Guys I just noticed though

Apparently that's a newer Thornax launcher mold?

What's up with that

The ones from the Winter wave aren't Thornax launchers either. It's a shorter piece that's missing the second connection point.

Well it's close enough that I think it'd fit under the "Thornax launcher" umbrella.

But Aho I think that's a prototype version, since the winter wave has them too and they don't line up with the top pieces.

I'm pretty sure a couple of the sets weren't properly assembled, hence the misalignment.

Actually, it's been confirmed that those are a prototype version of the piece that appeared in the winter sets and not another new version. It also appeared on LDD in place of the actual new launcher, and Erland Refling Nielsen (a part engineer for the Hero Factory theme) provided confirmation on another forum that it was a prototype and not a part that will actually be going into production.

Some of the sets were misaligned-- the shell used for Nex's right-hand weapon was on backwards, if the preliminary packaging is to be believed, and all the villains had Hero Cores-- but the misalignment of the launchers was because they used a prototype piece that did not in fact have a cross axle hole in the right place and had one more connection point than it was supposed to.

[Roxy Lalonde]

Guys I just noticed though

Apparently that's a newer Thornax launcher mold?

What's up with that

The ones from the Winter wave aren't Thornax launchers either. It's a shorter piece that's missing the second connection point.

Well it's close enough that I think it'd fit under the "Thornax launcher" umbrella.

But Aho I think that's a prototype version, since the winter wave has them too and they don't line up with the top pieces.

I'm pretty sure a couple of the sets weren't properly assembled, hence the misalignment.

I don't think the winter wave sets have the O-hole on the end though like these ones do though.

EDIT: Ahaha never mind I didn't see Aanchir's post My bad!

Edited by Aho-Chan, Feb 14 2012 - 09:21 PM.

[Psycho Twi]

Opinion time


Villains:

XT4: Doesn't impress me. Looks like he'd be a good source of parts and has an interesting design at best. Lowest on my list for the entire year.

Voltix: Doesn't fare much better. Here, the design looks great, but the mix of colors is quite unappealing. If he had less yellow and blue, maybe I'd consider.

Core Hunter: I genuinely love him. Best character in the villains roster for quite a while. He's rather simple, and yet cohesive.

Speeda Demon: The character is cool, but not Core Hunter cool. Nice design over all. The real reason I want this set? The Bike. I missed out on Furno's bike, and this has caught my attention even more than that did.


Heros:

Nex: Could have been better. I like the pattern on his chest and the helmet, but the colors seem misplaced this time around.

Stringer: I, for one, don't mind losing out on orange. It's found on Nex and Bulk after all. Anyway, I love the blue trimmings on this set almost as much as I love the guitar-esque launcher.

Bulk: Unlike his previous incarnation, he lives up to his name. Maybe even more so than the original. I like the unique shoulder design and the use of gold.

Stormer: A drastic improvement has been mad in terms of the larger sets with this one. His build is overall much more cohesively made than Rocka 2.0 or Fire Lord. (Black Phantom lies somewhere in between that...). Overall though, Stormer seems to be Lego's attempt at a new build for titans that fell short.

[Smitty]

I think the biggest improvement in Preston XL over other titans is Preston's wider shoulders. If you look at the photos from Toyfail you can see how they used a second torso and some new bones to make the body wider and taller.

[Takua Nui of GoAnimate]

Stormer XL is not turning out too good, if you ask me. Meager weapons, short arms, weird bony protrusions and skeleton, ugh. I'll be picking him up for the pile of parts.

Edited by Takua Nui of GoAnimate, Feb 16 2012 - 10:24 AM.

[Tylerax Toa of Awesome]

All the sets look pretty good to me, I just have one question though. What does it mean that the transparent blue on Stringer is printed?

[Takua Nui of GoAnimate]

Stormer XL: Oh, finally, we're moving away from the Fire Lord build, which, as proven by Fire Lord, Rocka XL, and Black Phantom, DOESN'T WORK WELL. Good to see a new design, although the chest is way too wide. Pretty decent otherwise.

With Fire Lord I have to agree; with Rocka XL, from what I've seen, his problems had nothing to do with the actual design of the build, but rather all the unnecessary attachments they threw on his design which limited posability and created an awkard appearance. Black Phantom had none of these problems and was an excellent set. I, personally, would prefer a FL -rehash with aesthetic improvements than Stormer XL's simplified, awkward-looking, though very original, design. But that's just me, I suppose.

-Mesonak

Its not just you. I agree, Preston's new design looks awkward and...flimsy, I must say.

[Angel Bob]

Speeda Demon: And this is the part where I die because this is my favourite one. I just wish they had made a new helmet for him too (thee different colours of one helmet in one year? I think you've set a new record for yourself, Lego), but aside from that I can tell this is another definite buy.

Whatever happened to 2001 and 2003, when we could get six colors of every mask? I seriously miss the mask packs...

Edited by Angel Bob, Feb 16 2012 - 05:37 PM.

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

All the sets look pretty good to me, I just have one question though. What does it mean that the transparent blue on Stringer is printed?

It means that it has a decoration on the chest, just like all the Breakout heroes have. This one is a sound wave pattern, whereas Furno's is a flame pattern, Surge's is a lightning pattern, etc.

[Tylerax Toa of Awesome]

All the sets look pretty good to me, I just have one question though. What does it mean that the transparent blue on Stringer is printed?

It means that it has a decoration on the chest, just like all the Breakout heroes have. This one is a sound wave pattern, whereas Furno's is a flame pattern, Surge's is a lightning pattern, etc.

Oh ok. I thought he meant that, but I wasn't sure. Thanks!

[Lyichir]

Speeda Demon: And this is the part where I die because this is my favourite one. I just wish they had made a new helmet for him too (thee different colours of one helmet in one year? I think you've set a new record for yourself, Lego), but aside from that I can tell this is another definite buy.

Whatever happened to 2001 and 2003, when we could get six colors of every mask? I seriously miss the mask packs...

Short answer? The mask packs never turned a profit. That's why they stopped happening even before BIONICLE ended. Heck, even the ammo packs failed to return on investment. Kids just aren't as interested in buying a LEGO set that doesn't involve any building at all, and is functionally useless without first investing in a larger set.

[fishers64]

Speeda Demon: And this is the part where I die because this is my favourite one. I just wish they had made a new helmet for him too (thee different colours of one helmet in one year? I think you've set a new record for yourself, Lego), but aside from that I can tell this is another definite buy.

Whatever happened to 2001 and 2003, when we could get six colors of every mask? I seriously miss the mask packs...

Short answer? The mask packs never turned a profit. That's why they stopped happening even before BIONICLE ended. Heck, even the ammo packs failed to return on investment. Kids just aren't as interested in buying a LEGO set that doesn't involve any building at all, and is functionally useless without first investing in a larger set.

Then how do you all explain the Ninjago booster packs?

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

Speeda Demon: And this is the part where I die because this is my favourite one. I just wish they had made a new helmet for him too (thee different colours of one helmet in one year? I think you've set a new record for yourself, Lego), but aside from that I can tell this is another definite buy.

Whatever happened to 2001 and 2003, when we could get six colors of every mask? I seriously miss the mask packs...

Short answer? The mask packs never turned a profit. That's why they stopped happening even before BIONICLE ended. Heck, even the ammo packs failed to return on investment. Kids just aren't as interested in buying a LEGO set that doesn't involve any building at all, and is functionally useless without first investing in a larger set.

Then how do you all explain the Ninjago booster packs?

Those still involve building-- you have to build the minifigures and weapons after all, just like the Minifigures theme with its blind-packaged minifigs. There's also the fact that Ninjago, from the looks of things, is doing better than Hero Factory in general-- Hero Factory's original TV special were successful enough to get TV specials in future years, but none as long as the original "Rise of the Rookies", whereas Ninjago's one-hour TV special was enough to get it signed on for two full thirteen-episode seasons.

The mask packs were a nice idea at the time, but I'd hate to see that sort of thing in Hero Factory, especially since nowadays helmets and masks are treated like any other armor rather than being given magical story significance that other pieces lack. More variety of pieces is always nice but I'd prefer for that to come in the form of actual building sets rather than accessory packs that don't offer anything in the way of play value by themselves.

[TuragaNuva]

Core Hunter and Speeda Demon look great, even if the latter's name made me laugh out loud . Stringer's lookin pretty cool with that color scheme, though I'm not sure how I feel about it being changed. Those shoulder-armor pieces look cool, though: maybe something akin to an HF version of Gali Mistika's shoulder armor?

And, I have to admit, Stormer (XL?) doesn't look as bad as he did in the earlier pics. I WANT THOSE FEET SO BAD.

One other thing, though: what genius was in charge of putting the display villains together and setting them up? Because those Hero Cores look a little out of place .


-

[christo1096]

Thanks for share this, there are some nice sets, Speeda Demon, Bulk, etc. Core hunter is pretty cool too

[Kaxix]

First of all, thanks for the pictures.
Now my opinions on the sets:

Nex
I don't like the colour scheme. They could have changed all the white parts in gunmetal,
The helmet is ok, the proprotions too but the weapons are too simple. I know it is supposed to be a 8.99 $ set but it is not good enough for that price in my opinion.

XT4
This is something original indeed. Definitely something I would get if I were still playing with sets.

Stringer
I love the colour scheme but all the blue parts must be either trasparent or not, They don't look good mixed,

Core Hunter
I must admit that it looks awesome. The armour makes it look really powerful and strong. The red spikes are great too. I would have preferred pincers on its right hand too.

Bulk
Great, apart from one thing: why did they mix orange and gold with red, silver and black?? Come on!

Vortixx
Apart from the colour scheme (it is not just a problem of the number of colour used, but mainly how they are used), the set is quite bad. First of all the tentacle is badly connected to the hand. Then the helmet and the tubes...
I'd like to know what Umbra haters think of this set.

Stomer
From what I see this is one of the sets that could have been epic but unfortunately it is not.
It seems they wanted to create a titan but they had to stop because the decision was to create a 25 $ set.
Why? The proportions. What's up with that sword?? It should have been great for a 12.99 $ set but it looks so small compared to giant Stormer! The arms are way too thin compared to that huge chest piece. At least the legs are proportioned but the lower leg armour doesn't fit. At least the colour scheme is good.

Speeda Demon
Another motorbike in HF. I guess the first one sold well.
I really like this set. Both the character and the vehicle. I would have liked to see a purple rider but it looks cool anyways.

[jala12]

Lol, Voltix looks terrible. I'm sure many have said this but he honestly looks like some kid's MOC. The colour clash is hard on the eyes.

[Mata-Nui-ologist]

cant wait to get mine

[Lyichir]

Lol, Voltix looks terrible. I'm sure many have said this but he honestly looks like some kid's MOC. The colour clash is hard on the eyes.

Like I have personally heard others say, the color clash is part of what makes him so awesome. He has such a chaotic, electric appearance. Most kids' MOCs I know try and fail to stick to a color scheme. Voltix on the other hand has loads of contrasting colors, and each one has meaning. Red and blue wires, yellow lightning... I'm very excited to see him in the flesh.

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

These actually look quite nice. I especially like Stormer. The heroes (this time around) look interesting and sleek. I like some of the villains, but they don't seem as top-notch as they did last year, or even this years first half. Still, interesting sets.

-NotS

[Erebus]

I'm really happy LEGO is adding more purple pieces to the constraction sets. I might finally get my first HF set.

[Cbbionicledude]

I'm going to get Voltixx maybe. Only for parts though. and the rest: we'll see

[Damaracx 7.0]

That gold sword on speeda demon looks awesome!!!!!